PoliticsAssociated PressDemocrats move 2 bills showing strength and limits of power
The House voted along party lines to make the nation's capital the 51st state, and two hours later, the Senate overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation to address violence against Asian Americans. Thursday's twin victories let Democrats display momentum just six days before President Joe Biden's maiden speech to Congress. Despite a minuscule majority, House Democrats have passed legislation this year reworking voting laws, toughening gun background checks and fulfilling other party goals.
PoliticsThe WeekAfter reading 'all 14 pages' of the Green New Deal, Marjorie Taylor Greene says she's ready to debate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Now that she's done her homework, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is ready to spar. One day after seemingly admitting she had never finished reading "all 14 pages" of the Green New Deal, a bill she's repeatedly criticized while throwing barbs at sponsor Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Greene has now finally perused the full policy — and dubbed it a "Communists manifesto." Greene incriminated herself on Wednesday, while tweeting a surreptitiously-taken photo of the two lawmakers chatting on Capitol Hill.
WorldReutersTime running out for missing Indonesian submarine as U.S. joins search
BANYUWANGI/DENPASAR, Indonesia (Reuters) -Rescue teams from several countries were battling against time on Friday to find a missing Indonesian Navy submarine lost in the Bali Sea with 53 crew, which would be rapidly running out of oxygen if not already crushed by water pressure. Search helicopters and more navy ships left Bali and a naval base in Java at first light heading to the area where contact was lost with the 44-year-old KRI Nanggala-402 on Wednesday as it prepared to conduct a torpedo drill. "The main priority is the safety of the 53 crew members," President Joko Widodo said late on Thursday.
U.S.Associated PressPanel: End commanders' power to block military sex cases
A Pentagon panel is recommending that decisions to prosecute service members for sexual assault be made by independent authorities, not commanders, in what would be a major reversal of military practice and a change long sought by Congress members, The Associated Press has learned. The recommendation by an independent review commission created by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin goes against decades of vehement Pentagon arguments to keep cases within the chain of command. It was among a number of initial recommendations delivered to Austin on Thursday, according to two senior defense officials.
- NewsWLS – Chicago
Inbound I-290 lanes closed near 25th Avenue after shooting
All inbound lanes of I-290 are blocked from just before the 25th Avenue exit due to police investigation of a shooting.
WorldThe TelegraphBorder between England and Scotland could create jobs, claims SNP candidate
The creation of a border with England could create jobs in a separate Scotland despite it erecting barriers with the country's dominant trading partner, an SNP candidate in the Holyrood election has said. Emma Harper, who was an MSP in the last parliament and is standing in Galloway and West Dumfries, said that "we can show that a border can work" if Scotland left the UK. She insisted that "we want the softest of borders" despite the SNP's blueprint for a separate Scotland to join the EU leading to a hard customs border with England.
PoliticsThe WeekSenate Republicans vote to keep their mostly symbolic ban on earmarks
Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to continue their ban on earmarks — or money for special projects — but "the whole debate was pretty much for show because GOP senators can take earmarks with or without the ban," Politico reports. Senate rules allow earmarks, and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) reportedly told his colleagues at their private lunch, "You can't stop me." Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) also said she plans on trying to nail down earmarks for projects in Maine.
U.S.Associated PressPolice: Arrested Michigan lawmaker warned he'd call governor
A Michigan lawmaker who was arrested for drunken driving and resisting police threatened to call Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and told state troopers it would not be good for them because he oversees their budget, according to an incident report. Rep. Jewell Jones, an Inkster Democrat, was charged in Livingston County last week after driving his Chevy Tahoe into a ditch along Interstate 96 near Fowlerville around 6 p.m. on April 6, following reports of erratic driving. Police said he became so combative that they had to use a Taser and pepper spray.
WorldBBCAustralia resists calls for tougher climate targets
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has resisted pressure to set more ambitious carbon emission targets while other major nations vowed deeper reductions to tackle climate change. Addressing a global climate summit, Mr Morrison said Australia was on a path to net zero emissions. US President Joe Biden, who chaired the virtual summit, pledged to cut carbon emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by the year 2030.
WorldReutersFrench vaccine maker Valneva and EU fail to strike supply deal
BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) -French vaccine maker Valneva has not met the conditions to conclude talks on a deal with the European Union to supply the bloc with its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, a spokesman for the European Commission said on Thursday. The French biotech, which has already struck a supply deal with Britain and is manufacturing doses in Scotland, said on Wednesday it had switched to bilateral talks with governments after negotiations failed for a deal with the EU as a whole. "When companies want their vaccines to be integrated in our vaccines portfolio, a certain set of conditions has to be respected," the Commission spokesman told a news conference.
WorldArchitectural DigestBookmark These 11 Places on HipCamp for Your Next Outdoor Retreat
A WiFi break? Yes, please Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsKansas City StarMissouri likely ‘going to court either way’ as Senate panel rejects Medicaid expansion funds
A powerful Missouri Senate committee dealt an early blow Wednesday night to Democrats and Medicaid expansion advocates who hoped the upper legislative chamber would restore funding that the House had stripped out of the state budget. In a 7-7 tie, a proposal introduced by Springfield Republican Sen. Lincoln Hough to partially fund the voter-approved expansion failed to clear the Senate Appropriations Committee. Two other Republicans, including Lee's Summit Sen. Mike Cierpiot, joined the committee's four Democrats in voting for it.
