U.S.The Week'Highly unlikely' Chauvin trial ends in 'all-out' acquittal, legal analyst predicts
As Minneapolis and the rest of the nation brace for the looming verdict in former police officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial, ABC News' chief legal analyst Dan Abrams said Sunday that he believe it is "highly unlikely" the trial is headed toward an "all-out" acquittal. Closing arguments still have to take place, and Abrams noted that the defense has the benefit of not having to prove that Chauvin did not kill George Floyd by kneeling on his neck during an arrest last May (the burden of proof is on the prosecution and the defense's goal is to show there's reasonable doubt), but, still, he said he and others who have followed the trial closely would be "stunned" if Chauvin was found not guilty on all three of charges — second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter — he faces.
WorldReutersDeadly clashes after Islamists take police hostage in Pakistan's Lahore
Police in Pakistan said a hardline Islamist group had taken six security personnel hostage at its headquarters in Lahore on Sunday after a week of violent clashes following the arrest of the group's leader. The Tehrik-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) group had given the government an April 20 deadline to expel the French ambassador over the publication of cartoons in France depicting the Prophet Mohammad. The authorities responded by arresting its leader, prompting supporters to hold protests and sit-ins across Pakistan.
U.S.BBCIndianapolis FedEx shooting: Who were the eight victims?
Officials in Indianapolis have released the names of the eight people who were killed when a gunman opened fire at a FedEx warehouse on Thursday night. Among the victims were four members of the local Sikh community - including a mother, a father and two grandmothers. Other victims include two 19-year-olds, a university graduate and a father.
- U.S.Associated Press
Couple: Man has tossed used cups in their yard for 3 years
An upstate New York couple may have finally solved the mystery of who's been tossing used coffee cups in their front yard for nearly three years. Edward and Cheryl Patton told The Buffalo News they tried mounting a camera in a tree in front of their home in Lake View to catch the phantom litterer. After Edward Patton called police, they waited and pulled over a vehicle driven by 76-year-old Larry Pope, who Cheryl Patton said had once worked with her and had had disagreements with her over union issues.
U.S.The TelegraphDemocratic congresswoman urges protesters to stay on streets if Derek Chauvin is cleared
A veteran Democratic congresswoman has urged demonstrators to become more confrontational if Derek Chauvin is cleared of killing George Floyd. Maxine Waters, who has represented her California district since 1991, joined a crowd in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota protesting the last week's police shooting of Daunte Wright. Mr Wright, 20, an Afro-American, was shot dead by Kimberley Potter, a veteran police officer who said she had accidentally fired her gun, thinking it was a taser.
WorldReutersRussia beefs up warship presence in Black Sea as Ukraine tensions simmer
Two Russian warships transited the Bosphorus en route to the Black Sea on Saturday and 15 smaller vessels completed a transfer to the sea as Moscow beefs up its naval presence at a time of tense relations with the West and Ukraine. The reinforcement coincides with a huge build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine, something Moscow calls a temporary defensive exercise, and follows an escalation in fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces. Russia's relations with Washington, which cancelled the deployment of two of its own warships to the Black Sea last week after fierce Russian protests, are at a post-Cold war low.
U.S.The State‘No one was driving’ Tesla before fatal fiery crash that kept reigniting, Texas cops say
It appears no one was driving a Tesla Model S when it crashed into a tree and burst into flames, killing the two people in the car, Texas police say. The crash happened around 9 p.m. in a Spring subdivision, KTRK reported. Mark Herman, Harris County Constable for Precinct Four, said the two passengers in the car were pronounced dead at the scene, KHOU reported.
- WorldAssociated Press
Military officials: Fighting rages in two Yemeni provinces
Fighting between forces of Yemen's internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels raged in the provinces of Marib and Taiz, killing at least 70 fighters on both sides, officials said Sunday. The increase in violence came over the past 24 hours and at least 85 others were wounded, military officials from the two sides said. The Iranian-backed rebels in February renewed their offensive on the oil-rich province of Marib, an anti-Houthi stronghold held by the internationally recognized government.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Czechs suspect Russian link to depot blast
The Czech Republic has alleged Russia was involved in a 2014 ammunition depot explosion, triggering its biggest dispute with Moscow since the end of the communist era. Late Saturday (April 18), it expelled 18 Russian embassy staff and said investigations linked Russian intelligence to the blast. Meanwhile, Czech police said they were searching for the two men Britain charged with the Novichok poisoning in the English city of Salisbury in 2018, and said they were in the Czech Republic in the days leading up to the depot blast.
WorldThe TelegraphDouglas Ross to unveil Scots Tories' manifesto with call to halt 'reckless and dangerous' independence referendum
Douglas Ross will on Monday call on pro-UK voters to unite behind the Scottish Tories to prevent "reckless and dangerous" SNP plans for a new independence referendum. The Scottish Tory leader will unveil pledges including a £600m one-off funding boost to the NHS to help the health service tackle a treatment and diagnosis backlog caused by the pandemic, when he unveils his manifesto for the Holyrood elections. He will attack the SNP for presenting a “fantasy wish-list” to voters in their manifesto last week, which included free bikes for children, an end to NHS dentist charges and large increases to welfare payments.
U.S.ReutersFive shot, critically injured in Louisiana; 3rd U.S. multiple shooting in one day
Five people were hospitalized after being shot and critically injured in a drive-by shooting at a liquor store in Shreveport, Louisiana, CBS-affiliated television station KSLA reported Sunday. With details still scarce hours after the shooting, authorities described the injuries as life-threatening, with police on the lookout for a white Ford car, the report said. The incident was the third multiple shooting reported within 24 hours in the United States, already on edge over a surge in shootings in recent weeks.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘I’m a Christian woman of God.’ Texas school board candidate cited after refusing mask.
A Texas school board candidate near Austin was arrested for assault after an altercation with a Nordstrom Rack employee earlier this month. Video of Kara Bell's arrest has gone viral. It shows the woman arguing with Nordstrom employees inside near the fitting rooms and then with the police outside the store.
WorldAssociated PressJapan seeks release of Japanese journalist held in Myanmar
Japan's government said Monday it is asking Myanmar to release a Japanese journalist who was arrested by security forces in its largest city of Yangon the previous day. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters Monday that his government is asking Myanmar authorities to explain the arrest and provide other details while asking for his release as soon as possible. He did not identify the detainee, but Japanese media identified him as Yuki Kitazumi, a former Nikkei business newspaper reporter currently based in Yangon as a freelance journalist.
U.S.Business InsiderMarjorie Taylor Greene says she'll introduce a resolution to expel Rep. Maxine Waters for her 'continual incitement of violence.'
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she'd introduce a resolution to expel Rep. Maxine Waters. Greene said Waters incited violence when she spoke with protesters in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Protests in the city have gone on for a week following the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright.
BusinessAssociated PressVW, Ford unveil SUVs at China auto show under virus controls
Volkswagen, Ford and Chinese brands unveiled new SUVs for China's growing market on Monday at the Shanghai auto show, the industry's biggest marketing event in a year overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. Automakers are looking to China, the biggest auto market by sales volume and the first major economy to rebound from the pandemic, to propel a sales revival and reverse multibillion-dollar losses. Auto Shanghai 2021 takes place under anti-virus controls that included holding some news conferences by video link.
WorldBBCCovid-19: How India failed to prevent a deadly second wave
In early March, India's health minister Harsh Vardhan declared the country was "in the endgame" of the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Vardhan also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership as an "example to the world in international co-operation". From January onwards, India had begun shipping doses to foreign countries as part of its much-vaunted "vaccine diplomacy".
U.S.Business InsiderSen. Ted Cruz accused Rep. Maxine Waters of 'actively encouraging riots and violence' after she protested the police killing of Daunte Wright
Sen. Ted Cruz accused Rep. Maxine Waters of inciting violence at protests against police brutality. Waters rallied against recent police killings of Black men, telling demonstrators to remain in place. "Democrats actively encouraging riots & violence," Cruz tweeted in response to Waters' remarks.
PoliticsAssociated PressGOP White House hopefuls move forward as Trump considers run
Less than three months after former President Donald Trump left the White House, the race to succeed him atop the Republican Party is already beginning. Trump's former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has launched an aggressive schedule, visiting states that will play a pivotal role in the 2024 primaries, and he has signed a contract with Fox News Channel. Mike Pence, Trump's former vice president, has started a political advocacy group, finalized a book deal and later this month will give his first speech since leaving office in South Carolina.
WorldAssociated PressIndia's electric vehicles face practical, technical hurdles
H.S. Panno, an independent contractor living in a spacious two-story penthouse in New Delhi, had his doubts when he bought his first electric car in September. EVs are a rarity in India, where more than 300 million vehicles, most of them scooters and three-wheel motorized rickshaws, jam the highways. The country is now making an ambitious push for what it calls “electric mobility,” to reduce smog.
U.S.Business InsiderDr. Fauci responds to uptick in gun violence in the US: 'How can you say that's not a public health issue?'
Dr. Fauci spoke on the rise in gun violence in the United States this year, calling it "horrifying." "How can you say that's not a public health issue?" Fauci said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. Dr. Anthony Fauci called the uptick in mass shootings "horrifying" when asked on CNN's "State of the Union" if gun violence is a public health emergency.
CelebrityThe TelegraphRoyal summit to decide future of monarchy to be led by Prince Charles and Prince William
The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge will hold a summit to decide the future of the monarchy over the next two generations following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. In consultation with the Queen, Britain's next two kings will decide how many full-time working members the Royal family should have, who they should be, and what they should do. The death of Prince Philip has left the Royal family with the immediate question of how and whether to redistribute the hundreds of patronages he retained.
HealthAssociated PressBitter experience helps French ICUs crest latest virus wave
Slowly suffocating in a French intensive care ward, Patrick Aricique feared he would die from his diseased lungs that felt “completely burned from the inside, burned like the cathedral in Paris,” as tired doctors and nurses labored day and night to keep gravely ill COVID-19 patients like him alive. On his side were French medical professionals who, forged on the bitter experiences of previous infection waves, now fight relentlessly to keep patients awake and off mechanical ventilators, if at all possible. While mechanical ventilation is unavoidable for some patients, it's a step taken less systematically now than at the start of the pandemic.
WorldINSIDERNeighbor who tossed an elderly Jewish woman off a balcony while yelling 'Allahu Akbar' avoids trial because he smoked weed
Kobili Traoré killed an Orthodox Jewish woman in 2018 by throwing her off her balcony in Paris. France's top court has ruled that he will not go on trial because he was in a drug-induced psychosis. Cannabis was found in Traoré's blood after he was taken into custody for the killing.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderAbout a dozen OAN employees have quit in recent months as some staffers don't believe the stories run on air, report says
The New York Times reported that about a dozen staffers have recently exited One America News. The network leans heavily in favor of ex-President Donald Trump and has peddled false claims. Employees of the cable network One America News do not believe all of the claims that are aired on it, according to a report by The New York Times.
U.S.INSIDER3 people are dead and 2 are injured after a mass shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Three people were fatally shot at a restaurant in Kenosha, Wisconsin early Sunday morning. A shooter killed three people and injured two others at a Wisconsin tavern early Sunday morning. The shooting occurred at The Somers House Tavern in Kenosha just after midnight, as CNN reported.
“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.”