U.S.The TelegraphIdaho school shooting: 'Absolute blessing' no one dead after young schoolgirl opens fire on classmates
A girl reported to be 11 or 12 years old has been taken into police custody after shooting two students and a cleaner before being disarmed by a teacher at a school in Idaho. The child pulled a handgun from her backpack on Thursday and fired multiple rounds inside and outside Rigby Middle School in the small city of Rigby, about 95 miles southwest of Yellowstone National Park. “It's an absolute blessing" that they weren't more badly injured, said Dr Michael Lemon, the trauma medical director at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Centre.
PoliticsAssociated PressIn GOP stronghold, Biden pushes for his infrastructure plan
With a badly aging bridge as his backdrop, President Joe Biden stood in reliably Republican Louisiana on Thursday to pressure GOP lawmakers to support his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan — and yet express a willingness to compromise on the corporate tax hikes he's recommending to pay the cost. Biden leaned into the stagecraft of the presidency by choosing to speak in the city of Lake Charles, which has been battered by historic storms and is home to a 70-year-old bridge that is two decades past its designed lifespan. The Democratic president, who wants to raise corporate taxes, challenged Republican dogma that low taxes for corporations and the wealthy fuel economic growth.
U.S.The WeekOhio state senator caught driving during work videoconference insists he wasn't distracted from the road
Ohio state Sen. Andrew Brenner (R) showed up to work Monday, participating in a videoconference meeting of the budget-adjusting Ohio Controlling Board. "The problem for Brenner was that he did so while driving, while his government meeting was being recorded, and while his legislative colleagues were pressing to tighten rules on using smartphones behind the wheel," The Washington Post reported Thursday. "A recording of the nearly 13-minute videoconference — much of which overlapped with Brenner's drive — showed the seat-belt-using senator repeatedly glancing in the direction of his phone, which had been placed to his right."
LifestyleArchitectural Digest27 College Graduation Gifts They'll Need (and Actually Want) This Year
Uncertain times call for gifts you know they'll love Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldAssociated PressAhead of Harris meeting, Mexico president accuses US
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday that Mexico has complained to U.S. officials about their alleged financing for an anticorruption group that he said has engaged in political activity against his administration. Speaking at a news conference shortly before a scheduled online meeting with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, López Obrador displayed tax records that appeared to show payments from the U.S. government to Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity. “It is an interventionist act that violated our sovereignty,” said López Obrador, who announced that Mexico had filed a diplomatic note with the U.S. Embassy.
U.S.Kansas City StarMushroom hunter wanders upon woman’s body — but Missouri police can’t find her family
The body of a woman discovered by a mushroom hunter in Missouri has been identified, officials say. On April 10, the mushroom hunter found human remains in a wooded area of Branson near state Highway 248 and Gretna Road, officials say. Branson police and the Taney County coroner searched the area for clues for the next day in hopes of learning how the woman died.
PoliticsThe WeekConservatives say McConnell is battling the Democrats' voting rights bill with 'Supreme Court fight' fervor
Florida on Thursday joined Georgia in enacting a sweeping Republican election law that constricts voting rights in the state, and Texas, which already had some of the most stringent voting laws in the country, is on the cusp of joining them. Democrats were not able to stop the new voting laws in the country's biggest red states, but House Democrats passed their own countervailing national voting rights legislation, the "For the People Act" or HR1, in March, and Senate Democrats are working on their own version, S1. When Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that "100 percent of my focus is on stopping this new administration," these voting reform bills might have been what he had in mind.
ScienceAssociated PressNASA Mars helicopter heard humming through thin Martian air
First came the amazing pictures, then the video. Now NASA is sharing sounds of its little helicopter humming through the thin Martian air. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California released this first-ever audio Friday, just before Ingenuity was set to soar on its fifth test flight.
BusinessBBCHoliday costs to jump in summer, warns travel boss
Prices for international travel are set to rise this year due to pent-up demand and fewer aeroplanes in service, a travel boss has warned. Booking.com's chief executive Glenn Fogel told the BBC that holiday "prices are already going up". Many airlines have significantly reduced the number of flights they operate due to travel restrictions.
