Why experts like Dr. Fauci think 'there's a really good chance' the worst of the U.S. pandemic is behind us

According to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, two-thirds of Americans are either somewhat or very worried about the “newer, potentially more contagious” COVID-19 variants that have triggered huge overseas outbreaks and are now spreading in the United States. To be clear, worrying less about variants doesn't mean abandoning precautions; nothing will suppress cases and shorten the U.S. pandemic like wearing a mask, avoiding indoor gatherings, staying 6 feet apart and getting vaccinated. Asked if the worst of the pandemic was behind the U.S., Fauci told Yahoo News Tuesday that “it might be.”

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  This Is Exactly How We'll Know the Pandemic Is Over, Experts Say

  Best Life
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  Dr. Fauci Just Said He's Doing This for the First Time in a Year

  Best Life

They were stopped for speeding in the Keys. Then police smelled something fishy

Two commercial fisherman from the mainland were jailed Thursday after police said they were caught in the Keys with a haul of illegal seafood that started with 100 undersized wrung lobster tails. Their catch also included 17 undersized stone crab claws, four undersized whole lobsters and one undersized mutton snapper, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Osvaldo Hernandez, 65, listed as a seafood business owner in Fort Lauderdale, and Vladimir Medina Martin, 43, of Miami, were each arrested on a felony charge of taking 100 or more undersized lobsters.

Biden Fires a Warning Shot at Iran

After only a month in power, President Biden has used lethal military force in reaction to Iranian-sponsored attacks on Americans in Iraq. It's worth pausing to note that those Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite groups and not the government of Iraq control that part of the border. In other words, Iran and its proxies control a route from Iraq through Syria to Lebanon, where the largest Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, is situated.

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  On Texas visit, Biden warns Iran 'to be careful'

  Associated Press Videos
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  U.S. air strikes in Syria target Iranian-backed militia: Pentagon

  Reuters

Husband of Hitler-quoting GOP congresswoman parked his militia-stickered truck outside Capitol Jan. 6

Illinois state Rep. Chris Miller (R), the husband of freshman U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), acknowledged Thursday that his pickup truck was parked in a restricted area outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, but he said the "Three Percenter" militia sticker on the back window doesn't mean anything. "Army friend gave me decal," Miller told The Daily Beast in an email late Thursday. The Three Percenters, founded in 2008, are a "radical militia group" implicated in leading the Jan. 6 siege along with the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and other far-right extremist groups, the FBI said in an affidavit filed in the case against alleged rioter Robert Gieswein.

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  3 Percenter Sticker Found On Truck At Capitol Riot Belongs To GOP Rep's Husband

  HuffPost
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  Three Percenter Truck at Capitol on Jan. 6 Belongs to Hitler-Quoting Rep’s Husband

  The Daily Beast

Man Fights Back After Robber Targets His Family's Car in Golden Gate Park in SF

A smash and grab robbery in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park was caught on cell phone video after the victim prevented the suspect from driving off with his belongings by chasing him on foot. The victim, Jason Andaya, was in Golden Gate Park for 10 minutes with his wife Natalie and son Jasper, 2, when the incident occurred. "I'm just wondering like what's this guy doing on that side of our vehicle… he's got no business there," Andaya told the station.

Greece to toughen laws on sex crimes after wave of abuse allegations

Greece will toughen laws to combat sexual abuse and protect minors, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday following a cascade of recent scandals in culture and sport. "Greek society underwent a shock when it began to learn about its hidden facades," Mitsotakis told parliament. The measures he outlined include stricter penalties for crimes against sexual freedom, changing the statute of limitations for cases of child abuse, creating a registry for professionals who work with children and a website where victims can submit allegations in real time.

Schumer privately says he wants to freeze last-minute stimulus changes in order to pass bill

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is privately saying he can pass President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus package but wants to avoid any last-minute changes jeopardizing its trajectory, three sources familiar with the talks tell Axios. Why it matters: While the president hoped to enlist Republican support for the measure, Schumer has worked to ensure he has a solid 50 votes to muscle it through if necessary. What we're hearing: Schumer met with a group of moderate Democratic senators Thursday morning.

