| 1.Hundreds of migrants feared dead in Mediterranean shipwreck |
| An estimated 500 to 700 people went missing on Sunday after a boat ferrying migrants to Italy capsized north of Libya in the Mediterranean Sea. The 65-foot-long fishing boat sent a distress call overnight, but when another vessel approached the migrants huddled to the far side of the ship, causing it to capsize, according to the Italian Coast Guard. Close to 20 ships raced to rescue survivors, pulling 28 people from the water so far. Roughly 900 people are believed to have died this year trying to make the crossing.
Source: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal |
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| 2.FBI admits to exaggerating forensic hair evidence for two decades |
| Almost every examiner in the FBI’s hair analysis unit repeatedly overhyped evidence to aid prosecutors over a two-decade period ending in 2000, according to The Washington Post. The finding comes from an ongoing review of cases conducted by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Innocence Project in conjunction with the federal government. Per the review, 26 of 28 forensic hair analysts overstated evidence in 95 percent of the 268 trials examined so far. The FBI and Justice Department acknowledged the errors, saying in a statement they were “committed to ensuring that affected defendants are notified of past errors and that justice is done in every instance.”
Source: The Washington Post |
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| 3.Republican presidential hopefuls woo New Hampshire voters |
| A slew of declared and potential Republican presidential candidates trekked to New Hampshire this weekend for the two-day Republican Leadership Summit. Close to 20 prospective candidates — ranging from establishment types like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Jeb Bush, to bottom-tier hopefuls like Donald Trump and John Bolton — used their stage time to discuss policy, ding the president, and assail presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. “When Hillary Clinton travels, there’s going to need to be two planes,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said. “One for her and her entourage, and one for her baggage.”
Source: CNN, Politico |
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| 4.Poland summons U.S. ambassador over FBI head’s Holocaust remark |
| Poland on Sunday summoned the U.S. ambassador to protest FBI Director James Comey’s recent comment casting some blame on Poland for the Holocaust. “The murderers and accomplices of Germany, and Poland, and Hungary, and so many, many other places didn’t do something evil,” Comey said in a speech last week, which was then adapted as an opinion piece in The Washington Post. “They convinced themselves it was the right thing to do, the thing they had to do.” Poland’s ambassador to the U.S. called the comment “unacceptable” and a “falsification of history.”
Source: Reuters |
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| 5.Senior Revolutionary Guard rejects weapons inspections |
| A high-ranking member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Saturdayinsisted weapons inspectors would be barred from visiting military sites under any final nuclear agreement. “Iran will not become a paradise for spies,” Gen. Hossein Salami said. “We will not roll out the red carpet for the enemy,” he added, saying that inspections would amount to Tehran “selling out.” Under a framework agreement reached last month between the U.S., Iran, and five world powers, international inspectors would be granted access to Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Source: The Associated Press |
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| 6.Putin walks back anti-U.S. rhetoric |
| Speaking on Russia’s state-run Rossiya channel on Saturday, President Vladimir Putin admitted that Moscow and Washington have “disagreements,” but that “there is something that unites us, that forces us to work together,” according to Reuters‘ translation of the remarks. “I mean general efforts directed at making the world economy more democratic, measured and balanced, so that the world order is more democratic,” Putin said. “We have a common agenda.” Putin’s comments came two days after he told a Russian phone-in show that the United States wants “not allies, but vassals,” and is behaving like the former Soviet Union in its overreaching foreign policy.
Source: Reuters |
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| 7.ISIS claims to kill Ethiopian Christians |
| The Islamic State on Sunday released a video purporting to show the execution of two groups of captured Ethiopian Christians. The 29-minute video claims to show ISIS affiliates at two separate locations in Libya beheading or shooting to death prisoners, though a death toll was not immediately clear. Though the video has yet to be authenticated, it closely resembled previous ISIS propaganda videos depicting executions.
Source: CBS |
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| 8.California water board releases revised drought restrictions |
| California’s State Water Resources Control Board on Saturday released modified proposed conservation restrictions, adjusting the planned cuts based on water-saving efforts already underway. A former draft divided water suppliers into four tiers; the new framework places them into one of nine tiers — where water usage must be cut by anywhere from 8 percent to 36 percent — to “more equitably allocate” the restrictions. Water suppliers that do not meet their cuts could face fines of up to $10,000 per day. The board is expected to vote on the revised framework proposal in early May.
Source: The New York Times |
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| 9. Warriors open NBA playoffs with win |
| The NBA playoffs tipped off Saturday with the Golden State Warriors, owners of the best record in basketball, holding off the New Orleans Pelicans. Also Saturday, the Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, and Washington Wizards won the opening games of their first-round series. The playoffs continue Sunday with four more games.
Source: Sports Illustrated |
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| 10.Ringo Starr inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |
| Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday as a solo artist, making him the fourth and final member of the seminal band enshrined for his solo work. “As all the other drummers say, he just is something so special,” bandmate Paul McCartney said at the induction ceremony. The Hall’s 2015 class also included newcomers Lou Reed, Green Day, and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, among others.
Source: Rolling Stone |
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