Morning Headlines for Thursday, March 19, 2015
New York Times
“Federal employee will not face criminal charges in drone crash at White House”
“The Justice Department said Wednesday that it would not criminally charge a federal employee who was operating a hobbyist’s drone that crashed on the South Lawn of the White House in January.”
AFP
“U.S. drone kills Somali militant linked to Kenya mall attack”
“A drone strike in Somalia last week killed a senior al-Shebab figure linked to the notorious 2013 attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, the U.S. military said Wednesday.”
Al Jazeera America
“U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to restore voting rights to ex-convicts”
“Lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday that would restore voting rights in federal elections to nearly 4.4 million U.S. citizens with criminal convictions after their release from prison.”
Al Jazeera America
“Putin signs treaty integrating South Ossetia into Russia”
“Russia tightened its control Wednesday over a second breakaway region of Georgia, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leader of South Ossetia signing a new treaty that calls for nearly full integration.”
New York Times
“Senate Republicans rebuff House colleagues with their budget plan”
“Senate Republicans on Wednesday released an austere budget that maintains strict caps on military spending and cuts trillions of dollars from health care and welfare, sending a rebuff to their House colleagues.”
Reuters
“Exclusive: U.S. likely to delay planned closure of two Afghanistan bases”
“The U.S. military bases in Kandahar and Jalalabad are likely to remain open beyond the end of 2015, a senior U.S. official said, as Washington considers slowing its military pull-out from Afghanistan to help the new government fight the Taliban.”
Associated Press
“Caribbean court hears suit against two nations’ anti-gay laws”
“A Caribbean court on Wednesday heard a challenge from a gay rights activist who argued that immigration laws ostensibly barring homosexuals from entering two countries in the region are discriminatory and must be repealed.”
Reuters
“Target agrees to pay $10 million to settle lawsuit from data breach”
“Target Corp has agreed to pay $10 million in a proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit related to a huge 2013 data breach that consumers say compromised their personal financial information, court documents show.”
Washington Post
“Women out-earn men in just nine of 342 occupations”
“On Monday the Census Bureau released new 2013 data showing median earnings by detailed occupation for full-time, year-round workers. The numbers also include the ratio of women’s earnings to men’s earnings by occupation, in cases where enough data were available for a reliable comparison.”
Reuters
“Indonesian court delays decision on Australian death row convicts”
“Two Australian drug convicts on death row in Indonesia will not be executed this month after a court on Thursday postponed their appeal hearing against the rejection of a request for presidential clemency.”
Reuters
“Two more U.S. healthcare workers repatriated for Ebola monitoring”
“The last two members of a group of U.S. healthcare workers whose colleague is being treated for the Ebola virus returned on Wednesday from Sierra Leone to the United States, where they are being monitored for possible exposure to the deadly virus.”
Reuters
“Democratic support for Hillary Clinton softens: Reuters/Ipsos poll”
“Democratic support for Hillary Clinton’s expected presidential campaign is softening amid controversy over her use of personal email when secretary of state, but most Democrats are for now sticking by their party’s presumed candidate.”
AFP
“Thai former PM Yingluck to face trial over rice scheme”
“Thailand’s former premier Yingluck Shinawatra was Thursday ordered to stand trial on charges of negligence over a bungled rice subsidy scheme, in a case that could see her jailed for up to a decade.”
Washington Post
“The franchise industry went to war against Seattle’s new $15 wage. Seattle won.”
“The International Franchise Association drafted former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement to build the case against treating franchisees like large businesses, asking for an injunction on the new rules, which go into effect April 1. Tuesday, a federal judge threw out their objections, removing the last obstacle to implementation of the measure — as well as clearing the way for cities across the country to do the same — and adding ammunition to the argument that franchisees are solely responsible for the people they employ.”
New York Times
“Chechen’s ties to Putin are questioned amid Nemtsov murder case”
“The question these days is not so much Mr. Kadyrov’s fealty to Mr. Putin, his political patron, but whether Mr. Putin’s Faustian bargain to gain stability in Chechnya, where Russia fought two grisly wars to suppress Muslim separatists, has backfired, unleashing a violent and unpredictable despot.”
Reuters
“EU to tell Greece time, patience running out”
“Euro zone leaders will tell Greece on Thursday that time and patience are running out for its leftist-led government to implement agreed reforms to avert a looming cash crunch that could force it out of the single currency.”
New York Times
“Tunisia has found no terrorist links to gunmen in museum attack”
“Neither of the two gunmen killed in the deadly attack on a museum in Tunis on Wednesday has been linked to any known terrorist group, although one of the men had previously caught the attention of the Tunisian intelligence services, Prime Minister Habib Essid said on Thursday.”
Reuters
“Obama to sign order cutting government greenhouse gas emissions”
“President Barack Obama will sign an executive order on Thursday that will cut the U.S. government’s greenhouse gas emissions, the White House said in a statement.”
Associated Press
“Hearing set on allegations in immigration lawsuit”
“Justice Department attorneys are preparing to answer questions about claims that they misled a judge about when part of President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration was implemented.”
AFP
“Ebola-hit Sierra Leone to lock down 2.5 million people”
“Sierra Leone said Thursday it will confine around 2.5 million people to their homes across the capital and in the north in a three-day shutdown aimed at stemming the Ebola epidemic.”
Associated Press
“AP Exclusive: Iran limited to 6,000 centrifuges in draft accord”
“A draft nuclear accord now being negotiated between the United States and Iran would force Iran to cut hardware it could use to make an atomic bomb by about 40 percent for at least a decade, while offering the Iranians immediate relief from sanctions that have crippled their economy, officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.”
Reuters
“ICC should prosecute Islamic State for Iraq genocide, war crimes: U.N.”
“The United Nations said on Thursday Islamic State forces may have committed genocide in trying to wipe out the Yazidi minority in Iraq as well as war crimes against civilians including children.”
USA Today
“Obama broaches the idea of ‘mandatory voting’”
“While discussing money in politics on Wednesday, President Obama broached a topic normally confined to academic circles: A law requiring people to vote.”
