- NewsHuffPost
Jared Kushner Received His Security Clearance: Reports
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, now has a permanent security clearance after longstanding scrutiny over his alleged meetings with foreign officials, multipleoutletsreported Wednesday. Kushner had been operating under a temporary security clearance while the FBI performed a background check. “With respect to the news about his clearances, as we stated before, his application was properly submitted, reviewed by numerous career officials and underwent the normal process,” Abbe Lowell, a personal attorney for Kushner, said in a statement.
- NewsYahoo News
Trump again goes after what he calls the 'animals' of MS-13
President Trump departs after Wednesday’s discussion of MS-13 on Long Island. At the Morrelly Homeland Security Center on Long Island Wednesday, President Trump accepted praise from local officials, law enforcement and parents of MS-13’s teenage victims for his commitment to crack down on the violent street gang that has wreaked havoc on pockets of the New York City suburbs in recent years. “I called them animals the other day, and I was met with rebuke,” Trump said, referring to backlash over his use of the word in a context that some listeners took to mean undocumented immigrants in general.
- NewsHuffPost
Immigrant Children Accuse Border Patrol Of Abuse And Neglect, Report Shows
U.S. Border Patrol agents have resorted to troubling tactics toward unaccompanied migrant children including abuse, neglect and harassment, a report about complaint records shows. The American Civil Liberties Union and the International Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School published their findings Wednesday after gaining access to more than 30,000 pages of records pertaining to complaints filed between 2009 and 2014. The report, titled “Neglect and Abuse of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” highlights systematic patterns of mistreatment toward the minors, who by law should be granted special protection.
- NewsAssociated Press
The Latest: 3 lava flows now reaching ocean off Hawaii
Three lava flows from an erupting volcano are now flowing into the ocean off Hawaii's Big Island. Hawaii County officials say the third flow started pouring into the sea Thursday. Lava is spewing from a fissure in a rural community that's feeding the two other flows that are reaching the waves.
WorldAFPFrench couple found guilty of murdering au-pair in London
A French couple was on Thursday found guilty of murdering their 21-year-old au-pair, whose burnt body was found in their London garden in September last year. Sabrina Kouider, 35, broke into tears after she and partner Ouissem Medouni, 40, were found guilty by a jury at London's Old Bailey court of murdering French live-in nanny Sophie Lionnet and burning her body on a garden bonfire. The jurors deliberated for a week before unanimously convicting Kouider and ruling by a majority decision of 10 to 2 that her partner Medouni was guilty.
NewsReutersGun control support fades three months after Florida massacre: Reuters/Ipsos poll
By Daniel Trotta NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Parkland, Florida, school massacre has had little lasting impact on U.S. views on gun control, three months after the shooting deaths of 17 people propelled a national movement by some student survivors, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday. While U.S. public support for more gun control measures has grown slowly but steadily over the years, it typically spikes immediately after the mass shootings that have become part of the U.S. landscape, then falls back to pre-massacre levels within a few months. The poll found that 69 percent of American adults supported strong or moderate regulations or restrictions for firearms, down from 75 percent in late March, when the first poll was conducted following the Valentine's Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
- HealthU.S.News & World Report
A Planner's Guide to the Mediterranean Diet
2018 might well be dubbed the year of the Mediterranean diet. Not only did it tie for the best overall diet in the U.S. News Best Diets rankings in January, but this year also marks the Mediterranean diet pyramid's 25th anniversary. Beyond being linked to a host of powerful health benefits including a reduction in heart disease risk, potential weight loss, improved brain health and longevity, much of the eating pattern's staying power can be attributed to its flexibility -- there aren't entire food groups excluded, and followers don't calorie count or track macros.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Mike Pompeo fires back when was asked if Trump has conflicts of interest
While testifying before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked if President Trump has any conflicts of interest.
- BusinessCar and Driver
2019 Ford F-150 Raptor’s Shocks Learn to Code
It took Ford representatives all of five minutes to go through the changes for the 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor, but the brevity is not representative of the significance. Although the new off-road beast’s visual changes are extremely minor, Ford upgraded the part that matters most: the shock absorbers, which now electronically adapt to how and where the truck is driving. For 2019, Ford left the F-150 Raptor’s powertrain, a majority of the suspension, and the visual design essentially the same.
- PoliticsHuffPost
Trump Lawyer Attended DOJ Meeting On Confidential FBI Informant
WASHINGTON ― Top congressional lawmakers and a White House attorney met with Justice Department officials on Thursday to discuss classified information about an FBI informant involved in the investigation into Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 election. Democrats have denounced the sit-down as inappropriate and contrary to the rule of law. Republicans had requested the information for weeks, issuing a subpoena and warning top DOJ officials that if they refused they would hold them contempt of Congress. Emmet Flood, the White House attorney dealing with the Russia investigation, attended part of the classified briefing and was spotted leaving the DOJ headquarters alongside House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), and White House chief of staff John Kelly.
- NewsYahoo News
In a philosophical mood, Congress debates freedom of speech on campus
Middlebury College students turn their backs on Charles Murray, unseen, during his lecture in Middlebury, Vt., on March 2, 2017. Hundreds of college students protested the lecture. Like a classic college bull session, Tuesday’s congressional hearing on free speech in higher education included some rancor, some laughter and more than a little intellectual showboating.
