PoliticsWashington ExaminerHot mic: Biden suggests Maxine Waters run for Senate and encourages Nancy Pelosi to 'keep it up'
President Joe Biden encouraged California Rep. Maxine Waters to run for Senate during a bill signing event at the White House, which produced a series of hot microphone moments for the president. Biden signed three bills during the Wednesday ceremony also attended by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, another favorite target of the Right. After brief remarks describing the soon-to-be laws, Biden welcomed Pelosi to the stage after the pair publicly clashed over how to pass the $1.2 trillion bipartisan "hard" infrastructure deal and a possible $6 trillion "soft" infrastructure reconciliation framework.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramHe killed his Kennedale family to run off with another woman. Tonight, he was executed.
A Kennedale man who failed in an effort to kill his relatives by poisoning their pasta but completed the task when he stabbed, bludgeoned and burned them the next day was executed Wednesday evening by chemical injection in a Texas prison. John Hummel received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the December 2009 killings of his pregnant wife and father-in-law, the Associated Press reported. Hummel also killed his 5-year-old daughter.
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Factbox-Jordan security trial sheds light on palace intrigue
Bassem Awadallah, once a confidant of Jordan's King Abdallah, is on trial charged with backing the aspirations of former heir to the throne Prince Hamza to replace the monarch. Awadallah and Hamza's friend and relative Sherif Hassan Zaid, a minor royal who is also on trial, were allegedly helping Hamza to exploit public anger at economic mismanagement and corruption to rally support for him as an "alternative" to the king, officials and public prosecutors say. Here is what we know about a case that exposed faultlines in Jordan's royal family.
U.S.The StateDeadly shootout after motorcycle club members go to punish imposter, Indiana cops say
Angry that a non-member bore the tattoos and wore the patches of their two motorcycle clubs, six bikers armed themselves and headed to the perceived imposter's Indiana home to punish him. One of the group, 35-year-old Dustin Lindner, of Georgetown, Kentucky was hit during the shootout, investigators said. Indiana State Police soon took on the investigation.
WorldWashington ExaminerJapanese official warns US of potential surprise attack on Hawaii — from Russia and China
Russia and China are coordinating military exercises to threaten not only Taiwan but also Hawaii, according to a senior Japanese defense official who warned the United States to beware of a Pearl Harbor-style surprise attack. “We have to show the deterrence towards China, and not just China but also the Russians, because, as I told you, that they are doing their exercises together,” Japanese deputy Yasuhide Nakayama told the Hudson Institute this week. Taiwan's vulnerability to an invasion from mainland China has become a preoccupation of Indo-Pacific strategists in recent months, as Chinese Communist forces escalate their military drills around the island.
PoliticsAssociated PressCensus on track for August data release after court ruling
The U.S. Census Bureau said Wednesday that it's on schedule to deliver the numbers used for redrawing congressional and legislative districts by mid-August after federal judges rejected a challenge that could have delayed the data release even further. The panel of three federal judges on Tuesday denied the state of Alabama's request for a preliminary injunction to halt the Census Bureau from using a statistical method aimed at keeping people's data private in the redistricting numbers. The decision in federal court in Opelika, Alabama, allows the Census Bureau, for now, to proceed toward its goal of releasing the redistricting data by Aug. 16.
LifestyleArchitectural Digest15 Best Tiny House Rentals on Airbnb and Beyond (2021)
Make major memories with a tiny house vacation Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.Washington ExaminerMatt Gaetz calls for inspector general investigation into Tucker Carlson NSA allegations
Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz called for an independent inspector general investigation into allegations that the National Security Agency monitored Fox News host Tucker Carlson in any way. A House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday on legislative possibilities to deter “prosecutorial abuse of power” when prosecuting leaks provided a timely and topical forum for lawmakers to address Carlson's allegations. “Join me in calling for an inspector general investigation into any monitoring that the NSA or any other element of the intelligence community has engaged in, relative to Tucker Carlson,” Gaetz said to Democratic Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York.
