Here are today’s top headlines.
Corruption in Venezuela has created a cocaine super-highway to the US
Cocaine trafficking from Venezuela to the United States is soaring, even as the country collapses. And US and other regional officials say it’s Venezuela’s own military and political elite who are facilitating the passage of drugs in and out of the country on hundreds of tiny, unmarked planes.
How to rebuild a Gothic masterpiece like Notre Dame
Rebuilding Notre Dame will take years. Yet, for a structure that took decades to construct, and then stood for centuries more, this may simply mark the latest evolution of a building that has been reshaped many times during its 850-year history.
Wake up, people: You’re fooling yourself about sleep, study says
When it comes to getting a good night’s sleep, Americans aren’t very good at separating myths from facts, a new study finds.
Beyoncé’s ‘Homecoming’ is as black as it can be
“Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé,” premiered early Wednesday and it was the fulfillment of all the ancestors’ hopes and dreams.
Sony’s next PlayStation: Here’s what we know
Sony’s next generation PlayStation, PS5, is expected to introduce major improvements that could change how games are both played and designed.
US envoy heads to Moscow as rumors of Putin-Kim meeting heat up
The United States special representative for North Korea is headed to Moscow amid rumors in South Korean media that Kim Jong Un is planning to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin soon.
College student on a trip to the Ozarks fell 100 feet to her death while posing for a photo
A college student studying environmental science fell about 100 feet to her death while hiking on a class trip to the Ozarks, officials said.
Worker survives after iron rod pierces skull
A worker in central India has made what doctors describe as a miraculous recovery after an iron rod impaled his skull in a horrific construction site injury.
Rebuilt Notre-Dame ‘will be more beautiful’
French President Emmanuel Macron says Notre-Dame cathedral will be rebuilt “even more beautifully” – and that he wants the work done within five years. A massive fire on Monday ravaged the 850-year-old Gothic building, destroying much of its roof and causing its steeple to collapse. The cathedral was minutes away from total destruction, officials say.
Sudan ex-leader Bashir moved to prison
Sudan’s former President Omar al-Bashir has been moved to Kobar maximum security prison, days after he was deposed in a military coup. Reports say the ex-leader has until now been detained at the presidential residence under heavy guard. He is reportedly being held in solitary confinement and is surrounded by tight security.
Trump vetoes bill to end US Yemen war role
US President Donald Trump has vetoed a bill passed by Congress to end support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Mr Trump described the resolution as an “unnecessary” and “dangerous” attempt to weaken his constitutional powers. It is only the second time Mr Trump has used his presidential veto since he took office in 2017.
How Facebook is being used to kill ‘gangsters’
A suspected death squad operating inside Kenya’s police force is using Facebook to target and kill young men they believe to be gang members, residents of a poor and overcrowded area of the capital have told a public meeting.
Chibok parents turn to TV ‘miracle’ pastor
In our series of letters from African journalists, Nigerian writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani says parents of the missing Chibok girls remain desperate five years after their daughters’ kidnapping. The parents of the Chibok girls are worried that an unseen force, beyond Boko Haram, could be behind the troubles they have experienced in the past five years since their daughters were stolen from school in north-eastern Nigeria.
Apple and Google block TikTok in India
Apple and Google have removed TikTok, which allows users to create and share videos, from their app stores in India. The move follows a ruling by the Madras High Court, which ordered its removal from app stores over concerns that it was being used to spread pornography.
TikTok Just Got Banned In India Over Fears It Is Exposing Children To Porn And Sexual Predators
TikTok, the popular, Chinese social networking app that lets users post videos of themselves set to music, has been banned in India, the company’s largest market. On Tuesday night, both Google and Apple pulled TikTok from the Play Store and the App Store in the country following orders from an Indian High Court, which said that the app exposed Indians to pornography and could expose children to sexual predators.
Notre Dame Cathedral Staff Couldn’t Find The Fire For 23 Minutes After The First Alarm Went Off
A fire alarm first wailed inside the Notre Dame Cathedral at 6:20 p.m. Monday, but for 23 critical minutes cathedral staff searched for a blaze, unable to find the cause. It wasn’t until a second alarm went off at 6:43 p.m. that a fire was detected in the attic of the centuries-old religious landmark, French officials said Tuesday.
Photos Reveal The Damage Inside Notre Dame Cathedral After The Fire
A massive fire engulfed the world-famous cathedral in Paris on Monday.
Bernie Sanders’ Last 10 Years Of Tax Returns Show He’s Now Among The Millionaires
BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania – Bernie Sanders grew up in a three and a half room, rent-controlled apartment in Brooklyn. His father, a paint salesman, “worked hard his entire life, but never made much money.” In the 1970s, as a young candidate in Vermont, he borrowed gas money from friends to campaign in his Volkswagen bug.
Trump Suggested Using Tanker Jets To Drop Water On Notre Dame But French Officials Said That’s A Really Bad Idea
President Donald Trump’s suggestion on Monday that tanker jets be used to drop water on the historic Notre Dame Cathedral as it burned prompted French officials to swat down the idea as being potentially even more destructive.
‘Game of Thrones’ power rankings: It’s couples week!
The Game of Thrones power rankings decide who is most likely to rule Westeros at the end of Season 8. We’re making these predictions based on what the showrunners are likely to think is the best possible story. You can see the rankings for the previous episode, “The Dragon and the Wolf,” here .
Intel abandons 5G iPhone plans following Apple’s Qualcomm settlement
Welp, that was fast. Just hours after Apple and Qualcomm announced that they’d finally settled their long-running legal battle, Intel says it’s abandoning its plans for a 5G smartphone modem.
Twitter users trolled Jack Dorsey on a giant projection screen during his TED Talk
Just what, exactly, did they expect? On Tuesday, TED Talk hosted a conversation with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey regarding “concerns and opportunities for Twitter’s future” and invited those following along at home to participate.
‘Game of Thrones’ fan spots some grim foreshadowing in an old episode of the show
Warning: Contains icy spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 8, episode 1. Nobody can confidently predict the ending of Game of Thrones. But there are several things that seem, at this point, to be almost inevitable. Top of the list of near-guarantees? Jon and Daenerys’ relationship is not going to end well.
Facebook is getting rid of its Facebook Watch show pages
All video creators will be soon be equal on Facebook – at least when it comes to their Facebook Page format. Facebook has been reaching out to its legions of video creators with Facebook Watch show pages informing them that this page format will soon be no more.
After Notre-Dame, support surges for historically black churches destroyed by arson
Within hours after firefighters extinguished the catastrophic blaze at Notre-Dame Cathedral, people around the world had already pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild the historic site. That included commitments from French businessman François-Henri Pinault, the L’Oreal cosmetics company, and Apple CEO Tim Cook, who said the Silicon Valley company would make a donation.
