“President Biden has decided to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 20 years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon launched the country into its longest war, United States officials said Tuesday.
The decision will keep more than 3,000 American troops on the ground in Afghanistan beyond the May 1 withdrawal deadline announced by the administration of former President Donald J. Trump.
But it signals what Mr. Biden plans to present as a definitive end to America’s ‘Forever War.’
Administration officials said that since Mr. Biden was fixing a definite date on an American troop withdrawal, he hoped to avoid an increase in violence — which the Taliban have threatened if the United States kept troops beyond May 1.” Read more at New York Times
Data: CRS, Library of Congress and National Archives. Chart: Axios Visuals
“Although the unconditional withdrawal represents a departure from the nation-building policy adopted by Biden’s predecessors, it doesn’t signal a broader retrenchment in U.S. ambitions, at least where spending is concerned. Last Friday, the White House announced its $715 billion budget proposal for 2021, effectively maintaining the increased Trump defense budget and assuring that the U.S. still spends roughly the same on defense as the next 10 highest spending countries combined.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Injections of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose coronavirus vaccine came to a sudden halt in much of the United States on Tuesday after federal health agencies called for a pause in the vaccine’s use following the emergence of a rare blood clotting in six recipients within one to three weeks of vaccination. The virus is also surging in some parts of the U.S.” Read more at New York Times
“Following the U.S. determination, South Africa has also halted use of the vaccine, despite the fact that it’s the only one available in the country, and Johnson & Johnson has said it’s delaying its vaccine rollout across Europe, just as several European countries, including Spain and Belgium, were set to start administering it later this week. Brazil, Canada, Chile, and New Zealand, among other countries, have also signed deals to procure large quantities of the vaccine, though many have yet to arrive due to supply bottlenecks.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — Officer Kimberly A. Potter was in the midst of a routine training day on Sunday, demonstrating her decades of policing know-how to less experienced officers in the Brooklyn Center Police Department.
But that training came to an abrupt and horrifying end when Officer Potter, who is white, shot Daunte Wright, a Black 20-year-old man, in his car as he tried to avoid arrest. Body camera video shows that the officer shouted ‘Taser!’ while pointing a handgun at Mr. Wright, who was unarmed; she then fired a single round into his chest, killing him, in what the authorities in Minnesota have described as a deadly mistake.
With protests unfolding each night in Brooklyn Center, Officer Potter, a veteran officer of 26 years, and Tim Gannon, the department’s police chief, both resigned their posts on Tuesday. The abrupt departures came a day after the city manager who oversaw the department was fired, and as the city of 30,000 residents remained boarded up; National Guard troops stood with guns outside of the city’s police station, which has been the center of nightly clashes.
Outside of Officer Potter’s home in another Minneapolis suburb on Tuesday morning, police officers looked on as workers placed concrete barriers and black metal fencing all around the home, fortifying it in a fashion similar to the courthouse in downtown Minneapolis, where Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis officer who had trained younger officers, is on trial in the death of George Floyd.
Officer Potter, with her decades on the force, was acting as a training officer, assigned to guide less experienced colleagues on Sunday night, a spokeswoman for the police union that represents her said, when Mr. Wright was pulled over for an expired registration on his car.
The union that represents Officer Potter declined to comment on the events that followed, and her lawyer, Earl Gray, said that she did not wish to talk. City officials did not respond to requests for her employment records.
In 1995, she was first licensed as a police officer in Minnesota and took a job with the Brooklyn Center police. Officer Potter, 48, was the president of the police union in recent years, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.” Read more at New York Times
“A police officer approached a car with George Floyd in the front seat, and Mr. Floyd started to panic. While officers ordered him to spit out a pill he was trying to swallow, he repeatedly begged them not to shoot him.
Within seconds, one of the officers had his gun drawn and Mr. Floyd was being pulled out of the car and handcuffed.
The body-worn camera video of that scene was shown for the first time on Tuesday to jurors in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with murdering Mr. Floyd. The episode was strikingly similar to the day Mr. Floyd died. But it had been taken a year before.
As the defense began its case after 11 days of testimony against Mr. Chauvin, the video was the first exhibit introduced and signaled a key strategy: shifting the jurors’ focus to Mr. Floyd’s use of illicit drugs.
