IS Leader Appears in Video for First Time in 5 years

The shadowy leader of the Islamic State group claimed to appear for the first time in five years in a video released by the extremist group’s propaganda arm on Monday, acknowledging defeat in the group’s last stronghold in Syria but vowing a “long battle” ahead.

from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2DCQihO

A New Way to Church: Justin Bieber's Pastor Launches App to Take Church Global

He's one of the men who helped introduce Justin Bieber to Jesus Christ. Now Pastor Judah Smith is working on the rest of the world, bringing church to your smartphone and tablet in a new way.

from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2PAW87V

Replacing Israel with Anti-Semitism in the Church, and What It Means for the End Times

Replacement theology in the Christian view of the Messiah has taken us far off target, and it affects our end-times theology. The common view of the church replacing Israel has caused huge consequences. Many Jews have a hard time believing in a Jewish Messiah that has replaced them. Many other Jews realize the truth that replacement theology is wrong and that the Messiah is still in a covenant relationship with them, as they have come to the understanding of wonderful saving grace.

from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2ZBG1f0

Impeachment Would Be a Redundant Judgment

The Mueller investigation was supposed to be a legal process concerned with crimes. Investigators identified no crimes to charge, and so it has, naturally, become something else: no longer a theory about a criminal conspiracy — only an irritable mood.An ordeal that had been conducted under the procedures of law in accordance with legal criteria is now an ordeal that is being conducted under the procedures of politics in accordance with political criteria — or, if you prefer, with moral criteria related to Donald Trump’s character. For those who want to see President Trump impeached and who think of impeachment as a fundamentally political process in spite of its mock-trial aspect, that’s just fine. They’ll take their pound of flesh, however it is had.The problem with this point of view is that the question of Donald Trump’s personal fitness for office already has been adjudicated as a political matter: That is what happened in the 2016 presidential election. Many critics, myself included, argued that Trump was unfit for the office, both morally and intellectually. We made our arguments, the voters consulted their own consciences, and, weighing these things however it is that voters weigh them, chose Trump. There wasn’t some occult intermediary step in there. That’s how things go in politics: The people behave just as if they had minds of their own! And, sometimes, they get to have their own way.In terms of Donald Trump’s character and habits, there is practically nothing in the Mueller report — or in the public record since 2016 — that voters did not already know when they elected him. And that is really the fundamental argument against impeaching President Trump: The political judgment called for in an impeachment at this point and in this context properly ought to be understood as beside the point, if we take seriously the democratic assumption that the judgment of the people, rendered in the election, is sovereign.There isn’t some shocking new thing, and, of course, some Democrats have been talking impeachment since before Trump was even sworn in. The Democrats do not propose to impeach Donald Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors, but simply for being Donald Trump. One may sympathize with that, but Donald Trump is the man the voters chose.And that goes to the real issue here: The Democrats cannot accept that they lost an election to Donald Trump. One sympathizes with that, too, but that is what actually happened, for several reasons: Trump focused on two issues — immigration and trade — that speak to a substantial bipartisan plurality with nationalistic and protectionist impulses rarely taken seriously by mainstream figures in either party; his opponent ran an inept campaign and has been questing after power for so long that both she and the voters are exhausted by it; the “elites” and Washingtonians against whom Trump & Co. inveigh were judged, not without some reason, to merit a trip to the woodshed; the so-called war on terror and the financial crisis of 2008–09 have destabilized formerly sturdy political coalitions. And, of course, it was Republicans’ turn.Which is to say: The Democrats’ talk of impeachment is partly about 2020, but it’s mainly about 2016, and their adolescent psychic need to believe that the presidential election that brought Donald Trump to the White House was illegitimate rather than an opportunity they simply blew. The theory that the election was thrown by Russian trolls posting dank memes on Twitter is hard to take seriously. If we had a list of every voter whose mind was changed in 2016 by an anonymous social-media account with a Cyrillic bio, then disenfranchising those voters would be a good start on improving things for 2020. Alas and alack, we don’t do that sort of thing. But the argument that bot-executed shenanigans nullified democracy in 2016 amounts to the Democrats protesting: “These trolls robbed us of the support of our natural base: morons!”There’s no quality control in social media — and less quality control in ordinary news media than there used to be. Lies, distortions, exaggerations, and pure inventions are going to be out there in the intellectual marketplace, whether they originate in Moscow or in Brooklyn. That’s a real problem, but it doesn’t invalidate the outcome of the 2016 election.There are many reasons to oppose an impeachment at this time: One is that no one has made a very persuasive case for one, all of the Democrats’ arguments up to this point having been transparently pretextual. Another is that the Republican majority in the Senate all but ensures that the process would be purely symbolic, an exercise in chaos for pleasure’s sake. A third is that it normalizes the invocation of a procedure that should be reserved for extraordinary circumstances in the service of ordinary short-term partisan interests. For comparison, consider that there was no serious impeachment talk when Barack Obama authorized the assassination of U.S. citizens without so much as a by-your-leave from Congress — or when he took executive actions that he himself had described as unconstitutional only months before. That suggests a pretty high standard — and if “I think that guy is a fink!” ends up being a common rationale for impeachment, then you’d better make your peace with anarchy, because Washington is going to be a ghost town.But the most important reason for forbearance here is that a political judgment already has been rendered on Donald Trump’s character — and, if you don’t like how that came out, there’s another chance right around the corner.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2ZFX3Ja

