WorldYahoo NewsIntelligence agencies: China is top threat to U.S. global influence
A 27-page report released ahead of testimony by the president's top intelligence officials identifies China as the biggest threat to U.S. global influence. The annual threat assessment report, which summarizes the best assessments of intelligence analysts from across the 18 different agencies within the intelligence community, “focuses on the most direct, serious threats to the United States during the next year,” looking at everything from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and climate change to cyberattacks and technological competitiveness. Senior intelligence officials, including Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, are expected to answer questions about the report this week in front of the House and Senate intelligence committees.
U.S.The StateNC woman used 16 fake names to scam government out of $2.2 million, prosecutors say
A lone woman in North Carolina used dozens of fake names and businesses to rake in millions of dollars in government contracts for more than a decade, according to federal prosecutors. Stephanie Dianna Elliott, 45, is accused of securing government contracts for everything from prison food to military supplies without ever delivering the goods or paying third-party vendors who fulfilled the orders. Instead, federal prosecutors said Elliott kept the money for expensive vacations and shopping.
PoliticsReutersU.S. Senate confirms Biden nominee for No. 2 State Dept post
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee Wendy Sherman to be deputy secretary of state, the number two position at the department. The Senate backed the nomination by 56-42, as a handful of Republicans joined Biden's fellow Democrats to vote in Sherman's favor. Sherman, 71, a foreign policy veteran, ran into Republican resistance because she helped negotiate the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran, which was fiercely opposed by Republicans as well as some Democrats.
U.S.Associated PressA bitter custody battle and 3 young lives lost in California
Erik Denton was supposed to see his three young children last Sunday, the one day every other week that he was allowed to be with them. Three-year-old Joanna, her 2-year-old brother, Terry, and 6-month-old sister, Sierra, had been staying with their mother — Denton's ex-girlfriend — in Los Angeles. Fearful for their safety, their father had petitioned the court for custody March 1, alleging their mother, Liliana Carrillo, was delusional and had taken the kids and refused to tell him where they were.
U.S.The StateOfficers on leave after video shows Black man being beaten, North Carolina mayor says
Two police officers in North Carolina are on leave after a video posted on social media shows them beating a Black man. In an 18-second clip shared on Facebook Monday evening, officers are seen chasing and punching a man later identified as 36-year-old David Lee Bruton Jr. Police were looking for him after a Little Caesars restaurant worker in Kinston accused him of threatening her, according to an incident report from police. Kinston Mayor Dontario Hardy did not immediately respond to McClatchy News' request for comment Tuesday but told The Kinston Free Press the officers have been put on administrative leave while police investigate.
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Navy sailor who shot and killed himself at Hawaii resort identified
The Honolulu Medical Examiner's office on Monday identified the U.S. Navy sailor who shot and killed himself at a luxury resort after a standoff with police over the weekend.
PoliticsThe WeekTrump skewers FDA's Johnson & Johnson decision — then casually invents conspiracy theory blaming Pfizer
Former President Donald Trump released a statement Tuesday criticizing the Food and Drug Administration's recommendation to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, baselessly suggesting the decision was politically motivated. "The results of this vaccine have been extraordinary, but now it's [sic] reputation will be permanently challenged," Trump said. "[The FDA] should not be able to do such damage for possibly political reasons, or maybe because their friends at Pfizer have suggested it," he said.
WorldAssociated PressSt. Vincent seeks water, funds as volcano keeps erupting
Leaders of volcano-wracked St. Vincent said Tuesday that water is running short as heavy ash contaminates supplies, and they estimated that the eastern Caribbean island will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption of La Soufriere. Between 16,000 to 20,000 people have been evacuated from the island's northern region, where the exploding volcano is located, with more than 3,000 of them staying at more than 80 government shelters. Dozens of people stood in lines on Tuesday for water or to retrieve money sent by friends and family abroad.
