Louisville

AP FACT CHECK: Trump attacks Russia probe as biased

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to discredit a highly anticipated report on the Russia investigation, President Donald Trump is attacking the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller by falsely claiming it was biased and conflicted.

Citigroup to sell Venezuelan gold in setback to President Maduro: sources

Maduro's government has since 2014 used financial operations known as gold swaps to use its international reserves to gain access to cash after a slump in oil revenues left it struggling to obtain hard currency. Under the terms of the 2015 deal with Citigroup's Citibank, Venezuela was due to repay $1.1 billion of the loan on March 11, according to four sources familiar with the situation. Citibank plans to sell the gold held as a guarantee - which has a market value of roughly $1.358 billion - to recover the first tranche of the loan and will deposit the excess of roughly $258 million in a bank account in New York, two of the sources said.

FBI joins criminal probe into Boeing 737 Max 8 safety certification in wake of crashes

The FBI has joined the widening criminal probe into how Boeing's 737 Max 8 jets were deemed as safe in the months before two of them crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia,

Australian fury as Erdogan invokes Gallipoli after Christchurch massacre

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, has sparked a diplomatic confrontation with Australia and New Zealand over the Christchurch massacre by threatening that anti-Muslim Westerners would be sent home “in coffins” like those killed the Battle of Gallipoli.  The Turkish leader has made the killings in New Zealand a centre-piece of his political campaign ahead of local elections at the end of the month and has been playing footage of the mass killing before crowds at his rallies.    In a speech near the site where thousands of New Zealander and Australian troops were buried after the 1915 Battle of Gallipoli, Mr Erdogan said the Christchurch shooter and the First World War soldiers were both motivated by anti-Islamic sentiments.  “Your grandfathers came and saw that we're here. Then some of them walked back, while others left in coffins,” Mr Erdogan said. “If you come with the same intention, we'll be waiting for you.” His comments were met with fury in Australia, where Scott Morrison, the prime minister, summoned Turkey’s ambassador and demanded that Mr Erdogan retract his remarks.  “Remarks have been made by the Turkish President Erdogan that I consider highly offensive to Australians, and highly reckless in this very sensitive environment,” Mr Morrison said. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would consider 'all options' in reviewing ties  Credit: Getty "I will wait to see what the response is from the Turkish government before taking further action, but I can tell you that all options are on the table.” Mr Morrison said Australia was reviewing its travel advice for Turkey. Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders are expected in Turkey on April 25 to commemorate Anzac Day, marking the first landings in Gallipoli.  Around 8,000 Australians and nearly 3,000 New Zealanders were killed during the disastrous year-long campaign against Ottoman forces, which was overseen by Winston Churchill. Around 130,000 were killed in total on both sides.  Mr Morrison said Mr Erdogan’s comments violated a pledge made by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, who reportedly said “after having lost their lives on this land [the fallen soldiers] have become our sons as well.” New Zealand mosque massacre - In pictures Mr Erdogan had already been sharply rebuked by New Zealand for his comments and for using gruesome video shot by the Christchurch mosque gunman as an election campaign prop. New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters protested on Monday that such politicisation of the massacre "imperils the future and safety of the New Zealand people and our people abroad, and it’s totally unfair". Mr Peters announced on Tuesday that he would be travelling to Turkey this week at Istanbul’s request to attend a special meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. “Our deputy prime minister will be confronting those comments in Turkey,” Ms Ardern told reporters in Christchurch. “He is going there to set the record straight, face-to-face.” Turkey's Vice-President Fuat Oktay (R) and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (C) speak to the media after visiting Al Noor mosque in Christchurch Credit: Getty Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, said she was dispatching her deputy prime minister, Winston Peters, to Turkey to confront Mr Erdogan’s comments about the massacre which left 50 people dead at the hands of a white supremacist gunman.  “Our deputy prime minister will be confronting those comments in Turkey,” Ms Ardern said in Christchurch. “He is going there to set the record straight, face-to-face.” Mr Erdogan earlier threatened that if “If New Zealand fails to hold the attacker accountable, one way or another we will hold him to account.” However, in a comment piece in the Washington Post, Mr Erdogan praised Ms Ardern for showing “courage, leadership and sincerity”. He called on all Western leaders to follow her example and "embrace Muslims living in their respective countries”. He also said there was no difference between the hateful ideology of Brenton Tarrant, the mosque gunman, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).  Mr Erdogan has made a habit of provoking fights with foreign governments ahead of elections as a way of whipping up his base of nationalist voters.  Ahead of a referendum to change Turkey’s constitution in 2017, Mr Erdogan accused Dutch and German ministers of being Nazis. He expelled Israel’s ambassador from Ankara a month before the 2018 presidential elections.  Mr Erdogan often presents himself as a global champion of Muslims facing repression, from the occupied Palestinian territories to western China, where up to 1 million Uighur Muslims are believed to be detained by the Chinese government.  Sign up for your essential, twice-daily briefing from The Telegraph with our free Front Page newsletter.