BusinessAssociated PressNorwegian Cruise Line threatens to skip Florida's ports
Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line is threatening to steer clear of Florida after the governor signed legislation banning businesses from requiring that customers show proof of vaccination against COVID-19. The company says the law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis is at odds with guidelines from federal health authorities that would let cruise ships sail in U.S. waters if nearly all passengers and crew members are vaccinated. Del Rio told analysts during the company's quarterly earnings call Thursday that if the company can't operate in Florida, it can go to other states or the Caribbean “for ships that otherwise would have gone to Florida ... we certainly hope it doesn't come to that.”
BusinessFort Worth Star-TelegramEven bonuses and more pay can’t lure some Dallas-Fort Worth workers back. Here’s why
After an up-and-down year due to the pandemic, customers are now flocking back to Banh Mi Viet, a neighborhood restaurant in far north Fort Worth that features Vietnamese-style baguette sandwiches and other delicacies like those found on that country's streets. The general manager, Nhien Nguyen, only wishes he had enough workers at his eatery to stay open more than five days a week, so he could meet the demand. Across the Dallas-Fort Worth region, restaurant owners and retailers say they're struggling to return their businesses to pre-pandemic levels of operation, mainly because they can't fill job vacancies.
- WorldKGO – San Francisco
Parents, attorney respond after Bay Area students given life sentence
"It's bewildering. They gave him and they gave Gabe a sentence that is befitting a mafia boss who wantonly kills innocent people," Craig Peters, lawyer for the Elder family, said of the verdict.
U.S.Kansas City StarSeveral families sue Johnson County school districts over ‘the trauma’ of COVID masks
The families of 16 children in Johnson County are suing the Blue Valley and Olathe districts, arguing that their students should be allowed to attend school during the pandemic without wearing masks. Attorney Linus Baker said the parents he is representing challenged their districts' mask requirements under Senate Bill 40, which empowers parents to quickly fight such COVID-19 restrictions. The lawsuit, which began in Johnson County district court, was moved to federal court this week.
WorldThe TelegraphKeir Starmer running out of time to prove Labour has any point at all
He's got about a year to demonstrate that he can turn things around,” said one Labour MP, “otherwise the party will increasingly start to look for someone who can inspire the public in a way that so far he has failed to do. Sir Keir promised to “carry the can” for the result of the Hartlepool by-election, and he has few excuses after approving a candidate championed by his own team. The selection of Paul Williams, a remainer who lost his seat as the MP for nearby Stockton South at the last election, proved that Sir Keir is “tone deaf when it comes to the North”, according to one northern Labour MP who narrowly retained their seat in 2019.
U.S.Miami Herald‘Bad government.’ First Amendment experts question DeSantis’ ‘exclusive’ bill signing
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis not only broke from decades of precedent on Thursday when he blocked all news outlets except FOX News from covering the signing of a voting bill into law. “The law leaves no question as to the impropriety of banning certain media while allowing only friendly media,” said Pamela Marsh, executive director of the First Amendment Foundation, an organization that advocates for open government and represents news organizations, including the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald.
BusinessBBCUS jobs figures fall far short of expectations
US employers hired fewer workers than expected last month despite a huge stimulus package that saw the government send $1,400 (£1,000) cheques to most Americans. Just 266,000 jobs were added in April and the unemployment rate edged up to 6.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It said a hiring spree among leisure and hospitality businesses was offset by declining courier numbers.
U.S.INSIDERDerek Chauvin was indicted in the arrest of a 14-year-old whom prosecutors say he knelt on for 17 minutes and hit with a flashlight
Chauvin is accused of using his authority as an officer to deprive the teen of his rights. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A federal grand jury has indicted the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on a civil-rights charge in the 2017 arrest of a 14-year-old boy.
