WorldReutersHong Kong activist Joshua Wong jailed for further 10 months over June 4 assembly
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong will face an additional 10 months in jail for participating in an unauthorised assembly on June 4 last year to commemorate the 1989 crackdown on protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Commemorations of the Tiananmen crackdown are banned in mainland China, but Hong Kong traditionally held the largest vigils globally every year, having been promised certain freedoms when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, including rights of expression and assembly. Wong, 24, already in prison on other illegal assembly convictions and among 47 activists charged under the city's sweeping national security law, was sentenced in the district court on Thursday.
U.S.NextSharkWoman Bashes Asian Victim’s Head With a HAMMER After Demanding to Remove Mask in NYC
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U.S.Miami Herald‘What’s going on in Florida?’ Man who posed with doomed tiger shark tells his side
A Florida man who is seen in a widely shared Facebook photo smiling while holding up a distressed shark said he isn't the one who caught the fish and feels bad about posing with it. “I've never seen one before,” Joseph Wilson told the Citrus County Chronicle. After Wilson posted the photo on Facebook, the Real Florida hunting and fishing page shared the disturbing snap with the caption, “What's going on in Florida?” with a wide-eyed emoji.
WorldAssociated PressBlinken in Ukraine reaffirms US support amid Russia tensions
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv Thursday and reaffirmed Washington's support for the country in the wake of heightened tensions with Russia, fueled by its recent troop buildup near the borders with Ukraine. The top American diplomat met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reiterated the U.S.'s commitment to Ukraine's “sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence,” while also underscoring the importance of Ukraine's efforts to tackle widespread corruption and carry out reforms. “Ukraine is facing two challenges: aggression from outside, coming from Russia, and in effect aggression from within, coming from corruption, oligarchs and others who are putting their interests ahead of those of the Ukrainian people,” Blinken told a news conference after his meeting with Zelenskyy.
WorldReutersSerbians queue to get COVID-19 vaccine and with it a shopping voucher
Dozens of people gathered at a major mall in Belgrade on Thursday hoping to be among the first to get a COVID-19 vaccine and with it a shopping voucher, in the latest initiative by authorities to encourage more Serbians to get inoculated. Since last December, Serbia has vaccinated 29.81% of its population of around 7 million with at least one dose. The government now wants to accelerate the programme, including drop-in vaccination centres and facilities in shopping malls.
HealthThe WeekMore studies show Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines protect against worrisome variants
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is extremely effective against two dangerous variants of the coronavirus, the B.1.1.7 strain first found in the United Kingdom and the B.1.351 variant discovered in South Africa, researchers reported Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet. Moderna also reported Wednesday that, according to early results from its booster shot trial, a third dose of its vaccine given six to eight months after the first two doses boosted antibodies to protect against the South African B.1.351 variant and other worrisome strain found in Brazil. Moderna is testing its original vaccine and a version modified to target the B.1.351 variant.
U.S.Lexington Herald-Leader2 men charged after Central Kentucky investigators seize $500,000 worth of THC vapes
Two men are facing drug charges after Jessamine County investigators allegedly caught them with several thousand THC vape cartridges. The vape cartridges were worth about $500,000, according to the Jessamine County sheriff's office. Investigators said in a Facebook post that more than 7,500 cartridges were seized, but arrest records indicated the number was about 10,000 cartridges.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema could be the 50th vote for — or against — Biden's ambitious legislation. So what does she want?
There are only two ways that any of President Biden's big post-pandemic plans — modernize America's infrastructure, combat climate change, expand education and shore up the safety net for working families— are surviving a 50-50 Senate. Otherwise, much of Biden's legislative agenda is DOA. And Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona could be the one to kill it.
ScienceAxiosPentagon tracking path of falling Chinese rocket
The Pentagon said Wednesday it's tracking the uncontrolled descent of the Long March-5B Y2 rocket that carried a Chinese Space Station module to orbit last week. Details: Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters the rocket's debris was expected to return to Earth "somewhere around" May 8 and that the U.S. Space Command has said "almost the entire body of the rocket" remains intact. Space watchers also played a waiting game as China's Tiangong-1 space station came back through the atmosphere in 2018, eventually burning up above the Pacific Ocean.
PoliticsAssociated PressRepublicans promote pandemic relief they voted against
Every Republican in Congress voted against the sweeping pandemic relief bill that President Joe Biden signed into law three months ago. But since the early spring votes, Republicans from New York and Indiana to Texas and Washington state have promoted elements of the legislation they fought to defeat. The Republicans' favorite provisions represent a tiny sliver of the massive law, which sent $1,400 checks to millions of Americans, extended unemployment benefits until September, increased the child tax credit, offered housing assistance for millions of low-income Americans and expanded health care coverage.
WorldReutersMystery Australian COVID case spurs return of masks, travel bans
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian officials reinstated social distancing measures in Sydney as New Zealand partially suspended the pair's "travel bubble" on Thursday, amid fears an Indian variant case of COVID-19 could spur a significant outbreak. The swift action was taken a day after a 50-year-old man became the first reported local transmission case in New South Wales state in more than a month, with the source of his infection baffling health officials. Further testing determined the man was infected with a variant first detected in India and genomic sequencing had linked the case to a returned traveller from the United States, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said on Thursday, but there was no clear transmission path between the two people.
WorldBBCCovid: US backs waiver on vaccine patents to boost supply
The US has thrown its support behind a move at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to temporarily lift patent protection for coronavirus vaccines. India and South Africa proposed the plan, which they said would increase vaccine production around the world. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that "extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures".
