PoliticsReutersU.S. Senator Manchin says filibusters could be made more 'painful'
Centrist Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, a pivotal vote in the U.S. Senate, on Sunday advocated making the procedural maneuver called the filibuster more "painful" to do, with Democrats concerned about Republicans obstructing President Joe Biden's legislative agenda. Some Democrats have advocated eliminating the filibuster to prevent Republicans from blocking Biden's initiatives. White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield made clear on Sunday that the president is not calling for ending the filibuster.
U.S.NBC NewsOhio college student's organs to be donated after alleged hazing incident
An Ohio college student is being kept alive so his organs can be donated after a fraternity hazing incident on Thursday left him in critical condition. Stone Foltz, 20, a sophomore at Bowling Green State University and a new member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, was allegedly hazed during an initiation event where he was made to drink alcohol, school officials said. Foltz was taken to the hospital after the alleged incident, and remains there as of Sunday.
- U.S.Associated Press
MacKenzie Scott marries Seattle teacher after Bezos divorce
MacKenzie Scott, philanthropist, author and former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has married a Seattle science teacher who expressed gratitude “for the exceptional privilege it will be to partner in giving away assets with the potential to do so much good when shared." Dan Jewett, who made the announcement in a letter to the website of the nonprofit organization the Giving Pledge on Saturday, said he never imagined he would be in a position to talk about giving away significant wealth during his lifetime in order to make a difference in other people's lives. Jewett has been a teacher for decades and most recently taught chemistry at the private Lakeside School, where Scott's children attended.
U.S.The WeekRead the words that will appear on the exterior of Obama's presidential library in Chicago
On the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday — the name given to the events on March 7, 1965 in Selma, Alabama, which included a civil rights march led by the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and the violent response from state police — former President Barack Obama's foundation revealed the text that will appear on the exterior of his planned presidential library in Chicago. The words will come from a speech Obama, the United States' first Black president, gave in Selma on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in 2015.
WorldReutersFrench billionaire politician Olivier Dassault killed in helicopter crash
French billionaire Olivier Dassault was killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash, a police source said, with President Emmanuel Macron paying tribute to the 69-year old conservative politician. Dassault was the eldest son of late French billionaire industrialist Serge Dassault, whose namesake Dassault Aviation, builds the Rafale war planes and owns Le Figaro newspaper. "Olivier Dassault loved France.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Accountant faces pressure to turn on Trump in criminal probe
When lawyers asked Donald Trump more than a decade ago to identify who estimated values on some of his signature properties, he pointed to his longtime accountant, Allen Weisselberg.
PoliticsNational ReviewTwo More Women Accuse Cuomo of Sexual Misconduct: Reports
Two additional women accused New York governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment on Saturday, including a former press aide who detailed an uncomfortable embrace in a dimly lit hotel room and an assistant who said he made her feel like “just a skirt.” Former press aide Karen Hinton told the Washington Post that Cuomo, then head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, forced her into a “very long, too long, too tight, too intimate” embrace in a dimly lit Los Angeles hotel room in December 2000. The married press aide retreated but said “he pulls me back for another intimate embrace.”
PoliticsThe TelegraphSecurity beefed up at Trump Tower as ex-president plans first visit to New York since leaving office
Security is being stepped up outside Trump Tower in New York ahead of the former president's first visit to the city since leaving the White House. Donald Trump was expected to arrive in Manhattan on Sunday night having moved to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida in January. Speculation was fuelled by reports of police planning to augment security outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, the building where he launched his bid for the presidency in 2015.
PoliticsAxiosBiden says $1,400 stimulus payments can start going out this month
President Biden said Saturday that the Senate passage of his $1.9 trillion COVID relief package means the $1,400 direct payments for most Americans can begin going out later this month. Driving the news: The Senate voted 50-49 Saturday to approve the sweeping legislation. The House is expected to pass the Senate's version of the bill next week before it heads to Biden's desk for his signature.
