Biden raises concerns with Putin about Ukraine confrontation

President Joe Biden called on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to “de-escalate tensions" following a Russian military buildup on Ukraine's border. Biden also told Putin the U.S. would “act firmly in defense of its national interests” regarding Russian cyber intrusions and election interference, according to the White House. Biden proposed a summit meeting in a third country “in the coming months” to discuss the full range of U.S.-Russia issues, the White House said.

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  Russia calls U.S. 'adversary', rejects NATO call to end Ukraine build-up

  Reuters
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  Biden warns Putin on Russia's Ukraine action, proposes summit: White House

  MarketWatch

Pope asks US bishop to resign after cover-up investigation

Pope Francis asked a bishop in the U.S. state of Minnesota to resign after he was investigated by the Vatican for allegedly interfering with past investigations into clergy sexual abuse, officials said Tuesday. The Vatican said Francis accepted the resignation of Crookston Bishop Michael Hoeppner on Tuesday and named a temporary replacement to run the diocese. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston said in a statement that the pontiff asked Hoeppner to resign following the Vatican probe, which it said arose from reports that the bishop "had at times failed to observe applicable norms when presented with allegations of sexual abuse involving clergy."

Alex Salmond 'stoking anti-English feelings with Braveheart video on breaking spines of oppressors'

Alex Salmond has been accused of pandering to extreme Scottish nationalists after his new party released a campaign video which spoke of breaking "the spine of English superiority” and he claimed the support of a King who died nearly seven centuries ago. The former First Minister's Alba Party on Monday broadcast a supposed endorsement from Robert the Bruce, who successfully led Scotland during the first War of Independence against England in the fourteenth century. In the clip, 'The Bruce', who actually died in 1329, predicts that Mr Salmond's new rival party to the SNP would “unite the clans”.

Biden Republicans? Some in GOP open to president's agenda

When Trump was up for reelection last year, Copan appeared on roadside billboards across North Carolina, urging other Republicans to back Democratic rival Joe Biden. Nearly three months into the new administration, Copan considers himself a “Biden Republican,” relieved by the new president's calmer leadership style and coronavirus vaccine distribution efforts. Copan is the type of voter Biden is counting on as he pushes an agenda that's almost universally opposed by Republicans in Washington.

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  Biden agenda fuels strong GOP fundraising ahead of 2022 elections

  FOX News Videos
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  OnPolitics: The battle for the GOP's soul

  USA TODAY

Court rejects appeal of killer of 3 in home invasion

The Connecticut Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a man convicted of murder, sexual assault and other crimes in the killings of a woman and her two daughters, ages 11 and 17, in a 2007 home invasion. Justices issued a 7-0 decision Monday upholding the convictions against Joshua Komisarjevsky. Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes are serving life prison sentences for the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, in their Cheshire home.

4 killed in Pakistan in clashes between police, Islamists

Overnight clashes between Islamists and police in Pakistan left three demonstrators and a police officer dead, officials said Tuesday, hours after authorities arrested the head of an Islamist political party. The violence came as police clashed Monday and into Tuesday with supporters of Saad Rizvi, head of the Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan party, who was arrested Monday in the eastern city of Lahore. Senior police officer Ghulam Mohammad Dogar said police were still trying to bring the situation in Lahore under control Tuesday.

Russia calls U.S. 'adversary', rejects NATO call to end Ukraine build-up

The United States called on Russia to halt a military build-up on Ukraine's border on Tuesday as Moscow, in words recalling the Cold War, said its "adversary" should keep U.S. warships well away from annexed Crimea. Moscow seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and fighting has escalated in recent weeks in eastern Ukraine, where government forces have battled Russian-backed separatists in a seven-year conflict that Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people. U.S. President Joe Biden, in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, emphasised Washington's "unwavering commitment" to Ukraine's sovereignty and expressed concern over the Russian military build up, White House said.

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  Russia calls U.S. an adversary, warns its warships to avoid Crimea

  Reuters
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  NATO, U.S. demand Russia end Ukraine build-up, West examines options

  Reuters

Woman stabs boyfriend in the neck during argument in south Fort Worth, police say

A woman and her boyfriend were involved an argument in south Fort Worth early Tuesday when she stabbed him in the neck with a knife, police said. The officers determined the man and woman had gotten into an argument before the woman stabbed the man, police said. A police spokesman didn't immediately respond to a question about what charges the woman's facing, who made the 911 call or if police have any reason to believe the stabbing was accidental.

NTSB: Pilot error likely caused vintage bomber's fatal crash

The pilot, Ernest “Mac” McCauley, reported a problem with one of the engines shortly after takeoff, and the plane crashed into a maintenance building and burst into flames during a landing attempt. The NTSB said the flight data indicated that the landing gear was extended too early, adding drag that slowed the plane, and it was traveling too slow on its return to the airport. The B-17 could likely have overflown the approach lights and landed on the runway had the pilot kept the landing gear retracted and accelerated to 120 mph until it was evident the airplane would reach the runway,” the NTSB said.

