- NewsAssociated Press
Armed border group's leader said to have assassination plans
The leader of an armed group that has been detaining asylum-seeking families from Central America near the Mexican border said two years ago that he was training supporters to assassinate Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and billionaire Democratic supporter George Soros, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday. The FBI declined to comment on why it waited to bring charges against Larry Hopkins following a search in 2017 but his arrest follows widespread criticism after videos surfaced of their members carrying firearms and detaining groups of immigrants crossing the border. Members of the group the United Constitutional Patriots say they want to draw attention to immigration violations and assist federal law enforcement in patrolling the border.
WorldReutersIslamic State claims Sri Lanka blasts, as government says probe making progress
The claim, issued through the group's AMAQ news agency, was made after Sri Lanka said two domestic Islamist groups with suspected links to foreign militants were suspected to have been behind the attacks at three churches and four hotels. Three sources told Reuters that Sri Lankan intelligence officials had been warned hours earlier by India that attacks by Islamists were imminent. President Maithripala Sirisena said he would change the heads of the defense forces following their failure to act on the intelligence.
- BusinessBloomberg
Saudis Pledge to Ensure Oil Supply If Iran Exports Collapse
Saudi Arabia will coordinate with other crude producers to ensure that adequate supplies are available and the market “does not go out of balance,” Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said, after the U.S. ended waivers for buyers of Iranian oil. The Saudis are closely monitoring oil-market developments after the U.S. announcement regarding export sanctions on Iran, Al-Falih said in a statement. In the next few weeks, the Kingdom will be consulting closely with other producing countries and key oil consuming nations to ensure a well-balanced and stable oil market, for the benefits of producers and consumers as well as the stability of the world economy.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Attorney General William Barr faces a political firestorm after release of the Mueller report
William Barr knew that he was stepping into a firestorm when he accepted President Donald Trump's nomination last year to replace the attorney general Trump angrily pushed aside. As special counsel Robert Mueller's sprawling investigation wound down, it would be up to Trump's new attorney general to manage the politically fraught job of deciding which of its conclusions could be revealed to the public – when and how. He did it both quickly and in a way that has thrust him squarely into a harsh public spotlight.
- BusinessReuters
UPDATE 2-PG&E get approval to pay employees $350 mln to meet safety goals after wildfires
PG&E Corp can pay employees up to $350 million in bonuses this year to spur them to help meet the bankrupt California power provider's safety goals to prevent wildfires, a judge said on Tuesday. PG&E's management has said the company needs to implement the bonus plan to carry out tasks such as clearing trees and branches around power lines to avert contact that triggers wildfires. While the maximum cost of the plan is $350 million, PG&E has said it expects the likely cost will be around $235 million.
- BusinessCar and Driver
How Does the Geely Geometry A Measure Up to the Tesla Model 3?
Major Chinese automaker Geely has launched a sub-brand it's calling Geometry. The electric Geometry A is the first production model, and Geely says it's got the Tesla Model 3 in its sights. Tesla might be struggling with bringing the long-promised $35,000 version of the Model 3 to market, but Chinese automaker Geely is suffering from no such problems with the Geometry A, the first production car from what is set to be a wider EV sub-brand.
- LifestyleUSA TODAY
Washington poised to become first state to allow eco-friendly 'human composting'
Washington is expected to become the first state to legalize an environmentally-friendly burial alternative that turns bodies into soil within weeks. A bill allowing “natural organic reduction," sometimes called "human composting," has passed the legislature and is headed to Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's desk. Inslee, who has staked his 2020 presidential campaign on climate change, is reviewing the bill.
- LifestyleWoman's Day
75+ Perfect Mother's Day Gifts For $50 or Less
Show the amazing mothers in your life how much you care with these thoughtful (and affordable! gifts. From Woman's Day
PoliticsYahoo News VideoWoman who claims Biden touched her without permission says his jokes are 'disrespectful'
A Nevada Democrat who accused Joe Biden of touching her without permission says the former vice president has been "so incredibly disrespectful" by joking about the matter. Lucy Flores leveled her criticism Monday on Fox News as Biden nears an announcement of his 2020 presidential campaign.
