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- Associated Press
Conners builds 1-shot lead at Bay Hill as McIlroy lurks
Corey Conners spent more time grinding out pars than chasing birdies, and that proved to be the right recipe Friday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational as Bay Hill began to bake under a warm sun. Conners surged into the lead with a 25-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th hole — his second eagle on that hole in two days — for a 3-under 69 and a one-shot advantage over former Bay Hill winner Martin Laird (67). Rory McIlroy was poised to at least join Conners in the afternoon until he hit a couple of loose drives that cost him one shot when he could only pitch back to the fairway, leading to bogeys.
- The Independent
Bolsonaro tells Brazilians to ‘stop whining’ after daily record Covid death toll
Comments come as Brazil’s health system on the ‘verge of collapse’
- The Independent
Mother of ‘QAnon Shaman’ Jacob Chansley defends her son and repeats election conspiracy theories
Ms Chansley refused to condemn her son breaching the building
- The Independent
Ted Cruz ‘traitor’ billboards go up in his Texas neighbourhood
Activist group says Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley ‘deserve most blame for firing up violent mob of Trump supporters that attacked US Capitol and killed five people’
- Reuters Videos
Japan's 'Wind Phone' offers solace to those grieving
A white telephone box in a remote village of Japan has become an unlikely source of comfort for those grieving loved ones.Survivors of the 2011 Fukushima disaster say the unconnected phone line helps them keep in touch with those they have lost.Kazuyoshi Sasaki visits the booth in the town of Otsuchi to speak to his late wife.She was one of nearly 20,000 people in northeastern Japan who were killed by the earthquake and tsunami that struck on March 11, 2011.Dialling her now defunct cell, he breaks down in tears as he explains to her how he searched for her for days after the disaster.He goes onto update her on things that have happened in his life - he's moved out of temporary housing, their son is building him a house, and he's lost a bit of weight.For Sasaki, the phone booth is a source of solace:"This phone booth embraces all of me. It embraces various people like the people affected (from the earthquake and tsunami). It's a place that embraces not only the people who are alive but also those who had passed away. That's how I feel."Sachiko Okawa uses the phone to call her late husband, who she was married to for 44 years.She asks him what he's been doing since he was swept away all those years ago in the Tsunami.She often brings along her two grandsons so they can also talk to their grandfather.The phone now attracts thousands of visitors from all over Japan. It is not only used by tsunami survivors, but also by people who have lost relatives to sickness and suicide. Known as the wind phone, it was built by Itaru Sasaki, who created it after he lost his own cousin to cancer a year before the Fukushima disaster.
- The Independent
Biden will publicly pitch Covid relief bill as it is debated in the Senate
The plea will take place a day after Republicans required the 628-page legislation be read aloud
- The Independent
Trump served with lawsuit accusing him of breaking ‘Ku Klux Klan’ laws on day of Capitol riot
NAACP accuses Trump of disenfranchising Black voters and trying to ‘destroy democracy’
- INSIDER
A radical new overtime rule has been proposed in the NFL and it would force teams to make tough calls
The NFL has worked to balance overtime over the past few years, but a radical new proposal could change the game for good.
- Reuters
Biden adds Big Tech critic Tim Wu to his economic staff
President Joe Biden on Friday rounded out his White House staff with a top adviser who has advocated for breaking up Big Tech companies along with a host of new appointments focused on COVID-19, criminal justice and the U.S. economy. The White House announced six additional staffers to its National Economic Council, including Columbia University professor Tim Wu, who coined the term "net neutrality" and has warned against an economy dominated by a few giant firms. "I think breakups or undoing of mergers are actually called for more than we have appreciated in the last few decades," Wu has said previously about Big Tech companies.
