U.S.BBCPolice officer who pepper-sprayed US Army soldier fired
A police officer in Virginia has been fired after pointing a gun at, and pepper spraying, a black US army lieutenant during a traffic stop. Army Second Lieutenant Caron Nazario is wearing his uniform in bodycam footage of the incident, filmed in December. "I'm honestly afraid to get out," he tells two police officers.
WorldAssociated PressRussia says troop buildup near Ukraine is a response to NATO
Russia's defense minister said Tuesday that the country's massive military buildup in the west was part of readiness drills amid what he described as threats from NATO. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the maneuvers in western Russia that have worried neighboring Ukraine and brought warnings from NATO would last for another two weeks. Speaking at a meeting with the top military brass, Shoigu said the ongoing exercise was a response to what he claimed were continuous efforts by the United States and its NATO allies to beef up their forces near Russia's borders.
U.S.The WeekReport: Gaetz associate has been cooperating with federal investigators since last year
Joel Greenberg, the former tax collector for Seminole County, Florida, has been providing information about the conduct of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to federal investigators since last year, two people with knowledge of the matter told The New York Times on Tuesday. In late March, the Times reported that Gaetz, 38, was the subject of a Department of Justice probe into whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel out of state with him. People familiar with the matter told the Times that once Greenberg realized how much evidence the government had on him, he determined that in order to get leniency, he would need to start cooperating, and shared with investigators that he and Gaetz gave cash and gifts to women in exchange for sex.
U.S.Idaho StatesmanNC woman used 16 fake names to scam government out of $2.2 million, prosecutors say
A lone woman in North Carolina used dozens of fake names and businesses to rake in millions of dollars in government contracts for more than a decade, according to federal prosecutors. Stephanie Dianna Elliott, 45, is accused of securing government contracts for everything from prison food to military supplies without ever delivering the goods or paying third-party vendors who fulfilled the orders. Instead, federal prosecutors said Elliott kept the money for expensive vacations and shopping.
PoliticsReutersU.S. Senate confirms Biden nominee for No. 2 State Dept post
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee Wendy Sherman to be deputy secretary of state, the number two position at the department. The Senate backed the nomination by 56-42, as a handful of Republicans joined Biden's fellow Democrats to vote in Sherman's favor. Sherman, 71, a foreign policy veteran, ran into Republican resistance because she helped negotiate the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran, which was fiercely opposed by Republicans as well as some Democrats.
U.S.Associated PressMan fleeing police crashes, wedges Maserati under freeway
A man fleeing the California Highway Patrol totaled his girlfriend's Maserati SUV after he careened up an embankment and slammed into the underside of an overpass, wedging the vehicle under a freeway in Oakland, authorities said Tuesday. The driver is lucky to be alive. The owner of the Maserati … not so lucky,” the CHP said in a social media post that included photos of the mangled luxury vehicle.
WorldArchitectural DigestThe World’s 9 Most Expensive Home Listings Currently on the Market
These fantastical houses range from a 64,000-acre Texas ranch to an oceanside estate in the south of France Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldThe TelegraphExclusive: Government forced to defend Army cuts amid growing threat from Russia
The Government will be forced to defend the logic of Army cuts in the face of increasing threats from Russia. Labour will on Wednesday use an opposition day motion to question the Tories over its 2019 election manifesto pledge, in which Boris Johnson said he would “not be cutting the armed services in any form”. However the recent Command Paper revealed that as part of its pivot towards cyber, the Ministry of Defence would axe more than 100 aircraft, reduce the size of the army from 82,000 to 72,500 and cut a number of tanks.
U.S.The StateOfficers on leave after video shows Black man being beaten, North Carolina mayor says
Two police officers in North Carolina are on leave after a video posted on social media shows them beating a Black man. In an 18-second clip shared on Facebook Monday evening, officers are seen chasing and punching a man later identified as 36-year-old David Lee Bruton Jr. Police were looking for him after a Little Caesars restaurant worker in Kinston accused him of threatening her, according to an incident report from police. Kinston Mayor Dontario Hardy did not immediately respond to McClatchy News' request for comment Tuesday but told The Kinston Free Press the officers have been put on administrative leave while police investigate.
