PoliticsYahoo News'Skullduggery' political podcast: 'Will Afghanistan end like Vietnam?' — April 17, 2021
President Biden has announced his plans to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. and end America's longest war — but is it too soon to leave? Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti are joined by Richard Clarke, the former counterterrorism adviser under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's response to 9/11.
U.S.National ReviewChauvin Trial Judge Says Maxine Waters Comments Could Lead to Trial Being ‘Overturned’ on Appeal
The judge in the Chauvin trial stated Monday that inflammatory remarks by Representative Maxine Waters could lead to the trial being “overturned” on appeal. Waters had called for demonstrators to “get more confrontational” and protest in the streets if no guilty verdict was reached in the case. Waters delivered the comments over the weekend ahead of closing arguments in the high-profile case against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who's been charged with the murder of George Floyd.
PoliticsThe WeekOne America News fires producer who publicly criticized the pro-Trump network's election coverage
At the right-wing news channel One America News Network, "there's still serious doubts about who's actually president," as OAN correspondent Pearson Sharp said in a March 28 report. OAN "has become a kind of Trump TV for the post-Trump age," The New York Times reported Sunday, and some of its "coverage has not had the full support of the staff." One OAN producer, Marty Golingan, said the network had lurched to the right since he joined in 2016.
WorldReutersDeadly clashes after Islamists take police hostage in Pakistan's Lahore
Police in Pakistan said a hardline Islamist group had taken six security personnel hostage at its headquarters in Lahore on Sunday after a week of violent clashes following the arrest of the group's leader. The Tehrik-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) group had given the government an April 20 deadline to expel the French ambassador over the publication of cartoons in France depicting the Prophet Mohammad. The authorities responded by arresting its leader, prompting supporters to hold protests and sit-ins across Pakistan.
U.S.National ReviewPelosi: Waters Should Not Apologize for Urging Protesters to ‘Get More Confrontational’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday said she does not believe Representative Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) should apologize for her recent suggestion that protesters should “get more confrontational” if former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is acquitted. On Saturday, Waters traveled to Brooklyn Center, Minn., to join protests in response to the police shooting of Daunte Wright last week. Speaking just a few miles from where George Floyd died last year after Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during his arrest, Waters said she was “going to fight with all of the people who stand for justice,” and called on others to join her.
PoliticsAssociated PressNew migrant facilities crop up to ease crowding, again
For the third time in seven years, U.S. officials are scrambling to handle a dramatic spike in children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone, leading to a massive expansion in emergency facilities to house them as more kids arrive than are being released to close relatives in the United States. More than 22,000 migrant children were in government custody as of Thursday, with 10,500 sleeping on cots at convention centers, military bases and other large venues likened to hurricane evacuation shelters with little space to play and no privacy. The government failed to prepare for a big increase in children traveling alone as President Joe Biden ended some of his predecessor's hardline immigration policies and decided he wouldn't quickly expel unaccompanied kids from the country like the Trump administration did for eight months.
WorldReutersNon-stop cremations cast doubt on India's counting of COVID dead
Gas and firewood furnaces at a crematorium in the western Indian state of Gujarat have been running so long without a break during the COVID-19 pandemic that metal parts have begun to melt. "We are working around the clock at 100% capacity to cremate bodies on time," Kamlesh Sailor, the president of the trust that runs the crematorium in the diamond-polishing city of Surat, told Reuters. And with hospitals full and oxygen and medicines in short supply in an already creaky health system, several major cities are reporting far larger numbers of cremations and burials under coronavirus protocols than official COVID-19 death tolls, according to crematorium and cemetery workers, media and a review of government data.
HealthThe WeekReport: Biden administration weighing cut to nicotine in cigarettes
The Biden administration is considering measures that would force tobacco companies to reduce the amount of nicotine in all cigarettes to nonaddictive or minimally addictive levels, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. The administration is also weighing whether to ban menthol cigarettes, the Journal reports. Federal data shows that every year, 226 billion cigarettes are sold in the U.S., and about a third are menthol cigarettes.
WorldNBC NewsSteady increase in Russian troops in Crimea on Ukraine border, says Pentagon
The number of Russian troops deployed in occupied Crimea near Ukraine's border has steadily increased over the past two weeks and has surpassed the size of the force that annexed the peninsula in 2014, the Pentagon said on Monday. Press secretary John Kirby declined to provide specific numbers on the growing Russian troop presence. A spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week there are about 80,000 troops now stationed along the country's border with Russia, 40,000 of them in Crimea.
U.S.INSIDERThe police officer who fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo was listed as a victim on an incident report. One law enforcement expert said it's 'an old cop trick meant to muddy the murky waters.'
An incident report lists Officer Eric Stillman as the victim in an officer-involved shooting that left 13-year-old Adam Toledo dead. A law enforcement expert told Insider that doing so is an "old cop trick" meant to shift culpability from the police. It's "meant to muddy the murky waters," often used in "the aftermath of what we cops call a 'bad shoot,'" he said.
WorldReutersIran always welcomes dialogue with Riyadh, foreign ministry says
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday that Tehran always welcomed dialogue with Saudi Arabia, but he did not confirm nor deny direct talks this month between the arch-rivals. A senior Iranian official and two regional sources had told Reuters that Saudi and Iranian officials held discussions in Iraq in a bid to ease tensions as Washington works to revive a 2015 nuclear pact with Tehran and end the Yemen war. "We have seen media reports about talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, although the reports sometimes had contradictory quotes," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderKevin McCarthy jumps on Marjorie Taylor Greene's bandwagon, saying he'll introduce his own resolution to censure Maxine Waters for her 'dangerous comments'
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy plans to introduce his own resolution to censure Maxine Waters. McCarthy announced his decision after Marjorie Taylor Greene said she wanted to "expel" Waters for "inciting Black Lives Matter terrorism." Waters has maintained that she did not encourage violence when she spoke to protesters near Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis.
