PoliticsNBC News'You want to see a temper tantrum?': Arizona Republican sides with Democrats, blocks voting bill
A bill that would stop some voters from getting a ballot automatically mailed to them each election failed unexpectedly in Arizona's state Senate Thursday after a single Republican joined Democrats in voting against the legislation. GOP state Sen. Kelly Townsend explained her surprise "no" vote on the state Senate floor amid a tense episode that saw the senator get into a heated confrontation with the bill's sponsor. "I am for this bill, but I am not voting for it until after the audit," she said, referring to an audit orchestrated by Senate Republicans of ballots in Maricopa County reportedly set to get underway this week and last through mid-May. The audit is a continuation of GOP efforts to question the results of the 2020 election in a state President Joe Biden won by over 10,000 votes.
U.S.ReutersA cheerleader's Snapchat profanity gets U.S. Supreme Court's attention
(Reuters) - Two days after Mahanoy Area High School in Pennsylvania held its cheerleading tryouts, ninth-grader Brandi Levy was still fuming about being passed over for a spot on the varsity squad. While a younger girl had been picked for varsity, Levy was facing another year relegated to the junior varsity cheer squad. Levy, age 14 at the time, posted the photo to the Snapchat social media platform, adding a caption using the same curse word four times to voice her displeasure with cheerleading, softball, school and "everything."
U.S.The TelegraphGender reveal party prompts fears of 'earthquakes' after US couple detonates 80 pounds of explosives
Explosives used for a gender reveal party in New Hampshire were so loud that residents across state lines thought there was an earthquake. Locals in the Rockingham County area reported the foundations of their homes cracking and walls rocking to police, who located the origin of the blast in a quarry, where a family admitted to holding the gathering. “It was earth-shaking,” a neighbor who lives near Torromeo Industries in Kingston, where the explosives were set off at 7pm EST on Tuesday, told NBC news.
U.S.The WeekThe Derek Chauvin solitary confinement predicament
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is being held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day following his conviction for the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin's solitary confinement is protective, and he's hardly languishing in a dank hole. A brief separation is one thing, but extended isolation from human contact is "cruel and unusual punishment," in constitutional parlance.
PoliticsAssociated PressDemocrats move 2 bills showing strength and limits of power
The House voted along party lines to make the nation's capital the 51st state and two hours later, the Senate overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation to address violence against Asian Americans. Thursday's twin victories let Democrats display momentum just six days before President Joe Biden's maiden speech to Congress. Despite a minuscule majority, House Democrats have overcome Republican opposition and passed legislation this year reworking voting laws, toughening gun background checks and fulfilling other party goals.
WorldBBCCovid: India sees world's highest daily cases amid oxygen shortage
India has recorded the highest one-day tally of new Covid-19 cases anywhere in the world - and the country's highest number of deaths over 24 hours. It has close to 16 million confirmed cases, second only to the US. Families are waiting hours to perform funeral rites, Reuters news agency reports, with at least one Delhi crematorium resorting to building pyres in its car park in order to cope with the numbers arriving.
- PoliticsPolitico
Democrat Joe Manchin says there’s one GOP senator he’d endorse ‘in a heartbeat’
The West Virginia senator is backing Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski's reelection bid in the face of a pointed challenge from former President Donald Trump, whom Murkowski voted to convict of inciting an insurrection. It's a wrath that Manchin knows all too well, having faced a Trump-inspired challenge of his own three years ago. But Manchin doesn't want to see his friend Murkowski defeated by a Trump-endorsed Republican — or a Democrat.
PoliticsAxiosBiden will unveil eye-popping new tax rates for wealthiest Americans
President Biden in the next few days will unveil eye-popping new tax rates for the wealthiest Americans —a top marginal income tax rate of 39.6% and a capital gains rate of 43.4%. Why it matters: The proposal, to be announced ahead of Biden's address to Congress next Wednesday, is an opening bid for Hill negotiations. Practically and politically, the White House needs buy-in from Congress to pay for social spending in the next phase of his plan to reshape the American economy, the American Families Plan.
