U.S.Yahoo NewsDaunte Wright's mother: 'There's never going to be justice for us'
The family of Daunte Wright says it is not looking for “justice” after the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot the 20-year-old Black man during a traffic stop was charged in his killing — just accountability. “The last few days everybody has asked me what we want, what do we want to see happen,” Katie Wright, Daunte's mother, said Thursday during a press conference. “I do want accountability — 100 percent accountability,” she added.
WorldAssociated PressIsrael says it will 'definitely' stop Iran from getting bomb
Israel's foreign minister said Friday that his country was determined to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon, after Tehran promised to step up its uranium enrichment process. “We will do whatever it takes to prevent the extremists (in Iran) from succeeding, and definitely will prevent this regime from having a nuclear weapon,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told reporters on a visit to Cyprus. Iranian officials say the country will begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity following an attack on its nuclear facility at Natanz, in central Iran, on Sunday, that it blamed on Israel.
PoliticsNational ReviewBiden Reverses Course, Declines to Raise Trump-Era Refugee Cap
President Biden on Friday signed an emergency determination to speed the processing of prospective refugees, but will retain the Trump administration's refugee cap of 15,000-per-year, backtracking on an earlier pledge to raise the cap and allow for additional refugee resettlement. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress on February 12 that the Biden administration planned to raise the cap to allow up to 62,500 refugees to settle in the U.S. by the end of the current fiscal year. The Biden administration was concerned that raising the refugee cap would put undue pressure on the Department of Health and Human Services while the agency attempts to house migrant children at the southern border, a senior administration official told the New York Times.
WorldThe TelegraphSpain acquits man of sexually abusing 14-year-old stepdaughter who gave birth to his child
A Spanish court has provoked outrage by acquitting a man of sexually abusing his 14-year-old stepdaughter despite the fact she gave birth to his child. The Pamplona court accepted the defendant's claim that the teenager had sat astride him while he was asleep on the sofa and engaged in penetrative sex. The girl's mother reported the father for alleged sexual abuse of her daughter, who initially said she had been raped in the street before changing her story to corroborate her stepfather's claim that he had not been conscious when they had sex.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Biden to name Asian American-Pacific Islander liaison
President Joe Biden on Wednesday named Erika Moritsugu, a Capitol Hill veteran and vice president of a women's rights advocacy group, as his liaison to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. In a statement announcing her appointment, the White House said Moritsugu will “be a vital voice to advance the president and the administration's priorities.” Biden committed to creating a senior-level role focused on the AAPI community after he received criticism from Democratic Sens.
PoliticsLA TimesCan Democrats really pack 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.Associated PressPublic comment period extended for border surveillance plan
The Department of Homeland Security has agreed to reopen the public comment period on plans to build a number of high-powered surveillance towers along Vermont's border with the Canadian province of Quebec, Vermont's congressional delegation said Friday. U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch said in a statement that they have heard from many Vermonters in border communities with privacy concerns about the towers proposed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
BusinessReutersModerna expects vaccine shipments to Britain, Canada to be delayed, EU, Swiss roll-out on track
The drugmaker will deliver about 650,000 doses by the end of April, not the expected 1.2 million, Canada's Procurement Minister Anita Anand said. Moreover, one million to two million Moderna doses of the 12.3 million doses slated for the second quarter would be delayed until the third. These delivery woes further complicate European vaccine issues already being exacerbated by rare side effects linked to AstraZeneca's and Johnson & Johnson's vaccines, with Britain advising pregnant women now to get Moderna or Pfizer shots.
- WorldWABC – NY
Woman shot and killed on street, boyfriend hits suspect with car
A 52-year-old woman walking with her boyfriend in the Bronx was fatally shot Wednesday afternoon, and her boyfriend then ran down the suspect with his car.
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.
PoliticsThe Guardian‘Alarm is growing’: Michigan governor faces shutdown dilemma as Covid cases rise
The coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions that Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, enacted in March last year were among the nation's toughest, and the governor's leadership is thought to have saved lives. Now, as Michigan faces another surge of cases and hospitalizations, its worst yet, Whitmer has changed tack. Despite past success and growing calls for another lockdown from public health experts, and doctors managing hospitals with Covid patients, the governor is resisting further restrictions, and is instead largely relying on a vaccination rollout and a voluntary suspension of in-person dining services.
HealthReutersBlood type not a COVID-19 risk factor in U.S.; inhaled asthma drug may keep mild illness from worsening
The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Blood type not a factor in COVID-19 risks in U.S. patients Blood type does not affect susceptibility to COVID-19 in U.S. patients, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed data on nearly 108,000 people from Utah, Idaho, and Nevada who were tested for COVID-19 and whose blood type was listed in their medical records.
