General news

• Five sets of fetal remains found in anti-abortion activist’s home, DC police say

  31-03-2022 23:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Lauren Handy claims she gained access to organ bank at university in Seattle but authorities have not disclosed source of fetusesFive sets of human fetal remains were recovered from the Washington DC home of an anti-abortion activist after a raid, the capital’s Metropolitan police department confirmed to the Guardian on Thursday.The activist, a woman named Lauren Handy, 28, is a leader of the group Progressive Anti-Abortion uprising (PAAU) and has described herself as a “Catholic ana
  
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• Scientists make history by sequencing complete human genome for first time

  31-03-2022 23:40 via cnn.com
  
  In 2003, the Human Genome Project made history when it sequenced 92% of the human genome. But for nearly two decades since, scientists have struggled to decipher the remaining 8%. Now, a team of nearly 100 scientists from the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium has unveiled the complete human genome -- the first time it's been sequenced in its entirety, the researchers say.
  
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• Rishi Sunak likens himself to Will Smith in defence of his wife

  31-03-2022 23:33 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘At least I didn’t get up and slap anybody’, chancellor says in interview after tough weekRishi Sunak has compared himself to Will Smith as the chancellor defended his wife against criticism over financial links to Russia, saying: “At least I didn’t get up and slap anybody.”Sunak has come under mounting pressure over accusations that his wife is collecting “blood money” in dividends from a family company that continues to operate in Russia despite
  
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• Facebook fails to label 80% of posts promoting bioweapons conspiracy theory

  31-03-2022 23:29 via theguardian.com
  
  A study found that external articles shared on the bioweapons myth were not labeled as ‘false information’ or ‘missing context’Russia-Ukraine war: latest updatesAs social media companies promise to crack down on Russian disinformation about the war in Ukraine, studies show they continue to fall short, allowing disproven narratives to reach millions.Facebook failed to label 80% of articles on its platform promoting a fast-spreading conspiracy theory that the US is funding
  
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• Ukraine has retaken Irpin. But it's a city that now lies in ruins

  31-03-2022 23:13 via cnn.com
  
  A child's doll lies curb side, covered in dirt and debris, in the war-torn Kyiv suburb of Irpin.
  
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• Covid-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. hit new low

  31-03-2022 23:07 via nbcnews.com
  
  Covid hospitalizations are at their lowest levels since the U.S. began keeping records, according to an NBC News analysis of Health and Human Services data.
  
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• Amazon: Alabama union count concludes with New York result to come

  31-03-2022 22:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Alabama workers vote against unionizing 993 to 875 but official result not declared with hundreds of ballots challengedVote counting has begun in a union election, in which an independent group formed by former and current Amazon workers is trying to organize a company warehouse in New York City, a David and Goliath scenario that could lead to the retail giant’s first unionized facility in the US.Workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island will determine whether or not they wa
  
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• US returns smuggled ancient artifacts to Libya

  31-03-2022 22:39
  
  The United States has returned a cache of smuggled ancient artifacts to Libya as the oil-rich Mediterranean country struggles to protect its heritage against the backdrop of years of war, turmoil and unrest
  
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• Police say 5 fetuses found in home of anti-abortion protester

  31-03-2022 22:30
  
  The Department of Justice charged nine anti-abortion protesters who blocked an abortion clinic, and five fetuses were found in one activist's home
  
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• ‘I know how much it hurts’: Biden to release US oil in bid to lower gas prices – as it happened

  31-03-2022 22:23 via theguardian.com
  
  President lays out plan to free 1m daily barrels from US oil reserveBiden suggests Putin may be in isolation and may have fired advisersUS plans to end Covid-era order blocking asylum seekers at borderRussia-Ukraine war – follow the latest updatesSign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by emailBiden says his energy plan is twofold, and as well as lowering oil costs and saving American families money by tapping the reserves, he was including a directive “to strengthe
  
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• They fell in love on a Greyhound Bus 35 years ago. They've been together ever since

  31-03-2022 22:15 via cnn.com
  
  When Tiffany Woods met Bridgette, she was at a crossroads.
  
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• Planned Parenthood sues Idaho over abortion ban

  31-03-2022 22:12
  
  The lawsuit seeks to end Idaho's ban on abortions after cardiac activity is detected, before most women know they are pregnant.
  
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• Opinion: What Trump turning to Putin may say about former President's political future

  31-03-2022 22:07 via cnn.com
  
  Former President Donald Trump is resorting to a desperate, yet painfully familiar strategy in a bid to hurt President Joe Biden -- and he's trying to enlist the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin to do it.
  
