PoliticsYahoo NewsProgressives fume as White House backs down on minimum wage increase
President Biden and Senate Democrats drew fire from progressives after opting to not fight a ruling that would strip a $15 minimum wage increase from the Senate's COVID-19 relief legislation. To pass the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan with just 50 votes, Democrats in the Senate are using a process called budget reconciliation, which requires the approval of the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough. On Wednesday, MacDonough ruled that the provision increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 by 2025 violated the Senate's “Byrd rule,” which prohibits “extraneous” provisions from being included in budget legislation passed through reconciliation.
WorldThe TelegraphSturgeon blasts Salmond but faces claim she is 'acting like tin pot dictator'
Nicola Sturgeon has launched an astonishing attack on Alex Salmond after she was accused of behaving like a “tin pot dictator” who risked bringing UK politics into worldwide disrepute. The First Minister accused her former mentor of inventing an “alternative reality” around claims of sexual assault and suggested it was his behaviour towards women, rather than a grand conspiracy, that were the "root" of the allegations against him. Ms Sturgeon was also forced to deny leaning on Scottish prosecutors to censor damning evidence put forward by Mr Salmond, following a fiasco that saw large chunks of his written testimony deleted.
PoliticsAssociated PressDemocrats launch sweeping bid to overhaul US election laws
Stacey Abrams, whose voting rights work helped make Georgia into a swing state, exhorted Congress on Thursday to reject “outright lies" that have historically restricted access to the ballot as Democrats began their push for a sweeping overhaul of election and ethics laws. “A lie cloaked in the seductive appeal of election integrity has weakened access to democracy for millions,” Abrams, a Democrat who narrowly lost Georgia's 2018 gubernatorial race, said during a committee hearing for the bill, which was introduced as H.R. 1 to signal its importance to the party's agenda. Democrats feel a sense of urgency to enact the legislation ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, when their narrow majorities in the House and Senate will be at risk.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestNo Need to Call an Architect—These 9 Room Dividers Elegantly Get the Job Done
From ornate to subtle, these beautiful screens double as functional art Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.The IndependentPolice chief says militia groups ‘want to blow up’ Capitol building at Biden State of the Union
US Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman argued to maintain increased law enforcement presence at the Capitol ahead of Joe Biden's first address to Congress, following warnings from militia groups that she says want to “blow up the Capitol and kill as many members as possible” in connection with the president's upcoming State of the Union. She told members of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday that her agency is aware of far-right militia groups that participated in the Capitol insurrection on 6 January that have “stated their desires that they want to blow up the Capitol and kill as many members as possible with a direct nexus to the State of the Union, which we know that da...
PoliticsReutersU.S. Senate panel sets hearing for Biden's No. 2 and No. 3 Justice Department picks
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday announced it will hold a confirmation hearing on March 9 for President Joe Biden's nominees to serve in the No. 2 and No. 3 top jobs at the U.S. Justice Department. Lisa Monaco, a former federal prosecutor who also previously advised former FBI Director Robert Mueller and former President Barack Obama, is nominated to serve as Deputy Attorney General. Vanita Gupta, a long-time civil rights attorney who previously led the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, is nominated to serve as Associate Attorney General.
WorldThe TelegraphEritrean troops killed 'hundreds' in Ethiopia massacre, Amnesty claims
Hundreds of civilians in Ethiopia's war torn Tigray region were methodically hunted down and killed by soldiers from neighbouring Eritrea, a damning new report has revealed. Amnesty International claims that Eritrean soldiers converged on residential areas of Axum on November 28, with orders to immediately gun down males of fighting age. Included in the 25 page report is testimony from more than 40 witnesses of the massacre, which took place in the holy city of Axum, home of the 4th century St. Mary of Zion church which many Christians believe houses the Biblical Ark of the Covenant.
PoliticsAssociated PressOnce the mainstream model, Michigan GOP embraces right wing
Josh Venable, a longtime Michigan GOP operative and chief of staff to former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, can trace the arc of the state's Republican Party clearly. “This was the state where to be Republican was defined by Gerald Ford and George Romney,” Venable said, referring to the moderate former president and former governor. Now, he said, it's defined by Mike Shirkey, the state Senate majority leader who was overheard calling the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot a “hoax"; Meshawn Maddock, the new co-chair of the state party who backed former President Donald Trump's false claims of voter fraud; and the Proud Boys.
