Iran says nuke program testing newest advanced centrifuge

Iran said Saturday it has begun mechanical tests on its newest advanced nuclear centrifuge, even as the five world powers that remain in a foundering 2015 nuclear deal with Iran attempt to bring the U.S. back into the agreement. Iran's IR-9 centrifuge, when operational, would have the ability to separate uranium isotopes more quickly than the current centrifuges being used, thereby enriching uranium at a faster pace. The announcement carried on state TV came on Iran's 15th annual “Nuclear Day.”

Nikolai Glushkov: Putin critic's murder made to look like suicide, inquest finds

Nikolai Glushkov, a close friend of the deceased oligarch Boris Berezovsky, Mr Putin's one-time fiercest rival, was found dead in the hall of his property in New Malden, south-west London, a week after Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and Yulia, his daughter, were poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury. Glushkov, 68, the former deputy director of the state airline Aeroflot, said he feared he was on a Kremlin hit-list. Paramedics who arrived at Glushkov's home on March 12 2018 immediately raised concerns that he had been killed because of the way suicide paraphernalia appeared to be deliberately placed around the body.

Ukraine says it could be provoked by Russian 'aggression' in conflict area

Ukraine's defence minister said on Saturday his country could be provoked by Russian aggravation of the situation in the conflict area of Ukraine's eastern Donbass region. The minister, Andrii Taran, said Russian accusations about the rights of Russian-speakers being violated could be the reason for the resumption of armed aggression against Ukraine. "At the same time, it should be noted that the intensification of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is possible only if an appropriate political decision is made at the highest level in the Kremlin," he said in a statement.

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  Kremlin says it fears full-scale fighting in Ukraine's east

  Associated Press
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  Analysis: Russian military buildup raises stakes as fighting in Ukraine intensifies

  Reuters

NRA trial opens window on secretive leader's life and work

LaPierre's testimony revealed him to be an embattled executive defending his leadership and punching back against what he characterized as a political attack by New York Attorney General Letitia James. But he also tried to acknowledge enough mistakes and course corrections to avoid having the NRA's reins handed to a court-appointed overseer — a move he said would be a death blow to the 150-year-old group that claims 5 million members. The NRA declared bankruptcy in January, five months after James' office sued seeking its dissolution over allegations that executives illegally diverted tens of millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts and other questionable expenditures.

Gaetz tells Trump supporters he’s a champion of women, scoffs at ‘smears’

On the same day the U.S. House Ethics Committee announced it was investigating his conduct, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz spoke to a conference of fierce supporters at the Trump National Doral resort, vowing he would fight allegations against him, which he claimed were part of a “deep state” smear campaign to silence him. Gaetz's speech Friday evening at the “Save America Summit,” part of a four-day conference with a slate of right-wing speakers discussing topics like “election integrity,” was one of his first public appearances since The New York Times reported a week ago that Gaetz was being investigated by the FBI over an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, in exchange for payments. Gaetz became entangled with the federal investigation, sources told the Times, as part of an inquiry into Seminole County's former tax collector, Joel Greenberg, who was indicted last year on a slew of federal charges, including sex trafficking a minor and identity theft.

Russian space programme facing existential crisis as Elon Musk helps US relaunch Nasa ambitions

It took four international crews and almost a year before anyone onboard the International Space Station could locate the air leak, untraceable by equipment at hand, which had been driving the cosmonauts insane. One evening last October, Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner in a desperate attempt to find that tiny hole sucking up precious air ripped up a tea bag inside one of the station's segments, sending the tea leaves flying into weightlessness. Mr Vagner's ingenuity won him plaudits back home but the incident at the 22-year-old core segment of the station has laid bare Russia's withering space dream as the country is nearing the 60th anniversary of the first human space flight.

Kremlin says it fears full-scale fighting in Ukraine's east

The Kremlin said Friday it fears a resumption of full-scale fighting in eastern Ukraine and could take steps to protect Russian civilians there, a stark warning that comes amid a Russian troop build-up along the border. The statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, reflected the Kremlin's determination to prevent Ukraine from using force to try to retake control over separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine's military chief dismissed the Russian claims that the country's armed forces are preparing for an attack on the rebel east.

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  Analysis: Russian military buildup raises stakes as fighting in Ukraine intensifies

  Reuters
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  Ukraine says it could be provoked by Russian 'aggression' in conflict area

  Reuters

Video shows Virginia cops holding a Black Army officer in uniform at gunpoint and pepper-spraying him during a traffic stop

A Black Army lieutenant is suing Virginia police officers for assaulting him during a traffic stop last year. A US Army lieutenant is suing two Virginia police officers for holding him at gunpoint, pepper-spraying him, and throwing him to the ground during an illegal traffic stop that took place last year. Caron Nazario, a Black and Latino man who is a second lieutenant in the US Army Medical Corps, was driving home from his duty station on December 5, 2020, when police pulled him over, attorney Jonathan Arthur told The Associated Press on Friday.

‘Clear the Capitol,’ Pence pleaded, timeline of riot shows

Pence said the Capitol was not secure and he asked military leaders for a deadline for securing the building, according to the document. By this point it had already been two hours since the mob overwhelmed Capitol Police unprepared for an insurrection. Rioters broke into the building, seized the Senate and paraded to the House.

