WorldYahoo News'High probability' Biden's decision to pull U.S. troops from Afghanistan will cause its government to fall, expert says
Former White House adviser Richard Clarke said that there is a “high probability” that President Biden's decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 will result in the collapse of the Afghan government and a takeover of that country by the Taliban. “It's a very courageous move and it's not going to be politically great for him,” Clarke said in an interview on the Yahoo News “Skullduggery” podcast.
PoliticsThe WeekMarjorie Taylor Greene is leading an 'America First Caucus' that wants to uphold 'Anglo-Saxon political traditions'
In an effort to "follow in President Trump's footsteps," a new America First Caucus led by far-right lawmakers is seeking to protect "Anglo-Saxon political traditions." The new caucus is recruiting members, reports Punchbowl News, and is appealing to a "common respect for Anglo-Saxon political traditions," including pushing for infrastructure that "befits the progeny of European architecture." Punchbowl described the materials being distributed as "some of the most nakedly nativist rhetoric we've ever seen."
WorldReutersMyanmar releases prisoners for New Year, though likely not dissidents
Myanmar's junta released 23,184 prisoners from jails across the country on Saturday under a New Year amnesty, a Prisons Department spokesman said, though few if any democracy activists arrested since a Feb. 1 coup were thought to be among them. Saturday is the first day of the traditional New Year in Myanmar and the last day of a five-day holiday that is usually celebrated with visits to Buddhist temples and rowdy water throwing and partying in the streets. Pro-democracy activists called for the cancellation of the festivities this year and instead for people to focus on a campaign to restore democracy after the military's ouster of the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
U.S.Miami HeraldHis coworkers were stealing his marijuana, police say. He’s now been charged with murder
Roland Day was convinced that three of his coworkers had rifled through his bag and stolen his marijuana. So he headed to the bus stop near a Home Depot where he knew the trio would be, got out of the car holding a gun and fired at least seven times, according to a police report. One of his coworkers, who was 21, was killed and two others were injured.
U.S.AxiosMike Pompeo and his wife misused State Department resources, federal watchdog finds
The State Department's independent watchdog found that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo violated federal ethics rules when he and his wife asked department employees to perform personal tasks on more than 100 occasions, including picking up their dog and making private dinner reservations. Why it matters: The report comes as Pompeo pours money into a new political group amid speculation about a possible 2024 presidential run. What they're saying: "OIG found evidence of over 100 requests to Department employees that are inconsistent with the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch or raised questions about the proper use of Department resources," the State Depa...
- WorldYahoo News Video
Chicago releases video of fatal police shooting of 13-year-old boy
Body camera footage of a Chicago police officer fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy last month shows the officer yelling “Drop it! at the teen right before he opens fire.
WorldThe TelegraphPro-UK parties could stop an independence majority at Holyrood, claims Lib Dem leader
Pro-UK parties could yet stop an independence majority at Holyrood because even “hardline” SNP voters are unsure about Nicola Sturgeon's mid-pandemic push for a new referendum, the Lib Dem leader has claimed. Launching his party's manifesto, Willie Rennie said the SNP vote was “softer than I've ever seen it” in the current campaign and insisted it was “all to play for”. He predicted that momentum could rapidly swing away from the nationalists in the final weeks of the campaign, despite opinion polls currently suggesting a pro-independence majority after May 6 is a near certainty.
WorldReutersGlobal officials urge rich countries to donate excess COVID-19 vaccines, money to help end pandemic
Top U.N., financial and vaccine officials on Thursday urged rich countries to donate excess COVID-19 vaccine doses to a program supplying lower income countries in a bid to end the pandemic and get the global economy back on track. At an event organised by the Gavi Vaccine Alliance to boost support for the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative, the officials appealed for another $2 billion by June for the programme, which aims to buy up to 1.8 billion doses in 2021. COVAX has shipped more than 38 million vaccine doses to 111 countries in seven weeks, most of them AstraZeneca's shot.
