PoliticsYahoo NewsHow Walter Mondale transformed the vice presidency
At the time, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (a former Mondale intern) and former Vice President Joe Biden were trailing more progressive candidates. Mondale strongly backed Klobuchar and later Biden. Wolfing down a hamburger, he chuckled and said, “I woke up this morning, looked in the mirror and said, 'Fritz, you're a moderate.
PoliticsNBC News'You want to see a temper tantrum?': Arizona Republican sides with Democrats, blocks voting bill
A bill that would stop some voters from getting a ballot automatically mailed to them each election failed unexpectedly in Arizona's state Senate Thursday after a single Republican joined Democrats in voting against the legislation. GOP state Sen. Kelly Townsend explained her surprise "no" vote on the state Senate floor amid a tense episode that saw the senator get into a heated confrontation with the bill's sponsor. "I am for this bill, but I am not voting for it until after the audit," she said, referring to an audit orchestrated by Senate Republicans of ballots in Maricopa County reportedly set to get underway this week and last through mid-May. The audit is a continuation of GOP efforts to question the results of the 2020 election in a state President Joe Biden won by over 10,000 votes.
- U.S.Associated Press
Bodies found in desert in 1980 ID’d as woman seeks parents
Authorities have finally identified the bodies of two homicide victims who were found buried in the Southern California desert in 1980 and linked to a man imprisoned for murder in Mississippi, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said. A chain of events that began with a woman using DNA to try to find her biological parents led to identification of the victims as Pamela Dianne Duffey, born in 1959, and William Everette Lane, born in 1960, a department statement said Wednesday. An archeologist found the bodies in a shallow grave in a remote area of the Mojave Desert a few miles east of the tiny community of Ludlow.
- WorldChristian Science Monitor
A light for Myanmar's darkness
The dictator of Myanmar, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, is set to meet with other leaders of Southeast Asia on Saturday in Indonesia. The gathering may be the only place where the man who led a Feb. 1 coup against an elected government might feel some legitimacy. Now, instead of relying solely on resistance to the regime, democracy leaders have decided to set up “free zones” in border areas to provide both basic services and civic liberties.
U.S.BBCDaunte Wright: Hundreds attend Minneapolis funeral of man shot by police
Hundreds of mourners, including family members and activists, have attended the funeral of a black man who was shot dead by police in Minneapolis. Daunte Wright, 20, was killed during a routine traffic stop in the Brooklyn Center suburb of the city on 11 April. The city was already on edge amid the high-profile trial of a white ex-police officer for the death of George Floyd, a black man, last year.
WorldArchitectural DigestBookmark These 11 Places on HipCamp for Your Next Outdoor Retreat
A WiFi break? Yes, please Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsThe IndependentSotomayor gives blistering dissent to Trump SCOTUS appointees who find juvenile not worthy of parole
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor gave a blistering dissent to Donald Trump's SCOTUS appointees who found a juvenile not worthy of parole, calling the ruling “an abrupt break from precedent”. On Thursday, the highest court in the US ruled 6-3 along liberal-conservative lines against Mississippi inmate Brett Jones who was sentenced to life in prison when he was 15 years old. Jones was sentenced to prison without the possibility of parole in 2005, for fatally stabbing his grandfather Bertis in 2004 during a fight about his girlfriend.
PoliticsKansas City StarMissouri likely ‘going to court either way’ as Senate panel rejects Medicaid expansion funds
A powerful Missouri Senate committee dealt an early blow Wednesday night to Democrats and Medicaid expansion advocates who hoped the upper legislative chamber would restore funding that the House had stripped out of the state budget. In a 7-7 tie, a proposal introduced by Springfield Republican Sen. Lincoln Hough to partially fund the voter-approved expansion failed to clear the Senate Appropriations Committee. Two other Republicans, including Lee's Summit Sen. Mike Cierpiot, joined the committee's four Democrats in voting for it.
U.S.INSIDEROther ex-officers charged in George Floyd's killing are 'almost 100 percent' going to plead guilty after Derek Chauvin's conviction, experts say
The three remaining former officers charged in George Floyd's death are awaiting trial in August. The officers will want to avoid going to a jury trial, criminal justice experts tell Insider. Experts say the officers are likely to take a plea deal if offered, or ask for a bench trial.
BusinessBBCJack Dorsey and Elon Musk agree on bitcoin's green credentials
Tesla chief Elon Musk has agreed with Twitter boss Jack Dorsey, who has said that bitcoin "incentivises" renewable energy, despite experts warning otherwise. China, where more than two-thirds of power is from coal, accounts for more than 75% of bitcoin mining around the world. New sets of transactions are added to bitcoin's blockchain (the ledger that records the cryptocurrency's transactions) every 10 minutes by miners from around the world.
- NewsWLS – Chicago
Inbound I-290 lanes closed near 25th Avenue after shooting
All inbound lanes of I-290 are blocked from just before the 25th Avenue exit due to police investigation of a shooting.
PoliticsFort Worth Star-TelegramTexas bills aims to boost confidence in elections, not restrict voting access | Opinion
Texas is among them: The Legislature is seeking to strengthen our elections through House Bill 6 and Senate Bill 7. Unfortunately, some leaders on the left are making a concerted effort to stop these reforms. We recently saw a nasty fight play out in Georgia, when opponents of the state's election reform attacked the bill and bullied corporations into joining them.
PoliticsThe IndependentJohn Kerry criticises Donald Trump for pulling out of Paris accord ‘without any facts, without any science’
John Kerry denounced former President Donald Trump for withdrawing the US from the landmark Paris treaty, which the former Secretary of State signed in 2015. “Regrettably, without any facts, without any science, without any rationale that would be considered reasonable, the former president decided to pull out,” Mr Kerry told reporters at the White House on Thursday following President Joe Biden's Earth Day pledge to cut US emissions by 50 per cent by 2030. Mr Biden announced on his first day in office that the US would re-enter the agreement after the former president refused to acknowledge the contract in 2017 and formally withdrew in 2020.
