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 passed legislation this year reworking voting laws, toughening gun background checks and fulfilling other party goals.
U.S.The TelegraphGhislaine Maxwell to appear in person for first time since her arrest as she pleads to new charges
Ghislaine Maxwell is set to appear in person for the first time since her arrest last year in a New York court on Friday, where she is expected to plead not guilty to new sex trafficking charges. Ms Maxwell was granted rare permission to attend the usually procedural court hearing by Judge Alison Nathan. The 59-year-old British socialite has already pleaded not guilty to charges of recruiting and grooming teenage girls from 1994 to 2004 to provide sexual massages to her one-time boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein.
WorldReutersCzechs threaten to expel more Russian diplomats unless Czech staff allowed back
The Czech Republic demanded on Wednesday that Russia allow the return of 20 expelled Czech embassy staff to Moscow by Thursday or face further evictions of its diplomats from Prague. Speaking to reporters, Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek said Prague would equalise staffing at the countries' respective embassies unless Russia allowed the Czechs back. Prague on Saturday expelled 18 Russian staff, whom it identified as intelligence officers, after saying two Russian spies accused of a nerve agent poisoning in Britain in 2018 were behind an earlier explosion at a Czech ammunition depot that killed two people.
- 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.
WorldAssociated PressShooting revives criticism of Israel's use of deadly force
Hours after Israeli soldiers shot and killed Osama Mansour at a temporary checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, the military announced that it had thwarted a car-ramming attack — but the facts didn't seem to add up. Witnesses say the soldiers killed Mansour for no apparent reason, part of what rights groups say is a pattern of fatal shootings of Palestinians by Israeli forces under questionable circumstances. In its initial statement, the Israeli military said the vehicle had accelerated “in a way that endangered the lives of the soldiers” and that forces opened fire to “thwart the threat.”
PoliticsThe Telegraph'Mr President?': Biden and Putin suffer awkward silence in climate summit technical glitch
A technical glitch at the climate summit meant Joe Biden was left hanging for nearly 90 seconds by his political nemesis Vladimir Putin. "I now turn the floor to the President of the Russian Federation," announced Tony Blinken, the US secretary of state. Instead, Mr Putin loomed silently on a giant screen above Mr Biden, Mr Binken and John Kerry, the US climate tsar.
WorldReutersGermany rejects idea of redrawing Western Balkans borders - minister
Germany rejects a redrawing of borders in the Western Balkans along ethnic lines and the idea has been "put back into a drawer", Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Thursday. The idea was raised in an unofficial European Union diplomatic note that alarmed Bosnians, who saw it as a threat to their country's territorial unity, two decades after ethnic conflicts led to war in the region. The note, seen by Reuters, suggested that creating a Greater Serbia, a Greater Albania and a Greater Croatia could help resolve national tensions holding up EU integration in the region.
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.
WorldAssociated PressNew Zealand says Five Eyes security alliance remains strong
New Zealand said Thursday it continues to have a close and productive relationship with the U.S. and other security allies, despite resisting speaking out in unison with them against China on certain human rights issues. New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta discussed her reluctance to expand the role of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance to include stances on human rights. The alliance among New Zealand, the U.S., the U.K, Australia and Canada dates to World War II.
PoliticsKansas City StarMissouri likely ‘going to court either way’ as Senate panel rejects Medicaid expansion funds
A powerful Missouri Senate committee dealt an early blow Wednesday night to Democrats and Medicaid expansion advocates who hoped the upper legislative chamber would restore funding that the House had stripped out of the state budget. In a 7-7 tie, a proposal introduced by Springfield Republican Sen. Lincoln Hough to partially fund the voter-approved expansion failed to clear the Senate Appropriations Committee. Two other Republicans, including Lee's Summit Sen. Mike Cierpiot, joined the committee's four Democrats in voting for it.
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.
WorldArchitectural DigestBookmark These 11 Places on HipCamp for Your Next Outdoor Retreat
A WiFi break? Yes, please Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.Associated PressFederal officers seek to block shooting trial in state court
A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments on whether Virginia prosecutors can bring manslaughter charges against two U.S. Park Police officers accused of fatally shooting an unarmed motorist in 2017. Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano obtained indictments last year against officers Alejandro Amaya and Lucas Vinyard in the shooting death of Bijan Ghaisar, 25, of McLean, after a stop-and-go chase on the George Washington Memorial Parkway near the nation's capital. Descano indicted the pair after the Justice Department opted against filing criminal charges.
WorldReutersDe-coupling from China would be the wrong way to go, Germany warns
The European Union needs to engage with China despite many differences instead of opting for a more isolationist approach, Germany said on Wednesday. "In the EU, we have been describing China as a partner, competitor and systemic rival at the same time," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said ahead of a virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. "In all these three dimensions we need strong, sustainable communication channels with Beijing.
