WorldYahoo NewsIntelligence agencies: China is top threat to U.S. global influence
A 27-page report released ahead of testimony by the president's top intelligence officials identifies China as the biggest threat to U.S. global influence. The annual threat assessment report, which summarizes the best assessments of intelligence analysts from across the 18 different agencies within the intelligence community, “focuses on the most direct, serious threats to the United States during the next year,” looking at everything from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and climate change to cyberattacks and technological competitiveness. Senior intelligence officials, including Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, are expected to answer questions about the report this week in front of the House and Senate intelligence committees.
U.S.ReutersMinnesota police chief, officer who fatally shot Black man, both resign
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (Reuters) -A suburban Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot a Black motorist during a scuffle following a routine traffic stop and the police chief who called the slaying an apparent accident both resigned on Tuesday in the face of civil unrest. The mayor of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, said the two quit one day after the chief told a news reporters that the officer who shot Daunte Wright appeared to have drawn her gun by mistake when reaching for her Taser. Mayor Mike Elliott said the City Council had passed a resolution calling for the dismissal of both Chief Tim Gannon, and the officer, Kim Potter.
PoliticsThe WeekMany GOP officials still privately hope prosecutors, some other outside force will make Trump go away
In 2015 and 2016, former President Donald Trump's Republican primary rivals and other GOP officials tried to dodge his withering personal insults "while hoping that external events and news media coverage would ultimately lead to his downfall," Maggie Haberman recalls at The New York Times. That strategy obviously failed. But many Republican leaders are once more hoping, mostly in private, that time or some heaven-sent deus ex machina makes Trump fade into retirement, despite his clear intention to retain control over the GOP.
WorldBBCAfghanistan: Biden calls for end to 'America's longest war'
The US will continue to support Afghanistan after withdrawing all US troops, but not "militarily," President Joe Biden has pledged. "It is time to end America's longest war," he said in a speech from the White House room where US airstrikes there were first declared in 2001. The number of US troops on the ground in Afghanistan fluctuates, and US media report the current total is closer to 3,500.
ScienceAssociated PressUAE sets new ambitious timeline for launch of moon rover
The United Arab Emirates' space center announced Wednesday a more ambitious timeline for sending its first rover to the moon. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center said it is partnering with Japan's ispace company to send a rover to the moon on an unmanned spacecraft by 2022, rather than 2024. The “Rashid” rover, named after Dubai's ruling family, will deploy to the moon using ispace's lunar lander.
BusinessReutersIndia's Maharashtra shuts most manufacturing, restricts e-commerce to fight COVID-19
MUMBAI (Reuters) -India's richest state Maharashtra will impose stringent curbs on industry and e-commerce for 15 days to slow rising coronavirus infections, its chief minister said on Tuesday, a move that is set to cripple manufacturing and other businesses in the region. Maharashtra - home to India's financial capital Mumbai - has been the country's worst hit state due to the coronavirus, accounting for about a quarter of India's 13.5 million cases. On Tuesday, Maharashtra reported 60,212 new COVID-19 infections.
PoliticsReutersU.S. Senate confirms Biden nominee for No. 2 State Dept post
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee Wendy Sherman to be deputy secretary of state, the number two position at the department. The Senate backed the nomination by 56-42, as a handful of Republicans joined Biden's fellow Democrats to vote in Sherman's favor. Sherman, 71, a foreign policy veteran, ran into Republican resistance because she helped negotiate the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran, which was fiercely opposed by Republicans as well as some Democrats.
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4 kids found living in deplorable conditions, father arrested
Officials say the seven-year-old, a four-year-old, a three-year-old and a one-year-old are now being cared for by Child Protective Services.
PoliticsAssociated PressFormer US official: Taiwan-US partnership stronger than ever
Taiwan's president and an unofficial delegation of former senior U.S. government officials sent by President Joe Biden reaffirmed “rock solid” U.S.-Taiwan ties, amid heightened tensions with China. The U.S. has expressed a “rock solid support for Taiwan," President Tsai Ing-wen said Thursday in opening remarks before the two sides met in Taipei, the island's capital. “I can see with confidence that the United States' partnership with Taiwan is stronger than ever," former U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd said.
U.S.BBCDaunte Wright shooting: US ex-officer Kim Potter charged over killing
A US white 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.
PoliticsReutersBiden to address U.S. Congress as lawmakers consider infrastructure plan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden will speak to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on April 28, accepting an invitation from House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow Democrat. "The President has accepted the invitation of the Speaker of the House to address a Joint Session of Congress on April 28, the night before his 100th day in office," the White House said in a prepared statement. The speech will give Biden, 78, an opportunity to deliver a sales pitch to millions of Americans for his $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal, which is the subject of a partisan debate in Congress.
WorldAssociated PressCanary Islands hotel offers shelter to migrants in need
When hotel director Calvin Lucock and restaurant owner Unn Tove Saetran said goodbye to one of the last groups of migrants staying in one of the seaside resorts they manage in Spain's Canary Islands, the British-Norwegian couple didn't know when they would have guests again. The Spanish government — struggling to accommodate 23,000 people who disembarked on the islands in 2020 — contracted hundreds of hotel rooms left empty due to the coronavirus travel restrictions. The deal not only helped migrants and asylum-seekers have a place to sleep, it also allowed Lucock to keep most of his hotel staff employed.
