NewsReutersJustice Thomas speaks as U.S. top court confronts racial bias in jury selection
U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared poised to side with a black Mississippi death row inmate put on trial six times for a 1996 quadruple murder who accused a prosecutor of repeatedly blocking black potential jurors, though the court's only black member sounded skeptical. Justice Clarence Thomas, who had not posed a question during an oral argument in three years, asked several in the case involving Curtis Flowers, 48, who has argued that his constitutional right to a fair trial was violated. Thomas, an idiosyncratic conservative and only the second African American ever appointed to the court, signaled through his questions he might vote against Flowers, who otherwise drew broad support among the other justices, both liberal and conservative.
NewsUSA TODAYHarvard University sued over allegedly profiting from what are believed to be the earliest photos of American slaves
Among the photographed: an African man named Renty and his daughter, Delia. Former professor Louis Agassiz, a biologist, had the photos taken to support an erroneous theory called polygenism that he and others used to argue that African-Americans were inferior to white people. Now, a woman who says she is a direct descendant of that father and child – Tamara Lanier, the great-great-great granddaughter of Renty – is suing Harvard over the photos.
PoliticsYahoo NewsElizabeth Warren: Time to end the Electoral College
Warren was taking questions in Jackson, Miss., on CNN when an audience member asked her about voter disenfranchisement. The senator proposed a constitutional amendment that would ensure the right to vote for every American citizen, rolling back voter suppression laws at the state level, and essentially restoring the Voting Rights Act, which the Supreme Court gutted in 2013. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic 2020 presidential candidate, speaks to supporters in Memphis.
- WorldUSA TODAY Opinion
New Zealand attacks unite government on gun control. America stands divided.
The United States, Australia and New Zealand share a historical heritage of frontier adventurism — the kind that bred a familiarity with firearms as tools for putting food on the table, or later as a sporting pastime. But the similarity ends abruptly when the evildoers of those societies use semi-automatic weapons to commit slaughter — as happened Friday in Christchurch, New Zealand, where a gunman killed 50 worshipers at two mosques. In the wake of that horror, the New Zealand government moved rapidly to announce that by next Monday, it will unveil plans for tightening gun laws that could potentially include a ban on military-style rifles and require registration of all guns.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump-Russia investigation to turn focus on whether president is under foreign influence
The House Intelligence Committee will shift its focus into probing whether Donald Trump or any of his associates are under the influence of foreign powers, the chairman of the committee has revealed. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who leads the House investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, said in a new interview that he is worried about whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office has thoroughly probed the president's financial ties to Russia. “From what we can see either publicly or otherwise, it's very much an open question whether this is something the special counsel has looked at,” Mr Schiff told NBC News in a report published on Wednesday.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Minnesota to help Nebraska flood fight
The order came after Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts requested Minnesota Army National Guard helicopter support. Minnesota sent one CH-47 Chinook helicopter with 10 personnel to support flood response operations in Nebraska on Wednesday morning. Minnesota Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen says in a statement that the emergency executive order will remain in effect until the emergency flood conditions in Nebraska ease.
PoliticsUSA TODAYDevin Nunes sued a Twitter account dedicated to a cow. Now it has more followers than he does
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., filed a $250 million lawsuit earlier this week against Twitter and a number of parody accounts that poked fun at the congressman, a fierce defender of President Donald Trump. Two days after the lawsuit was filed Monday, @DevinCow, which had less than 2,000 followers, now boasts a following of nearly half a million on Twitter.
WorldAFP'Generation Nazarbayev' jokes, hopes after Kazakh leader resigns
People under 30 in Kazakhstan have only known one leader -- Nursultan Nazarbayev, who announced his resignation this week after shepherding the country from the Soviet era. His stage-managed departure -- he will keep key posts and significant political influence -- has left Kazakh millennials wondering what will come next. "The word 'Nazarbayev' means something like the word 'parent'," said 18-year-old film student Madi Makanov, who lives in the country's largest city Almaty.
- NewsPopular Mechanics
Lion Air Pilots Were Checking the 737 Max 8's Handbook Right Before the Plane Crashed
Moments before Lion Air Flight 610 plunged into the Java Sea killing all 189 people onboard last October, pilots of the plane searched through a handbook looking for guidance on how to rescue the aircraft from its downward trajectory, Reuters reports. Three sources familiar with the investigation of the Boeing 737 Max 8's flight data recorders gave a visceral play-by-play of what ensued inside the cockpit, when a faulty sensor on the plane's fuselage triggered an automated anti-stall system that sent the plane into a nosedive. Boeing's 737 Max 8 aircraft have been grounded by aviation authorities across the world after two catastrophic crashes in five months.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
Punctuation Marks
Sculptural side tables in bold hues or luxe materials add that functional finishing touch
BusinessFOX News VideosLoesch: CNN's gun control townhall was an embarrassing display of bias
CNN townhall on gun control wins award; radio host Dana Loesch on the hostility she faced during the townhall.
PoliticsReutersTrump rejects idea of expanding U.S. Supreme Court
President Donald Trump on Tuesday ruled out the idea of expanding the nine-member U.S. Supreme Court, using a question about "court packing" to criticize Democrats in a preview of a likely attack line for the 2020 election. Trump said he "wouldn't entertain that," when asked about expanding the size of the court at a news conference. quot;The only reason they're doing that is they want to try to catch up, so if they can't catch up through the ballot box by winning an election they want to try doing it in a different way," the Republican president added, referring to Democrats.
