Progressive leaders warn Biden administration to 'hold the line' on minimum wage hike

But progressives say they're frustrated by the amount of time it has taken to pass a relief package through Congress, and argue that the promise of $2,000 checks was essential to Democratic victories in last month's Senate elections in Georgia. Additionally, proponents of a $15 minimum wage like Turner believe Biden should “hold the line” on an increase despite resistance from congressional Republicans and moderate Democrats. On Thursday, Democrats received a huge blow on this front when Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that the Senate cannot use the budget reconciliation process to pass a minimum wage increase in its relief bill.

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  $15 minimum wage not allowed in Covid relief bill, Senate official rules

  Yahoo Finance
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  Progressives fume as White House backs down on minimum wage increase

  Yahoo News

'Capture or kill' — U.S. report says crown prince targeted Jamal Khashoggi

Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, directed the operation that ended with the grisly murder of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an unclassified U.S. intelligence report released Friday. The four-page report said the goal of the mission in 2018, which included seven members of the crown prince's "elite personal protective detail," was to capture or kill Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and prominent critic of the kingdom's rulers. "We base this assessment on the Crown Prince's control of decisionmaking in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman's protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince's support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi," said the four-page report.

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  U.S. Finally Admits It: Saudi Crown Prince Responsible For Jamal Khashoggi's Murder

  HuffPost
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  Saudi crown prince approved operation against Khashoggi: U.S. intelligence

  Reuters

IS bride loses bid to return to UK to fight for citizenship

A woman who ran away from London as a teenager to join the Islamic State group lost her bid Friday to return to the U.K. to fight for the restoration of her citizenship, which was revoked on national security grounds. Shamima Begum was one of three east London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria in 2015. She resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria and told reporters she wanted to come home, but was denied the chance after former Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her citizenship.

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  UK top court says IS schoolgirl can't return

  Reuters Videos
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  Runaway schoolgirl who joined IS cannot return to Britain, top court says

  Reuters

Hungary may have to tighten lockdown as COVID cases jump, PM says

Hungary may have to tighten lockdown curbs as coronavirus infections are expected to rise "drastically" in the next two weeks, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday, as the daily tally of new infections jumped to 4,668, the highest this year. Orban also said all the 2.5 million to 2.6 million Hungarians who have registered for COVID-19 vaccinations so far would receive at least one dose by Easter, in early April. Orban, speaking on state radio, said he hoped to get vaccinated with a shot developed by China's Sinopharm early next week.

Progressives fume as White House backs down on minimum wage increase

President Biden and Senate Democrats drew fire from progressives after opting not to fight a ruling that would strip a $15 minimum wage increase from the Senate's COVID-19 relief legislation. To pass the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan with just 50 votes, Democrats in the Senate are using a process called budget reconciliation, which requires the approval of the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough. On Wednesday, MacDonough ruled that the provision increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 by 2025 violated the Senate's “Byrd rule,” which prohibits “extraneous” provisions from being included in budget legislation passed through reconciliation.

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  $15 minimum wage not allowed in Covid relief bill, Senate official rules

  Yahoo Finance
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  Senate Parliamentarian Rules Against $15 Minimum Wage In COVID-19 Bill

  HuffPost

Iranian journalist, who won the International Press Freedom Award, was detained in Turkey after fleeing a nearly 5-year prison sentence

Mohammad Mosaed is an Iranian reporter who has twice been arrested by the government. The Committee to Protect Journalists awarded him its 2020 International Press Freedom Award. Mohammad Mosaed, an Iranian freelance journalist who has twice been arrested by the government for his investigative reporting and criticism of Iranian officials, was detained by Turkish border officials earlier this year after fleeing Iran following a prison summons.

Democrats launch sweeping bid to overhaul US election laws

Stacey Abrams, whose voting rights work helped make Georgia into a swing state, exhorted Congress on Thursday to reject “outright lies" that have historically restricted access to the ballot as Democrats began their push for a sweeping overhaul of election and ethics laws. “A lie cloaked in the seductive appeal of election integrity has weakened access to democracy for millions,” Abrams, a Democrat who narrowly lost Georgia's 2018 gubernatorial race, said during a committee hearing for the bill, which was introduced as H.R. 1 to signal its importance to the party's agenda. Democrats feel a sense of urgency to enact the legislation ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, when their narrow majorities in the House and Senate will be at risk.

China vows five-year plan dedicated to climate, but growth, security concerns weigh

China has promised to dedicate its new "five-year plan" to tackling climate change, but concerns about economic growth and energy security are expected to temper the country's green ambitions. Vice premier Han Zheng said in October that the 2021-2025 plan, due to be delivered to parliament in March, would be "dedicated to addressing climate change" and "focus on the country's new vision" to bring emissions to a peak before 2030 and achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2060. But experts said Beijing is still likely to give regions leeway to focus on growth and build new coal-fired power stations to head off energy shortages.

U.S., allies respond to Iranian 'provocations' with studied calm

In the week since Washington offered to talk with Tehran about reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran has curbed U.N. monitoring, threatened to boost uranium enrichment and its suspected proxies have twice rocketed Iraqi bases with U.S. soldiers. In return, the United States and three allies, Britain, France and Germany, have responded with a studied calm. The response - or lack of one - reflects a desire not to disrupt the diplomatic overture in hopes Iran will return to the table and, if not, that the pressure of U.S. sanctions will keep taking its toll, U.S. and European officials said.

More Inside A New Safari Lodge Treehouse Tucked Away in Botswana’s Okavango Delta

Only reachable by canoe, this Xigera hideaway is centered along lush riverbeds and a rich concentration of wildlife. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Myanmar's UN envoy dramatically opposes coup in his country

Myanmar's U.N. ambassador strongly opposed the military coup in his country and appealed for “the strongest possible action from the international community” to restore democracy in a dramatic speech to the U.N. General Assembly Friday that drew loud applause from diplomats from the world body's 193 nations. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun urged all countries to issue public statements strongly condemning the military coup and refuse to recognize the military regime and ask its leaders to respect the free and fair elections in November won by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party. Tun's surprise statement not only drew applause but commendations from speaker after speaker at the assembly meeting including ambassadors representing the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the new U.S. ambassador, Linda Thomas Greenfield, who joined others in calling it “courageous.”

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  Myanmar's U.N. envoy makes emotional appeal for action to stop coup

  Reuters
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  Myanmar envoy appeals to U.N. to stop coup as police break up protests

  Reuters

AstraZeneca, Sputnik vaccines face hurdles if COVID shots become annual affair

Vaccines from AstraZeneca, Russia's Gamaleya Institute and Johnson & Johnson fight the coronavirus with another virus, leaving scientists concerned the shots may lose potency if annual inoculations become necessary to fight new variants. So-called viral vector shots - also used by several Chinese COVID-19 vaccine developers - use harmless modified viruses as vehicles, or vectors, to carry genetic information that helps the body build immunity against future infections. However, there is a risk that the body also develops immunity to the vector itself, recognising it as an intruder and trying to destroy it.

While Biden visits storm-torn Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz will be giving a speech on 'cancel culture' in Florida

President Joe Biden heads to Texas on Friday to tour some of the areas hit hardest by the winter storm last week. While he's there, he won't be meeting with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Cruz has a speaking engagement that day at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.

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  Ted Cruz tries joke at CPAC: 'Orlando is awesome. It's not as nice as Cancún.'

  Yahoo News
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  Cruz at CPAC: 'Orlando is awesome. It's not as nice as Cancún.'

  Yahoo News Video

Philippine police to look into government admission of drug war failures

Philippine police said on Thursday they were looking into a government review of thousands of killings in the country's "war on drugs", after the justice minister made an unprecedented admission to the United Nations of widespread police failures. Human Rights Watch described Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra's video statement on Wednesday as an "astounding disclosure". Guevarra said police had in many cases failed to examine weapons and crime scenes after officers had shot dead suspected drug dealers.

Officials: Attack targets Afghan reporter's family, kills 3

Three family members of an assassinated journalist in western Afghanistan have been killed by gunmen, local officials said Friday, amid a rising wave of attacks targeting journalists and civil society actors. Ghor provincial council member Hamidullah Mutahid said that at least five others were wounded in the attack late Thursday. The gunmen stormed the family home of Afghan journalist and activist Bismillah Adil Aimaq, who was shot dead in an unclaimed attack nearby Ghor on Jan. 1.

China expected to unveil hike in military budget as tensions rise

China is expected to reveal a robust increase in defence spending at the March 5 annual opening of parliament, as its economy rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic and military tensions rise, Chinese and Western security experts said. With the coronavirus hammering its economy, China last year announced a 6.6 per cent boost in defence spending to $178 billion, the lowest rate of increase in three decades. The new administration of President Joe Biden has moved quickly to remind Beijing that the United States intends to compete with China's growing influence and military strength in the Asia-Pacific.

South Dakota's legislature is moving to impeach its attorney general after investigators uncovered a hit-and-run victim's glasses in his car

AG Jason Ravnsborg was charged with three misdemeanors in connection to a fatal car crash. New details have since emerged with the victim's glasses found in Ravnsborg's car. Ravnsborg was charged with three misdemeanors last week after initially saying he thought he hit a deer, not a person.

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  Judge stops Noem from releasing records in AG's fatal crash

  Associated Press
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  South Dakota AG faces impeachment for involvement in deadly hit and run

  ABC News Videos

EXPLAINER: How US airstrike in Syria sends message to Iran

A U.S. airstrike targeting facilities used by Iran-backed militias in Syria appears to be a message to Tehran delivered by a new American administration still figuring out its approach to the Middle East. The strike was seemingly a response to stepped-up rocket attacks by such militias that have targeted U.S. interests in Iraq, where the armed groups are based. It comes even as Washington and Tehran consider a return to the 2015 accord meant to rein in Iran's nuclear program.

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  U.S. bombs facilities in Syria used by Iran-backed militia

  Associated Press
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  US bombs facilities in Syria used by Iran-backed militia

  Associated Press

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Liz Cheney ‘a fool’ for criticising Trump

Marjorie Taylor Greene called her fellow House Republican Liz Cheney "a fool" for refusing to support Donald Trump. "Liz Cheney and any other Republican that wants to make statements against President Donald Trump is a fool," she said. Ms Greene's comments come a day after Ms Cheney publicly broke with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy by saying she did not think Mr Trump should speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference nor should have any leadership role in the party or the country's leadership.

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  Should Trump speak at CPAC? Liz Cheney says he shouldn't be part of the GOP's future; McCarthy says yes

  USA TODAY
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  Kevin McCarthy and Liz Cheney in awkward clash over Trump after top Republican claims ‘there is no civil war’

  The Independent

Third US vaccine could raise question: Which shots are best?

The nation is poised to get a third vaccine against COVID-19, but because at first glance the Johnson & Johnson shot may not be seen as equal to other options, health officials are girding for the question: Which one is best? If cleared for emergency use, the J&J vaccine would offer a one-dose option that could help speed vaccinations, tamp down a pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 people in the U.S. and stay ahead of a mutating virus. The challenge will be explaining how protective the J&J shot is after the astounding success of the first U.S. vaccines.

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  FDA says J&J one dose vaccine does prevent COVID

  Associated Press Videos
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  U.S. could roll out J&J vaccine next week

  Reuters Videos

U.S. Senate panel sets hearing for Biden's No. 2 and No. 3 Justice Department picks

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday announced it will hold a confirmation hearing on March 9 for President Joe Biden's nominees to serve in the No. 2 and No. 3 top jobs at the U.S. Justice Department. Lisa Monaco, a former federal prosecutor who also previously advised former FBI Director Robert Mueller and former President Barack Obama, is nominated to serve as Deputy Attorney General. Vanita Gupta, a long-time civil rights attorney who previously led the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, is nominated to serve as Associate Attorney General.

Putin May Have Triggered an Attempted Coup in Armenia After PM Insulted His Missiles

MOSCOW—Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced that his nation's military had attempted a coup on Thursday, the latest development in a country still recovering from last year's lost war with Azerbaijan. Now, politicians and political analysts are speaking of Russia's hand in the attempted coup, pointing to President Vladimir Putin's strained relationship with Pashinyan. On Tuesday, Pushinyan had insulted Moscow by complaining about Russian missiles, an indirect criticism of the Kremlin's strategy of waiting to intervene until Armenia was weakened in the conflict, despite its official status as a military ally.

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  Thousands rally in Armenia after PM warns of coup attempt

  Reuters
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  Armenian PM slams 'coup attempt' as political tensions rise

  Associated Press

Experts say Dominion and Smartmatic could win their defamation lawsuits, but MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says they have 'zero' chance

Dominion and Smartmatic may win their defamation lawsuits, experts told Insider and CNBC. MyPillow's CEO told Insider Dominion had "zero, zero, zero" chance of winning. Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic have sued several Trump backers for billions of dollars, and experts say they may succeed if they can pass the high bar required in proving defamation.

At pivotal moment in Afghanistan war, Biden weighs a dilemma

President Joe Biden's choices in Afghanistan boil down to this: withdraw all troops by May, as promised by his predecessor, and risk a resurgence of extremist dangers, or stay and possibly prolong the war in hopes of compelling the Taliban to make peace with a weak and fractured government. Afghanistan presents one of the new administration's tougher and more urgent decisions. The U.S. public is weary of a war nearly 20 years old, but pulling out now could be seen as giving the Taliban too much leverage and casting a shadow over the sacrifices made by U.S. and coalition troops and Afghan civilians.