Biden Calls Out Caitlin Clark’s Lowball WNBA Salary
Mariel Tyler/NBAE via Getty ImagesJoe Biden subtly called out the WNBA for Caitlin Clark’s lowball rookie salary, writing Tuesday that “it’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.”That statement, posted to X, didn’t mention Clark by name, but it was clear that the budding superstar—and her measly first-year WNBA salary of $76,535—were the reason behind his comments. Since its inception in 1996, the WNBA has never come close to having comparable salaries to that of the NBA and other top U.S. professional men’s leagues. But as word spread that even Clark wouldn’t be paid a six-figure salary in her first year, ire and disbelief quickly spread. Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Will Disneyland get an Avatar land? It's likely. Here's what else may be in store
With the approval of DisneylandForward, new attractions and adventures will be coming to Disneyland. Here's what's been teased by Disney officials so far.
latimes.com
The very short Mayorkas impeachment trial, explained
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee about the fiscal year 2025 budget on April 16, 2024. | Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images Senate Democrats put a quick end to Republicans’ political stunt. Republicans’ political impeachment stunt against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas came to a head this week in the Senate, with lawmakers in the upper chamber voting to dismiss the charges. On Tuesday, House Republicans sent two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to the upper chamber, and on Wednesday, senators were sworn in as jurors for a trial. The articles accuse Mayorkas of failing to enforce immigration laws, making false statements to Congress, and obstructing oversight into DHS policies, all charges he denies. On Wednesday, the Senate rejected both articles, voting 51-48 along party lines to deem the first “unconstitutional” and 51-49 to dismiss the second article and adjourn the trial before it even really began. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted present on the first article. This is the first impeachment trial of a Cabinet secretary in more than a century. It’s likely to be remembered not as a historic moment of political accountability but as a marker of how polarized Congress has become over the last decade. The swift conclusion of the proceedings marks a win for Democrats and the Biden administration, who denounced the impeachment effort as a sham and a waste of resources. Democrats have long said that the behavior Mayorkas is accused of does not qualify as “high crimes and misdemeanors,” which is the legal threshold for impeachment. Republicans, meanwhile, wanted to drag the process out in order to draw more attention to the issue of immigration, and to use the proceedings as a platform to criticize the Biden administration’s immigration policies. Mayorkas oversees border security and asylum as DHS secretary, so going after him created an opportunity to focus on these subjects and to make election-year promises to voters that the GOP will fix issues at the border if it come back into power. These efforts come as immigration has become a more potent campaign flash point this year because of the surge in migration the US has experienced. The “trial” showdown, briefly explained In February, the House voted to impeach Mayorkas after almost a year of hearings and investigations. Republicans argued that he did not properly enforce immigration laws, citing, in one case, the decision to release migrants after they arrived at the southern border. In fact, that’s an established practice followed by multiple administrations, in part because the US does not have sufficient space to detain people as they await immigration hearings. Republicans also said that Mayorkas had made false statements to Congress because he testified that the border was “secure,” and that he blocked oversight by failing to respond to subpoenas and offer sufficient access to his office. Mayorkas has pushed back against the charges, noting that his approach may differ from that of Republicans, but he’s been committed to immigration enforcement and has worked to comply with Congress’s oversight of the agency by providing testimony and documents. Many Constitutional law experts also said Republicans had not shown that the charges reached a legal bar for impeachment, and that they instead seemed to be founded on policy disagreements. “If