U.S.The 74A High School in Ohio Is Giving Students a Choice: Keep Up With Remote Learning — Or You Have to Come Back to the Classroom
Far too many students were skipping online classes and failing this fall at Shaw High School in East Cleveland, one of the poorest districts in the nation and that the state had declared in “academic distress” before the pandemic. As absences increased through the holiday season, that “academic distress” was only getting worse. We saw students struggle in the remote period,” said Henry Pettiegrew, CEO of the district of 1,800 students at Cleveland's border.
PoliticsAxiosCuomo says resigning due to allegations is "actually anti-democratic"
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) was defiant on Sunday, stating again that he would not resign even as more former aides have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. The big picture: Cuomo has denied all sexual harassment allegations against him and said that he "never inappropriately touched anybody." Three women who formerly worked in Cuomo's office, two former male aides, and one of his former press aides have described being berated by the governor with explicit language, being asked about their dating lives, or being uncomfortably touched, and in one instance, kissed without consent, per the Washington Post.
U.S.INSIDERAn Iowa man was charged for breaking into college women's apartments and recording them while they were sleeping
An Iowa man was arrested after being accused of breaking into multiple women's homes. Trenton Williams, 29, is accused of recording women while they were sleeping. Williams is facing various charges, including three counts of stalking.
CelebrityThe TelegraphPrince Harry and William to reunite at unveiling of Diana statue as they move past rift
The Duke of Sussex is determined to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brother at the unveiling of a statue of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, whatever the fallout from his interview with Oprah Winfrey. Prince Harry hopes that the brothers can present a united front at Kensington Palace on July 1, which would have been the Princess's 60th birthday, in an attempt to move past their rift. A source close to Prince Harry insisted that whatever had been said and done, he desperately hoped to attend the event and considered it a priority.
PoliticsBBCWho truly was the most dishonest president?
Former President Donald Trump was often accused of having a complete disregard for the truth. When Saddam Hussein invaded the oil-rich emirate of Kuwait in August 1990, President George HW Bush snarled: "This will not stand." The Kuwaiti government-in-exile promptly hired a US public relations firm, Hill & Knowlton, whose Washington DC office was run by Bush's former chief of staff.
HealthBusiness InsiderMississippi governor says his goal 'has never been to get rid of the virus' in defense of his decision to end COVID-19 mask mandate
Mississippi GOP Gov. Tate Reeves defended his decision to end the state's mask mandate. Reeves told CNN's Jake Tapper that it was never his "objective" to eradicate the virus. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, in an interview Sunday defended his decision to roll back the state's mask requirement even as public health officials warn such actions are premature.
U.S.USA TODAYMan dies when gunfire erupts near 'George Floyd Square' in Minneapolis as Chauvin trial looms
A manhunt was underway Sunday in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting of a man near "George Floyd Square," an intersection that serves as a memorial to the man whose death at the hands of police in May set off Black Lives Matter protests across the nation. Police provided few details of the shooting, which took place less than 48 hours before jury selection is set to begin in the murder trial of the police officer charged in Floyd's death. Police spokesman John Elder said police were alerted to Saturday's shooting at about 5:45 p.m. local time and were told the victim or victims had been brought to the "autonomous zone" at the edge of the intersection.
CelebrityThe TelegraphQueen warns we must keep in touch with family to 'transcend division' in Commonwealth Day message
The Queen has stressed the importance of keeping in touch with family to “transcend boundaries or division” in her annual Commonwealth Day message. It came as the world awaited the explosive revelations made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their Oprah Winfrey interview, as the Royal family braced itself for the damaging fallout. The Queen will not watch the controversial interview, which is being broadcast by CBS in the US at 1am UK time, but will receive a full breakfast briefing from aides in the morning.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderLauren Boebert, who once expressed support for QAnon, accused Democrats of being 'obsessed with conspiracy theories'
GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert told Fox News that the Democrats are "obsessed with conspiracy theories." The congresswoman once said she hopes the QAnon conspiracy theory was real but denied being a follower. Freshman GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who has previously expressed support for QAnon, accused Democratic of being "obsessed with conspiracy theories."
