WorldYahoo NewsIntelligence agencies: China is top threat to U.S. global influence
A 27-page report released ahead of testimony by the president's top intelligence officials identifies China as the biggest threat to U.S. global influence. The annual threat assessment report, which summarizes the best assessments of intelligence analysts from across the 18 different agencies within the intelligence community, “focuses on the most direct, serious threats to the United States during the next year,” looking at everything from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and climate change to cyberattacks and technological competitiveness. Senior intelligence officials, including Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, are expected to answer questions about the report this week in front of the House and Senate intelligence committees.
U.S.Associated PressOfficer wounded in school wasn't shot by student's gun
A Tennessee police officer wounded during a confrontation with a student inside a high school bathroom was not shot by the student's gun, authorities said Wednesday, contradicting earlier law enforcement reports that the teenager fired and hit the officer. The new report appears to indicate that the officer was shot by police during a struggle. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released updated details of a shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville on Monday that left the student dead and a school resource officer wounded.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverMysterious goat appears in Death Valley National Park. That’s bad news, rangers say
A tourist at Death Valley spotted something within the park that shouldn't be there: a mysterious goat. The visitor reported seeing a domestic goat in a canyon near Stovepipe Wells within the park. The goat could be bad for native bighorn sheep and the park's ecosystem, rangers said Wednesday on Facebook.
- WorldReuters
Top European court rules Turkish writer Altan's rights were violated
Europe's top human rights court ruled on Tuesday that the right to liberty and freedom of expression of Turkish journalist and author Ahmet Altan had been violated due to his detention and imprisonment on charges related to a 2016 coup attempt. Altan, 71, has been in prison since September 2016, when he was detained over allegations that he disseminated subliminal messages related to the coup attempt during a TV programme, as well as articles he had written criticising the government. He was sentenced to life in jail in 2018 without parole for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order but the ruling was later overturned by the top appeals court.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Israel made 'very bad gamble' on Natanz: Iran FM
Speaking during a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart, Iran's top diplomat said the incident enabled Iran to use all of its options at Natanz legally and legitimately. "Israel played a very bad gamble if it thought that the attack will weaken Iran's hand in the nuclear talks," Zarif said. Tehran has said an explosion on Sunday (April 11) at its key nuclear site was an act of sabotage by arch-foe Israel and vowed revenge for an attack that appeared to be latest episode in a long-running covert war.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden to pull US troops from Afghanistan, end 'forever war'
President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will withdraw remaining U.S. troops from the "forever war” in Afghanistan, declaring that the Sept. 11 terror attacks of 20 years ago cannot justify American forces still dying in the nation's longest war. The U.S. cannot continue to pour resources into an intractable war and expect different results, Biden said.
U.S.ReutersMinnesota officer who shot Black man after traffic stop charged with manslaughter
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) -The white suburban police officer who fatally shot a young Black motorist during a traffic stop in Minnesota, igniting three nights of civil unrest, was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday, a day after the officer turned in her badge. Daunte Wright, 20, was pulled over on Sunday in Brooklyn Center, just outside Minneapolis, for what police said was an expired vehicle registration, then struggled with police and was shot to death by officer Kimberly Potter, 48, who drew her handgun instead of a Taser in what officials called an accident. The shooting escalated tensions in a region already on edge over the ongoing trial of the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the use of deadly force last May against George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was suspected of passing a bogus $20 bill.
WorldAssociated PressTurkey to host Afghan peace talks later this month
The United Nations, Turkey and Qatar announced Tuesday that a high-level conference between Afghanistan's warring sides will take place in Istanbul later this month. The meeting is aimed at accelerating peace negotiations and achieving a political settlement to decades of conflict. The three co-conveners said they are “committed to supporting a sovereign, independent and unified Afghanistan.”