WorldReutersHK tycoon Jimmy Lai's Next Digital to stop operating from July 1 -memo
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong media group Next Digital, owned by jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai, will cease operating from July 1 after the company's assets were frozen as part of a national security investigation, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. Next Digital did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company is the publisher of Apple Daily, a popular pro-democracy newspaper that closed last week after its newsroom had been raided by 500 police officers investigating whether some articles breached the security law.
U.S.Miami HeraldAs Surfside toll rises, more victims named — including 2 young sisters and their mom
Four more victims who were pulled from the rubble of the Surfside building collapse Wednesday have been identified. The victims are Lucia Guara, 10, Emma Guara, 4, Anaely Rodriguez, 42, and Andreas Giannitsopoulos, 21. The Guara sisters and their mother, Anaely Rodriguez, are the last three members of the Guara family to be recovered from the scene.
PoliticsThe WeekHistorians rank Trump ahead of only 3 other presidents
C-SPAN has once again surveyed historians on how they rank every U.S. president, and this time, there's a new addition: former President Donald Trump. C-SPAN on Wednesday released its fourth ranking of every American president, which in this case is based on a survey of 142 historians and presidential observers, and it judges each commander-in-chief by 10 leadership characteristics. The network has conducted such a presidential survey going back to 2000 after the end of each administration, so this was the first time Trump was eligible to be ranked.
WorldReutersWorld Bank says will boost COVID-19 vaccine funding to $20 billion
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The World Bank on Wednesday pledged to boost available funding for COVID-19 vaccine purchases and deployment to $20 billion from a previous target of $12 billion, citing a sharp increase in overall financing demand from developing countries. World Bank President David Malpass said the global development bank had already provided more than $4 billion to 51 developing countries for the purchase and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, and would add billions for 25 more countries soon. "Much more will follow in coming weeks," Malpass told reporters, noting that a total of 41 requests had been received from African countries, where less than half the population has been vaccinated.
U.S.Lexington Herald-LeaderMom arrested in killings of 3 children, California cops say. ‘Out of the blue tragedy’
A California mother has been arrested on suspicion of murder in the deaths of her three young children, according to authorities. Sandra Chico, 28, is accused of killing her 1-month-old Milan Rodriguez, 3-year-old Mason Rodriguez and 4-year-old Mia Rodriguez, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, CBS Los Angeles reported. “There was no forewarning of any kind,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva said, according to the station.
WorldBBCEthiopia Tigray conflict: Rebels build on capture of capital
Rebel fighters in the Tigray region of Ethiopia are continuing to gain ground after recapturing the regional capital Mekelle from government forces. Eritrean troops backing the Ethiopian army had earlier abandoned the city. The government has declared a ceasefire in the eight-month conflict, but the rebels have vowed to drive their "enemies" from Tigray.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘Do your part.’ First Lady urges Dallas citizens, leaders to get the COVID-19 vaccine
First Lady Jill Biden and former Dallas Cowboys great Emmitt Smith urged Dallas community members and leaders to do their part and get the COVID-19 vaccine during an appearance Tuesday at a pop-up clinic at Emmett J. Conrad High School. “We are so grateful for her to support this effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus in this community,” Jaafar Al Obaidi, a Conrad High School student, told event attendees. The appearance was part of the White House National Month of Action, which President Joe Biden announced as a way to get as many Americans vaccinated by the Fourth of July.
U.S.Miami HeraldTropical Storm Elsa could form soon. Watches issued for eastern Caribbean islands
The Lesser Antilles are under tropical storm watches as a disturbance with a high probability of strengthening into the fifth named storm of the season, Elsa, heads their way. It's far too soon to tell if the disturbance poses a threat to Florida, but authorities are already working to split resources away from the search-and-rescue effort at the Surfside condo collapse to prepare for a future storm. The National Hurricane Center began issuing advisories for potential tropical cyclone five Wednesday evening.
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Putin says U.S. aircraft involved in Black Sea incident
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft was operating in sync with a British destroyer during an incident last week in the Black Sea that he described as a “provocation to test Moscow's response.