Robert Kraft's plea deal offer for prostitution charges hinders real progress on sex trafficking

Those who buy sex have more power and privilege than those who sell it. There's a disgusting imbalance in every commercial sex interaction.

'Generation Nazarbayev' jokes, hopes after Kazakh leader resigns

People under 30 in Kazakhstan have only known one leader -- Nursultan Nazarbayev, who announced his resignation this week after shepherding the country from the Soviet era. "The word 'Nazarbayev' means something like the word 'parent'," said 18-year-old film student Madi Makanov, who lives in the country's largest city Almaty. Kazakhstan has a young population, with around 40 percent of people under 24, according to estimates based on UN figures.

Fox News contributor called ‘complete moron’ for falsely saying US was first to end slavery

Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich attempted to counter Senator Elizabeth Warren’s call to discuss the injustices of slavery, and its lasting systemic impact on generations of African-Americans, by claiming that the United States does not get “enough credit” for ending slavery. While discussing reparations to descendents of enslaved people on Fox News’ "Outnumbered" on Tuesday, Ms Pavlich claimed that the US was the first country to abolish slavery. “They keep blaming America for the sin of slavery but the truth is, throughout human history, slavery existed, and America came along as the first country to end it within 150 years,” she said.

Trump changes his mind on Electoral College, now wants to keep it

In a not-totally-unexpected reversal of policy, President Trump, who before being elected president called the Electoral College “a disaster for democracy,” now says it’s “far better for the U.S.A.”

Harvard sued by descendant of U.S. slave photographed in 19th century

The photos, depicting a black man named Renty and his daughter Delia, were taken as part of a study by Harvard Professor Louis Agassiz and are among the earliest known photos of American slaves. A representative for Harvard declined to comment and said the university had not yet been served with the complaint. Tamara Lanier of Norwich, Connecticut, who claims to be the great-great-great-granddaughter of Renty, accused Harvard of celebrating its former professor who studied "racist pseudoscience" and profiting from photos that were taken without Renty and his daughter's consent.

Nebraska underwater: 74 cities, 65 counties declare emergencies as flooding envelops state

Seventy-four cities, 65 counties and four tribal areas in Nebraska declared states of emergency Tuesday as swaths of the Midwest battled flooding rivers.

The Pentagon's Watchdog Is Investigating Whether the Acting Defense Secretary Boosted Boeing

The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General has launched an investigation into Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan.

