U.S.ReutersU.S. Capitol Police officer died of natural causes after attack -medical examiner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The District of Columbia's chief medical examiner has ruled that Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick had two strokes and died of natural causes, after he tussled with a mob of former President Donald Trump's supporters at the U.S. Capitol. The medical examiner's office said on Monday that the 42-year-old officer's cause of death was natural causes after he suffered a stroke. Two men - George Tanios and Julian Khater - are facing charges they assaulted three police officers, including Sicknick, by spraying them with a chemical irritant on Jan. 6.
U.S.National ReviewPelosi: Waters Should Not Apologize for Urging Protesters to ‘Get More Confrontational’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday said she does not believe Representative Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) should apologize for her recent suggestion that protesters should “get more confrontational” if former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is acquitted. On Saturday, Waters traveled to Brooklyn Center, Minn., to join protests in response to the police shooting of Daunte Wright last week. Speaking just a few miles from where George Floyd died last year after Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during his arrest, Waters said she was “going to fight with all of the people who stand for justice,” and called on others to join her.
U.S.Lexington Herald-Leader7-year-old girl fatally shot in McDonald’s drive-thru, Illinois police say
A 7-year-old girl was killed and her father was injured after police say gunmen opened fire on their car in a Chicago drive-thru line Sunday. Around 4:20 p.m., Jontae Adams, 28, and his daughter Jaslyn Adams were waiting in a silver Infiniti in a McDonald's drive-thru, police said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. A McDonald's worker said two men got out of another car and started firing into the vehicle, WLS reported.
PoliticsAssociated PressSupreme Court rejects lingering 2020 election challenge case
The Supreme Court on Monday said it will not hear a case out of Pennsylvania related to the 2020 election, a dispute that had lingered while similar election challenges had already been rejected by the justices. The justices in February, after President Joe Biden's inauguration, had rejected a handful of cases related to the 2020 election. In the case the court rejected Monday, however, the court had called for additional briefing that was not complete until the end of March. The case involved a federal court challenge to a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision requiring election officials to receive and count mailed-in ballots that arrived up to three days after the election.
U.S.ReutersU.S. will boost 'Do Not Travel' advisories to 80% of world
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department said on Monday it will boost its "Do Not Travel" guidance to about 80% of countries worldwide, citing "unprecedented risk to travelers" from the COVID-19 pandemic. "This update will result in a significant increase in the number of countries at Level 4: Do Not Travel, to approximately 80% of countries worldwide," the department said in a statement. The State Department already listed 34 out of about 200 countries as "Level 4: Do Not Travel," including places like Chad, Kosovo, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, Haiti, Mozambique, Russia and Tanzania.
- WorldReuters
Egypt targets cell suspected of killing Christian in Sinai
Egyptian security forces have shot dead three suspected Islamist militants accused of targeting Coptic Christians and involvement in the execution-style killing of a 62-year-old man in North Sinai, the interior ministry said on Monday. The suspected militants died in an exchange of fire and were part of a cell that was plotting to attack Copts, their property and places of worship, as well as the security forces, the ministry said in a statement. An Islamist insurgency spread in the north of the Sinai Peninsula after Egypt's military overthrew Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Mursi in 2013.
U.S.CBS NewsColorado judge resigns after using N-word
A Colorado judge who was censured by the state's Supreme Court after being accused of using racist language with a coworker has resigned. The Colorado Supreme Court said Arapahoe County District Court Judge Natalie T. Chase used the N-word multiple times with a coworker and was racially insensitive on many occasions, according to court documents recommending discipline for Chase and public censure from the Court. The documents detail a 2020 incident in which Chase, a former law clerk and a Family Court Facilitator were driving back to work after attending an event in Pueblo, Colorado.
PoliticsAssociated PressGaetz, Greene flaunt new paths to power, testing GOP leaders
Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are presenting top House Republicans with a test of how to handle a new breed of Trump-era, social media-savvy firebrands. Gaetz, a third-term Floridian, and Green, a Georgia freshman, have attracted more public attention lately than most junior members of Congress. Much of it hasn't been positive.
WorldReutersUK PM Johnson cancels trip to India due to coronavirus worries
LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday cancelled a planned trip to India, scheduled to take place next week, saying it was a sensible move in light of a surge in COVID-19 infections there. India is enduring a second wave of the virus, with infections passing the 15 million mark, second only to the United States. "Instead, Prime Ministers Modi and Johnson will speak later this month to agree and launch their ambitious plans for the future partnership between the UK and India."
U.S.BBCCape Town fire: Residents evacuated on city's outskirts
South African emergency workers have evacuated three 17-storey residential buildings overlooking Cape Town as a huge fire burns along Table Mountain. The blaze spread quickly after breaking out on Sunday morning near a memorial to politician Cecil Rhodes. A restaurant was destroyed.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden news: White House warns Russia of consequences if Navalny dies as John Kerry apologises for Trump
The White House has warned Russia that “there will be consequences” if Alexei Navalny, a Putin critic, dies in prison, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday. This comes after President Joe Biden gave a speech on Thursday about Russia where he failed to mention the imprisoned Russian opposition leader, which angered critics. John Kerry has also apologised for former President Donald Trump's “non-leadership” on the effort to address the climate crisis during his four years as US leader.
- BusinessReuters
Swiss pharma firm Relief, U.S. partner fight after hopes dented for COVID-19 drug
A Swiss company whose market capitalization rose at one time to more than 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.6 billion) on hopes an old drug it owned would succeed against COVID-19 is embroiled in a dispute with U.S. partner NeuroRx, it said in a statement. Relief Therapeutics' market cap has fallen about 70% from a high in the third quarter of 2020, as the company's aviptadil, a 50-year-old medicine, failed to win U.S. emergency approval and in February demonstrated no survival benefit at 28 days in a U.S. clinical trial of people with COVID-19 respiratory failure.
U.S.LA TimesChicago's Little Village divided over police shooting of 13-year-old
Adam Toledo's mother stood in front of a makeshift memorial in an alley where her 13-year-old son was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer. Elizabeth Toledo, 44, wore dark glasses and didn't speak to the half-dozen onlookers. But Toledo, who lives a few blocks away in the neighborhood of La Villita, Little Village, has said through her attorney that she feels judged by the community since her son's death last month.
U.S.Business InsiderMarjorie Taylor Greene says she'll introduce a resolution to expel Rep. Maxine Waters for her 'continual incitement of violence'
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she'd introduce a resolution to expel Rep. Maxine Waters. Greene said Waters incited violence when she spoke with protesters in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Protests in the city have gone on for a week following the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright.
PoliticsUSA TODAYWhite House backpedals after Biden refers to a 'crisis' at the border
The White House backtracked after President Joe Biden referred to the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border as a "crisis" over the weekend, arguing Monday he meant the conditions in Central America that have led more people to flee. Biden used the word "crisis" – a descriptor his administration has avoided since taking office – on Saturday after a round of golf in Wilmington, Delaware, while speaking to reporters. He was explaining why he initially indicated Friday he would keep a Trump-era cap on refugees in place, only to announce plans to increase the number hours later.
ScienceNBC NewsSolar panels are reaching their limit. These crystals could change that.
When the Biden administration announced in late March a $128 million initiative to improve the costs of solar power, a significant chunk of the money went to research into materials named after an obscure 19th century Russian geologist and nobleman: Lev Perovski. Among the projects listed: $40 million for research and development into so-called perovskite materials that scientists are using to push the limits of just how efficient and adaptable solar cells can be. “Perovskites, I would argue, are one of the most exciting opportunities for solar cells in the immediate future,” said David Mitzi, a professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University, who has studied the materials since the 1990s.
U.S.INSIDERDerek Chauvin's defense focuses on reasonable doubt in a closing argument that compares the murder case to baking cookies
Eric Nelson said Chauvin used his experience and training to assess the scene when he arrived. Nelson explained reasonable doubt to jurors by comparing the prosecution's case to baking cookies. The defense attorney for fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Monday urged jurors to focus on any reasonable doubt and inconsistencies between the prosecution witnesses' testimony in the murder case.
- WorldWPVI – Philadelphia
7 teens arrested in connection with carjackings, assaults in Delaware
Delaware State Police have announced that seven teenagers have been arrested in connection with several carjackings and violent attacks in the First State.