WorldReutersMexico's COVID-19 death toll could be 60% higher than official count
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -COVID-19-related deaths in Mexico likely exceed the confirmed toll by about 60%, Health Ministry data released on Wednesday showed. Authorities have said previously that fatalities likely far exceed the official count, and the latest figure is in line with data published in March. Mexico registered 351,376 excess deaths associated with COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic through the 20th week of this year, which would be May 23, latest data shows.
U.S.Kansas City StarParents stored child’s body in freezer for at least two years, Virginia police say
The parents of a boy in Virginia were arrested after officers discovered his body in their home freezer, according to police and local media reports. Kassceen Weaver, 49, and Dina D. Weaver, 48, are charged with conspiracy to conceal a body and failing to render aid to a child, WWBT reported, citing the Chesterfield County Police Department. Chesterfield is just outside of Richmond, Virginia, about 60 miles from the North Carolina border.
BusinessLA TimesWhat could happen to Donald Trump's company if it's indicted?
But an indictment by a grand jury, legal experts said, would cloud Trump's financial future, and could potentially cripple his company. Under New York state law, a corporation convicted of the financial charges being mulled in the Trump Organization case would face at most a $10,000-per-count penalty and an order to pay restitution. New York state prosecutors do not have the power, unlike those in some other states, to ask a judge to dissolve a company.
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In twin building of Miami complex that collapsed, most residents remain
About a block from the Miami-area beachfront condominium tower that collapsed sits its sister building, erected a year later by the same company, using the same materials and a similar design. This has made some residents of Champlain Towers North worried enough to leave, though most have remained.
U.S.Kansas City StarBoyfriend accused of killing Texas woman on her birthday as mom listened is sentenced
Joshua Garcia of San Antonio was sentenced Wednesday — his 23rd birthday — to 35 years in prison in the death of Erin Castro, according to the Bexar County District Attorney's Office. In September 2018, the couple went out to celebrate Erin's 19th birthday and they began arguing, authorities say. Castro's mom, Rena Castro, said she received frightening texts and phone calls from her daughter as the night progressed.
WorldThe Daily BeastDonald Rumsfeld, Killer of 400,000 People, Dies Peacefully
The only thing tragic about the death of Donald Rumsfeld is that it didn't occur in an Iraqi prison. An actuarial table of the deaths for which Donald Rumsfeld is responsible is difficult to assemble. According to Neda C. Crawford, Brown's political-science department chair, the Afghanistan war to that point claimed about 147,000 lives, to include 38,480 civilians; 58,596 Afghan soldiers and police (about as many American troops as died in Vietnam); and 2,401 U.S. servicemembers.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderBill Cosby was set free because of a deal he'd made with a district attorney who later represented Trump in his 2nd impeachment trial
Pennsylvania's top court overturned Bill Cosby's conviction because of a 2005 deal he made with a prosecutor. A Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice suggested Castor's deal with Cosby was ethically questionable. Bill Cosby's 2018 sexual-assault conviction was thrown out by Pennsylvania's highest court on Wednesday, and Cosby was released from prison shortly after.
U.S.The IndependentAnniversaries of white supremacist attacks and lifting of Covid restrictions could inspire violence, DHS warns
A pair of intelligence bulletins from the US Department of Homeland Security have pointed to the upcoming anniversaries of two domestic attacks – the killing of 23 people in El Paso, Texas in 2019 and the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 – as well as the nation's emergence from Covid-19-related restrictions as potential flashpoints for violence. Federal authorities did not list any specific threats but warned that “violent extremists might seek to exploit” the easing of pandemic restrictions as well as “increased access to mass gatherings” and possible spikes in violence during the summer months “to conduct attacks against a range of potential targets with little or no warning,” according to ABC News. Another bulletin said that law enforcement “continues to review publicly available social media for explicit threats of violence” as the anniversaries of large-scale domestic violence attacks near, according to Politico.
“Obamacare is getting stronger every time the Republicans try to kill it.”
“It is far from certain the Supreme Court will safeguard the Affordable Care Act the next time the law reaches the court’s chambers.”
“Although ACA cost Obama an enormous amount, it’s become clear that he will have the last laugh.”
“Even the feistiest Republicans have given up talking seriously about repeal.”
“Current and future cases will largely concern the administration and enforcement of the ACA, not its underlying architecture.”