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• Razzies rescind Bruce Willis award after family reveals actor has aphasia

  31-03-2022 21:37 via cnn.com
  
  The Razzies, a tongue-in-cheek award show that hands out honors to the worst cinema of the year, has rescinded its prize for Bruce Willis after the actor's family revealed he is struggling with aphasia, a medical condition that affects his cognitive abilities.
  
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• More than 1,200 died while homeless in the UK in 2021

  31-03-2022 21:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Cuts to mental illness, addiction and housing services linked to 32% increase on previous yearMore than 1,200 people in the UK died while homeless in 2021, a 32% increase on the previous year, as cuts to mental illness, drug and alcohol, and housing services took their toll, according to research.The annual audit by the charity Museum of Homelessness found most deaths occurred among people living in emergency housing or hostels. People sleeping rough or sofa-surfing accounted for 63 deaths, and
  
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• UN donor conference falls billions short of $4.4bn target to help Afghanistan

  31-03-2022 21:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Conference raises only $2.44bn as Russian foreign minister says west is responsible for country’s humanitarian crisisThe world’s donor drought, and growing global divisions over Afghanistan’s political direction, have been laid bare when a UN appeal for $4.4bn (£3.35bn) to help Afghanistan fell massively short, the second UN donor conference in a month to do so.Donor countries pledged only $2.44bn towards the appeal, a senior UN official said on Thursday after a high-leve
  
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• A key inflation gauge sets 40-year high as gas and food soar

  31-03-2022 21:06
  
  An inflation gauge closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.4% in February compared with a year ago, with sharply higher prices for food, gasoline and other necessities squeezing Americans’ finances
  
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• Marjorie Taylor Greene's intolerant attack on Pete Buttigieg sparks outrage

  31-03-2022 21:02 via cnn.com
  
  Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called out Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on oil drilling... and somehow ended up warning him to "stay out of our girls' bathrooms." In today's episode of The Point, CNN's Chris Cillizza breaks down her comment.
  
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• West to send ‘more lethal aid’ to Ukraine, UK defence minister says

  31-03-2022 21:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Ben Wallace says donor conference of over 35 countries discussed need to change type of weaponry suppliedRussia-Ukraine war: latest updatesBritain’s defence secretary has said western nations have agreed to send armoured vehicles and long-range artillery to Ukraine, at a special donor conference attended by more than 35 countries, including the US.Ben Wallace, who convened the event, said there would be “more lethal aid going into Ukraine” but that it would not include tanks or
  
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• Scientists sequence the complete human genome for the first time

  31-03-2022 20:53 via cnn.com
  
  In 2003, the Human Genome Project made history when it sequenced 92% of the human genome. But for nearly two decades since, scientists have struggled to decipher the remaining 8%. Now, a team of nearly 100 scientists from the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium has unveiled the complete human genome -- the first time it's been sequenced in its entirety, the researchers say.
  
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• French military spy chief quits after Ukraine failings, sources say

  31-03-2022 20:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Eric Vidaud to step down after investigation criticises ‘failure to master the issues’ on warRussia-Ukraine war: latest updatesFrance‘s military intelligence chief is leaving his post after Paris failed to accurately predict – in contrast with western allies – that Russia would launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, several sources with knowledge of his exit have said.Gen Eric Vidaud, who has led the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM) since only last summe
  
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• Boris Johnson ditches plans for ban on LGBT conversion practices

  31-03-2022 20:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Leaked document forces government to announce change in approach despite repeated promisesBoris Johnson has ditched plans for a legal ban on conversion practices despite repeated promises for such a move, Downing Street has confirmed.The government announced the change of policy after it emerged in a leaked document obtained by ITV News. Continue reading...
  
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• Nearly 300 Texas defendants released due to computer glitch

  31-03-2022 20:43
  
  Officials say nearly 300 Houston-area defendants were ordered released after a computer glitch prevented them from getting an initial court hearing within the time period required by state law
  
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• Florida must seek court preapproval to change some voting laws, judge rules

  31-03-2022 20:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Federal judge Mark Walker says state’s discrimination against Black voters warrants extraordinary oversightFlorida cannot change certain voting laws without getting preapproval from a federal court for the next decade, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, saying the state has an ongoing and extensive history of discrimination against non-white voters that warranted extraordinary oversight.US district judge Mark Walker put the state back under preclearance on Thursday as part of a 288-page ru
  
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• 'The last straw': Former oligarch on renouncing Russian citizenship

  31-03-2022 20:36 via cnn.com
  
  CNN's Hadas Gold speaks to Leonid Nevzlin, a former oligarch who moved to Israel nearly 20 years ago, on his decision to publicly renounce his Russian citizenship.
  
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• Ikea will pay you to get its old furniture back

  31-03-2022 20:32 via cnn.com
  
  Can't stand that old bookcase and dining table with the mismatched chairs you once thought looked so cool? If you bought them at Ikea, the retailer will pay you to get them back.
  
