U.S.AxiosFBI: Trump-appointed State Department aide arrested in connection with Capitol riot
The FBI on Thursday arrested former State Department aide Federico Klein, a Trump appointee who worked on the former president's 2016 campaign, on charges related to the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, according to a court filing. Why it matters: The 42-year-old Klein is the first member of the Trump administration to be arrested in connection with the insurrection, which led to the former president's second impeachment and charges against over 300 people. Details: Prior to resigning from the State Department on Jan. 19, Klein — whose arrest was first reported by Politico — worked in the Office of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs and possessed a "Top Secret" security clearance that was renewed in 2019, according to the FBI affidavit.
WorldThe TelegraphMyanmar policemen cross border into India after refusing to carry out orders set by new military junta
At least 19 Myanmar police officers have crossed the border into India in the latest sign of growing dissent within the security forces and civil service officials who are opposed to the military coup. The first reported case of police fleeing the country came as one of the country's top diplomats resigned from his post at the United Nations after being promoted to the role of ambassador by the junta. Tin Maung Naing, the deputy envoy, refused to take over from Kyaw Moe Tun, the current ambassador, who was fired last week by the generals after he urged countries at the 193-member UN General Assembly to use “any means necessary” to reverse the coup that ousted the nation's elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
U.S.NBC NewsAsians were thought to be the 'model minority.' Then came 'receipt culture.'
In another video recorded last July, a tech CEO taunted an Asian American family at an upscale Northern California restaurant, calling them an “Asian piece of s---.” Fueled by former President Donald Trump's anti-China rhetoric, the Covid-19 pandemic has unleashed an onslaught of hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islanders. In 2020, the group Stop AAPI Hate received more than 2,800 self-reports of coronavirus discrimination nationwide, from verbal harassment to physical assault.
WorldReutersCOVID-19 vaccine confidence grows as side effect worries fade
Confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is growing, with people's willingness to have the shots increasing as they are rolled out across the world and concerns about possible side effects are fading, a 14-country survey showed on Friday. Co-led by Imperial College London's Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) and the polling firm YouGov, the survey found trust in COVID-19 vaccines had risen in nine out of 14 countries covered, including France, Japan and Singapore which had previously had low levels of confidence. This is up from 55% in November, shortly before the first COVID-19 vaccine - co-developed by Pfizer and BioNTech - gained regulatory approval for use in Britain.
WorldArchitectural Digest9 of the Best Outdoor Rugs That Literally Ground Any Space
High-traffic areas are about to meet their match Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsThe WeekCapitol riot's 'QAnon Shaman' defends himself by claiming he 'stopped somebody from stealing muffins'
A suspect charged in the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol building is speaking from jail in a new interview — and offering a unique defense positioning himself as simply a savior of baked goods. Jacob Chansley, the Capitol riot suspect who refers to himself as the "QAnon Shaman" and was photographed during the insurrection wearing fur and horns, spoke with 60 Minutes in an interview broadcast Thursday, in which he claimed his "actions were not an attack on this country" as he faces up to 20 years in prison for them. "I sang a song, and that's a part of shamanism," he said.
BusinessAxiosSurprise oil supply cut from OPEC won't just hit gas prices
Oil and gas prices jumped on Thursday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers said on Thursday that they would extend production cuts into April. The big picture: Oil is being driven by the production cuts of OPEC, a consortium of the world's largest producers, and expectations for a rebound in global demand as more countries emerge from coronavirus lockdowns. Crude oil has been a top performing asset this year, with variants like gasoline and diesel also delivering big gains in 2021 of 38.6% and 24.3%, respectively.
U.S.TODAYSenate bill narrows who can receive $1,400 stimulus checks. Here’s who’s eligible
A third stimulus bill will be debated today, but a last-minute change to the relief package means that about 7 million families may not receive a $1,400 check. Initially, the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which is known as the American Rescue Plan, included $1,400 checks for people who make an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less, or couples who earn up to $150,000. The checks would have phased out as income increased, and individuals earning more than $100,000 a year and couples earning over $200,000 a year would not receive a check at all.
