PoliticsAssociated PressStefanik's rise toward leadership job irks conservatives
Conservatives in and out of Congress are expressing opposition to Rep. Elise Stefanik 's rise toward House Republicans' No. 3 leadership job, grumbling that's unlikely to derail her but serves notice that the right wing is battling again to affect the party's future. House Republicans plan to meet privately next week, probably Wednesday, and seem certain to oust Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., from that top post. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., seems likely to postpone a vote on replacing Cheney until sometime later, according to two House GOP aides who discussed the delay on condition of anonymity, giving restive conservatives a chance to coalesce behind an alternative.
U.S.Miami HeraldAnother brawl breaks out at Miami International Airport. It’s part of a national trend
Just mere days after a huge brawl at Miami International Airport, another massive fight broke out in the terminal Tuesday night. The mayhem was captured in cellphone footage taken by multiple onlookers at Gate G-15 by the Southwest Airlines counter. The fight is part of a troubling trend airports across the nation are seeing, now that many people have resumed traveling.
U.S.The TelegraphNew Providence Wharf fire: Blaze at tower blocked wrapped in 'Grenfell cladding' tackled by more than 100 firefighters
Residents have had to evacuate themselves from a blaze in a London block of flats covered in the same type of cladding as Grenfell Tower. More than 100 firefighters tackled the fire at New Providence Wharf in Poplar, east London on Friday morning. More than 20 fire engines and around a dozen ambulances were rushed to the scene.
PoliticsThe WeekLiz Cheney secretly orchestrated Jan. 3 letter from 10 defense secretaries warning about Trump, friend says
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is almost certainly going to be ousted as No. 3 House Republican next week, even though she voted with former President Donald Trump more often (93 percent) than her likely replacement, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) — as Stefanik's conservative critics point out. While Stefanik has morphed from Trump skeptic to enthusiastic booster, Cheney has transformed from one of those "hold-their-noses-and-deal-with-him" establishment Republicans into, finally, Sen. John McCain's political "heir," Susan B. Glasser writes in The New Yorker. After Trump tried to co-opt "the Big Lie" this week to refer to his false claims that he won the 2020 election, Cheney shot back that "the 2020 presidential election was not stolen," and "anyone who claims it was is spreading the big lie."
U.S.Associated PressGeorgia judge sets October trial in slaying of Ahmaud Arbery
A Georgia judge Friday scheduled an October trial for three white men charged with murder in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was chased and shot while running in the defendants' neighborhood last year. Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley issued a notice stating that jury selection will begin Oct. 18, with the trial commencing as soon as a jury is seated. Greg McMichael and his grown son, Travis McMichael, armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck on Feb. 23, 2020, just outside the port city of Brunswick, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Savannah.
WorldThe TelegraphDominic Cummings lashes out in all directions, with campaign critiques for Starmer and Johnson
Dominic Cummings advised Sir Keir Starmer to campaign harder on crime as he launched a two-pronged Twitter attack on Labour and the Tories following Friday's election results. Mr Cummings, chief adviser to Boris Johnson until December last year, took Sir Keir to task over his focus on "media reality" and the "babble" of journalists. "We have a Number 10 and Opposition who see their job as Media Entertainment Service and neither knows how to do this better than TB/Mandy [Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson]," he wrote.
WorldNextSharkIndian Bride Shuts Down Wedding After Groom Fails Her Math Test
A bride and groom who wish to remain unidentified were supposed to have the wedding for their arranged marriage on May 1 in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. The bride's cousin stated that the groom's family did not inform them of his lack of education, adding that the bride was "brave" for leaving the wedding venue. The two families came to a compromise which included returning all gifts and jewelry to the appropriate parties.
WorldThe TelegraphLocal elections 2021: Labour infighting breaks out as Keir Starmer told nobody knows what he stands for - latest news
Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure from his own party to clarify what he stands for, after Labour suffered a historic defeat in Hartlepool this morning. In-fighting broke out almost immediately after the results were announced, with Diane Abbott saying it was "not possible to blame Jeremy Corbyn for this result" adding: "Keir Starmer must think again about his strategy." John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, told Radio 4's Today programme the party's candidate Paul Williams had been sent to the electorate "almost naked" and "policy-less".
WorldBBCBritish Airways owner IAG calls for action to restart flights
British Airways owner IAG has said it is "ready to fly" and has called for government action to restart international travel. Details of a "green list" of countries with the fewest travel rules are expected soon. The airline group has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, with revenue plunging as many of its planes have been grounded.
U.S.INSIDERDerek Chauvin was indicted in the arrest of a 14-year-old whom prosecutors say he knelt on for 17 minutes and hit with a flashlight
Chauvin is accused of using his authority as an officer to deprive the teen of his rights. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A federal grand jury has indicted the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on a civil-rights charge in the 2017 arrest of a 14-year-old boy.
WorldAssociated PressSherpa guide scales Mount Everest for record 25th time
A Sherpa guide scaled Mount Everest for the 25th time on Friday, breaking his own record for the most ascents of the world's highest peak. Kami Rita and 11 other Sherpa guides reached the summit at about 6 p.m., Department of Tourism official Mira Acharya said. Everest was closed to climbing last year on both its southern side, which is in Nepal, and its northern side, which is in China, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWhite House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says she'll resign next year when it's 'time for somebody else to have this job'
Jen Psaki, the face of Biden's administration, says she will step down in around a year. "I think it's going to be time for somebody else to have this job in a year from now, or about a year from now," she told CNN. Psaki says she accepted the job after agreeing with President Biden's transition team that she would serve in the role for about a year.
