WorldYahoo News'High probability' Biden's decision to pull U.S. troops from Afghanistan will cause its government to fall, expert says
Former White House adviser Richard Clarke said that there is a “high probability” that President Biden's decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 will result in the collapse of the Afghan government and a takeover of that country by the Taliban. “It's a very courageous move and it's not going to be politically great for him,” Clarke said in an interview on the Yahoo News “Skullduggery” podcast.
PoliticsThe WeekMarjorie Taylor Greene is leading an 'America First Caucus' that wants to uphold 'Anglo-Saxon political traditions'
In an effort to "follow in President Trump's footsteps," a new America First Caucus led by far-right lawmakers is seeking to protect "Anglo-Saxon political traditions." The new caucus is recruiting members, reports Punchbowl News, and is appealing to a "common respect for Anglo-Saxon political traditions," including pushing for infrastructure that "befits the progeny of European architecture." Punchbowl described the materials being distributed as "some of the most nakedly nativist rhetoric we've ever seen."
PoliticsYahoo NewsU.S. government formally blames Russian spies for SolarWinds breach
The White House Thursday morning accused the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, of orchestrating the recent massive breach that affected private sector networks and U.S. government agencies through the popular IT monitoring software made by SolarWinds. The statement linking the SVR's hacking group, also known as “Cozy Bear,” to the “broad-scope cyber espionage campaign” is the most concrete connection the Biden administration has made between the hack and Russia. “The SVR's compromise of the SolarWinds software supply chain gave it the ability to spy on or potentially disrupt more than 16,000 computer systems worldwide,” according to the White House statement, which also included a number of measures directed against the Russian government for a range of malign activities in addition to the SolarWinds breach.
U.S.AxiosMike Pompeo and his wife misused State Department resources, federal watchdog finds
The State Department's independent watchdog found that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo violated federal ethics rules when he and his wife asked department employees to perform personal tasks on more than 100 occasions, including picking up their dog and making private dinner reservations. Why it matters: The report comes as Pompeo pours money into a new political group amid speculation about a possible 2024 presidential run. What they're saying: "OIG found evidence of over 100 requests to Department employees that are inconsistent with the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch or raised questions about the proper use of Department resources," the State Depa...
U.S.Miami HeraldHis coworkers were stealing his marijuana, police say. He’s now been charged with murder
Roland Day was convinced that three of his coworkers had rifled through his bag and stolen his marijuana. So he headed to the bus stop near a Home Depot where he knew the trio would be, got out of the car holding a gun and fired at least seven times, according to a police report. One of his coworkers, who was 21, was killed and two others were injured.
WorldAssociated PressIran names suspect in Natanz attack, says he fled country
Iran named a suspect Saturday in the attack on its Natanz nuclear facility that damaged centrifuges there, saying he had fled the country “hours before” the sabotage happened. While the extent of the damage from the April 11 sabotage remains unclear, it comes as Iran tries to negotiate with world powers over allowing the U.S. to re-enter its tattered nuclear deal with world powers and lift the economic sanctions it faces. Already, Iran has begun enriching uranium up to 60% purity in response — three times higher than ever before, though in small quantities.
PoliticsReutersU.S. senators urge Biden to condition Brazil Amazon aid on results
Over a dozen Democratic senators on Friday urged U.S. President Joe Biden to withhold financial assistance to Brazil unless it demonstrates it is reducing deforestation in the Amazon and cracking down on environmental crimes. The letter, signed by 15 senators led by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy and New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, was sent days before Biden hosts a virtual climate leaders summit on April 22-23, which Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is due to attend. It also comes as U.S. climate envoy John Kerry engages with Brazil to secure climate commitments.
WorldAssociated PressUN agrees to deploy cease-fire monitors in Libya
The U.N. Security Council has authorized international monitors to watch over a nearly six-month-old cease-fire agreement in Libya as the country heads toward December elections after a decade of fighting and upheaval. In a vote announced Friday, the council unanimously approved Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' recent proposal for up to 60 monitors to join an existing political mission in Libya. The measure also urges all foreign forces and mercenaries to get out of the country, as was supposed to happen months ago.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe 9 Best Wireless Headphones for Every Kind of Use
From the most comfortable pair to the best value buy, these headphones will carry you through the spring, summer, and beyond Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldBBCJimmy Lai: Hong Kong's rebel mogul and pro-democracy voice
The billionaire media mogul Jimmy Lai is one of the most prominent supporters of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. Mr Lai was 12 years old when he fled his village in mainland China, arriving in Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing boat. Like a number of the city's famed tycoons, he went from a menial role, toiling in a Hong Kong sweatshop, to founding a multi-million dollar empire.
WorldAssociated PressFrance asks citizens to leave Pakistan amid violent protests
The French embassy in Pakistan on Thursday advised all of its nationals and companies to temporarily leave the country after anti-France violence erupted in the Islamic nation over the arrest of a radical leader. Saad Rizvi was arrested Monday for threatening the government with mass protests if it did not expel French envoy Marc Baréty over the publication depictions of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes Von Der Muhll said about 400 to 500 French nationals live in Pakistan and they will be able to leave via commercial flights.
- WorldYahoo News Video
Chicago releases video of fatal police shooting of 13-year-old boy
Body camera footage of a Chicago police officer fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy last month shows the officer yelling “Drop it! at the teen right before he opens fire.
- WorldChristian Science Monitor
US renews Palestinian ties with a tight focus: Helping people
The crowded Baqaa refugee camp north of Amman, Jordan, home to more than 100,000 residents, is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in the world. Which is why, nearly three years after the Trump administration abruptly ended seven decades of U.S. financial assistance to Palestinians – part of a pressure campaign to coerce Palestinian leadership to accept its proposed “peace plan” – the State Department chose Baqaa for the ceremonial resumption this week of U.S. humanitarian relief. One piece of that renewed assistance is $150 million in funds for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, to support its health, education, and housing for Palestinian refugees across the region.
BusinessReutersWall Street Week Ahead: Tech retakes market lead as investors eye yields, earnings
U.S. technology and growth stocks have taken the market's reins in recent weeks, pausing a rotation into value shares as investors assess the trajectory of bond yields and upcoming earnings reports. Big tech-related growth stocks in other S&P 500 sectors such as Amazon Inc, Tesla Inc and Google-parent Alphabet Inc have also charged higher. The gains have followed a months-long rotation in which tech stocks were outpaced by shares of banks, energy companies and other economically-sensitive names that have surged since breakthroughs in COVID-19 vaccines late last year.
PoliticsLA TimesCan Democrats really expand the Supreme Court?
Democrats have introduced a bill to expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court from nine to 13. Such a move could allow President Biden to swing the current 6-3 conservative majority in favor of liberals. The effort, condemned by Republicans, faces long odds and has raised questions about why the issue is being raised now and what Congress can actually do.
U.S.BBCGeorge Floyd: Timeline of black deaths and protests
Here's a timeline of major incidents since 2014 involving police officers which resulted in the deaths of black Americans. Eric Garner died after he was wrestled to the ground by a New York police officer on suspicion of illegally selling cigarettes. While in a choke hold, Mr Garner uttered the words "I can't breathe" 11 times.
PoliticsAssociated PressA look at new Biden administration sanctions against Russia
The Biden administration on Thursday rolled out a sweeping set of sanctions on Russia over its election interference, hacking campaigns and other malign activity. The Treasury Department sanctioned 16 people and 16 entities related to Russia's election interference efforts. Additionally, the department took new action to sanction Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a backer of the Internet Research Agency, which carried out Russia's election interference campaign in 2016, and Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian intelligence agent who falsely claimed Ukraine was behind the 2016 interference effort.
CelebrityThe TelegraphPrinces William and Harry to be reunited before Prince Philip's funeral
The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex will be reunited behind closed doors at Windsor Castle on Saturday before laying their beloved grandfather to rest. Members of the Royal family including Prince William and Prince Harry will gather in the State Entrance Hall before the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin emerges from the State Entrance at 2.41pm. In an apparent sign of ongoing tensions between the brothers, they will not walk shoulder to shoulder in the funeral procession but will be separated by their cousin Peter Phillips, the Queen's eldest grandchild.
U.S.The State5th SC man arrested on federal charges in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
A fifth South Carolina man has been arrested on charges connected to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in which hundreds of pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol. Nicholas Languerand faces various charges, including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, assaulting an officer using a dangerous weapon, theft of government property and knowingly entering and remaining in restricted government area. An “individual resembling Languerand is throwing a variety of objects at the law enforcement officers defending the entrance to the Lower West Terrace tunnel (of the Capitol),” according to a complaint in the case.
PoliticsThe IndependentAOC ignores Marjorie Taylor Greene’s incessant Twitter pleas for a public ‘head to head’
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has ignored Marjorie Taylor Greene's public challenge to debate the green new deal after the Republican lawmaker sent a series of tweets. Ms Greene, known for her controversial views against the climate crisis, challenged Ms Ocasio-Cortez after her comment on President Joe Biden's recent $2 trillion climate-focused infrastructure package, calling it “disappointing” and not enough. Ms Greene on Wednesday wrote in a series of tweets tagging AOC: "I'd like to challenge you to a debate on the Green New Deal economic policy.
- PoliticsChristian Science Monitor
How Biden is boosting cyber defenses against Russia and China
The world watched in shock on Jan. 6 when the U.S. Capitol was physically breached. This week, the U.S. responded, announcing economic sanctions against Russia for a hacking campaign that invaded nine federal agencies and about 100 private companies, and jeopardized the security of more than 16,000 computer systems worldwide. In the wake of the sanctions announcement, the long-term question remains: What needs to be done to curb such cyber malfeasance?
U.S.Business InsiderA prisoner was 'covered in filth and barking like a dog' after 600 days of solitary confinement in a Virginia jail
Tyquine Lee, 28, spent over 600 days in solitary at Red Onion prison in Virginia from 2016 to 2018. Red Onion is a supermax prison treated as an 'end of the line' facility within the penal system. adults and children are held in segregation in US prisons, according to the most recent data.
U.S.The IndependentLatina grandmother assaulted on LA bus in anti-Asian attack
A 70-year-old Latina woman who was mistaken for Asian was savagely beaten on a Los Angeles bus, her son says. The assailant then dragged Becky to the other end of the bus and brutally battered her, her son Pete told The Eastsider. Pete says he and his family are often mistaken for Asian Americans, but they're actually of Mexican heritage.
CelebrityINSIDERMakeup brand Morphe is parting ways with beauty YouTuber James Charles amid reports he sent sexual messages to minors
Cosmetics brand Morphe is parting ways with beauty YouTuber James Charles. The move comes in light of allegations that Charles exchanged sexual messages with minors. Charles has said he did not know the teens were underage.
PoliticsThe IndependentFrom Asian hate crime to a minimum wage: 25 things Ted Cruz has voted against this year
The 'No' vote was criticised for being another controversial rejection of the Biden administration agenda, and follows voting against almost every Cabinet secretary of Mr Biden's in recent weeks – although the efforts, in the end, failed. All the bills Mr Cruz has voted 'No' to in the US Senate so for this year, are listed below: The US 2020 election results Not a bill, but infamous for coming in the hours after supporters of former president Donald Trump – wrongly citing election fraud – stormed the US Capitol in events that killed five people, including a Capitol Police officer.
“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.”