Stone Mountain Park denies permit for Confederate event

The Stone Mountain Memorial Association has denied a gathering permit from the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who were looking to host their annual Confederate Memorial Day service at Stone Mountain Park outside Atlanta. The gathering was slated for Saturday but a March 31 letter from memorial association CEO Bill Stephens denied the necessary permit, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Stephens listed three reasons for the denial including safety concerns, specifically the pandemic and racial tensions.

China push for global power tops U.S. security threats: intelligence report

China's push for global power is the leading threat to U.S. national security, while Russia's efforts to undermine American influence and assert itself as a major actor also pose a challenge, said a U.S. intelligence report released on Tuesday. The 2021 Annual Threat Assessment lays out U.S. spy agencies' views of the chief foreign policy issues facing U.S. President Joe Biden in his first year in office, complicated by the coronavirus pandemic and global climate change. While China and Russia are presented as the leading challenges, Iran and North Korea will also test U.S. national security, the report said.

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  US intel report: Virus impact to cause global 'aftershocks'

  Associated Press
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  U.S. intelligence warns of "diverse array" of threats in new report

  CBS News

Veterans of color say video of police pepper-spraying a Black Army officer shows that not even a military uniform is protection from police violence

Police officers in Virginia held a uniformed Black Army officer at gunpoint and pepper-sprayed him. The soldier was not charged with a crime or ticketed over the incident, which was captured on video. Veterans of color said the video showed that not even a uniform is protection from police violence.

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  Officer who pepper-sprayed U.S. Army officer fired

  Reuters Videos
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  Soldier sues VA cop for pepper spray incident

  Reuters Videos

Crumbling former home of Queen and Prince Philip in Malta undergoes multi-million pound restoration

The garden is overgrown, the walls are collapsing and the stonework is crumbling, but a dilapidated townhouse in Malta where a young Prince Philip once lived with the then Princess Elizabeth is undergoing a multi-million pound restoration. Villa Guardamangia, on the outskirts of the Maltese capital Valletta, is to be returned to how it looked when it was home to the royal couple in what they said was one of the happiest periods of their lives. The restoration, expected to take at least five years, will enable it to be opened as a museum and underscores the connection between the royal family and Malta, which gained independence in 1964.

The World’s 9 Most Expensive Home Listings Currently on the Market

These fantastical houses range from a 64,000-acre Texas ranch to an oceanside estate in the south of France Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Georgia lawmaker's legal work targeted again over voting law

Protesters are trying to get a Georgia state representative fired by cities and counties that pay him to be their attorney, citing his role in pushing through a voting law that adds restrictions. The Washington City Council voted 4-2 to ask Rep. Barry Fleming to resign Monday, WJBF-TV reports. It's not clear if the city can immediately fire the Republican from Harlem because Washington has a contract with Fleming's law firm.

Chauvin's lawyers call officer in previous arrest to the stand as first witness

Lawyers for Derek Chauvin on Tuesday began presenting their case in the former Minneapolis policeman's murder trial, calling to the stand a now-retired officer who pulled over a car in which Floyd was a passenger in 2019 - a year before his deadly encounter with Chauvin. Chauvin's lead attorney, Eric Nelson, argued in court filings that the earlier arrest supported his defense that a drug overdose may have caused Floyd's death in May 2020, not a lack of oxygen caused by Chauvin kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes, as prosecutors charge. Nelson showed the jury a video taken by a body-worn camera during the May 6, 2019, traffic stop in which Floyd became distressed as the officer, Scott Creighton, pointed a gun at him and ordered him out of a car.

Black Army officer pepper-sprayed by police said he thought he could be murdered as officers gave quickly changing commands

A uniformed Black Army officer was held at gunpoint and pepper-sprayed during a traffic stop. Second lieutenant Caron Nazario filed a lawsuit against the 2 Virginia officers involved. In a complaint, Nazario said they gave conflicting orders and he was worried he would be murdered.

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  Town Fires Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Black Army Lieutenant During Traffic Stop

  HuffPost
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  Officer who pepper-sprayed U.S. Army officer fired

  Reuters Videos

‘Unlike anything we’ve seen in modern history’: Attacks against journalists soar during Black Lives Matter protests

At least 50 journalists in the US have been arrested during Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the US, while dozens of others have also been injured by rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas. The US Press Freedom Tracker has collected nearly 500 incidents from 382 reports, from the unrest in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd's killing by police in late May, to demonstrations in more than 70 cities across 35 states since. At least 46 journalists were arrested between the end of May and the beginning of June, according to data collected by the organisation.

Putin foe Navalny says he sues prison for withholding Quran

Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Tuesday he was suing his prison for withholding the Quran, which he intended to study while serving time in a prison outside Moscow. Navalny has been on a hunger strike for two weeks, protesting prison officials' refusal to let his physician examine him behind bars after he developed severe back and leg pain. But he said Tuesday in an Instagram post that his first lawsuit against prison officials had to do with the Muslim holy book.

14 Ways to Do Memphis Without Doing Memphis

You don't have to commit to full-on maximalism to make a statement Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest