- PoliticsNational Review
Beto: 'I Think There's a Lot of Wisdom in' Abolishing Electoral College
Beto O'Rourke endorsed fellow Democratic presidential contender Elizabeth Warren's call for the abolition of the Electoral College during a Tuesday campaign stop in Pennsylvania. It puts some states out of play altogether, they don't feel like their vote really counts,” O'Rourke told MSNBC's Garrett Haake when asked about Warren's opposition to the Electoral College. “So if we really want every person to vote and give them every reason to vote, we need to make sure their votes count and go to the candidate of their choosing.
NewsAFPLosses from US Midwest flooding seen above $1 bn
Waters began to recede Tuesday in the US Midwest after historic flooding that claimed at least three lives and caused losses estimated at more than $1 billion. The flooding across a predominantly rural part of the country was caused by a big storm last week and rapid snow melt that swelled streams and rivers in large swaths of the middle of the United States, and sent gushing water over levees. Hundreds of homes and businesses were inundated, roadways damaged, and bridges washed away in several states, with much of Nebraska and parts of Iowa hardest hit.
WorldReuters'I am your mother now': NZ mosque shootings hit tight-knit Bangladesh community hard
Waiting to meet her was Farid, the man she would marry in a few hours, as their families had agreed. A quarter of a century later, the life they had built together was torn apart at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch when a gunman walked into the building, firing on worshippers at Friday prayers. Husna encountered the gunman on his way out of the mosque.
PoliticsYahoo NewsTrump is 'looking into' Facebook 'bias' as aide melts down over suspension
President Trump threatened an investigation into Facebook over perceived bias after a White House staffer was temporarily banned from posting comments on the site. Trump's social media director, Dan Scavino, complained Monday that Facebook had banned him from posting comments. “Dear Facebook,” wrote Scavino, posting a screengrab of the blocking notice he received, “AMAZING.
NewsAssociated PressCorrection: Mob Shooting story
A corrected version of the story is below: Suspect arrested in murder of reputed mob boss New York police say a man is in custody in the shooting death of the reputed Gambino crime family boss NEW YORK (AP) — A 24-year-old man was arrested Saturday in the shooting death of the reputed boss of the Gambino crime family, New York City police said. Anthony Comello was arrested in New Jersey in the death of Francesco Cali on Wednesday in front of his Staten Island home, said Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea, who stressed that the investigation is in its early stages. "There are multiple, multiple angles that we are exploring," Shea said at a news conference at police headquarters.
- NewsPopular Mechanics
Lion Air Pilots Were Checking the 737 Max 8's Handbook Right Before the Plane Crashed
Moments before Lion Air Flight 610 plunged into the Java Sea killing all 189 people onboard last October, pilots of the plane searched through a handbook looking for guidance on how to rescue the aircraft from its downward trajectory, Reuters reports. Three sources familiar with the investigation of the Boeing 737 Max 8's flight data recorders gave a visceral play-by-play of what ensued inside the cockpit, when a faulty sensor on the plane's fuselage triggered an automated anti-stall system that sent the plane into a nosedive. Boeing's 737 Max 8 aircraft have been grounded by aviation authorities across the world after two catastrophic crashes in five months.
LifestyleUSA TODAYI got into 39 colleges without cheating: What applying to schools looks like in 2019
Jordan Nixon has received 39 college acceptance letters so far, all without celebrity parents or $500,000 bribes. It just took years of planning, a private college adviser, 50-plus applications and the unwavering support of family. As the nation's largest-ever college admissions scandal surfaces this week, with celebrity parents and rich CEOs accused of cheating to get their children into prestigious schools, the Nixons are navigating college admissions like the rest of us.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Danish MP told her baby not welcome in parliament
A Danish MP said on Tuesday she was ordered to remove her infant daughter from parliament's chamber, sparking surprise in a country often hailed as a pioneer in women's rights. "You are not welcome with your baby in the parliament's chamber," speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, an outspoken former leader of the far-right Danish People's Party, allegedly told MP Mette Abildgaard. "I didn't ask for permission to bring her since I had previously seen another colleague bring a child into the chamber without any problems," Ms Abildgaard, whose Conservative party is part of the ruling centre-right coalition, wrote on Facebook.