- The Independent
QAnon predicted Trump’s re-inauguration on 4 March. Congress braced for an assault. Neither happened
Two months after Capitol attack, embittered conspiracy cult holds out for last-ditch effort to revive former president – but law enforcement warns that the insurrection was not an isolated event
- The Independent
Biden news: White House defends ‘Neanderthal’ slur of GOP states, as Trump shifts blame for Senate loss
Live updates from the White House
- Business Insider
Boris Johnson fails to replace adviser on ministerial standards amid growing cronyism allegations
Boris Johnson has yet to appoint a successor to his adviser on ministerial standards, more than three months after the resignation of Sir Alex Allan.
- Reuters Videos
Myanmar protesters undeterred after bloodiest day
She was wearing a T-shirt that read "Everything will be OK" as Myanmar police shot her in the head, on the bloodiest day yet since last month's coup.Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Angel, a 19-year-old woman also known as Kyal Sin, in Mandalay on Thursday (March 4). Mourners, many of them young like she was, filed past her open coffin, chanting slogans and singing protest songs. Some raised a three-fingered salute of defiance.And protesters returned to the streets undeterred in towns across Myanmar, despite at least 38 deaths including Angel's on Wednesday.That violence more than doubled the death toll since the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.On Thursday, police opened fire and used tear gas to break up protests against military rule in Yangon.Forcing residents to cower indoors.The United Nations human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, called on the security forces to halt what she called their "vicious crackdown on peaceful protesters."At least 19 Myanmar police officers have crossed over into India, fearing persecution for disobeying orders, a senior Indian police official told Reuters.The European Union on Thursday suspended its support for development projects in Myanmar to avoid giving financial aid to the military.On Friday, the U.N. Security Council plans to hold a closed session on the crisis.
- The Independent
Biden secretly limits drone strikes, amid congressional scrutiny over war powers
Obama administration greatly expanded the use of drone strikes before later imposing checks
- The Independent
Kayleigh McEnany takes a swipe at Jen Psaki during new Fox role
‘I always knew where my boss stood ... I could walk in at any time,’ former press secretary says
- The Telegraph
Europe's volte-face on Oxford Covid vaccine
The European Union began blocking exports of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine on Thursday as Europe's leaders finally admitted they were wrong about the jab and that it worked. EU countries now recognise that the vaccine is vital to ramping up the slow pace of their vaccine programmes – which lag far behind those in Britain, the US, Serbia and Israel – after attacking AstraZeneca for delivery failures and branding its vaccine ineffective. Germany made the vaccine available to over-65s after Angela Merkel, the chancellor, called for age restrictions to be lifted. New data proved the jab was "highly effective". Jens Spahn, the country's health minister, said: "This is good news for any elderly person waiting to be vaccinated. They can now be vaccinated faster." Jean Castex, the French prime minister, said the AstraZeneca vaccine was "very efficient" and as good as the other EU-approved jabs. In January, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, sparked fury when he said the vaccine was only "quasi-effective" in older people – comments thought to have slowed French vaccinations further. Greece and Sweden announced they would lift age restrictions on the jab following Belgium, with Spain considering following suit as realisation dawns that countries were wrong not to follow Britain's lead in approving it for all ages.
- USA TODAY Opinion
After Trump sabotage, 3 things Biden must do to restore gay, lesbian and trans rights
Sometimes progress means breaking new ground. For Biden, now is a time to get back to where we were before Trump and restore decency to LGBTQ policy.
- The Independent
‘Always up for a fight’: Mike Pompeo refuses to rule out presidential run on Hannity
‘I’m always up for a good fight,’ says Trump ally
- INSIDER
Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman said a security guard followed her and told her she 'looked suspicious' when entering her own building
"This is the reality of black girls: One day you're called an icon, the next day, a threat," Gorman said in a tweet about the incident.
- USA TODAY
Live stimulus updates: Senate extends $300 weekly unemployment benefit in Biden's COVID stimulus bill
Biden and Democratic leaders are pushing for passage before March 14 when unemployment benefits approved under an earlier relief bill expire.