New Zealand holds first funerals for victims of Christchurch massacre

A father and son who fled the civil war in Syria for "the safest country in the world" were buried before hundreds of mourners on Wednesday. The funerals of Khalid Mustafa, 44, and Hamza Mustafa, 15, came five days after a white supremacist methodically gunned down 50 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch - a massacre that he broadcast live on Facebook. Hamza’s high school principal described the student as compassionate and hardworking, and said he was an excellent horse rider who aspired to be a veterinarian. Those present included Hamza’s younger brother, 13-year-old Zaed, who was wounded in an arm and a leg during the attack. The boy tried to stand during the ceremony but had to sit back in his wheelchair, one mourner said. "We tried to not shake his hand, and not touch his hand or his foot, but he refused, he wanted to shake everybody’s hand, he wanted to show everyone that he appreciated them. And that’s amazing," said Jamil El-Biza, who travelled from Australia to attend the funeral. Female mourners attend the funeral of two victims of the Christchurch terrorist attack at Memorial Park Cemetery Credit: Getty The Mustafas had moved to New Zealand last year, after spending six years as refugees in Jordan. Mustafa’s wife, Salwa, told Radio New Zealand that when the family asked about New Zealand they were told "it’s the safest country in the world, the most wonderful country you can go ... you will start a very wonderful life there." She added, "But it wasn’t." Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the family should have been safe. "I cannot tell you how gutting it is to know that a family came here for safety and for refuge," she said. Families of those killed had been anxiously awaiting word on when they could bury their loved ones. Police Commissioner Mike Bush said police have now formally identified and released the remains of 21 of those killed. Islamic tradition calls for bodies to be cleansed and buried as soon as possible. The burials began soon after Ms Ardern renewed her call for people to speak of the victims rather than the man who killed them. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern receives a hug from a student during her visit to Cashmere High School which lost two students during a mass shooting  Also on Wednesday, a man accused of sharing video footage of Friday’s massacre was jailed by a judge until his next court appearance in mid-April. And Mr Bush said he believes police officers stopped the gunman on his way to a third attack. Ms Ardern’s plea against giving the accused gunman notoriety followed his move to represent himself in court, raising concerns he would attempt to use the trial as a platform for airing his racist views. During a visit on Wednesday to the high school Hamza and another victim attended, Ms Ardern revisited that thought and asked students not to say the attacker’s name or dwell on him. "Look after one another, but also let New Zealand be a place where there is no tolerance for racism," she told students at Cashmere High School. "That’s something we can all do." Another Cashmere student, 14-year-old Sayyad Milne, also died in the attack. About 30 people wounded in the attacks remained in hospital as of Tuesday evening. About 10 of them were in critical condition, including a four-year-old girl. Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian man, has been charged with murder and is next scheduled to appear in court on April 5. Police have said they are certain Tarrant was the only gunman but are still investigating whether he had support from others. Ardern previously has said reforms of New Zealand’s gun laws would be announced next week and she said an inquiry would be convened to look into the intelligence and security services’ failures to detect the risk from the attacker or his plans. New Zealand’s international spy agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau, confirmed it had not received any relevant information or intelligence before the shootings. Sheik Taj El-Din Hilaly, of Sydney, travelled to Christchurch to attend or lead some of the funerals. Through a translator, he said he felt compelled to support the grieving. A nationwide lockdown on mosques was imposed until Monday, which Hilaly said had upset Muslims whom he had visited in Auckland. Police continue to guard mosques across the country. Philip Arps, 44, appeared in a Christchurch court on Wednesday on two charges of distributing the killer’s livestream video of the attack on the Al Noor mosque, the first mosque that was attacked, a violation of the country’s objectionable publications law. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Arps, heavily tattooed and dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants, hasn’t entered a plea. He remained expressionless during the hearing, his hands clasped behind his back. Judge Stephen O’Driscoll denied him bail. Charging documents accuse Arps of distributing the video on Saturday, one day after the massacre. Bush said they believe they know where the gunman was going for a third attack when officers rammed his car off the road but won’t say more because it’s an active investigation. In a 74-page manifesto he released before the attack, Tarrant said he was going to attack two mosques in Christchurch and then one in the town of Ashburton if he made it that far.

