Human Rights Watch has accused the Israeli government of committing crimes of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians in a new report Tuesday, eliciting an angry response from Israeli officials. In its 213-page report, the United States-based advocacy group says the term apartheid has generally been used in a “descriptive or comparative” sense in relation to
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Donald Trump schooled his protégés well in his politics of down-in-the-muck misinformation. The ex-President’s Washington devotees and media backers are proving they don’t need him in the White House or blazing away on Twitter to stir his stew of lies, false realities, assaults on democracy, circus politics and racial grievance. The test of their approach
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Are you still washing your hands as diligently as you did at the beginning of the pandemic? If you’re like the people tracked in a recent handwashing study, the answer is unfortunately no. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. (You can also get “5 Things
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With polls showing that about half of Republicans are unenthusiastic about getting a Covid-19 vaccine, some of former President Donald Trump’s advisers are encouraging him to make a public service announcement urging his followers to roll up their sleeves, according to two former senior Trump administration officials. The officials emphasized that vaccine hesitancy among Republicans
Continue ReadingTitanium has been discovered in the beautiful remnants of the Cassiopeia A supernova about 11,000 light-years away. This discovery could help scientists understand what leads some giant stars to explode, according to the new study. Observations of the supernova were made using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, which has been in operation since 1999, between 2000
Continue ReadingA version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. You can sign up for free right here. Usually, when social media executives are brought to testify in front of Congress, the hearings are centered on specific policies and types of content, misinfo and foreign interference, antitrust issues, and privacy concerns. What doesn’t
Continue ReadingToyota is hitting the gas to achieve its self-driving goals by buying Lyft’s autonomous vehicle business for over half a billion dollars. The two players announced the $550 million acquisition on Tuesday, saying that it would allow them to create a “dream team” of about 1,200 researchers and engineers around the world. The combined unit
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration lifted the pause on the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine on Friday. The agencies previously had decided to pause administration of the vaccine due to cases of an extremely rare blood clotting disorder found in six women between the ages
Continue ReadingApple rolled out a major privacy feature on Monday that will allow iOS users to decide how they want their personal data handled — a move that has worried some companies, including Facebook. iOS users must now give explicit permission for apps to track their behavior and sell their personal data, such as age, location,
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Most congressional Democrats are backing President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan this year, though many harbor nagging concerns that the gains won over the last 20 years will be erased and the Taliban will retake control after American troops are no longer there. Biden’s announcement that US troops would leave by
Continue Reading House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal has introduced a massive social programs infrastructure package aimed at making enhancements to the child tax credit permanent, expanding paid family leave and boosting access to child care for Americans. The “Building the Economy for Families Act” comes as the Biden administration is expected to unveil its own
Continue ReadingTesla posted record profits Monday — its third record quarter in a row — as its adjusted earnings reached the $1 billion mark for the first time. The company recorded $9 billion in total revenue. That was slightly lower than fourth quarter sales but up 75% from the year-earlier period. Revenue was partly held back
Continue Reading US officials say Covid-19 vaccines are our way out of the pandemic. But the US faces a stubborn challenge — vaccine hesitancy — which could prevent some communities from reaching widespread protection levels and suppressing the spread of the virus. Providing strong incentives to get a shot could help, some experts say. “Many Americans want
Continue ReadingThe largest naval flotilla assembled by Britain in recent years will set sail in May on a months’ long voyage through the Pacific, the country’s Defense Ministry said Monday. “When our Carrier Strike Group (CSG) sets sail next month, it will be flying the flag for Global Britain — projecting our influence, signaling our power,
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Fewer new people are getting their first Covid-19 shot than those finishing up their second, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the last 10 of 11 days, the number of “fully vaccinated” people has risen more than the number of people with “at least one dose” — suggesting
Continue ReadingTwo students who were kidnapped from a university in northern Nigeria last Tuesday have been killed, making it a total of five Greenfield University students killed by their abductors, an official said in a statement released Monday. They were among 20 students and three staff members kidnapped from the Greenfield University in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria,
Continue ReadingThe Three Rivers Fire has burned 4,000 acres in New Mexico and has not been contained, according to a press release on the New Mexico Fire Information site. The fire “is being driven by steep terrain and extreme fire weather conditions, including gusty winds and low humidity levels around 8 percent,” the release said. There
Continue ReadingPolice in the New York suburb of Long Island are investigating a report of a noose found hanging in a storeroom at a local business, a Suffolk County police spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Monday. Kyrin Taylor, a 23-year-old electrician who had been working as an apprentice since December at Cooper Power & Lighting Corp.,
Continue ReadingOfficials declared a county emergency for the Flag Fire in Arizona after it grew from 600 to 1,400 acres Monday, according to the latest information from the Bureau of Land Management. The fire, which was described by officials as “raging out of control” on Sunday, prompting the evacuation of about 200 homes in the Hualapai
Continue ReadingHiromi spent most of her life feeling trapped. Growing up, the now 58-year-old Japanese acupuncturist felt pressure to conform to Japan’s rules-based society, and to become a model worker and wife. She married young and had three children, but later divorced and says she still struggles to make ends meet. “I’m sure some Japanese people
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