WorldThe TelegraphBeijing confirms plans to overhaul Hong Kong's electoral system and ban 'unpatriotic' politicians
China has confirmed plans to overhaul the electoral system in Hong Kong “to safeguard national security", amid mounting criticism from the UK and other Western nations for Beijing's suppression of the territory. “We will resolutely guard against and deter external forces' interference in the affairs of Hong Kong,” Li Keqiang, the country's premier, said in an opening speech to the annual meeting of China's 'rubber-stamp' parliament. About 3,000 delegates from across the country have descended in Beijing, under increased security and coronavirus controls to ensure the most high-profile political event of the year goes off without a hitch.
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Civil war within the GOP continues as Trump fires back at strategist Karl Rove
Former President Donald Trump intensified his war with the Republican establishment on Thursday by attacking Karl Rove, a longtime Republican strategist who criticized Trump's first speech since leaving office for being long on grievances but short on vision.
WorldBBCWorld's oldest known wild bird has another chick at age of 70
Wisdom the albatross, the world's oldest known wild bird, has had a chick at the age of at least 70. The Laysan albatross hatched the chick on 1 February in a wildlife refuge in the North Pacific Ocean, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has said. The father is Wisdom's partner, Akeakamai, who she has been with since 2012, US wildlife officials said.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden news: White House defends ‘Neanderthal’ slur of GOP states, as Trump shifts blame for Senate loss
The White House defended Joe Biden accusing Texas and Mississippi of having "Neanderthal thinking", saying he was talking about their "behaviour" and not calling them actual Neanderthals. It comes as Donald Trump tried to shift the blame for the Senate race defeats in Georgia, saying Mitch McConnell only offering $600 stimulus checks led to the defeats of Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. On the US Mexico border, child migrants detained by authorities have increased 583 per cent under Joe Biden, according to internal documents from the Department of Health and Human services reported by Axios.
U.S.The State‘Impossible to trace.’ Tech savvy dad may be holding daughter captive in WA, cops say
A father accused of kidnapping his teenage daughter 17 months ago could be holding her captive in Washington, but his technology skills are making it hard for authorities to find him, officials say. Authorities say John Oliver Westbrook kidnapped his daughter, Daphne Westbrook, 17, in October 2019 from Chattanooga, Tennessee, according to a news release posted on Facebook by the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office in Tennessee. Investigators say Westbrook is holding Daphne against her will and they're struggling to locate them because he is “an IT expert specializing in security, block chain technology and bitcoin.”
U.S.NBC NewsTexas workers should be worried about more than Covid after gov's mask repeal, experts say
Working the door at a business in Texas that still requires masks against Covid-19 could be hazardous to your health — and not just because of the virus, top security experts said Thursday. Gov. Greg Abbott's sudden decision this week to lift the mask mandate and other coronavirus restrictions has undermined the ability of these companies to enforce their own rules for protecting staffers and customers, they said. “This ripping off the Band-Aid approach is not good,” said Brian Higgins, a security consultant who also teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.
PoliticsThe Independent‘Textbook voter suppression’: How Trump’s stolen election lies are shaping the future of democracy
On the floor of Georgia's House of Representatives on 1 March, state Democratic Rep Bee Nguyen warned her colleagues that the bill in front of them – a 66-page, Republican-backed proposal to drastically roll back voting access across the state – followed a months-long campaign from Donald Trump and his GOP allies to undermine millions of voters with baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and a “stolen” election. “Members of this body aided and abetted a deliberate misinformation campaign to sow seeds of doubt among Georgia voters with absolutely no facts or evidence.” The bill would, among other things, cut mail-in voting and early voting access, strip elections oversight from the state's Secretary of State, and limit voting access that would disproportionately target Black voters.