Glyphosate under fire from San Francisco to Sri Lanka

Glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide and the active ingredient in Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup, is the subject of fierce controversy across the globe and is classified by the World Health Organization as "probably" being carcinogenic. A California court on Tuesday found that Roundup was a "substantial factor" in Edwin Hardeman, 70, getting non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after spraying the weedkiller on his garden for decades.

Delta declared America's best airline: The Points Guy

Delta Air Lines tops a new list of the best -- and worst -- airlines in America for its impressive on-time performance and network of lounges. 

Video shows 171 migrants crawling through hole under border fence in Yuma, Arizona

Three buses from Guatemala drop off migrants at the border wall so they can enter the U.S. and be taken into custody; William La Jeunesse reports from the scene.

US' Pompeo boosts Israel prime minister ahead of election

JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday lauded the White House's warm ties with Israel during a visit to the country and promised to step up pressure on Iran, giving a public boost to Israel's prime minister at the height of a tight re-election campaign.

This town shouldn't be under water

After heavy rain caused severe flooding across the midwest, cities in Iowa are underwater.

737 Max maker Boeing spent more than $753,000 on candidates, political organizations last month: FEC report

Chicago-based Boeing spent more than $753,000 on candidates and political organizations on both sides of the aisle last month, an FEC report shows.

Flooding will continue into next week in storm-ravaged Midwest

Floods driven by rain and melting snow have affected several states, with four people killed and one missing after storms.

Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido says senior aide was kidnapped by intelligence agents

The Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has said intelligence agents arrested his chief of staff after a pre-dawn raid, signalling that president Nicolas Maduro may be cracking down on the opposition's challenge to his rule. Mr Guaido invoked the constitution in January to assume the interim presidency after declaring Maduro's 2018 re-election a fraud, and has been recognised by dozens of Western nations as the country's legitimate leader. Mr Maduro, who has overseen a dramatic collapse of the country's economy, has called Mr Guaido a puppet of the United States and said he should “face justice”, but has not explicitly ordered his arrest.

Danish MP told her baby not welcome in parliament

A Danish MP said on Tuesday she was ordered to remove her infant daughter from parliament's chamber, sparking surprise in a country often hailed as a pioneer in women's rights. "You are not welcome with your baby in the parliament's chamber," speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, an outspoken former leader of the far-right Danish People's Party, allegedly told MP Mette Abildgaard. "I didn't ask for permission to bring her since I had previously seen another colleague bring a child into the chamber without any problems," Ms Abildgaard, whose Conservative party is part of the ruling centre-right coalition, wrote on Facebook. Ms Abildgaard, who is in her 30s, said she found herself in an exceptional situation with her five-month-old daughter, and had never brought her into the chamber before. But she said the infant was "in a good mood and had a pacifier in her mouth." Mette Abildgaard responded to the incident on Facebook Ms Kjaersgaard passed the message to an assistant, who then asked Ms Abildgaard to remove the baby from the room. Ms Abildgaard handed the child to an assistant and returned to the chamber to vote. "MPs should be in the chamber, not babies or children," insisted Ms Kjaersgaard when questioned by news agency Ritzau. She said clear rules would be issued on the subject. The Scandinavian country is often held up as a champion of gender equality and women's rights, and as a child and family-centred nation with generous parental leave. Ms Abildgaard noted that she was entitled to a year's maternity leave with full pay, but that she had chosen to return to work. Her Facebook post garnered more than 600 comments within the space of a few hours. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern holds her baby after speaking at the UN General Assembly Credit: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri "A chamber that represents mothers, fathers and babies ought to be open to mothers, fathers and babies," one person wrote. In 2016, an Icelandic lawmaker made headlines after breastfeeding her infant while speaking at the podium in parliament. And in September, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern became a symbol for working mothers when she brought her baby to the UN General Assembly in New York.

