Latest Stories

  • Ted Cruz's Tweet About California Energy Shortages Comes Back To Haunt Him

    The Texas senator blasted California's electricity policy when that state faced blackouts last year, but now his own state is in the same boat.

  • 'Fox & Friends' Tells Big Fat Lie About 'Spontaneous' Trump Rally

    Fox News' Pete Hegseth echoed the false claims of Sean Hannity and Donald Trump Jr. about turnout for the ex-president's President's Day motorcade.

  • Central African Republic: War crimes trial of two ex-militia leaders starts

    Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona denies leading attacks on Muslims in the Central African Republic (CAR).

  • Russian ex-journalist accused of treason says he doesn't know his alleged crime

    A former Russian newspaper journalist accused of treason says state investigators have still not told him exactly what his alleged crime was, over six months after his arrest. Ivan Safronov, 30, covered military affairs as a reporter before starting work at Russia's space agency last May. He was detained last July and is being held in prison, accused of passing military secrets to the Czech Republic. Safronov, whose treatment has provoked an outcry among some Russian journalists, faces up to 20 years in jail.

  • Suspected Israeli settlers vandalize Palestinian cars

    Suspected Israeli settlers vandalized several vehicles belonging to Palestinian workers in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday in broad daylight in an incident caught by security cameras. It appeared to be the latest in a series of so-called “price tag” attacks, in which hard-line Israeli nationalists attack Palestinians and vandalize their property in response to Palestinian militant attacks or perceived efforts by Israeli authorities to limit settlement activity. Footage carried by Israeli public broadcaster Kan appeared to show around 10 people, all wearing hoods and masks, puncturing the tires and smashing the windows of parked cars near the West Bank settlement of Shiloh.

  • Man Follows, Racially Harasses NYC Photographer and 'No One Stepped in to Help'

    Ming, one half of the New York-based photographer duo The Bing Buzz, was walking in Astoria, Queens on Feb. 9 when she suddenly heard a boom, according to the pair's YouTube video posted on Feb. 11. After the second explosion, firefighters began evacuating people from the nearby buildings due to potentially high carbon monoxide levels. As Ming started to leave the area, a man approached her.

  • Disha Ravi: India activist arrest decried as 'attack on democracy'

    The arrest of Disha Ravi, 22, over a document intended to help farmers has sparked widespread outrage.

  • Two plead guilty in trial of nine Hong Kong democracy activists charged with illegal assembly

    Two Hong Kong pro-democracy activists pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges related to an illegal assembly during mass anti-government protests in August 2019, while seven others, including media tycoon Jimmy Lai, pleaded not guilty. The 2019 protests, fuelled by a perception Beijing was curbing the wide-ranging freedoms promised to the former British colony upon its return to Chinese rule in 1997, plunged the semi-autonomous city into its biggest crisis since the handover. Former pro-democracy politician and activist Au Nok-hin pleaded guilty to organising and knowingly taking part in an unauthorised assembly, while Leung Yiu-chung, another activist, pleaded guilty to participating in an illegal assembly.

  • Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny back in court

    Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, was jailed this month for almost three years for parole violations he said were trumped up. The West has condemned the case and is discussing possible sanctions on Russia.In the slander case, Navalny stands accused of defaming a World War Two veteran who took part in a promotional video backing constitutional reforms last year that let Putin run for two more terms in the Kremlin after 2024 if he wants.Navalny described the people in the video as traitors and corrupt lackeys. He accuses authorities of using the slander charges to smear his reputation.

  • Hamas court says women need guardian's approval to travel

    A Hamas-run Islamic court in the Gaza Strip has ruled that women require the permission of a male guardian to travel, further restricting movement in and out of the territory that has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt since the militant group seized power. The rollback in women's rights could spark a backlash in Gaza at a time when the Palestinians plan to hold elections later this year.

  • Can We Finally Kiss This 'Star Wars' Debate Goodbye?

    "The Last Jedi" director is reportedly into that Rey-mance.

