world news

Saturday 9 February 2019

What we know about Bezos' letter accusing National Enquirer parent of blackmail

On Thursday night, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos published a letter accusing the parent company of the National Enquirer of blackmail. Here are 6 takeaways.

Booker urges activists, leaders to heed social justice call

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — On his first trip to Iowa as a presidential candidate, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker urged Democratic activists and black leaders on Friday to heed his call for social justice and apply it to the fight for universal health care coverage and a fair criminal justice system.

Blackface scandals highlight U.S.'s troubled racial past - and present

(Advisory: Note language in paragraph 11) By Andrew Hay (Reuters) - The painful history of blackface in America was highlighted this week as two top Virginia Democrats came under fire after admitting to having blackened their faces to resemble African-Americans while in college in the 1980s. While the practice is less common than it was decades ago, African-American scholars say it persists in some corners as evidence of racism. Apologies by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring followed blackface appearances by celebrities such as actor Billy Crystal and late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon in recent years.

An Ominous Moment for the Pro-Life Movement

In a 5–4 decision, Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s progressive wing to grant an emergency stay blocking enforcement of Louisiana’s admitting-privileges law. The Louisiana law appeared to violate a recent Supreme Court precedent called Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, which struck down a nearly identical Texas law. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, surprisingly upheld the Louisiana law, holding that there were enough factual differences between Louisiana and Texas to render the Louisiana law less burdensome on abortion rights.

Woman breaks up fight between dogs before realising one is a mountain lion

A woman intervened in an apparent fight between two dogs, only to discover one of the combatants was in fact a mountain lion. “As she pulled the two animals apart, she realised that in one hand she held a juvenile male mountain lion, about 35 pounds, and not another dog as she expected,” said the Idaho department of fish and game in a statement. “Her husband responded and quickly dispatched the mountain lion as she held on to it,” added the IDFG.