No Mass for Sri Lanka's Catholics; no veils for Muslim women

AMPARA, Sri Lanka (AP) — The effects of Sri Lanka's Easter suicide bombings reverberated across two faiths Sunday, with Catholics shut out of their churches for fear of new attacks, left with only a televised Mass, and Muslim women ordered to stop wearing veils in public.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2W5w8UN

AJ Freund death: Parents of 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy due in court Monday

The parents of slain 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy A.J. Freund are scheduled to appear in court Monday morning.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2V3YBhi

Climate change: Electric car target 'needs to be sooner'

The government's plan to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040 is too tame, its advisers will say.

from BBC News - Technology https://bbc.in/2XTHj3o

The Latest: Islamic State leader says attack was revenge

AMPARA, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Latest on the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka (all times local):

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2IL7eH3

Two U.S. Navy warships sail through strategic Taiwan Strait

The voyage risks further raising tensions with China but will likely be viewed by self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support from the Trump administration amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing. Taiwan is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which also include a trade war, U.S. sanctions and China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols. "The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," Commander Clay Doss, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, said in a statement.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2vArWAZ

From Heisei to Reiwa: how Japan changed under Emperor Akihito

Japan marks the end of an era with Tuesday's abdication of Emperor Akihito, and the outgoing monarch leaves behind a much-changed country. Crown Prince Naruhito will inherit a Japan vastly different from that of the start of his father's reign, when the country was in the grip of an economic bubble and on the verge of a tech revolution. Japan's shrinking population is among the country's most pressing social and economic issues.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2V6gLz2

Deadly Seattle crane collapse was likely caused by human error, experts say

Human error may be to blame for the Seattle crane collapse on Saturday that killed four people and injured another four, experts said based on videos.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Le1cAV

UN chief demands that the world step up to stamp out hatred

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres demanded Monday that the world "step up to stamp out anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hatred, persecution of Christians and all other forms of racism, xenophobia, discrimination and incitement."

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2GIYUUI

Her 'final good deed': Woman hailed as hero after taking bullets to protect rabbi during synagogue shooting

The woman killed during Saturday’s San Diego synagogue shooting stepped in front of the bullets aimed at her longtime friend and rabbi, friends said.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2IOyBA8

Officials: Parents of suspect among 7 killed in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The man suspected of killing his parents and five other people in two rural Tennessee homes stole the car of one of the victims and was wearing a blood-stained T-shirt when he was seen, telling acquaintances the stain was just chocolate, according to authorities and court documents.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2V2pHWc

Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders Stake Out Ideological Poles of Democratic Race

Biden is an establishment Democrat with a long record of bipartisan deals ranging from budget accords this decade to a now-maligned 1994 crime bill. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, was an early adopter of ideas including single payer health insurance and a $15 federal minimum wage, that have rapidly gained traction in the progressive base. For the moment, Biden, 76, and Sanders, 77, lead the pack in virtually every poll, buoyed by strong name recognition.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2vsDlCP