  • These Kitchen Gadgets Make Cooking Look Good

    We've rounded up seven of the best-designed small kitchen appliances to grace your countertopsOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • Axios Deletes Tweet Scrutinizing VP’s ‘Starting from Scratch’ Vaccine Claim

    Axios deleted a tweet scrutinizing a claim from Kamala Harris that the Biden administration was “starting from scratch” on COVID-19 vaccinations, and has yet to explain the decision despite promising in January to “take responsibility for all content that appears on our public platforms.” The initial tweet, which highlighted an interview between Harris and Axios co-founder Mike Allen that aired Sunday on HBO, contrasted Harris’s claims with Dr. Anthony Fauci’s. “There was no national strategy or plan for vaccinations. We were leaving it to the states and local leaders to try and figure it out,” Harris said. “And so in many ways, we’re starting from scratch on something that’s been raging for almost an entire year.” Fauci said during a January White House press briefing that “we certainly are not starting from scratch because there is activity going on in the distribution.” Multiple current and former staffers with Operation Warp Speed confirmed Fauci’s account, telling National Review that the Trump administration coordinated with the CDC and local leaders to developed 64 regional rollout plans and gave the Biden transition team over 300 HHS meetings. .@VP told @mikeallen that “there was no national strategy or plan for vaccinations” and that Biden admin was “starting from scratch.” That’s wrong. The Trump admin had a plan to distribute to locations chosen by states and let them take it from there. https://t.co/0MoQ8OnpoN pic.twitter.com/nYb8r5gPKz — PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) February 15, 2021 But the Axios tweet, published Sunday night with the January line from Fauci, was later deleted without explanation. The outlet left up a later tweet of the exchange, without the Fauci context, and also tweeted out a link to Allen’s story, which does not mention the Fauci statement, on Monday. Why did Axios delete this tweet? pic.twitter.com/94HNrOIgrW — Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) February 15, 2021 .@VP Harris: "There was no national strategy or plan for vaccinations. … We're starting from scratch."@mikeallen: Are you having to adjust your sights now of what’s possible, given that?@VP: "We've gotta figure out a way. … No patience for, 'It can't be done.'" #AxiosOnHBO pic.twitter.com/opif5rjg96 — Axios (@axios) February 15, 2021 Axios did not return multiple requests for comment on why the tweet was deleted, and whether the White House reached out to complain about its framing. In January, the outlet published its “Bill of Rights,” which includes a promise to “take responsibility for all content that appears on our public platforms, putting the pressure on us to provide the highest level of scrutiny.” In recent weeks, Axios has come under scrutiny after it was revealed that one of its reporters, Alexi McCammond — who previously covered the Biden campaign — was dating Biden press flack TJ Ducklo. Though Axios promised in January that perceived conflicts of interest “will be disclosed at the bottom of the story,” McCammond’s work covering the Biden transition did not receive any editor’s notes. An Axios spokesperson initially told Politico that McCammond had been taken off the Biden beat, only to later clarify that McCammond had “taken a backseat” on Biden coverage. McCammond was reassigned to cover progressives in Congress and Vice President Harris after revealing her relationship to Axios leadership in November. “TJ has not been a source for any story I’ve worked on or in any capacity since we began dating,” McCammond told People for a glowing profile of their relationship. On Saturday, Ducklo resigned from his role as deputy White House press secretary after threatening and demeaning Politico reporter Tara Palmeri for covering his relationship as a potential conflict-of-interest. “I will destroy you,” Ducklo reportedly told Palmeri, one day before President Biden told political appointees at a virtual swearing-in ceremony that “if you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I will fire you on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts.” After the story of the altercation broke, Ducklo was initially suspended for one week without pay — a decision White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she arrived at with chief of staff Ron Klain, but not Biden.

  • Two dead from carbon monoxide poisoning after using car for heat in Texas storm

    Houston police said the victims were a woman and a girl. Two others, including a boy, were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

  • Biden to pitch stimulus bill in Wisconsin, U.S. state hard hit by pandemic

    U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Wisconsin on Tuesday to press his case for a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill in the political battleground state that helped secure his victory in last year's presidential election. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said last week that Biden would do a CNN town hall with voters while visiting the state, hard hit by the pandemic and its economic fallout. Biden has traveled to his home state of Delaware and to the Camp David presidential retreat since taking office on Jan. 20, but the trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin's largest city, is his first on official business since becoming commander-in-chief.