WorldBBCFrance urges citizens to leave Pakistan amid anti-French protests
France has urged all its citizens in Pakistan to leave the country temporarily amid violent anti-French protests across the country. The country's embassy in Pakistan warned of "serious threats to French interests in Pakistan", saying protests were increasing nationwide. The protests were sparked months ago after France defended the right to show cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
U.S.The StateA week after she was found in a Florida Keys swimming pool, Georgia toddler dies
A 2-year-old Georgia girl died Thursday, almost a week after she was found unresponsive in the swimming pool of the Florida Keys vacation rental home in which she and her family were staying. Leland Rudeen's family released a statement on Facebook Thursday saying that she had died a day after undergoing an MRI at Nicklaus Children's Hospital near South Miami. “Shortly after the devastating MRI results, as we were trying to wrap our head around some hard decisions ahead of us, Leland took the choice out of our hands and started her painless decline,” the statement reads.
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
- U.S.Raleigh News and Observer
Durham man pleads guilty to shooting grandfather in the head at 16. Why did he do it?
Nearly six years after William Evans was found shot and cold in a Durham parking lot, his grandson pleaded guilty to shooting the 65-year-old man with his own gun. Under a plea agreement, Dominick Jackson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to up to nearly 10 years in prison, with credit for the more than five years he spent in jail awaiting trial. Under North Carolina sentencing laws, courts must consider mitigating and aggravating factors that could decrease or increase the sentence.
BusinessReutersWall Street closes with weekly gains, S&P 500, Dow hit record highs
The three main Wall Street indexes ended Friday higher for the day and week, with the S&P 500 and the Dow breaking closing records, as investors took strong economic data and bank earnings as signs of momentum in the U.S. pandemic rebound. Most of the 11 S&P sub-sectors rose on Friday. The S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded their fourth straight week of gains, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq finished less than one percent below its own all-time closing high achieved on Feb. 12.
WorldUSA TODAYAntony Blinken makes surprise stop in Afghanistan to sell Biden troop withdrawal
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Thursday to sell Afghan leaders and a wary public on President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw all American troops from the country and end America's longest war. Blinken sought to assure senior Afghan politicians that the United States remains committed to the country despite Biden's announcement a day earlier that the 2,500 U.S. soldiers remaining in the country would be coming home by the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that led to the U.S. invasion in 2001.
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.
- NewsWLS – Chicago
Girl, 17, fatally shot in Little Village
A 17-year-old girl was shot to death in Little Village Thursday night, Chicago police said.
BusinessAssociated PressS&P 500 hits another record, marks 4th weekly gain in a row
Stocks continued to march higher on Wall Street Friday, giving the S&P 500 its latest record high and its fourth straight weekly gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed at an all-time high. Higher bond yields helped lift bank stocks, and health care companies and those that rely on consumer spending also did well.
HealthRaleigh News and ObserverWill Pfizer COVID vaccine need a third dose? Company CEO explains why that’s ‘likely’
As more contagious coronavirus variants continue to spread in the U.S., vaccine developers are racing to test and determine if their shots will eventually require an extra dose or booster shot to maintain protection against COVID-19. Based on the latest data, it seems “likely” that people who received the Pfizer vaccine — the first to be authorized for emergency use in the U.S. — will need a third dose sometime after they get their two doses, according to company CEO Albert Bourla. The comment was made during a discussion about how the Pfizer vaccine performed when put up against the coronavirus variant that was first discovered in South Africa.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderMitt Romney, Liz Cheney, and other GOP lawmakers who criticized Trump or voted to impeach him have spent tens of thousands of dollars on private security
Lawmakers who criticized Trump or voted to impeach him spent thousands to improve personal security after the Capitol attack. Republicans including Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney beefed up their security, per Punchbowl News. Prominent lawmakers spent tens of thousands of dollars on private security guards and other protection following the Capitol riots, a Punchbowl News analysis of campaign finance records shows.
U.S.INSIDERDerek Chauvin invokes his Fifth Amendment right not to testify in his murder trial
Derek Chauvin's defense rested its case Thursday after the ex-cop declined to testify. The defense theory is that George Floyd's heart condition and drug use caused his death. Fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify before the defense rested its case on Thursday.
WorldBBCIndia coronavirus: Desperate Covid-19 patients turn to black market for drugs
Akhilesh Mishra started getting a fever and a cough last Thursday but he initially thought it was just the flu. Akhilesh began to worry the next day, when his father Yogendra developed similar symptoms. The two men decided to get Covid RT-PCR tests done and tried to book a slot online but the next available appointment was three days later.
“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.”