WorldAssociated PressTroops celebrate as US-backed force seizes IS camp in Syria
U.S.-backed Syrian forces on Tuesday seized control of an encampment held by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria, after hundreds of militants surrendered overnight, a spokesman said, signaling the group's collapse after months of stiff resistance. A group of suspects involved in a January bombing that killed four Americans in northern Syria were among militants captured by the Kurdish-led forces. The taking of the IS camp was a major advance but not the final defeat of the group in Baghouz, the last village held by the extremists where they have been holding out for weeks under siege, according to Mustafa Bali, the spokesman for the Kurdish-led force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces.
NewsReutersCalifornia university says students tied to admissions scam could face expulsion
The University of Southern California said it may expel students tied to a brazen U.S. college-admissions scam after reviewing their records, which could lead the college to throw out "Full House" actress Lori Loughlin's two daughters. The school said on Monday night it has already "placed holds on the accounts of students who may be associated with the alleged admissions scheme," preventing them from registering for classes or acquiring transcripts. quot;Following the review, we will take the proper action related to their status, up to revoking admission or expulsion," the college said in a tweet on Monday night.
- NewsThe Independent
US weather: Thousands flee midwest as three die amid flooding triggered by 'bomb cyclone'
Thousands of people are being forced to leave their homes after a so-called bomb cyclone brought flooding to huge swathes of the American midwest. From Nebraska to Kansas, and Missouri to Illinois, residents have been evacuated amid flooding that has killed at least three people. The governors of Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin have declared states of emergency.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are not alone. See the list of who has been charged.
The indictment alleges that between 2011 and 2019, William โRickโ Singer โconspired with dozens of parents, athletic coaches, a university athletics administrator, and others, to use bribery and other forms of fraud to secure the admission of students to colleges and universities including Yale University, Georgetown University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, and Wake Forest University, among others. Start the day smarter: Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox Here's the full list of who has been charged: Multiple charges William "Rick" Singer, 58, of Newport Beach, California, owner of the Edge College & Career Network and CEO of the Key Worldwide Foundat...
- PoliticsNational Review
Poll: 50 Percent Say Mueller Investigation Is 'Witch Hunt'
50 percent of adults surveyed in an astonishing new USA Today/Suffolk University pollย say that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation is a โwitch huntโ and believe that President Trump has been the target of more investigative scrutiny than other presidents because of his politics. A majority ofย 52 percent still say they have little or no trust in Trump's insistence that his campaign did not collude with Russia during the 2016 campaign season, but that number is down from 59 percent in December. Support for impeachment has faltered as well, with 62 percent saying the House should not impeach Trump compared to just 28 percent who want the lower chamber to seriously consider doing so.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The Mercedes-Maybach GLS Will Be the Most Expensive Car Built in America
Mercedes-Benz USA's CEO confirmed the Mercedes-Maybach GLS to Automotive News. It will be built at the same Vance, Alabama, plant as the regular GLS, making it the most expensive passenger vehicle built in the States. The regular Mercedes-Benz GLS-class is set to make its debut within the next few months.
WorldAFPDutch police arrest tram attack suspect after huge manhunt
Dutch police on Monday arrested a Turkish-born suspect over a possible terror attack on a tram in the city of Utrecht that left three people dead and five wounded. Heavily armed officers later surrounded a building following the bloodshed in the Netherlands' fourth largest city and his arrest was dramatically announced at the end of a news conference. Dutch authorities said they were still investigating a likely terrorist motive for the attack but said they "cannot exclude" other motives, including a family dispute.
BusinessReutersBrotherly love at Reliance? India's Mukesh Ambani provides 'support' to brother Anil as debt paid off
India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, who controls oil-to-telecoms powerhouse Reliance Industries that is now worth many times the troubled business group run by his younger brother Anil, appears to have offered some kind of support to ensure Anil paid off a 5.5 billion rupees ($80 million) debt. If Anil didn't pay the debt, then he had been threatened by India's Supreme Court with a prison term. The nature of the backing and how it was delivered is unclear, but in a statement Anil Ambani thanked his billionaire brother "for standing by me during these trying times, and demonstrating the importance of staying true to our strong family values by extending this timely support".
NewsAssociated PressPirro's show not on Fox lineup, week after Omar comments
Fox News weekend host Jeanine Pirro's show didn't air a week after her comments questioning U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar over her wearing a Muslim head covering. The Fox News schedule for the upcoming weekend doesn't include the show. President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday morning about Pirro's absence, saying she should be brought back.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY Opinion
New Zealand shooting is warning for US: Get serious about white supremacist terror threat
Yet, while these examples reached the national news cycle, there are dozens of attacks (not all of them fatal) by white supremacists that are not widely known, such as the racially motivated attack on an African-American DJ in Lynwood, Washington; the bombing of a mosque in Bloomington, Minnesota by two members of a white nationalist militia; or the regular violence perpetrated by the white supremacist Rise Above Movement. Extremist violence like this is sometimes difficult to track because domestic terrorism law is simply not prosecuting the reality. There is seldom a mention of โterrorโ in the prosecutorial charge sheets.
WorldAFPSaudi crown prince approved 'intervention' against dissidents: report
More than a year before the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved a secret campaign to silence dissenters, The New York Times reported on Sunday. American officials referred to it as the Saudi Rapid Intervention Group, the Times said. At least some of the clandestine missions were carried out by members of the team that killed and dismembered Khashoggi in October at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, suggesting his murder was part of a wider campaign against dissidents, the report said, citing the US officials and associates of some Saudi victims.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Mesut Ozil sparks new political row over wedding invite for Turkish president
The footballer Mesut รzil has become embroiled in a new political row in Germany over reports he asked Recep Tayyip Erdoฤan,ย Turkey's president, to beย guest of honour at his wedding. The Arsenal star resigned from the German national team last year claiming he was a victim of racism after coming under fire over his public support for Mr Erdoฤan . German politicians spoke out after he was pictured with his fiancee, Amine Gulse, meeting Mr Erdoฤan at Istanbul airport last week.
- NewsThe Independent
California poppies: City declares public safety crisis after 'super bloom apocalypse'
Officials in the California city of Lake Elisnore have previously had large crowds come and see the wildflowers that burst into a vibrant blaze of gorgeous colour as spring gets underway. It happens when it rains hard. But this spring, the poppies have been so abundant and so strikingly coloured โ orange peel, marigold and burned copper โ that the number of people coming to walk among them has simply been too many.
- PoliticsNational Review
Beto Campaign Raises $6.1 Million on First Day, Beating Dem. Rivals
Former Texas representativeย Beto O'Rourke's brand new presidential campaign said Monday that it pulled in a hefty $6.1 million during its first 24 hours, besting the first-day totals for every other Democratic presidential candidate. โIn just 24 hours, Americans across this country came together to prove that it is possible to run a true grassroots campaign for president โ a campaign by all of us, for all of us, that answers not to the PACs, corporations, and special interests but to the people,โ theย El Paso Democrat said in a statement. O'Rourke announced his candidacy Thursday, triggering a massive outpouring of online donations from his supporters.
NewsUSA TODAYI got into 39 colleges without cheating: What applying to schools looks like in 2019
Jordan Nixon has received 39 college acceptance letters so far, all withoutย celebrity parents or $500,000 bribes. It just took years of planning, a private college adviser, 50-plus applications and the unwavering support of family. As the nation's largest-ever college admissions scandal surfacesย this week, with celebrity parents and rich CEOs accused ofย cheating to get their children into prestigiousย schools, the Nixonsย areย navigating college admissions like the rest of us.
- WorldThe National Interest
Navy vs. Nukes: U.S. Navy Plans to Test Missile Defenses Against ICBM
The Pentagon plans a โfirst-of-its-kindโ test of an unprecedented weapons capability to intercept and destroy an enemy Intercontinental Ballistic Missile "ICBM" -- from a Navy ship at sea using a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA. The concept, as articulated by Pentagon officials and cited briefly in this years' DoD โMissile Defense Review,โ would be to use an advanced SM-3 IIA to โunderlayโ and assist existing Ground-Based Interceptors (GBI), adding new dimensions to the current US missile defense posture.
