PoliticsAssociated PressArizona state senator slammed for Buffalo shooting comments
The Arizona Senate on Monday opened an ethics investigation into a firebrand Republican member who tweeted inflammatory comments about last weekend's racist attack at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that left 10 people dead. The referral of Sen. Wendy Rogers of Flagstaff to the Ethics Committee was in lieu of the immediate expulsion that Democratic lawmakers were planning, GOP Majority Leader Rick Gray said. Due process considerations require no less than an ethics investigation, he said.
U.S.Tacoma News TribuneChild porn investigation reveals Arby’s worker peeing in milkshakes, Washington cops say
A child porn investigation took another disgusting turn when Vancouver police officers found a video of a man peeing in milkshake mix at an Arby's restaurant, Washington authorities reported. The man, a night manager at the restaurant, told police he urinated in the milkshake mix for sexual gratification at least twice, Vancouver police said in a news release. “We have taken immediate action with the franchise group who terminated the former employee and is fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation.”
U.S.NextShark55-year-old Chinese man takes entrance exam for 26th time in 40 years in hopes of dream school admittance
For 55-year-old Liang Shi, age is no limit as he took an entrance exam for the 26th time since he was a teenager to get into his dream school. While many people have reportedly told Liang that his “failing memory” would hinder him from studying textbooks like his younger peers, he is determined to score high enough on the gaokao exam this year to attend Sichuan University, which he first missed out on in 1983. The gaokao exam, which translates to “high exam,” is China's annual standardized college entrance exam and is typically taken during the third and final year of high school.
U.S.Associated PressBig cross-border tunnel found linking Tijuana, San Diego
U.S. authorities on Monday announced the discovery of a major drug smuggling tunnel — running about the length of a six football fields — from Mexico to a warehouse in an industrial area in the U.S. The secret passage from Tijuana to San Diego featured rail and ventilation systems, electricity and reinforced walls, authorities said. It was discovered near San Diego's Otay Mesa border crossing in an area where more than a dozen other sophisticated tunnels have been found in the last two decades. U.S. authorities said it was unknown how long the tunnel had been operating and what amount of drugs, if any, got through undetected.
BusinessFortuneBel Air megamansion listed for $87.8 million flops at auction and the celebrity developer seller is furious
A lavish Bel Air mansion listed for $87.8 million reportedly received just half the asking price when it went to auction last week. According to CNBC, the highest bid for the property was just under $45.8 million—around 52% of the mammoth asking price. The mansion, located at 777 Sarbonne Road in Bel Air, Calif., was auctioned online by Concierge Auctions earlier this month.
U.S.Idaho StatesmanCouple follows ‘elusive’ animal into cemetery and gets rare sight, Montana video shows
An animal dashed down a busy road in Montana and into a cemetery. Jessica Jaeger and her husband, Dylan Heiner, spotted the critter in Butte and knew this wasn't an animal they had typically seen. “We were driving down a fairly busy road in Butte when he ran out of a neighborhood and into the cemetery,” Jaeger told McClatchy News.
U.S.In The Know by YahooMed school students post TikTok revealing how much debt they’ll graduate with: ‘How are y’all so casual about it?’
A group of med school students is going viral after sharing how much debt the individuals be in when they graduate. The insight comes courtesy of a student named William (@will_ill), who often posts on TikTok about his life in med school. Many of Willam's videos have gone viral before, but his latest post — about the debt he and his fellow students will face in a few short years — has drawn over 3 million views.
U.S.Atlanta Black StarTexas 9-Year-Old Brings a Whip to a Black Family’s Porch to Demand Their Daughter Emerge; Boy’s Father Fumbles with Gun When Confronted, Nearly Shoots His Own Child
The parents of the Black girl, Carissa Nash and her husband Dee Nash, say they posted the video to highlight how local law enforcement told them the boy is too young to face any criminal penalties. But the boy's father, Bryan Thomas Brunson, is not, and he later would be arrested for his actions in the aftermath of the incident. This kid comes to my door with a whip looking for my 9-year-old daughter, then puts a big ass scratch on our Audi,” Carissa wrote of the incident that took place on Thursday, May 12, in Kaufman County Texas.
