“Prince Philip, the steadfast but irascible consort to the queen, who worked tirelessly to bolster the monarchy — but was most famous for his barbed gaffes — was celebrated in an intimate funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday.
Just a few dozen members of the royal family were in attendance, all cloaked in black and wearing face masks.
‘Powerful in its simplicity,’ said a royal commentator watching the procession on BBC.
It was the less-grand funeral that Philip himself said he wanted. His coffin was transported via a camouflage green Land Rover that would have looked more at home at the family’s Balmoral Castle in the muddy moors of Scotland.” Read more at Washington Post
Pallbearers carry Philip’s coffin into St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool/AP)
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II sits alone in St. George’s Chapel during the funeral of Prince Philip, the man who had been by her side for 73 years. (Jonathan Brady/AP)
“LONDON — It was an image that broke hearts as it was televised to the world: Dressed all in black, her head bowed, Queen Elizabeth II sat isolated and alone inside the chapel of St. George’s as the royal family gathered under stringent coronavirusrestrictions to say goodbye to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
After 73 years of marriage and a loving union that saw her husband often by her side or two steps behind, the British monarch cut a lonely figure as the coffin entered the venue. To many she appeared vulnerable — perhaps for the first time in a long reign that has frequently seen her hailed as a pillar of strength in the country throughout myriad crises and periods of darkness.
On social media, many said they were heartbroken and deeply saddened at scenes of the monarch sitting by herself during the funeral, while others said the images were a nod to her strength of character — as a woman, wife and queen.
The image of a family forced to gather as a small group to say goodbye to a loved one is a shared experience in the brutality of the coronavirus pandemic: Millions of families around the world have had to honor their loved ones under stringent rules and regulations that are designed to keep people apart.” Read more at Washington Post
“Apologizing ‘for the pain [his] behavior caused’ colleagues, producer Scott Rudin — a titanic force on Broadway and in Hollywood — told The Washington Post on Saturday that he will ‘step back’ from his Broadway ventures. He added that he was ‘taking steps that I should have taken years ago to address this behavior.’
Rudin, 62, producer of such Broadway hits as ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and ‘The Book of Mormon’ and Oscar winners including ‘No Country for Old Men,’ was accused in an April 7 article by the Hollywood Reporter of ‘acts of intimidation’ and humiliation against his employees, going back decades.
The story, in which several people described allegations that have circulated in the entertainment industry for years about Rudin’s bullying and rages, rocked the theater world. In one anecdote, he allegedly smashed a computer monitor on an assistant’s hand over an unsuccessful flight booking, sending the employee to the emergency room. He’s also accused of throwing objects at workers, including a stapler and a baked potato.” Read more at Washington Post
“For three weeks, America has relived the killing of George Floyd during one of the most watched trials in decades. Now, a verdict could come within days.
Closing arguments in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, begin Monday. Here are key moments that shaped the trial.
But even as Americans continue to process it, new cases of people killed by the police have mounted. Since the trial began on March 29, more than three people a day have died at the hands of law enforcement, The Times found.
Among them were Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old boy, whom a Chicago officer chased down an alley and fatally shot, and Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was pulled over for an expired registration. Officers noted an air freshener dangling from his mirror, an apparent violation. Many say it is a low-level offense used as a pretext for traffic stops that selectively target people of color.” Read more at New York Times
“The authorities are still searching for a motive behind the attack on a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis that killed eight people, the third bloody rampage in the U.S. this year.
On Saturday, vigils were held across the city for the victims, who ranged in age from 19 to 74. Four of the eight people killed were from Indiana’s growing Sikh community. The authorities have not said whether hate or bias might have played a role in the attack.
Here’s what we know so far about the suspect: The 19-year-old gunman, a former employee at the site, had previously been reported to the law enforcement authorities by his mother, who warned them last year that her son might attempt ‘suicide by cop.’ He also bought two semiautomatic rifles months after a gun was seized from him over his mental state, officials said.” Read more at New York Times
The global death toll from Covid-19 surpassed 3 million.
