- U.S.Reuters
Teen shot dead after aiming toy gun at Maryland State Police trooper
A Maryland State Police trooper shot a 16-year-old boy dead after the teenager aimed what investigators later learned was a toy gun at the officer before pulling a knife on him, police said. Police on Wednesday were investigating the shooting, which occurred a day earlier at about 1:30 p.m. in Leonardtown in southern Maryland. "There are many questions we do not have the answers to at this point," State Police Superintendent Woodrow Jones told a news conference on Tuesday.
U.S.Kansas City StarMysterious goat appears in Death Valley National Park. That’s bad news, rangers say
A tourist at Death Valley spotted something within the park that shouldn't be there: a mysterious goat. The visitor reported seeing a domestic goat in a canyon near Stovepipe Wells within the park. The goat could be bad for native bighorn sheep and the park's ecosystem, rangers said Wednesday on Facebook.
PoliticsThe WeekScalise says GOP will 'take action' on Gaetz if DOJ moves ahead with 'formal' case
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Wednesday said if "something really formal" happens with the Justice Department's investigation of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Republican leadership will "of course react and take action." The Justice Department is investigating whether Gaetz, 38, had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel out of state with him, allegations that Gaetz denies. Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican leader, told reporters that he hasn't talked to Gaetz about the investigation, but will likely meet with him later this week.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Israel made 'very bad gamble' on Natanz: Iran FM
Speaking during a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart, Iran's top diplomat said the incident enabled Iran to use all of its options at Natanz legally and legitimately. "Israel played a very bad gamble if it thought that the attack will weaken Iran's hand in the nuclear talks," Zarif said. Tehran has said an explosion on Sunday (April 11) at its key nuclear site was an act of sabotage by arch-foe Israel and vowed revenge for an attack that appeared to be latest episode in a long-running covert war.
U.S.Associated PressMom suspected in children's deaths pleads in carjacking case
A California woman suspected of killing her three children pleaded not guilty Wednesday to carjacking during an alleged escape. Liliana Carrillo, 30, entered pleas in a Kern County courtroom to four felony counts of carjacking, attempted carjacking and auto theft. Carrillo's three children were found dead Saturday by their maternal grandmother in her apartment in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles.
PoliticsReutersFord, GM among Michigan companies opposing Republican-backed voting limits
Republican lawmakers in numerous states have proposed a slew of voting limits, after former President Donald Trump, a Republican, falsely claimed he lost November's election to President Joe Biden due to widespread fraud. In Michigan, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has vowed to veto bills that Republicans have proposed, including new restrictions on absentee and mail ballots. The state Republican chairman, however, has previously suggested the party could attempt to circumvent Whitmer via a petition drive.
U.S.The StatePopular NC teacher killed trying to rob Mexican drug cartel member, sheriff says
A popular Union County teacher described by family and friends as a devoted father, teacher and coach was fatally wounded in a shootout when he and his brother-in-law tried to rob members of a Mexican drug cartel, Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said Wednesday. Barney Dale Harris, 40, taught Spanish and was head coach of the boys' varsity basketball and track teams at Union Academy Charter School in Monroe, according to his family and the school. Alamance County is east of Greensboro along interstates 85 and 40 — 55 miles west of Raleigh and 115 miles from Charlotte.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden begins to undo Trump-era ban on abortion referrals
The Biden administration on Wednesday began to undo a Trump-era ban on clinics referring women for abortions, a policy that drove Planned Parenthood from the federal family planning program and created new complications for women trying to get birth control. The proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services follows through on President Joe Biden's campaign promise to reverse his predecessor's family planning policy, which was branded a “gag rule” by women's groups and decried by medical associations as violating the doctor-patient relationship. While some abortion rights advocates had sought that additional step, administration officials believe that moving carefully and deliberately will increase the odds of the proposed changes being upheld in court.
U.S.USA TODAYNo apology owed for pepper-spraying Black and Latino Army officer in Virginia, police chief says
While he said he felt bad for how the events of a traffic-stop late last year unfolded, the police chief of the town where a Black and Latino military officer from Petersburg, Virginia, was accosted by two of his officers said Wednesday that he does not think the soldier is in need of an official apology. In response, Army Lt. Caron Nazario's legal team said Windsor Police Department Chief Rodney D. Riddle "continues a false narrative" of the case and blaming their client for initiating it. "I'm gonna own what we did," Riddle said about the stop during a news conference Wednesday in the Isle of Wight County, Virginia, community where Nazario was stopped last December while on his way home.
U.S.TheGrioArmy sergeant pushes Black man, demands he leave neighborhood in viral video
A viral video of an army sergeant pushing a Black resident in South Carolina and demanding that he leaves the neighborhood has now resulted in criminal charges. Initially uploaded on Facebook on Monday, the three-minute clip has circulated various media channels before the aggressor was identified as Jonathan Pentland, a 42-year-old U.S. Army sergeant in Columbia, S.C. Pentland has since been charged with third-degree assault, Washington Post reports. In the video, Pentland pushes, threatens, and verbally assaults a black man and attempts to force him to leave the area.
PoliticsAssociated PressBig-business pushback against voting measures gains momentum
Big business has ratcheted up its objections to proposals that would make it harder to vote, with several hundred companies and executives signing a new statement opposing “any discriminatory legislation." The letter, published Wednesday in The New York Times and The Washington Post, was signed by companies including Amazon, Google, Starbucks and Bank of America, and individuals such as Warren Buffett and Michael Bloomberg, plus law firms and nonprofit groups. “We all should feel a responsibility to defend the right to vote and oppose any discriminatory legislation or measures that restrict or prevent any eligible voter from having an equal and fair opportunity to cast a ballot."
U.S.ReutersFauci says pause on J&J COVID-19 shot should not prompt vaccine hesitancy
Top U.S. health officials urged Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 on Wednesday, saying U.S. regulators' pause on Johnson & Johnson shots, following reports it can cause blood clotting, should boost confidence in the vaccines' safety. U.S. federal health agencies on Tuesday recommended pausing use of J&J's COVID-19 vaccine for at least a few days after six women under 50 developed rare blood clots after getting the shot. White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said that U.S. regulators' quick response to the clotting reports should give Americans more confidence, not less, that any shots they receive will be safe.
U.S.The StateMississippi dad suffers stroke after Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Here’s what happened.
A 43-year-old father of seven from Ocean Springs suffered a stroke hours after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Brad Malagarie was otherwise healthy before he suffered the stroke April 6 while at work. Malagarie had the most common form of stroke, an ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blood clot in an artery leading to the brain.
WorldThe Daily BeastTaliban Promises ‘Nightmare’ for U.S. Troops in Final Afghanistan Stretch
The Taliban never kept secret what their reaction would be if the Biden administration delays the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, and now that it's happened, U.S. forces may have to deal with a new, unbridled wave of violence and bloodshed in the months leading up to the new September pull-out deadline. Hours after news broke on Tuesday that following a “rigorous policy review,” President Joe Biden is planning to have all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by Sept. 11—a break away from the previously agreed May 1 deadline—Taliban military leaders sat down for a policy review of their own. Speaking to The Daily Beast on Wednesday, Mullah Salih Khan, a Taliban group commander from Afghanistan's Helmand Province, said that the insurgent group is “very much prepared to strike,” against U.S. and Afghan government forces, warning that the militants will turn Afghanistan “into a nightmare” for them.
U.S.Business InsiderPelosi says she thinks Chauvin trial is 'disappointing': 'Maybe my disappointment springs from my expectation that these are our protectors'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reflected on the Chauvin trial Wednesday, calling it "so disappointing." Pelosi said she still respects law enforcement and stamped down calls to "defund the police." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she finds the trial of ex-Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin "so disappointing."
PoliticsLA TimesKamala Harris faces diplomatic pitfalls in tackling migration from Central America
Republicans have been pounding Vice President Kamala Harris for weeks, asking when she'll travel to Central America and Mexico to begin face-to-face talks about curbing the flow of migrants seeking to enter the United States. Behind the scenes, Harris' advisors have a different question: Who can she meet with? Worries over extensive government corruption in the region, particularly in Honduras, underscore the challenge Harris faces in leading the Biden administration's diplomatic efforts to reduce immigration from the countries that make up the so-called Northern Triangle, which also includes El Salvador and Guatemala.
