- PoliticsUSA TODAY Opinion
Mueller report takeaways: Trump didn't collude but Obama blew it bigtime on Russia
The Mueller report will not change political opinions of President Donald Trump. Democrats will continue to hate the president and Republicans will continue to think Trump got a raw deal because two years of his presidency were inhibited by an investigation that turned up no collusion. Special counsel Robert Mueller will get plaudits for uncovering the depths of the Russian meddling but will have to answer questions about why he didn't move to compel Trump to testify.
WorldAssociated PressRelatives of German bus crash victims arrive in Madeira
Relatives of some of the 29 German tourists who died in a bus crash in Madeira arrived on the Portuguese island on Friday as investigators pushed on with the task of finding out why the bus veered off the road and plunged down a slope. German tour operator Trendtours said it had flown in some of the relatives and that it was working with Portuguese authorities to bring the survivors back. Visiting the island on Friday, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa praised the emergency services' swift response to Wednesday's accident in the coastal town of Canico.
WorldAFP Relax NewsFrance salutes 'exemplary' firefighters for saving Notre-Dame
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday hailed as "exemplary" hundreds of firefighters who saved Notre-Dame in the devastating blaze, as efforts intensified to shore up the still fragile cathedral. Some 600 firefighters worked throughout the night Monday to put out the fire at the Paris landmark and prevent an even worse disaster, in a blaze that felled the spire and destroyed two-thirds of its roof. A prayer vigil was held at another of Paris's landmark churches, the Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart), on Thursday which was due to remain open all night.
WorldAFPIsrael destroys family apartments of accused Palestinian killer
Israeli forces destroyed two apartments in the occupied West Bank on Friday that housed the family of a Palestinian accused of killing an Israeli woman in February, the army said. Soldiers surrounded the apartment block in the flashpoint southern city of Hebron beginning late on Thursday. They then destroyed the two apartments that were home to the family of Arafat Irfaiya, 29, with the use of heavy construction equipment in the early hours of the morning.
- WorldReuters
Three world-class climbers presumed dead in Canadian avalanche
Three renowned professional alpinists are missing and presumed dead after an avalanche in Canada's Rocky Mountains, Parks Canada said on Thursday. Climbing media named the men as American Jess Roskelley, 36, and Austrians David Lama, 28, and Hansjörg Auer, 35, saying they were killed after attempting to climb a challenging route on Howse Peak in Banff National Park. Canadian authorities did not release the names of the three men, but said they were one American and two Europeans and described them as highly experienced professional mountain athletes.
- NewsThe Daily Beast
FBI Arrests New Mexico Border Militia Leader Larry Mitchell Hopkins
The FBI arrested a 69-year-old New Mexico man who allegedly illegally detained immigrants crossing the border under the guise of working for the United States Border Patrol. Larry Mitchell Hopkins, who runs The United Constitutional Patriots (UCP), an armed border militia group that spreads far-right conspiracies and rounds up asylum seekers on the border, was arrested by FBI in New Mexico Saturday on charges of possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon. Recent video footage released by UCP shows two members holding what appear to be semi-automatic rifles near immigrants, many of them children.
- WorldUSA TODAY
Views of the Notre Dame Cathedral before, after, and during blaze
The structure of the Notre Dame Cathedral has been saved from a massive fire that had threatened to gut the 800-year-old landmark in Paris, fire officials said late Monday. The blaze collapsed the cathedral's spire and spread to one of its rectangular towers. "Two-thirds of the roofing has been ravaged,” and firefighters would work through the night to cool down the building, Gallet said.
NewsAssociated PressOfficials: South Carolina school girl died of natural causes
South Carolina authorities said Friday that the death of a fifth grade girl at school last month was due to natural causes and not a fight with another student, which they described as lasting only seconds. Solicitor Duffie Stone said at a press conference that 10-year-old Raniya Wright died of a congenital condition called an arteriovenous malformation, a tangle of abnormal blood vessels in the brain. Raniya had been taken to the doctor after complaining of headaches about two weeks before she died.
WorldAFPAssad urges progress on Idlib deal ahead of Syria talks
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday called for progress on a stalled buffer zone deal around jihadist-dominated Idlib region ahead of fresh talks aimed at ending his country's eight-year war. Assad met envoy Alexander Lavrentiev from key ally Russia in Damascus to discuss the negotiations due April 25-26 in Kazakhstan. Iran and Russia are the major supporters of the Syrian regime, and along with rebel backer Turkey have sponsored repeated rounds of talks in the Central Asian nation.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Ex-White House Lawyer Cobb Says Mueller Did a 'Professional Job'
Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb says Robert Mueller did a “thorough and professional job” in his investigation into Russian election interference and Donald Trump's conduct as president, though he disagrees with Mueller's decision not to clear Trump of obstruction of justice. Cobb, who oversaw the White House response to the investigation for almost a year, said Mueller and his team took an overly broad view of obstruction. They came to the right conclusion in affirmatively exonerating the president of the underlying crime of collusion and electing not to find misconduct in connection with obstruction,” said Cobb.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Church apologizes after video shows cleric inviting kids to spit, slap and cut him for Easter lesson
Videos of the incident were posted to social media during a Monday afternoon after-school event held at the church at which Dempsey was speaking of Easter and the crucifixion. In one of the videos, Dempsey is seen standing still while students take turns spitting on him, some striking him, while other students are heard laughing. The mother of a youth, who reportedly employed a knife handed to him by Dempsey to cut the associate pastor at his invitation, said she was alerted to the video by a friend, according to an on-camera interview with WBNS-TV.
WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: Egypt begins vote on extending el-Sissi's rule
The Latest on Egypt's vote on a referendum potentially extending President el-Sissi's rule to 2030 (all times local): 10:55 a.m. Egyptian officials are urging voters to turn out in high numbers for a three-day referendum on extending President el-Sissi's rule. Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly cast his ballot on Saturday.
- U.S.WTVD – Raleigh/Durham
Driver with STAYUMBL license plate, notorious for cutting people off around Durham, charged in incident with bus
The STAYUMBL license plate is notorious on the road and social media. Folks say the driver behind the wheel will speed up, cut people off and then slam on her brakes, sometimes causing a crash.
- WorldThe National Interest
Did Ukraine Just Build a Cruise Missile That Can Stike 1000 Kilometers Away?
As the Ukrainian election heats up in April 2019, the incumbent President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko made a bold claim: Ukraine has made an indigenous cruise missile with a range of 1000 kilometers, capable of carrying a 150-kilogram warhead. Using long-range conventional cruise missiles for deterrence against Russia is not without precedent. The American JASSM long-range aerial-launched cruise missiles are popular exports to countries bordering Russia, with Finland buying regular JASSMs with ranges of around 370 kilometers and Poland buying JASSM-ERs with ranges in excess of 900 kilometers.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 6-Afghan communications ministry attacked, seven killed
At least seven people were killed in an attack on the Afghan communications ministry in central Kabul on Saturday, breaking months of relative calm in the capital and underlining the continued security threats despite efforts to open peace talks with the Taliban. The attack began shortly before midday when a suicide bomb was detonated at the entrance to the multi-story building housing the ministry in a busy commercial area of the city, followed up by gunfire which could be heard over a mile away. Among the dead were four civilians and three police officers, while another eight civilians were wounded, a government official said.
WorldAFPFrance's 'yellow vest' protesters banned from Notre-Dame: police
For their 23rd consecutive Saturday protest, France's yellow vests have been told they will be banned from the area around Paris's fire-damaged Notre-Dame cathedral. The ban will be in place all day Saturday, a police statement said, following Monday's devastating fire at the world famous landmark. The yellow vest protesters, who have been holding weekly Saturday demonstrations to highlight social inequality since mid-November, will also be banned from the Champs-Elysees avenue and the area around the presidential Elysee Palace.
- LifestylePopular Mechanics
8 Things We Learned Driving the Roush Ford F-150 SC, a Pickup Truck on Steroids
Eight things you should know about this beast, which is what happens when you turn a Ford truck into an off-road monster. From Popular Mechanics
LifestyleAssociated PressJournalist who covered Columbine reflects on lives unlived
Twenty years later, I still find myself doing a mental gap analysis of Columbine, though nothing can ever make anything whole. What I always come back to, which makes me dizzy, is contemplating what the world is lacking because these 12 young people and this teacher were abruptly removed from humanity's equation one April morning as the last millennium's final days waned. All because of two young men who decided that violence would be their final path forward.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Russia's Mueller Report: If Putin Did It, He Did It for You
Russian state-TV viewers on Thursday were delivered a different conclusion from Robert Mueller's report: Putin always wins. On Friday, the Kremlin issued a scathing response, feigning disappointment with the investigation's quality, questioning whether it was a waste of taxpayers' money, and falsely claiming the report doesn't contain “a single piece of evidence” of Russian intervention in 2016.
- StyleCar and Driver
Here Are All of the 2020 Hyundai Sonata's Available Colors—Including Yellow
The new Sonata's color palette has some interesting colors beyond the typical white, gray, and black. From Car and Driver
- WorldThe Independent
Pastor apologises for asking students to spit on and cut him in Easter demonstration
A US church has been forced to apologise after a part-time associate pastor urged children to spit on, slap, and even cut him with a steak knife. The preacher at Impact City Church in Ohio, named Jaddeus Dempsey, was leading an after-school activity intended to explain “the very important topic of crucifixion”. Mr Dempsey said the exercise was his idea alone and that no one else knew about his plans.
- CelebrityUSA TODAY
Meghan McCain goes after anti-vaxxers, slams their 'stupidity' for endangering children
Meghan McCain isn't mincing words when it comes to her take on anti-vaxxers. "The View" co-host took to Twitter Friday to send a message to those who do not get vaccinated. "Dear (anti-vaxxers), your stupidity and arrogance are putting the lives of children in danger!"
SportsFOX News VideosNFL defensive back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix's college degree withheld for $1 debt
Chicago Bears defensive back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix tweeted Thursday that the University of Alabama is holding his degree, which he earned in 2018, over a $1 unpaid debt. It's unclear why Clinton-Dix owes Alabama a single dollar but he should have no problem finding the pocket change as he recently signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Bears in the offseason.
- WorldReuters
Four Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK - ministry
Four Turkish soldiers were killed on Friday in clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) near the border with Iraq, Turkey's Defence Ministry said on Saturday. Demiroren News Agency said a military base had been attacked in the mountainous Cukurca district of Turkey's southeastern province of Hakkari, prompting the Turkish military to respond with a "large-scale" military operation. "As part of ongoing operations in the Turkey-Iraq border, two soldiers were killed in clashes with terrorists despite all efforts to save them," the ministry said, adding a total of four soldiers were killed and six wounded.
NewsAssociated PressNOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week
None of these is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. CLAIM: Man who threw boy over Minnesota mall balcony is a Somali immigrant. THE FACTS: The man arrested in the case did not emigrate from Somalia, as posts circulating on social media said.