WorldBBCJimmy Lai: Hong Kong's rebel mogul and pro-democracy voice
The billionaire media mogul Jimmy Lai is one of the most prominent supporters of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. Mr Lai was 12 years old when he fled his village in mainland China, arriving in Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing boat. Like a number of the city's famed tycoons, he went from a menial role, toiling in a Hong Kong sweatshop, to founding a multi-million dollar empire.
- WorldChristian Science Monitor
US renews Palestinian ties with a tight focus: Helping people
The crowded Baqaa refugee camp north of Amman, Jordan, home to more than 100,000 residents, is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in the world. Which is why, nearly three years after the Trump administration abruptly ended seven decades of U.S. financial assistance to Palestinians – part of a pressure campaign to coerce Palestinian leadership to accept its proposed “peace plan” – the State Department chose Baqaa for the ceremonial resumption this week of U.S. humanitarian relief. One piece of that renewed assistance is $150 million in funds for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, to support its health, education, and housing for Palestinian refugees across the region.
WorldReutersEU, UK step up Northern Ireland talks as EU continues legal action
The European Union insisted on Friday that Britain not change trading rules in Northern Ireland on its own and said it would continue legal action against unilateral British action in the province for as long as necessary. European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic hosted UK negotiator David Frost for talks on Thursday evening and said that only agreements by joint bodies established by the Brexit divorce deal could provide stability in Northern Ireland. The British-ruled province is in the EU single market for goods to ensure an open border with EU member Ireland and so requires checks on goods coming from other parts of the United Kingdom.
WorldBBCWashington seeks to expose Russian intelligence activity
In a flurry of statements, the US published a vast trove of information about Russian intelligence activities, including naming front organisations and individuals who have worked with Moscow in recent years. The aim of the measures was to send a signal and to impose costs, making it harder for Russia to operate and deter future activity. One Russian tech company which supports the Federal Security Service (FSB) but also does work for foreign governments and international companies was accused of hosting "large-scale conventions that are used as recruiting events" for two Russian intelligence services.
U.S.Idaho StatesmanAs debate on Snake River dams churns, tribes quietly lead the way in reintroducing salmon
Likely, it hatched just upstream of the floating fish mixer, one of the first offspring from 20 salmon nesting spots tribal biologists found last year after they'd released 750 yearling chinook in Tshimakain Creek in 2020. But more importantly, it's the second naturally spawned chinook alevin found in this stretch of dam-blocked river in more than 100 years, proving yet again that salmon can survive in the Upper Columbia River system. Tshimakain Creek was once an important salmon fishing spot for the Spokane Tribe.
U.S.Lexington Herald-LeaderWhy officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright was charged with manslaughter, not murder
A Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was charged with manslaughter Wednesday, three days after the killing that has commanded national attention. Along with protests in support of racial justice popping up across the nation, Wright's death led some people to question why the white police officer, who has since resigned from her job, was not charged with murder. “She needs to pay for what she did to my family,” Naisha Wright, Daunte Wright's aunt, said on CNN.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe 9 Best Wireless Headphones for Every Kind of Use
From the most comfortable pair to the best value buy, these headphones will carry you through the spring, summer, and beyond Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsBusiness InsiderBiden is running out of time to dodge Trump's traps with Iran
Despite calling for a return to the Iran nuclear deal, President Joe Biden has yet to do so while in office. The window of opportunity to revive the deal is closing, and Biden needs to act quickly and boldly to clear the political traps set by Trump. The future of the Iran nuclear deal hangs in the balance, and with it the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran or another Middle East war to stop it.
ScienceBBCCarbon Mapper satellite network to find super-emitters
A constellation of satellites will be flown this decade to try to pinpoint significant releases of climate-changing gases, in particular carbon dioxide and methane. The initiative is being led by an American non-profit organisation called Carbon Mapper. It will use technology developed by the US space agency over the past decade.
