U.S.NBC News'Did I strike a nerve?': House police reform hearing erupts into Demings, Jordan shouting match
Demings was criticizing an amendment introduced by Republicans that would prevent defunding of police departments. The bill it was seeking to amend, however, does not have a provision to take funds away from law enforcement. Called the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act, the legislation seeks to give incentives for hate crime reporting, boost funding to state-run hate crime hotlines and increase penalties for individuals convicted under current hate crime statutes.
U.S.Associated PressEXPLAINER: Why 1 murder count against Chauvin may not stick
Prosecutors fought hard to add a third-degree murder charge against former police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, but a conviction on that charge alone could set up a problematic scenario for them. That's because another fired Minneapolis officer found guilty of third-degree murder has a pending appeal before the state Supreme Court — and if his conviction is overturned, it could mean a Chauvin conviction would fall, too. Jury deliberations in the Chauvin case entered their second day Tuesday.
PoliticsBusiness Insider'Clean up your mess, Kevin': Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries responds to Maxine Waters censure effort by telling GOP leader Kevin McCarthy to 'sit this one out'
Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries sharply criticized Republican efforts to censure Rep. Maxine Waters. Waters is facing criticism for telling protesters to "get more confrontational." Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the fourth-highest-ranking House Democrat, sharply criticized Republican efforts to censure Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters and said the GOP should deal with its "mess" before attacking Democrats.
U.S.NBC News'I'm also a police officer': Arizona deputy uses racial slur, pleads for release after being pulled over for DUI
Newly obtained body camera video captured an Arizona sheriff's deputy using a racial slur and pleading to be let off the hook after an officer pulled him over in December on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy Julian Navarrette was stopped after an Arizona State University police officer observed him speeding and swerving about 2 a.m. Dec. 5 in Tempe, according to an ASU police report. Navarrette was out with friends at the time of the arrest, the report said.
WorldBBCCuba leadership: Díaz-Canel named Communist Party chief
Cuba's Communist Party has announced Miguel Díaz-Canel will succeed Raúl Castro as the party's first secretary. Mr Díaz-Canel, who in 2018 succeeded Mr Castro as Cuba's president, had been widely tipped for the arguably more influential post of party leader. The transition means that the island will be governed by someone other than Fidel or Raúl Castro for the first time since the Cuban revolution in 1959.
PoliticsThe WeekBiden says he's praying for the 'right verdict' in Chauvin trial
With the jury now sequestered and cut off from the outside world, President Biden felt comfortable weighing in on Derek Chauvin's murder trial Tuesday. Biden said he's praying for the "right verdict" and that the "evidence is overwhelming," indicating he believes Chauvin was responsible for George Floyd's death last May. He added that he has also spoken to Floyd's family over the phone. President Biden says he spoke to George Floyd's family and he's "praying the verdict is the right verdict" in the Chauvin trial.
PoliticsNBC NewsRepublicans grill Stacey Abrams: Are blue states 'racist,' too?
Republican senators questioned Stacey Abrams during a Senate hearing Tuesday about voting rights, quizzing her over whether state laws in Democratic-controlled states are “racist” and whether her own 2018 gubernatorial race was “stolen. Abrams became a voting rights advocate since her failed run for Georgia governor and was credited with helping organize voters in her state to help propel President Joe Biden to the White House. She was testifying to advocate for passage of a sweeping federal overhaul of the U.S. voting system that is being pushed for by Democrats.
U.S.Charlotte ObserverCourt rejects appeal in Mark Carver murder case, setting up new trial or dropped charges
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has eliminated what may be the last hurdle between Mark Carver and a new murder trial or even his outright freedom. In a unanimous opinion, three judges from the state's second-highest court dismissed a Gaston County prosecutor's appeal of a lower court ruling that overturned Carver's first-degree murder conviction in the death of UNC Charlotte student Irina Yarmolenko. In a statement Tuesday to the Observer, defense attorney Chris Mumma hailed the ruling, and called on District Attorney Locke Bell to drop the charges and redirect his efforts to finding student's actual killer.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe Best (and Most Beautiful) Watering Cans to Keep Your Plants Alive and Thriving
Helpful, well-designed pour decor Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
BusinessBBCClimate change: Carbon 'surge' expected in post-Covid energy boom
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is predicting a major surge in CO2 emissions from energy this year, as the world rebounds from the pandemic. The use of coal in Asia is expected to be key: the IEA says it will push global demand up by 4.5%, taking it close to the global peak seen in 2014. The empty roads, high streets and airports that marked the global response to coronavirus saw the biggest fall in demand for energy since World War Two.
BusinessReutersExclusive: Fed will limit any overshoot of inflation target, Powell says
The U.S. economy is going to temporarily see "a little higher" inflation this year as the recovery strengthens and supply constraints push up prices in some sectors, but the Federal Reserve is committed to limiting any overshoot, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in an April 8 letter to Senator Rick Scott. "We do not seek inflation that substantially exceeds 2 percent, nor do we seek inflation above 2 percent for a prolonged period," Powell said in a five-page response to a March 24 letter in which the Florida Republican raised concerns about rising inflation and the U.S. central bank's bond-buying program. Those modifiers - "substantially" exceeding 2% inflation or above that level for a "prolonged" period - help to more sharply define the upper bounds of the Fed's comfort zone as prices rise.
U.S.INSIDERA semitruck drove through a crowd celebrating the conviction of Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. It's unclear if anyone was hurt.
