WorldReutersItalian prosecutor seeks life sentences for U.S. students accused of killing
An Italian prosecutor on Saturday demanded life sentences for two young Americans being tried on murder charges after a policeman was killed following a botched drugs sale in Rome. Finnegan Lee Elder, who was 19 at the time, has admitted to stabbing Mario Cerciello Rega in the early hours of July 26, 2019, while his friend Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, then 18, was tussling with another police officer. Under Italian law, anyone who participates even indirectly in a murder can face murder charges.
PoliticsThe IndependentMost Americans disapprove of Biden immigration executive order, as nearly half want to keep border wall
But a poll conducted in February by Harvard University and Harris Insights and Analytics found that 55 per cent of Americans were against the executive order. This executive order was tied as the most controversial one among Americans with an order he signed that would require schools to let biological boys who identify as girls to participate in girls' sports, and vice versa” also receiving 55 per cent disapproval. The poll also asked respondents their thoughts on whether the Biden administration should deconstruct the US-Mexico border wall first created under the Trump administration.
ScienceAssociated PressNASA's new Mars rover hits dusty red road, 1st trip 21 feet
NASA's newest Mars rover hit the dusty red road this week, putting 21 feet on the odometer in its first test drive. The Perseverance rover ventured from its landing position Thursday, two weeks after setting down on the red planet to seek signs of past life. The roundabout, back and forth drive lasted just 33 minutes and went so well that more driving was on tap Friday and Saturday for the the six-wheeled rover.
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.
PoliticsReutersA day after forcing marathon bill reading, Johnson says 'preference' to leave Senate
The day after he single-handedly delayed the U.S. Senate's debate on President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill for 11 hours, Republican Senator Ron Johnson said on Friday that he could retire from office when his term expires. The two-term Republican told Wisconsin media outlets that he has not decided whether to run for reelection in 2022 but added that not seeking another term is "probably my preference now." Political analysts say his seat could be vulnerable to Democrats next year.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
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.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRudy Giuliani's legal woes mount as a federal criminal investigation into his Ukraine dealings resumes, report says
A probe into Rudy Giuliani's business and overseas dealings has resumed, according to AP. The criminal investigation will look into the legality of his conversations with Ukrainian officials. A federal criminal investigation into Rudy Giuliani has resumed, according to the Associated Press.
WorldBBCAung San Suu Kyi: Myanmar democracy icon who fell from grace
In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while still under house arrest, and hailed as "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless". In 2015, she led her National League for Democracy (NLD) to victory in Myanmar's first openly contested election in 25 years. While her image had suffered internationally due to her response to the crisis that befell Myanmar's mostly Muslim Rohingya minority, she remains hugely popular with the country's Buddhist majority.
U.S.The WeekDetroit's mayor rejected a shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Experts say that's nuts.
Experts feared the Johnson & Johnson vaccine's slightly lower efficacy rate would lead to an impression of a two-tiered system. That has been exactly the case in Detroit, where the mayor just rejected a shipment of the company's vaccine. CNN reports that Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D) declined an allocation of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine this week, saying the other available vaccines are better.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden secretly limits drone strikes, amid congressional scrutiny over war powers
The Biden administration secretly put temporary limits on the use of drone strikes and commando raids outside of traditional battlefield settings like Afghanistan or Syria, part of a larger national security review of whether to alter use of force rules from the Trump administration. The changes, which the administration put in place on Mr Biden's first day in office, were first reported on Wednesday by the New York Times, and come as the Biden administration recalibrates the sprawling US footprint across the Middle East, and Congress pushes to rein in the president's war-fighting powers and scrutinises a recent strike in Syria.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe 7 Best Refrigerators on the Market, According to Kitchen Designers
Quality food preservation, storage space, and good-looking design are priorities among kitchen designers when it comes to refrigerators Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
HealthThe StateDoes restaurant dining lead to rises in COVID case and death rates? CDC finds out
A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Friday found that community requirements that support mask use during the pandemic play a large role in county-level COVID-19 case and death growth rates, particularly when it comes to restaurant dining. An analysis of mask mandates and restaurant reopenings in all U.S. counties from March to December 2020 found that significant drops in daily coronavirus cases and death growth rates occurred within 20 days of implementing mask use. Meanwhile, jumps in daily COVID-19 case growth rates were observed starting 40 days after restaurant dining reopened — in which people do not wear masks — while daily death growth rates spiked 60 days after allowing on-site dining.
PoliticsCBS News2,000 page report shows House GOP posting attacks on 2020 election
A Democratic congresswoman has released a nearly 2,000-page report compiling social media posts about the 2020 election from House Republicans who voted to overturn the results. The report lays out how some Republicans relentlessly pushed misinformation and conspiracy theories about election fraud, and kept at it even after Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol. "Like former President Trump, any elected Member of Congress who aided and abetted the insurrection or incited the attack seriously threatened our democratic government," Representative Zoe Lofgren writes in the introduction of her report. The California lawmaker suggests the social media posts could be used as evidence for potential punishments of these Congress members, including expulsion and any criminal charges stemming from the Capitol insurrection.
PoliticsThe IndependentTed Cruz ‘traitor’ billboards go up in his Texas neighbourhood
The group took aim at Mr Cruz after he voted against the congressional certification of the electoral college votes despite the ransacking of the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters on 6 January. In a 17 January statement, the group said that “Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley deserve the most blame for firing up the violent mob of Trump supporters that attacked the U.S Capitol and killed five people”. On the fundraising page for the billboard campaign, the group adds that “rioters who broke into the Senate were quoted as saying Cruz 'would want us to do this.
BusinessFort Worth Star-TelegramTexas regulators will not correct $16 billion in electricity ‘overcharges.’ Why?
At its Friday meeting, the Public Utility Commission of Texas declined to adjust prices that resulted in $16 billion in overcharges to the electricity market during the February winter storm. The governor-appointed regulatory commission, which oversees the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, met with just two members after the resignation of chairperson DeAnn Walker. Commissioners Arthur D'Andrea and Shelly Botkin addressed the Potomac report, which found that ERCOT kept electricity prices too high for at least 33 hours after most outages ended on late Feb. 17.
PoliticsLos Angeles Times OpinionLetters to the Editor: Gavin Newsom stabbed workers in the back by being silent on Prop. 22
To the editor: Gov. Gavin Newsom's Future of Work Commission called for a new "social compact" for workers — an aspiration that took a knife in the back from Newsom's silence on Proposition 22 last November. On the report's goals for improving workers' wages, benefits and rights, increasing racial equity and unionization, Proposition 22 did the opposite. It institutionalized rideshare drivers' status as poverty-level, informal workers.
U.S.The Daily BeastLake of the Ozarks Realtor Offered $1.5K to Have Her Former Mother-in-Law Killed: Prosecutors
She was reportedly concerned about the woman causing problems with her relationship with her kids. Bauman was recorded discussing the scheme, according to a press release from the Camden County prosecutor's office. She was given multiple opportunities to change her mind when asked by a witness-turned-informant if she was sure she wanted to carry out the killing, prosecutors said, but she moved ahead with it, at one point acknowledging that she was a Christian but noting she could always ask for forgiveness later.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden news: Senate at stimulus standstill as CDC ends Covid safeguard for shelters in migrant ‘tsunami’
The US Senate came to an hours-long standstill on the Covid stimulus as negotiations threatened to derail a $1.9 trillion relief legislation that is critical to Joe Biden's efforts to combat the pandemic. As the president made a plea to pass the bill, Donald Trump was focusing on the “spiralling tsunami” of migrants on the US Mexico border in a furious statement blaming Biden for the overwhelmed border agencies. The situation is becoming so dire the CDC is reportedly lifting a Covid safeguard requiring shelters stay at 50 per cent capacity to maintain distancing.
HealthFort Worth Star-TelegramGov. Abbott, where’s the evidence that it’s safe to remove Texas’ mask mandate?
In spite of recent warnings from public health officials, Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the state's mask mandate, effective March 10. In response, we ask: What evidence did the governor use to change policy? We know that public health policy has been far more effective in dealing with the pandemic than individual actions alone.
WorldBusiness InsiderAmerica built the world's most sophisticated cyberweapons. Now they're being used against the country, a new book argues.
The US has long emphasized cyber offense over defense, Nicole Perlroth argues in a new book. But now the weapons it developed are being used against it, the The New York Times reporter said. Perlroth told Insider the US needs to shore up its biggest vulnerability: critical infrastructure.
PoliticsThe Independent‘Always up for a fight’: Mike Pompeo refuses to rule out presidential run on Hannity
Mike Pompeo has refused to rule out a presidential run for 2024, causing speculation the former US secretary of state will throw his hat into the ring. Speaking on Fox News on Wednesday night, Mr Pompeo said he would consider running for president if former President Donald Trump does not. It follows Mr Trump's suggestion on Sunday that he may be considering another run for office in 2024, in a speech delivered to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida.
PoliticsUSA TODAYLive stimulus updates: Senate extends $300 weekly unemployment benefit in Biden's COVID stimulus bill
The Senate amended President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus bill to include a $300 weekly federal unemployment benefit through August. The Senate also passed a Republican proposal to the unemployment benefit Saturday morning. Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman's amendment would have extended the $300 benefit through mid-July – a tweak anathema to progressives, who had pushed for more generous unemployment benefits.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
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.
U.S.INSIDERDisney World guests with COVID rage spit and yell at resort staff trying to enforce safety guidelines, report says
Disney World employees are experiencing harassment from guests, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Workers detailed incidents of being spat and yelled at for trying to enforce COVID-19 safety protocols. Employees of the Walt Disney World Resort have been harassed by furious guests while trying to enforce COVID-19 health and safety guidelines, according to a report by the Orlando Sentinel.
EntertainmentBBCReddit chief: I was late to spot GameStop stock mania
Reddit boss Steve Huffman has told BBC News he supported the aims of controversial sub-Reddit WallStreetBets. A long-time fan of the group, he said he had been slow in spotting its effect on GameStop's huge share-price spike in January. "I was actually a little late to the party, because I didn't realise that Reddit had leaked into the real world again", he said.
“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.”