T-Mobile unveils home broadband service that could expand after Sprint merger

T-Mobile on Thursday unveiled a limited home internet service that it plans to pilot for 50,000 mobile customers at $50 a month, with the company promising it could build on that, and eventually offer a lot more once its $26.5 billion merger with Sprint finally goes through.For now, the new invitation-only service will focus on areas where the carrier can deliver high-speed internet access to connect up to 50,000 homes in rural and underserved parts of the country. Once it merges with Sprint, however, T-Mobile says it should be able to cover more than half of the US with broadband service by 2024.This seems to be one attempt by T-Mobile to push back against critics of the proposed merger who worry it will leave customers with less choice and the potential for prices to rise. "We're walking the walk and laying the foundation for a world where we can take the fight to Big Cable on behalf of consumers and offer real choice, competition and savings to Americans nationwide," T-Mobile CEO John Legere about the home broadband pilot.The service will be offered only in areas where T-Mobile expects to deliver speeds of around 50 Mbps through fixed unlimited wireless service over LTE, with no data caps. The carrier points to one economist's estimate that showed while customers today pay around $80 a month for wired in-home broadband service, "the new T-Mobile will save customers up to $13.65 billion a year on home broadband by 2024".As context for why it decided to pursue the new service, T-Mobile went on to note in its announcement that almost half of Americans today have no competitive choice for high-speed in-home broadband. "The New T-Mobile," the company declares, "will be armed with spectrum and network assets that will build the highest capacity wireless network in US history, covering millions with 5G, not just a few people in a few blocks of a few cities like the other guys."If you're eligible to participate in the home broadband pilot, T-Mobile plans to start sending out invitations by email and regular mail this week.We mentioned T-Mobile's pending merger with Sprint, and it's also worth pointing out, as a reminder, that it's still under review by federal regulators. T-Mobile has said it feels optimistic everything will be approved in the first half of this year.

Trump Pours Gas on GM's Already Smoldering Relations With UAW

In a series of tweets starting Saturday, Trump attacked both General Motors Co. and the UAW over the closing of a Chevrolet Cruze factory in Lordstown, Ohio. GM and the UAW each pushed back, but the two have otherwise been very much at odds entering bargaining over a new four-year labor contract.

New Zealand bans assault weapons within days of massacre

New Zealand imposed a ban on assault weapons Thursday, moving swiftly following the Christchurch massacre and triggering renewed calls from leading American politicians for gun controls in the United States. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons were now banned with immediate effect, making good on a pledge to the country of the military-style weapons used in last week's slaughter of 50 people.

Kentucky Governor Signs Law Prohibiting Abortions Based on Unborn’s Sex, Race, or Disabilities

Kentucky governor Matt Bevin on Tuesday signed a bill that bans abortions chosen on the basis of an unborn child's sex, race, or disability.A court filing in the U.S. District Court in Louisville indicated that the governor has signed the bill, which included an "emergency clause" stipulating that it would go into effect immediately.Physicians must now certify in writing that the patient did not request the abortion for a reason related to the baby's sex, race, or disabilities. Flouting the new law puts doctors at risk of losing their medical license or being prosecuted for a felony, although the mother of the unborn child would not be targeted.The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the bill in federal court as an unconstitutional restriction on a woman's right to abortion.“Instituting laws that instantly affect critical patient care should not be a cat-and-mouse game,” the group said, asking that it be notified when the bill is signed.Another new law that bans abortions after about six weeks or when a heartbeat can be detected forced Kentucky's sole abortion clinic, EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville, to cancel some appointments on Friday until a federal judge intervened.“EMW and its abortionists have responded with a novel claim: Women have a constitutional right to undergo race-based abortions, gender-based abortions, and disability-based abortions. In plaintiffs’ view, somewhere in the Fourteenth Amendment’s penumbra lies a protection for eugenics,” the governor's lawyer M. Stephen Pitt wrote in defending the ban on eugenics-based abortions. “This is a perverse distortion of Roe v. Wade.”

Correction: Mob Shooting story

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — In some versions of a story March 18 about a court hearing over the killing of a reputed Gambino crime boss, The Associated Press erroneously reported where the victim was born. Francesco Cali was born in New York City, not in Sicily.

Fighter Fiasco: The Navy's Version of the Stealth F-35 Is In Trouble

Testing data obtained by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) indicates that the F-35 variant's "fully mission capable" rate — a key measure of an military aircraft's readiness — collapsed from 12% in October 2016 to zero in December 2017 before remaining flat through 2018.

Seats aboard JetBlue now feature most legroom of any US airline

Long-legged flyers may be interested to learn that JetBlue's newest cabin redesign now features the most legroom of any US airline for economy-class cabins. 

Google slapped with massive $1.7 billion antitrust fine – its third in three years

Reports a few days ago said that Google would receive a new massive fine in Europe, and the EU on Wednesday delivered its latest ruling against the tech giant. This time around we're looking at a €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) antitrust fine as a result of illegal practices in Google's AdSense business.The EU says that Google abused its dominant position again, this time concerning its AdSense business. The company did it for more than a decade, the European Commission explained, preventing AdSense customers from inking advertising deals with rivals. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager had this to say alongside the judgement:> Today the Commission has fined Google €1.49 billion for illegal misuse of its dominant position in the market for the brokering of online search adverts. Google has cemented its dominance in online search adverts and shielded itself from competitive pressure by imposing anti-competitive contractual restrictions on third-party websites. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules. The misconduct lasted over 10 years and denied other companies the possibility to compete on the merits and to innovate - and consumers the benefits of competition.Google was slapped with a €4.3 billion ($4.88 billion) antitrust fine last year related to Android, and a €2.4 billion ($2.73 billion) fine the year before for its search business. In total, Google is looking at fines totalling €8.2 billion ($9.31 billion) from the EU in just the last three years. The company has appealed the previous two rulings, and it's likely to do it again with this new fine.What's interesting is that Google earlier this week announced a massive change for Android in Europe that's meant to appease an earlier ruling by the Commission. Users will soon see prompts that will allow them to select the default Internet browser and search engine on their Android devices. That doesn't mean the previous fine relating to Google's Android platform will go away, of course.The EU's full ruling on the AdSense antitrust case is available at this link.

'New bizarre low': Trump faces backlash after reviving McCain attacks

Republicans such as Lindsey Graham and Mitt Romney defended the late senator after the president said he ‘never liked’ himDonald Trump renewed attacks on the late senator John McCain, stating he “never liked” the Arizona Republican and “probably never will”.The president faced widespread backlash for reviving his criticism of McCain, who died of brain cancer last year.While Trump shared a notoriously contentious relationship with McCain, Republicans balked at Trump’s willingness to engage in posthumous attacks on the decorated war veteran. Some audience members in Ohio were members of the military.“I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as president I had to approve,” Trump said of McCain while touring a tank manufacturing plant in Lima, Ohio. “I don’t care about this. I didn’t get a thank you, that’s OK.”Trump returned to broadsides against McCain seven months after his death, amid reports in conservative media outlets that McCain was allegedly responsible for leaking the infamous Russia dossier, compiled by the British ex-spy Christopher Steele. The dossier detailed Trump’s ties to Moscow.In a tweet on Sunday, Trump criticised McCain for his role in the Russia investigation and voiced frustration with his deciding vote against the repeal of Obamacare in 2017.Trump also raised McCain’s healthcare vote during a joint appearance at the White House with the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, telling reporters he was “very unhappy that [McCain] didn’t repeal and replace Obamacare, as you know”.“They got to a vote, and he said thumbs down,” Trump said. “I think that’s disgraceful.”McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, hit back on Wednesday on ABC’s daytime talkshow The View, where she serves as a co-host.“If I had told my dad: ‘Seven months after you’re dead you’re going to be dominating the news and all over Twitter,’ he would think it’s hilarious that our president was so jealous of him that he was dominating the news cycle in death as well,” she said.“This is a new bizarre low. I will say attacking someone who isn’t here is a bizarre low,” she added.Trump’s comments also drew backlash from Republicans in Congress, who defended McCain as a “hero” after initially remaining silent.“I just want to lay it on the line, that the country deserves better, the McCain family deserves better. I don’t care if he’s president of United States, owns all the real estate in New York, or is building the greatest immigration system in the world,” Senator Johnny Isakson, from Georgia, said in an interview.“Nothing is more important than the integrity of the country and those who fought and risked their lives for all of us.” Isakson called the comments “deplorable”.Senator Martha McSally, the Republican appointed to fill McCain’s seat following his death, tweeted: “John McCain is an American hero and I am thankful for his life of service and legacy to our country and Arizona.“Everyone should give him and his family the respect, admiration, and peace they deserve,” she added.Senator Lindsey Graham, one of McCain’s closest friends who has also emerged as a vocal ally of Trump’s, said his comments “hurt him more than they hurt the legacy of Senator McCain”.“I can’t understand why the President would, once again, disparage a man as exemplary as my friend John McCain: heroic, courageous, patriotic, honorable, self-effacing, self-sacrificing, empathetic, and driven by duty to family, country, and God,” the Utah senator Mitt Romney wrote on Twitter.Trump first feuded with McCain during the 2016 campaign, after he mocked the senator for being held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. McCain, who faced re-election in the Senate the same year, declined to endorse Trump even after he became the Republican presidential nominee.McCain continued to speak out against Trump until his death, delivering a speech in which he decried “half-baked, spurious nationalism” in a thinly veiled reference to the president.Trump was not invited to McCain’s funeral last year, which featured speeches by former presidents, including George W Bush and Barack Obama. Trump was not mentioned by name, but a stark contrast was drawn to his brand of politics.McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, later explained the family’s decision to not invite Trump as a means of ensuring the ceremony would be conducted “with dignity”.“Even though it was a very public funeral, we are still a family,” McCain said in an interview with the BBC. “It was important to me that we kept it respectful and calm and not politicize it.”

New Zealand Bans Assault Rifles in Wake of Deadly Attacks

The ban takes immediate effect to prevent stockpiling of firearms while the legislation is being drafted, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters on Thursday. Further changes in gun laws to tighten licensing and increase controls over ammunition will be made in coming months. “I strongly believe that the vast majority of legitimate gun owners in New Zealand will understand that these moves are in the national interest, and will take these changes in their stride,” she said.

Apple's Week of Surprises Continues With Updated AirPods

After it announced surprise updates for the iPad and Mac lineups

Loesch: CNN's gun control townhall was an embarrassing display of bias

CNN townhall on gun control wins award; radio host Dana Loesch on the hostility she faced during the townhall.

Justice Thomas speaks as U.S. top court confronts racial bias in jury selection

U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared poised to side with a black Mississippi death row inmate put on trial six times for a 1996 quadruple murder who accused a prosecutor of repeatedly blocking black potential jurors, though the court's only black member sounded skeptical. Justice Clarence Thomas, who had not posed a question during an oral argument in three years, asked several in the case involving Curtis Flowers, 48, who has argued that his constitutional right to a fair trial was violated. Thomas, an idiosyncratic conservative and only the second African American ever appointed to the court, signaled through his questions he might vote against Flowers, who otherwise drew broad support among the other justices, both liberal and conservative.

The Latest: Minnesota to help Nebraska flood fight

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on Midwest flooding (all times local):

Love it or Hate it?: China Is Studying Russia's New Su-57 Stealth Fighter

The Su-57's overall capability is "not bad at all," Global Times paraphrased Wang as saying.

