NEWS

Unbiased headline news for Thursday April 11, 2024 – Consumer prices rose 3.5% in March compared to a year ago, accelerating markedly from the previous month and reversing some of the progress achieved in a two-year fight to cool inflation, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed. Price increases have cooled dramatically from a peak of about 9%, but inflation still stands more than a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%. A spike in housing and gasoline prices at the outset of this year has helped prolong the nation’s bout of elevated inflation. The U.S., Japan and Australia will create a joint air defense network, President Biden announced alongside the Japanese prime minister. “Together, our countries are taking significant steps to strengthen defense security cooperation,” Mr. Biden said during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the White House Rose Garden. “We’re modernizing command and control structures”, Biden stated. The third-longest river in Europe has burst from its banks joining others as floods have swept across parts of Russia and Kazakstan with more flooding on the way, according to multiple reports. Melting snow was the cause of the Ural River flooding which has so far forced more than 100,000 people to be evacuated as protests have sprung up against Russian authorities over the government’s response. The Arizona Republican lawmakers quickly shut down discussion on a proposed repeal of the state’s newly revived 1864 law that criminalizes abortion throughout pregnancy unless a woman’s life is at risk. House Democrats and at least one Republican tried to open discussion on a repeal of the 1864 abortion ban, which holds no exceptions for rape or incest. GOP leaders, who command the majority, cut it off twice and quickly adjourned for the week. Outraged Democrats erupted in finger-waving chants of “Shame! Shame!” Police in Birmingham Alabama are searching for the gunman who shot and killed a UPS worker in a targeted attack, authorities said. The shooting unfolded at about 6:05 PM Tuesday as UPS driver Anthony Lamar Love Jr. walked to his car at a Birmingham UPS facility after his shift ended, Birmingham police sergeant Laquitta Wade said. Love was confronted by a gunman who fired about 10 shots and then fled the scene, Wade said. One person was killed and five others injured, including two children, after gunmen opened fire in a residential area of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, police said. A suspect vehicle is being sought in connection with the shooting, police said. The incident occurred shortly after 6 p.m. eastern-time in the Carver Langston neighborhood in Northeast DC, on the 1100 block of 21st Street, police said. The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced a new rule mandating the first-ever national standard for the presence of so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water. The new standard limits six types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, found in drinking water — a move the EPA says will protect abou 100 million people from exposure. PFAS are a ubiquitous group of chemicals found in a host of industrial and personal products, including fire extinguishing foam, food packaging, dental floss and others. Ford is recalling nearly 43,000 small SUVs because gasoline can leak from the fuel injectors onto hot engine surfaces, increasing the risk of fires. The recall covers certain Bronco Sport SUVs from the 2022 and 2023 model years, as well as Escape SUVs from 2022. All have 1.5-liter engines. Ford says in documents filed with U.S. safety regulators that fuel injectors can crack, and gasoline or vapor can accumulate near ignition sources, possibly touching off fires.

Unbiased headline news for Wednesday April 10, 2024 – The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a Boeing engineer’s allegations that assembly defects in the company’s Seven-Eighty-Seven Dreamliner raise safety concerns. Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer at Boeing, said “he observed shortcuts taken by Boeing” during the assembly of the plane, “resulting in drilling debris left in interfaces and deformation of composite material.” He also claims to have observed issues with the seven-seven-seven assembly process. — The State Department has greenlighted an emergency 138-million-dollars in foreign military sales for Ukraine to provide critical repairs and spare parts for Kyiv’s Hawk missile systems. The announcement follows a similar, small-sized round of $300 million in munitions support the Pentagon announced last month after it was able to convert contract savings to be able to offset the cost of providing the aid. Both the State and Defense Departments have been looking for ways to continue to get Ukraine support. — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel has not apprised the U.S. of any specific date for the start of a major offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Blinken spoke a day after Israeli Prime Minister NetinYahoo vowed that a date has been set to invade Rafah. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, says a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians. — Germany firmly rejected accusations brought against it in the World Court that it has aided Israel in perpetrating genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. German Foreign Office Legal Director-General Tania von Uslar-Gleichen was the first to speak in Berlin’s defense during the second and final day of hearings in The Hague concerning charges brought against the European nation of violating international humanitarian law amid Israel’s war against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza. — The sexual assault lawsuit against New York Mayor Eric Adams is “entirely fictitious” and should be dismissed, his defense attorney Alex Spiro wrote in a new court filing. Spiro is assisting the city’s Law Department in defending the mayor, who, as an NYPD captain at the time of the alleged conduct, is eligible for free legal representation from the city. — The driver of a semitrailer-truck rammed a police vehicle in southwestern Michigan, crashed it into a home, tried to flee and was fatally shot by an officer, officials said. St. Joseph Township officers responded to a request Monday evening to check on the welfare of the 42-year-old driver from Tennessee, who then drove his truck into a police vehicle, state police said in a social media post. — An Oklahoma judge ordered a Kansas City Chiefs superfan known as “ChiefsAholic” who admitted to a series of bank robberies to pay $10.8 million to a teller who was assaulted with a gun. A judge in Tulsa handed down the order last week against Xaviar Michael Bubudar, 29, who was known for attending Chiefs games dressed as a wolf. Former bank teller Payton Garcia alleged Bubudar used a gun to assault her during a robbery of a Bixby Oklahoma credit union in December 2022. — Two bills moving through the Hawaii legislature could phase out short-term rentals that are not occupied by their owner, as the state tries to tackle rising housing costs and homelessness. State House Bill 1838 and Senate Bill 2919 have prompted a fierce debate about the future of vacation rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo homes. Residents have long complained about the impact of tourism and luxury home and resort development on housing accessibility, as well as the lack of affordable housing and rentals for residents.