Poway Synagogue Shooting Suspect’s Parents Call Him ‘Evil’

via FacebookPOWAY, California—The parents of John Earnest, who allegedly opened fire on a synagogue Saturday, called their son evil on Monday.“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the terrible attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue,” the family said in a statement released through an attorney. “But our sadness pales in comparison to the grief and anguish our son has caused for so many innocent people. He has killed and injured the faithful who were gathered in a sacred place on a sacred day. To our great shame, he is now part of the history of evil that has been perpetrated on Jewish people for centuries.” On Saturday morning, Earnest entered Chabad of Poway with an assault-style rifle and allegedly opened fire, killing one woman and wounding three others, including a rabbi. Twenty minutes before the attack, Earnest published a virulently anti-Semitic manifesto repeating centuries’ old libels against Jews as justification for murdering them. The message said he idolized Brenton Tarrant, the alleged Christchurch mosque attacker, and Robert Bowers, who allegedly murdered 11 Jews at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Earnest also approvingly cited Adolf Hitler. Twenty minutes after posting the message, he entered Chabad of Poway with an assault-style rifle and allegedly opened fire, killing one woman and wounding three others, including a rabbi. Earnest was chased out of the synagogue by an Army veteran and fled in a vehicle. Soon after, he called 911 and told authorities where to find him on a highway, according to authorities. He will be arraigned Wednesday morning in San Diego County court, one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.Earnest, 19, grew up in a middle-class neighborhood not far from Poway. He was an honors student and accomplished pianist at Mt. Carmel High School, where his father, also named John, works as a teacher. Earnest’s father also served as board president of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Escondido, where the family attended church weekly. Gerrit Groenewold, a member of the church, told The Daily Beast on Sunday that Earnest was the quietest of his family, so quiet that Groenewold grew concerned. “I noticed that he was quiet and just wanted to have contact,” he said. “It’s not good if someone is that quiet. He needs to be part of the community, to let them know what is going on.”Earnest was not known to law enforcement prior to the attack, authorities said, and has no known ties to white supremacist groups.Read more at The Daily Beast.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2UJMRvr

FAA considered grounding some Boeing 737 Max planes last year: source

US regulators considered grounding some Boeing 737 MAX planes last year after learning belatedly of a problem with a system that is now the main suspect in two deadly crashes, a source close to the matter said. Investigators in the Lion Air crash in October and the Ethiopia Airlines disaster in March have zeroed in on the planes' anti-stall system, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. Last year, before the Lion crash, inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration discovered that the manufacturer had de-activated a signal designed to advise the cockpit crew of a malfunctioning of the MCAS system, the source said.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2XTHbRr

Japanese Emperor Akihito begins historic abdication

Akihito, who says he is too old for the role, is the first Japanese emperor to stand down in 200 years.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2GQTfgt

US deputy attorney general tells Trump he quits

Rod Rosenstein, who was once accused of treason by the president, exits after a turbulent two years.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2V0Ln4O

'Yeti footprints': Indian army mocked over claim

Its claim to have discovered footprints of the 'mythical beast' prompts derision on social media.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Vy5oPL

IS leader al-Baghdadi appears in first video in five years

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has not been seen on camera since 2014, vows revenge for his militants.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2UPvYzk

Guantanamo Bay commander fired over 'loss of confidence'

Navy Rear Admiral John Ring was fired as Guantanamo Bay prison commander after a month-long inquiry.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2vuJrlT

'Completely avoidable' measles outbreak hits 25-year high in US

Officials say more than 700 Americans have been infected, calling the outbreak "completely avoidable".

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DHmAIp

Mozambique cyclone: Death toll rises as storm blocks aid

Torrential rain and strong winds make getting aid into the cyclone-affected area almost impossible.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2GRqujS

Trade war: What you need to know about US-China talks

Talks appear to be reaching the final stretch though both sides remain divided on several key issues.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2vuHl5H

Australian Senate candidate Steve Dickson quits over strip club videos

Footage showed aspiring Australian senator Steve Dickson groping women and making derogatory remarks.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2V7z1In

San Diego synagogue attack suspect 'evil', says his family

Lori Kaye was killed after shielding her rabbi from a gunman who opened fire at a Passover service.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2LqmVWr

US Army veteran 'planned to bomb Nazi rally'

The 26-year-old Muslim convert also allegedly plotted terror attacks on Jews and churches.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2WcVvE9

Boeing safety system not at fault, says chief executive

Dennis Muilenburg says a safety mechanism was only one factor in two fatal Boeing plane crashes.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2vsjIui

'Our water pollution is a cancer'

"Waterkeeper" Nabil Musa fights Iraq's water crisis, which he calls the country's gravest threat yet.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2UQTSuB

Rabbi describes seeing synagogue attacker

A rabbi who was injured in the deadly shooting at a synagogue near San Diego on Saturday has described the moment he faced the gunman.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2WfDjtM

'Russian spy whale'

A beluga whale was found with suspicious equipment off Norway's coast

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2WfNGgW

Heavy flooding hits eastern Canada

Thousands of people were told to evacuate after rising floodwaters breached a dyke following heavy rain.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Lbt7kS

How one woman beat mining giants and saved rare snow leopards

A woman from Mongolia has won the Goldman Environmental Prize after a campaign to stop mining firms destroying a critical habitat for snow leopards.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2UMgIDr

Indonesia floods: Dozens killed in floods

Flooding caused by torrential rains has killed nearly 40 people and left thousands homeless in Sumatra.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2LcXFTf

UK university puts stress-busting dogs on staff

A university has taken on five "canine teaching assistants" to tackle student anxiety.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2GPH2rc

Norway finds 'Russian spy whale' off Arctic coast

A tame beluga wearing a Russian harness is thought to have come from a Russian navy facility.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2J1c9CZ

North Korea TV revamps weather report

North Korean state TV introduces a more casual, modern-looking weather broadcast.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2GRp6hm

Korean elderly back road safety seats

A city in South Korea has put out special seating for older people at road crossings.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2PzLLBw

Japanese Emperor Akihito's human touch

Emperor Akihito will be remembered as the man who began the modernisation of Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2ZNOA6P

Jeopardy: How a pro gambler 'cracked' US game show

Sports bettor James Holzhauer's unusual strategy is paying off as he crushes Jeopardy records.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2L8O5k9

'We are students thanks to South Africa's #FeesMustFall protests'

What has changed since mass protests led South Africa to announce free education for poor university students?

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2J31asB

How tech is bringing Israelis and Palestinians together

Young people on either side of a decades-old conflict seldom meet, but tech is building bridges.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2vrILxN

Sri Lanka attacks: Where else in the world have face coverings been banned?

Following the Sri Lankan ban, BBC Reality Check looks at other countries that have imposed either a partial or complete ban on face coverings

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Vxuj6a

India student leader 'a symbol of protest' against PM Modi

Kanhaiya Kumar has emerged as an outlier in an election being seen as a battle for India's identity.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2UT7bL2

Abdication of Japan’s Emperor, Who Put a Human Face on the Monarchy

By MOTOKO RICH from NYT World https://nyti.ms/2GIXsSg

On Politics: Rod Rosenstein to Step Down

By Unknown Author from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2UKI0Ks

Aaron Judge Is Everywhere for the Yankees, Except on the Field

By JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/2UOtbX2

Chronicles of the Rings: What Trees Tell Us

By JIM ROBBINS from NYT Science https://nyti.ms/2J4IM2C

'War Footing': Church Canceled Indefinitely, Catholic Leaders in Sri Lanka Dissatisfied With Government Response

Catholic church leaders in Sri Lanka say they aren't satisfied with how the government has handled the investigation following the Easter Sunday attacks that left over 250 people dead. 

from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2GIXxWd

New York City’s Quirkiest Bus: 1 Bridge, 3 Stops

By WINNIE HU from NYT New York https://nyti.ms/2ZTw5Oi

Movie Theaters

By NATALIE PROULX from NYT The Learning Network https://nyti.ms/2UO7Ltj

Word + Quiz: gravitas

By THE LEARNING NETWORK from NYT The Learning Network https://nyti.ms/2DFScht

Tesla Looks to Regain Its Luster in Solar Energy by Slashing Prices

By IVAN PENN and PETER EAVIS from NYT Business https://nyti.ms/2ZTw78S

Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio Tops the List of Hedge Fund Manager Compensation

By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN from NYT Business https://nyti.ms/2Wf3Ln0

What’s on TV Tuesday: ‘On Tour With Asperger’s Are Us’ and ‘The Last Survivors’

By LAUREN MESSMAN from NYT Arts https://nyti.ms/2Lg9FU2

ためらう花嫁

By MOTOKO RICH from NYT World https://nyti.ms/2WcfdQo

Las principales noticias del martes

By Por MARINA FRANCO from NYT Universal https://nyti.ms/2GOKdPR

A Princess in a Cage

By MOTOKO RICH from NYT World https://nyti.ms/2La2tJ2

The Suitor With the Shaggy Hair

By MOTOKO RICH from NYT World https://nyti.ms/2GIKiVr

The Long Shadows of a Failed War

By MOTOKO RICH from NYT World https://nyti.ms/2UPwBJp

Trump Sues Banks to Stop Them From Complying With House Subpoenas

By MAGGIE HABERMAN, WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and DAVID ENRICH from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2GRQATZ

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to Step Down in May

By KATIE BENNER from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2WfbRw6

Man Charged With Killing 5 in Annapolis Newsroom Uses Insanity Defense

By MIHIR ZAVERI from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2XUcwmY

In Scranton, College Students Give High Marks to Biden’s First Campaign Speech

By TRIP GABRIEL from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2PEneLB

Sri Lanka, ISIS, British Police: Your Tuesday Briefing

By MELINA DELKIC and ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA from NYT Briefing https://nyti.ms/2GTm6kx

The Latest: Seattle college says student was killed by crane

SEATTLE (AP) — The Latest on a crane collapse in Seattle (all times local):

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2vt9fPj

Barr threatens to skip House hearing on Mueller report over format dispute

Attorney general has expressed objections to House judiciary committee’s questioning format, according to Democratic aide The US attorney general, William Barr, is scheduled to testify before the House judiciary panel, chaired by the Democrats, on Thursday. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters The Department of Justice (DoJ) has informed the powerful House of Representatives judiciary committee that the attorney general, William Barr, may not attend a Thursday hearing to review special counsel Robert Mueller’s report of the Trump-Russia investigation. Barr has expressed objections over the panel’s questioning format, according to a senior Democratic committee aide. The department has balked at the panel’s plans to allow committee counsels from both sides to question Barr after the traditional round of questioning by members of Congress who sit on the committee, which is currently chaired by the Democrats because they control the House. Justice officials also told the committee they opposed committee chairman Jerry Nadler’s plan to go into closed session if members want to discuss redacted portions of Mueller’s report. That’s also according to the aide, who requested anonymity to discuss the confidential communications with the justice department. Barr is scheduled to testify on Wednesday before the Senate judiciary committee, which is chaired by the Republicans, the party in control of the Senate, and to the House panel on Thursday. The redacted Mueller report was made public just over a week ago. While it concluded there was not enough evidence to charge members of the Trump campaign with criminal conspiracy between the organisation and Russia, it also determined there was a lot of contact, and that Russia conclusively interfered in the 2016 election. Democrats the following day issued a subpoena for the un-redacted version. The report also found that it could not exonerate the president on the question of obstruction of justice and if Mueller could he would have done so, while also stating the investigation would not reach a conclusion on whether there had been criminal obstruction. The DoJ has deemed that a sitting president cannot be indicted. Congress is now conducting further inquiries and a number of other criminal investigations are ongoing, including by federal prosecutors in New York, against the president, though the nature of most of the investigations has not been made public. This article was amended on 29 April, to reflect that the Mueller report concluded there was not sufficient evidence to bring charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, and that the investigation would not reach a conclusion on whether there had been criminal obstruction.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2IQnGWm

U.S. envoy signed North Korea document to pay for Warmbier's care: Bolton

The United States signed a document agreeing to pay North Korea for the care of American Otto Warmbier but never paid the $2 million Pyongyang demanded, White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday. Bolton, who said he was not part of the administration at the time, confirmed newspaper reports that North Korea demanded the money before Warmbier was flown out of Pyongyang in a coma on June 13, 2017. Asked whether U.S. envoy Joseph Yun signed the document when he went to retrieve Warmbier, Bolton told "Fox News Sunday" in an interview: "That is what I am told, yes." He said no payment was made.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2V0N7eA

United Airlines is covering up cameras on seat backs amid privacy backlash

United Airlines is covering up all the cameras on the back of customers' seats amid backlash about privacy.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2IZ0ULr

Sean Spicer: Trump has 'insurmountable edge' in key battleground states

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer lays out how Republicans are going to compete against Democrats in 2020.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2DFiiBd

US consumer spending jumps in March; inflation remains tame

American consumer spending leapt last month to post the biggest gain in 10 years, recovering from a weak start to 2019, while inflation remained tame, according to government data released Monday. The strong finish to the third quarter comes a day before the Federal Reserve is due to meet, with markets overwhelmingly expecting the central bank to leave interest rates untouched. The latest figures confirm the picture of steady economic growth in the first quarter that were released Friday in the Commerce Department's GDP report.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2DPnLWv

Man arrested after knives found at school desk of only male heir to Japanese imperial throne

Japanese police on Monday arrested a 56-year-old man in connection with two paring knives found at the school desk of Prince Hisahito, grandson of Emperor Akihito, local media reported. The incident comes as authorities were beefing up security ahead of the popular emperor's abdication on Tuesday after a 30-year reign, the first monarch to relinquish the throne of the world's oldest imperial family for two centuries. Akihito's eldest son, 59-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito, will take the throne on Wednesday in a series of ceremonies. Hisahito is the son of Naruhito's younger brother and the last eligible male heir. Japan's centuries-old succession would be broken if Hisahito does not have a male child as the Imperial Household Law, in place since 1947, does not allow women to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne. Japan's Imperial family The suspect, identified as Kaoru Hasegawa, was arrested on suspicion of illegally entering the premises of the junior high school the 12-year-old prince attends on Friday, public broadcaster NHK and other news reports said. His motive was not immediately clear. NHK said police officials were questioning him and suspected he placed the knives at the desk, while Nippon Television said he admitted the allegations. A police spokesman declined to comment. Hisahito, who began attending the school this month, was not in the classroom when the knives are believed to have been left. There were no reports of any injuries or damage at the school, while police did not find any threatening note related to the case. Security camera footage showed a man with a helmet trespassing on the school grounds at around noon, they said. Police had been searching for the middle-aged man who was dressed as a construction worker. Threats to the imperial family are relatively rare. In 1975, Akihito was almost hit by a Molotov cocktail in Okinawa, a major World War II battlefield where there was strong anti-emperor sentiment.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2ILZrbS

Ocasio-Cortez fires back at Kellyanne Conway for slamming her response to Sri Lanka attacks

Ocasio-Cortez called the series of bombings in Sri Lanka, which death toll has risen to 290, “horrifying.” “The Sri Lanka massacre was horrifying.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2GQtk8R

US stocks tread water ahead of more earnings, Fed

Wall Street was flat but holding near record levels just after the open on Monday as investors awaited a fresh set of corporate earnings during week loaded with economic data. Markets were also absorbing an upbeat report on consumer spending for March, which showed a big jump at the end of the first quarter. The data come as the Federal Reserve is due to begin its latest-two day policy meeting on Tuesday but is overwhelmingly expected to leave interest rates untouched.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2UKHUTa

Washington's Woeful Maduro Miscalculation

When Washington recognized Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful president, Trump administration officials clearly hoped that incumbent Nicolas Maduro’s grip on power would not last long. There were reasons for such optimism. The socialist regime’s corruption and grotesque economic mismanagement had reached crisis levels. Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, had transformed Venezuela from one of Latin America’s most prosperous countries into a poverty-stricken horror marked by runaway inflation and severe shortages even of the most basic consumer necessities. Venezuela was the latest exhibit in the museum of socialist calamities. Maduro’s popularity had plunged, and his implementation of ever more autocratic measures to suppress opponents did not help his situation.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2IOXtYn

FOREX-Dollar rally stalls underlining slowdown fears

A rally in the dollar faltered on Monday with strong U.S. data doing little to lift the currency or convince investors that a slowdown in activity is over. The greenback traded in a narrow range as Japan kicked off a week of holidays, typically a period of thin liquidity that can prompt spikes in volatility. A Federal Reserve policy meeting, Brexit negotiations and a raft of global data including on U.S. core inflation and payrolls could each be the trigger for big currency swings this week.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2PCN9TL

Job post seeking 'preferably Caucasian' applicants removed

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A northern Virginia tech staffing company has apologized after an online job posting sought "preferably Caucasian" applicants.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Wdq9gF

Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

Corey Ballentine, "Avengers: Endgame" and more of the weekend's top news.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2GL4Hce

The Best Compact Cars of 2019, Ranked from Worst to Best

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Spain's knife-edge election is a bellwether for the next European Parliament

According to Vox, Spain’s new hard-Right force, today’s general elections are about the survival of Spain as a national entity. Most European observers, however, will be looking to see how strongly Spain’s forces of moderation can survive the first real assault of Right-wing, anti-immigration and slightly Eurosceptical populism the country has experienced. With no elections due this year in any of Europe’s biggest nations, all eyes are today on Spain as a bellwether for next month’s European Parliament poll, in which populist movements are expected to make a bigger impact than ever. Spain, despite its political fragmentation that has brought about this, its third election in less than four years, has been making solid economic progress in the past half-decade, while also putting order in its public finances. With unemployment still close to 15 per cent, the economy might have been expected to feature prominently in the campaign. But instead Spaniards have been beaten around the head with the strategic importance of the country’s first general election since the Catalan regional government’s unconstitutional referendum and declaration of independence in 2017. Despite the fact that his Socialist party (PSOE) minority government fell because Catalan pro-independence parties withdrew their confidence and supply support, the incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been accused of betraying Spain for trying to launch a negotiation process with Catalonia’s leaders. The main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) and liberal Ciudadanos have been joined in rage at Mr Sánchez’s search for a Catalan compromise by Vox, which polled just 0.2 per cent in 2016, but is expected to surge into Congress today with around a tenth of the seats. Spanish politics has been split into two blocs by the Catalan issue, with Mr Sánchez and his PSOE’s only hope of a stable coalition partner lying in the hard-Left Podemos. Ciudadanos and PSOE have previously sought coalition deals together, but the polarisation over Catalonia is such that the liberal party’s leader, Albert Rivera, prefers to look to Vox for support. According to polling, it is very possible that neither bloc will make it over the line. The PSOE-Podemos alliance could seek to woo pragmatic Basque nationalists, but Mr Sánchez will hope not to have to rely on Catalan parties again. While a Left-wing government could serve to take the sting out of the Catalan independence movement, the PP, Ciudadanos and Vox have competed to take the strongest line against separatism. All three back a prolonged suspension of Catalonia’s autonomy, plus measures to either ban or limit the political freedom of pro-independence parties. A third scenario is political stasis from an impossible hung parliament. This may not be the last general election in Spain this year.

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Man arrested over knives at Japan prince's school desk: media

Japanese police on Monday arrested a 56-year-old man in connection with two paring knives found at the school desk of Prince Hisahito, grandson of Emperor Akihito, local media reported. The incident comes as authorities were beefing up security ahead of the popular emperor's abdication on Tuesday after a 30-year reign. The man, identified as Kaoru Hasegawa, was arrested on suspicion of illegally entering the premises of the junior high school the 12-year-old prince attends on Friday, public broadcaster NHK and other news reports said.

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Beats' first truly wireless earbuds to launch May 10

Over the weekend, Apple's Beats headphones division announced that pre-ordering for their fitness-oriented AirPods competitor will open May 3, with the earbuds hitting shelves on May 10. While the Powerbeats Pro are powered by the same Apple H1 chip used in the second-gen AirPods and likewise support "Hey Siri," they offer nearly double the listening time at nine hours on a single charge instead of just five. The earbuds come in four colors and will put owners back $249.99, $50 more than the latest AirPods.

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