  • Rain triggers landslide in Indonesia; 10 dead, 9 missing

    Torrential rains triggered a landslide on Indonesia’s main island of Java that killed at least 10 people, with rescuers digging desperately with their bare hands and farm tools on Monday to locate nine missing people, including four children, officials said. Dozens of soldiers, police and volunteers took part in the search in the village of Selopuro in East Java’s Nganjuk district, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Raditya Jati said. Rescuers on Monday found bodies buried under as much as 6 meters (10 feet) of mud and were searching for the nine people still missing, Nganjuk district chief Novi Rahman Hidayat said.

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for armed troops to be placed in schools on Parkland anniversary

    The National Guard was in Washington DC in response to the attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters

  • The Times Corrects the Record on Officer Sicknick’s Death, Sort Of

    A few days ago, the New York Times quietly “updated” its report, published over a month earlier, asserting that Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick had been killed by being struck with a fire extinguisher during the January 6 riot. According to the update, “new information has emerged regarding the death of the Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick that questions the initial cause of his death provided by officials close to the Capitol Police.” As I detailed in a column last week, what the Times calls “new information” actually began emerging the same day the paper filed its January 8 report. That report was (and still is) entitled, “Capitol Police Officer Dies from Injuries in Pro-Trump Rampage.” It was not the only such Times report from that day. There was another, entitled, “He Dreamed of Being a Police Officer, Then Was Killed by a Pro-Trump Mob,” in which the Times asserted: On Wednesday, pro-Trump supporters attacked that citadel of democracy [i.e., the Capitol], overpowered Mr. Sicknick, 42, and struck him in the head with a fire extinguisher, according to two law enforcement officials. With a bloody gash in his head, Mr. Sicknick was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support. He died on Thursday evening. Yet, as early as the morning of January 8, KHOU in Houston reported that Sicknick had died from a stroke. The KHOU story made no mention of the officer’s being struck by a fire extinguisher. It did claim, however, that the stroke occurred “at the Capitol during riots,” and a caption under the officer’s photograph stated that he died “of injuries sustained during the riot at the Capitol.” The headline of the KHOU story attributes the conclusion that a stroke was the cause of death to the head of the Capitol Police union, Gus Papathanasiou. The body of the story identified Papathanasiou as its source for what turned out to be the erroneous report that Sicknick had passed away during the day on Thursday (the day after the riot); in fact, he was still on life support at the time and was pronounced dead late Thursday night. My aforementioned column noted that Fox News’s Tucker Carlson (relying on a report from the website Revolver News) had just reported that Sicknick was not taken to the hospital directly from the Capitol. To the contrary, not only had the officer made it back to police headquarters; he had texted his brother hours after the siege, stating that although he had been “pepper sprayed twice,” he was “in good shape.” Moreover, Carlson pointed to a CNN report on February 2, to the effect that, according to unidentified law-enforcement officials, medical examiners had found no evidence of blunt-force trauma on Sicknick’s body and concluded the fire extinguisher account was not true. To be clear, my purpose in focusing on this story has not been to break news, much less to claim credit for the Times’ implicit acknowledgement that its original stories were wrong. In addition to Tucker Carlson, Revolver News, and KHOU, Julie Kelly of American Greatness was also on this before I was — and has emphasized that I was duped. I have focused on the story for two reasons. First, I am one of the analysts who uncritically relied on the Times’ initial reporting, deducing from it the conclusion that Sicknick had been “murdered” by the rioters — not a long logical leap if you credit the assertion that a police officer was bashed over the head with a lethal object by rioters who were intentionally and forcibly confronting security forces. Julie Kelly took me to task again yesterday for having “regurgitated” the “narrative that Sicknick was murdered,” which I certainly did do — although I am not, as she describes, a political pundit of the “NeverTrump Right.” Because I repeated a very serious allegation that had not been supported by credible evidence from identifiable sources, I thought it was important to make clear, to the extent it is in my power to do so, that there is now immense reason to doubt the original reporting — while confessing (with a link to the column in which I included the “murder” allegation) that I was as guilty as any other analyst or reporter who amplified the dubious account. Second, and more significantly, the death of Officer Sicknick became a building block for the House’s impeachment of former President Trump and of the allegations posited by the Democratic House impeachment managers that were publicly filed in their pretrial brief on February 2. By then, there was already substantial reason to question the fire-extinguisher allegation. Prosecutors have an obligation, rooted in due process and professional ethics, to reveal exculpatory