WorldINSIDERIranian journalist, who won the International Press Freedom Award, was detained in Turkey after fleeing a nearly 5-year prison sentence
Mohammad Mosaed is an Iranian reporter who has twice been arrested by the government. The Committee to Protect Journalists awarded him its 2020 International Press Freedom Award. Mohammad Mosaed, an Iranian freelance journalist who has twice been arrested by the government for his investigative reporting and criticism of Iranian officials, was detained by Turkish border officials earlier this year after fleeing Iran following a prison summons.
WorldReutersPhilippine police to look into government admission of drug war failures
Philippine police said on Thursday they were looking into a government review of thousands of killings in the country's "war on drugs", after the justice minister made an unprecedented admission to the United Nations of widespread police failures. Human Rights Watch described Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra's video statement on Wednesday as an "astounding disclosure". Guevarra said police had in many cases failed to examine weapons and crime scenes after officers had shot dead suspected drug dealers.
WorldThe TelegraphSweden hesitates to use new Covid lockdown laws as infection rate leads western Europe
At the start of January, Sweden rushed through a new pandemic law which gave the government extended powers to shut down private businesses like cafés, restaurants and gyms, fine people who hold private parties, and even impose exclusion zones. On Tuesday, when state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell announced that new restrictions would come the next day, it looked like these new powers might finally be put to use. If you were going to do it, it wouldn't be a bad time: the number of new infections in Sweden has shot up for two weeks in a row, its per capita rate leaping past Portugal, France and Spain to lead Western Europe once again.
WorldAssociated PressTies with Saudis at stake as US releases findings on killing
The United States has pledged to tell the world its conclusions on what role Saudi Arabia's crown prince played in the brutal killing and dismembering of a U.S.-based journalist, but as important is what comes next — what the Biden administration plans to do about it. Ahead of the release of the declassified U.S. intelligence report, and announcement of any U.S. punitive measures, President Joe Biden spoke to Saudi King Salman on Thursday for the first time since taking office more than a month ago. It was a later-than-usual courtesy call to the Middle East ally, timing seen as reflecting Biden's displeasure.
WorldReutersChina expected to unveil hike in military budget as tensions rise
China is expected to reveal a robust increase in defence spending at the March 5 annual opening of parliament, as its economy rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic and military tensions rise, Chinese and Western security experts said. With the coronavirus hammering its economy, China last year announced a 6.6 per cent boost in defence spending to $178 billion, the lowest rate of increase in three decades. The new administration of President Joe Biden has moved quickly to remind Beijing that the United States intends to compete with China's growing influence and military strength in the Asia-Pacific.
U.S.ReutersGreek ex-theatre director ordered jailed over rape allegations
Prosecutors ordered on Friday that the former director of Greece's National Theatre be remanded after hearing his plea over child rape allegations, his lawyer said. Authorities also launched an investigation into allegations that teachers were abusing students at a private school in Athens following a letter signed by nearly 300 alumni. Dimitris Lignadis, a prominent actor, resigned as head of the National Theatre this month and turned himself in on Saturday after an arrest warrant was issued following lawsuits filed against him by two men who say he raped them when they were minors.
WorldAssociated PressDefense head Austin weighs warship needs in Pacific, Mideast
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told sailors on the USS Nimitz Thursday that he hopes to avoid long ship deployments like the more than 10 months they just spent at sea. But as he made his first aircraft carrier visit as Pentagon chief, he acknowledged the demand for American warships around the globe as he wrestles with security threats from China in the Pacific and Iran in the Middle East. Standing in the ship's hangar bay, Austin said he will make a decision soon on whether to send a carrier back to the Middle East, where the Nimitz had been.
PoliticsThe TelegraphAnalysis: Window is already narrowing for Republican to challenge Donald Trump for 2024
It is looking ever more probable that Donald Trump will run for the White House again in 2024. All eyes are on his speech this Sunday at CPAC, the annual conservative conference, which like Mr Trump has relocated from Washington to Florida. An adviser told The Telegraph that Mr Trump has spent the last weeks taking a break, and practising his golf swing, but is keen to re-engage in the fight.