Mr. Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric J. Nelson, presented the video of the May 2019 arrest and questioned the paramedic who treated Mr. Floyd that day. He asked a woman who was with him the day he died about how Mr. Floyd fell asleep in the car and was difficult to rouse. He reviewed the signs of excited delirium, a condition often attributed to using stimulants.
Other planks of the defense emerged as well, including suggestions that the bystanders who tried to intervene were threatening and that Mr. Chauvin’s behavior was reasonable in the circumstances.” Read more at New York Times
“The Capitol Police had clearer advance warnings about the Jan. 6 attack than were previously known, including the potential for violence in which ‘Congress itself is the target.’ But officers were instructed by their leaders not to use their most aggressive tactics to hold off the mob, according to a scathing new report by the agency’s internal investigator.
In a 104-page document, the inspector general, Michael A. Bolton, criticized the way the Capitol Police prepared for and responded to the mob violence on Jan. 6. The report was reviewed by The New York Times and will be the subject of a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday.
Mr. Bolton found that the agency’s leaders failed to adequately prepare despite explicit warnings that pro-Trump extremists posed a threat to law enforcement and civilians and that the police used defective protective equipment. He also found that the leaders ordered their Civil Disturbance Unit to refrain from using its most powerful crowd-control tools — like stun grenades — to put down the onslaught.
The report offers the most devastating account to date of the lapses and miscalculations around the most violent attack on the Capitol in two centuries.” Read more at New York Times
“Officer William Evans, who died after a car rammed into him outside the Capitol this month, lay in honor in the Rotunda.” Read more at New York Times
“The Senate will vote on whether to open up debate on an anti-Asian American hate bill drafted by Democratic lawmakers Wednesday. The bill, named the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, would expedite the Department of Justice's review of hate crimes as the Asian American community has seen an uptick in incidents during the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically it would task the DOJ with coordinating with local law enforcement groups and community-based organizations to facilitate and raise awareness about hate crime reporting. However, Democrats may be facing an uphill battle, with 60 votes required to bring the bill to a full vote for passage in the Senate. Democrats hold a slim 50-seat majority, and might be facing a filibuster if not enough Republicans back the legislation.” Read more at USA Today
“A Florida politician at the center of an investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz has provided federal law enforcement with information about the congressman’s activities as he seeks a plea deal to resolve his own legal woes, offering prosecutors potentially important testimony as they build a case against a higher-profile target, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector for Seminole County, Fla., has since last year been outlining to prosecutors how he and Gaetz would pay women for sex using cash or gifts in potential violation of federal trafficking laws, this person said on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal probe.
Greenberg faces a 33-count indictment that includes a charge of sex trafficking of a child, and his attorney and a prosecutor in the case said at a court hearing last week that he was likely to plead guilty. If he decides to testify against Gaetz (R-Fla.), Greenberg could help prosecutors explain various financial transactions that have drawn attention to the congressman’s conduct — though Greenberg also would be likely to face significant questions about his credibility.” Read more at Washington Post
“Florida plans to permanently close the reservoir system of an old phosphate plant where a breach prompted the release of millions of gallons of wastewater into Tampa Bay and threatened wider destruction.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday that the long, troubled history of the Piney Point phosphate plant, which is south of Tampa and no longer operating, called for a permanent solution. Past incidents at the facility include leaks and emergency discharges, according to officials and environmental groups.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The United States and NATO, anxious about a major Russian troop buildup on Ukraine’s border, signaled strong support for the Kyiv government Tuesday.
And in what was considered another message to Moscow, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in Germany that the United States would increase its military presence there by about 500 personnel and that it was scuttling plans introduced under President Trump for a large troop reduction in Europe.
The moves come as US and European officials have grown increasingly concerned about Moscow’s deployment of additional troops near the Ukraine border, more than at any time since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, in violation of international law. Since then, Russian troops have been engaged in fomenting a separatist movement in Eastern Ukraine and consolidating their hold on Crimea.” Read more at Boston Globe
“Iran said Tuesday that it would begin enriching uranium to a level of 60 percent purity, three times the current level and much closer to that needed to make a bomb, though American officials doubt the country has the ability to produce a weapon in the near future.
Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, did not give a reason for the shift, but it appeared to be retaliation for an Israeli attack on Iran’s primary nuclear fuel production plant as well as a move to strengthen Iran’s hand in nuclear talks in Vienna.” Read more at Boston Globe
“Biden backs UAE arms sale. The Biden administration has decided to follow through on the sale of $23 billion worth of military equipment to the United Arab Emirates, HuffPost reported on Tuesday. The sale—which includes 50 F-35 fighter jets—had been finalized in the final hours of the Trump administration and was paused for review in the first weeks of Biden’s term. An attempt to block the sale in the Senate was defeated by a 49-47 vote in December. A White House review of U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia is still ongoing.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Japan will start releasing one million tons of radioactive water held currently in Fukushima storage tanks in three years. The water will be released into the Pacific Ocean, angering China, whose representatives are calling the move ‘extremely irresponsible’ and South Korea. [Vox] Read more at Reuters / Yuka Obayashi and Aaron Sheldrick
“Biden sends an unofficial delegation to Taiwan. A former senator and two former U.S. deputy secretaries of state will arrive today to meet the country's president, as China ramps up military intimidation of the self-ruling island.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“If you want to be among the early recipients of a Covid-19 vaccine in Venezuela, you will probably need a state loyalty card. Nicolas Maduro’s administration is restricting shots to those holding the Carnet de la Patria, as it has previously for access to food programs, fuel subsidies and welfare payments. Critics say the practice will prevent many government opponents getting inoculated.” Read more at Bloomberg
“At first glance, the partisan battle over voting rights in Michigan appears similar to that of many other states: The Republican-led Legislature, spurred by former President Donald J. Trump’s lies about election fraud, has introduced a rash of proposals to restrict voting access, angering Democrats, who are fighting back.
But plenty of twists and turns are looming as Michigan’s State Senate prepares to hold hearings on a package of voting bills beginning Wednesday. Unlike Georgia, Florida and Texas, which have also moved to limit voting access, Michigan has a Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who said last month she would veto any bill imposing new restrictions. But unlike in other states with divided governments, Michigan’s Constitution offers Republicans a rarely used option for circumventing Ms. Whitmer’s veto.
Last month, the state’s Republican chairman told activists that he aimed to do just that — usher new voting restrictions into law using a voter-driven petition process that would bypass the governor’s veto pen.
In response, Michigan Democrats and voting rights activists are contemplating a competing petition drive, while also scrambling to round up corporate opposition to the bills; they are hoping to avoid a replay of what happened in Georgia, where the state’s leading businesses didn’t weigh in against new voting rules until after they were signed into law.” Read more at New York Times
“Amazon, BlackRock, Google, Warren Buffett and hundreds of other companies and executives signed on to a new statement released on Wednesday opposing “any discriminatory legislation” that would make it harder for people to vote.
It was the biggest show of solidarity so far by the business community as companies around the country try to navigate the partisan uproar over Republican efforts to enact new election rules in almost every state. Senior Republicans, including former President Donald J. Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, have called for companies to stay out of politics.
The statement was organized in recent days by Kenneth Chenault, a former chief executive of American Express, and Kenneth Frazier, the chief executive of Merck. A copy will appear on Wednesday in advertisements in The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Last month, with only a few big companies voicing opposition to a restrictive new voting law in Georgia, Mr. Chenault and Mr. Frazier led a group of Black executives in calling on companies to get more involved in opposing similar legislation around the country.” Read more at New York Times
“A US appeals court has upheld an Ohio law that prohibits abortions because of fetal Down syndrome. The ruling challenges precedents set by the Supreme Court and potentially sets up new battles in similar cases nationwide. Unlike other recent court decisions on abortion that mainly focused on regulation of or access to the procedure, this decision involves a woman's reason for seeking the procedure and what she might tell her physician. Since the current Supreme Court has a conservative majority, it may be more likely to uphold the decision if called upon to resolve the issue.” Read more at CNN
“The N.C.A.A. on Monday released a statement in response to the mounting number of bills in state legislatures aimed at barring transgender athletes — mainly women and girls — from competing in sports divisions that match their gender identity, saying that it was “committed to ensuring that N.C.A.A. championships are open for all who earn the right to compete in them.”