allegations like this were sufficient to justify impeachment, the separation of powers would be permanently destabilized,” wrote top scholars, including Harvard’s Laurence Tribe and Berkeley’s Erwin Chemerinsky, in a January letter. The first phase of the Senate trial on Wednesday took place because the upper chamber needed to fulfill its constitutional duty. Following a House impeachment, the Senate’s job is to hear the charges and determine whether the person should be convicted. If an official is convicted — which requires a two-third majority vote — they would then be removed from their position. The Senate also has the option to dismiss, or table, the impeachment articles if a simple majority votes to do so. Ultimately, that’s what happened on both articles against Mayorkas, though it wasn’t without some drama. During the process, Republicans were able to force additional votes on “points of order,” or procedural motions regarding how the impeachment should move forward. They used this platform to slam Democrats repeatedly for not holding a full trial like those seen during the impeachment proceedings of former Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton and to try to delay the trial to a later date. The GOP points of order all largely failed on party lines. The impeachment is political messaging in a campaign year The impeachment itself is part of a broader GOP strategy to keep the focus on immigration as Republicans campaign on border security ahead of this year’s presidential election. It’s a strategy that’s worked for them before, including in 2016, when Trump made building a wall at the southern border a central promise of his campaign. The general public has also historically viewed Republicans as more trustworthy on border security than Democrats. A September 2023 NBC News poll found that 50 percent of voters trust Republicans on this issue, compared to 20 percent who trust Democrats. Immigration has been especially resonant this year because there’s been a high number of unauthorized crossings at the southern border as global displacement has increased and as instability in some South American countries has forced people to flee. State Republican leaders, including Govs. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, have drawn attention to this development by busing and flying migrants to Democrat-led cities such as New York City and Chicago. Democratic leaders, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, have kept the focus on the influx of migrants as they’ve sought help from the federal government and imposed harsh eviction policies. In response to the Mayorkas impeachment, Democratic lawmakers have called Republicans’ focus on the issue disingenuous, as GOP leaders, including Trump, have opposed efforts to pass bipartisan immigration reforms that could help address some of these challenges. As a result of the attention it’s received in recent months, immigration has become a top issue in key swing states that Republicans hope to flip in order to win back the presidency and retake certain Senate seats. A March 2024 Wall Street Journal poll found that immigration was one of voters’ top two issues in seven key swing states, including Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada. According to research from political scientists Douglas Kriner and Eric Schickler, approaches like this have successfully dented presidents’ approval ratings in the past. The researchers found, for example, that if lawmakers spent 20 days per month on investigative hearings, the president’s approval rating could see a commensurate decline of 2.5 percent in that time. But while the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas was designed to cast negative attention on the Biden administration as Trump navigates countless legal scandals of his own, Senate Democrats’ quick dismissal has dulled much of its impact.
vox.com
Netanyahu brushes off calls for restraint, says Israel will decide how to respond to Iran's attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country will be the one to decide whether and how to respond to Iran’s major air assault.
latimes.com
Flash flooding in Dubai as storm dumps historic rainfall
A rainstorm that dumped more than five inches of water and hail Tuesday in Dubai has led to flash flooding and closed operations at Dubai International Airport. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Charlie D'Agata is following the unusual weather event in the United Arab Emirates.
