PoliticsYahoo News'Skullduggery' political podcast: 'Right-wing extremism and the FBI' — May 6, 2021
In the wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, which itself was preceded by multiple attacks on state governments by right-wing extremists, Attorney General Merrick Garland said publicly that domestic terrorism from white nationalist groups is now as much of a concern as foreign terrorism for the Department of Justice. Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti are joined by Michael German, a former FBI special agent who spent years undercover infiltrating violent right-wing extremist groups in the 1990s.
PoliticsThe GuardianThe sleazy, sordid Matt Gaetz scandal: are the walls now closing in on him?
There could have been no more fitting venue for the bellicose US congressman Matt Gaetz to launch his nationwide “America first” speaking tour than The Villages. The Republican loyalists who filled the ballroom of the Brownwood hotel and spa on Friday night didn't come to hear whether the embattled Gaetz ever paid a 17-year-old minor for sex, took sleazy sex-trafficking trips to the Bahamas or assisted in his disgraced former “wingman” Joel Greenberg's efforts to install cronies in well-paid positions of political power. Away from all the Donald Trump cheerleading by Gaetz and his fellow rightwing fire-starter Marjorie Taylor Greene during their national tour of distraction, it is hard to escape the notion that the walls are closing in.
WorldReutersKey EU countries rebuff Biden on sharing COVID vaccine patents
European countries distanced themselves on Friday from a proposal backed by U.S. President Joe Biden to waive patent rights on coronavirus vaccines, arguing that key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic was making and sharing vaccines more quickly. French President Emmanuel Macron said the question of sharing patents was not the issue of the day, and called out Britain and the United States for blocking the export of vaccines and their ingredients to the wider world. Leaders of the 27-nation bloc were due to discuss the suggestion to share vaccine intellectual property at a two-day summit that opened in the Portuguese city of Porto on Friday, but they were divided on its usefulness.
PoliticsMiami HeraldRep. Liz Cheney told the truth. Her Republican colleagues can’t handle it | Opinion
As if that were not bad enough, she also accepted a fist bump greeting from his Democratic successor, President Joe Biden, as Biden entered the House chamber for a speech before a joint session of Congress. For heresies such as these, Cheney stands pilloried as a traitor by a political party whose distinction from a Jonestown- or Waco-like cult grows ever more difficult to discern. It is a sign of how truly fakakta things have become that Republicans like Cheney, former President George W. Bush, former Speaker John Boehner, Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Sen. Mitt Romney have become symbols of courage on the left — and treason on the right — simply because their principles are insufficiently elastic to let them deny reality.
- U.S.Associated Press
Indiana woman charged after daughter nearly died from lice
An Indiana woman faces child neglect charges after investigators said her 4-year-old daughter nearly died from a lice infestation so severe doctors had to give her multiple blood transfusions. Shyanne Singh, 26, of Scottsburg, was arrested Tuesday on three felony counts of neglect of a dependent. Scottsburg police were contacted April 20 after Singh's daughter was brought to a hospital.
WorldReutersFormer Maldives president treated for wounds after blast outside home
MALE (Reuters) -The speaker of parliament in Maldives, former President Mohamed Nasheed, was being treated for shrapnel wounds and in stable condition after a blast outside his family home on Thursday, a spokesman for his governing Maldivian Democratic Party said. Two close family members, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the situation, told Reuters Nasheed was talking and responsive before being treated under anaesthesia at the hospital. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, a close ally of Nasheed, said an investigation into the explosion was under way.
- 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.
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.
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.
PoliticsThe IndependentIlhan Omar says Democrats need to grow ‘backbone’ and abolish filibuster to overcome Republican opposition
Joe Biden may have run for president as something of a unity candidate, but Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar says Democrats need to “grow a backbone” and stop worrying so much about bipartisanship and abolish the filibuster if they are ever to pass their agenda in the face of strong Republican opposition. Democrats can't repeat the mistake of 2009, we must abolish the filibuster & move legislation that helps us deliver progress for the American people,” she tweeted on Wednesday. Let's grow a backbone.
WorldBBCTripAdvisor sorry for Auschwitz review error
Review platform TripAdvisor has apologised after initially opting to leave up an offensive review of the Auschwitz Museum in Poland. The Auschwitz Museum said that when it contacted TripAdvisor, it was initially informed that the posting fell within the site's submission guidelines. At least 1.1 million men, women and children were murdered at the Auschwitz concentration camp, run by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland, during World War Two.
WorldINSIDERThe driver of a cash truck who dodged armed robbers' bullets was a cool professional. But his partner was a 'rookie,' says security expert.
A video out of South Africa showed the moment armed robbers attempted a cash-in-transit heist. The video has since gone viral, garnering more than 10 million views on YouTube. Insider spoke to a security expert to analyze the video and assess how the men reacted to the ambush.
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.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverDon’t remove your face mask just yet. Some NC schools still require them outdoors.
Some Triangle school systems are still requiring face masks to be worn outdoors during the school day even though it's no longer required by North Carolina health officials. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school system and Durham Public Schools are among the districts that are still mandating that face coverings be worn outdoors during school hours. School officials are citing health and safety reasons for the ongoing mask requirement that began in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
PoliticsThe IndependentGiuliani cutting back large entourage to cut costs amid legal challenges. report claims
Rudy Giuliani, former president Donald Trump's personal attorney and former mayor of New York, is apparently tightening his purse strings as he has reportedly cut some of his personal entourage. Sources familiar with the layoffs told Politico that the reduction was done in an effort to save money. In recent years, the former mayor would travel around the city with a staff of five people, but his shrinking crew may be indicative of financial difficulties he is facing in the fallout of the 2020 election.
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.
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.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.
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.INSIDERJosh Duggar's internet usage was sent to his wife to track his porn habit, federal officials say
Duggar's computer had "accountability software" that sent internet-usage reports to his wife, Anna. A federal agent said the software, Covenant Eyes, was registered to both Duggar and Anna. Josh Duggar, who's been charged with receiving and possessing child pornography, had "accountability software" installed on his computer that monitored his internet usage and sent reports to his wife, a federal agent testified in a detention hearing on Wednesday.
U.S.The StateElsie Herring dies: The hog-farm critic personified environmental justice for many
Elsie Herring, a Duplin County woman who became one of the most outspoken critics of the state's hog industry, died Wednesday, according to an announcement from the N.C. Environmental Justice Network. Friends and colleagues of Herring's remembered her as someone who helped put a face to the struggles that have long been reported by rural residents living near some hog farms. Herring was willing to tell her story to any audience, Hall added, whether it be in Duplin County, Washington, D.C.., or Green Bay, Wisconsin, another pork-producing state.
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 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.
U.S.USA TODAYIdaho middle school employees hailed as 'heroes' after 6th grade girl injures 3 in shooting
Donations are pouring in for two Idaho middle school employees who are being hailed as "heroes" after a sixth grade girl opened fire in the hallway Thursday. Three people — an adult and two students — were injured at Rigby Middle School, Jefferson County Sheriff Steve Anderson said. The victims were shot in their limbs and are expected to survive.
“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.”