Here are some of the stories making headlines today.
The Supreme Court finally handed Trump a travel ban victory
Within 24 hours of the EO being signed, judges in several states blocked the so-called “travel ban” from going into effect. Trump submitted a second executive order on March 6 taking the number of affected countries to six (Iraq was excluded from the 2nd ban). It was, again, immediately stopped by a lawsuit in Hawaii.
Russian ambassador Kislyak is leaving the US
The Russian Foreign Ministry says Sergey Kislyak’s departure after nine years in the job is part of a regular rotation “all planned in advance”. The 66-year-old came under the spotlight when his communications with Trump’s short-lived National Security Adviser Michael Flynn led to Flynn being fired for failing to be entirely up front about them.
Bloodied and broken: Rising toll of Philippines’ war with ISIS
When the rain finally comes, it is a vicious, torrential downpour, which ends as abruptly as it begins. While the rains come and go, the flow of wounded into a military hospital in the north of the island does not.
Trump’s Modi meeting marks venture into India-Pakistan relations
The meeting between the off-the-cuff President and the prime minister who leads one of the world’s fastest growing economies will be filled with contentious issues, but none may be more challenging than how the United States treats India like a “major defense partner” — a designation the Obama administration gave the country in 2016 — without angering neighboring Pakistan.
Government websites in 3 states hacked with ISIS messages
On Sunday, visitors to governor.ohio.gov were greeted with a black background and an Arabic symbol while an Islamic call to prayer played in the background. “You will be held accountable Trump,” text on the landing page said, “you and all your people for every drop of blood flowing in Muslim countries.”
Serena Williams is getting behind this cause
Tennis superstar Serena Williams hopes to pull the issue out of the shadows. By speaking out and adding her name to the cause, she’s trying to make more people aware of the perils of economic abuse and realize what they can do to help victims. “While I was familiar with financial abuse, I really didn’t realize that it happened in about 99% of domestic violence cases.
Netanyahu freezes Western Wall plans
The decision, made during the cabinet meeting on Sunday, brought a stinging rebuke from Jewish organizations in Israel and around the world. In freezing the plan, Netanyahu backed away from an agreement reached in January 2016 after five years of negotiations, in which a space where men and women could pray together would be established at the southern end of the Western Wall.
These domes let you inhale world’s worst pollution
These locales are central to British artist Michael Pinsky’s new work. For “Pollution Pods,” Pinsky has painstakingly recreated the air quality, smell and temperature of each one in a series of connected domes, now on display in the Norwegian city of Trondheim.
Supreme Court Allows Watered-Down Travel Ban To Take Effect For Now
The Supreme Court has agreed to review President Donald Trump’s travel ban in October, allowing a watered-down version of the order to go into effect in the meantime. Individuals from the six Muslim-majority countries affected by the ban ― Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen ― who have a bona fide relationship with the United States aren’t blocked from entering the country.
Supreme Court To Decide Whether Businesses Can Deny Service To Gay Couples
The Supreme Court will tackle a case about a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in Colorado on religious grounds, it announced Monday. A same-sex couple visited Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, in 2012 asking for a rainbow-colored wedding cake.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer Continues To Leave The Press And Public In The Dark
Continuing an alarming pattern of the White House shutting out the press and the public and curtailing transparency, White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday will answer questions from reporters in a restricted setting. TV networks will not be allowed to broadcast Monday’s press briefing and will be able to air only audio of Spicer’s responses to reporters.
J.K. Rowling Celebrates Harry Potter’s 20th With A Perfect Tweet
Monday marks 20 years since the publication of the first book in a series that would change the world: J.K. Rowling’s ” Harry Potter .” On this day in 1997, Bloomsbury published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the U.K., and soon the entire world fell in love with The Boy Who Lived.
Eric Trump’s New Haircut Reminds Twitter Of A Certain White Nationalist
Eric Trump, the son of President Donald Trump who thinks people who oppose his dad are “not even people,” got a haircut over the weekend. The 33-year-old debuted the new look during a Fox News appearance on Sunday and Twitter had some serious thoughts: .@EricTrump rocking a new hair cut.
Climate Change Could Threaten Up To 2 Billion Refugees By 2100
Charles Geisler, a sociologist at Cornell University, spent much of his career researching where poor people go when rich corporations swoop in and buy the land out from under their feet. But his focus began to shift in 2005, after observing how storm surges tainted farmland in Bangladesh with salt water.
Ethereum price drops 20% after a pile of fake and old news reports
Ethereum has quickly recovered from a flash crash last week, in which the cryptocurrency went from the price of $317 to $0.10 in a few seconds. But now, after several unsubstantiated – or just plain old – news reports over the weekend, Ethereum seems to be experiencing a real correction.
Jamie Foxx’s impression of a young Kanye West is real genius
In an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Jamie Foxx described his first encounter with Kanye West during the rapper’s backpack days. Foxx explained that while at a house party, West showed up. Naturally, Foxx made him perform-and it went extremely well.
‘Anonymous’ says NASA has found alien life, but let’s all slow the hell down
The shadowy hacker collective Anonymous believes that NASA is about to announce that it has discovered alien life of some kind. We’ve looked into these claims and concluded they are, at best, a bone-headed misunderstanding of mundane statements from a NASA official in April, or, at worst, a bold-faced lie playing all of us for clicks.
Michelle Obama helps makes Chance the Rapper’s BET Humanitarian Award historic
The BET Awards featured a surprise guest on Sunday: Michelle Obama. And she taped a special message for none other than Chance the Rapper. The occasion for the visit from the former first lady was Chance’s acceptance of the BET Humanitarian Award.
David and Victoria Beckham watching Ed Sheeran at Glastonbury are absolute couple goals
If there’s one thing that really fills the air with romance, it’s the soft sound of Ed Sheeran gently plucking away on his guitar. Just ask David and Victoria Beckham. On Sunday, during Sheeran’s closing set on the main Glastonbury stage, the Beckhams were spotted watching from the VIP area.
Mark Zuckerberg is still the only one using Facebook Stories and he really likes Iowa
Everyone’s best friend, Mark Zuckerberg, has a new Facebook story and he’s having a great time in Iowa. Zuckerberg used Facebook stories-that product Facebook introduced to add onto Instagram Stories but that hasn’t quite caught on yet-to document his trip midwest. The Facebook CEO traveled to Iowa as part of his 2017 promise to visit U.S.
