As we conclude another week, these are the biggest stories.
At least 17 dead in Florida school shooting, law enforcement says
Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered government flags flown at half-staff through Monday in honor of victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a public school of some 3,000 students outside Boca Raton. The school is closed for the rest of the week, Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said.
The FBI, CIA and NSA say American citizens shouldn’t use Huawei phones
Top officials from the CIA, NSA, FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee thatthe Chinese smartphone makers posed a security threat to American customers. Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas asked the group to raise their hands if they would recommend private American citizens use products or services made by Apple competitor Huawei or smartphone maker ZTE.
US Vice President Mike Pence says he ignored Kim Jong Un’s sister
Pence, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in were all seated mere feet away from Kim Yo Jong, a senior member of the North’s high-level delegation and the head of the country’s propaganda department, at the Opening Ceremony for the Games last week.
Jacob Zuma quits as South Africa’s President
“No life should be lost in my name and also the ANC should never be divided in my name,” he said during a nationally televised political address Wednesday. “I have therefore come to the decision to resign as President of the republic with immediate effect.”
Morgan Tsvangirai, longtime Mugabe foe, dies at 65
Tsvangirai had been in and out of hospital since disclosing in June 2016 that he had colon cancer. He returned to Johannesburg for another round of treatment in early January. Tsvangirai was the veteran leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, and one of the most prominent critics of the former Zimbabwean strongman Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF party.
5G could change everything from music to medicine
The lightning quick “next generation” wireless technology is expected to power self-driving cars, virtual reality, smart cities and networked robots. But what else can it do? Ericsson has joined up with researchers from King’s College London to dream up futuristic applications for 5G. They’re looking at everything from music to medicine.
Richard Branson is ‘jealous’ of Elon Musk’s rocket launch
“I was a little bit jealous,” Richard Branson told CNN’s Christine Romans on Tuesday. Branson, whose Virgin Galactic is racing to launch tourists into space before SpaceX, called Musk’s stunning Falcon Heavy launch “extraordinary.” “They all just did fantastic,” Branson said at the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit in Washington.
Trump lawyer admits paying porn star
The long-term personal lawyer of US President Donald Trump has admitted privately paying an adult film star $130,000 (£95,000) in 2016, in a statement to US media. It follows US media reports that the porn actress known as Stormy Daniels was paid to sign an agreement stopping her discussing an alleged affair.
What we know about US shooting suspect
A picture is building of the suspect in a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida that left at least 17 people dead. Nikolas Cruz, 19, was detained in the nearby city of Coral Springs. He was then treated in hospital and taken into police custody.
Scandal-hit Australia deputy PM takes leave
Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will take a leave of absence following politically damaging debate over his affair with a former staffer. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told parliament that Mr Joyce would not fill his post as acting leader next week. Mr Turnbull is due to travel to the US.
Ultra-processed foods ‘linked to cancer’
A link between highly processed foods and cancer has been suggested by French researchers. They classified foods including cakes, chicken nuggets and mass-produced bread as “ultra-processed”. A study of 105,000 people hinted the more of such foods people ate, the greater their risk of cancer.
One million call for Snapchat roll-back
One million people have signed a petition calling on Snapchat to roll back its latest redesign. The changes were intended to separate interactions with friends from branded content – including that of celebrities and influencers. Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel wrote in a blog post that he believed blurring the two had contributed to the rise of fake news.
Florida shooting: A survivor’s story
It was 14:30 when David Hogg heard the first shot. The 17-year-old was in environmental science class at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida. The teacher had just passed out worksheets. When he heard the bang, his classmates turned to each other. That sounded like a gun, they said.
Elon Musk’s vision of human spaceflight can take us to Mars, but there’s a cost
Picture this: A crew of the first humans to journey beyond Earth and the moon arrive at Mars. Their boots touch the rusty surface of the red planet after a months-long trip through deep space. Who are they? How do they understand what they see? And what are the circumstances that sent them there?
Race your friends down this outrageous 93-foot slide
A giant metal slide has opened in one of the hottest cities in the U.S. Belgian artist Carsten Höller brought one of his world famous spiral slides to Miami’s Aventura Mall. The 93-foot-tall double slide opened on Saturday, and is the artist’s first permanent American installation.
Australia’s government bans politicians from sleeping with their staff
Sleeping with a co-worker is pretty much a no-no in all workplaces, especially so in the sensitive world of politics. Not that Australia’s deputy prime minister stuck to the unspoken rule. Barnaby Joyce been under significant pressure in the past week after it was revealed he had an affair with one of his staff, ultimately leading to the break-up of his 24-year marriage.
Sorry, ‘Game of Thrones’ fans, we probably won’t get ‘Winds of Winter’ in 2018 either
Ice and fire are once again at odds in the latest news of Winds of Winter, the long-awaited (and long-delayed) next installment of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice saga. The news is not good. There’s a delay in the process. Again.
This couple accidentally proposed at the same exact time, and it was precious
In pretty much the most adorable thing to happen since Paddington 2, a couple accidentally proposed to each other at the same time. On Saturday, Tori Monaco asked her girlfriend of a year to marry her. Then her girlfriend (and now fiancée) Berkley Cade, pulled out a ring and got down on one knee too.
Leaked Wikileaks chats reveal it actually thought we’d be better off with the GOP in power
No one can know the future, but man did Julian Assange really not have a clue. The founder and publisher of Wikileaks is a controversial figure, and a series of leaked private chats published by The Intercept demonstrate that his lightning-rod persona is not just for the public’s benefit.
Here’s What You Need To Know About The Weapons Of War Used In Mass Shootings
As officials continue to investigate 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who is accused of opening fire on his former high school Wednesday afternoon, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than a dozen others, familiar details are already emerging about the weapon police believe was used in the massacre.
We’re Averaging One School Shooting Every 60 Hours In 2018
A reported shooting at a South Florida high school on Wednesday marks the country’s 18th school shooting of 2018, just 45 days into the year. That’s an average of one school shooting every 60 hours thus far in 2018, more than double the number of school shootings recorded in any of the previous three years in that same period.
At Least 17 Reported Dead In Florida School Shooting
Nikolas Cruz, 19, is accused of entering his former South Florida high school on Wednesday with a gas mask and assault-style rifle and opening fire. The shooting in Parkland killed 17 students and adults, and wounded 15 others.
CNN Terror Expert Breaks Down Over Florida Shooting
CNN counterterrorism expert Philip Mudd broke down in tears during a segment Wednesday on the Florida school shooting that left at least 17 people dead. The CNN contributor and former CIA analyst was lost for words while speaking with host Wolf Blitzer on the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Las Vegas Autopsies Reveal The True Brutality Of Mass Shootings
The bullet struck the woman’s right forearm, passing cleanly through the flesh below her wrist and exiting the other side. The round was tumbling now, but still carrying enough force to re-enter her arm, lower down this time, before exiting again and plunging into her chest.