Teen in hospital for sledding injury dies after dad died visiting her, Ohio mom says

Katie Dougherty Zuercher has a vision of her husband waiting for their daughter in heaven. “She used to wait on the front porch for him to arrive home from work to greet him with the biggest hug before he could even get in the house,” the Ohio mom said in a Facebook post. Last weekend, Dougherty Zuercher's 14-year-old daughter, Eirelyn, was seriously injured in a sledding accident at a park in Hinckley, Ohio, Cleveland.com reported.

More 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

Biden's trade pick vows to work more closely with allies

President Joe Biden's pick to be the top U.S. trade envoy promised to work with America's allies to combat China's aggressive trade policies, indicating a break from the Trump administration's go-it-alone approach. In a confirmation hearing hearing Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee, Katherine Tai, Biden's choice for U.S. trade representative, said she would “prioritize rebuilding our international alliances and partnerships, and re-engaging with international institutions″ to present Beijing with “a united front of U.S. allies.

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  Biden's trade pick Katherine Tai faces Senate confirmation hearing

  Yahoo Finance Video
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  'She understands enforcement': Biden's trade pick faces Senate confirmation hearing

  Yahoo Finance

Asian Man in Critical Condition After Being Stabbed in the Back With a Butcher Knife in NY Chinatown

An Asian man is in critical condition after getting stabbed by a butcher knife in New York's Chinatown on Thursday evening. The 36-year-old local resident was attacked around 6:15 p.m. near the federal courthouse, near the corner of Worth Street and Baxter street next to the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse, reports PIX11. Call came in at 6:20 for report of a stabbing at Baxter Street and Worth Street.

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  No words exchanged before man stabbed in back in Chinatown

  WABC – NY
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  NYPD arrests Brooklyn man after stabbing in Chinatown

  ABC News Videos

Florida mom discovers infant son missing after daycare gives him to stranger

A Florida daycare is under fire after giving a 7-month-old baby away to a stranger. When Trinity McCoggle arrived at the Orient Road Child Development Center on January 25 to pick up her 7-month-old son, Adonis, she was left distraught when told her baby had been accidentally given to someone assumed to be the child's parent, ABC2 News reports. Describing what happened, McCoggle said the daycare worker “went to the back to get him, and when she came back, she said, He's not here.”

In Iraq's Biblical lands, scattered Christians ask 'should I stay or go?'

A jihadist message, "Islamic State endures", is still graffitied on the front gate of Thanoun Yahya, an Iraqi Christian from the northern city of Mosul, scrawled by Islamist militants who occupied his home for three years when they ruled the city. He refuses to remove it, partly in defiance of the militants who were eventually beaten by Iraqi forces, but also as a reminder that Iraq's scattered and dwindling Christian community still lives a precarious existence. "They're gone, they can't hurt us," said the 59-year-old, sitting in his home which he reclaimed when Islamic State was driven out in 2017.

Journalist Tim O'Brien, who's seen Trump's taxes, thinks Trump's accountant will now flip in D.A. inquiry

Bloomberg's Tim O'Brien, one of the few journalists who has seen former President Donald Trump's tax returns, told MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Thursday night he will sleep better now that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance finally has eight years of Trump's financial documents, from 2011 to 2019. O'Brien went on to explain why he thinks it's likely Trump's chief accountant, Allen Weisselberg, will flip on Trump. "The thing to really focus in on here is that it's not just the tax records that Cy Vance has now," O'Brien said.