A semitruck drove through a crowd in Minneapolis as people celebrated Derek Chauvin's murder conviction. A truck appeared to drive through a crowd of people in Minneapolis celebrating Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict in George Floyd's death on Tuesday. Video of the incident, posted by journalists Grace Morgan and Samantha Hendrickson, shows the truck quickly being surrounded by people as it turned into the crowd.
WorldBBCUN to provide food to Venezuela children amid crisis
The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) has reached a deal with the government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela to provide food to the country's schoolchildren. Child malnutrition has been on the rise as Venezuela's once-prosperous economy has gone into freefall and health services have collapsed. More than 5.3m Venezuelans have fled their home country amid the crisis.
WorldAssociated PressAsia Today: Indian opposition leader positive for COVID-19
Rahul Gandhi, an opposition Congress party leader and scion of India's Nehru-Gandhi family, says he has tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing mild symptoms. Gandhi last week called off political rallies in West Bengal state where provincial elections are being held. On Monday, another top Congress party leader and former prime minister, Manmohan Singh, also tested positive and was hospitalized as a precaution.
U.S.The IndependentAsian American CNN producer zip-tied by Minnesota police and asked if she can speak English, lawyer says
Minnesota police wrongfully arrested, manhandled, and humiliated a CNN producer while she was covering the Daunte Wright protests, a lawyer representing her and other journalists said. According to attorney Leita Walker, Carolyn Sung was among the press at a 13 April demonstration against the shooting of Mr Wright when police ordered the crowd to disperse. “As Sung tried to leave the area as directed, troopers grabbed Sung by her backpack and threw her to the ground, zip-tying her hands behind her back,” Ms Walker wrote in a letter to Governor Tim Walz.
- NewsYahoo News Video
Tesla believed to be operating driverless crashes, killing 2
Two men died after a Tesla vehicle, which was believed to be operating without anyone in the driver's seat, crashed into a tree on Saturday night north of Houston, authorities said.
WorldBBCIndia to start vaccinating all adults over 18 amid surge in infections
India is currently vaccinating health workers, front line workers and people over 45, but a number of states - including the worst-affected Maharashtra state - have reported insufficient supply. There have been reports of people being turned away from vaccination centres in many areas. How India failed to prevent a deadly second wave India's Covid-19 patients turn to black market Can India's vaccine producers meet demand?
WorldBusiness InsiderThe Pentagon says more and more Russian troops are amassing near Ukraine, and it is not convinced this is just a training exercise
The Pentagon says that the Russian military buildup near Ukraine is larger than the one in 2014. The Defense Department also said that it is not clear "that this is all about training," as Russia says. The US has also raised concerns about Russian plans to block parts of the Black Sea.
WorldMiami Herald‘All gone’: St. Vincent prime minister appeals for aid amid ongoing volcano eruption
With one-third of his eastern Caribbean nation transformed into “a relative wasteland” from the erupting La Soufrière volcano, the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tuesday appealed to the international community for help with his country's recovery. It's an extraordinary, existential challenge that is facing us,” Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said. The leader joined the United Nations in launching an urgent appeal for assistance to address the budding humanitarian crisis and multiple challenges created by the volcano's ongoing explosions.
U.S.BBCDerek Chauvin trial: What we learnt and key questions answered
The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former US police officer accused of killing George Floyd last year, will soon come to a close. Here we explain what's happened so far, and BBC correspondent Tara McKelvey - who has been in Minneapolis throughout the trial - answers questions from BBC audiences about the case that led to protests around the world. A reminder of the background to the case; white police officer Derek Chauvin, now 45, is on trial in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd in May last year.
LifestyleThe StateHow will this year’s army of Brood X cicadas affect NC? Here are tips and ... recipes
After 17 years, millions of Brood X cicadas will tunnel their way to the surface and sing their rowdy mating song — a plague of love-struck bugs. This year, the tens of millions of red-eyed critters will return after patiently sucking the fluid of plant roots since their last appearance in 2004, when Triangle scientists forecast “an amazing dome of noise. For all but enthusiasts, cicadas make for a mess of bug bodies and a racket worse than a leaf blower.
U.S.Business InsiderFlorida county sheriff tells new residents 'don't register to vote and vote the stupid way you did up north'
A sheriff said he welcomed transplants to the Sunshine State, as long as they vote the right way. "Don't register to vote and vote the stupid way you did up north," the Polk County sheriff said. Weighing in on a debate about the effect of new residents on Florida politics, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd proposed a simple solution on Monday.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Sen. Durbin: Republicans alarmed that 'too many voters are showing up'
EDITOR'S NOTE: AN EARLIER VERSION OF THIS STORY MISIDENTIFIED SENATOR DURBIN'S HOME STATE. HE REPRESENTS ILLINOIS, NOT DELAWARE. "The problem is obvious," Durbin said.
U.S.INSIDERVideo shows New Jersey police handcuffing a Black teen and seizing his bike over not having a bicycle license
Police in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, stopped a group of teens riding their bikes, video shows. One of the teens was seen in the video being handcuffed as cops seized his bike. Police said the teens needed licenses to ride their bikes in the streets.
U.S.USA TODAYThe judge in the Derek Chauvin case is orchestrating one of the nation’s most widely watched murder trials. Meet Peter Cahill.
Days before the start of jury selection, an appeals court ruled that Cahill should not have thrown out a third-degree murder charge against Chauvin last fall. Then, at the end of that week, the city approved a historic settlement for the Floyd family, which threatened to derail jury selection. "Judge Cahill definitely has control of that courtroom," said Hennepin County Chief Judge Toddrick Barnette, who picked Cahill to preside over Chauvin's trial and the separate trial of the three other officers charged in Floyd's death.
“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.”