WorldAssociated PressAustralian mom convicted of killing 4 children seeks pardon
Nearly two decades after an Australian woman was convicted of killing her four children, dozens of scientists are backing the claim that they may have died of natural causes. Australian law says Kathleen Folbigg is one of the nation's worst female serial killers who smothered her four children over a decade. The petition lodged in March carries the signatures of 90 scientists, medical practitioners and related professionals including two Nobel laureates.
U.S.The StateDriver killed after crashing into tree is identified by Lexington County coroner
The driver of an SUV was killed after crashing into a tree in Lexington County on Tuesday night, according to South Carolina Highway Patrol. Rhonda Faye Beaty, 56, of Leesville was identified as the crash victim, according to Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher. The single-vehicle collision happened at about 6:05 p.m. on Broad Street, said Lance Cpl.
PoliticsArchitectural DigestHouse Call: What Do Your Water Glasses Say About You?
A selection of drinkware to make the best first impression Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsKansas City StarCall a convention to rewrite the US Constitution? Not so fast, Kansas Senate says
The Kansas Senate has rejected — for now at least — a resolution that on its face would call for a constitutional convention to rewrite the nation's highest law. It was to provoke a federal lawsuit over how many votes in the Legislature it would take to do that. The Senate debated more than three hours before finally voting 21-19 to send Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611 back to the Federal and State Affairs Committee from which it came.
WorldReutersWest must be 'very careful' about Chinese investment, Blinken says
LONDON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the West had to be very careful about the exact nature of Chinese investment in Western economies and think very carefully about investments in strategic assets. China's spectacular economic and military rise over the past 40 years is among the most significant geopolitical events of recent history, alongside the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union that ended the Cold War. The West has struggled to come up with an agreed policy on China and has flipflopped over the years from seeing China as a lucrative source of investment - for example in U.S. government bonds - to seeing China as a threat to global stability and avoiding its 5G technology.
WorldBBCPhilippines' Duterte apologises for taking unapproved China jab
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the Chinese Embassy to take back 1,000 donated Sinopharm vaccines, after he was criticised for taking an unapproved vaccine. In response, Mr Duterte said China should in future only send Sinovac vaccines - a separate Chinese vaccine which is in use in the Philippines. Sinopharm has not yet been approved in the Philippines.
U.S.INSIDER2 California students were sentenced to life in prison for stabbing and killing a police officer in Rome
Two California students were sentenced in Italy to life in prison for killing an Italian police officer. Finnegan Elder, now 21, is attempting to appeal his sentence. Finnegan Elder, 21, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 20, were convicted on Wednesday of murder along with assault, attempted extortion, carrying a weapon without just cause, and resisting arrest, after a high-profile trial.
PoliticsThe WeekCaitlyn Jenner discusses her politics with Sean Hannity at her private jet hangar in Malibu
Caitlyn Jenner, the former Kardashian and Olympic gold medalist who is now running for governor of California, sat down with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday to discuss her bid to unseat Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in an upcoming recall election. Since announcing her bid two weeks ago, Jenner, a Republican, has not been particularly detailed about her policies or politics. On Hannity, she described herself as fiscally conservative and more socially liberal, endorsed former President Donald Trump's border wall, stumbled over her views on immigration, opposed redirecting police funds, partially stood by her comments that transgender girls should not participate in girls sports, and used her house surviving a forest fire as an example of good forest management.
WorldAssociated PressGeneral: China's Africa outreach poses threat from Atlantic
The top U.S general for Africa is warning that a growing threat from China may come not just from the waters of the Pacific but from the Atlantic as well. U.S. Gen. Stephen Townsend, in an interview with The Associated Press, said Beijing is looking to establish a large navy port capable of hosting submarines or aircraft carriers on Africa's western coast. Townsend said China has approached countries stretching from Mauritania to south of Namibia, intent on establishing a naval facility.
LifestyleReutersIn COVID-hit India, a 26-year-old doctor decides who lives and who dies
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Rohan Aggarwal is 26 years old. As India's healthcare system teeters on the verge of collapse during a brutal second wave of the novel coronavirus, Aggarwal makes those decisions during a 27-hour workday that includes a grim overnight shift in charge of the emergency room at his New Delhi hospital. Everyone at Holy Family Hospital – patients, relatives and staff – knows there aren't enough beds, not enough oxygen or ventilators to keep everyone who arrives at the hospital's front gates alive.
BusinessBBCGoogle boss emails staff detailing return to office
Google's chief executive has sent an email to employees encouraging them to return to work in the office for approximately three days a week as lockdowns ease. The firm began reopening offices in April, and has now laid out the details of how it envisages the new hybrid working week. In the email, Sundar Pichai extols the benefits of office working.
LifestyleThe WeekAfter aging out of foster care system, 19-year-old is adopted by former caseworker
Leah couldn't adopt Monyay while she was still in the foster care system, as it would be a conflict of interest, but after she watched a documentary about a man who was adopted as an adult, she approached Monyay to see if she was open to the idea. "I wanted to make sure she knew that she had somebody who loved her and who would have done this years ago and still would as an adult," Leah told GMA. Monyay was overjoyed by the offer, telling GMA "that's the one thing I've wanted my entire life, to have a mom."
- NewsYahoo News Video
Firing of Atlanta cop who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks reversed
The firing of the former Atlanta police officer who's charged with murder in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks was reversed after a review panel found the city failed to follow its own procedures for disciplinary actions.
“Every college has a public health responsibility to require its students to be vaccinated.”
“While the vast majority of students will likely get the vaccine, schools should honor the decisions of the few who object.”
“A vaccinated campus could be the step toward normality that college leaders are seeking.”
“College students are mobile and spread COVID-19 with them whenever they travel.”
“There almost certainly are going to be legal challenges because the anti-vaccine movement is already preparing for them.”