Ex-GOP candidate arrested in shootings at lawmakers’ homes
A failed Republican candidate who authorities say was angry over his defeat and made baseless claims the election last November was rigged against him has been arrested in connection with a series of drive-by shootings targeting the homes of Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico’s largest city.
Transgender Missouri inmate executed for fatal stabbing
A Missouri inmate has been put to death for a 2003 killing, becoming what is believed to be the first transgender woman executed in the U.S. Amber McLaughlin was put to death Tuesday night, hours after Republican Gov. Mike Parson declined a clemency request.
US economy grew 3.2% in Q3, an upgrade from earlier estimate
Shrugging off rampant inflation and rising interest rates, the U.S. economy grew at an unexpectedly strong 3.2% annual pace from July through September, the government reported Thursday in a healthy upgrade from its earlier estimate of third-quarter growth.
US appeals court: Beauty pageant can bar trans contestants
A federal appellate court says a national beauty pageant has a First Amendment right to exclude a transgender woman from competing, because including her could interfere with the message the pageant has said it wants to send about "what it means to be a woman.”.
Many more likely sought US jobless aid even as layoffs slow
WASHINGTON The U.S. government is set to sketch its latest picture Thursday of the layoffs that have left tens of millions of people unemployed but have slowed as states increasingly allow businesses to reopen. Even with companies calling some laid-off employees back to work, millions more likely filed for unemployment benefits last week after nearly 39 million sought aid in the previous nine weeks as the coronavirus paralyzed the economy. The pace of layoffs has declined for seven straight weeks, a sign that the cratering of the job market may have bottomed out. The job cuts reflect an economy that was seized by the worst downturn since the Great Depression after the virus forced the widespread shutdown of businesses. The economy is thought to be shrinking in the April-June quarter at an annual rate approaching 40%.
5 things to know today - that aren't about the virus
A protester runs away from where police deployed chemical irritants near the 3rd Precinct building in Minneapolis on Wednesday, May 27, 2020, during a protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody earlier in the week. (Christine T. Nguyen/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)Your daily look at nonvirus stories in the news:1. VIOLENCE AGAIN ROCKS MINNEAPOLIS Protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody rock the city again, with protesters looting stores and setting fires. CHINA ENDORSES HONG KONG NATIONAL SECURITY LAW Activists in the semi-autonomous territory say the law will undermine civil liberties and might be used to suppress political activity. SURVEILLANCE BILL IN DOUBT Legislation extending surveillance authorities that the FBI sees as vital in fighting terrorism has run into bipartisan opposition, dooming its prospects.
Documentary 'Other Music' premieres online today to benefit indie theaters and record stores, like Orlando's Park Ave CDs and Enzian Theater
click image Photo courtesy Other Music/Facebookthe National, TV on the Radio, Interpol and Vampire Weekend. Originally set for a full theatrical release today,is instead premiering online in partnership with a group of independent record stores and theaters. There's another cinematic treat being virtually released this weekend (today, in fact) to benefit independent record stores and theatersincluding Orlando's own Park Ave CDs and Enzian Theater and it's a documentary about iconic NYC record store Other Music Before its untimely demise in 2016, the Other Music shop was a famed hub and clearinghouse for sounds on the fringe. The store gave early boosts to the careers of musicians likeis available to stream with the purchase of an $11.50 ticket today (Friday, April 17) only. Half of the proceeds from tickets purchases go toward the local record stores and theaters participating in this screening event.
orlandoweekly.comBaby hippo at San Diego Zoo gets a name
SAN DIEGO, Calif. A baby hippopotamus born at the San Diego Zoo last month has a name. The zoo says the river hippo calf will be called Amahle (pronounced ah-MA-shay), which means beautiful one in Zulu. Amahle is the ninth hippo calf born at the zoo and the 13th to her mother, Funani. Amahle's father, Otis, is an East African hippo who arrived at the zoo in 2009 specifically to breed with Funani, zoo officials said. Zoo visitors can see Amahle and her mother in the hippo habitat on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends, officials said.
First all-female spacewalking duo to talk about historic job
Days after completing a battery replacement mission outside the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will talk about being the first all-women spacewalking team. NASA will air a news conference Monday at noon on NASA TV and NASA.gov during which Koch and Meir will talk about their historic extra-vehicular activity or EVA. During the spacewalk, the astronauts took a call from President Donald Trump. "We don't want to take too much credit because there have been many others -- female spacewalkers -- before us," Meir told the president. While women have been spacewalking since 1984, it took two decades for women to catch up with men in the spacewalking arena.
In an especially active hurricane season, could we run out of names?
After all the years of recorded named storms, one has to wonder: What happens when we run out of names? The World Meteorological Organization came up with a six-year rotating list of names for hurricanes, Gross said. Now we arrive at our initial question: What happens when we run out of names? So, lets say we have a storm named Walter. The first and last instance in which the Greek alphabet was needed was in 2005, during the busiest hurricane season on record, when there were 28 named storms.