CelebrityThe TelegraphPrinces William and Harry to be reunited before Prince Philip's funeral
The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex will be reunited behind closed doors at Windsor Castle on Saturday before laying their beloved grandfather to rest. Members of the Royal family including Prince William and Prince Harry will gather in the State Entrance Hall before the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin emerges from the State Entrance at 2.41pm. In an apparent sign of ongoing tensions between the brothers, they will not walk shoulder to shoulder in the funeral procession but will be separated by their cousin Peter Phillips, the Queen's eldest grandchild.
WorldThe Independent‘We stayed. The citizens are why we stay’: CNN reporter goes viral after police threaten to arrest journalists
“In my 25 years as a reporter I have NEVER heard police in America actually say “journalists will be arrested” during a protest,” wrote Sara Sidner. The comments from Sidner, who is 48, have highlighted an aspect of the story of the fatal shooting of the young man that has threatened to get lost in the flurry of breaking news - the harsh way police have responded to protesters, and to reporters covering the protesters. As hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets every night since 20-year-old Wright was shot by an officer from the Brooklyn Center Police Department, police have responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
CelebrityTheGrioAtlanta anchor Jovita Moore tearfully reveals brain tumor diagnosis
Moore, an anchor for WSB-TV 2 for more than 20 years, will be recovering from today's surgery for up to 10 weeks. Veteran Atlanta news anchor Jovita Moore tearfully announced to watchers that she is facing surgery this morning following the discovery of brain tumors. Moore, 52, underwent an MRI on Monday afternoon after noticing some symptoms.
U.S.BBCDaunte Wright shooting: US ex-officer Kim Potter charged over killing
A US former police officer who shot dead a black motorist in Minnesota has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, prosecutors say. Kim Potter was arrested and later released on $100,000 (£72,000) bail. Police say Mrs Potter shot Daunte Wright accidentally, having mistakenly drawn her gun instead of her Taser.
- WorldUSA TODAY
Raul Castro confirms he's resigning Communist Party post, ending Castro era in Cuba
Raul Castro said Friday he is resigning as head of Cuba's Communist Party, ending an era of formal leadership by he and his brother Fidel Castro that began with the 1959 revolution. The 89-year-old Castro made the announcement Friday in a speech at the opening of the Eighth congress of the ruling party, the only one allowed on the island. He said he was retiring with the sense of having "fulfilled his mission and confident in the future of the fatherland."
PoliticsThe IndependentFrom Asian hate crime to a minimum wage: 25 things Ted Cruz has voted against this year
The 'No' vote was criticised for being another controversial rejection of the Biden administration agenda, and follows voting against almost every Cabinet secretary of Mr Biden's in recent weeks – although the efforts, in the end, failed. All the bills Mr Cruz has voted 'No' to in the US Senate so for this year, are listed below: The US 2020 election results Not a bill, but infamous for coming in the hours after supporters of former president Donald Trump – wrongly citing election fraud – stormed the US Capitol in events that killed five people, including a Capitol Police officer.
EntertainmentArchitectural DigestShop Troye Sivan’s Eclectic Home Style
Take a page out of the stylish young star's book, from must-have splurges to affordable accessories Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
HealthMiami HeraldCoronavirus weekly need-to-know: Rare J&J blood clots, vaccine side effects, kids & more
More than 31.4 million people in the United States have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Friday morning, April 16, according to Johns Hopkins University. Federal officials on Tuesday called for a pause on using the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after six women developed rare blood clots days after receiving the single-dose shots. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it's joining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in urging a halt on administering the single-shot vaccines.
“There’s no ‘both sides of the debate’ when it comes to active voter suppression.”
“Companies that do this ooze contempt for their own customers and employees who are not in the leftmost quarter of opinion.”
“The truth is that Fortune 500 companies were never taking moral stances from the goodness of their corporate hearts.”
“The truth is, the companies hold the cards…If companies stick to their guns, Georgia is likely to back down as well.”
“When a company folds to the unfounded outrage of a few misinformed nuts, they are forever at the mob’s beck-and-call.”