cbsnews.com
Boeing’s problems were as bad as you thought
The senate hearings come months after a door plug in a Boeing 737-9 MAX plane blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5. | Getty Images Experts and whistleblowers testified before Congress today. The upshot? “It was all about money.” Boeing went under the magnifying glass at not one, but two senate hearings today examining allegations of deep-seated safety issues plaguing the once-revered plane manufacturer. Witnesses, including two whistleblowers, painted a disturbing picture of a company that cut corners, ignored problems, and threatened employees who spoke up. These hearings have convened just four months after a door plug blew out of a Boeing-made Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight in January, sparking further concerns about a precipitous downslide in Boeing’s reputation for safety and quality in recent years. The first hearing, held by the Senate Commerce Committee, questioned aviation experts who put together an FAA report published in February. It concluded that the company had not made enough strides in improving its safety culture since the deadly 2018 and 2019 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people. “There exists a disconnect, for lack of a better word, between the words that are being said by Boeing management, and what is being seen and experienced by employees across the company,” said witness Javier de Luis, an aerospace engineer and lecturer at MIT. The FAA report conducted hundreds of interviews with Boeing employees across the country, and the authors found staff often didn’t know how to report concerns or who to report them to. “In one of the surveys that we saw, 95 percent of the people who responded to the survey did not know who the chief of safety was,” said Tracy Dillinger, manager for safety culture and human factors at NASA. The second hearing put the spotlight on two whistleblowers — Boeing quality engineer Sam Salehpour and former Boeing engineer Ed Pierson — alongside aviation safety advocate and former FAA engineer Joe Jacobsen and Ohio State University aviation professor Shawn Pruchnicki. The whistleblowers slammed Boeing for allegedly knowing about defective parts and other serious assembly problems, and choosing to ignore or even conceal them. Such problems could slow down production and be expensive to fix — and internal and external critics say that Boeing’s priority was maximizing its profits. Salehpour said he had gone up high in the chain of command at Boeing to alert them of his concerns, having written “many memos, time after time.” Yet he says his warnings went unheeded — and that he was punished for bringing them up. “I was sidelined. I was told to shut up. I received physical threats,” he said. “My boss said, ‘I would have killed someone who said what you said in the meeting.’” Boeing’s many whistleblowers During Wednesday’s hearings, witnesses reiterated that Boeing management had been overly focused on ramping up production while also cutting costs. Salehpour, who has worked at Boeing since 2007, came forward in early April warning that more than 1,000 Boeing planes in the skies were in danger of structural failure due to premature fatigue. In the 787 line, tiny gaps between plane parts hadn’t been properly filled, he said. “I found gaps exceeding the specification that were not properly addressed 98.7 percent of the time,” Salehpour testified during the hearing today. He said that debris ended up in these unfilled gaps “80 percent of the time.” Such debris could, in some cases, result in a fire. On the 777s, he found “severe misalignment” of airplane parts. “I literally saw people jumping on the pieces of the airplane to get them to align,” he said. Salehpour urged Boeing to ground all 787 Dreamliner planes ahead of his testimony. Boeing, for its part, has denied Salehpour’s assertions, saying that “claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate” and noting further that it had tested the 787 line many more times than the jet would actually take off or land in its lifespan, and had found no evidence of fatigue. But Salehpour pointed out today that the above-and-beyond stress testing referred to older 787 planes, in which excessive force wasn’t used during assembly. Talking about the faulty software system that contributed to the deadly 737 MAX crashes, Pruchnicki, the OSU professor, accused Boeing of sneaking the system through the certification process. “It was all about money,” he said. “That’s why those people died.” There were plenty of fingers pointed at the FAA for failing to oversee Boeing with a tighter rein. When Sen. Richard Blumenthal asked if hiring more FAA inspectors would help, Jacobsen, the former FAA engineer, answered that it would — but that the attitude needed to change. “The attitude right now is Boeing dictates to the FAA.” Boeing has said it’s cooperating fully with investigators, but at another Senate hearing in March, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board testified that, two months after the Alaska Airlines incident, Boeing still had not provided several records related to door plug failure. Boeing says it can’t find them. Pierson, the ex-Boeing whistleblower, testified today that this couldn’t be true. “I’m not going to sugarcoat this: This is a criminal cover-up,” he said. “Records do in fact exist. I know this because I’ve personally passed them to the FBI.” Kent Nishimura/Getty Images Sam Salehpour, a Boeing quality engineer and whistleblower, testified before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on April 17. A steady crop of whistleblowers have come forward over the decades flagging issues with Boeing’s planes, particularly