PoliticsAxiosThe evidence is piling up: Trump's iron grip over the GOP has been institutionalized
Republican officials are rendering an unequivocal verdict: They want to cement former President Trump's politics and policies into the foundation of the GOP for many years to come. Why it matters: The debate over Trump's post-election hold on the GOP is over — it has gotten stronger since the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. The evidence is overwhelming: House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, a Trump critic, is expected to get booted from leadership next week for saying Trump's claims of an illegitimate Biden victory are lies and destructive.
- U.S.Tribune Publishing
At 16, she drove drunk and killed a man. At 24, cops say she did it again.
Jennifer Carvajal admitted she was drunk early one morning a few weeks shy of her 17th birthday. Last summer, Carvajal was once again in court, accused of violating probation by walking away from a substance abuse treatment facility. Two weeks ago, authorities say Carvajal was once again driving drunk.
U.S.Lexington Herald-Leader‘Amazing victory for LGBTQ youth.’ Lexington council votes to ban conversion therapy.
State-licensed providers will no longer be able to practice conversion therapy on LGBTQ youth in Fayette County starting immediately. On Thursday, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted unanimously to pass an ordinance that prohibits the practice that has been widely discredited by nearly every major medical group. Lexington is believed to be the third city in Kentucky to ban conversion therapy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals under the age of 18.
U.S.The IndependentFlorida man convicted of plotting armed attack on Trump supporters
A man in Florida was arrested and charged for plotting an attack against supporters of Donald Trump in the days before the inauguration of Joe Biden in January. Daniel Alan Baker, a 33-year-old from Tallahassee, attempted to recruit others to take part in an attack on supporters of the former US president, according to court documents and the FBI. In a statement on Thursday, acting US Attorney Jason R. Coody said “the defendant's threats of armed violence to inhibit expression of political views different than his own are both unlawful and dangerous.”
EntertainmentRaleigh News and ObserverWhat to Watch Friday: 20/20 reports developments on toddler murder case
20/20 (9 p.m., ABC) - ABC News anchor David Muir reports on shocking new details about the abduction and murder of three-year-old Riley Fox, who disappeared from Wilmington, Illinois, in June 2004. Tonight's program reports on how the mystery of the case unraveled, including how authorities mistakenly zeroed in on Riley's father, Kevin Fox, who was represented by Chicago attorney Kathleen Zellner (also connected to the Steven Avery case from “Making a Murderer”).
U.S.The Daily BeastMelinda Gates Warned Bill About Jeffrey Epstein
Melinda Gates met with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein alongside her husband, Bill, in New York City and soon after said she was furious at the relationship between the two men, according to people familiar with the situation. The previously unreported meeting occurred at Epstein's Upper East Side mansion in September 2013, on the same day the couple accepted the Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award at The Pierre hotel and were photographed alongside then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg. The meeting would prove a turning point for Gates' relationship with Epstein, the people familiar with the matter say, as Melinda told friends after the encounter how uncomfortable she was in the company of the wealthy sex offender and how she wanted nothing to do with him.
WorldTimeThe Real Biggest Myths About World War II, According to a Military Historian
More than 75 years after V-E Day—the German surrender on May 8, 1945, that ended the physical fighting on the Western Front in World War II—myths and misconceptions about the war remain. TIME asked the Senior Historian at the National World War II Museum, Rob Citino, which myths he has spent the most time debunking in his career as a professor of military history and author of 10 books. “Historians owe it to the millions of people who participated in this event, and unfortunately, the millions of people who died in World War II, to delve as deeply as possible into why this all happened,” he says.
- NewsCBS San Francisco - SF - KPIX
Westbound 580 Crash: Raw video of the 580 big rig crash and traffic backup
Raw video of the 580 big rig crash and traffic backup
“Every college has a public health responsibility to require its students to be vaccinated.”
“While the vast majority of students will likely get the vaccine, schools should honor the decisions of the few who object.”
“A vaccinated campus could be the step toward normality that college leaders are seeking.”
“College students are mobile and spread COVID-19 with them whenever they travel.”
“There almost certainly are going to be legal challenges because the anti-vaccine movement is already preparing for them.”