In an unprecedented vote Wednesday, member states of the global chemical weapons watchdog suspended Syria's voting rights at the organization as a punishment for the repeated use of toxic gas by Damascus. The vote, which required a two-thirds majority to pass, marked the first time a member state of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has been hit with such a sanction. Behind the scenes diplomatic efforts to reach consensus on the proposal failed, leading to a vote Wednesday at which 87 nations voted in favor of suspending Syria's rights and 15 voted against.
A US Air Force general is being court-martialed for the first time in the history of the service. The charge is linked to allegations of sexual assault against a civilian during a 2018 off-duty incident. The Air Force said it is unclear at this time when the court-martial will take place.
A Pakistani woman nearly died after falling victim to an acid attack just outside her home in Elmont, New York last month. Hofstra University student Nafiah Fatima, 21, was helping her mother unload a car at their Arlington Avenue residence when the male suspect suddenly appeared around 8:15 p.m. on March 17. In a neighbor's surveillance video, the suspect can be seen running up to Fatima while she was in her driveway, according to NBC New York.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on voting rights, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, questioned Georgia activist Stacey Abrams about her state's controversial new election law.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is being held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day after a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in George Floyd's death on Tuesday, according to the New York Times. Why it matters: Chauvin, who is still awaiting sentencing, is being held in the isolation wing of Minnesota's only maximum-security prison because the state's prison system fears for his safety. The cells in the prison's isolation wing are small and only contain a bench with a mattress pad, a toilet and sink, and a tiny shower and are constantly monitored by cameras as well as a guard inspection every 30 minutes.
Grizzly bears are part of life in the gateway communities bordering Yellowstone National Park, and backcountry snowmobile guide Charles โCarlโ Mock knew well the risks that come with working, hiking and fishing among the fear-inspiring carnivores, his friends said. Bear spray residue found on Mock's clothing suggested he tried to ward off last week's attack using a canister of the Mace-like deterrent, considered an essential item in the backcountry. While some outsiders questioned the inherent perils of such a lifestyle in the wake of Mock's death, those who knew him said he accepted the risk as trade-off for time spent in a wilderness teeming with elk, deer, wolves and other wildlife.
At least 22 Covid patients have died in a hospital in India after they lost oxygen supply due to a leak. The incident occurred on Wednesday while an oxygen tanker was refilling a storage tank at the Zakir Hussain hospital in Nashik city. "We will enquire into the matter and take action," the city's municipal commissioner Kailash Jadhav said.
A Brooklyn woman accused of harassing and slapping an Asian woman two weeks ago in Manhattan's Lower East Side near Chinatown has been arrested on Tuesday. The incident: Cheyanne Taylor, 29, approached the 25-year-old victim at around 7:30 p.m. on April 7 as she was sitting outside an ice cream shop with a friend on Grand Street near Forsyth Street, New York Daily News reported. Surveillance footage caught Taylor slapping the victim across the face then fleeing the scene.
We're getting outdoorsy on Clever this week Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
LeBron James has deleted a tweet that called for the prosecution of Columbus, Ohio, police officer Nicholas Reardon, who fatally shot an African-American teen as she was attacking two females with a knife. In the Wednesday afternoon tweet that was deleted, the basketball star posted a photo of Reardon with a caption that read โYou're Next. YOU'RE NEXT โณ #ACCOUNTABILITY pic.twitter.com/NnBfz9zdWq James removed the tweet after it drew backlash, including from elected Republican officials.
The Minnesota Legislature introduced a bill to prevent protestors convicted of crimes from getting student loans. This comes at a time when students are protesting the killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright. A bill in Indiana also prevents people convicted of protest-related crimes from getting jobless aid.
A colorful sign that reads โSparezโ is close by. HL's caption says that the Miami rapper (real name Diamond Blue Smith) was shot at Sparez bowling alley in Davie, but gives scant information. People surround the man trying to help keep him comfortable while waiting for an ambulance.
Cruz said Tuesday that Biden's comments on Derek Chauvin provided potential grounds for a mistrial. Cruz said that Biden was providing "a possible basis on appeal to challenge any guilty conviction." President Joe Biden's comments about the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, provided potential "grounds for a mistrial," Sen. Ted Cruz said on Tuesday.
Body camera footage from other officers released Wednesday in the fatal police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant, a Black teenager who charged at two people with a knife, showed a chaotic scene that happened within minutes of the verdict in George Floyd's killing and ignited outrage by many over the continued use of lethal force by police in Columbus and the U.S. Officials with the Columbus Division of Police had released initial footage of the shooting Tuesday night just hours after it happened, which was a departure from protocol as the force faces immense scrutiny from the public following a series of recent high-profile police killings that have led to clashes. Bryant was 16 and in foster care with Franklin County Children's Services at the time of her death.