WorldNextSharkDuke senior's commencement speech accused of being plagiarized from Harvard student's 2014 address
A graduating student at Duke University faced heavy criticism after delivering a commencement address that shared “striking similarities” with a Harvard University graduation speech from 2014. During her commencement ceremony on May 8, speaker Priya Parkash called her school “the Duke nation” and said it could become its own country due to its various associations and landmarks. Parkash, who is originally from Pakistan, said that “if Duke were to dig a moat around its perimeter and fill that with water, it could be its own tiny island nation, like Cuba or maybe even Sri Lanka.”
WorldReutersTurkey lays out demands as Finland, Sweden seek NATO membership
BERLIN (Reuters) -Turkey's foreign minister said on Sunday that Sweden and Finland must stop supporting terrorist groups in their countries, provide clear security guarantees and lift export bans on Turkey as they seek membership in NATO. Speaking after a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Berlin, Mevlut Cavusoglu said he met his Swedish and Finnish counterparts and all were seeking to address Turkey's concerns. He added that Turkey was not threatening anybody or seeking leverage but speaking out especially about Sweden's support for the PKK Kurdish militant group, deemed a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
WorldUkrayinska Pravda"Like in a horror movie": the war in Ukraine has become hell for occupying forces - communications interception by Security Service of Ukraine
So a lot of 200s [killed soldiers] will be delivered to their Altai Krai [a region in Western Siberia -ed. Quote of the occupiers: We have a lot of pain in the a*s. We have a lot of 200s [killed soldiers] and 300s [wounded soldiers]… my commander was killed.
- WorldThe Week
Russia's thwarted Ukraine river crossing was so bloody, pro-Russia war bloggers are publicly griping
Russia's thwarted attempt to cross the Siverskyi Donets River in northeastern Ukraine last week "is emerging as among the deadliest engagements of the war, with estimates based on publicly available evidence now suggesting that well over 400 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded," The New York Times reports. Russia reportedly committed about 550 troops to its highly risky May 11 effort to cross the Donets River at Bilohorivka, to encircle Ukrainian forces near Rubizhne. Ukraine destroyed the pontoon bridges and also, according to Britain's Ministry of Defense, "significant armored maneuver elements of at least one Battalion Tactical Group."
WorldReutersUkraine's president replaces head of Territorial Defence Forces
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has replaced the head of its Territorial Defence Forces nearly three months into the war with Russia without giving a reason. The Defence Ministry said on Monday Zelenskiy had appointed Major General Ihor Tantsyura to take over from Yuriy Halushkin as commander of the forces that are helping the Ukrainian army defend the country following Russia's invasion on Feb. 24. The ministry described Tantsyura as an experienced officer who was previously chief of staff of Ukraine's ground forces.
BusinessBusiness InsiderElon Musk is using a 'dog ate the homework' excuse to potentially back out of buying Twitter and there is now a less than 50% chance the deal gets done, Wedbush says
Elon Musk's excuse about Twitter bots is a way to back out of the deal, Wedbush said. Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion but could be feeling pressure amid falling Tesla stock. "We view the $44 billion Twitter deal as having less than a 50% [chance] to get done," Wedbush said.
U.S.NextSharkTexas teens die from fentanyl overdose weeks before high school graduation
Two high school seniors in Texas were found dead from a fentanyl overdose after suffering from drug addictions for years, according to investigators. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a double overdose call at a home on Stanwick Place, The Woodlands. “An intervention person was at my house in the kitchen, and when she said it was time to wake up my daughter before she went to school to begin the intervention, with my letter and all that… my daughter was gone,” Sunderland told Click2Houston.
WorldReutersUkraine has deployed new U.S. howitzers at front lines - embassy
Ukraine has deployed many of its new U.S. M-777 howitzers at the front lines and Washington has delivered all but one of the 90 artillery pieces they were due to send, the U.S. embassy in Kyiv said on Sunday. The M-777 howitzer consignment is part of a huge outlay of weapons from Washington to help Ukraine fend off Russia's invasion, which began on Feb. 24. The U.S. embassy reposted a Ukrainian military video of Kyiv's soldiers training to use the weapons.