after the MAX crashes. Boeing’s safety concern tip portal also saw a 500 percent increase in reports after the Alaska Airlines accident. A previous whistleblower from Boeing’s South Carolina plant, former Boeing quality manager John Barnett, claimed there were numerous quality issues with Boeing’s manufacturing process, including dangerous debris that hadn’t been removed from its jets and issues with its emergency oxygen system. He was recently found dead of an apparent suicide right before his third day of deposition testimony in his whistleblower lawsuit; Barnett, like others, said that he had faced retaliation from the company. Some of Barnett’s former coworkers don’t believe he died by suicide, according to reporting from the American Prospect. We don’t know yet what the results of the ongoing regulatory and criminal investigations into these recent safety scares will be, or the consequences for Boeing. CEO Dave Calhoun recently announced he would be stepping down from the position at the end of this year. Boeing already underwent a fraud investigation for the earlier 737 MAX crashes — it agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle the case, avoiding a criminal conviction. What does this mean for airline passengers? Boeing’s safety issues are especially unsettling because there isn’t a quick fix to untangling them. It’s been more than five years since the deadly 737 MAX disasters, and according to aviation experts and current and former employees, the company hasn’t managed to right the ship. That critics have accused Boeing of pushing for higher profits at the expense of safety is an alarm bell for anyone who ever plans to take a commercial flight again. There are just two passenger jet makers that dominate the market: Boeing and Airbus. “You’ve got a management team that doesn’t seem terribly concerned with their core business in building aircraft,” Richard Aboulafia, managing director of the consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, told Vox in January. Commercial aviation is remarkably safe, but that near-pristine safety record was hard-earned. It’s understandably shocking that one of the world’s only commercial jet manufacturers appears to have let its once-high standards slacken, if the allegations of Boeing whistleblowers are true. It’s also prudent to expect the highest rigor possible for aviation safety — good enough isn’t good enough. Boeing has consistently downplayed structural problems with its planes and denied that it puts profits over quality. But the number of whistleblowers and experts saying otherwise is reaching a deafening pitch. “It really scares me, believe me,” Salehpour said of being a whistleblower and facing retaliation. “But I am at peace. If something happens to me, I am at peace, because I feel like, coming forward, I will be saving a lot of lives.”
vox.com
USC was wrong to silence its valedictorian
USC made the wrong decision. Would it silence a speaker who is a famous or wealthy donor? A well-known politician?
latimes.com
Prosecutors intend to bring up fraud, sexual abuse cases if Trump testifies in N.Y. trial
Under the 5th Amendment, the jury is prohibited from holding it against former President Donald Trump if he does not testify.
cbsnews.com
Here's how much Caitlin Clark will make in the WNBA
The No. 1 pick in this year's WNBA draft is "going to raise all boats" for players in the league, one expert said.
cbsnews.com
‘Forever chemicals’ found in US drinking water, map shows ‘hot spots’ of highest levels
A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience on April 8 found that higher amounts of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances) were found in drinking water in certain parts of the U.S.
foxnews.com
All The Internet Stars Seen in Abbott Elementary
Abbott Elementary is filled with appearances from internet personalities
time.com
Fox News Politics: Capitol grill
The latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content
foxnews.com
Mayorkas articles of impeachment dismissed by Senate
The Senate has dismissed the two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane reports.
cbsnews.com
Bragg says he will try to 'discredit' Trump if he testifies in his defense during criminal trial
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg intends to use former President Trump’s alleged “prior misconduct and criminal acts" to discredit him if he testifies in his own defense at trial, according to a notice filed Wednesday.
foxnews.com
Columbia University’s President Rebuts Claims School Has Become a Hotbed of Bias, Hatred
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The president of Columbia University took a firm stand against antisemitism Wednesday as she parried accusations from Republicans who see the New York campus as a hotbed of bias, but she hedged on whether certain phrases invoked by some supporters of Palestinians rise to harassment. Nemat Shafik had the benefit of hindsight…
time.com
IRS Warns Taxpayers Who May Have to Pay 'Surprise' Fees
Americans often are forced to pay "surprise fees" when their tax refund from the year before was too large.
newsweek.com
'Friends' guest star Olivia Williams details 'alarming' experience while on hit sitcom in 1998
"The Crown" alum Olivia Williams opened up about her experience on the "Friends" set and explained why her time was "alarming" and "harrowing."
foxnews.com
McConnell on Mayorkas impeachment trial: "This process must not be abused"
Before the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were dismissed, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell decried Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's efforts to cut short the trial. CBS News' Scott MacFarlane reports.