PoliticsAssociated PressWhite House: First lady Jill Biden to undergo 'procedure'
The White House says President Joe Biden will accompany his wife, Jill Biden, Wednesday morning to an appointment where she will undergo a “common medical procedure. The White House says both Bidens will then return to the White House and “resume their normal schedule. Later Wednesday, the president is set to address the nation on his plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021.
- WorldYahoo News Video
Brooklyn Center, Minn., police release footage of Daunte Wright shooting, chief says he believes officer mistakenly grabbed gun instead of Taser
During a press conference on Monday, Brooklyn Center, Minn. released bodycam video of the police shooting of Daunte Wright. Police Chief Tim Gannon said he believes the officer who shot Wright intended to use her Taser, but mistakenly grabbed her firearm.
U.S.ReutersU.S. Capitol Police were told not to use most aggressive tactics during Jan. 6 riot: NY Times
U.S. Capitol Police officers were told by their leaders not to use their most aggressive tactics to stop the mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 despite advance warnings about potential violence targeting Congress, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing an inspector general's report. In the report, Michael Bolton, inspector general of the Capitol Police, criticized the way the agency prepared for and responded to the violence by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, according to the Times. Bolton found that the agency's leaders "ordered their Civil Disturbance Unit to refrain from using its most powerful crowd-control tolls - like stun grenades - to put down the onslaught," the Times said.
U.S.Miami HeraldOne man dead, two injured in Hialeah Gardens afternoon shooting, reports say
A shooting at a bus stop in Hialeah Gardens left one man dead and two injured Tuesday afternoon, police say. Around 2 p.m., an unknown person had walked up to a bus stop and shot three people in the area of Northwest 138th Street and 107th Avenue and shot three people, Miami-Dade police said. A witness told Local 10 News that while at the bus stop, the shooter stood near the victim, as if waiting for the bus, before suddenly firing at him and running off.
U.S.Associated Press"Sour Grapes" wine fraud con man deported to Indonesia
A one-time California man who bilked wine collectors out of millions by selling cheaper booze he rebottled in his kitchen has been deported to his native Indonesia, U.S. immigration officials said Tuesday. Rudy Kurniawan, 44, was deported last week on a commercial flight from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Jakarta, according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. He is a public safety threat because of his aggravated felony conviction," the statement said.
WorldReutersChina push for global power tops U.S. security threats: intelligence report
China's push for global power is the leading threat to U.S. national security, while Russia's efforts to undermine American influence and assert itself as a major actor also pose a challenge, said a U.S. intelligence report released on Tuesday. The 2021 Annual Threat Assessment lays out U.S. spy agencies' views of the chief foreign policy issues facing U.S. President Joe Biden in his first year in office, complicated by the coronavirus pandemic and global climate change. While China and Russia are presented as the leading challenges, Iran and North Korea will also test U.S. national security, the report said.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘A love for each other.’ Friends mourn Texas brother, sister killed in backhoe incident
A community in North Texas is rallying around a family more than a week after they lost a daughter and a son in an accident involving a backhoe, and the father who was operating the machine was charged in their deaths. Sonakshi Chauhan, the 7-year-old daughter, and Shivraj Chauhan, the 11-year-old son, had “a love for each other” that “was unlike any brother-sister duo,” friends of the family and religious acquaintances wrote on a GoFundMe page honoring the two young children. Sonakshi is described on the page as a playful and compassionate person, who was also a graceful dancer.
ScienceThe TelegraphElon Musk's SpaceX satellite comes within 60m of crash with another owned by British-backed firm
Elon Musk's SpaceX satellite prompted a 'red alert' warning after coming within 60m of smashing into another satellite owned by a British-backed firm. Engineers at OneWeb and SpaceX scrambled to avoid what could have been a disastrous collision last month after the United States Space Force sent multiple "red alert" warnings that the two companies' satellites were about to crash. Both SpaceX and OneWeb are in direct competition to establish an infrastructure of satellites that can provide high-speed and low-latency internet access to remote or rural locations around the world that were left behind by traditional cable-based providers.