- U.S.Reuters
Cockpit voice recorder from crashed Indonesian jet downloaded successfully: investigator
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from a crashed Sriwijaya Air jet has been downloaded successfully and includes the last minutes of the flight that ended with 62 people dead, an official at Indonesia's air accident investigator said on Monday. The contents of the recording from the 26-year old Boeing Co 737-500 that crashed shortly after take-off on Jan. 9 cannot be disclosed publicly at this stage of the probe, Indonesia National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) investigator Nurcahyo Utomo said. The channels will need to be synchronised with each other as well as radio communications and the flight data recorder (FDR) for analysis to help determine the cause of the crash.
U.S.USA TODAYA grieving daughter dropped her toy. A president gave it back.
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden and congressional leaders paid tribute Tuesday to U.S. Capitol Police Officer William "Billy" Evans during a solemn ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. Evans, an 18-year member of the force who served on the agency's First Responders Unit, died during an attack at the Capitol earlier this month. His body is lying in honor in the Rotunda, an unusual distinction for a private citizen.
HealthReutersMajority of Brazil COVID-19 ICU patients aged 40 years or younger - report
The surging COVID-19 outbreak in Brazil is increasingly affecting younger people, with hospital data showing that last month the majority of those in intensive care were aged 40 or younger, according to a new report. The report, released by the Brazilian Association of Intensive Medicine (AMIB) over the weekend, is based on data from over a third of all the country's intensive care wards. It found a significant increase in younger people being admitted to beds in Intensive Care Units (ICUs).
WorldAssociated PressAnalysis: Iran's powerful Guard faces scrutiny after attacks
The recent sabotage at Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility is just the latest setback for the country's Revolutionary Guard, though the paramilitary force is rarely publicly criticized due to its power. Its forces failed to stop both an earlier attack at Iran's Natanz facility and the assassination of a top scientist who started a military nuclear program decades earlier. In the wake of the attack, Iran announced Tuesday it would begin enriching uranium at 60% purity, the highest level its program has ever reached.
ScienceThe TelegraphElon Musk's SpaceX satellite comes within 60m of crash with another owned by British-backed firm
Elon Musk's SpaceX satellite prompted a 'red alert' warning after coming within 60m of smashing into another satellite owned by a British-backed firm. Engineers at OneWeb and SpaceX scrambled to avoid what could have been a disastrous collision last month after the United States Space Force sent multiple "red alert" warnings that the two companies' satellites were about to crash. Both SpaceX and OneWeb are in direct competition to establish an infrastructure of satellites that can provide high-speed and low-latency internet access to remote or rural locations around the world that were left behind by traditional cable-based providers.
PoliticsUSA TODAYFact check: False claim that President Joe Biden's approval rating lowest in American history
The claim: President Joe Biden's approval rating is at 11%, the lowest of any president in American history President Joe Biden already has tangled with members of both parties over the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration and infrastructure since his inauguration less than three months ago. But his approval rating is not at an historic low, as a viral social media post suggests. The post, originally from a Twitter account on March 29, attributes Biden's supposed 11% approval rating to a Gallup poll, as reported by the Daily Caller.
PoliticsReutersFord, GM among Michigan companies opposing Republican-backed voting limits
Republican lawmakers in numerous states have proposed a slew of voting limits, after former President Donald Trump, a Republican, falsely claimed he lost November's election to President Joe Biden due to widespread fraud. In Michigan, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has vowed to veto bills that Republicans have proposed, including new restrictions on absentee and mail ballots. The state Republican chairman, however, has previously suggested the party could attempt to circumvent Whitmer via a petition drive.
WorldArchitectural DigestThe World’s 9 Most Expensive Home Listings Currently on the Market
These fantastical houses range from a 64,000-acre Texas ranch to an oceanside estate in the south of France Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.Associated Press"Sour Grapes" wine fraud con man deported to Indonesia
A one-time California man who bilked wine collectors out of millions by selling cheaper booze he rebottled in his kitchen has been deported to his native Indonesia, U.S. immigration officials said Tuesday. Rudy Kurniawan, 44, was deported last week on a commercial flight from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Tangerang City, Bann, Indonesia, according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. He is a public safety threat because of his aggravated felony conviction," the statement said.
