Unbiased headline news for Wednesday March 27, 2024 – The Kenyan government has begun returning 429 bodies of individuals who were members of a doomsday cult at the center of a legal case that has caused shock throughout the nation.

The exhumed bodies from a vast rural area in coastal Kenya have displayed signs of starvation and strangulation. The cult’s leader, Paul Mackenzie, stands accused of instructing his followers to starve themselves to death in order to meet Jesus, and now faces charges that include murder.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, which Israel’s closest ally, the United States, opted not to block. He stated that the resolution had emboldened Hamas and vowed to continue pressing forward with the war.

As the conflict grinds through its sixth month, both Israel and Hamas have rejected international cease-fire efforts, each insisting that their version of victory is within reach. The passage of the U.N. resolution has also heightened tensions between the U.S. and Israel over the conduct of the war.

Despite vehement denials of involvement from Kyiv and a claim of responsibility by an affiliate of the Islamic State group, Russian officials persist in stating that Ukraine and the West had a role in last week’s deadly Moscow concert hall attack.

Without offering any evidence, Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, echoed similar allegations by President Vladimir Putin, who linked the attack to Ukraine even as he acknowledged that the suspects who were arrested were “radical Islamists.”

Venezuela’s main opposition coalition has stated that the country’s government has allowed them to register a provisional candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

The coalition, the Unitary Democratic Platform, said they have temporarily enlisted former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia as their candidate as a way to “preserve the exercise of the political rights that correspond to our political organization” until they are able to register another candidate.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Tuesday that he has chosen lawyer Nicole Shanahan as his running mate.

Speaking to cheering supporters inside the vast auditorium of an Oakland convention center, Kennedy spent several minutes teasing his choice, speaking about Shanahan without naming her. “I wanted a vice president who shared my passion for wholesome, healthy foods, chemical-free; for regenerative agriculture; for good soils,” the former environmental lawyer said.

The House Ethics Committee has stated that it is investigating Representative Troy Nehls, a Republican from Texas.

The committee did not specify what it is investigating and said it will make another announcement on the matter by May 10th. The issue was first flagged to the committee by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics in December. Nehls stressed his cooperation and transparency.

Visa and Mastercard have announced a major settlement with U.S. merchants, potentially ending nearly two decades of litigation over the fees charged every time a credit or debit card is used in a store or restaurant.

The deal would lower and cap the fees charged by Visa and Mastercard and allow small businesses to collectively bargain for rates with the payment processors in a similar way that the large merchants do on their own now.

Amid outcry from some of their top talent, NBC News is dropping former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel as a contributor, according to a network memo.

“There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group. After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” Cesar Conde, the NBCU News Group chairman, wrote.

By