PoliticsYahoo NewsProgressive leaders warn Biden administration to 'hold the line' on minimum wage hike
Nina Turner, former national co-chair for Sen. Bernie Sanders's 2020 presidential campaign, says middle- and lower-income Americans are “drowning” and need a substantial relief package from the White House and congressional Democrats. Prior to his inauguration, President Biden pushed for $2,000 checks to Americans struggling due to the pandemic and the resulting lockdowns that have shuttered many businesses. The current $1.9 trillion relief package includes a provision for $1,400 checks, but the White House notes that since $600 checks were approved by the last Congress in December, the total still comes out to $2,000.
PoliticsYahoo NewsAt CPAC, Cruz and Hawley remain defiant about Capitol riot
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri took to the stage today at the Conservative Political Action Conference and gave what amounted to their most extensive public remarks since Jan. 6, when both were seen by critics as having helped incite a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election. Cruz spoke on Friday morning, while Hawley addressed the audience in a less enviable afternoon spot. As they have in appearances on Fox News and other outlets in recent weeks, they cast themselves as victims of Democratic “cancel culture” — an ill-defined concept that encompasses social and corporate disapproval — while taking no responsibility for inciting the white supremacists and other supporters of former President Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol in hopes of keeping Joe Biden from assuming the Oval Office.
WorldBBCNorth Korea: Russian diplomats leave by hand-pushed trolley
A group of Russian diplomats and their families made an unusual exit out of North Korea on a hand-pushed rail trolley due to strict Covid measures. The Russian diplomats were thus left with little choice. "Since the borders have been closed for more than a year and passenger traffic has been stopped, it took a long and difficult journey to get home," Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Facebook post.
WorldReutersKashmir villagers hopeful but wary after India and Pakistan agree to ceasefire
Villagers living on both sides of the Line of Control dividing the Himalayan region of Kashmir welcomed an agreement between long-time foes India and Pakistan to stop shelling from each side, but some were sceptical it would hold. The nuclear-armed neighbours signed a ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC) in 2003, but that has frayed in recent years and there have been mounting casualties. In a joint statement on Thursday, India and Pakistan said they would observe a ceasefire.
- WorldAssociated Press
Warsaw opens murder probe into fate of 2 Poles in Mexico
Poland's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that authorities in Mexico are investigating the death of a young Pole and the hospitalization of another, which Polish media have linked with alleged organ harvesting. Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said he has ordered a separate investigation into what he called the “homicide and attempted homicide" of the two young Poles in Mexico. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Poland's embassy in Mexico is in contact with local investigators and with the men's local employer, and appealed to all to refrain from speculating about what had happened.
PoliticsThe Telegraph'It's not as nice as Cancun': Ted Cruz jokes about controversial holiday in CPAC culture wars speech
Ted Cruz railed against "cancel culture" and mocked criticism of his trip to Mexico while his home state of Texas endured freezing conditions and power blackouts as he addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday. The Texas senator was widely criticised last week for taking a family trip to Cancun, Mexico while millions in his state went without heat or water after severe winter weather crippled power supplies. Here is @tedcruz out of state again—not doing his job again—joking about leaving Texans behind.
PoliticsRaleigh News and Observer$1,400 stimulus checks set for House vote today. Here’s what to know
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan with $1,400 stimulus checks for most Americans on Friday before sending the legislation to the Senate for consideration. Democrats are hoping to pass the stimulus deal into law before Mar. 14, the day that $300 weekly unemployment benefits approved in December's coronavirus package expire. Around 11.4 million workers could lose their unemployment benefits between Mar. 14 and Apr. 11 unless Congress passes the bill before the mid-March deadline, a study by The Century Foundation found.
WorldReutersHungary may have to tighten lockdown as COVID cases jump, PM says
Hungary may have to tighten lockdown curbs as coronavirus infections are expected to rise "drastically" in the next two weeks, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday, as the daily tally of new infections jumped to 4,668, the highest this year. Orban also said all the 2.5 million to 2.6 million Hungarians who have registered for COVID-19 vaccinations so far would receive at least one dose by Easter, in early April. Orban, speaking on state radio, said he hoped to get vaccinated with a shot developed by China's Sinopharm early next week.