WorldUSA TODAYFact check: No evidence to back claim that man convicted for Floyd's murder was not Derek Chauvin
Fact check: Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts but has yet to be sentenced The post includes several images of Chauvin from the day he killed Floyd, his mugshot and his trial. A close-up image highlights perceived differences in Chauvin's ear shape between his mugshot and images taken during Floyd's murder. Two different people.
WorldBBCAfrica's week in pictures: 16-22 April 2021
A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent: All pictures subject to copyright.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRepublican House leader rejects George W. Bush's condemnation of the party as 'isolationist, protectionist' and 'nativist'
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy dismissed former President George W. Bush's recent condemnation of the GOP. Bush said his party had become "isolationist, protectionist, and to a certain extent nativist." McCarthy insisted Bush is wrong because the GOP has more House members who are women and people of color than ever before.
U.S.The IndependentFox, Newsmax, Taylor Greene and Cruz question jury as conservatives cope with Chauvin murder verdict
A Minneapolis jury was apparently intimidated into finding Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd for fear of reprisals from BLM mob violence, according to an array of conservative media personalities and lawmakers. From Newsmax to Fox News, and Marjorie Taylor Greene to Ted Cruz, the so-called party of law and order is questioning whether the criminal justice system is as blind as advertised.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTrump administration thought they'd be memorialized in statues for doing such a great job negotiating with China
Former Obama official Rich Hass recounted early transition meetings with the Trump administration in 2016. A member of Trump's circle told Hass the US was in "an existential struggle" with China, and it was imperative they won. When they did, the Trump official continued, there would be "statues erected in our honor."
HealthCharlotte ObserverHere’s what you need to know about getting a COVID vaccine at your favorite brewery
As vaccine supply in Mecklenburg County climbs, vaccine providers are making it easier than ever to get a vaccine — that includes bringing vaccines to pop-up events at Charlotte breweries. Atrium Health is hosting a vaccine pop-up at NoDa Brewing Company's North End taproom Thursday night from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. with 200 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the brewery. StarMed Healthcare, the county's vaccination partner at Bojangles Coliseum, tweeted Thursday that it would bring COVID-19 vaccines to Town Brewing Company starting Saturday.
U.S.The Independent‘Today we came to honour the Prince of Brooklyn Center’: Al Sharpton leads impassioned funeral service for Daunte Wright
He added: “Minneapolis is stopped today to honour the prince of Brooklyn Center. On Thursday, as the family of the 20-year-old man shot dead 10 days ago by police held a funeral service, they sought to highlight the different strands of a life cut woefully short – his love of basketball, his position as a beloved sibling, a doting father, and a son whose smile was “worth a million dollars”. Yet, during a service at times markedly political and imbued with demands for racial justice, his life – and his fatal shooting after a traffic stop – was set against the backdrop of others who had lost their lives at the hands of the police: George Floyd, Jamar Clark, Philando Castile and Breonna Taylor.
PoliticsUSA TODAYSenate Republicans propose $568 billion infrastructure plan to counter Biden
Senate Republicans unveiled a $568 billion infrastructure plan Thursday limited to roads, bridges, broadband and other physical infrastructure, countering President Biden's American Jobs Plan with a framework around one-quarter the size of his sweeping $2.25 trillion package. Although their plan doesn't specify how to pay for the spending, Republicans suggested new user fees, resisting a corporate tax rate increase pushed by Biden and keeping former President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts intact. Republicans have slammed Biden's proposals for $400 billion to boost caregiving for the elderly and disabled, $174 billion for electric vehicle stations and $300 billion for manufacturing, among other areas, arguing Democrats want to use the popularity of infrastructure to fund unrelated liberal priorities in the same package.
LifestyleArchitectural Digest12 Outdoor Furniture Sets for Living Alfresco
With warmer weather just around the corner, we're taking our home-design focus to the great outdoors Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTop Trump ally Lindsey Graham praises Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for refusing to abolish the filibuster
Sen. Lindsey Graham explicitly praised two Democratic senators for rejecting their party's efforts to eliminate the filibuster. Graham supported GOP's successful effort to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominee confirmations. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has urged his caucus to publicly praise the two Democratic lawmakers.
U.S.INSIDERA Florida couple tried to host their wedding at a $5.7 million mansion that wasn't theirs. Then the owner showed up.
Courtney Wilson and Shenita Jones planned to hold their wedding at a $5.7 million mansion in Florida without permission, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. According to the local paper, the couple didn't have permission to use the property but sent out wedding invitations anyway. Courtney Wilson and Shenita Jones' wedding invitation reportedly read, "it is our honor to welcome you into our dream home and estate."
U.S.The IndependentMa’Khia Bryant shooting: LeBron James explains why he took down tweet telling Ohio officer ‘you’re next’
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James responded to the backlash he received after he tweeted a photo of the police officer who fatally shot Ohio teenager Ma'Khia Bryant with the caption you're next #accountability. Mr James explained why he took down the tweet. I'm so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police.
“High-speed rail is bold and attention-grabbing, but the scale of the project makes it near impossible.”
“While a long, slow train ride across the country can be a great thing, the US needs real high-speed rail too.”
“Liberals are right that America has a car problem — but it's commutes, not road trips, that suck.”
“Investments into a high-speed rail system wouldn’t just improve the railroads — automobile traffic could also see some relief.”
“Big cities that are reasonably close together is pretty much a prerequisite for high-speed rail.”