Conversion therapy ban 'would criminalise Christian parents stopping children seeking transgender treatment'

The Government's proposed ban on conversion therapy would criminalise Christian parents who want to stop their children seeking transgender treatment, a leading QC and Church of England minister have warned. In a formal legal opinion sent to ministers last week, Philip Havers QC, a prominent human rights lawyer, wrote banning conversion therapy would unintentionally make it illegal for Christians to tell a child questioning their gender that they should remain in their birth sex. Ed Shaw, the evangelical pastor of a Church of England congregation in Bristol who procured the opinion, said changing the law could “close down freedom of speech, conscience and religion” for him and like-minded believers.

Why We Love a Small Loveseat

Supremely versatile, loveseats work as standalone pieces in studio apartments and as part of a seating arrangement in sprawling living rooms Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Trump addresses GOP as power to shape national debate wanes

Former President Donald Trump insists he's enjoying his life off Twitter. The press releases his aides fire off on an increasingly frequent basis are more “elegant,” he says. Plus there's no risk of backlash for retweeting unsavory accounts.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says he hired private investigators to find out why Fox News isn't letting him speak on air

Mike Lindell said he's hired investigators to find out why Fox News isn't letting him speak on air. Lindell told Steve Bannon on Friday that several entities are conspiring against him. Fox News and the MyPillow CEO have both been sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation.

Police Say Antifa Activist Likely Shot at Officers. His Gun Suggests Otherwise.

But a review of investigation documents obtained by The New York Times suggests that investigators for the Thurston County Sheriff's Office discounted key pieces of contradicting evidence that indicate Reinoehl may never have fired or pointed a gun. While investigators found a spent bullet casing in the back seat of Reinoehl's car and pointed to that as evidence he probably fired his weapon, the handgun they recovered from Reinoehl had a full clip, according to multiple photos compiled by Thurston County authorities showing Reinoehl's handgun. The gun was found in his pocket.

Johnston says no line for Johnson & Johnson vaccine at Saturday’s drive-thru clinic

Wait times for the COVID-19 vaccine at a Johnston clinic Saturday are minimal, according to a news release. The drive-thru clinic, hosted by the Johnston County Health Department, is providing the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine on a first-come, first-served basis. The vaccine site is at the Brightleaf Flea Market at 2320 S. Brightleaf Blvd. in Smithfield, the county said.

Prince Harry expected to return to UK for Duke of Edinburgh's funeral – but not Meghan

The Duke of Sussex is expected to return to the UK from the USA for the funeral of his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, despite widespread travel restrictions. Prince Harry, 36, was extremely close to Prince Philip, although he is not thought to have seen him in person since the autumn of 2019. There is an exemption for people attending the funeral of a close family member, although Prince Harry would have to self-isolate at all other times.

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  Will Prince Harry return for Prince Philip's funeral?

  Yahoo News UK
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  Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Pay Tribute To Prince Philip: 'You Will Be Greatly Missed'

  HuffPost

Corporations don't like voter suppression, so McConnell wants them out of politics. Seriously?

What's more, the GOP has been filling its campaign coffers with corporate donations for years and has even encouraged and publicly supported companies such as Hobby Lobby in their free speech efforts surrounding divisive political issues such as birth control and LGBTQ rights. But when the tables turn and companies speak out against the Republican Party and legislation it backs, the hypocrisy is astounding. As Republicans nationwide are furiously working to enact voter suppression bills in statehouses, Democrats in Congress are trying to enact campaign finance reforms and broaden voter access to thwart the restrictive state measures.

One person dead, multiple hospitalized in a mass shooting in Bryan, Texas

Lt. Jason James with Bryan Police said that the scene was secure, and victims were taken to the hospital. One person was killed and five other were injured in a shooting at Kent Moore Cabinets in an industrial park in Bryan, Texas, on Thursday afternoon. At a press conference Thursday, Lt. Jason James with Bryan Police said that the call came in at around 2:30 p.m. local time, and six ambulances responded to the shooting.

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  1 dead, 5 injured in wake of Texas cabinet plant shooting

  Associated Press
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  One killed, several injured in Texas shooting

  Reuters Videos

Turkey says it was following EU protocol when it left the bloc's female leader standing at a meeting

Turkish President Erdoğan met top EU officials Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen Tuesday. The men sat in armchairs, while von der Leyen was left to stand. Turkey blamed EU protocol for the awkward seating arrangements.

How a Defeated Trump Is Making a Muddle of the GOP

This is the party Trump has remade. As GOP leaders and donors gather for a party retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, this weekend, with a side trip to Mar-a-Lago for a reception with Trump on Saturday night, the former president's pervasive influence in Republican circles has revealed a party thoroughly animated by a defeated incumbent — a bizarre turn of events in U.S. politics. Barred from Twitter, quietly disdained by many Republican officials and reduced to receiving supplicants in his tropical exile in Florida, Trump has found ways to exert an almost gravitational hold on a leaderless party just three months after the assault on the Capitol that his critics hoped would marginalize the man a...

A disgruntled ex-employee left a trail of destruction in a Walmart store when he drove his car through the front doors and up the aisles

A North Carolina man who had been fired by Walmart crashed his car into the store, police said. The incident caused "substantial damage" to merchandise but nobody was injured. A disgruntled former employee drove his car through the front door of the Walmart store that fired him, according to police.

These Prefabricated Homes Showcase the Beauty and Innovative of Sustainable Living

A new book from Thames & Hudson explores the latest advancements in prefabricated housing Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest