- WorldReuters
Khamenei appoints new chief for Iran's Revolutionary Guards
Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has replaced the chief commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, state TV reported on Sunday, days after the United States designated the group a foreign terrorist organization. The TV station did not give a reason for the change when it announced the appointment of Brigadier General Hossein Salami. "The Supreme Leader has appointed Salami as the new commander-in-chief of the Guards, who will replace Mohammad Ali Jafari," it said.
WorldAssociated PressEx-Marine arrested in North Korea embassy attack in Madrid
A man suspected of involvement in a mysterious dissident group's February raid on North Korea's Embassy in Madrid was arrested in Los Angeles by U.S. authorities. Christopher Ahn, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested and charged Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Separately, on Thursday, federal agents raided the apartment of Adrian Hong, a leader of the Free Joseon group, the person said.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
Is Sri Lanka Easter Massacre a Bid to Revive Global Holy War?
NEW YORK—“It's really a shame it had to come to this,” said an NYPD counterterrorism officer who was posted Sunday morning outside a Catholic church on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Inside, the pews were filled with the faithful at Easter mass. Christian churches, along with Jewish synagogues, Buddhist shrines, and Shiite Muslim mosques have been prime targets for violent jihadists, whether from the so-called Islamic State, al Qaeda, or groups or individuals most of the world has never heard of.
PoliticsAFPTop US Democrat says party will decide soon on impeachment
A leading Democratic lawmaker said Sunday that his party would likely decide within a few weeks whether a move to impeach President Donald Trump would be "the best course for the country." Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee, said that since Republicans control the Senate -- and would likely block an effort to oust Trump -- Democrats face a quandary after special counsel Robert Mueller found no coordination between Russia and the Trump election campaign but cited 10 episodes of potential obstruction involving Trump.
- StyleCar and Driver
Here Are All of the 2020 Hyundai Sonata's Available Colors—Including Yellow
The new Sonata's color palette has some interesting colors beyond the typical white, gray, and black. From Car and Driver
- NewsTime
Tiger Attacks Keeper in Topeka, Kansas Zoo
A male Sumatran tiger at a zoo in Topeka, Kansas attacked and seriously injured a staff member on Saturday morning. The 7-year-old tiger, named Sanjiv, “essentially tackled” the primary tiger keeper at the Topeka Zoo at around 9:15 a.m., zoo Director Brendan Wiley said at a press conference. The female keeper, whose name has not yet been released, is in stable condition, but she suffered “lacerations and punctures” to her back, neck, head and arm, Wiley said.
LifestyleUSA TODAY'We don't know if it's enough': $1 billion may not cover Notre Dame Cathedral rebuilding costs after fire
Days after a fire engulfed Paris' beloved Notre Dame Cathedral, fundraising efforts neared the $1 billion mark. But officials estimate the international surge in donations may not yet cover the rebuilding costs. Stephane Bern, who heads heritage renovation programs across France, estimates the cost to completely repair the church will reach $1.13 billion to $2.3 billion.
- BusinessThe National Interest
Here's An Idea: The Air Force Builds 200 B-21 Stealth Bombers
The B-21 has disappeared into the “black” world of military technology, and will only reemerge when the bomber is ready. On October 27, 2015, nearly thirty-four years to the day after Northrop Grumman was awarded the contract to develop the first stealth bomber, the U.S. Air Force awarded Northrop a contract for a new bomber: the B-21 Raider. In invoking the Doolittle Raid, the Air Force is drawing attention to attack's audacious nature, the strategic and tactical surprise, and the epic distances General Doolittle and his “raiders” flew to accomplish their mission.
- BusinessBloomberg
How 11 People Try to Stop Fake News in the World's Largest Election
One of the operations most vital to Facebook Inc. at this moment is a world away from its Menlo Park, California, headquarters, and in more ways than one. This is Boom Live, one of seven tiny fact-checking firms at the heart of Facebook's efforts to rebuild some of its credibility during India's elections. Based on the early tallies, more than 60 percent of India's 900 million eligible voters are expected to cast ballots between now and May 19, as the center-left Congress Party tries to seize power from the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 2-Syria's Assad discusses peace talks, Tartus port with Russians
BEIRUT/MOSCOW, April 20 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met senior officials from his strongest ally Russia in Damascus on Friday and Saturday to discuss upcoming peace talks, renting out Tartus port and trade between the two countries, state media in Syria reported. Russia has helped Assad's forces to take back most of the country but the eight-year-long war continues. Swathes of the northeast and northwest are out of his control, while sanctions and a fuel shortage are constricting the economy.
NewsAssociated PressColumbine honors 13 lost with community service, ceremony
Community members in suburban Denver marked the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting Saturday with a remembrance ceremony that celebrated the school's survival and by volunteering at shelters, doing neighborhood cleanup projects and laying flowers and cards at a memorial to the 13 people killed. "We're changed," Dawn Anna, whose daughter Lauren Townsend was among the students killed in the school's library, said before a crowd of more than 2,000 gathered in a park near the high school. The events ended a three-day slate of somber gatherings honoring the victims and lending support to their families, survivors of the April 20, 1999, attack and the school's students and staff.
- WorldTime
World Leaders Respond to the Easter Sunday Bombings in Sri Lanka That Killed at Least 200 People
At least 207 people have been killed and 450 more wounded following a series of explosions in Sri Lanka. The blasts took place in the capital Colombo, a town north of the capital and a town on the island nation's east coast, targeting churches, hotels and a housing development. In the wake of the tragedy, leaders around the world offered an outpouring of support to the people of Sri Lanka.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump called on spy chiefs for help as Mueller probe began
Two months before special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed in the spring of 2017, President Donald Trump picked up the phone and called the head of the largest U.S. intelligence agency. Trump told Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, that news stories alleging that Trump's 2016 White House campaign had ties to Russia were false and the president asked whether Rogers could do anything to counter them. Rogers and his deputy Richard Ledgett, who was present for the call, were taken aback.