U.S.USA TODAYMan who took 5 hostages at a Minnesota bank threw cash, made threats and wanted to be a 'martyr,' court docs say
A man who took five hostages at a Minnesota Wells Fargo bank on Thursday wasn't armed with a gun but held scissors to a person's neck, destroyed hostages' phones and threw cash around the bank during a eight-hour standoff Thursday, according to police and court documents. Ray Reco McNeary, 35, told both hostages and law enforcement he intended to kill the employees, according to court documents. He said he wanted to “go viral” and to be a “martyr and also threatened to kill himself or put law enforcement in a position to kill him.
- WorldAssociated Press Videos
Former reality TV star Josh Duggar leaves jail
Former reality TV star Josh Duggar was released from an Arkansas jail on Thursday as he awaits trial on federal charges that he possessed and downloaded child pornography. (May 7)
PoliticsThe IndependentTexas follows Florida in passing voting restrictions based on Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ after late-night debate
Texas Republicans have voted to move along a bill that seeks to add more voting restrictions, the latest in a string of GOP-majority states to do so. State senators have previously passed voting legislation that makes it harder for people to vote. The new bill is on its way to the Republican-majority Senate where it is expected to be approved and then signed by Governor Greg Abbott.
U.S.INSIDER4 years after a man's rushed execution, new tests find someone else's DNA on the murder weapon
New DNA evidence on a murder weapon points to a different man than the one who was executed for the crime, lawyers say. Ledell Lee, an Arkansas man, was executed in 2017 for bludgeoning a young woman to death. Ledell Lee, an Arkansas man convicted of murder and executed in 2017, maintained his innocence for more than two decades on death row.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis' former aides say he treated them 'like a disposable piece of garbage'
Many of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' former staffers told Politico they felt abused by the politician. A group of the ex-staffers have formed a "support group" to discuss their experiences DeSantis is closely aligned with former president Donald Trump, who recently said he'd consider the governor as a potential running mate. See more stories on Insider's business page.
U.S.The Daily BeastMelinda Gates Warned Bill About Jeffrey Epstein
Melinda Gates met with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein alongside her husband, Bill, in New York City and soon after said she was furious at the relationship between the two men, according to people familiar with the situation. The previously unreported meeting occurred at Epstein's Upper East Side mansion in September 2013, on the same day the couple accepted the Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award at The Pierre hotel and were photographed alongside then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg. The meeting would prove a turning point for Gates' relationship with Epstein, the people familiar with the matter say, as Melinda told friends after the encounter how uncomfortable she was in the company of the wealthy sex offender and how she wanted nothing to do with him.
PoliticsUSA TODAY'Don't take questions': White House press secretary frowns on Biden's media interaction
President Joe Biden was fielding his fourth question from a reporter after delivering remarks on the pandemic last week when he apologized to the press corps. In fact, yes, White House press secretary Jen Psaki divulged in a podcast interview this week. “That is not something we recommend,” Psaki said.
U.S.The IndependentAndrew Brown’s family can see only part of body camera footage, judge rules
The family of a Black man killed by police in North Carolina can see only some of the body camera footage captured in the deadly shooting, a judge ruled on Thursday. Judge Jeffery Foster stated that some of the body cam footage did not show the victim and therefore was not appropriate to be released. The move to publish the relevant section of the video comes a week after the same judge refused to grant access to any part of the body camera footage, a decision made on the grounds it would disrupt the ongoing investigation.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderArizona election auditors 'indefinitely defer' voter canvassing following DOJ letter expressing concerns about voter intimidation
Arizona election auditors say the Senate decided to "indefinitely defer" voter canvassing weeks ago. The Justice Department raised concerns earlier this week about Maricopa County's election audit. Republican-led election auditors in Maricopa County, Arizona, have "indefinitely deferred" the door-to-door voter canvassing aspect of the audit, two days after the US Justice Department sent a letter to the president of Arizona's state senate expressing various legal concerns about the November 2020 election inspection.
- WorldWLS – Chicago
3 killed after blast near Starved Rock State Park in LaSalle County
Officials believe the men were fatally injured after igniting a type of black powder substance along an area near the river bank.
PoliticsUSA TODAY‘High-level chess’: How Biden is navigating his relationship with Mexico’s President ‘AMLO’
WASHINGTON – When President Joe Biden tapped Vice President Kamala Harris in March to address the surge of migrants seeking to enter the United States, he also enlisted her help to solve a thorny diplomatic problem: improving relations with Mexico. A smoother relationship with Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador could be a game changer for efforts to stem the flow of migrants. But López Obrador, a populist leader also known by his initials AMLO, has been slow to warm up to Biden and his team.
U.S.The IndependentCalifornia’s population falls for the first time in its history
California's population has fallen for the first time in the state's history. The state's population fell by more than 182,000 people in 2020, the first time the country's most populous state has recorded a decline since it began recording residents. State officials announced the findings on Friday, noting that the population declined by 0.46 per cent to 39.5m people between January 2020 to January 2021.
WorldTimeThe Real Biggest Myths About World War II, According to a Military Historian
More than 75 years after V-E Day—the German surrender on May 8, 1945, that ended the physical fighting on the Western Front in World War II—myths and misconceptions about the war remain. TIME asked the Senior Historian at the National World War II Museum, Rob Citino, which myths he has spent the most time debunking in his career as a professor of military history and author of 10 books. “Historians owe it to the millions of people who participated in this event, and unfortunately, the millions of people who died in World War II, to delve as deeply as possible into why this all happened,” he says.
“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.”