WorldAssociated PressBiden says US airstrikes in Syria told Iran: 'Be careful'
President Joe Biden said Friday that Iran should view his decision to authorize U.S. airstrikes in Syria as a warning that it can expect consequences for its support of militia groups that threaten U.S. interests or personnel. You can't act with impunity. Be careful,” Biden said when a reporter asked what message he had intended to send with the airstrikes, which the Pentagon said destroyed several buildings in eastern Syria but were not intended to eradicate the militia groups that used them to facilitate attacks inside Iraq.
WorldINSIDERIranian journalist, who won the International Press Freedom Award, was detained in Turkey after fleeing a nearly 5-year prison sentence
Mohammad Mosaed is an Iranian reporter who has twice been arrested by the government. The Committee to Protect Journalists awarded him its 2020 International Press Freedom Award. Mohammad Mosaed, an Iranian freelance journalist who has twice been arrested by the government for his investigative reporting and criticism of Iranian officials, was detained by Turkish border officials earlier this year after fleeing Iran following a prison summons.
PoliticsThe TelegraphAnalysis: Window is already narrowing for Republican to challenge Donald Trump for 2024
It is looking ever more probable that Donald Trump will run for the White House again in 2024. All eyes are on his speech this Sunday at CPAC, the annual conservative conference, which like Mr Trump has relocated from Washington to Florida. An adviser told The Telegraph that Mr Trump has spent the last weeks taking a break, and practising his golf swing, but is keen to re-engage in the fight.
WorldReutersSpecial Report: In Germany's Black Forest, Putin critic Navalny gathered strength and resolve
Three other prominent Russians told Reuters they paid medical bills estimated at up to 70,000 euros in total: London-based Yevgeny Chichvarkin, who made his fortune in mobile phones before falling out with Russian authorities; U.S.-based Sergei Aleksashenko, a former deputy chairman of Russia's Central Bank, and Roman Ivanov, an executive at Russian internet firm Yandex, who also now lives abroad. Ivanov said he consulted with his wife before agreeing to transfer an undisclosed sum - "a fairly large amount but less than a third" of the total, he said - to Charite hospital. "I transferred money from my European account, which is registered with the Russian tax service, nothing secret.
U.S.Associated PressHighlights of the COVID-19 relief bill advancing in Congress
The House is expected to pass a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package Friday that includes $1,400 checks for most Americans and billions of dollars for schools, state and local governments and businesses. Republicans are overwhelmingly against the bill, raising concerns that the spending is vastly more than necessary and designed to advance policy priorities that go beyond helping Americans get through the pandemic. Democrats and President Joe Biden counter that a robust aid package is necessary to prevent a long and painful recovery from the pandemic.
HealthReutersAstraZeneca, Sputnik vaccines face hurdles if COVID shots become annual affair
Vaccines from AstraZeneca, Russia's Gamaleya Institute and Johnson & Johnson fight the coronavirus with another virus, leaving scientists concerned the shots may lose potency if annual inoculations become necessary to fight new variants. So-called viral vector shots - also used by several Chinese COVID-19 vaccine developers - use harmless modified viruses as vehicles, or vectors, to carry genetic information that helps the body build immunity against future infections. However, there is a risk that the body also develops immunity to the vector itself, recognising it as an intruder and trying to destroy it.
U.S.Architectural DigestMore Inside A New Safari Lodge Treehouse Tucked Away in Botswana’s Okavango Delta
Only reachable by canoe, this Xigera hideaway is centered along lush riverbeds and a rich concentration of wildlife. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldAssociated PressEXPLAINER: How US airstrike in Syria sends message to Iran
A U.S. airstrike targeting facilities used by Iran-backed militias in Syria appears to be a message to Tehran delivered by a new American administration still figuring out its approach to the Middle East. The strike was seemingly a response to stepped-up rocket attacks by such militias that have targeted U.S. interests in Iraq, where the armed groups are based. It comes even as Washington and Tehran consider a return to the 2015 accord meant to rein in Iran's nuclear program.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Israel's unvaccinated fear exclusion
Israel has led the world in COVID-19 vaccination with health ministry figures on Friday (February 25) showing 50% of the population has received at least one shot. But now the country is facing another challenge that other countries will have to grapple with - how to balance public health and the rights of the unvaccinated. Despite the strong government numbers, some officials privately estimate that 10% of Israelis over 16 - that's around 650,000 - do not intend to get vaccinated.