WorldAFPIS claims deadly attack on Afghan ministry
The Islamic State group Sunday claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 10 people and trapped around 2,000 for hours inside the communications ministry in the Afghan capital the previous day. Four IS jihadists detonated explosives near the ministry, then entered and "battled Afghan security forces with machine guns and hand grenades for numerous hours", the group said in a statement on its social media channels. The attack in central Kabul killed seven civilians and three members of the security forces, the interior ministry said on Sunday, in a new toll after three people died of their wounds.
- U.S.KFSN – Fresno
United Constitutional Patriots: Border Patrol pushes back against armed civilians policing border
Customs and Border Protection "does not endorse or condone private groups or organizations that take enforcement matters into their own hands."
- LifestyleUSA TODAY
The 8 best deals and sales you can get online this Sunday
There's no distraction from meetings or deadlines, so you can really spend time not only browsing the best deals and sales, but also researching your purchases and making sure your money is not going to waste. To help you avoid buying a dud, I sought out the most impressive and worthwhile sales and deals happening right now that I thought you'd want to know about. From a DNA test kit sale to discounts on discounts at Anthropologie to a sale on helpful tech accessories, here are this weekend's best ways to shop.
- NewsThe National Interest
Army Vet Sues Company That Made 'Defective' Earplugs for the Military
Task and Purpose Security, Americas What will happen? A Texas veteran is suing the company he says knowingly produced and sold defective earplugs which were issued to the U.S. military, leading him and many others to develop hearing problems, including tinnitus. Sgt. Scott D. Rowe, who served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003 to 2004, told the Houston Chronicle that he's "never at peace" from the "high-pitched frequency" he hears every day, as a result of the earplugs he received from 3M Company.
CelebrityReutersAt Easter mass, Parisians pray for Notre-Dame's swift restoration
The archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, began the service by drawing a parallel between the planned reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, celebrated every year by Christians at Easter. "We will rise up again and our cathedral will rise up again," he told the congregation, which included the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and the head of the Paris fire service, General Jean-Claude Gallet. The mass had originally been scheduled to be held at Notre-Dame, whose spire was destroyed and its roof gutted in Monday's blaze as rescuers put their lives at risk to salvage the rest of the centuries-old cathedral and its priceless artifacts.
WorldAFPKosovo repatriates 110 citizens from Syria
Kosovo on Saturday repatriated 110 of its citizens from Syria, mostly mothers with their children having followed their partners who went to join jihadist groups in the war-torn country. The group also included four men suspected of having fought for the Islamic State group, who were charged upon arrival in Pristina with participating in a foreign conflict, chief prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi told reporters. Kosovo, whose population of 1.8 million is 90 percent Muslim, is one of the European countries with the proportionally biggest number of jihadi fighters in Iraq and Syria.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Church apologizes after video shows cleric inviting kids to spit, slap and cut him for Easter lesson
Videos of the incident were posted to social media during a Monday afternoon after-school event held at the church at which Dempsey was speaking of Easter and the crucifixion. In one of the videos, Dempsey is seen standing still while students take turns spitting on him, some striking him, while other students are heard laughing. The mother of a youth, who reportedly employed a knife handed to him by Dempsey to cut the associate pastor at his invitation, said she was alerted to the video by a friend, according to an on-camera interview with WBNS-TV.
- WorldBloomberg
Sri Lanka Imposes Curfew After Easter Sunday Bombings Kill 207
No one has claimed responsibility for the six coordinated explosions that took place at 8:45 a.m. local time mainly in the capital Colombo, and separate blasts later in the day. Sri Lanka had previously received warnings of possible church attacks, but not on hotels, Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando said on Sunday, noting some of the explosions were suicide bombings. The blasts at churches took place during Easter Sunday mass, in a country where large-scale attacks on Catholics and Christians have been rare.
WorldAssociated PressNKorea issues mild criticism of Bolton over media interview
North Korea on Saturday issued a relatively mild criticism of White House national security adviser John Bolton for calling on North Korea to show more evidence of its disarmament commitment before a possible third leaders' summit. North Korea's criticism appears to be a continuation of its frustration at deadlocked nuclear negotiations with the United States. Earlier in the week, the North tested a new weapon and demanded that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from the nuclear negotiations.
- BusinessBGR News
This tiny RC car could absolutely destroy your car in a race
A recent video posted by YouTuber Innovation RC clearly demonstrates just how insane RC cars can be, with one of the pint-sized speed demons hitting an absolutely absurd speed of 124 mph in less than eight seconds, all while hauling a not-super-light action camera and traveling over what seems to be a fairly rough surface. Radio-controlled vehicles used to be near the top of every kid's wishlist, and perhaps some of them still are, but these aren't your grandfather's RC toys. These tiny cars are built with performance in mind, and enthusiasts regularly modify them in an effort to push the hardware to its absolute limit.
- BusinessCar and Driver
View Photos of the Vonnen Porsche 911 Hybrid
A pricey yet clever means to add big electric power to your Porsche. From Car and Driver
- NewsUSA TODAY
'House of horrors': California couple sentenced to life in prison for torturing their children
Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized Friday's sentencing relating to the number of children involved in the charges. RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Southern California couple who pleaded guilty in February to torture, false imprisonment and endangering their children – some for dozens of years – were sentenced Friday to life in prison for charges involving 12 of their 13 children with the possibility of parole only after 25 years. David and Louise Turpin of Perris, about 70 miles east of Los Angeles, appeared in court Friday morning in Riverside about three months after pleading guilty to 14 felony counts.