But the organization, which has been under pressure from L.G.B.T.Q. rights advocates, major league leaders and its own athletes, stopped short of saying that it would pull championships from states considering such legislation. The N.C.A.A., presided over by Mark Emmert, took that action in 2016 after North Carolina passed a law that restricted restroom access for transgender individuals.” Read more at New York Times
“A man connected to the 1996 disappearance of college student Kristin Smart was arrested on a murder charge Tuesday, according to California authorities.
At a press conference Tuesday San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson announced that Paul Flores was arrested and charged with one count of murder in connection with Smart's disappearance.
Flores, 44, was arrested in San Pedro, California, in Los Angeles County and transported to San Luis Obispo County, Parkinson said.
Paul Flores' bail is set at ‘zero,’ which means he is not currently eligible for bail, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said at a Tuesday press conference.
Kristin Smart, who in 1996 was a 19-year-old student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, disappeared after going to a party. Flores, who was Smart's friend, reportedly walked her home from the party.
Smart was never found and declared dead in 2002.
Paul Flores' bail is set at "zero," which means he is not currently eligible for bail, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said at a Tuesday press conference.
Kristin Smart, who in 1996 was a 19-year-old student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, disappeared after going to a party. Flores, who was Smart's friend, reportedly walked her home from the party.
Smart was never found and declared dead in 2002.
Flores' father, Ruben Flores, 80, was also arrested on Tuesday. The elder Flores was charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact and bail was set at $250,000.” Read more at NBC News
“Months after publicly admonishing President Donald Trump for his role in stoking the Capital insurrection, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley now says she’ll talk to Trump about his plans for 2024 and support him if he runs for office again.” [Vox] Read more at Associated Press / Meg Kinnard
“It was significant that Stephen Curry had 53 points on Monday night. It was significant that Golden State won the game at home, over a tough Denver Nuggets squad, as it fights for a playoff spot.
But long after the single-game scoring outburst and this year’s playoff race are forgotten, the night will be remembered as the one when Curry passed Wilt Chamberlain as the Warriors’ career scoring leader. His postgame total of 17,818 surpassed Chamberlain’s 17,783. Rick Barry, Paul Arizin and Chris Mullin trail them.
Curry was 10 for 18 on 3-pointers, 4 for 6 on 2-pointers and 15 for 16 on free throws.” Read more at New York Times
Major of the minor nips. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
“President Biden’s three-year-old German shepherd, Major, will be receiving more training following a second biting incident involving a White House worker late last month. Major ‘will undergo some additional training to help him adjust to life in the White House,’ Michael LaRosa, spokesman for First Lady Jill Biden, said in a statement Monday. ‘The off-site, private training will take place in the Washington, D.C., area, and it is expected to last a few weeks.’
The Bidens’ youngest dog, which they adopted from the Delaware Humane Society, nipped a Secret Service agent’s hand in early March, resulting in what White House officials described as a ‘minor’ injury. After a brief hiatus for Major and the Bidens’ elder German shepherd, 12-year-old Champ, back at the their home in Delaware, the dogs returned to the White House — but Major soon nipped again. This time, it was a National Park Service employee who had been walking him — on a leash, since Major had lost his White House roam-free privileges — on the South Lawn.” Read more at New York Magazine
Undated photo issued Monday April 12, 2021, by West Mercia Police, showing the world's biggest rabbit, Darius, who has been stolen from it's home in Worcestershire, police have said. West Mercia Police are appealing for information after the 129 centimeters (4 feet, 3 inches) long Continental Giant rabbit named Darius was taken from its enclosure in the garden of the property in Stoulton, England, overnight on Saturday. (West Mercia Police via AP)
LONDON (AP) — “Police say one of the world’s biggest bunnies has been stolen from its home in central England.
Darius, a Continental Giant rabbit, disappeared from his enclosure in a backyard in the village of Stoulton over the weekend, the West Mercia Police force said. They did not elaborate on why they thought it was a theft instead of an escape.
The force appealed for any information about or sightings of Darius, who is gray-brown and 129 centimeters (4 feet, 3 inches) long at full stretch. He holds the Guinness World Records citation for the world’s longest rabbit. Rabbits of his type are known to weigh about 15 to 20 pounds (7 to 9 kilograms).” Read more at AP
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