U.S.NBC NewsCouple planned wedding at Florida mansion without owner's OK.
A Florida couple attempted to host a two-day wedding celebration at a mansion they didn't have permission to use, and when the owner found out about it on the day of their planned nuptials, he called the police. Courtney Wilson, the groom, and Shenita Jones, the bride, sent elaborate invitations to family and friends to attend their wedding at their "dream home and estate." When Wilson showed up with another person on the morning of his wedding day, ready to begin "setting up," Finkel saw them at the gate and immediately called the police, according to WTVJ.
U.S.LA TimesHow Biden's new U.S. climate target compares with those of California and world
But it's unclear yet whether the administration's pledge will require California to do more to cut its pollution, in part because of differences in how the state and federal government track emissions, researchers and state officials said. The target to reduce U.S. emissions 50 to 52% below 2005 levels by 2030 is among the "most ambitious 2030 commitments when it comes to economy-wide emission reductions below historical levels,” according to an analysis by the research firm Rhodium Group. Those ambitions fall behind only the United Kingdom, and are similar to what the European Union has pledged to reduce from 2005 levels, according to the analysis.
PoliticsAssociated PressWisconsin Sen. Johnson questions need for vaccinations
Contrary to what medical experts advise, Johnson has said he doesn't need to be vaccinated because he had COVID-19 in the fall. Johnson's comments come as health officials in the U.S. and around the world urge people to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible, saying that reaching herd immunity is the best shot at stopping the uncontrolled spread of the virus. Herd immunity occurs when enough people have been vaccinated or have immunity from natural infection that the virus can't easily spread and the pandemic fizzles out.
U.S.Los Angeles Times OpinionLetters to the Editor: Unless Judge Carter can end income inequality, he can't fix homelessness
To the editor: No question that David O. Carter is a well-intentioned, frustrated federal judge with a strong judicial cudgel at his disposal. His order for Los Angeles to shelter every person living on skid row within three to six months and set aside $1 billion for the effort will bring some relief to some people. "A judge is forcing L.A. to do things his way on homelessness.
WorldBusiness InsiderA deadly fight 33 years ago shows just how destructive a war between the US and Iran could get
In April 1988, the US attacked Iran in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the mining of a US ship. Operation Praying Mantis, the largest US naval action since World War II, was brief but deadly. Just before 8:00 a.m. on April 18, 1988, members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) stationed on the Sassan and Sirri oil platforms in the Persian Gulf received a warning from US Navy ships several thousand yards away.
- NewsKTRK – Houston
Man shot in the face during armed robbery at million dollar home
Police said the couple was followed to the home after leaving a restaurant in a McLaren. They were ambushed in the garage and robbed.
U.S.Miami HeraldMinutes into a 911 call a Florida driver realizes what smashed through her windshield
“Something just came through the windshield and hit my mom in the head!” a woman cried out to a 911 dispatcher after she pulled over on Interstate 95 while driving to Daytona Beach on Wednesday. On the 911 call, the driver, heeding directions from the dispatcher, works to stem the bleeding, using towels. “There's so much blood,” the driver says.
WorldArchitectural DigestBookmark These 11 Places on HipCamp for Your Next Outdoor Retreat
A WiFi break? Yes, please Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldINSIDERHundreds of Jewish supremacists chant 'Death to Arabs' as tensions boil over in Jerusalem clashes
Members of the supremacist group, Lehava, chanted "death to Arabs" as they marched to the Old City. Police were able to separate the two crowds, but The Jerusalem Post still reported incidents of violence and arrests. Planned protests among far-right Jewish extremists and Arab crowds escalated in Jerusalem's Old City Thursday night and early Friday morning amid increasing tensions in the city.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRepublicans blew up after a Democratic congressman accused them of spreading 'racist trash' in a debate over giving Washington, DC, statehood
GOP lawmakers erupted after Rep. Mondaire Jones accused them of spreading "racist trash." The argument came as the House was debating a bill to grant statehood to Washington, DC. Jones withdrew his comment but said the GOP was scared its "white-supremacist politics" wouldn't work in DC.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden preparing to recognise Armenian genocide, risking backlash from Turkey
The US president Joe Biden is preparing to declare the Ottoman empire's killings of over a million Armenians during the First World War an act of genocide. The move, even though symbolic, could impact the already strained ties US has with Turkey and is a big shift from the country's previous stand. According to Reuters, which quoted three sources familiar with the matter, Mr Biden is likely to use the word “genocide” as part of a statement on 24 April when annual commemorations for the victims are held around the world.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRepublican House leader rejects George W. Bush's condemnation of the party as 'isolationist, protectionist' and 'nativist'
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy dismissed former President George W. Bush's recent condemnation of the GOP. Bush said his party had become "isolationist, protectionist, and to a certain extent nativist." McCarthy insisted Bush is wrong because the GOP has more House members who are women and people of color than ever before.
U.S.INSIDERMa'Khia Bryant was arguing about cleaning the house when she got into the fight that ended in the police killing her, her foster mom says
Ma'Khia Bryant was having an argument over housekeeping before she got into a fight and a police officer fatally shot her in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, her foster mom said. Angela Moore told CNN that two of her former foster children had come to celebrate her birthday when the dispute started that led to the death of Bryant, who was 16. Moore, who was at work at the time of the shooting, related what one of the former foster children told her had happened.
U.S.The IndependentDerek Chauvin: how has he been charged and when will he be sentenced?
Officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty for the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man whose neck Chauvin knelt on for nine minutes and 29 seconds. The Floyd family's lawyer, Ben Crump, said it marked a "turning point in history" for the US. Chauvin's bail was immediately revoked and the disgraced officer will remain in custody until his sentencing.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTrump administration officials thought they'd be memorialized in statues for doing such a great job negotiating with China, former Obama official says
A former Obama official recounted early transition meetings with the Trump administration in 2016. When the administration won, the Trump official said, there would be "statues built in our honor." A former Obama official said Trump administration officials believed they would do so well negotiating with China that statues would be erected in their honor one day.
U.S.Kansas City StarHow state-supported ‘clean energy’ loans put borrowers at risk of losing their houses
This article is copublished with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Diana Thomas needed a new furnace and four small basement windows for her two-story home on the east side of Kansas City. In late 2016, a contractor told her about a loan program that required no money down and would let her pay off the balance over time as part of her annual property tax bill.
PoliticsThe Independent‘Gaslighting 101’: Ted Cruz ridiculed over claim GOP has never tried to pack the Supreme Court
Ted Cruz has been accused of “gaslighting” for saying Republicans never tried to “rig the game” by altering the size of the Supreme Court, a response to Democrats introducing legislation to expand the court to 13 judges. The Republican senator for Texas was accused of contradicting his stance from 2016, when late Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly and Mr Cruz endorsed an unprecedented partisan blockade in the Supreme Court to insist that the high court have eight members for 11 months. The criticism came after Mr Cruz, along with fellow Repulicans Lindsey Graham and Marsha Blackburn, held a press conference in front of the Supreme Court on Thursday and accused Democrats of a “power grab” by introducing the legislation.
“High-speed rail is bold and attention-grabbing, but the scale of the project makes it near impossible.”
“While a long, slow train ride across the country can be a great thing, the US needs real high-speed rail too.”
“Liberals are right that America has a car problem — but it's commutes, not road trips, that suck.”
“Investments into a high-speed rail system wouldn’t just improve the railroads — automobile traffic could also see some relief.”
“Big cities that are reasonably close together is pretty much a prerequisite for high-speed rail.”