- U.S.Fox News
Florida 8th grade student says teacher deemed outfit too revealing: report
A 14-year-old student in Florida says she was recently singled out by a teacher, who remarked that her outfit was too revealing and that she was "letting them hang out for the whole world to see," according to a report Tuesday. Eighth-grader Alice Wagner told WJXT-TV that the unidentified teacher made the remark about her body as she was leaving a classroom at Yulee Middle School, about 25 miles north of downtown Jacksonville. The student said she was wearing a tank top with a cardigan at the time.
PoliticsAxios"Greatest tool in the Democrats' arsenal": Pollster says Trump may cost GOP the House in 2022
Former Republican pollster Frank Luntz tells Kara Swisher on her New York Times podcast "Sway" that Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election "could cost the Republicans the majority in the House in 2022." Why it matters: The former president is still the most popular figure in the Republican Party, but his baseless claims about the election have alienated moderates and key GOP leaders — including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.). Luntz: "More than two-thirds of Republicans believe that the election was stolen."
U.S.The TelegraphMembers of religious cult in court after 'corpse of leader found decorated with Christmas lights'
Seven members of a religious cult who authorities say kept the mummified remains of their leader at a home in a remote Colorado town festooned with Christmas lights and glitter made an initial court appearance on Wednesday. The four men and three women (Ryan Kramer, Christopher Royer, Sarah Rudolph, Karin Raymond, Jason Castillo, John Robertson and Obdulia Franco, ranging in age from 30 to 52 years old, are each charged with one count of abusing of a corpse and two counts of misdemeanour child abuse. The child abuse charges stem from two children who were living in the house where the body was found.
PoliticsThe WeekPfizer, Moderna shares plummet after Biden administration backs a COVID-19 vaccine patent waiver
The United States will advocate for waiving COVID-19 vaccine patent protections in discussions with the World Trade Organization, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced Wednesday. The Biden administration "believes strongly in intellectual property protections," Tai said in a statement, but the White House will back the waiver given the "extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic." The administration has faced pressure to support the measure, which is aimed at increasing vaccinations around the world — especially in countries experiencing a surge in infections, like India — without having to rely solely on exports.
- WorldReuters
Taliban would roll back Afghan women's rights -U.S. intelligence report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Taliban "would roll back much" of the progress made in Afghan women's rights if the Islamist extremists regain national power, according to an assessment released on Tuesday by top U.S. intelligence analysts. The U.S. National Intelligence Council report likely will reinforce fears that the Taliban will resume the harsh treatment that women and girls suffered under their 1996-2001 rule should the insurgents prevail in a full-blown civil war. "The Taliban remains broadly consistent in its restrictive approach to women's rights and would roll back much of the past two decades of progress if the group regains national power," said the U.S. intelligence community's top analytical body.
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.
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
WorldThe TelegraphBritons to have quarantine-free holidays to Italy by end of May, government announces
British tourists will be able to holiday in Italy from the second half of this month without having to quarantine, the government has indicated. Visitors will have to demonstrate that they have either been vaccinated against Covid-19, they have recently tested negative, or they have had the virus in the past and now have immunity. The Italian government has not yet decided whether it will require a rapid antigen test or a more thorough molecular test.
WorldReutersSpain tourist arrivals slump 76% in March, recovery still far off
Foreign tourism in Spain in March fell 76% from a year ago when a lockdown was imposed in mid-month, data showed on Thursday, meaning a recovery of the crucial sector from the hammer blow of COVID-19 is not yet in sight. Spain, the world's second most visited country before the pandemic, received 490,088 foreign tourists in March, down from just over two million in March 2020, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE). Amid stricter travel restrictions in place with Britain, French tourists replaced Britons as the most numerous in Spain compared to a year earlier.
- NewsCBS LA - KCBS
One Killed In Big-Rig Wreck On 210 Freeway In Fontana
At least one person was killed in a crash involving an overturned semi-truck in Fontana Wednesday morning.
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.
U.S.Associated PressMom who gave birth on flight didn't know she was pregnant
Lavinia “Lavi” Mounga had no idea a baby was coming when she went into labor on a flight from her home in Utah to Honolulu last week. “I just didn't know I was pregnant, and then this guy just came out of nowhere,” Mounga said during a video interview with Hawaii Pacific Health. The baby boy, Raymond Mounga, arrived early at just 29 weeks while mom was traveling to Hawaii for vacation with her family.
WorldThe GuardianIndia is hiding its Covid crisis – and the whole world will suffer for it
A few years ago, as Narendra Modi came into power, I worked on an investigative report about India hiding its malaria deaths. In traveling from tribal Odisha to the Indian national health ministry in New Delhi, my colleague and I watched thousands of cases disappear: some malaria deaths, first noted in handwritten local health ledgers, never appeared in central government reports; other malaria deaths were magically transformed into deaths of heart attack or fever. The discrepancy was massive: India reported 561 malaria deaths that year.
U.S.Kansas City Star‘My soul left my body.’ Shark startles 6-year-old playing in surf, Hawaii video shows
An ordinary day at the beach turned into terror Sunday for a 6-year-old Hawaii girl who spotted a shark beside her in the surf. Sheri Gouveia was shooting a video of her daughter playing in the ocean at Kalama Beach on Oahu at the time, Hawaii News Now reported. Gouveia told Hawaii News Now her daughter has “angels to keep her safe.”