U.S.The StateCop who fatally shot teen in Tennessee school bathroom won’t face charges, official says
Prosecutors say they won't charge the Tennessee officer who fatally shot a 17-year-old student last week during a violent confrontation inside a high school bathroom. Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen said Knoxville officers were justified in the April 12 shooting that killed Anthony J. Thompson Jr. at Austin-East Magnet High School. Knoxville policeman Jonathon Clabough fired in self-defense, Allen said, after thinking Thompson had shot and wounded an officer.
ScienceAssociated PressSpaceX aims for 3rd crew launch hour before Friday's sunrise
SpaceX aimed to launch its third crew a little before sunrise Friday, this time using a recycled capsule and rocket. The four astronauts, representing the U.S., Japan and France, were supposed to fly to the International Space Station on Thursday. SpaceX's Dragon capsule requires calm waves and winds in case an emergency splashdown is needed during the climb to orbit.
BusinessReutersU.S. weekly jobless claims hit 13-month low; home sales tumble
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a 13-month low last week, suggesting layoffs were subsiding and strengthening expectations for another month of blockbuster job growth in April as a re-opening economy unleashes pent-up demand. While the labor market recovery is gaining speed, red flags are emerging in the housing market, the economy's star performer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales of previously-owned homes tumbled to a seven-month low in March as prices jumped to a record high amid an acute shortage of houses, other data showed on Thursday.
TechnologyBBCTaiwan authorities look into Apple supplier hack
Authorities in Taiwan say they are looking into a ransomware cyber-attack on a major technology firm there. Quanta Computer is a manufacturer of many flagship Apple products, including its MacBook line. The hackers, known as Revil, have published stolen blueprints for unreleased products, and are threatening to release more.
U.S.INSIDEROther ex-officers charged in George Floyd's killing are 'almost 100 percent' going to plead guilty after Derek Chauvin's conviction, experts say
The three remaining former officers charged in George Floyd's death are awaiting trial in August. The officers will want to avoid going to a jury trial, criminal justice experts tell Insider. Experts say the officers are likely to take a plea deal if offered, or ask for a bench trial.
U.S.Miami HeraldMinutes into a 911 call a Florida driver realizes what smashed through her windshield
“Something just came through the windshield and hit my mom in the head!” a woman cried out to a 911 dispatcher after she pulled over on Interstate 95 while driving to Daytona Beach on Wednesday. On the 911 call, the driver, heeding directions from the dispatcher, works to stem the bleeding, using towels. “There's so much blood,” the driver says.
WorldAssociated PressDenmark tells some Syrians to leave, separating families
An email brought Faeza Satouf's world to a standstill. The 25-year-old Syrian refugee had fled the civil war with her family in an all-too-familiar journey across the sea to Europe, where they finally arrived in Denmark and were granted asylum in 2015. Ten years after the start of the uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime, Denmark has become the first European country to start revoking the residency permits of some Syrian refugees, arguing that the Syrian capital, Damascus, and neighboring regions are safe.
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S. Korea court dismisses 'comfort women' lawsuit
The court upheld Japan's state immunity and dismissed the women's lawsuit, contradicting a ruling in a separate earlier case that ordered Tokyo to compensate victims. "It is very, very absurd. It's nonsense.
BusinessBBCTesla's Autopilot 'tricked' to operate without driver
The Autopilot feature in Tesla vehicles can be tricked into operating without a driver, an influential consumer magazine in the US has found. Consumer Reports engineers looked into claims that Autopilot can operate without a driver present. They tested the Model Y on a closed track and concluded the system could be "easily tricked".
U.S.The Independent100 more people to be charged over Capitol riots, federal prosecutors warn
Federal prosecutors expect “at least” 100 more people will face charges for the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January, after more than 400 people have been charged in connection with the attack. The statement and details about the ongoing investigations were included in court filings for the case of Michael Joseph Rusyn, who was charged with entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct after live-streaming the attack. Prosecutors are seeking a delay in his case, arguing the complexities of navigating a sprawling number of connected cases and evidence.
HealthReutersBritish regulator says AstraZeneca COVID shot clots rise to 168
Britain's medicines regulator on Thursday said there had been 168 major blood clots following a dose of COVID-19 vaccine, a rate of 7.9 clots per million doses, a jump in incidence from the previous week's figure. This was up from the 100 cases reported last week, when the overall case incidence was 4.9 per million doses. There has been scrutiny of the AstraZeneca vaccine on the issue of the very rare clots and some countries, including Britain, have recommended that only people over a certain age get the shot.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTop Trump ally Lindsey Graham praises Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for refusing to abolish the filibuster
Sen. Lindsey Graham explicitly praised two Democratic senators for rejecting their party's efforts to eliminate the filibuster. Graham supported GOP's successful effort to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominee confirmations. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has urged his caucus to publicly praise the two Democratic lawmakers.
LifestyleArchitectural Digest12 Outdoor Furniture Sets for Living Alfresco
With warmer weather just around the corner, we're taking our home-design focus to the great outdoors Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
“High-speed rail is bold and attention-grabbing, but the scale of the project makes it near impossible.”
“While a long, slow train ride across the country can be a great thing, the US needs real high-speed rail too.”
“Liberals are right that America has a car problem — but it's commutes, not road trips, that suck.”
“Investments into a high-speed rail system wouldn’t just improve the railroads — automobile traffic could also see some relief.”
“Big cities that are reasonably close together is pretty much a prerequisite for high-speed rail.”