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Stock market today: Wall Street dips to send S&P 500 to its longest losing streak since January
Sinking technology stocks sent Wall Street lower again, and the S&P 500 fell to its fourth straight loss
latimes.com
Mayorkas Impeachment Fail Sparks Republican Outrage
Multiple Republicans had previously expressed concerns that Democratic leadership in the upper chamber would kill off the impeachment trial before it began.
newsweek.com
Justice Department nears settlement with Larry Nassar victims
If approved, the settlement will be paid out by the Justice Department to nearly 100 victims of Larry Nassar, who was convicted of sexual abuse and child pornography.
cbsnews.com
Meat pie, spiders and a toupee: Uber dishes on weird things left behind in rides this year
Uber's annual Lost & Found Index reveals popular and surprising items left behind by riders. Here are some of the most unique finds reported to the rideshare company.
foxnews.com
L.A. sheriff's deputy facing felony charges, allegedly stole money during traffic stop
An L.A. sheriff's deputy was charged with two felonies and one misdemeanor after prosecutors say she stole money from a driver during a traffic stop.
latimes.com
Stefanik slams Columbia University 'arrogance,' 'inconsistent testimony': 'reckoning of accountability'
House GOP chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., torched Columbia University President Dr. Nemat "Minouche" Shafik's "glaringly inconsistent testimony" and "arrogance."
foxnews.com
Mysterious Burnt Seeds Found In Roman Pot May Be Cannabis
The ancient pot was found at a site that preserves evidence of Roman settlement and agricultural activity.
newsweek.com
Caesars Sportsbook Promo Code NEWSWK1000: $1K First Bet for NBA Play-In
Register with our Caesars Sportsbook promo code NEWSWK1000 to bet up to $1,000 on the NBA Play-In Tournament.
newsweek.com
What Judge Merchan Knows About Trump
The judge overseeing the former president's criminal trial is familiar with his history, in and out of court.
time.com
California Homebuyers Fight Over $1.7 Million Tiny Home
The property has attracted significant attention since going on the market.
newsweek.com
Kelly Clarkson Has Fans 'Weeping' Over Latest 'Kellyoke' Cover for the Olympics
Kelly Clarkson sang a tribute to the Olympic athletes competing in the 2024 games.
newsweek.com
USC valedictorian who had speech canceled ‘not apologetic,’ defends call to abolish Israel in its current form
Controversial USC valedictorian Asna Tabassum told CNN's Abby Phillip on Tuesday night that she's "not apologetic" for anti-Israel posts she shared online.
foxnews.com
Lewis Hamilton Rags a Skyline Around Tokyo Once Again in Insane Video
Lewis Hamilton's latest video showcases him driving a Skyline in Tokyo, capturing significant social media attention.