- NewsHuffPost
Judge Orders 30-Year-Old Man To Move Out Of His Parents' House Already
Two parents in New York will finally get to know what empty nest syndrome feels like. On Tuesday, Michael Rotondo, 30, was ordered by State Supreme Court Justice Donald Greenwood to move out of his parents’ house after living there rent free for eight years, the Syracuse Post-Standard reports. Christina and Mark Rotondo of Camillus, near Syracuse, sent their son numerous eviction notices and even gave him $1,100 to help him find a new place, WSTM, a local news channel, reports.
- ScienceInside Edition
Is This the Loch Ness Monster? Scientists to Finally Find Out the Truth
A little girl's video from Scotland's infamous Loch Ness has brought the search for its mythical occupant back to the forefront as a New Zealand scientist and his team hope DNA testing will reveal the truth, once and for all.
WorldAssociated PressAustralian sentenced to death in Malaysia drugs case
An Australian woman accused of drug trafficking in Malaysia was sentenced to death after an appeals court on Thursday overturned a lower court's acquittal, her lawyer said. Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto was exonerated by the High Court last December on grounds that she didn't know there were 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine in her bag when she was arrested in December 2014 at Kuala Lumpur's international airport. Exposto, a 54-year-old mother of four from Sydney and also a grandmother, had arrived from Shanghai and was to catch a connecting flight to Melbourne when she was detained in Malaysia.
- SportsInside Edition
Cleveland Indians Pitcher Trevor Bauer Rejects Claims He Scrawled 9/11 Conspiracy Message on Mound
A Cleveland Indians pitcher is responding to complaints about a cryptic message he wrote in the dirt of the pitcher's mound that some claim he alluded to the conspiracy theory that President George W. Bush was behind the Sept. 11 attacks. The uproar began after Trevor Bauer used his cleat to scrawl "BD 91.1" in the mound Tuesday night at Chicago's Wrigley Field. Immediately following the game, Bauer shot down the accusations.
- EntertainmentHuffPost
'Infinity War' Writers Try To Clear Up Marvel's Problematic Timeline
“Infinity War” screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus helped to clear up what some fans believe to be inconsistencies with the timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a conversation with Collider published this week. One big question is, when exactly does Thanos retrieve the infinity gauntlet? If Asgard protects the forge that creates the gauntlet, and Asgard isn’t destroyed until 2017′s “Thor: Ragnarok,” then why do we see Thanos with the gauntlet after the credits in 2015′s “Avengers: Age Of Ultron”?
WorldAFPUS says ambassador tricked over provocative Jerusalem picture
The US embassy in Israel has said ambassador David Friedman was duped into being pictured receiving a provocative photo of annexed east Jerusalem with the revered Al-Aqsa mosque erased, an episode that provoked Palestinian anger on Wednesday. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's adviser for religious affairs, Mahmoud Habbash, called Friedman a "terrorist settler" in comments published by official news agency WAFA. The Palestinian government was unconvinced by the embassy's explanation, with a spokesman calling the incident an example of "reckless and racist arrogance", according to WAFA.
- EntertainmentYahoo View
Star Wars-loving family builds massive Millennium Falcon on their roof
The Powell family built their tribute to the “fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy” in honor of ‘Solo,’ the latest Star Wars film, with help from friends and family.
- PoliticsHuffPost
Trump Roasted For Rushing To Defend Tomi Lahren While Ignoring Real Victims
President Donald Trump on Wednesday rushed to the defense of conservative commentator Tomi Lahren, who was heckled in a restaurant and had water thrown at her. It took Trump 24 hours to personally acknowledge white supremacist Tomi Lahren for getting a drink thrown on her.
- WorldThe Telegraph
MH17: Plane shot down with Russian military missile launcher, investigators conclude
An international investigation has said the Russian military brought the missile that downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 into eastern Ukraine, leading to the tragedy that killed 298 people. The Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team said last year the
- LifestyleHuffPost
Rescue Cat Has Hilarious Wide-Eyed Expression After Scan Confirms She Is Pregnant
An adorable rescue cat called Ulla made the most endearing face after a veterinarian discovered she was pregnant. The Dyrenes Venner animal shelter in Nuuk, Greenland, shared the amusing photographs to Facebook last week. Ulla was brought to the shelter in mid-April after being found living alone on the streets, reports The Dodo.
WorldReutersSyria says Iranian withdrawal not up for discussion
The withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria, demanded by the United States, is not up for discussion, a top Syrian official was quoted as saying on Wednesday, adding that Damascus was deciding on its next campaign against rebels. "Whether Iranian forces or Hezbollah withdraw or stay in Syria is not up for discussion because it's the (business) of the Syrian government," Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said in an interview with Russia's Sputnik state news agency.
NewsAssociated PressTexas governor supports 2 small gun rules after shooting
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday he could support stronger regulations for gun storage and quicker reporting to law enforcement when a court has determined someone is mentally ill in order to keep them from having weapons. Abbott said those were top considerations to emerge after meeting representatives of a gun control group and gun owners as well as mental health and education experts in discussions on school safety after 10 people were killed last week in a shooting at a high school near Houston. "We have one goal ... making sure we're going to keep to our students, our schools, our communities safer," without limiting the right to bear arms, Abbott said.
WorldAFPAmnesty highlights sex-for-food claims in Boko Haram-hit Nigeria
Amnesty International on Thursday urged Nigeria to act on claims soldiers and members of the civilian militia have raped women and girls in remote camps for people displaced by Boko Haram but the government said the rights monitor was repeating false accusations. Amnesty said it had gathered multiple testimonies about alleged abuse by the security forces, including claimed that soldiers coerced vulnerable survivors into having sex in exchange for food. In November 2016, police vowed to look into allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation in the camps but several months later, the military rejected the allegations.