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• India defends buying discounted Russian oil despite appeal by Truss

  31-03-2022 20:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Foreign secretary urges democracies to join in applying sanctions to Russia after Ukraine invasionIndia’s external affairs minister, Dr S Jaishankar, has defended his country’s right to buy discounted oil from Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, despite an appeal from the from his UK counterpart, Liz Truss, for democracies to show solidarity against authoritarians.He also contrasted the concern the west has shown about the invasion with what he described as the relat
  
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• ‘Bleak Friday’: websites of UK energy suppliers crash in meter reading rush

  31-03-2022 20:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Customers try to beat 54% price rise, as multiple hikes from council tax to VAT on pints also come into effectMillions of households faced chaos on Thursday as the websites of the major energy providers crashed after being overwhelmed by a flood of customers rushing to secure cheaper bills ahead of Friday’s massive hike in prices.Panicked customers rushed to submit meter readings, responding to advice to ensure they got a cheaper rate for energy right up until the end of the day. Continue
  
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• Russian troops have withdrawn from Chernobyl, says Ukrainian nuclear operator

  31-03-2022 20:16 via cnn.com
  
  Russian forces have withdrawn from Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, the state enterprise overseeing Ukraine's nuclear power plants said on Thursday.
  
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• Chernobyl: Russian forces have left, Ukraine says

  31-03-2022 20:16 via cnn.com
  
  Russian forces have withdrawn from Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, the state enterprise overseeing Ukraine's nuclear power plants said on Thursday.
  
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• WATCH: This parrot nibbling on corn is a-MAIZE-ing

  31-03-2022 20:15
  
  Queens resident Yuefei Zheng let his parrot, Hira, nibble on his corn snack.
  
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• Fury after civil service pay rises capped at 3% amid surging inflation

  31-03-2022 20:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Government move shows ‘utter contempt’ for service that has worked through pandemic, say unionsPublic sector unions have reacted with fury after ministers announced that pay increases across the civil service would be pegged at an average of 2% for the year ahead, despite surging inflation.In a written statement published on Thursday, the Cabinet Office minister Heather Wheeler said public sector employers would “have freedom to pay average awards up to 2%”, plus up to an
  
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• P&O Ferries has ‘got away with it’, say unions as Shapps backtracks on action

  31-03-2022 20:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Two-week battle to hold company to account for sacking of 786 crew members appears to end with a whimperA two-week battle to hold P&O Ferries to account for the summary sacking of 786 crew members appears to have ended with a whimper, as unions said the Dubai-owned company had “got away with it” after ministers backtracked on legal action and all but one employee accepted the firm’s controversial payoff ahead of Thursday’s deadline.All of P&O Ferries’ crew w
  
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• First complete gap-free human genome sequence published

  31-03-2022 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  More than 20 years after milestone of first draft, missing sections of sequence have been completedMore than two decades after the draft human genome was celebrated as a scientific milestone, scientists have finally finished the job. The first complete, gap-free sequence of a human genome has been published in an advance expected to pave the way for new insights into health and what makes our species unique.Dr Karen Miga, a scientist at the University of California, Santa Cruz who co-led the int
  
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• US unions condemn ‘unacceptable’ Oregon pension fund link with NSO

  31-03-2022 19:32 via theguardian.com
  
  AFL-CIO in Oregon calls for urgent divestment from fund that owns Israeli spyware company alleged to have targeted union membersWhen labour organisers passed a resolution this month calling for Oregon’s $100bn state pension fund to divest from a fund that owns NSO Group, it pointed to ways in which the Israeli company’s intrusive spyware is alleged to have been used in the past to target union members.“It may seem like a cliche, but an injury to one is an injury to all, and we
  
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• Imran Khan claims US threatened him and wants him ousted as Pakistan PM

  31-03-2022 19:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Khan makes claims in live televised address as no-confidence vote debate begins in parliamentPakistan’s embattled prime minister, Imran Khan, has claimed that the US “threatened” him and is seeking his removal from office as he faces a no-confidence vote in the coming days that could mean the end of his premiership.Khan, who opposition parties accuse of bad governance and economic incompetence, had claimed at a rally on Sunday he had a letter that showed a foreign country was c
  
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• Swedish court dishes out justice after judge steals meatballs

  31-03-2022 19:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Supreme court justice was fined 50,000 kronor after she was caught trying to hide a number of food items in StockholmA supreme court justice in Sweden has been fined for shoplifting a Christmas ham and meatballs, among other items, the prosecutor in the case has said.The 67-year-old woman was caught by staff at a grocery store in central Stockholm a week before Christmas. Continue reading...
  
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• Russia doubles down on threat to cut off gas to West if countries don't pay in rubles

  31-03-2022 19:21 via cnn.com
  
  Russia has doubled down on its threat to cut off natural gas supplies to Western countries that refuse to pay in rubles, raising new concerns about an energy supply crunch and rationing in Europe.
  
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• How do you do a face-to-face interview with Zelensky?

  31-03-2022 19:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, on how she interviewed Ukraine's president.
  
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• Russia doubles down on threat to cut off gas to West if it doesn't pay in rubles

  31-03-2022 19:02 via cnn.com
  
  Russia has doubled down on its threat to cut off natural gas supplies to Western countries that refuse to pay in rubles, raising new concerns about an energy supply crunch and rationing in Europe.
  
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• 2 killed as severe weather spawns nearly 30 tornadoes in 7 states

  31-03-2022 18:59
  
  Two people were killed Thursday in the Florida Panhandle when their mobile home was toppled by a suspected tornado, one of nearly 30 that hit seven, officials said.
  
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• UK Foreign Office rushed £4.2bn of aid cuts, official audit finds

  31-03-2022 18:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Support slashed despite warnings about impact, with offices told not to discuss plans with local partners, says National Audit Office reportThe British government forced through £4.2bn in aid cuts so quickly it had little time to plan the impact they would have, or consult partners, according to an official audit.The National Audit Office (NAO) said bilateral spending – aid given directly to another government – faced some of the harshest cuts by the Foreign, Commonwealth and D
  
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• Ex-NATO commander: Putin knows Russian military is lying to him

  31-03-2022 18:34 via cnn.com
  
  CNN military analyst Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.) explains why intelligence reports claiming Vladimir Putin's top advisers are lying to him are typical of the Russian military.
  
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• Ex-NATO commander: Putin knows military is lying to him

  31-03-2022 18:34 via cnn.com
  
  CNN military analyst Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.) explains why intelligence reports claiming Vladimir Putin's top advisers are lying to him are typical of the Russian military.
  
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• ‘There’s a bit of shagging going on’: worms and romance draw Sydney’s ibis from bins to soaked parks

  31-03-2022 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  With parks resembling wetlands thanks to persistent rain, the bin chicken has gone back to natureFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesDownload the free Guardian app; get our morning email briefingRecent rains have driven the Australian white ibis away from our bins and into Sydney’s sodden parklands.Known as the “bin chicken”, “tip turkey”, “sandwich snatcher” or “picnic pirate”, the much-maligned ibis is now congregating
  
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• NDIA scrutinised disabled woman’s social media posts to challenge her eligibility, tribunal decision reveals

  31-03-2022 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Agency’s ‘intelligence report’ dismissed by tribunal reviewing case as ‘far from sound’Get our free news app; get our morning email briefingNational Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) staff reviewed the social media accounts of a disabled woman applying for the scheme and sent a report to a doctor engaged to provide an expert opinion, a tribunal decision reveals.But their “intelligence report”, which included Facebook and LinkedIn posts dating
  
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• Motorists may wait weeks for lower petrol prices as retailers use up old stock

  31-03-2022 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Australia’s market watchdog will monitor service stations to ensure fuel excise cut is passed on to consumers in fullFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingAustralian motorists may have to wait weeks for the Morrison government’s halving of the fuel excise to be passed on, with one motoring group warning that retailers could use falling global oil prices as a cover to fatten their profit margins.From midnight Wed
  
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• Hospitality industry calls for pay freeze for Australia’s lowest-paid workers

  31-03-2022 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  If minimum wage rises it’s ‘only a matter of time’ before cafes charge $7 for a coffee, employers sayGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingWorkers on the lowest pay would receive a real pay cut under a proposal to freeze the minimum wage pushed by the cafe and restaurant industry.The Restaurant and Catering Industry Association called for no increase in the minimum wage in its submission to the annual review, arguing take-home pay is already rising due to job sho
  
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• ‘Devastating’: woman with a disability met with disbelief after sexual assault, royal commission hears

  31-03-2022 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  A worker at Anglicare facility tried to tell victim that assault didn’t happen, commission toldGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingAnglicare took three years to apologise for failing to report the sexual assault of young woman with a disability to police, a royal commission has heard.After voicing their concerns during an audit last year, Niky* and her family received a written apology from the organisation for the mishandling of the assault, which occurred in 2018.Sign up
  
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• Russia raises stakes in energy standoff by insisting on rubles for gas

  31-03-2022 18:21 via cnn.com
  
  Russia has doubled down on its threat to cut off natural gas supplies to Western countries that refuse to pay in rubles, raising new concerns about an energy supply crunch and rationing in Europe.
  
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