NEWS

Unbiased headline news for Wednesday May 15, 2024 – The Federal Reserve Chairman said “it may take longer than expected” for inflation to be brought under control as he gave no indication of an imminent interest rate reduction. “We did not anticipate this path to be a smooth one,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell remarked at an annual Foreign Bankers’ Association meeting held in Amsterdam. Powell acknowledged that the United States’ inflation figures “were higher than I believe anybody expected” as he maintained that future steps should involve “being patient and allowing restrictive policy to take effect.” — European Union member nations adopted groundbreaking reform of the bloc’s migration and asylum system with new regulations designed to process arrivals in an orderly and efficient manner, standardize procedures, and alleviate pressure on front-line countries. The 10 new laws adopted by a European Council meeting in Brussels include triaging of arrivals at the border, enhanced data collection to inform policy and gain control over migration, a standard asylum procedure for quick initial assessments, and a new mandatory border procedure for well-defined cases. — The Justice Department stated that it is evaluating whether to prosecute aircraft manufacturer Boeing after federal investigators accused the corporation of violating the terms of a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. Federal prosecutors wrote that Boeing “breached its obligations” under the deferred prosecution agreement, in part by allegedly failing to “design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations.” — A group of prominent TikTok users filed a lawsuit against the federal government over a new law that would force the sale of the widely popular video-sharing app. The eight users, who collectively have millions of followers on TikTok, argued that the law signed by President Biden last month violates their First Amendment rights by threatening to shut down a communication medium that has become a prevalent part of American life. — Multiple individuals lost their lives, including a woman who was nine months pregnant, after severe storms swept through the South, according to officials. Three people were killed in Louisiana — including the pregnant woman and her unborn child — due to severe weather on Monday, officials said. The pregnant woman was killed when a tree fell on her mobile home in Port Allen in West Baton Rouge Parish, the Louisiana Department of Health stated. — Eight individuals were killed when a bus carrying approximately 53 farmworkers was struck by a truck and overturned on West Highway 40 in central Florida, according to state officials. The truck driver, Bryan Maclean Howard, was arrested on eight counts of driving under the influence-manslaughter, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Thirty-eight people were injured, eight of whom are in critical condition and 30 who have non-life-threatening injuries, according to Marion County Fire Rescue. — A Maryland woman accused of plotting to carry out attacks on multiple energy substations surrounding Baltimore pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and firearms charges, court records show. Sarah Beth Clendaniel, of Catonsville, was charged last year with conspiring with a Florida-based founder of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen to carry out the attacks, in what prosecutors described as a racism-fueled plot to spark mass chaos in the majority-Black city. — Dozens of Red Lobster locations across the U.S. are facing closure. Restaurant liquidator TAGeX Brands announced this week that it would be auctioning off the equipment of over 50 Red Lobster locations that were recently closed as part of the seafood chain’s “footprint rationalization.” The locations span across more than 20 states.

Unbiased headline news for Tuesday May 14, 2024 – The United States urged Iran to cease its unprecedented transfer of weaponry to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, enabling their fighters to conduct reckless attacks on ships in the Red Sea and elsewhere. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the U.N. Security Council that for progress toward ending Yemen’s civil war, it must collectively call out Iran for its destabilizing role and insist that it cannot hide behind the Houthis. — Humanitarian workers struggled to distribute dwindling food and other supplies to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by what Israel claims is a limited military operation in Rafah. The United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees stated that 360,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah over the past week, out of 1.3 million who were sheltering there before the operation commenced. Most had already escaped fighting elsewhere during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. — North Korea, already one of the world’s most repressive regimes, is steadily adding a slate of digital surveillance tools to further control its citizens, according to a U.S.-based North Korea expert. From smartphones to streaming devices to traffic cameras, technology is becoming more prevalent in everyday North Korean life, Stimson Center senior fellow Marty Williams told reporters at a briefing in Seoul. And Kim Jong Un’s regime is utilizing these new digital tools to spy on its citizens more effectively than ever before. — U.S. airlines are suing to block the Biden administration from mandating greater transparency over fees that the carriers charge their passengers. The airlines argue that a new rule would confuse consumers by providing them with too much information during the ticket-buying process. The U.S. Transportation Department stated Monday it will vigorously defend the rule against what it termed “hidden junk fees.” American, Delta, United and three other carriers, along with their industry trade group, sued the Transportation Department in a federal appeals court. — President Joe Biden announced new tariffs Tuesday on Chinese EVs, semiconductors, batteries, solar cells, steel and aluminum. The tariffs on EVs will rise to 100%, quadrupling the current tariff of 25%, according to a source familiar with the tariffs. This is the latest move by the Biden administration to prevent China from undercutting U.S. companies and threatening U.S. manufacturing jobs. — A Missouri man has pleaded guilty to crashing a U-Haul into a White House security barrier in May 2023. Sai Kandula, 20, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and speaking softly from the podium of a Washington, D.C., federal courtroom, acknowledged he had deliberately slammed into a security bollard in a failed attempt to seize power at the White House and install a dictatorship aligned with Nazi beliefs. — Melinda French Gates will step down as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “This is not a decision I came to lightly,” French Gates posted on the X platform on Monday. “I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world.” She praised the foundation’s CEO, Mark Suzman, and the foundation’s board of trustees. — Grammy-winning saxophonist David Sanborn passed away Sunday, his representative confirmed in a statement. He was 78. “It is with sad and heavy hearts that we convey to you the loss of internationally renowned, 6 time Grammy Award-winning, saxophonist, David Sanborn,” read a post on Sanborn’s official Facebook page, announcing that he died “after an extended battle with prostate cancer with complications.”