Trump celebrates free speech after repeatedly attacking war hero John McCain

Donald Trump signed an executive order which will withhold federal funding from colleges and universities that do not permit or protect free speech amidst the president’s own attacks on Senator John McCain, more than six months after his death. During his remarks, Mr Trump invited students from colleges around the country to share their own stories of hindered free speech. One student recalled a time her school stopped her from handing out Valentine’s Day cards with religious messages.

Sanders: ‘We Must Follow New Zealand’s Lead’ on Assault-Rifle Ban

Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) on Thursday praised New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern for immediately banning military-style semi-automatic weapons in response to the Christchurch mosque shootings, and suggested the executive action should serve as a blueprint for the U.S.> This is what real action to stop gun violence looks like. We must follow New Zealand's lead, take on the NRA and ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons in the United States. https://t.co/lSAisDG9Ur> > -- Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 21, 2019The ban, which applies to semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that can be equipped with detachable magazines capable of holding more than five rounds, went into immediate effect Thursday to prevent stockpiling, and legislation codifying it is expected to pass Parliament in the coming days. Once the bill passes, New Zealanders will be granted a buyback period, after which they will be fined and jailed for up to three years if found in possession of a banned weapon.“On 15 March, our history changed forever. Now, our laws will, too,” Ardern said Thursday. “We are announcing action today on behalf of all New Zealanders to strengthen our gun laws and make our country a safer place.”Gun ownership is popular in New Zealand but there is no right to self defense codified in the country's laws.The announcement comes just six days after a 28-year-old Australian man killed 50 people and injured 40 others while rampaging through two mosques in Christchurch. The second shooting, at the Linwood mosque, was interrupted after one congregant retrieved his firearm from his house and returned to confront the attacker.While the exact weapon used in the attack remains unknown, images of the weapon appear to show an AR-15, a widely available semi-automatic rifle.Prior to the attack, the shooter published an extensive manifesto online that was replete with white-nationalist propaganda and mentioned stirring controversy around the U.S. gun-control debate as one motive for the massacre.Sanders, who was criticized by Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Democratic primaries for being too moderate on the issue of gun control, has in recent years embraced the Democratic establishment's insistence on banning assault rifles outright.Senator Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), who has helped lead Democrats' gun-control efforts since the Sandy Hook massacre, also praised Ardern's swift action in a Thursday tweet.> See. It’s not that hard. https://t.co/6nTAYmHjnb> > -- Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 21, 2019

Apple’s $79 AirPods wireless charging case is finally here – buy this $19 case instead

Want to charge your AirPods wirelessly so you never have to fuss with cables and connectors again? Good news, Apple's Wireless Charging Case for AirPods is finally here! You can buy it right now on Apple's website for $79... but you definitely shouldn't. Huh!? Why not!? Because the NeotrixQI Wireless Charging Cover for Apple AirPods slides right over the AirPods case you already have, and it adds wireless charging for just $19. That's $60 less than Apple's new case!Here's all the key info from the product page: * 【WIRELESS CHARGING】: Enjoy Wireless Charging for your AirPods! Place your AirPods into wireless charging case and put it on Qi wireless charger for wireless charging experience. It prepares your AirPods for Apple AirPower wireless charger. * 【FULL PROTECTION】: The AirPods original case perfectly fits into the wireless charging case. It can be used as protective case and protects your AirPods from scratch and dirt. Hard plastic made not like silicon material and it doesn't collect dust and lint. * 【COMPATIBILITY】: The case and AirPods will continue to work just like normal. You'll still have access to the sync button. Works with all Qi standard wireless chargers. It can share with the same wireless charger for your iPhone8/X. * 【SAFE CHARGING】: Eliminate safety concerns with overvoltage protection, temperature control, and more, by using highly efficient components and an advanced chipset. * 【WARRANTY】: 12 months defective warranty, 30-days replacement guarantee and friendly customer service.

Give them a break: Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman deserve less anger in admission scandal

Since the college admissions bribery scandal broke, Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman could scarcely be treated worse if they were serial killers.