WorldAssociated PressWorries grow about Indonesian sub's crew as oxygen dwindles
Indonesian navy ships were scouring the waters off Bali on Friday as they raced against time to find a submarine that disappeared two days ago and has less than a day's supply of oxygen left for its 53 crew. The KRI Nanggala 402 went missing after its last reported dive Wednesday off the resort island, and concern is mounting the submarine may have sunk too deep to reach or recover. The navy chief said the submarine was expected to run out of oxygen by around 3 a.m. Saturday.
U.S.Raleigh News and Observer21-year-old paratrooper died in jump from Blackhawk helicopter at Fort Bragg, Army says
The 21-year-old Army paratrooper who died Monday at Fort Bragg was killed when something went wrong during a helicopter jump, according to the 82nd Airborne Division. “Jenks was conducting a static-line jump from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter when she suffered the fatal injury,” the 82nd Airborne reported. An investigation is underway, Army officials said.
U.S.Associated PressMan killed by deputy recalled as storyteller, jokester
Andrew Brown Jr.'s easy smile, which belied hardship, loss and troubles with the law, was memorable for his dimples, his relatives said. The 42-year-old Black man from Elizabeth City, North Carolina, was shot to death Wednesday by one or more deputy sheriffs trying to serve drug-related search and arrest warrants. The shooting has prompted protests and demands for accountability in the eastern North Carolina city of about 18,000.
WorldUSA TODAYFact check: No evidence to back claim that man convicted for Floyd's murder was not Derek Chauvin
Fact check: Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts but has yet to be sentenced The post includes several images of Chauvin from the day he killed Floyd, his mugshot and his trial. A close-up image highlights perceived differences in Chauvin's ear shape between his mugshot and images taken during Floyd's murder. Two different people.
U.S.Miami HeraldMinutes into a 911 call a Florida driver realizes what smashed through her windshield
“Something just came through the windshield and hit my mom in the head!” a woman cried out to a 911 dispatcher after she pulled over on Interstate 95 while driving to Daytona Beach on Wednesday. On the 911 call, the driver, heeding directions from the dispatcher, works to stem the bleeding, using towels. “There's so much blood,” the driver says.
U.S.Associated PressParents sue father accused of hiding Kristin Smart's body
The parents of missing California college student Kristin Smart on Thursday sued the father of the man charged with killing their daughter nearly 25 years ago. The lawsuit filed in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court said Smart's body was buried in Ruben Flores's backyard and he moved the body “under cover of darkness” to another location a few days after investigators searched his property in February 2020. Ruben Flores, 80, pleaded not guilty to accessory after murder on Monday, and his son, Paul Flores, 44, pleaded not guilty to murder.
U.S.Kansas City StarOf course Josh Hawley was the only no on anti-Asian hate crime bill. That’s his brand
Sen. Josh Hawley, last seen encouraging a riot at the U.S. Capitol, now thinks America is too tough on hate crimes. Hawley, who had just been elected Missouri's attorney general when he started running for the U.S. Senate, is not even right about being a former prosecutor, though the AG's office does have certain prosecutorial powers. Among other things, the bill would require the attorney general to appoint someone to monitor hate crimes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, giving those crimes “expedited review.”
ScienceReutersNASA-SpaceX set to launch next 4-member crew to International Space Station
(Reuters) -NASA and commercial rocket company SpaceX were due to launch a new four-astronaut team to the International Space Station early on Friday in what would be the first crew propelled into orbit by a rocket booster recycled from a previous spaceflight. The company's Crew Dragon capsule, the Endeavour, was set for liftoff atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:49 a.m. Eastern time (0949 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The nearly 24-hour ride to the space station, which orbits some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth, had been set to begin on Thursday but was delayed for a day by unfavorable weather forecasts along the rocket's flight path.
BusinessAssociated PressAirlines waiting for word from Boeing on fixing Max planes
More than 100 new Boeing 737 Max jetliners remain grounded by problems with an electrical issue in some components, and airlines are waiting for Boeing to come up with a plan for repairing the planes. The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that it has notified other aviation regulators and airlines that it is working with Boeing “to fully identify and address” a problem with electrical grounding in a backup power-control unit. Boeing discovered the problem on its assembly line and reported it to the FAA on April 7.
WorldBBCVaranasi: The viral picture that defines India's Covid distress
A heartbreaking image of a mother sitting with the lifeless body of her 29-year-old son at her feet has gone viral in India. The photo shows an exhausted Chandrakala Singh, sitting stone-faced in an electric rickshaw with the body of her son Vineet Singh, on a busy street in the city of Varanasi in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The haunting image is just one example of the plight of Indians trapped between a raging pandemic and a healthcare system on the brink of collapse.
WorldAssociated PressJordan releases alleged plotters following king's appeal
Jordan released 16 people detained earlier this month over an alleged foreign-backed conspiracy linked to a former crown prince after King Abdullah II requested they be let go in honor of the holy month of Ramadan. The 16, including tribal leaders and former senior officials, were arrested during a crackdown in which authorities placed Prince Hamzah, the king's half-brother, under a form of house arrest. The prince denied being part of any plot and accused authorities of trying to silence his criticism of corruption and misrule in the country, which is a close Western ally.
“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.”