Yemeni model 'abducted from the street' by Houthi rebels after doing photoshoot without hijab

A Yemeni model who posed for photographs without wearing a hijab is facing prosecution by Houthi rebels who abducted her from the streets of Sanaa, the woman's lawyer has claimed. Entesar Al-Hammadi, 20, was arrested in the Yemeni capital in February with two friends as they travelled to a film set, according to Saudi media reports, which said the Houthis had accused her of violating Islamic dress codes. Khaled Mohammed Al-Kamal, Ms Hammadi's lawyer, told the news website Arab News that his client was “arrested without a warrant.”

Why Trump's insistent dominance of the Republican Party could be a real 'gift' to Biden

President Biden isn't exactly coated in political Teflon, but he's "well regarded by voters" and "even Donald Trump, the Triumph the Insult Comic Dog of electoral politics, has had troubles landing a punch," Sam Stein writes at Tuesday's Politico Nightly. "Biden's perceived benignness — the difficulty in actually getting people to despise the guy" — is one reason, he argues, but the other big factor is Trump himself.

70-year-old has been on death row for 45 years. A Texas court just tossed his sentence

Raymond Riles, who was sentenced to death in 1976 in the fatal shooting of a used car dealer, had his sentencing dropped Wednesday. The Texas Court of Appeals removed Riles' death sentence because the jury was not advised to consider the now 70-year-old man's mental health when deciding his punishment 45 years ago. The case has been sent back to Harris County, where a court will once again determine Riles' punishment in the 1974 crime.

Daunte Wright: Doting dad, ballplayer, slain by police

Daunte Wright became a father while he was still a teenager, and seemed to relish the role of a doting young dad, his family and friends said. A family photo shows a beaming Wright holding his son, Daunte Jr., at his first birthday party. Another shows Wright, wearing a COVID-19 face mask and his son wearing a bib with the inscription, “ALWAYS HUNGRY."

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  Daunte Wright's Father 'Cannot Accept' Cop's Taser Defense For Son's Killing

  HuffPost
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  Daunte Wright's aunt: 'They murdered my nephew'

  Yahoo News Video

Somaliland and Taiwan: Two territories with few friends but each other

Both Taiwan and Somaliland appear to be fully functioning states which proudly declare their independence yet neither is recognised internationally and now, as Mary Harper reports, they are moving closer together. "Welcome to our humble office," says Chou Shuo-Wei Amir, the Third Secretary at Taiwan's diplomatic mission in Somaliland. In fact, "humble" is misplaced as the mission is rather swish, located in a large villa next to the ministry of religious affairs in Somaliland's capital, Hargeisa.

Scalise 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.

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  No. 2 House Republican says GOP would act against Gaetz

  Associated Press
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  U.S. House Republicans would act against Gaetz if charges filed, lawmaker says

  Reuters

German health minister tells states to tighten COVID-19 restrictions quickly

BERLIN (Reuters) -German Health Minister Jens Spahn urged the country's 16 federal states on Thursday to impose tougher restrictions quickly to try to slow a third wave of the coronavirus and not to wait until a national law on measures is passed. His appeal came as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases jumped on Thursday by 29,426 to 3.073 million, the biggest increase since Jan. 8. The reported death toll rose by 293 to 79,381, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) showed.

Mexico moves to require biometric data from cellphone users

Activists and opposition figures cried foul Wednesday after Mexico's Senate passed legislation to require cellphone companies to gather customers' identification and biometric data, like fingerprints or eye scans. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's Morena party supported the bill, saying it is needed to fight crimes like extortion and kidnapping that frequently involve the use of cellphones. The legislation, which was already passed by the Chamber of Deputies, would give cell companies two years to collect the data and make it available to the government.

Many 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.

