🏀 Los Angeles Lakers fire coach Frank Vogel after disappointing 33-49 season
The Los Angeles Lakers have fired head coach Frank Vogel after the franchise missed out on the NBA playoffs this season. Despite a victory over the Denver Nuggets in his final game on Sunday, Vogel was unable to steer the squad into the postseason after the Lakers suffered eight consecutive defeats from March 24 to April 8.
Vogel had signed a contract extension last year to keep him at the Lakers until 2023, but the team struggled this season, due in part to injuries. Star players LeBron James and Anthony Davis both spent time on the sidelines as a lack of consistency proved ultimately fatal for Vogel's reign.
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The Los Angeles Lakers have fired head coach Frank Vogel after the franchise missed out on the NBA playoffs this season. Despite a victory over the Denver Nuggets in his final game on Sunday, Vogel was unable to steer the squad into the postseason after the Lakers suffered eight consecutive defeats from March 24 to April 8.
Vogel had signed a contract extension last year to keep him at the Lakers until 2023, but the team struggled this season, due in part to injuries. Star players LeBron James and Anthony Davis both spent time on the sidelines as a lack of consistency proved ultimately fatal for Vogel's reign.
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⚖️ Johnny Depp suit against Amber Heard starts in Virginia
A jury was selected Monday to hear a long-anticipated libel lawsuit actor Johnny Depp filed against his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, whom he accuses of falsely portraying him as a domestic abuser.
The courtroom in the city of Fairfax, Virginia, was closed to the public on Monday, with limited closed-circuit access in an overflow courtroom. Both Depp and Heard were in attendance, but court personnel brought them in and out utilizing special access points that frustrated fans’ ability to see them.
The trial is expected to last more than a month. A long list of witnesses includes actors James Franco and Paul Bettany, and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
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A jury was selected Monday to hear a long-anticipated libel lawsuit actor Johnny Depp filed against his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, whom he accuses of falsely portraying him as a domestic abuser.
The courtroom in the city of Fairfax, Virginia, was closed to the public on Monday, with limited closed-circuit access in an overflow courtroom. Both Depp and Heard were in attendance, but court personnel brought them in and out utilizing special access points that frustrated fans’ ability to see them.
The trial is expected to last more than a month. A long list of witnesses includes actors James Franco and Paul Bettany, and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
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🛢 Discovery of radioactive liquid pauses work at US nuke dump
The US government’s nuclear waste repository in New Mexico was evacuated over the weekend after workers handling a shipping container discovered a small amount of radioactive liquid inside it.
The waste — remnants of decades of nuclear research and bomb making — typically consists of lab coats, gloves, tools and debris contaminated with plutonium and other radioactive elements.
The repository was carved out of an ancient salt formation about a half-mile below the ground because officials say that the shifting salt will eventually entomb the radioactive waste. State regulators are weighing a permit change that some critics have said could lead to expanded repository operations. A decision is expected later this year.
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The US government’s nuclear waste repository in New Mexico was evacuated over the weekend after workers handling a shipping container discovered a small amount of radioactive liquid inside it.
The waste — remnants of decades of nuclear research and bomb making — typically consists of lab coats, gloves, tools and debris contaminated with plutonium and other radioactive elements.
The repository was carved out of an ancient salt formation about a half-mile below the ground because officials say that the shifting salt will eventually entomb the radioactive waste. State regulators are weighing a permit change that some critics have said could lead to expanded repository operations. A decision is expected later this year.
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🚫 A new federal rule aims at ‘ghost gun’ violence
President Joe Biden on Monday took fresh aim at ghost guns, the privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up in violent crimes, as he struggles to break past gun-control opposition to address firearm deaths. The new rule changes the current definition of a firearm under federal law to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun. It says those parts must be licensed and include serial numbers.
Justice Department statistics show that nearly 24,000 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement at crime scenes and reported to the government from 2016 to 2020. It is hard to say how many are circulating on the streets, in part because in many cases police departments don’t contact the government about the guns because they can’t be traced.
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President Joe Biden on Monday took fresh aim at ghost guns, the privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up in violent crimes, as he struggles to break past gun-control opposition to address firearm deaths. The new rule changes the current definition of a firearm under federal law to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun. It says those parts must be licensed and include serial numbers.
Justice Department statistics show that nearly 24,000 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement at crime scenes and reported to the government from 2016 to 2020. It is hard to say how many are circulating on the streets, in part because in many cases police departments don’t contact the government about the guns because they can’t be traced.
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🦠 Philadelphia to restore indoor mask mandate as cases rise
Philadelphia became the first major US city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the city’s top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen more than 50% in 10 days, the threshold at which the city’s guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors. Health inspectors will start to enforce the mask mandate at city businesses starting April 18.
The restaurant industry pushed back against reimposed masking, saying workers will bear the brunt of customer anger over the new rules.
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Philadelphia became the first major US city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the city’s top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen more than 50% in 10 days, the threshold at which the city’s guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors. Health inspectors will start to enforce the mask mandate at city businesses starting April 18.
The restaurant industry pushed back against reimposed masking, saying workers will bear the brunt of customer anger over the new rules.
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‼️ Japan imposes additional sanctions against 29 organizations from Russia, hundreds of individuals - Foreign Ministry
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🚨 US State Department orders non-essential personnel to leave Shanghai amid COVID-19 surge
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📉 Once a retail giant, Kmart nears extinction
The number of Kmarts in the US — once well over 2,000 — will be down to three in the continental US and a handful of stores elsewhere.
Struggling to compete with Walmart’s low prices and Target’s trendier offerings, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early 2002 and announced it would close more than 250 stores.
Kmarts continue to operate in Westwood, New Jersey; Bridgehampton, on New York’s Long Island; and in Miami, Florida. Nationwide, some former Kmarts remain vacant, while others have been replaced by other big-box stores, fitness centers, self-storage facilities, or even churches. One former site in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is now a popular dine-in movie theater.
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The number of Kmarts in the US — once well over 2,000 — will be down to three in the continental US and a handful of stores elsewhere.
Struggling to compete with Walmart’s low prices and Target’s trendier offerings, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early 2002 and announced it would close more than 250 stores.
Kmarts continue to operate in Westwood, New Jersey; Bridgehampton, on New York’s Long Island; and in Miami, Florida. Nationwide, some former Kmarts remain vacant, while others have been replaced by other big-box stores, fitness centers, self-storage facilities, or even churches. One former site in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is now a popular dine-in movie theater.
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🔥 California utility to pay $55 million for massive wildfires
Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to pay more than $55 million to avoid criminal prosecution for two major wildfires started by aging Northern California power lines belonging to the nation’s largest utility, prosecutors announced Monday. The deals expedite damage payments to the hundreds of people whose homes were destroyed.
Pacific Gas & Electric has been blamed for more than 30 wildfires since 2017 that wiped out more than 23,000 homes and businesses and killed more than 100 people. It previously reached settlements with wildfire victims of more than $25.5 billion.
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Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to pay more than $55 million to avoid criminal prosecution for two major wildfires started by aging Northern California power lines belonging to the nation’s largest utility, prosecutors announced Monday. The deals expedite damage payments to the hundreds of people whose homes were destroyed.
Pacific Gas & Electric has been blamed for more than 30 wildfires since 2017 that wiped out more than 23,000 homes and businesses and killed more than 100 people. It previously reached settlements with wildfire victims of more than $25.5 billion.
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Iowa’s political swing makes Obama’s win harder to repeat
In 2008, Iowa - a predominantly white state - was Barack Obama’s unlikely launching pad to become the nation’s first Black president. Fourteen years later, Iowans aren’t showing a similar embrace for the woman running to become its first Black governor.
Educated younger adults who were once reliable Democratic voters have fled rural Iowa seeking opportunities elsewhere. The strength of organized labor has eroded. In 2020, 90.4% of Iowans were white, according to census data, which also indicated that roughly 62% of the nation’s population was white, and more than 13% Black.
After decades of divided state government, Republicans have controlled the legislature and the governorship for six consecutive years, cutting taxes and reining in voting and abortion rights. Today, five of Iowa’s six members of Congress are Republicans.
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In 2008, Iowa - a predominantly white state - was Barack Obama’s unlikely launching pad to become the nation’s first Black president. Fourteen years later, Iowans aren’t showing a similar embrace for the woman running to become its first Black governor.
Educated younger adults who were once reliable Democratic voters have fled rural Iowa seeking opportunities elsewhere. The strength of organized labor has eroded. In 2020, 90.4% of Iowans were white, according to census data, which also indicated that roughly 62% of the nation’s population was white, and more than 13% Black.
After decades of divided state government, Republicans have controlled the legislature and the governorship for six consecutive years, cutting taxes and reining in voting and abortion rights. Today, five of Iowa’s six members of Congress are Republicans.
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⚡️ OSCE monitoring mission must stop its activities on DPR territory until 30 April, Foreign Ministry says
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❗️ Correpondent from Russia's Channel One wounded as Ukrainian radicals open fire in Mariupol
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⚡️📹 The Russian MoD has released footage showing how a Ukrainian Bayraktar drone was destroyed off the western coast of Crimea by a Black Sea Fleet frigate
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❗️ The Russian MoD's latest statements on the Ukraine crisis:
▪️ The remnants of Ukrainian troops surrounded on the premises of the Ilyich plant in Mariupol made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from the city on the night of 1 April. This attempted breakthrough was thwarted by air and artillery strikes.
▪️ High-precision air and sea-based missiles destroyed a munitions depot and a protected hangar housing Ukrainian aircraft at the Starokonstantinov military airfield in the Khmelnytsky region, as well as a munitions depot near the village of Gavrilovka in Kiev region overnight.
▪️ The operational-tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 32 Ukrainian military facilities.
▪️ Russian air defence systems shot down two unmanned aerial vehicles in the areas of the settlements of Berdyansk and Melitopol.
▪️ Some 130 aircraft, 99 helicopters, 244 anti-aircraft missile systems, 443 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2,139 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 241 installations of multiple launch rocket systems, 917 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 2,046 special military vehicles have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation.
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▪️ The remnants of Ukrainian troops surrounded on the premises of the Ilyich plant in Mariupol made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from the city on the night of 1 April. This attempted breakthrough was thwarted by air and artillery strikes.
▪️ High-precision air and sea-based missiles destroyed a munitions depot and a protected hangar housing Ukrainian aircraft at the Starokonstantinov military airfield in the Khmelnytsky region, as well as a munitions depot near the village of Gavrilovka in Kiev region overnight.
▪️ The operational-tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 32 Ukrainian military facilities.
▪️ Russian air defence systems shot down two unmanned aerial vehicles in the areas of the settlements of Berdyansk and Melitopol.
▪️ Some 130 aircraft, 99 helicopters, 244 anti-aircraft missile systems, 443 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2,139 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 241 installations of multiple launch rocket systems, 917 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 2,046 special military vehicles have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation.
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⚡️ Moscow to retaliate tit-for-tat after France expels six Russian diplomats, embassy in Paris says
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⚡️📹 The Russian MoD has published footage depicting the launch of "Kalibr" cruise missiles from a ship on military infrastructure in Ukraine
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