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.
WorldThe TelegraphJapanese man arrested after dating 35 women at the same time in bid to 'get birthday presents'
A Japanese man has been arrested after reportedly dating more than 35 women at the same time. Takashi Miyagawa, a part-time worker, is being investigated for allegedly defrauding dozens of women by pretending he was serious about each of their relationships and receiving hundreds of pounds worth of gifts from them. He was apparently caught out when the women joined forces to create a victims' association after discovering his extensive infidelity and reported him to the police, according to local media.
U.S.The WeekThe Derek Chauvin solitary confinement predicament
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is being held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day following his conviction for the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin's solitary confinement is protective, and he's hardly languishing in a dank hole. A brief separation is one thing, but extended isolation from human contact is "cruel and unusual punishment," in constitutional parlance.
U.S.ReutersA cheerleader's Snapchat profanity gets U.S. Supreme Court's attention
(Reuters) - Two days after Mahanoy Area High School in Pennsylvania held its cheerleading tryouts, ninth-grader Brandi Levy was still fuming about being passed over for a spot on the varsity squad. While a younger girl had been picked for varsity, Levy was facing another year relegated to the junior varsity cheer squad. Levy, age 14 at the time, posted the photo to the Snapchat social media platform, adding a caption using the same curse word four times to voice her displeasure with cheerleading, softball, school and "everything."
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramCop seen punching teen with autism in California video. ‘Disturbing,’ boy’s dad says
Surveillance video shared by a California dad shows a police officer violently attack a teenager in a residential neighborhood on Wednesday. Adam Wolf says he is worried his 17-year-old son, Preston, who has autism and ADHD, will never trust police officers again. “I am pro police, but I am not pro ABUSE,” Wolf said on Facebook, where he posted the video.
PoliticsAssociated PressDemocrats move 2 bills showing strength and limits of power
The House voted along party lines to make the nation's capital the 51st state and two hours later, the Senate overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation to address violence against Asian Americans. Thursday's twin victories let Democrats display momentum just six days before President Joe Biden's maiden speech to Congress. Despite a minuscule majority, House Democrats have overcome Republican opposition and passed legislation this year reworking voting laws, toughening gun background checks and fulfilling other party goals.
U.S.The TelegraphGender reveal party prompts fears of 'earthquakes' after US couple detonates 80 pounds of explosives
Explosives used for a gender reveal party in New Hampshire were so loud that residents across state lines thought there was an earthquake. Locals in the Rockingham County area reported the foundations of their homes cracking and walls rocking to police, who located the origin of the blast in a quarry, where a family admitted to holding the gathering. “It was earth-shaking,” a neighbor who lives near Torromeo Industries in Kingston, where the explosives were set off at 7pm EST on Tuesday, told NBC news.
WorldBBCAustralia resists calls for tougher climate targets
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has resisted pressure to set more ambitious carbon emission targets while other major nations vowed deeper reductions to tackle climate change. Addressing a global climate summit, Mr Morrison said Australia was on a path to net zero emissions. US President Joe Biden, who chaired the virtual summit, pledged to cut carbon emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by the year 2030.
WorldThe TelegraphIt's 'fair' to call me a private education hypocrite, says Scottish Labour leader
Anas Sarwar has admitted it is a “fair” to call him a hypocrite after he unveiled plans for an attack on private education despite sending his own children to a fee-paying school. Scottish Labour's manifesto, published Thursday, calls for the charitable status of private schools to be revoked and for any public sector backing for them to end. Mr Sarwar, the party leader, sends his own children to Hutchesons' Grammar School in Glasgow, which he also attended, and currently charges annual fees of up to £12,924 per pupil.
U.S.Miami HeraldThe biker thought he was getting a ticket. Instead, the deputy gave him a phone number
Largely phased out nationwide, just a few Officer Friendly programs have endured through the millennium, including one by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, according to WFTS Tampa Bay. This story isn't about Officer Friendly, but it is about a friendly officer. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office posted video of a traffic stop that went in a direction the motorist probably didn't expect.
WorldBBCBiden: This will be 'decisive decade' for tackling climate change
US President Joe Biden has told a major summit that we are in a "decisive decade" for tackling climate change. The US has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by the year 2030. This new target, which was unveiled at a virtual summit of 40 global leaders, essentially doubles their previous promise.
WorldThe TelegraphWho killed Chad’s warrior king? Macron flies into murder mystery troubling the West
Emmanuel Macron touched down in Chad on Friday to pay his respects to one of France's indispensable African strongman, a warrior king allegedly killed on the battlefield in a murder mystery troubling Western leaders. President Idriss Déby Itno was killed suddenly as he visited his troops facing down a heavily armed Russian-trained rebel force that had made a blitzkrieg dash across the Sahara to capture Chad's capital, N'djamena. The Chadian rebels — the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) — who swept out of Libya some two weeks ago in about 400 to 450 vehicles had fought for years as mercenaries in Libya's Civil War under General Khalifa Haftar.