- WorldBloomberg
Novartis Probe Finds No Trace of Payoffs to Greek Officials
Novartis AG said its own internal investigation found no evidence of bribery to Greek state officials as an upcoming election puts the Swiss drugmaker back in the spotlight. Greece is investigating reports of payoffs by Novartis in a high-profile case that implicates two of the country's former prime ministers and a European Union commissioner. The U.S. is investigating similar allegations.
- PoliticsNational Review
Beto Doubles Down on Support for Third-Trimester Abortions
Beto O'Rourke confirmed his support for unrestricted access to abortion regardless of gestational age during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, one day after refusing to answer directly when asked about the morality of third-trimester abortion. “I just want to make sure that I had clarity: Yesterday when you were asked about abortion, you said it's a woman's right to choose, correct? Does that include up into the third trimester?” asked the Washington Examiner's Salena Zito, who trailed O'Rourke as he was walking the Penn State University campus.
- U.S.WTVD – Raleigh/Durham
Former UNC chancellor Carol Folt to become next president of USC
Former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt is now the new president at the University of Southern California.
NewsReutersPence arrives in Nebraska as U.S. Midwest reels from historic floods
The floodwaters have inundated a large swath of farm states Iowa and Nebraska along the Missouri River, North America's longest river, prompting half of Iowa's 99 counties to declare states of emergency."Touched down in Omaha, Nebraska to survey flood damage & thank volunteers & emergency personnel," Pence said on Twitter, in a post that included photos of him meeting with the governors of both states and lawmakers. "The hearts of the American people are with those who have been impacted across the Midwest!" Pence said in the tweet. Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin have all declared states of emergency in the floods, which stem from a powerful winter hurricane known as a "bomb cyclone" that slammed into the U.S. Farm Belt last week, killing untold numbers of livestock, destroying grains and soybeans in storage, and cutting off access to farms because of road and rail damage.
- BusinessCar and Driver
View Photos of the 2019 BMW X7
Refined, modern, and enormous, BMW's biggest SUV yet is finally here-even if the jury is still out on its dynamics. From Car and Driver
NewsAssociated PressNew Zealand police: Mosque gunman had planned a 3rd attack
A father and son who fled the civil war in Syria for "the safest country in the world" were buried before hundreds of mourners Wednesday, the first funerals for victims of shootings at two mosques in New Zealand that horrified a nation known for being welcoming and diverse. The funerals of Khalid Mustafa, 44, and Hamza Mustafa, 15, came five days after a white supremacist methodically gunned down 50 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch — a massacre that he broadcast live on Facebook. During the funerals, Hamza's high school principal described the student as compassionate and hardworking, and said he was an excellent horse rider who aspired to be a veterinarian.
PoliticsAFPUS lawmaker sues Twitter, alleging anti-conservative bias
A Republican congressman is suing Twitter claiming the online platform discriminates against conservatives by hiding their messages, and for allowing "abusive, hateful and defamatory" content about the lawmaker. The complaint was filed by Representative Devin Nunes, an ally of President Donald Trump, in a Virginia state court, and released online by Fox News. Nunes alleges that Twitter "shadow bans" conservatives -- purportedly making their messages less visible -- and failed to crack down on parody accounts such as "Devin Nunes' Mom" and "Devin Nunes' cow" which accused him of obstructing investigations into the president.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Jump-seat pilot reportedly saved Boeing Max jet one day before Lion Air crash
The day before a Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed off of Indonesia last year, killing all 189 people aboard, pilots struggled for control of the same aircraft but were saved by an off-duty pilot on the plane, a report says. Lion Air Flight 610 slammed into the Java Sea on Oct. 29, and a preliminary investigation has focused on a malfunctioning flight control system. Information from the cockpit voice recorder suggests the pilots of the doomed plane pored over a handbook trying to determine why the jet was lurching downward in the desperate moments before the crash, according to multiple media reports.