Moderna COVID-19 shot production unlikely to rise significantly in next few months - CEO

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The pace of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine production is unlikely to speed up markedly in the next few months, though the U.S. drugmaker expects output to have increased significantly by 2022, its chief executive said on Wednesday. The U.S. government has urged Moderna to speed up its production and delivery schedules for the shots after it temporarily halted the shipment of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine amid reports that six women developed rare blood clots after getting the shot. "Adding big chunks of capacity takes time," Chief Executive Stephane Bancel said during a Wednesday investor call.

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  Is The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Safe? Here's What To Know.

  HuffPost Life
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  UPDATE 1-Moderna COVID-19 shot production unlikely to rise significantly in next few months - CEO

  Reuters

A man charged with beating a police officer at the Capitol riot has been forced to stay in jail before his trial because he tried to flee to Switzerland, judge says

Jeffrey Sabol, 51, is charged with beating a police officer at the Capitol riot. Earlier this month a judge denied him pretrial release. The judge said Sabol was a flight risk and had tried fleeing to Switzerland days after the riot.

Sydney man finds snake in lettuce bought at supermarket

Alex White thought he was watching a huge worm writhing in plastic-wrapped lettuce he'd just brought home from a Sydney supermarket — until a snake tongue flicked. It was a venomous pale-headed snake that authorities say made an 870-kilometer (540-mile) journey to Sydney from a packing plant in the Australian city of Toowoomba wrapped in plastic with two heads of cos lettuce. The refrigerated supermarket supply chain likely lulled the cold-blooded juvenile into a stupor until White bought the lettuce at an inner-city ALDI supermarket on Monday evening and rode his bicycle home with salad and snake in his backpack.

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  Couple Finds Venomous Snake Hiding in Their Bag of Lettuce

  Nerdist
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  A Live Snake Was Found In A Bag Of Lettuce From ALDI

  Eat This, Not That!

Ambassador: UAE played part in India-Pakistan cease-fire

The United Arab Emirates played a role in getting longtime Asian rivals India and Pakistan to agree to a cease-fire amid tensions over the disputed region of Kashmir, the Emirati ambassador to Washington said. The comments by Yousef al-Otaiba come as the Emirates tries to recalibrate its diplomacy to Washington following U.S. President Joe Biden taking office. After enjoying a close relationship to President Donald Trump, the autocratically ruled UAE has sought to underline its importance in regional affairs as Biden has struck a harder tone with Saudi Arabia and suggested he wants to rejoin Iran's nuclear deal with world powers.

Mysterious 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.

A judge reinstated the pension of a Black police officer fired after stopping a white colleague's chokehold, citing George Floyd

Cariol Horne was fired from Buffalo's police force after stopping a white colleague's chokehold. The judge said the deaths of George Floyd and Eric Garner show why cops shouldn't be bystanders. A judge ruled Tuesday that the City of Buffalo must reinstate the pension of Cariol Horne, a Black police officer it fired after she stopped a white colleague's chokehold on a handcuffed man in 2006.

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  Fired officer who halted excessive force arrest wins pension

  Associated Press
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  Police officer fired for stopping white colleague’s chokehold wins lawsuit

  The Independent

No 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.

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  Virginia investigates after police use pepper spray on Black U.S. Army officer

  Reuters
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  NAACP calls to end qualified immunity in Virginia after police officer pepper-sprayed Black and Latino Army officer

  USA TODAY

Taiwan tells Biden emissaries it will counter China's 'adventurous manoeuvres' with U.S

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen told emissaries visiting at U.S. President Joe Biden's request on Thursday that the island would work with the United States to deter threats from Chinese military activities. Former senior U.S. officials, including former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and former Deputy Secretaries of State Richard Armitage and James Steinberg, are visiting Taipei in a trip to signal Biden's commitment to Taiwan and its democracy. Tsai told the U.S. delegation in a meeting at the Presidential Office that Chinese military activities in the region have threatened regional peace and stability.

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  Taiwan says it will counter China threats with U.S.