WorldArchitectural DigestBookmark These 11 Places on HipCamp for Your Next Outdoor Retreat
A WiFi break? Yes, please Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.NBC NewsCouple planned wedding at Florida mansion without owner's OK.
A Florida couple attempted to host a two-day wedding celebration at a mansion they didn't have permission to use, and when the owner found out about it on the day of their planned nuptials, he called the police. Courtney Wilson, the groom, and Shenita Jones, the bride, sent elaborate invitations to family and friends to attend their wedding at their "dream home and estate." When Wilson showed up with another person on the morning of his wedding day, ready to begin "setting up," Finkel saw them at the gate and immediately called the police, according to WTVJ.
PoliticsAssociated PressSen. Johnson on others getting shots: 'What do you care?'
Contrary to what medical experts advise, Johnson has said he doesn't need to be vaccinated because he had COVID-19 in the fall. Johnson's comments come as health officials in the U.S. and around the world urge people to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible, saying that reaching herd immunity is the best shot at stopping the uncontrolled spread of the virus. Herd immunity occurs when enough people have been vaccinated or have immunity from natural infection that the virus can't easily spread and the pandemic fizzles out.
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.
- WorldYahoo News Video
Deputy fatally shoots Black man in North Carolina
A North Carolina deputy shot and killed a Black man while serving a search warrant on Wednesday, authorities said, spurring an outcry from community members who demanded law enforcement accountability and the immediate release of body camera footage.
PoliticsAxiosBiden will unveil eye-popping new tax rates for wealthiest Americans
President Biden in the next few days will unveil eye-popping new tax rates for the wealthiest Americans —a top marginal income tax rate of 39.6% and a capital gains rate of 43.4%. Why it matters: The proposal, to be announced ahead of Biden's address to Congress next Wednesday, is an opening bid for Hill negotiations. Practically and politically, the White House needs buy-in from Congress to pay for social spending in the next phase of his plan to reshape the American economy, the American Families Plan.
WorldBusiness InsiderA deadly fight 33 years ago shows just how destructive a war between the US and Iran could get
In April 1988, the US attacked Iran in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the mining of a US ship. Operation Praying Mantis, the largest US naval action since World War II, was brief but deadly. Just before 8:00 a.m. on April 18, 1988, members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) stationed on the Sassan and Sirri oil platforms in the Persian Gulf received a warning from US Navy ships several thousand yards away.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramStorms expected to arrive in DFW Friday afternoon; large hail, tornadoes possible
Storms are expected to move into the Dallas-Fort Worth region by the early afternoon on Friday, bringing the potential for severe weather including heavy rain, strong winds and hail as big as ping pong balls. There will additionally be a threat for tornadoes, especially south of I-20 and east of I-25, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. The storm systems were expected to develop southwest of DFW in the mid-to-late morning and head north, arriving in the metroplex in the early afternoon and continuing into the evening, according to Patrcia Sanchez, a weather service meteorologist.
- U.S.Associated Press
Epic Games CEO saves old growth forests in North Carolina
The founder of Epic Games is donating a large stretch of North Carolina's Appalachian highlands to be preserved as a haven for wildlife. The Asheville-based nonprofit Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy announced the donation of 7,500 acres in the Roan Highlands by Tim Sweeney, the founder and CEO of Epic Games, based in Cary, North Carolina. News outlets reported that the nonprofit group signed a letter of intent on Thursday to accept the land transfer, which should be completed in the next year.
WorldINSIDERHundreds of Jewish supremacists chant 'Death to Arabs' as tensions boil over in Jerusalem clashes
Members of the supremacist group, Lehava, chanted "death to Arabs" as they marched to the Old City. Police were able to separate the two crowds, but The Jerusalem Post still reported incidents of violence and arrests. Planned protests among far-right Jewish extremists and Arab crowds escalated in Jerusalem's Old City Thursday night and early Friday morning amid increasing tensions in the city.
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 TelegraphFemale US Marines take on gruelling 'Crucible training' for first time
More than 50 new female Marines have completed the gruelling "Crucible" training exercise at a San Diego base for the first time in the service's 100-year history. The three-day challenge is one of the most arduous in the US military and is required of recruits hoping to graduate from the historically all-male Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. The training involves target practice, hand-to-hand combat, assault courses and the notoriously difficult "Reaper" hike, which caps off the 13-week boot camp.
U.S.INSIDERMa'Khia Bryant was arguing about cleaning the house when she got into the fight that ended in the police killing her, her foster mom says
Ma'Khia Bryant was having an argument over housekeeping before she got into a fight and a police officer fatally shot her in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, her foster mom said. Angela Moore told CNN that two of her former foster children had come to celebrate her birthday when the dispute started that led to the death of Bryant, who was 16. Moore, who was at work at the time of the shooting, related what one of the former foster children told her had happened.
“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.”