PoliticsReutersU.S. Senate confirms Biden nominee for No. 2 State Dept post
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee Wendy Sherman to be deputy secretary of state, the number two position at the department. The Senate backed the nomination by 56-42, as a handful of Republicans joined Biden's fellow Democrats to vote in Sherman's favor. Sherman, 71, a foreign policy veteran, ran into Republican resistance because she helped negotiate the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran, which was fiercely opposed by Republicans as well as some Democrats.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverPopular NC teacher killed trying to rob Mexican drug cartel member, sheriff says
A popular Union County teacher described by family and friends as a devoted dad, teacher and coach was fatally wounded in a shootout when he and his brother-in-law tried to rob members of a Mexican drug cartel, Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said Wednesday. Barney Dale Harris, 40, taught Spanish and was head coach of the boys' varsity basketball and track teams at Union Academy Charter School in Monroe, according to his family and the school. He was found dead last Thursday in the bedroom of an Alamance County mobile home that Johnson called a drug “stash house” for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the sheriff said.
PoliticsBBCAfghan pullout could be risky for Biden
"It's time to end America's longest war," President Joe Biden said as he announced the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan later this year. The current president - who as Barack Obama's vice-president frequently opposed a large US presence in the nation - was pledging to finish a process set in motion by the previous president, Donald Trump, last year. That his administration will miss the Trump-negotiated deadline of 1 May has been overshadowed by the symbolism of Biden's new deadline, 11 September, the 20th anniversary of the attack that instigated US entry into Afghanistan.
WorldReutersBattle-hardened and better funded, Ukraine's army knocks on NATO's door
At the outbreak of the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014, the Ukrainian army was so poorly equipped that ordinary citizens were knitting socks, donating scrap metal and even crowdfunding a tank for soldiers at the front line. The government that took over after the Maidan street protests said it had only 5,000 combat-ready ground troops and did not put up a fight when Russian forces seized and annexed the Crimea peninsula in March that year. But the Crimea annexation and seven years of fighting Russian-backed forces in the eastern Donbass region drove Ukraine to overhaul its military, combining a huge increase in defence spending with aid and training from Western allies.
- U.S.Associated Press
Admin who didn't report OSU doc's misconduct cedes license
A former Ohio State University student health director has surrendered his medical license after being accused of failing to report several complaints in the mid-1990s about sexual misconduct by Richard Strauss, the university doctor now accused of abusing young men for two decades. The state medical board citation against former director Ted Grace made him the first person to face potential discipline in relation to Ohio State's failure to stop misconduct by Strauss, who died in 2005. A hearing was scheduled for next week, but Grace permanently surrendered his Ohio license under an agreement that was approved and confirmed but not released Wednesday by the medical board.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverBiden team believes Austin Tice, journalist missing in Syria, is alive
Biden administration diplomats and intelligence officers are operating “with the sincere belief” that Austin Tice is alive, two U.S. officials told McClatchy on Wednesday, and the group is working daily to free the American journalist who went missing in 2012 while covering the war in Syria. “We operate with the sincere belief that Austin is alive and waiting for us to come get him,” Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens said. The Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, a team of experts from different government agencies that gathers diplomatic leads and intelligence information together in one place, is pursuing the Tice case.
U.S.Business InsiderPelosi says she thinks Chauvin trial is 'disappointing': 'Maybe my disappointment springs from my expectation that these are our protectors'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reflected on the Chauvin trial Wednesday, calling it "so disappointing." Pelosi said she still respects law enforcement and stamped down calls to "defund the police." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she finds the trial of ex-Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin "so disappointing."
WorldReutersLebanon's president says new maritime claim needs government approval
Lebanon's president said on Tuesday a draft decree expanding its maritime claims in a dispute with Israel must be approved by the caretaker government, rejecting a request to grant it swift presidential approval. The dispute with Israel over the maritime boundary has held up hydrocarbon exploration in a potentially gas-rich area of the eastern Mediterranean. The decree, approved by Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, defence minister and minister of public work on Monday, would add around 1,400 square km (540 square miles) to an exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean claimed by Lebanon.
WorldBBCIndia coronavirus: Can its vaccine producers meet demand?
With India attempting to ramp up vaccinations as Covid infections rise, the authorities have said they will fast track emergency approval for foreign-made vaccines. The Russian-developed Sputnik V has been given approval, as India's main domestic vaccine maker struggles to meet demand at home and globally. Can India meet its domestic needs?
U.S.The WeekFauci shoots down Tucker Carlson's 'crazy' COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theory as 'not helpful'
Dr. Anthony Fauci is pushing back against the "crazy" COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theory Fox News host Tucker Carlson floated on his highly-rated show. In a Tuesday night segment, Carlson questioned why those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are still advised to wear masks and avoid large gatherings, proceeding to baselessly suggest of the vaccines, "Maybe it doesn't work and they're simply not telling you that." Asked to comment on these remarks on CNN on Wednesday, Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, dismissed them as "crazy."
U.S.INSIDERCharges against Daunte Wright before his death have sparked anger and disinformation - here are the documents that explain what happened
Daunte Wright was killed on Sunday while he had an outstanding arrest warrant, the police said. Insider reviewed legal documents that shed light on what happened. Daunte Wright's killing by a police officer not far from Minneapolis sparked renewed debates about racism and policing in the US.
U.S.USA TODAY‘Most humiliating punishment imaginable’: Black National Guardsman allegedly forced to wear heavy chain
NATIONAL GUARD: Women welcomed, promoted until they report sexual assault In a scathing report obtained by USA TODAY, the National Guard Bureau Office of Equity and Inclusion substantiated 11 complaints of discrimination and one of harassment lodged by Weaver and accused Maryland of violating Weaver's right to due process. Related video: Evanston, IL to offer reparations to Black residents The Maryland National Guard has exonerated its personnel after several internal investigations and is appealing the bureau's decision.
- NewsKFSN – Fresno
4 kids found living in deplorable conditions, father arrested
Officials say the seven-year-old, a four-year-old, a three-year-old and a one-year-old are now being cared for by Child Protective Services.
BusinessReutersSotheby’s sale of digital-only artwork fetches $16.8 million
An online sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by the digital artist Pak fetched a total of $16.8 million at Sotheby's, including an image of a single pixel which sold for $1.36 million, the auction house said on Wednesday. A non-fungible token is a form of blockchain-based digital asset which has exploded in popularity in 2021, with prices soaring as collectors and enthusiasts rush to buy the items which only exist in digital form. Last month, an NFT artwork sold for $69.3 million at Christie's, in the first sale ever by a major auction house of a piece of art that does not exist in physical form.
WorldArchitectural DigestMonaco Is Becoming an Unexpected Leader in Sustainability
The second-smallest independent state in the world is emerging as a leader in planet preservation. Monaco's sovereign prince founded his namesake Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation in 2006 to combat climate change, preserve biodiversity, and conserve water resources. To reach the lofty target, Monaco expanded public transportation options including biodiesel buses and electric shuttle boats.
U.S.The StateMississippi dad suffers stroke after Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Here’s what happened.
A 43-year-old father of seven from Ocean Springs suffered a stroke hours after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Brad Malagarie was otherwise healthy before he suffered the stroke April 6 while at work. Malagarie had the most common form of stroke, an ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blood clot in an artery leading to the brain.
U.S.The IndependentTwo North Carolina police officers suspended over beating Black man in clash caught by bystander video
Two North Carolina police officers have been suspended after repeatedly punching a Black man lying on the ground in a clash that was caught on camera by a filming bystander. At around 6pm on Monday, Kinston Police officers McKinley Jones and Kevin Page responded to a 911 call from a woman who said David Lee Bruton Jr, 36, had threatened to “slap” her, according to the Jones Free Press. In a press conference on Tuesday, police said that Mr Bruton then attempted to run away from the officers, but tripped and fell to the ground, with the officers quickly moving to detain him while he was on the floor.
“There’s no ‘both sides of the debate’ when it comes to active voter suppression.”
“Companies that do this ooze contempt for their own customers and employees who are not in the leftmost quarter of opinion.”
“The truth is that Fortune 500 companies were never taking moral stances from the goodness of their corporate hearts.”
“The truth is, the companies hold the cards…If companies stick to their guns, Georgia is likely to back down as well.”
“When a company folds to the unfounded outrage of a few misinformed nuts, they are forever at the mob’s beck-and-call.”