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 Vaccine suppliers such as the Serum Institute of India have been unable to meet international requirements and have also warned of raw material shortages affecting production.
U.S.INSIDERJudge denies Chauvin defense's motion for a mistrial, but says Rep. Maxine Waters' comments 'could lead to this whole case being overturned'
Derek Chauvin's defense cited comments from US Rep. Maxine Waters in a motion for a mistrial. Over the weekend, Waters called on protesters to stay on the streets if there's no guilty verdict. Judge Peter Cahill denied the motion but said Waters may have given the defense a successful appeal.
- WorldReuters Videos
Hunger-striking Navalny transferred to prison hospital
PLEASE NOTE: VIDEO HAS BEEN RESENT TO MAKE CLEAR THAT NAVALNY IS BEING TAKEN TO A PRISON HOSPITAL Prison doctors decided to transfer Russian Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to hospital on Monday (April 19), according to prison authorities. The move comes 20 days into his hunger strike, which has sparked international warnings of consequences should he die while behind bars. Russia's prison service said in a statement that Navalny would be taken to a regional prison hospital, his condition was "satisfactory" and that he was being given "vitamin therapy" with his consent.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden news: White House warns Russia of consequences if Navalny dies as John Kerry apologises for Trump
The White House has warned Russia that “there will be consequences” if Alexei Navalny, a Putin critic, dies in prison, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday. This comes after President Joe Biden gave a speech on Thursday about Russia where he failed to mention the imprisoned Russian opposition leader, which angered critics. John Kerry has also apologised for former President Donald Trump's “non-leadership” on the effort to address the climate crisis during his four years as US leader.
U.S.Idaho StatesmanSearch to end for 8 missing crew members from capsized boat in Gulf, Coast Guard says
The U.S. Coast Guard says it will end its search at sundown Monday for the remaining crew members of a commercial lift boat that capsized last week near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Officials said 19 people were aboard the Seacor Power on April 13 when the boat began taking on water. “Suspending a search is one of the toughest decisions the Coast Guard has to make,” Capt. Will Watson, commander of Coast Guard Sector New Orleans, said in a statement.
U.S.INSIDERA former car dealership employee in North Carolina is accusing the company of dishing out 'hostile racial harassment' to Black employees
A former employee filed a lawsuit against a North Carolina car dealership over racist treatment. Lance Blair said black employees were the subjects of "hostile racial harassment" from 2014 to 2020. Blair quit in 2020 after his health declined due to the harassment, the complaint said.
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.
WorldBusiness InsiderThe war against Russia's spies just cost Putin billions from a cancelled nuclear contract
Russia announced on Monday the expulsion of at least 20 Czech diplomats in a furious response to the gutting of Moscow's most critical intelligence station in central Europe over the weekend, when Czech authorities accused Russian intelligence of being behind two blasts at an ammunition storage facility in 2014. Czechia has accused a notorious Russian intelligence unit implicated in multiple operations across Europe and the UK of conducting two operations in 2014 that led to explosions at a munitions factory in 2014. At the time, the ammunition was said to be headed for Russia's rivals in Ukraine.
U.S.The IndependentGeorge Floyd news: Jury retires in Chauvin trial as judge says Maxine Waters could overturn verdict
The prosecution has concluded its closing arguments in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, with the defence to lay out its final arguments next. Mr Chauvin is currently standing trial for the murder of unarmed Black man George Floyd, who died in the former Minneapolis police officer's custody last May. Before the 12 jurors are sequestered to determine the conclusion of the trial, they will hear a final appeal from both sides as the prosecution and defence deliver their closing arguments.
U.S.INSIDERA former HFPA president called Black Lives Matter a 'racist hate movement' and attacked one of its founders
A former HFPA president attacked Black Lives Matter in a leaked email, the LA Times reported. Philip Berk called Black Lives Matter a "racist hate movement." A former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association called Black Lives Matter a "racist hate movement" and described co-founder Patrisse Cullors as "the self-proclaimed 'trained Marxist,'" the Los Angeles Times reported.
U.S.The IndependentPolice officer’s powerful TikTok message on Daunte Wright goes viral
A US police officer has demonstrated the “huge difference” between a gun and a Taser in a viral TikTok video, describing how it is difficult to confuse the two items in an officer's arsenal, in the wake of Daunte Wright's death. The video posted from the account of a man named Brian B had about 6 million views and 1.4 million likes before the account was taken down after it became viral and triggered an extensive online conversation. The officer, appearing in his police uniform in the Tiktok video, can be seen loading his belt with both Taser and pistol before tapping the pistol as “dominant” and Taser as “not so dominant.”
HealthUSA TODAYGlobal infections growing at record pace despite vaccines: Live COVID-19 updates
The Biden administration is lauding the significant strides made by both states and communities to combat COVID, while simultaneously warning that the fight is not over yet. “While we're making extraordinary strides in the number of people vaccinated, we still have an extraordinary amount of disease out there,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a White House news conference Monday. The U.S. has reported 33% of adults are fully vaccinated and over 50% of the U.S. adult population has received at least one vaccine dose, according to data from the CDC.
BusinessBusiness InsiderFacebook says it will remove content that 'praises, celebrates or mocks George Floyd's death' ahead of Chauvin trial verdict
Ahead of the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, Facebook is beefing up content moderation standards. Among those new standards, Facebook "will remove content that praises, celebrates or mocks George Floyd's death," the company said in a blog post on Monday. Floyd died during an interaction with police in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.
“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.”