PoliticsAssociated PressBeto O'Rourke makes early impression in Pennsylvania visit
Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke is making an early impression in Pennsylvania, a late-voting state that may yet play a role in the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential primary contest. An animated O'Rourke spoke Tuesday for 50 minutes to a crowd of hundreds in a Penn State auditorium, promising to take his campaign everywhere, including Republican strongholds. Later, speaking to reporters, he suggested that he'd support doing away with the Electoral College.
- NewsMashable
Aggressive Instagramming is ruining Southern California's super bloom
Fields of fiery "super bloom" poppies are lighting up the hills of Walker Canyon in Lake Elsinore, a city about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Thanks to uncommonly heavy rains this winter, much of Southern California is seeing a massive burst of wildflower blooms across the state. The poppies in Walker Canyon are so lush, they can be seen from space.
WorldAFP'Generation Nazarbayev' jokes, hopes after Kazakh leader resigns
People under 30 in Kazakhstan have only known one leader -- Nursultan Nazarbayev, who announced his resignation this week after shepherding the country from the Soviet era. His stage-managed departure -- he will keep key posts and significant political influence -- has left Kazakh millennials wondering what will come next. "The word 'Nazarbayev' means something like the word 'parent'," said 18-year-old film student Madi Makanov, who lives in the country's largest city Almaty.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Fox News hires former DNC chair Donna Brazile who left CNN after tipping off Clinton about 2016 debate questions
Fox News' newest pundit is one CNN rejected after she colluded with Hillary Clinton's campaign before campaign events in 2016. Fox said on Monday that it has hired Donna Brazile, the former interim Democratic National Committee chair and a long-time CNN commentator before she became embroiled in controversy in 2016. CNN forced Ms Brazile to resign as an on-air contributor in October 2016 after emails revealed that she had tipped off Ms Clinton's aides about questions likely to be asked by CNN moderators during the debates and town hall meetings carried by CNN.
BusinessReutersSecond U.S. jury finds Bayer's Roundup caused cancer
A U.S. jury on Tuesday found Bayer AG's glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer caused cancer, a blow to the company eight months after another jury issued a $289 million verdict over similar claims in a different case. Tuesday's unanimous jury decision in San Francisco federal court, which came after five days of deliberation, was not a finding of Bayer's liability for the cancer of plaintiff Edwin Hardeman. Liability and damages will be decided by the same jury in a second trial phase beginning on Wednesday.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Catholic Church scandal: 395 Illinois priests, deacons accused of sexual misconduct
CHICAGO – Nearly 400 Catholic clergy members in Illinois have been accused of sexual misconduct, but church officials have only informed congregants of a fraction of those who have faced allegations, according to attorneys who represented clergy sex abuse victims across the USA. A 182-page report, published Wednesday by the Minnesota-based law firm Jeff Anderson and Associates, includes the names, background information, photos and assignment histories of each accused clergy member. The danger of sexual abuse in Illinois is clearly a problem of today, not just the past,” the report concludes.
WorldReutersTurkey's Erdogan calls on New Zealand to restore death penalty over shooting
President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called on New Zealand to restore the death penalty for the gunman who killed 50 people at two Christchurch mosques, warning that Turkey would make the attacker pay for his act if New Zealand did not. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, was charged with murder on Saturday after a lone gunman opened fire at the two mosques during Muslim Friday prayers. If New Zealand doesn't make you, we know how to make you pay one way or another," Erdogan told an election rally of thousands in northern Turkey.
PoliticsFOX News VideosWhat will Democrats, media do if Mueller investigation finds no collusion with Russia?
The Hill media reporter Joe Concha weighs in on the dossier scandal and intent of spreading dirt on President Trump.
- BusinessBloomberg
Trump Pours Gas on GM's Already Smoldering Relations With UAW
In a series of tweets starting Saturday, Trump attacked both General Motors Co. and the UAW over the closing of a Chevrolet Cruze factory in Lordstown, Ohio. GM and the UAW each pushed back, but the two have otherwise been very much at odds entering bargaining over a new four-year labor contract. The president is making no bones about inserting himself in crucial talks that will determine the wages, health care and job security of thousands of Americans in states pivotal to his re-election bid.