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Myanmar riot police fire to break up protests
There were no immediate reports of injuries. The Southeast Asian nation has been in crisis since the army seized power on Feb. 1 and detained civilian government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership after the military complained of fraud in a November election. There have been daily protests and strikes by democracy supporters for about three weeks, often drawing hundreds of thousands of people across the diverse country.
- WorldReuters
Amnesty says Eritrean troops killed hundreds of Ethiopian civilians in Axum
Amnesty International accused Eritrean forces on Friday of killing hundreds of civilians in northern Ethiopia over 24 hours last year, an incident it described as a potential crime against humanity. Eritrea rejected the accusations. It was a rare official acknowledgment from Ethiopia that Eritrean troops participated in the conflict during the government's crackdown in the Tigray region last year.
WorldAssociated PressMyanmar's UN envoy dramatically opposes coup in his country
Myanmar's U.N. ambassador strongly opposed the military coup in his country and appealed for “the strongest possible action from the international community” to restore democracy in a dramatic speech to the U.N. General Assembly Friday that drew loud applause from diplomats from the world body's 193 nations. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun urged all countries to issue public statements strongly condemning the military coup and refuse to recognize the military regime and ask its leaders to respect the free and fair elections in November won by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party. Tun's surprise statement not only drew applause but commendations from speaker after speaker at the assembly meeting including ambassadors representing the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the new U.S. ambassador, Linda Thomas Greenfield, who joined others in calling it “courageous.”
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWhile Biden visits storm-torn Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz will be giving a speech on 'cancel culture' in Florida
President Joe Biden heads to Texas on Friday to tour some of the areas hit hardest by the winter storm last week. While he's there, he won't be meeting with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Cruz has a speaking engagement that day at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.
U.S.Architectural DigestMore Inside A New Safari Lodge Treehouse Tucked Away in Botswana’s Okavango Delta
Only reachable by canoe, this Xigera hideaway is centered along lush riverbeds and a rich concentration of wildlife. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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Daring defector swims from North to South Korea
The man, who has not been identified by South Korean authorities, crossed the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from North Korea on February 16, according to the South's military. The grainy video footage, obtained by South Korean broadcaster TV Chosun, which Reuters cannot independently verify, shows a dark figure passing under a road sign as bright lights flash. Wearing a diving suit and fins, the man had swum for around six hours in the ocean in the dead of night, coming ashore more than 3 km (1.9 miles) inside South Korean territory, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said this week in a report cataloguing a series of failures by border security troops.
WorldReutersRunaway schoolgirl who joined IS cannot return to Britain, top court says
A UK-born woman who went to Syria as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State should not be allowed to return to Britain to challenge the government taking away her citizenship, because she poses a security risk, Britain's Supreme Court ruled on Friday. Shamima Begum left London in 2015 when she was 15 and went to Syria via Turkey with two school friends. While there, she married an Islamic State fighter.
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Officials: Heavy fighting kills 27 people in central Yemen
Heavy fighting between rebels and government forces in Yemen's oil-rich Marib has killed at least 27 people, tribal leaders and security officials said Firday, amid a resurgence of violence in the area. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels earlier this month renewed their attack on Marib, a stronghold for Yemeni forces allied with the internationally recognized government. Yemen's stalemated civil war began in 2014, when the rebels seized the capital of Sanaa and much of the country's north.
U.S.Business InsiderSouth Dakota's legislature is moving to impeach its attorney general after investigators uncovered a hit-and-run victim's glasses in his car
AG Jason Ravnsborg was charged with three misdemeanors in connection to a fatal car crash. New details have since emerged with the victim's glasses found in Ravnsborg's car. Ravnsborg was charged with three misdemeanors last week after initially saying he thought he hit a deer, not a person.
“How about we skip ‘he won’t win’ cycle and not do 2016 all over again. Trump can absolutely win another presidential election.”
“With independents deserting him, there is simply no path for Trump to get back into the White House — except as a tourist.”
“They might as well cancel the 2024 primaries...because there is no way he can lose.”
“The next Republican presidential primary will be heavily shaped by Trump — whether or not he decides to run again.”
“Donald Trump will not be running for president again. He will, however, continue to tease the possibility of a 2024 run.”