BusinessAssociated PressBally's to pay $308M for Tropicana hotel on Las Vegas Strip
The Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, a Sin City namesake, is being sold to a new entrant among Las Vegas Boulevard resort owners. Rhode Island-based Bally's Corp. announced Tuesday it will acquire the iconic Strip property from Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. for about $308 million. The agreement for the nearly 1,500-room hotel, casino, theater and convention property also involves a sale-and-leaseback transaction relating to Bally's Black Hawk, Colorado and Rock Island, Illinois, casino properties, the company said.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden Republicans? Some in GOP open to president's agenda
When Trump was up for reelection last year, Copan appeared on roadside billboards across North Carolina, urging other Republicans to back Democratic rival Joe Biden. Nearly three months into the new administration, Copan considers himself a “Biden Republican,” relieved by the new president's calmer leadership style and coronavirus vaccine distribution efforts. Copan is the type of voter Biden is counting on as he pushes an agenda that's almost universally opposed by Republicans in Washington.
U.S.INSIDERThe Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back has returned to active duty without being disciplined or charged
Rusten Sheskey, the Wisconsin police officer who shot Jacob Blake, returned from administrative leave on March 31. Blake was shot seven times in the back, and Blake's father said his son was paralyzed from the waist down after the incident. Officer Rusten Sheskey, the Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer who shot 29-year-old Jacob Blake in the back in August 2020 will not be charged or disciplined, the police department said on Tuesday.
PoliticsReutersFord, GM among Michigan companies opposing Republican-backed voting limits
Republican lawmakers in numerous states have proposed a slew of voting limits, after former President Donald Trump, a Republican, falsely claimed he lost November's election to President Joe Biden due to widespread fraud. In Michigan, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has vowed to veto bills that Republicans have proposed, including new restrictions on absentee and mail ballots. The state Republican chairman, however, has previously suggested the party could attempt to circumvent Whitmer via a petition drive.
WorldThe Independent‘Unlike anything we’ve seen in modern history’: Attacks against journalists soar during Black Lives Matter protests
At least 50 journalists in the US have been arrested during Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the US, while dozens of others have also been injured by rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas. The US Press Freedom Tracker has collected nearly 500 incidents from 382 reports, from the unrest in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd's killing by police in late May, to demonstrations in more than 70 cities across 35 states since. At least 46 journalists were arrested between the end of May and the beginning of June, according to data collected by the organisation.
WorldArchitectural DigestTwo Years Later, Here’s the Latest With Notre-Dame’s Restoration
Now, two years later, the church is still going through a massive restoration. This jewel of Gothic architecture is being rebuilt with oak trees from local forests, as 200 construction workers operate on-site every day. The goal, according to French president Emmanuel Macron, is to have the church repaired before the city hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics, which is slated to begin on July 26, 2024, in Paris.
WorldBusiness InsiderIran says it will enrich uranium to highest level ever after apparent Israeli attack on key nuclear facility
Iran says it's going to enrich uranium to 60% purity, much closer to weapons-grade levels (90%). This could complicate efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. This announcement came after an apparent Israeli attack on an important Iranian nuclear facility.
U.S.Miami Herald‘Woah!’ What the heck was that huge fireball in the sky over Miami? Experts weigh in
Videos circulating on social media Tuesday morning show a brilliant flash of light that seems to explode as it hits earth. A meteor flashed across the South Florida skies last night and a number of people were able to capture it on video. The American Meteor Society tweeted that a “fireball” was spotted between Florida and the Bahamas around 10:15 p.m.
“There’s no ‘both sides of the debate’ when it comes to active voter suppression.”
“Companies that do this ooze contempt for their own customers and employees who are not in the leftmost quarter of opinion.”
“The truth is that Fortune 500 companies were never taking moral stances from the goodness of their corporate hearts.”
“The truth is, the companies hold the cards…If companies stick to their guns, Georgia is likely to back down as well.”
“When a company folds to the unfounded outrage of a few misinformed nuts, they are forever at the mob’s beck-and-call.”