  Reuters Videos
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  Ex-US officials visit Taiwan amid China tensions

  Associated Press

Bangkok nightlife clusters expose Thailand's virus stumbles

When Thailand's transport minister was recently diagnosed with COVID-19, it was Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha who got a headache. Prayuth was not particularly lauded for his leadership last year against the coronavirus, but for much of 2020 Thailand fought the disease to a standstill, with low infection and death rates envied by more developed countries. Now, an outbreak at nightspots in the capital Bangkok has sent new infections surging, suggesting the country may have been lulled into a false sense of security before mass vaccinations begin.

Pelosi 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."

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  Nancy Pelosi describes the impact the Derek Chauvin trial has had on her, calls George Floyd’s death a ‘public assassination’

  USA TODAY
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  Speaker Pelosi remembers Officer Evans

  WCVB - Boston

Macron assesses Notre Dame two years after devastating fire

Two years after a fire tore through Paris' most famous cathedral and shocked the world, French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday visited the building site that Notre Dame has become to show that French heritage has not been forgotten despite the coronavirus. Flanked by ministers, architects and the retired French army general who is overseeing the restoration of the 12th century monument, Macron assessed the progress of the ambitious rebuilding project and offered the pandemic-weary French public some hope that a completion date will arrive one day, if not in the near future. “We're seeing here how, in two years, a huge work has been accomplished,” Macron said, recalling the “emotion” throughout France at the images of flames devouring Notre Dame on April 15, 2019.

Cake Boss Buddy Valastro's 5th hand surgery was a success, Gigi Hadid likely sighs in relief

Buddy Valastro gave an update on his hand injury in an appearance on Rachael Ray. The Cake Boss star is recovering from his fifth hand surgery following a bowling accident last September. Valastro said in the past month his hand has regained mobility and now has about 75 percent of its strength back.

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  ‘Cake Boss’ Star Buddy Valastro Gives an Update on His Hand After 5th Surgery

  Entertainment Tonight Videos
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  Buddy Valastro Says He Had His 5th Hand Surgery 'About a Month Ago': 'It Was a Huge Success'

  People

A retiring Castro to bring younger face to Cuba's communists

This week's Communist Party congress could be the last with a Castro at the helm of Cuba's all-powerful political institution. Six years after the death of Fidel Castro, his brother and fellow leader of the island's 1959 revolution, Raul Castro, is being watched to see if he fulfills his commitment to give up the reins of the only political organization permitted in the country of 11 million people. Raul Castro in 2016 said that he would give up the post of party secretary-general at the party's eighth congress, which is scheduled to begin Friday.

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  Cuba to enter post-Castro era at pivotal 2021 party congress

  Reuters
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  Cuba’s budding civil society asks to be heard as island prepares for historic congress

  Miami Herald

A forensic pathologist being sued by the family of a Black man killed by police is testifying for Derek Chauvin's defense

Fowler is being sued by the family of another Black man killed by police. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A forensic pathologist for the defense of fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin testified Wednesday that George Floyd's death was caused by his preexisting heart condition, use of fentanyl and meth, and carbon monoxide he inhaled from a nearby police cruiser.

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  The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, continues

  Yahoo News Video
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  3 takeaways from the first day of Derek Chauvin’s defense in the killing of George Floyd

  Yahoo News

Biologists defy Cyprus' ethnic divide to protect environment

There's something regal in the sprightly step and curious gaze of the long-horn sheep that roam the hills near Varisia, an abandoned village inside a U.N. buffer zone that cuts across ethnically divided Cyprus. The endangered Mouflon sheep that's endemic to the eastern Mediterranean island nation is one of many rare plant and animal species that have flourished in this no-man's land, which stretches for 120 miles (180 kilometers) and divides the island's breakaway north from its internationally recognized south. This unlikely refuge has been embraced by two environmental scientists, one Greek Cypriot and one Turkish Cypriot, as an open-air laboratory where complex politics and physical divisions can be put aside to focus on the overriding concern of protecting the parched country's fragile ecosystem.