9-year-old girl cries to virtual class that she's 'starving,' local food bank steps in

A 9-year-old girl living in the Jersey Shore area broke down in her virtual class and told her class she was “starving,” a local food bank said. Fulfill, a food bank based in New Jersey, told TODAY Food they got a call from the school district social worker who explained the girl had been having trouble concentrating and started to cry “uncontrollably.” "When asked what was wrong, she confessed in front of her entire class that she was starving,” Linda Kellner, the director of external affairs for Fulfill, said.

This United flight from Florida was just about to take off. Then came the pepper spray

A United Airlines flight out of Southwest Florida International Airport ran into some trouble Monday afternoon, but it had nothing to do with mechanical issues or lack of face masks. A passenger on the plane from Fort Myers to Newark International accidentally discharged a can of pepper spray from his keychain shortly before takeoff, Fox 4 Now first reported. A spokesperson for United Airlines said in a statement that the flight returned to the gate to let off anyone in distress.

$1,400 stimulus checks set for House vote today. Here’s what to know

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan with $1,400 stimulus checks for most Americans on Friday before sending the legislation to the Senate for consideration. Democrats are hoping to pass the stimulus deal into law before Mar. 14, the day that $300 weekly unemployment benefits approved in December's coronavirus package expire. Around 11.4 million workers could lose their unemployment benefits between Mar. 14 and Apr. 11 unless Congress passes the bill before the mid-March deadline, a study by The Century Foundation found.

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  House passes Biden's $1.9 trillion relief package including $1,400 stimulus checks

  Yahoo Money
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  House Democrats Pass $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Bill

  HuffPost

Air Force general worried US won’t field sixth-gen fighter in time to beat China

Since September, when the U.S. Air Force disclosed that it had flown a full-scale demonstrator of its future fighter, the defense community has been hungry for more details about the Next Generation Air Dominance program. During the event, none of the 20-something journalists gathered ventured to ask Kelly about the NGAD program. “I for one am confident that the technology and the test points have developed to where NGAD technology will get fielded,” he said.

Dutch appeals court says coronavirus curfew was right move

A Dutch appeals court said on Friday the government had been right to impose a night curfew in the fight against the coronavirus, overturning a lower court's order which had caused confusion over the measure last week. In a clear victory for the government, the appeals court said it had rightfully used emergency powers to install the curfew, the first in the Netherlands since World War Two, and had adequately proved that the measure was necessary to rein in the pandemic. The district court in The Hague last week had ruled that the government had failed to make clear why emergency powers were needed at this stage of the pandemic, siding with anti-lockdown activists who had brought the case.

Residents of an Indian slum thought they were getting vaccinated like everyone else but were unknowingly part of a clinical trial

A white van drove through the slums of Bhopal in central India advertising a COVID-19 vaccine. The van reportedly said that anyone who got one would receive 750 rupees. It seemed like a win-win for residents in the slums of Bhopal in central India when a white van drove through the streets advertising, "Come and take the coronavirus vaccine and get 750 rupees!" from its speaker system.

New exotic invasive snake captured in Everglades National Park. It’s likely a released pet

Park staff and biologists from the United States Geological Survey's Fort Collins Science Center captured the snake, which was identified as a non-native Central American milk snake. It appears to be a solo snake, good news for a park and Everglades ecosystem overrun by exotic invasive reptiles. This individual is thought to be a released pet because of its docile behavior and unusual coloration,” USGS said in a statement, adding this species has never been documented in the Everglades before.

Libyan PM-designate proposes unity government plan

Libya's designated prime minister, chosen via a U.N.-facilitated process last month, said on Thursday he had proposed a governing plan to the country's divided parliament as part of a peace process. The new interim government is intended to replace Libya's two rival administrations and oversee the run-up to national elections planned for December in a roadmap to end years of chronic chaos and violence. "It will be a government of technocrats representing the whole Libyan spectrum," designated prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh told a news conference in Tripoli, adding that he had attempted a "fair distribution" of posts between the west, east and south of the country.

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  Libya's new PM delays naming Cabinet as deadline looms

  Associated Press
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  Libya's new PM outlines 'vision' of his government

  AFP