WorldBusiness InsiderThe war against Russia's spies just cost Putin billions from a cancelled nuclear contract
Russia announced on Monday the expulsion of at least 20 Czech diplomats in a furious response to the gutting of Moscow's most critical intelligence station in central Europe over the weekend, when Czech authorities accused Russian intelligence of being behind two blasts at an ammunition storage facility in 2014. Czechia has accused a notorious Russian intelligence unit implicated in multiple operations across Europe and the UK of conducting two operations in 2014 that led to explosions at a munitions factory in 2014. At the time, the ammunition was said to be headed for Russia's rivals in Ukraine.
WorldThe IndependentClimate crisis: What has Joe Biden done for the environment in his first 100 days?
US president Joe Biden is approaching 100 days in office after making a swift start to his tenure in the White House in which he issued a flurry of executive orders, pushing major spending bills through Congress to fend off the coronavirus pandemic and stimulate the country's economy. Mr Biden is now turning his attention to the environment ahead of Earth Day, with his administration forced to pick up the pieces following the disastrous reign of Donald Trump, who considered the climate crisis “a hoax”, withdrew from the Paris accord, backed “beautiful clean coal” over the renewable energy sector and engaged in the hacking and slashing of regulations to permit drilling on once-protected public lands. Mr Trump's successor, also having been confronted with America's epidemic of gun violence, will host a virtual climate summit this week, bringing together world leaders in the hope of securing more ambitious commitments to united action.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramTexas didn’t see a COVID surge after opening and ending its mask mandate. Here’s why
It's been over a month since Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the state's mask mandate and ended business restrictions, but at least for now, Texas has not become the epicenter of a coronavirus surge as some predicted. After Abbott announced COVID-19 restrictions would end on March 10, President Joe Biden called the decision a “big mistake” and that it reflected “Neanderthal thinking. A slew of other political figures thought the decision was premature and a way to distract people from the February winter storm and power outage that killed at least 111 Texans.
U.S.Miami HeraldMiami-Dade has shut Calusa residents out of life-changing zoning decisions | Opinion
When Calusa was built in 1967, West Kendall was an idea. Builders were trying to convince homeowners to move away from the urban center by promising a peaceful community around 168 acres of green space protected by a 99-year covenant. It has a hidden oasis with 168 acres of green space that the Miami-Dade Comprehensive Development Master Plan designates as “parks and recreation.”
U.S.The IndependentDerek Chauvin trial: What are the possible outcomes?
Closing arguments in the trial of Derek Chuavin for the killing of George Floyd are about to finish. The 45-year-old is accused of restraining Mr Floyd for over nine minutes over a counterfeit bill, thereby causing the 46-year-old's death in the custody of Minneapolis police. The city was the location of the killing of Mr Floyd in May 2020, and with a final wait for justice imminent, the tension inside the courtroom – and out – is discernible.
WorldBusiness InsiderThe bosses of the Suez Canal say the excavator operator who helped free the Ever Given is getting his overtime pay, plus a bonus
The excavator driver who helped free the Ever Given ought to have been paid, Suez Canal bosses said. Abdullah Abdul-Gawad, a subcontractor, earlier told Insider he was still waiting for overtime money. The Suez Canal Authority said it paid, though Insider couldn't reach Abdul-Gawad's direct employer.
CelebrityThe TelegraphNo man-to-man for Prince Charles and Harry as Duke heads back to US
The Duke of Sussex will return to California without having a private meeting with his father, The Telegraph understands. Many family members had hoped the pair would take the opportunity to spend some time together alone, to air their differences face to face. While the Duke's travel plans have not been disclosed, he is thought likely to return home to his pregnant wife, the Duchess of Sussex, 39, and their son Archie, who turns two next month, within the next day or two.
“High-speed rail is bold and attention-grabbing, but the scale of the project makes it near impossible.”
“While a long, slow train ride across the country can be a great thing, the US needs real high-speed rail too.”
“Liberals are right that America has a car problem — but it's commutes, not road trips, that suck.”
“Investments into a high-speed rail system wouldn’t just improve the railroads — automobile traffic could also see some relief.”
“Big cities that are reasonably close together is pretty much a prerequisite for high-speed rail.”