U.S.INSIDERA snorkeler discovered 25 bricks of cocaine worth more than $1.5 million in water off the Florida Keys
A snorkeler spotted 25 bricks of cocaine while swimming off the Florida Keys on Wednesday. The unexpected find was reported to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and US Border Patrol. The bricks of cocaine are valued at more than $1.5 million.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderMcConnell planning an 'escape hatch' in case he leaves Senate before term expires, report says
When former President Donald Trump lost his reelection bid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky became the most powerful Republican in Washington DC. With the upper chamber evenly split between 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, 79-year-old McConnell, who was reelected to his seventh term last year, will most certainly fight hard to regain the majority in 2022. However, McConnell, always a tactician, has created a list of successors in case he doesn't serve out his full term, which will expire in January 2027, according to The Intercept.
U.S.INSIDERPolice arrested a Maryland officer on a child porn charge while he was working at a mass vaccination site
Daniel Joseph Morozewicz, a Maryland police officer, has been arrested on one count of child pornography. Authorities on Friday arrested a police officer from Maryland on a child porn possession charge while he had been on duty at a mass vaccination site. Daniel Joseph Morozewicz with the Rockville City Police Department is believed to have been in possession of "downloads containing images and videos of nude pre-pubescent females engaged in sexually explicit conduct," according to a statement from the Frederick County Sheriff's Office.
- WorldReuters Videos
Pope bids farewell to top Shi'ite cleric
Francis's meeting in the holy southern city of Najaf, during a whirlwind and risky tour of Iraq, marked the first time a pope has met with such a senior Shi'ite cleric. After his 55-minute meeting with Sistani, Francis headed to the ruins of ancient Ur in southern Iraq, revered as the birthplace of Abraham, father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Sistani is one of the most important figures in Shi'ite Islam, both within Iraq and beyond.
U.S.Business InsiderA Trump appointee who was arrested after participating in the Capitol riot asked a judge if he could be transferred to a cell with no cockroaches
Federico Klein, a former State Department aide who was arrested after the Capitol riot, complained of his cell conditions to a judge. Klein is believed to the first Trump appointee arrested in connection with the Capitol riot. Authorities arrested Federico Klein, a former staff assistant at the State Department after he participated in the January 6 insurrection, during which he had been "assaulting officers with a riot shield," an affidavit said.
U.S.USA TODAYUSS Nimitz completes a 99,000-mile journey likely not done since WWII
At long last, the USS Nimitz returned home Sunday, close to a year after the aircraft carrier left Sinclair Inlet in Washington state. The 100,000-ton warship, in completing a deployment that included flying sorties against the Islamic State in the Middle East to navigating the disputed waters of the South China Sea, returns to Bremerton, Washington, having logged 99,000 miles. Most of its 3,000-plus sailors, roughly half of which were serving in their first-ever deployment, boarded the warship April 1, 2020 to quarantine for COVID-19.
U.S.INSIDER3 Alabama professors are under investigation over racially insensitive Halloween photos of a Confederate uniform, whip, and noose
University faculty members were placed on leave after racially offensive photos of them resurfaced. The three Alabama professors were captured at an on-campus costume party in 2014, WKRG-TV reported. One professor posed in a Confederate uniform, while the other two posed with a noose and whip.
“Taking humans to Mars would require an investment astronomically out of kilter with the possible benefits.”
“Can a Mars settlement be a freer society than we enjoy on Earth? Maybe.”
“What we learn...may spark the next revolution that will make life in 2071 beyond anything we can imagine right now.”
“Our presence on Mars could jeopardize one of our main reasons for being there — the search for life.”
“The future of geologic investigation of other worlds lies with highly improved versions of our Mars rovers.”