Month: April 2021

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II for more than 70 years, has died at age 99. Buckingham Palace confirmed his death in a statement Friday:  “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.”

Prince Philip had been hospitalized earlier this year, and underwent surgery for a pre-existing heart condition in March. He left the hospital March 16 and had been recuperating Windsor Castle. At 99, Prince Philip was the oldest ever male member of the British royal family.

Philip lived his early years in Greece having been born to both the Greek and Danish royal families. He was educated in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom before he joined the British Royal Navy in 1939, at age 18. Having gained permission from Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, the engagement of Philip and Elizabeth was announced in July 1947. Philip and Elizabeth were married on Nov. 20, 1947. Philip abandoned his Greek and Danish titles and became a naturalized British subject, and was granted the style His Royal Highness and created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich by King George VI. 

Philip is survived by the queen and their four children Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; eight grandchildren Prince William; Prince Harry; Princess Beatrice; Princess Eugenie; Zara Tindall; Peter Phillips;  Lady Louise Windsor; and James, Viscount Severn, and nine great-grandchildren.

Prince Philip, husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, dies at 99

Via www.nbcnews.com

04/09/2021 7:02 AM

 

Editorial credit: Lorna Roberts / Shutterstock.com

President Joe Biden unveiled several executive actions on Thursday aimed at curbing gun violence, including measures on unregistered firearms that can be assembled from parts, commonly referred to as “ghost guns.” Biden announced the measures in the White House Rose Garden, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland, saying, “Gun violence in this country is an epidemic and an international embarrassment.” Biden called gun violence in the United States a “public health crisis,” and “epidemic” and an “international embarrassment.”

Biden urged Congress to revive a ban on assault weapons and large capacity gun magazines, adding, “This is not a partisan issue among the American people,” Biden said. “And I’m willing to work with anyone to get these done. And it’s long past time that we act.” Biden also urged the Senate to immediately pass three bills already adopted by the House to close gun loopholes, including an expansion of universal background checks. “Enough prayers. Time for some action,” he said.

Biden targets ‘ghost guns’ and ‘red flag’ laws in new gun control measures

Via www.nbcnews.com

The president wants to curb the spread of homemade firearms that lack traceable serial numbers.

04/08/2021 1:36 PM

 

Editorial credit: Stratos Brilakis / Shutterstock.com

Authorities in York County, South Carolina said on Thursday that former NFL player Phillip Adams shot six people, killing five, Wednesday before later taking his own life. Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, his wife Barbara, 69, their two grandchildren, Adah and Noah, ages five and nine, and James Lewis, 38, who worked at the Lesslie home, were all killed in the shooting. An unidentified sixth person suffered “serious gunshot wounds” and has been hospitalized.

York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said at a news conference that a motive has not yet been determined. After the shootings, police found evidence leading them to believe Adams was the suspect and tracked him back to his parents’ house, where they attempted to convince Adams to come out of the house. He was later found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head inside the home.

The 32-year-old was a seventh-round pick in the 2010 draft out of South Carolina State, appearing in 15 games during his rookie season with the San Francisco 49ers. The defensive back played five more seasons for six different organizations during his career. He totaled 78 regular-season appearances with five interceptions before stepping away after the 2015 season.

Ex-NFL player Adams kills 5 in SC, then himself

Via www.espn.com

The gunman who killed five people, including a prominent doctor in South Carolina, was former…

04/08/2021 5:01 PM

 

As cases in the United States continue to climb, a top U.S. health official said on Wednesday that the highly contagious variant of COVID-19 first discovered in the United Kingdom has become the most common strain of the virus in the U.S.

The strain known as B.1.1.7 was identified in Britain last fall and has since been detected in 52 jurisdictions in the United States. Public health officials have urged Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible in part to prevent new variants of the novel coronavirus from spreading.The United States has also detected cases of a variant first discovered in South Africa that is thought to be resistant to some COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. That strain has been found in 36 U.S. jurisdictions.

The United States is administering about 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses per day on average over the past week. Vaccine supply has increased significantly in recent weeks as Johnson & Johnson has begun making millions of doses of its recently authorized shots. Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have also recently boosted their vaccine production capacity.  However, daily U.S. cases of novel coronavirus are averaging 63,000 over the past seven days, up 2.3% from the previous seven-day average.

U.K. coronavirus variant is now the dominant strain in the U.S., CDC says

Via www.msn.com

The U.K. variant of the coronavirus, known as B.1.1.7, is now the most dominant strain…

04/07/2021 12:59 PM

 

During his speech on the so-called ‘American Jobs Plan’ in the South Court Auditorium of the White House on Wednesday, President Joe Biden defended his plan to raise the corporate tax to help pay for his $2 trillion infrastructure package– but said he’s willing to compromise with Republicans on how high.

The Biden administration has proposed raising the corporate tax rate from the 21% established by Republicans’ 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act to 28%, which would still be lower than what it was between World War II and 2017. The White House said the tax hike would fund the infrastructure plan within 15 years and would be combined with plans to discourage firms from listing tax havens as their address and offshoring profits.

Biden said of his infrastructure and jobs plan: “We have to pay for this. But I’m willing to negotiate that.”  However, Biden said he won’t budge on his promise to not raise taxes on people making less than $400,000, adding, “I’m open to ideas about how to pay for this plan, with one exception. I will not impose any tax increases on people making less than $400,000 a year. If others have ideas out there on how to pay for this investment, without violating that rule, they should come forward.”

Biden says he’s willing to negotiate on 28% corporate-tax proposal

Via www.msn.com

Biden said he is “wide open” to the idea of a corporate tax rate lower than 28%, but…

04/07/2021 3:06 PM

 

Editorial credit: Stratos Brilakis / Shutterstock.com