WorldThe Telegraph'Depressed' MH370 pilot made ‘series of deliberate turns and speed changes’ to avoid radar detection
The pilot of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 made a series of deliberate turns and speed changes to avoid radar detection before plunging into the Indian Ocean, new research suggests. The plane took an unexplained U-turn from its planned flight path and headed back across the Malay Peninsula and the Malacca Strait before vanishing. Mr Godfrey said the plane's final movements could be mapped out using data from Weak Signal Propagation (WSPR), a global network of radio signals that can trace the movement of planes as they cross signals and set off invisible "electronic trip-wires".
U.S.Associated PressEx-49ers player Hayne to spend nearly 4 years in jail
Jarryd Hayne, a rugby league star who also played briefly in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers, has been sentenced to at least three years and eight months in jail for the sexual assault of a woman in 2018. Hayne was found guilty in March of two counts of sexual assault. A judge ruled on Thursday that Hayne should be jailed for five years, nine months with a non-parole period of three years and eight months.
U.S.The IndependentGeorge Conway says Rudy Giuliani is in deep ‘sh**’
George Conway warned that an investigation by the FBI into the business dealings of Donald Trump's former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, indicates that the former New York mayor seems to be in “deep s***”. Mr Conway, a conservative attorney and husband of Kellyanne Conway — a former counsellor of Mr Trump — was talking to The Daily Beast's “The New Abnormal” podcast on the topic of the former president's baseless allegations of election fraud, before discussing the FBI investigation of Mr Giuliani. It follows twin raids on the former presidential attorney's apartment and office, with federal investigators seizing computers and cellphones.
BusinessBBCUK service sector growth hits seven-year high
The UK's services sector rebounded in April with growth climbing to a seven-year high as lockdown restrictions were eased, according to an influential survey. The sector, which accounts for 80% of the UK economy, had the fastest rise in output since October 2013. "April data illustrates that a surge of pent-up demand has started to flow through the UK economy, following the loosening of pandemic restrictions, which lifted private sector growth to its highest since October 2013," said Tim Moore, economics director at survey compiler IHS Markit.
U.S.The IndependentAtlanta reinstates officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks, Black man who was running away from police
Garrett Rolfe, the white former Atlanta police officer charged with murdering Rayshard Brooks, a Black man, may be put back onto the force. On Wednesday, the Atlanta Civil Service Board, which evaluates city government firing decisions, held that the police department hadn't followed proper procedure when it swiftly fired Mr Rolfe after the shooting last June. Mr Rolfe fired upon Mr Brooks as he ran away on foot from a drunk driving arrest.
WorldArchitectural Digest9 Sleeper Sofas That’ll Make You Want to Hit Snooze (in a Good Way)
From reclining futons to pull-out beds, these double-duty pieces often get a bad rep Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsBusiness InsiderA GOP-backed auditing group in Maricopa County is burrowing through ballots in search of bamboo fibers and Chinese paper to prove a far-fetched theory votes were flown in from Asia
Workers at the Maricopa County recount are investigating an absurd theory that 40,000 Biden ballots were smuggled in from Asia. The recount is partially funded by a lobbyist group, which raised over $1.5 million for the effort. The Maricopa County vote recount has taken a surprising turn, with UV lights and high-tech cameras being deployed as workers comb through ballots, checking for traces of bamboo fibers in the paper.
U.S.USA TODAYTest cruises with volunteer passengers are on the horizon as CDC issues new guidance
The return of passenger-filled cruise ships sailing in U.S. waters is in sight. On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released additional guidance for cruise ships with instructions for trial voyages with volunteer passengers meant to take place in advance of sailings that include paying passengers. "With the issuance of these next two phases, cruise ship operators now have all the necessary requirements and recommendations they need to start simulated voyages before resuming restricted passenger voyages and apply for a COVID-19 conditional sailing certificate to begin sailing with restricted passenger voyages," the CDC said on its website, noting it may adjust requirements and recommendations in the future.
U.S.The Daily Beast‘A Terrible Thing’: Husband of Colorado Mom Who Vanished on Mother’s Day Charged With Murder
Nearly a year after Suzanne Morphew disappeared without a trace while out on a bike ride last Mother's Day, the 49-year-old's husband—who once pleaded for her safe return—has been arrested and charged with murder. The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office confirmed to The Daily Beast that Barry Morphew, 53, is currently in custody after being arrested Wednesday morning, just days shy of the one-year anniversary of his wife's disappearance on May 10, 2020, in Maysville, Colorado. He has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, tampering with physical evidence, and attempting to influence a public servant.
PoliticsThe IndependentDC police officer slams ‘disgraceful’ political indifference in wake of 6 January Capitol riot
It has barely been four months since a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol and tried to overturn the election results, but a “disgraceful” feeling of political “indifference” to what happened that day has set in, according to an emotional letter a Washington DC police officer sent members of Congress on Wednesday. “As the physical injuries gradually subsided in crept the psychological trauma,” wrote officer Michael Fanone, who has served with the Metro police for nearly two decades. During the 6 January riots, five people were killed and more than 100 officers were injured, the culmination of weeks of baseless conspiracy theories about a stolen election spread by Mr Trump and adopted by his Republican allies in Congress.
U.S.Business InsiderEddie Gallagher says he and other Navy SEALs used a dying enemy fighter for medical practice with no intention of saving him
Eddie Gallagher said he and other SEALs practiced medical procedures on a prisoner of war. Retired Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who was found not guilty of murder in a high-profile war-crimes trial nearly two years ago, said in a podcast that aired Tuesday that he and his team practiced various medical procedures on an enemy combatant until he died, with no intention of saving him. After the trial, President Donald Trump restored Gallagher's rank and personally intervened when the Navy attempted to take away Gallagher's SEAL trident.
“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.”