Unbiased headline news for Tuesday April 9, 2024 – A woman checked out of a Florida hotel and told staff that she was going on a God-directed shooting spree because of the solar eclipse. 22-year-old Taylon Nichelle Celestine of Georgia, entered the highway 115 miles from the Alabama border in the Florida Panhandle and headed west. She then shot two drivers on Interstate 10 before being arrested and charged with attempted murder Monday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday “there is a date” for Israeli Defense Forces to invade Rafah. This is a move the United States opposes, as he argued the southern city is the only path to victory. “Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo. We are working constantly to attain our objectives, first and foremost the release of all of our hostages and the achieving of total victory over Hamas,” Netanyahu said in a videotaped statement. — Federal charges have been filed against a 35-year-old man who allegedly set fire to the door of Senator Bernie Sanders’ office in Burlington Vermont. Shant Soghomonian, formerly of Northridge, California, was arrested after investigators reviewed surveillance camera footage that captured him allegedly spraying lighter fluid on the outer door of Sanders’ office in downtown Burlington, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. — A New York appeals court judge on Monday rejected Donald Trump’s bid to delay his April 15 hush money criminal trial while he mounts a last-minute fight to move the case out of Manhattan. Justice Lizbeth González of the state’s mid-level appeals court ruled after an emergency hearing Monday where Trump’s lawyers asked that she postpone the trial indefinitely while they seek a change of venue. — Tesla has settled a lawsuit brought by the family of a Silicon Valley engineer who died in a crash while relying on the company’s semi-autonomous driving software. The amount Tesla paid to settle the case was not disclosed in court documents filed Monday, just a day before the trial stemming from the 2018 crash on a San Francisco Bay Area highway was scheduled to begin. In a court filing requesting to keep the sum private, Tesla said it agreed to settle the case in order to “end years of litigation.” — A suburban Detroit police officer who punched a young Black man in the face and slammed his head to the ground pleaded guilty Monday to a federal civil rights violation. Matthew Rodriguez acknowledged using “unreasonable force” against the 19-year-old man while processing him in the fingerprint room at the Warren jail in June. He also admitted that he made false statements about the incident. — The American Library Association released its annual list of the top 10 most targeted books of 2023 on Monday, the majority of which were challenges because of their LGBTQ content. “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe topped the list for the third year in a row. The graphic memoir, which chronicles the author’s experience with sexuality and gender from childhood to adulthood, was challenged for its LGBTQ content and for claims that it is sexually explicit. — Google has agreed to purge billions of records containing personal information collected from more than 136 million people in the U.S. surfing the internet through its Chrome web browser. The details of the deal emerged in a court filing, more than three months after Google and the attorneys handling the class-action case disclosed they had resolved a June 2020 lawsuit targeting Chrome’s privacy controls.