- BusinessReuters
Elon Musk hasn't sought approval for even a single Tesla tweet, SEC tells judge
Chief Executive Elon Musk has never sought pre-approval for a single tweet about Tesla since striking a court-approved deal about how to communicate important information about the electric vehicle maker, the top U.S. securities regulator told a judge on Monday. The Securities and Exchange Commission is doubling down on the government's demand to find the Tesla CEO in contempt of a previous fraud settlement that required him to have the company pre-approve any tweets that could materially impact the automaker. The ongoing public battle between Tesla's chief executive and the SEC piles pressure on Musk, the public face of Tesla, who is struggling to make the company profitable after cutting the price of its Model 3 sedan to $35,000.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Up to 500 homes damaged in 1 Nebraska county
The state's emergency management agency says more record crests are expected in various rivers by Tuesday. Nebraska has had much of the worst of the late-winter flooding that's been seen across the Midwest. Hundreds of homes are damaged and the state says 660 people are staying in shelters.
- WorldNational Review
Stop Politicizing the Christchurch Killings
As the families of the 50 Muslims gunned down at two New Zealand Mosques on Friday mourned, Senator Fraser Anning of Queensland put out a widely condemned statement that effectively blamed the victims: Later, as Anning was being interviewed by media, a teenage boy smashed an egg on his head. Anning responded by throwing punches at the young man. All this was caught on camera, of course, much as the massacre itself had been livestreamed on Facebook.
WorldAFPNew Zealand attack plays into jihadist hands: experts
White supremacist Brenton Tarrant, who is accused of killing 50 people in the New Zealand mosque massacre in what he claimed was a blow against Muslim "invaders", played into jihadist hands by following their strategy, experts say. From the Islamic State (IS) group to Al-Qaeda, jihadist groups aim to deepen divisions between Muslims and the rest of the world in an apparent aim to trigger all-out war between "believers" and "unbelievers". "The Christchurch attack was a blessing for Daesh," said Alain Chouet, a former senior French intelligence official, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
- WorldBloomberg
Trump Official Sees New Zealand, U.S. Attacks as Racial Terror
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen connected Friday's New Zealand mosque attacks with acts of racist violence in the U.S., calling the perpetrators โdomestic terroristsโ and saying they're an increasing concern for her agency. Nielsen drew a line on Monday between the New Zealand attacks, in a which a gunman who espoused hatred of Muslims killed 50 people at two mosques, and three attacks in the U.S. that authorities have blamed on racism or bigotry. We, too, have seen the face of such evil with attacks in places such as Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, and Charleston,โ Nielsen said in a speech at George Washington University in Washington.
BusinessAFPIndian tycoon Ambani pays debt after court threatened jail
Indian tycoon Anil Ambani has settled a multi-million debt with Sweden's Ericsson, the company said Monday, after judges threatened the billionaire with jail if he did not pay his dues. The Supreme Court in February found that Ambani, 59, had refused to pay telecom giant Ericsson 5.5 billion rupees ($77 million), as previously ordered by India's top court. The judges warned that Ambani would be jailed for three months if 4.5 billion rupees were not stumped up within a month.
WorldReutersVenezuela's Maduro plans 'deep restructuring' of government: VP
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is planning a "deep restructuring" of his government, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday, as the country recovers from a prolonged blackout amid a power struggle with the opposition. quot;President @NicolasMaduro has asked the entire executive Cabinet to put their roles up for review in a deep restructuring of the methods and functions of the Bolivarian government, to protect the fatherland of Bolivar and Chavez from any threat," Rodriguez wrote on Twitter, referring to independence leader Simon Bolivar and former President Hugo Chavez.
- NewsU.S.News & World Report
3 Things Students Should Know About AP Registration Changes
The College Board, the not-for-profit organization that oversees the Advanced Placement program, recently announced its plans to alter AP registration policies. Since this decision directly affects students who are considering enrolling in AP courses, you must know exactly which changes will take place, as well as when. -- AP exam registration will now take place in November.
BusinessUSA TODAYSouthwest Airlines launches Hawaii service from Oakland to Honolulu with new snacks, in-flight hula dancing
Southwest Airlines' Hawaii service debuted Sunday, finallyย giving the nation's largest domestic carrier a footprint in the vacation hot spot. Southwest Flightย 6808, a 5 1/2-hour nonstop flight from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, landed at 2 p.m. local time.ย It was met by Hawaii Governor David Ige andย Southwest Airlines President Tom Nealon. Passengers on the inaugural flight were treated to leis andย in-flight hula dancingย and were the first to sample the expanded snack pack that will be served on the no-frills airline'sย Hawaii flights.