WorldThe Independent‘Unlike anything we’ve seen in modern history’: Attacks against journalists soar during Black Lives Matter protests
At least 50 journalists in the US have been arrested during Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the US, while dozens of others have also been injured by rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas. The US Press Freedom Tracker has collected nearly 500 incidents from 382 reports, from the unrest in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd's killing by police in late May, to demonstrations in more than 70 cities across 35 states since. At least 46 journalists were arrested between the end of May and the beginning of June, according to data collected by the organisation.
U.S.Associated PressGeorgia lawmaker's legal work targeted again over voting law
Protesters are trying to get a Georgia state representative fired by cities and counties that pay him to be their attorney, citing his role in pushing through a voting law that adds restrictions. The Washington City Council voted 4-2 to ask Rep. Barry Fleming to resign Monday, WJBF-TV reports. It's not clear if the city can immediately fire the Republican from Harlem because Washington has a contract with Fleming's law firm.
U.S.INSIDERThe Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back has returned to active duty without being disciplined or charged
Rusten Sheskey, the Wisconsin police officer who shot Jacob Blake, returned from administrative leave on March 31. Blake was shot seven times in the back, and Blake's father said his son was paralyzed from the waist down after the incident. Officer Rusten Sheskey, the Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer who shot 29-year-old Jacob Blake in the back in August 2020 will not be charged or disciplined, the police department said on Tuesday.
WorldReutersChina push for global power tops U.S. security threats: intelligence report
China's push for global power is the leading threat to U.S. national security, while Russia's efforts to undermine American influence and assert itself as a major actor also pose a challenge, said a U.S. intelligence report released on Tuesday. The 2021 Annual Threat Assessment lays out U.S. spy agencies' views of the chief foreign policy issues facing U.S. President Joe Biden in his first year in office, complicated by the coronavirus pandemic and global climate change. While China and Russia are presented as the leading challenges, Iran and North Korea will also test U.S. national security, the report said.
WorldArchitectural DigestTwo Years Later, Here’s the Latest With Notre-Dame’s Restoration
Now, two years later, the church is still going through a massive restoration. This jewel of Gothic architecture is being rebuilt with oak trees from local forests, as 200 construction workers operate on-site every day. The goal, according to French president Emmanuel Macron, is to have the church repaired before the city hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics, which is slated to begin on July 26, 2024, in Paris.
- WorldAssociated Press
Russia tries to ban Kosovo flag at UN -- unsuccessfully
Russia tried for the first time Tuesday to prevent Kosovo's representative from speaking at the U.N. Security Council with the country's flag in the background, saying the majority of council members don't recognize its independence from Serbia. The request to ban the flag by Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky at the start of a scheduled open council meeting on Kosovo led to a 45-minute suspension of the virtual meeting while the council's 15 members discussed the issue in private. Polyansky said “eight of the 15 members of the Security Council do not recognize Kosovo as a country” and therefore the flag shouldn't appear behind Kosovo's Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla.
EntertainmentArchitectural Digest14 Ways to Do Memphis Without Doing Memphis
You don't have to commit to full-on maximalism to make a statement Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.Business InsiderMatt Gaetz's indicted associate Joel Greenberg has been cooperating against him since last year, report says
Joel Greenberg has been cooperating against Rep. Matt Gaetz since last year, NYT reported. Greenberg reportedly told investigators that he and Gaetz had interactions with women who were given cash or gifts in exchange for sex. Gaetz has been embroiled in a political firestorm since The Times reported that he was being investigated over whether he broke sex trafficking laws.
“There’s no ‘both sides of the debate’ when it comes to active voter suppression.”
“Companies that do this ooze contempt for their own customers and employees who are not in the leftmost quarter of opinion.”
“The truth is that Fortune 500 companies were never taking moral stances from the goodness of their corporate hearts.”
“The truth is, the companies hold the cards…If companies stick to their guns, Georgia is likely to back down as well.”
“When a company folds to the unfounded outrage of a few misinformed nuts, they are forever at the mob’s beck-and-call.”