U.S.Business InsiderSouth Dakota's legislature is moving to impeach its attorney general after investigators uncovered a hit-and-run victim's glasses in his car
AG Jason Ravnsborg was charged with three misdemeanors in connection to a fatal car crash. New details have since emerged with the victim's glasses found in Ravnsborg's car. Ravnsborg was charged with three misdemeanors last week after initially saying he thought he hit a deer, not a person.
WorldAssociated PressMyanmar's UN envoy dramatically opposes coup in his country
Myanmar's U.N. ambassador strongly opposed the military coup in his country and appealed for the “strongest possible action from the international community” to immediately restore democracy in a dramatic speech to the U.N. General Assembly Friday that drew loud applause from many diplomats in the 193-nation global body. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun began his statement saying he represented Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy “civilian government elected by the people” in November, and supported their fight for the end of military rule. “It is time for the military to immediately relinquish power and release those detained,” Tun said, agreeing with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “that military coup is not acceptable in this modern world and the coup must cease.”
WorldReutersVenezuela opposition says police illegally detain ex-legislator
A Venezuelan police special forces unit has illegally detained former legislator Gilberto Sojo, an ally of opposition leader Juan Guaido, the opposition said. The unit, known as FAES, has been widely accused of human rights abuses, and international activists have called on President Nicolas Maduro to abolish it. "He was kidnapped by FAES, a death squad for the regime that the U.N. has asked to be dissolved and whose chief has been sanctioned by the European Union," tweeted Guaido late on Thursday.
- WorldAssociated Press
Explosion strikes Israeli-owned ship in Mideast amid tension
An explosion struck an Israeli-owned cargo ship sailing out of the Middle East on Friday, an unexplained blast renewing concerns about ship security in the region amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The incident recalled the summer of 2019, when the same site saw a series of suspected attacks that the U.S. Navy blamed on Iran, which Tehran denied. Meanwhile, as U.S. President Joe Biden tries to revive nuclear negotiations with Iran, he ordered overnight airstrikes on facilities in Syria belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group.
PoliticsReutersMcConnell to support Trump if party picks him as its 2024 nominee
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who excoriated former President Donald Trump over the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot less than two weeks ago, said on Thursday that he would "absolutely" vote for Trump if he became the 2024 Republican presidential nominee. McConnell, who Trump blasted last week as "a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack," said he expects to see an open contest for the Republican White House nomination in 2024 but showed no hesitation in backing Trump when asked whether he would vote for him as nominee. Trump is expected to talk about the possibility of a 2024 run when he speaks to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, nearly two months after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn his defeat in November's election by Democrat Joe Biden.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWhile Biden visits storm-torn Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz will be giving a speech on 'cancel culture' in Florida
President Joe Biden heads to Texas on Friday to tour some of the areas hit hardest by the winter storm last week. While he's there, he won't be meeting with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Cruz has a speaking engagement that day at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.
WorldAssociated PressOfficials: Attack targets Afghan reporter's family, kills 3
Three family members of an assassinated journalist in western Afghanistan have been killed by gunmen, local officials said Friday, amid a rising wave of attacks targeting journalists and civil society actors. Ghor provincial council member Hamidullah Mutahid said that at least five others were wounded in the attack late Thursday. The gunmen stormed the family home of Afghan journalist and activist Bismillah Adil Aimaq, who was shot dead in an unclaimed attack nearby Ghor on Jan. 1.
WorldReutersRunaway schoolgirl who joined IS cannot return to Britain, top court says
A UK-born woman who went to Syria as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State should not be allowed to return to Britain to challenge the government taking away her citizenship, because she poses a security risk, Britain's Supreme Court ruled on Friday. Shamima Begum left London in 2015 when she was 15 and went to Syria via Turkey with two school friends. While there, she married an Islamic State fighter.
“How about we skip ‘he won’t win’ cycle and not do 2016 all over again. Trump can absolutely win another presidential election.”
“With independents deserting him, there is simply no path for Trump to get back into the White House — except as a tourist.”
“They might as well cancel the 2024 primaries...because there is no way he can lose.”
“The next Republican presidential primary will be heavily shaped by Trump — whether or not he decides to run again.”
“Donald Trump will not be running for president again. He will, however, continue to tease the possibility of a 2024 run.”