Unbiased headline news for Monday April 8, 2024 – A booming job market, softening inflation, robust growth — the economy has performed well by just any measure, but the chief executive of the nation’s largest bank is worried the U.S. still remains on the brink of a downturn. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, issued a sober economic forecast in his annual shareholder letter on Monday, warning that high inflation may prove more stubborn than expected, triggering rate hikes at the Federal Reserve and an eventual recession. * * * Russia and Ukraine are trading fresh accusations over renewed threats to Europe’s largest nuclear plant that has been caught up in the war. Moscow alleged that Ukraine was behind drone attacks on the facility that were witnessed by U.N. inspectors, and Kyiv is accusing Russia of disinformation tactics. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday called the drone attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine “a very dangerous provocation.” * * * South Korea successfully placed its second military reconnaissance satellite into orbit, Seoul’s military said Monday. This is a move that will heighten surveillance capabilities against North Korea amid a growing space race on the peninsula. The launch took place on Sunday evening at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which was Monday morning in Seoul, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said in a press release. * * * Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday gave a recap of her days-long trip to China, which included comments on the influx of Chinese-made goods into American and global markets. “President Biden and I are clear-eyed about the complexities of this relationship,” Yellen said Monday at a press conference in Beijing on her second visit in nine months to the Asian country. * * * A driver crossed into oncoming traffic early Sunday morning and slammed into a semitrailer, killing a child and sending two adults to the hospital, according to the Idaho State Police. The child, who was in a child safety seat, died of injuries at the scene. The driver, a 39-year-old woman from Roseville, California, and a passenger, a 35-year-old man from Butte, Montana, were transported by air ambulance to the hospital. Both adults were wearing their seatbelts. * * * Two Oklahoma volunteer firefighters are recovering after suffering burns while battling a weekend wildfire in northwest Oklahoma, officials said Monday. Mooreland firefighters Jared Brittain and Max Clark suffered injuries on Saturday when their truck was overrun by flames, Mooreland Fire Chief Travis Case told The Associated Press. “The wind was blowing 55 miles-per-hour,” Case said. “It just came around them.” * * * The Vatican on Monday declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as grave violations of human dignity. The Vatican’s doctrine office issued “Infinite Dignity,” a 20-page declaration that has been in the works for five years. After substantial revision in recent months, it was approved March 25 by Pope Francis, who ordered its publication. * * * The future of Uber and Lyft in Minneapolis has garnered concern and debate in recent weeks after the City Council voted last month to require that ride-hailing companies pay drivers a higher rate while they are within city limits. Uber and Lyft responded by saying they would stop serving the Minneapolis area when the ordinance takes effect May 1, causing the city to weigh the ordinance it passed. The state could also take action, while riders and drivers are left wondering what could come next.

HEADLINES – The tragic demise of seven workers from World Central Kitchen, an American charity, in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza marked a devastating setback for the organization that has rapidly grown in less than 15 years. The killings disrupted the crucial flow of desperately needed food aid to the besieged coastal strip, as international organizations and charities warn of an impending famine. World Central Kitchen, in partnership with the United Arab Emirates, had just delivered a cargo ship carrying 400 tons of canned goods from Cyprus to Gaza. More than 53,000 individuals have fled Haiti’s capital in less than three weeks, with the vast majority escaping the relentless gang violence, according to a United Nations report released on Tuesday. More than 60% are heading to Haiti’s rural southern region, concerning U.N. officials. “Our humanitarian colleagues emphasized that these departments do not have sufficient infrastructure, and host communities do not have sufficient resources, to cope with the large number of people fleeing Port-au-Prince,” said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Iran vowed to retaliate against an airstrike widely attributed to Israel that destroyed Iran’s Consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus the previous day, resulting in the deaths of 12 people. Four Syrian citizens were also killed in the strike, a Syrian official said on Tuesday, without providing any details about them. Hezbollah, a key ally of both Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government and Iran, also pledged “punishment and revenge” on Israel. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt was sworn in for a third six-year term on Tuesday after being re-elected in a December vote in which he faced no serious challengers. El-Sissi took the oath of office before parliament, which convened in the new administrative capital in the desert outside Cairo. El-Sissi won 89.6% of the vote in the December election, with a turnout of 66.8% out of more than 67 million registered voters. He ran against three virtually unknown opponents. There was a massive surge in anti-Muslim bias incidents in 2023, the highest number of such incidents recorded in 30 years, according to the Council of American-Islamic Relations. CAIR received a large number of complaints over anti-Muslim incidents last year, with nearly half of them reported in the last three months alone, after the Israel-Gaza war began on Oct. 7th. The rise in anti-Muslim complaints comes as antisemitic hate crimes are also on the rise. An American teenager and two other people were killed in an avalanche near the Swiss resort of Zermatt, police said on Tuesday. One person was flown to a hospital with serious injuries. The avalanche occurred at about 2 p.m. Monday in an off-piste area of the Riffelberg, above the resort and below the famed Matterhorn peak. Rescuers recovered three bodies and the injured skier, a 20-year-old Swiss man. One of the victims were a 15-year-old American boy. Embattled co-working space provider WeWork says it expects to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of May, touting lease-restructuring efforts that it estimates will bring $8 billion in future rental savings. Cutting back on real estate costs has been a top priority for WeWork since the New York-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November. At the time, WeWork said that rental liabilities accounted for about two-thirds of its operating costs as it tried to renegotiate nearly all of its leases. As more than 2 million graduating high school students from across the United States finalize their decisions on what college to attend this fall, many are facing jaw-dropping costs, in some cases, as much as $95,000. A number of private colleges have exceeded the $90,000 threshold for the first time this year as they set their annual costs for tuition, board, meals and other expenses. That means a wealthy family with three children could expect to shell out more than $1 million by the time their youngest child completes a four-year degree