WorldUkrayinska PravdaCompany commander of the Belarusian Kastuś Kalinoŭski battalion dies
MONDAY, 16 MAY 2022, 13:28 The company commander of the Belarusian "Kastuś Kalinoŭski battalion [named after a Belarusian writer and revolutionary], Pavel "Volat", died in the war in Ukraine. Source: Kastuś Kalinoŭski battalion on Facebook, "Nasha Niva" Quote: "Today, our battalion suffered huge losses. During the operation to liberate a Ukrainian village from Russian occupation, the company commander, Pavel 'Volat', a member of our battalion, was mortally wounded.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Video shows rain of fire hitting Ukraine steel plant
STORY: The Ukrainian military said there was no let-up on Sunday in Russia's bombardment of the steel works in the southern port, where a few hundred Ukrainian fighters are holding out. The video was posted on the Telegram messaging application by Alexander Khodakovsky, a commander of the pro-Russian self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk. "If you didn't know what it is and for what purpose - you could say that it's even beautiful," Khodakovsky said in a message beside the video.
WorldReutersErdogan says Swedish, Finnish delegations should not bother coming to Turkey
ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Swedish and Finnish delegations should not bother coming to Ankara to convince it to approve their NATO bid. Sweden's government has formally decided to apply for NATO membership, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Monday, a day after Finnish President Sauli Niinisto confirmed that Helsinki will also apply for membership. Turkey surprised its NATO allies last week by saying it would not view their applications positively, mainly citing their history of hosting members of groups Ankara deems terrorists.
- PoliticsWSJ
How Finland and Sweden Would Transform NATO’s Military Capabilities
Finland and Sweden are taking steps toward applying for membership of NATO, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February. If approved, analysts say the move would significantly enhance the bloc's military capabilities on land, sea and in the air. Illustration: Laura Kammermann
WorldThe Daily BeastRussian Allies Get Tongue-Lashing at Putin’s Ultimate Pity Party
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a meeting of the Russian-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), on Monday on the 30th anniversary of its founding—but the meeting was anything but celebratory. Instead, the heads of state from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, which make up the collective defense organization, akin to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, went to the Kremlin Monday in Moscow to lament the world's response to Putin's war in Ukraine. Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, sitting in a massive room with sweeping high ceilings and ornate, gold-covered walls, whined about “hellish” sanctions from the West and efforts to isolate Russia and Belarus—which has been supporting Putin's military moves in Ukraine—from the rest of the world.
U.S.Associated PressK-9 featured in Netflix's 'Rescued by Ruby' euthanized
A Rhode Island dog whose inspiring story of going from shelter dog to lifesaving police K-9 became the subject of a recent Netflix movie has been euthanized. State Police said Sunday K-9 Ruby was put down Friday following a “sudden, acute, and untreatable illness.” Col. Darnell Weaver, superintendent of the state police, expressed gratitude for K-9 Ruby's years of service.
PoliticsHuffPostDonald Trump Is Back On Twitter
Trump allies Roger Stone and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell — both banned by Twitter — recently tried to start up new Twitter accounts amid plans by Elon Musk to buy the company, but they were quickly shut down. The new setup on Twitter appears to undermine the spirit of Trump's own pledge in a filing Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that “if” he's allowed back on Twitter he will partially restrict usage and prioritize Truth Social (and give some comfort to investors). He promised to wait six hours before posting a Truth Social message on competing social media, but only if it doesn't involve politics.
U.S.INSIDERThe son of a 65-year-old woman who was killed in the Buffalo supermarket mass shooting says the 'tragedy' happened the one time 'we didn't go together'
Wayne Jones told Insider his mother was one of the Buffalo supermarket mass shooting victims. Jones said he and his mother, 65-year-old Celestine "Stiney" Chaney, usually went to the store together. Wayne Jones made a point to join his 65-year-old mother on trips to the supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
WorldReutersBurning munitions cascade down on Ukrainian steel plant - video
LONDON (Reuters) -White, brightly burning munitions were shown cascading down on the Azovstal steel works in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol in what a British military expert said looked like either an attack with phosphorus or incendiary weapons. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said "delicate" negotiations were proceeding on rescuing Ukrainian servicemen holed up beneath the vast complex. Reuters was not able to immediately identify the type of munitions being used on the Azovstal complex or when the video was taken.
“It could give millions a chance to finally buy a house or start their business or help their kids get an education, too.”
“You signed a contract…If you don’t want to deal with the financial pressure of debt, don’t take out the loan.”
“Without action from Biden, Black student debt will hinder his agenda with respect to eliminating racial inequities.”
“Blanket relief could end up routing too much relief to those who do not need it and too little to those who do.”
“Unlike a number of other policy issues, student debt relief doesn’t need to be pushed through a narrowly controlled Congress.”