The U.S., Brazil and Mexico lead the world in Covid-19 deaths, according to a Times database. Infections globally total more than 140 million. The world did not record one million deaths until Sept. 28, 2020, but there were two million by Jan. 15, less than four months later. And the third million took just three months.
All through the last year, Pacific Rim countries staved off disaster through an array of strict public health measures. Now they are among the slowest in the developed world in vaccinating their residents. The delays risk unwinding their relative successes and postponing economic recoveries.” Read more at New York Times
“The least vaccinated U.S. counties have something in common: Trump voters.
A Times analysis found that willingness to receive a vaccine and actual vaccination rates were both lower, on average, in counties where a majority of residents voted to re-elect Donald Trump as president in 2020. In more rural — and more Republican — areas, health officials said that vaccine supply was far exceeding demand.
More than 127 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. The federal government’s pause on use of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine will most likely last at least until the end of the week as a panel of experts reviews a rare blood clot disorder that appeared in six women.
Here’s what women need to know about getting a coronavirus vaccine.” Read more at New York Times
“Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) defended her efforts to form a pro-Trump caucus in the House of Representatives, saying she would push forward with forming the group but distancing herself from nativist language the group has espoused.
Greene said in a statement that she had not read a staff-written draft from the ‘America First Caucus’ that calls for a ‘common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions.’
‘On Friday, sick and evil POS in the media attacked me with phrases I never said or wrote. They released a staff level draft proposal from an outside group that I hadn’t read. The scum and liars in the media are calling me a racist by taking something out of context,’ Greene tweeted.
‘It’s more proof so-called journalists lie and create false narratives,’ she continued. ‘The media are the ones focused on race & use it to divide the American people with hate through identity politics.’
Greene’s response comes after a wave rebukes from both Democrats and Republicans over the caucus. Beyond reproaches from Democrats calling the group racist, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said any lawmaker who joins should be stripped of their committees, and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), a member of the hard-line Freedom Caucus, called the group ‘hateful.’” Read more at The Hill
“Michael Ellis, a former Republican political operative, resigned Friday as the National Security Agency’s top lawyer, having been sidelined for three months after President Biden took office.
The NSA director, Gen. Paul Nakasone, had placed Ellis on administrative leave the day President Donald Trump left the White House — just as Ellis was taking up the position. The reasons: a pending Pentagon inspector general probe, an official told The Washington Post at the time, and a security inquiry into Ellis’s handling of classified information, according to a letter from Ellis’s attorney to Nakasone, a copy of which was obtained by The Post.
Nakasone had agreed to install Ellis as general counsel just days earlier under orders from Trump’s acting defense secretary. The role does not require Senate confirmation.
The inspector general inquiry into the circumstances of Ellis’s selection remains open, Nakasone told Congress on Thursday.” Read more at New York Times
“WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden's recently announced commission to study the Supreme Court is facing political headwinds before it convenes its first meeting, underscoring the challenge advocates for change have faced for years.
Dismissed by some on the right as an effort to ‘pack the court’ with additional justices, the 36-member group is also already drawing fire from some quarters on the left for its composition of academics, limited mandate and six-month timeline to finish its work….
One of the central questions to be studied by the commission – whether to grow the size of the court – was dealt a political blow Thursday when progressives proposed legislation to increase the court to 13 justices. Republicans and conservative groups erupted and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quickly undercut the effort by announcing she had no intention of bringing the bill to the floor for a vote – at least for now.
Then-candidate Biden promised to name the commission as President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans rushed to confirm Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett before the election, giving conservatives a 6-3 edge at the court for the first time since the 1930s. At the time, Biden said he was ‘not a fan’ of adding to the nine-member bench.
Biden followed through last week, signing an executive order that tasks the commission with studying the ‘merits and legality of particular reform proposals.’ The president didn't speak about the group and the White House has so far declined to say when the commission will hold its first meeting, which starts the clock on its six-month deadline….
But while expanding the court is controversial, there has been bipartisan support for some other changes to the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court, in the past. Some of those ideas have been deeply intertwined with constitutional debates since the nation's founding.” Read more at USA Today
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