WorldReutersSaudi Arabia says it is concerned about Iran uranium enrichment
Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it was concerned about Iran's intention to start enriching uranium to 60% purity and said such a move could not be considered part of a peaceful nuclear programme. A foreign ministry statement called on Iran to avoid escalation and engage seriously in talks with global powers about a 2015 nuclear pact. Iran's announcement about its plan to enrich to 60%, bringing the fissile material closer to the 90% level suitable for a nuclear bomb, came after Tehran accused Israel of sabotaging a key nuclear installation and ahead of the resumption of nuclear talks in Vienna.
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.Fort Worth Star-TelegramBiden team believes Austin Tice, journalist missing in Syria, is alive
Biden administration diplomats and intelligence officers are operating “with the sincere belief” that Austin Tice is alive, two U.S. officials told McClatchy on Wednesday, and the group is working daily to free the American journalist who went missing in 2012 while covering the war in Syria. “We operate with the sincere belief that Austin is alive and waiting for us to come get him,” Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens said. The Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, a team of experts from different government agencies that gathers diplomatic leads and intelligence information together in one place, is pursuing the Tice case.
BusinessAssociated PressStudy finds that blocking seats on planes reduces virus risk
A new study says leaving middle seats open could give airline passengers more protection from the virus that causes COVID-19. Researchers said the risk of passengers being exposed to the virus from an infected person on the plane could be reduced by 23% to 57% if middle seats are empty, compared with a full flight. The airlines argue that filters and air-flow systems on most planes make them safe when passengers wear face masks, as they are now required to do by federal regulation.
WorldReutersFinland latest to mix COVID-19 vaccines as AstraZeneca crisis delays rollout
HELSINKI (Reuters) -Finland said on Wednesday people aged under 65 who got a first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot may get a different vaccine for their second dose, as authorities warned about delays to the country's roll-out. The Institute of Health and Welfare said it was possible to give a second dose from another manufacturer to people aged under 65 who have already been given AstraZeneca and are scheduled to receive a second dose in the coming weeks. It's the third country after France and Germany to consider mixing vaccines as they limit the use of the AstraZeneca shot amid concerns about blood clots.
ScienceBBCCommercial satellites dock high above Earth
In a delicate procedure high above the Earth, one satellite has just grabbed hold of another, older spacecraft to give it a new lease of life. The ageing platform, Intelsat 10-02, which relays TV channels and other telecoms services, is getting very low on fuel after 17 years in orbit. This is only the second time two commercial satellites have joined together in this way 36,000km above the planet.
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.The IndependentDaunte Wright protesters use umbrellas as shields against police
Photographs from the third night of protests in Minneapolis following the killing of Daunte Wright showed demonstrators getting creative to protect themselves from deterrent tactics used by police. Images from Tuesday night in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, revealed a group of protesters using umbrellas to protect themselves from fumes of chemical irritants released by authorities. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered again at the heavily guarded police headquarters, which has been ringed by concrete barriers and a tall metal fence, with police in riot gear and National Guard soldiers standing watch.
HealthLA TimesWhat science tells us about the link between the J&J vaccine and rare blood clots
During that pause, independent and federal experts will study whether the nation's most recent addition to its vaccine arsenal is the cause of those clotting disorders, and whether the vaccine should continue to be recommended for use in all adults over age 18. The CDC will convene its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to consider those questions. The pause comes on the heels of a decision by the European Union to temporarily halt the administration of a similar COVID-19 vaccine made by AstraZeneca.
WorldAssociated PressAustin: US adds 500 troops in Germany, despite Trump pledge
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Tuesday that he is expanding the U.S. military presence in Germany by 500 troops and has stopped planning for large-scale troop cuts ordered by the Trump administration. Adding 500 troops to a current total of about 35,000 is a symbolic gesture of solidarity with Germany and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but it also fills a practical need that commanders in Europe had identified months ago. Austin said the extra troops will have a role in space, cybersecurity and electronic warfare.
U.S.The IndependentDaunte Wright shooting: Kim Potter’s mugshot released as ex-police officer faces manslaughter charges
Kim Potter, the white police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop on Sunday has been charged with manslaughter. A GoFundMe campaign for a memorial fund for Mr Wright has raised over half a million dollars towards covering funeral and providing support for his family. Minneapolis faced its third night of civil unrest on Tuesday after the killing, which occurred in the suburb of Brooklyn Center.Tensions are already high amid the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, last May.
WorldINSIDERSouth Korea and China are unhappy with Japan's decision to release radioactive water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean
Japan's neighbors are not happy about its call to release contaminated water from Fukushima into the sea. China and South Korea say the water from the wrecked nuclear plant could affect food safety. Hashtags trending on Chinese social media are calling for a boycott of Japanese seafood in protest.
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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.
“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.”