- NewsThe Independent
Armed militia on US border 'training to kill Hillary Clinton, George Soros and Barack Obama'
The head of a far-right New Mexicomilitia group known for detaining undocumented families at gunpoint has been accused of claiming to train a group to assassinate Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and billionaire Democratic donor George Soros. The accusations follow after Larry Mitchell Hopkins, a 69-year-old who lives in a borer town near El Paso, was arrested on charges of possession of firearms and ammunition. The FBI now claims that Mr Hopkins told witnesses during a 2017 investigation that his militia was planning to assassinate the three Democratic figures, according to Reuters.
WorldAFPZahran Hashim: radical Islamist linked to Sri Lanka blasts
A video released Tuesday by the Islamic State group, which earlier claimed responsibility for the Easter attacks that killed over 350 people, appears to prominently feature Hashim. He appears to be the round-faced cleric in the footage -- the only one of the eight figures depicted whose face is uncovered. Dressed in a black tunic headscarf and carrying a rifle, Hashim is seen leading seven purported attackers in a pledge of allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.
WorldAssociated PressIranian parliament labels entire US military as terrorist
Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that labels all U.S. military forces as terrorist, state TV reported, a day after Washington ratcheted up pressure on Tehran by announcing that no country would any longer be exempt from U.S. sanctions if it continues to buy Iranian oil. The bill is a step further from the one last week, when lawmakers approved labelling just U.S. troops in the Middle East as terrorist, in response to the U.S. terrorism designation for Iran's Revolutionary Guard earlier this month.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Sanders Warns That Talk of Trump Impeachment Risks Party Agenda
No Exception In her own town hall event immediately preceding Sanders, Warren chastised fellow Democrats who are wary of trying to impeach Trump even though Republicans who control the Senate would likely foil such efforts. There is no political inconvenience exception to the United States Constitution,” Warren said. She added that every member of the House or Senate should go on record with their position on whether Trump's actions are an impeachable offense, and “they should have to take that vote and live with it for the rest of their lives.
ScienceReutersNASA probe records first likely 'marsquake' detected on red planet
NASA's robotic probe InSight has detected and measured what scientists believe to be a "marsquake," marking the first time a likely seismological tremor has been recorded on another planet, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California reported on Tuesday. The breakthrough came five months after InSight, the first spacecraft designed specifically to study the deep interior of a distant world, touched down on the surface of Mars to begin its two-year seismological mission on the red planet. The faint rumble characterized by JPL scientists as a likely marsquake was recorded on April 6, the lander's 128th Martian day, or sol.
NewsUSA TODAYStudent sues Apple for $1 billion, claims face-recognition caused false arrest
A New York college student filed a lawsuit against Apple for $1 billion, claiming the company's alleged use of facial recognition software in its stores falsely linked him to a series of Apple store thefts. Ousmane Bah, 18, claims that he received a summons from a court in Boston saying that he stole $1,200 worth of Apple products in 2018, according to papers filed on Monday in Manhattan federal court. On the day of one of the thefts in Boston, Bah was attending his senior prom in Manhattan, according to the court documents.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Can Elon Musk's robotaxi plan help Tesla owners make $30,000 a year?
Under Musk's strategy, the electric car maker will enable owners to add their autonomous driving-capable vehicles to a Tesla ride-sharing app, which he described as a combination of Uber and Airbnb. “From our standpoint, if you fast forward a year – maybe a year and three months, but next year for sure – we'll have over a million robotaxis on the road,” Musk told an audience on Monday. At face value, the promise that Tesla owners can make $30,000 per year adding their cars to the Tesla Network sounds great – especially as an increasing number of Americans search for side gigs and supplemental income.
- CelebrityThe Telegraph
Neo-Nazi linked to group who said Prince Harry was a race traitor for marrying Meghan pleads guilty
Two teenage neo-Nazis, linked to a group that called Prince Harry a "race traitor" for marrying Mehgan Markle, are facing jail after admitting terror charges. Polish national, Michal Szewczuk, 19, admitted two counts of encouraging terrorism and five of possessing documents that could be useful to a terrorist, when he appeared at the Old Bailey. The charges relate to a neo-Nazi group called the Sonnenkrieg Division, which posted extreme racist material on the GAB social media platform.
- TechnologyBGR News
Samsung is delaying its Galaxy Fold launch so people don't end up with $2,000 paperweights
Samsung's foldable smartphone has been making lots of headlines over the past week, and for all the wrong reasons. After several prominent technology blogs revealed that their review units broke within days (and sometimes hours) of use, it quickly became clear that the nearly $2,000 phone isn't ready for prime time just yet. Now, a new report from The Wall Street Journal suggests Samsung is poised to delay the phone's launch for at least another month.
- WorldThe National Interest
Will Trump Go to War with Iran?
Curt Mills Iran, Middle East Combined with April's IRGC designation, Monday's sanction waiver announcement effectively criminalizes the Islamic Republic. The Trump administration—namely, the hardline faction led by National Security Advisor John R. Bolton—furthered its de facto criminalization of Iran on Monday, announcing the cessation of sanctions waivers for major petrol importers. This decision is intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.
BusinessAFPOil prices jump as Trump cracks down on Iranian exports
Oil prices jumped to near six-month highs on Monday as the Trump administration cracked down on Iranian oil exports, announcing it would no longer grant waivers from US sanctions. The announcement came on an otherwise quiet day for global stock markets, with European bourses on holiday and Wall Street trading sideways ahead of major earnings releases later in the week. The White House announced it was calling an end to six-month waivers that had exempted countries from unilateral US sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: Man recalls death of daughter, wife in blast
A man whose Australian wife and only child died in a bomb blast in a Sri Lanka church said he walked out ahead of his family moments before the explosion. Sudesh Kolonne told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that he saw his 10-year-old daughter Alexendria dead on the floor of St. Sebastian Catholic Church. Kolonne said the family moved from the Australian city of Melbourne in 2014 to Sri Lanka, where his wife started a consultancy business.
- BusinessBloomberg
U.S. to Reciprocate on 'Unfair' EU Harley Tariffs, Trump Says
“So unfair to U.S. We will Reciprocate!” Trump said Tuesday on Twitter in a post that quoted a person speaking on Fox Business Network. Harley-Davidson reported slumping first-quarter profit Tuesday, though it beat analysts' expectations. Harley is moving some U.S. production overseas to sidestep EU tariffs that jumped to 31 percent from 6 percent after Trump hiked levies on steel and aluminum imports.
WorldReutersTrump to make state visit to Britain in June
U.S. President Donald Trump will make a state visit to the United Kingdom in June, Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday, a trip Britain hopes will cement transatlantic relations but one that immediately prompted criticism and promises of protests. Trump will be only the third U.S. president to have been accorded the honor of a state visit by Queen Elizabeth during her 67-year reign. But the trip, from June 3-5, is likely to be controversial given many Britons deeply dislike the man and reject his policies on issues such as immigration.
- BusinessThe Guardian
Demoted and sidelined: Google walkout organizers say company retaliated
Now two Google employees, Meredith Whittaker and Claire Stapleton, are alleging that Google is retaliating against them and other employee activists. “Google has a culture of retaliation, which too often works to silence women, people of color, and gender minorities,” reads a letter from Whittaker, Stapleton and 10 other employees that was published internally on Monday and seen by the Guardian. Stapleton, a nearly 12-year veteran at Google, wrote that two months after the walkout, she was demoted, had a previously approved project cancelled, and was “told to go on medical leave, even though I'm not sick”.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Should Catholics keep their faith? Sex abuse scandals prompt more to personally question ties to church, poll finds
Amid the latest spate of allegations of sexual abuse of young people by priests, an increasing percentage of Catholics are re-examining their commitment to the religion, according to a poll released Wednesday. The Gallup poll found that 37 percent of respondents said "recent news about sexual abuse of young people by priests" has them personally questioning whether to remain Catholic — a 15 point increase since 2002. The polling, conduct in January and February, came as Pope Francis met at the Vatican with Catholic leaders from around the world to respond to a new wave of sex abuse allegations in numerous countries.