U.S.Idaho StatesmanInspired by ‘Breaking Bad,’ Pennsylvania researcher tried acquiring ricin, feds say
A Pennsylvania man inspired by “Breaking Bad” has admitted to lying about his attempts to buy powerful poisons, officials say. Ishtiaq Ali Saaem, a former research director at a biotech firm in Massachusetts, pleaded guilty this week to obstruction of justice during an FBI investigation into his attempts to acquire ricin and convallatoxin. Ricin is a poison from castor beans and covallatoxin is a poison found in lily of the valley plants.
U.S.The IndependentTwo North Carolina police officers suspended over beating Black man in clash caught by bystander video
Two North Carolina police officers have been suspended after repeatedly punching a Black man lying on the ground in a clash that was caught on camera by a filming bystander. At around 6pm on Monday, Kinston Police officers McKinley Jones and Kevin Page responded to a 911 call from a woman who said David Lee Bruton Jr, 36, had threatened to “slap” her, according to the Jones Free Press. In a press conference on Tuesday, police said that Mr Bruton then attempted to run away from the officers, but tripped and fell to the ground, with the officers quickly moving to detain him while he was on the floor.
WorldBusiness InsiderBiden issues warning to Putin, proposes summit as Russian troops amass along the Ukrainian border
Biden urged Putin to de-escalate tensions as Russia amassed troops along the Ukrainian border. Amid rising tensions between the US and Russia, Biden also proposed holding a summit. President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate tensions as thousands of Russian troops gathered along the Ukrainian border, while proposing a summit in a third country in the near future as relations between Washington and Moscow hit their lowest point in decades.
HealthRaleigh News and ObserverCOVID vaccines should last nine months, FDA says, amid debate over booster shots
Coronavirus vaccines should provide protection against COVID-19 for at least nine months, but booster shots might become necessary after that, especially among the elderly, a top Food and Drug Administration scientist said. The projection comes as scientists and public health officials debate what strategy to pursue on booster shots — whether vaccine manufacturers should produce booster shots that are essentially the same as the original coronavirus vaccines or modify them to target a specific, mutant variant. Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the FDA, told physicians on Tuesday that the agency will closely watch for waning immunity among vaccinated people with weaker immune systems nine to 12 months after they first received their doses.
U.S.The IndependentKim Potter: Former police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright arrested on manslaughter charges
The former Minnesota police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright will face manslaughter charges, authorities say. Kim Potter was captured on body cam footage killing Mr Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, which has sparked protests and unrest in the community. Ms Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, will be charged with second degree manslaughter in connection to Wright's death, Washington County Attorney Pete Orput has announced.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderIvanka Trump breaks Twitter silence to posts photos of herself getting a COVID-19 vaccine
Ivanka Trump posted photos of herself receiving a COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. Trump is the first member of her immediate family to publicize her vaccination. Republican voters and Trump loyalists are disproportionately hesitant or unwilling to get vaccinated.
U.S.NY Daily NewsGirl injured in car crash caused by former Chiefs coach Britt Reid released from hospital after two months
The 5-year-old girl injured during a car crash caused by former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid has been released from the hospital. According to KWCH, Ariel Young is recovering at home after more than two months in the hospital. Reid turned himself in Monday and was later released on a $100,000 bond.
U.S.The IndependentIncel YouTuber arrested for threatening to blow up New York City restaurant
A self-described “incel” YouTuber has been arrested after running up to a group of outdoor diners in Manhattan and threatening to blow them up. Mr Sanchez, who goes by the name Smooth Sanchez online, has been charged with “conveying false and misleading information and hoaxes,” the US Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York announced on Wednesday. “As alleged, Malik Sanchez perpetrated a hoax bomb threat at a Manhattan restaurant that frightened innocent victims, sowed chaos, and diverted precious law enforcement resources,” the office said in a statement.
U.S.The IndependentGeorge Floyd’s girlfriend once taught Daunte Wright in high school
George Floyd's girlfriend once taught Daunte Wright while he was in high school, the 20-year-old's family and Mr Floyd's partner have said. CBS News reported that Mr Wright's aunt, Naisha Wright, revealed the connection between the two families alongside their attorney, Ben Crump, on Tuesday. Both Mr Floyd and Mr Wright died while being taken into the custody of police in the Minneapolis area, and ongoing tension in the city comes as the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the ex-officer charged with killing Mr Floyd, continues.
“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.”