- WorldThe Telegraph
New Zealand holds first funerals for victims of Christchurch massacre
A father and son who fled the civil war in Syria for "the safest country in the world" were buried before hundreds of mourners on Wednesday. The funerals of Khalid Mustafa, 44, and Hamza Mustafa, 15, came five days after a white supremacist methodically gunned down 50 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch - a massacre that he broadcast live on Facebook. Hamza's high school principal described the student as compassionate and hardworking, and said he was an excellent horse rider who aspired to be a veterinarian.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Biden Has Started Telling Supporters He Plans to Run for President, Source Says
The race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination may be about to get a front-runner. Former Vice President Joe Biden has told some supporters that he's making plans to jump into the race, joining a diverse field of candidates vying to challenge President Donald Trump, a person familiar with the conversations said. Biden, 76, has led in early polls of primary voters, and could capture significant support from major Democratic donors, many of whom have held off from backing other candidates while awaiting his decision.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Supreme Court will decide if convicted sniper in 2002 District of Columbia-area killings can get new sentence
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether life-without-parole sentences for the primary gunman in a series of murders that terrorized the Washington region in 2002 must be reconsidered. The justices will hear the state of Virginia's appeal of a federal appeals court ruling that Lee Boyd Malvo should be resentenced because he was a teenager at the time of the crimes. Malvo was 17 during the shooting spree that killed 10 people in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
- NewsReuters
Flooding will continue into next week in storm-ravaged Midwest
The flooding that devastated the U.S. Midwest is likely to last into next week, as rain and melted snow flow into Kansas, Missouri and Mississippi, the National Weather Service said. Floods driven by melting snow in the Dakotas will persist even as Nebraska and Iowa dig out from storms that have killed four people, left one missing and caused more than a billion dollars in damage to crops, livestock and roads. "It's already not looking good downstream for the middle and lower Mississippi and Missouri (rivers) into Kansas, Mississippi and Missouri," Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the NWS's Weather Prediction Center, said early Wednesday.
- NewsMashable
Aggressive Instagramming is ruining Southern California's super bloom
Fields of fiery "super bloom" poppies are lighting up the hills of Walker Canyon in Lake Elsinore, a city about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Thanks to uncommonly heavy rains this winter, much of Southern California is seeing a massive burst of wildflower blooms across the state. The poppies in Walker Canyon are so lush, they can be seen from space.
- BusinessCNBC
FAA says reviewing 737 Max software fix is 'an agency priority'
Boeing has also developed flight crew training related to this software. The FAA's ongoing review of this software installation and training is an agency priority, as will be the roll-out of any software, training, or other measures to operators of the 737 Max." Boeing is hoping to have the new software finalized by March 25, according to a person familiar with the matter, but it will not issue the updated software to airlines until it's been approved by the FAA.
- BusinessCar and Driver
Ford Will Build the Mustang Hybrid in Michigan and the Mustang-Inspired Electric Crossover in Mexico
Ford has announced production changes that coincide with pending requirements of the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USCMA) and potential tariffs on imported vehicles. Ford is adding more jobs to its Flat Rock, Michigan plant than it had anticipated, including for a fleet of automated vans. The Mustang Hybrid and an unnamed electric crossover are still on schedule.
NewsThe IndependentFox News contributor called 'complete moron' for falsely saying US was first to end slavery
Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich attempted to counter Senator Elizabeth Warren's call to discuss the injustices of slavery, and its lasting systemic impact on generations of African-Americans, by claiming that the United States does not get “enough credit” for ending slavery. While discussing reparations to descendents of enslaved people on Fox News' "Outnumbered" on Tuesday, Ms Pavlich claimed that the US was the first country to abolish slavery. They keep blaming America for the sin of slavery but the truth is, throughout human history, slavery existed, and America came along as the first country to end it within 150 years,” she said.
- NewsTime
The Supreme Court Ruled That Immigrants With a Criminal Past Can Be Detained Years After Serving Time
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the government can detain immigrants with past criminal records even after they have completed their prison terms, issuing a narrow verdict that sided with the Trump Administration's pursuit of hardline immigration policies. The 5-4 decision was led by the court's conservative justices and dissented by its liberal wing. The ruling reverses a determination by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which stated that migrants can only be put in immigration detention within 24 hours of their release from criminal custody, as opposed to months, or even years later.
- BusinessCar and Driver
See Spy Photos of the Jeep Wrangler Plug-In Hybrid
The plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler could function as an alternative power source in addition to offering improved fuel efficiency. From Car and Driver
WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: Facebook: AI failed to detect NZ video
The Latest on the mosque attacks in New Zealand (all times local): 11:30 p.m. Facebook says its artificial intelligence systems failed to automatically detect the New Zealand mosque shooting video. A senior executive at the social media giant responded in a blog post to criticism that it didn't act quickly enough to take down the gunman's livestream video of his attack in Christchurch that left 50 people dead, allowing it to spread rapidly online.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY Opinion
The bread crumb papers: Why Cohen document dump should worry Donald Trump and others
While the case against former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is over, the search warrants and other documents unsealed Tuesday contain a series of bread crumbs telling us what may lie ahead in investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller and others. The bulk of the redactions appear in a section called "The Illegal Campaign Contribution Scheme.” Among the crimes to which Cohen pleaded guilty was a scheme involving payments to suppress allegations of Trump's relationships with women to prevent the stories from influencing the 2016 presidential election. Cohen pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws by causing a corporate contribution and making an excess contribution.
NewsReutersPence arrives in Nebraska as U.S. Midwest reels from historic floods
Vice President Mike Pence in Nebraska on Tuesday took stock of the devastation unleashed across the U.S. Midwest by floods that have killed four people, left one missing and caused more than a billion dollars in damage to crops, livestock and roads. The way communities come together and people volunteer to put themselves in harm's way to help others," Pence said Tuesday in Omaha, according to an official statement. Pence also said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is working to expedite a request from Nebraska's governor for a federal emergency declaration, which will provide more aid to the state.