Unbiased headline news for Monday May 13, 2024 – Russian President Vladimir Putin has reshuffled his national security team, with the Kremlin announcing the replacement of his defense minister. Andrei R. Belousov, an economist who has served as deputy prime minister and the economic development minister, is Putin’s choice to be the new defense chief. If approved, Belousov will take over from Sergei Shoigu, who will remain in the cabinet to head the country’s security council, as per the Kremlin’s statement. — Over the weekend, a 10-story residential building in Belgorod, Russia, was struck by a Ukrainian missile, according to a local governor. The death toll has risen to 13 people, as reported by the Emergency Situations Ministry. “The city of Belgorod and the Belgorod district came under a massive attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” said Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, in a post on Telegram. — Israel has detained journalists whom authorities incorrectly believed were working for Al Jazeera. The news broadcaster banned from the country for its coverage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war in Gaza. The arrests were revealed by The New Arab, an English-language news website covering Middle Eastern affairs and based in London. It is the sister publication of Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, an Arabic-language news outlet. — Flooding in northern Afghanistan’s Baghlan and Takhar provinces have forced hundreds of families from their homes and caused at least 150 deaths, according to Taliban and U.N. officials. Abdul Mateen Qani, a representative of the Interior Ministry, told the BBC that Baghlan province has seen the most deaths, with at least 131, while another 20 have died in Takhar. The Borka district in Baghlan was particularly hard hit in the weeks of heavy rainfall, trapping more than 200 people inside their homes. — A strong earthquake shook the border of Mexico and Guatemala early Sunday, driving frightened residents into the streets. The temblor struck just before 6 a.m. near the Mexican border town of Suchiate, where a river by the same name divides the two countries. The epicenter was just off the Pacific coast, 10 miles west-southwest of Brisas Barra de Suchiate, where the river empties into the sea. — The family of a Black man who was killed after he was hit by an unmarked police car in Michigan spoke out after body camera footage of the incident was released by investigators. Michigan State Police said it handed over its investigative report and all evidence to the state attorney general’s office concerning the April 17 death of Samuel Sterling, who was being pursued by officers in Kentwood for outstanding warrants. — Three Atlanta police officers were shot while responding to a call Saturday evening, officials said. The unidentified officers were called to Desoto Avenue SW shortly after 5 p.m., about a call of a man with a gun, Atlanta PD Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters. The officers encountered the suspect, who was allegedly armed with a handgun and knife, when shots rang out, Schierbaum said. — Workers at the first Apple Store to unionize have now also authorized a first strike against the tech giant’s retail operations. Apple Store workers in Towson, Maryland, voted late Saturday to authorize a strike, according to a statement from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ Coalition of Organized Retail Employees, which represents the workers. No date was set for the strike.

Unbiased headline news for Saturday May 11, 2024 – A federal judge in Texas has temporarily halted a plan by the Biden administration to cap late fees on credit cards at $8, a move that was scheduled to take effect this week. The temporary nationwide injunction imposed by Judge Mark Pittman in the Northern District of Texas is a victory for major banks and credit card companies, which generate billions in revenue each year from late fees and were seeking to prevent the proposal from being implemented. — Russian military forces have launched a fresh series of attacks on the region surrounding the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, leading to the evacuation of thousands from the area. On Saturday, Russian officials claimed to have captured five villages near the Ukrainian town of Vovchansk, which is situated just 3.7 miles from the border with Russia. However, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov later refuted these claims, stating during a broadcast on Ukrainian national television that no territory had been lost. — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen another test firing of a new multiple rocket launch system that the country plans to deploy to its forces starting this year, according to state media reports. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Friday’s test confirmed the “advantage and destructive power” of the 240-millimeter multiple rocket launcher and its guided shells. The agency stated that the system, which the North has already tested twice this year, will be deployed to combat units from 2024 to 2026 to replace older weapons. — Federal prosecutors are seeking the maximum sentence for the man who was convicted of breaking into former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and attacking her husband Paul with a hammer in 2022. The Department of Justice has filed a sentencing memorandum in anticipation of this week’s sentencing of David DePape, stating that he should be imprisoned for 40 years for his crimes. DePape was convicted in November for the Oct. 28, 2022, break-in and attack on Paul Pelosi. — A late night shooting inside an Ohio movie theater has left one man dead, according to police. The shooting occurred on Friday night at approximately 11 p.m. when the Massilon Police Department was notified of a shooting inside a Regal Cinemas movie theater in Massilon, Ohio — some 50 miles south of Cleveland. The victim has been identified as Daron Davis, 27, from Canton, Ohio. — Sean “Diddy” Combs on Friday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that he and two co-defendants raped a 17-year-old girl in a New York recording studio in 2003. Combs stated that the lawsuit was a “false and hideous claim” that was filed too late under the law. This legal move is the latest response from the 54-year-old hip-hop mogul and his legal team after he was subjected to several similar lawsuits and a subsequent criminal sex-trafficking investigation. — One of three Colorado teenagers charged in connection with a rock-throwing spree that killed a 20-year-old driver last year has pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal, officials said. Seven vehicles were hit by large landscaping rocks on the night of April 19, 2023. Three people were injured, and one — Alexa Bartell, the final victim — was killed, according to prosecutors. Three then-18-year-old seniors were charged with 13 counts, including first-degree murder with extreme indifference. — Oprah Winfrey is apologizing for being a “major contributor” to diet culture. While hosting the WeightWatchers live special, “Making the Shift,” on Thursday, the talk show host acknowledged her role in diet culture and how she is “done with the shaming.” “I’ve been a steadfast participant in this diet culture,” Winfrey said. “I’ve been a major contributor to it,” she stated.

Listener Feedback: The corrupt food industry keeps taking advantage of the public by continually raising prices, lowering quantity and blaming inflation WHILE recording record profits.

Unbiased headline news for Thursday May 10, 2024 – As Israel remains embroiled in war in Gaza after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas, the nation prepares to honor the brave souls who sacrificed their lives for the nation’s right to exist. In a few days, Israel’s day of remembrance will be upon them, followed by the country’s 76th Independence Day celebrations. This year, Israel will observe Memorial Day from sunset May 12 until sunset May 13. All businesses and other public venues will remain closed for a 24-hour period in solemn remembrance. — A staggering number of more than 320,000 children in the United States faced the heart-wrenching loss of a parent to a drug overdose from 2011 to 2021, according to a study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. No national study had previously delved into the magnitude of children affected by the overdose crisis, as revealed in a news release announcing the findings. Study co-author Dr. Emily Einstein, the chief of NIDA’s Science Policy Branch, shared that the study was inspired by similar research during the COVID-19 pandemic. — The European Commission has demanded more detailed information from the social media platform X under the Digital Services Act regarding its decision to downsize its content moderation team. The commission has set a deadline of May 17 for the Elon Musk-owned X to provide additional information on its content moderation resources and generative artificial intelligence. These concerns arose from X’s transparency report to the commission in March. — A Norwegian Cruise Line employee is in custody for allegedly carrying out a stabbing attack on multiple individuals with scissors during an Alaska cruise. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation apprehended Ntando Sogoni, 35, on Tuesday as the ship Norwegian Encore docked in Juneau, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Alaska. The ship was on a journey to Alaska from Seattle, with stops in British Columbia. — A day after a security guard was shot while stationed outside Drake’s mansion in Toronto, another concerning incident unfolded as an individual was detained for allegedly attempting to breach the premises. The latest disturbance comes on the heels of a male security guard being shot while standing guard outside the gate of the residence at approximately 2 a.m. Tuesday, according to Inspector Paul Krawczyk with the Toronto Police Service’s Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force. The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle, he stated. — Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for MLB star Shohei Ohtani, has agreed to plead guilty to bank fraud in relation to stealing nearly $17 million from the star player in order to cover gambling debts. Mizuhara, 39, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum of 30 years in prison, and one count of subscribing to a false tax return, which carries up to three years in prison, according to the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. — A tragic incident unfolded when two young siblings lost their lives after being swept away by a rapidly flowing creek in Southern California’s San Bernardino Mountains, authorities said. The heartbreaking event occurred Tuesday when a mother took her 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son to spend the afternoon at Thurman Flat picnic area on Highway 38 near Mill Creek. They were playing along the creek when her son and her daughter were tragically taken downstream, the department stated. — Nine of the 10 wrongful death lawsuits filed after a deadly crowd surge at the 2021 Astroworld music festival have been settled. Neal Manne, an attorney for Live Nation, the festival’s promoter and one of those being sued along with rap superstar Travis Scott, said during a court hearing Wednesday that only one wrongful death lawsuit remained pending and the other nine have been settled, including the one filed by Dubiski’s family.