newsweek.com
Arizona Republicans Fend Off Another Effort to Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty ImagesFor the second time in as many weeks, Arizona Republicans thwarted an attempt to kill a Civil War-era law that is poised to ban nearly all abortions across the battleground state. A Democrat-led bid to wrestle a repeal bill onto the floor of the state House during a Wednesday legislative session was repeatedly swatted down, with four votes failing in a deadlock.An uproar over the decision by the Arizona Supreme Court last week to uphold the 1864 abortion ban prompted even some GOP figureheads, former President Donald Trump and Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake chief among them, to come out against its implementation. But Arizona lawmakers have held firm, with state Rep. Ben Toma (R), speaker of the narrowly divided House, signaling that he does not support repeal.“The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill through the legislative process to repeal a law that has been enacted and reaffirmed by the Legislature several times,” Toma said after the first vote’s failure. He asked those present in the room “to respect the fact that some of us believe that abortion is in fact the murder of children.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
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The Best Mother’s Day Gifts for the Mom Who Pretends She Doesn’t Want Anything
Scouted/The Daily Beast/Retailers.Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.it’s that time of year again—Mother’s Day 2024 (Sunday, May 12) is just around the corner, and if you’re like me, you’re already struggling with a stubborn mom (and stepmom) who swears she doesn’t want a gift this year. Whether for your biological mom, your new-ish mother-in-law, your not-evil-at-all stepmother, your wife, your grandmother, or a friend, it’s not always easy to narrow down all of the options when you’re scouring the web in search of the best Mother’s Day gifts for someone who either has everything or says they don’t want a gift at all. Obviously, showing up to Mother’s Day brunch empty-handed is not an option (in most cases), so coming up with a non-basic gift she never knew they needed but will absolutely love is the best route to go. Depending on your relationship with the giftee in question, the best Mother’s Day gifts are usually equal parts sentimental, useful, and, of course, have a personal touch of some kind.Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Viola the circus elephant with history of escapes breaks free again in Montana, heads toward casino slots
An elephant named Viola recently ran away from a circus after being frightened by a vehicle and went on a short escapade in Butte, Montana, before being captured.
foxnews.com
Calls for Angel Hernandez’s MLB ouster growing: ‘There has to be a line, right?’
Hernandez missed 21 calls during Tuesday's Padres-Brewers game, according to the umpire scorecards X account.
nypost.com
Couple Takes in 10-Year-Old Cat After Neighbor 'Didn't Want' Her Anymore
The cat used to sneak into the couple's house and sleep on their sofa.
newsweek.com
9 face charges as investigators link Canada's biggest gold theft to weapons trafficking
Project 24K, a joint investigation, links the Toronto Pearson International Airport heist to weapons seized by the U.S., allegedly meant for trafficking into Canada.
latimes.com
The world’s best hope for survival? Saving us from ourselves.
Post readers respond to articles on climate change, Trump’s comments on Jewish voters and calls for a cease-fire in Gaza.
washingtonpost.com
China's Economy Faces Choppy Waters Despite Rosy Report
Official data shows the world's second-largest economy grew faster than expected during the first quarter but began losing momentum in March.
newsweek.com
Dog Abandoned in Park With Heartbreaking Note on Collar
The person shared in the note that they were nervous for the dog's safety if he stayed in his house.
newsweek.com
USC got it wrong in canceling valedictorian's speech. Here's what the school should do now
The university should let Asna Tabassum speak at its graduation ceremony. It shouldn't have caved to pressure from those upset by her support for Palestinians.
latimes.com
Author Sophie Kinsella reveals that she's had brain cancer since 2022: 'All is stable'
'Confessions of a Shopaholic' scribe Sophie Kinsella reveals she was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2022. Since then she's had surgery, radiation and chemo.
latimes.com
Code Pink protesters confront Defense Secretary Austin about Israel: 'Stop supporting mass murder'
Code Pink accused Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin of supporting genocide by supporting Israel amid its war with Hamas and Hezbollah.
foxnews.com
WNBA salaries by the numbers: Why Caitlin Clark’s salary makes sense
The talk surrounding Caitlin Clark's ballyhooed jump to the WNBA has shifted into a debate about her salary.
nypost.com
Claim FanDuel and DraftKings promos for $350 value in most states, $400 in North Carolina
While some books have already reverted to the national offers in North Carolina, you can still find elevated deals from FanDuel and DraftKings.
nypost.com
Senate Dismisses Mayorkas Impeachment Articles as Unconstitutional
The stunted Senate trial marked the end of the deeply partisan and historic effort to impeach Mayorkas over his handling of the border.
time.com
Columbia Threatens to Suspend Students as President Testifies in Congress
As the Columbia University president testifies in D.C. over antisemitism on campuses, students hold a sit-in protesting the school's financial ties to Israel.
newsweek.com