Vienna talks meant to revive and restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal appear to be going well, according to assessments by both American and Iranian officials as the latest round of negotiations drew to a close. Iran's president Hassan Rouhani said in a speech Wednesday that the Americans โappear to be seriousโ about lifting sanctions imposed by the former administration of Donald Trump. And though Iran's chief negotiator Abbas Araqchi warned that Iran would abandon talks if United States demands became excessive, the reformist daily newspaperEbtekar said the โanti-Iran coalition was on its last breathโ and that reviving the deal was "in the home stretchโ.
Mark McCloskey and his wife Patricia displayed their guns as BLM protesters passed their house last year. McCloskey told Politico on Tuesday he's considering running for Senate in 2022. A grand jury indicted the couple on charges of exhibiting guns and evidence tampering last October.
Derek Chauvin wrote his lawyer's phone number on his hand before being convicted of murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd, as a preparation for going to jail, his attorney told TMZ. Images of Chauvin being walked out of the courtroom in handcuffs show writing on his left hand in black ink. Chauvin's lawyer, Eric Nelson, told TMZ that his client knew that if he was convicted, he would likely have his bail revoked, so he was seemingly preparing for the worst.
The victims killed in last week's Tesla car crash in Texas, which police suspect to have involved the vehicle's autopilot mode, have been named as William Varner, a 58-year-old anaesthesiologist, his employer said, and Everette Talbot, 69. In the incident on Saturday, two men were killed after their 2019 Tesla Model S, travelling at a high speed, failed to negotiate a curve and crashed into a tree, catching fire, police reports noted. According to the police, one of the victims, thought to be Mr Talbot, was found in the passenger seat and the other, Mr Varner, in the back seat, while nobody was at the driving seat at the time of impact, raising doubts on the involvement of the car's autopilot mode.
Sen. Joe Manchin opposed increasing the gas tax or levying new charges to pay for infrastructure. "Hell no, don't raise them!" he told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Gas taxes and new user fees are measures Republicans floated in recent days to cover infrastructure.
A former Minneapolis police officer said he was surprised by Derek Chauvin's conviction. What was a day of justice for the Black Lives Matter movement was a day of disappointment for one former Minneapolis police officer, who told Insider he was shocked by Derek Chauvin's conviction and called it a "tragedy." The former officer spoke on the condition of anonymity, but his identity is known to Insider.
Helpful, well-designed pour decor Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
Multiple students attended a dance competition in New York last week despite having COVID-19 symptoms, officials said. Now, more than 300 children and their families are quarantining, with another 300 required to self-monitor, according to Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente. More than 20 cases have been reported so far, a number that is โcurrently growingโ since the April 17 event in Syracuse, Picente said during a Tuesday news conference.
"As we watch, almost daily, states unleash a wave of ill-founded laws that restrict the precious right to vote - not protect it, but restrict it! the oversight role of the federal government envisioned by the 1965 Voting Rights Act is more urgently needed than ever," Leahy said. The Vermont Democrat spoke at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, entitled "Jim Crow 2021: The Latest Assault on the Right to Vote," focused on efforts by Republicans in Georgia and elsewhere to implement new voting laws that critics say will limit voting access by African-Americans and other minorities that lean Democratic.
A North Carolina man was shot and killed on Wednesday morning by a sheriff's deputy executing a search warrant at his home, authorities said. The Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office said Andrew Brown Jr., a 40-year-old Black man, was shot around 8:30 a.m. while deputies were serving a search warrant in the 400 block of Perry Street in Elizabeth City. Authorities offered few details about the shooting at an afternoon press conference, but Pasquotank Sheriff Tommy Wooten said Brown was the subject of the search warrant, adding that it is โa tragic day here.โ
Derek Chauvin is being held at the MCF-Oak Park Heights Administrative Control Unit. There are 280 convicted murderers at the facility, according to Department of Corrections data. Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd, is being held at the maximum security Minnesota Correctional Facility at Oak Park Heights, where Insider previously reported he is living apart from the general population of the prison in the Administrative Control Unit.
โHigh-speed rail is bold and attention-grabbing, but the scale of the project makes it near impossible.โ
โWhile a long, slow train ride across the country can be a great thing, the US needs real high-speed rail too.โ
โLiberals are right that America has a car problem โ but it's commutes, not road trips, that suck.โ
โInvestments into a high-speed rail system wouldnโt just improve the railroads โ automobile traffic could also see some relief.โ
โBig cities that are reasonably close together is pretty much a prerequisite for high-speed rail.โ