PoliticsUSA TODAYJoe Biden campaigned as the mask candidate. Now he's facing the limits of the bully pulpit
Joe Biden ran for the White House as the mask candidate, criticizing then-President Donald Trump's dismissal of masks, promising to get tough on mask wearing and modeling good behavior by wearing at least one – and sometimes two –masks himself. "The one thing we do know — these masks make a gigantic difference," Biden said last June. As president, however, Biden is running up against the limits of the bully pulpit as mask-wearing remains politically polarized.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramMissing Texas 3-year-old, mother found in Oklahoma after Amber Alert, police say
The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a statewide Amber Alert for a missing 3-year-old College Station girl whose last known possible location was in the Dallas-Fort Worth area early Thursday morning. The child, Adeline Paige Welch, was last seen in College Station about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, College Station police said on social media. Adeline was abducted from Treehouse Trail in College Station, police said.
PoliticsUSA TODAYBiden's relief bill isn't getting bipartisan support like previous stimulus bills. What do Republicans dislike so much?
Republican Senators have described President Joe Biden's COVID-19 stimulus plan as a "clunker," "bad politics" and “wildly expensive." The legislation, dubbed the American Rescue Plan, which the Senate started debating Thursday, is getting a partisan reception in Congress. Democrats want it passed soon, but little to no Republican members of Congress have so far voiced support.
U.S.Miami HeraldDemocrats ask FBI for investigation into vaccine distribution; DeSantis pushes back
Florida's two top Democratic officials on Thursday called on the U.S. Justice Department to launch an investigation into Gov. Ron DeSantis for what they say appears to be a “pay to play” scheme in which the governor directed vaccine doses to communities in the state's wealthiest ZIP codes in exchange for campaign contributions. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Senate Democratic Leader Gary Farmer issued separate statements urging the U.S. Attorney and the FBI to look into whether the $3.9 million in contributions made to the governor's political committee since December alone were connected to favorable treatment for vaccine distribution. On Thursday, the governor angrily blasted a Miami Herald report that quoted an internal newsletter sent to residents of the wealthy gated enclave of the Ocean Reef Club, located in north Key Largo.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderBiden supports making a temporary $3,000 payment to parents in the stimulus bill permanent going forward
Biden supports making a temporary boost to a tax credit for parents permanent, a Democratic aide said. Senate Democrats want to make this permanent and to give families the option of monthly checks. President Joe Biden told House Democrats on Wednesday that he supported making the temporary beefed-up child tax credit in his stimulus plan permanent, a Democratic aide briefed on the call told Insider.
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Barrett authors first Supreme Court ruling, a loss for environmentalists
Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday authored her first ruling since joining the Supreme Court in October as the court handed a defeat to an environmental group looking for access to government documents.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe 29 Best Bar Carts Under $500
Guaranteed to look great in your Zoom happy hours Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.INSIDERA New Orleans police officer groomed and raped a 14-year-old girl he was assigned to take to a rape kit exam, a lawsuit alleges
A new lawsuit accuses a New Orleans cop of grooming and raping a 14-year-old rape survivor. Officer Rodney Vicknair was arrested last year and fired from the police department in January. The lawsuit alleged the police department shouldn't have allowed Vicknair to assist the girl.
HealthMiami HeraldThis recalled dog food can make pets and pet owners sick with salmonella and listeria
Bravo Packing has recalled its Performance Dog and Ground Beef frozen, raw pet food because it has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella and listeria monocytogenes. The recall alert, issued Wednesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is nationwide. Bravo is headquartered in New Jersey and worked with a New York distributor.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverComedian Jimmy Fallon’s New York penthouse on the market for $15 million. Take a look
“The Tonight Show” host and “Saturday Night Live” alumni Jimmy Fallon has put his prismatic New York City penthouse on the market, according to Sotheby's International Realty and multiple news sources. The penthouse was actually a project that was put together slowly over the last two decades, The Wall Street Journal reported. The comedian bought his first one-bedroom apartment in the building for $850,000 in 2002, which ended up being the first piece, according to WSJ.
“Taking humans to Mars would require an investment astronomically out of kilter with the possible benefits.”
“Can a Mars settlement be a freer society than we enjoy on Earth? Maybe.”
“What we learn...may spark the next revolution that will make life in 2071 beyond anything we can imagine right now.”
“Our presence on Mars could jeopardize one of our main reasons for being there — the search for life.”
“The future of geologic investigation of other worlds lies with highly improved versions of our Mars rovers.”