evidence. That includes evidence that is inconsistent with the theory of guilt they have posited. Even if Sicknick’s death was causally connected to the rioting, prosecutors would be obligated to correct the record if it did not happen the way they expressly represented that it happened. The House impeachment managers had not done that last week when NR published my column raising that issue, and to this day, although the impeachment trial is now over, we are still in the dark about the circumstances surrounding the officer’s tragic death at age 42. Which brings us back to the original Times report. The “updated” version is, to put it mildly, confusing. At first, it attributes to unidentified “authorities” the claim that Sicknick “died from injuries sustained ‘while physically engaging’ with pro-Trump rioters.” The Times then describes Sicknick as “only the fourth member of the force to be killed in the line of duty since its founding two centuries ago.” That assertion is published as if it were an established fact, with no source. But has it been established that Sicknick was “killed”? Has it been established that he died from injuries sustained while physically engaging with pro-Trump rioters? To my knowledge, it has not. And even the Times implicitly admits that it is unsure of what it is saying. A few paragraphs later, the same report now states: The circumstances surrounding Mr. Sicknick’s death were not immediately clear, and the Capitol Police said only that he had “passed away due to injuries sustained while on duty.” This seems very lawyered. “Sustained while on duty” is not the same as a “sustained ‘while physically engaging’ with pro-Trump rioters.” The Times goes on to acknowledge that “law enforcement officials initially said Mr. Sicknick was struck with a fire extinguisher” but that “weeks later, police sources and investigators were at odds over whether he was hit,” and that “one law enforcement official” (unidentified, of course) says that “medical experts have said [Sicknick] did not die of blunt force trauma.” The latest Capitol Police version of events seems to be, “He returned to his division office and collapsed. . . . He was taken to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.” What injuries? We’re not told. Although the Times further concedes that it is “unclear where Mr. Sicknick’s encounter with rioters took place,” the paper weirdly adds that “photos and videos posted by a local reporter during the night of chaos showed a man spraying a fire extinguisher outside the Senate chamber, with a small number of police officers overlooking the area on a nearby stairway.” Okay, but so what? The Times does not say these officers included Sicknick, and the paper’s original claim — which became the House impeachment managers’ formal allegation — was that Sicknick had been hit in the head with a fire extinguisher. In light of the way the Times has already confused matters, to the point of having to provide a not-very-edifying “update,” why speculate that the cited photos and videos are relevant to Sicknick’s death? Meantime, the word “stroke” does not appear in the Times’ updated story. So is the paper discounting the report that Sicknick died of a stroke, even though that assertion was attributed to a named person presumably in a position to know — the head of the Capitol Police union? And what is the basis for the Times’ continued claim that Sicknick died from injuries sustained while physically engaging with pro-Trump rioters? Of course, it is entirely possible — perhaps even probable — that this is true. But without an autopsy report, and with indications that Sicknick was able to get back to his office from the siege, later told his brother he was in good shape despite being pepper-sprayed, and bore no signs of blunt-force trauma, why maintain this assertion? After all, the Times has updated its story because the story, as originally published, was misleading. And the Democratic House managers — after resting their allegation solely on the Times’ dubious fire-extinguisher claim — essentially steered clear of the circumstances surrounding Sicknick’s death during their impeachment trial presentation. Irrespective of whether impeachment had ever been pursued, it is vital that we have an accurate accounting of what happened on January 6, including an accurate accounting of what happened to Officer Brian Sicknick. And since impeachment was pursued, we are also owed an explanation of why the House managers did not clarify the circumstances of Sicknick’s death after making an explosive allegation about how it came to pass.

  • Turkey investigates Dutch politician Wilders over Erdogan comments

    Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation on Tuesday into remarks about President Tayyip Erdogan by Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders, Turkish state media reported. Wilders called Erdogan a terrorist on Twitter on Monday and urged Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to expel the Turkish ambassador to the Netherlands.

  • LAPD, police union outraged by report of Floyd 'Valentine'

    A report that Los Angeles police officers circulated a photo of George Floyd with the words “you take my breath away” in a Valentine-like format has prompted an internal investigation and drawn blistering condemnation from Floyd’s family, the district attorney and the police union. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Saturday that investigators will try to determine how the image may have come into the workplace and who may have been involved, the Los Angeles Times reported. Moore said the officer who made the complaint would be interviewed Monday.