The Latest: Retired city worker died in Seattle crane crash

SEATTLE (AP) — The Latest on a deadly crane collapse in Seattle (all times local):

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Spain election: Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wins as far-Right makes breakthrough

Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez earned his first general election win on Sunday, despite the emergence of a hard-Right party that capitalised on many Spaniards’ fury with the government’s attempt to find common ground with the breakaway region of Catalonia.   On high turnout of close to 76 per cent, the Socialist party (PSOE) claimed victory for the first time since 2008 with 123 seats out of 350, although a delicately hung parliament means that forming a government will involve complex negotiations with other forces from the Left and regional parties. With more than 98 per cent of the vote counted, the PSOE was declared winner by Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Celaá. “We have sent a clear message to Europe and the world: you can beat authoritarianism and involution from the left,” Mr Sánchez said in reference to his victory over his conservative opponents including the anti-immigration, populist force Vox. Vox became the first hard-Right force to gain significant representation in Spain’s parliament since the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 with 24 seats. Santiago Abascal, leader of far right party Vox, addresses supporters outside the party headquarters after the general election in Madrid Credit: AP With the vote on the Right side of the spectrum split three ways, the biggest loser of the night was the main conservative opposition Popular Party (PP), falling to 66 seats, less than half of the 137 seats it achieved when winning the previous election in 2016. The liberal Ciudadanos came close to pipping the PP to second place, with 58 seats. Vox came from a result of 0.2 per cent in 2016 to win 10 per cent, but it had the effect of cannibalising the Right-of-centre vote and helping Mr Sánchez to stretch out his lead. Together, the PP, Ciudadanos and Vox won 43 per cent, one point more than PSOE and Podemos combined. The PP, Ciudadanos were hoping to combine with Vox for a majority to eject Mr Sánchez from power in order to crack down on Catalonia’s separatist leaders by suspending the region’s autonomy. The three parties had accused Mr Sánchez of being a danger to Spanish unity after he used his 10-month-long spell in government before the election to seek a negotiated end to the impasse between Madrid and Catalonia’s regional government. But Vox’s secretary general, Javier Ortega, was exultant over the result. “This is just the beginning,” he told supporters in Madrid’s Margaret Thatcher square. “Every Vox member of Congress is going to be a whirlwind.”  The general secretary of VOX, Javier Ortega Smith, is seen during his speech at the Plaza Margaret Thatcher, where the party celebrates the electoral results  Credit: Getty Pablo Iglesias, the leader the hard-Left Podemos, offered his party’s 42 seats to “build a leftist government coalition”. But Mr Sánchez will also have to seek support from Basque nationalists and other minority forces, possibly including Catalan pro-independence parties in order to reach a majority. Divisions over how to deal with Catalonia’s bid for independence played out in an ill-tempered campaign with the trial of 10 imprisoned Catalan leaders over their role in the region’s unconstitutional referendum in 2017 rumbling on in the background. Mr Sánchez was described by Vox as “an enemy of the nation” for negotiating with Catalan forces, while PP leader Pablo Casado accused the prime minister of siding with “bloodstained hands” after the government received parliamentary support from Basque party Bildu, regarded as the successor to the political wing of terrorist group Eta. The party leaders clashed in fractious televised debates. Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera described Mr Sánchez as a “disgraceful” prime minister for kneeling before Catalan separatists, while the latter took his Right-wing opponents to task over their Andalucian government’s rollback of assistance for women victims of male violence.   Sign up for your essential, twice-daily briefing from The Telegraph with our free Front Page newsletter.

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Extra abdication holidays pose dilemma for hardworking Japanese

For the Emperor's abdication on April 30, Japanese workers are enjoying an unprecedented 10-day holiday as a rash of special days off combine with the traditional "Golden Week" in May. "To be honest, I don't know how to spend the time when we are suddenly given 10 days of holidays," said 31-year-old finance worker Seishu Sato. On the contrary, we'll be super-busy," said Takeru Jo, a 46-year-old pizzeria worker.

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Are we ready for the end of the world? NASA conducts drill for potential asteroid strike

NASA is conducting a drill this week to see how we'd prepare if a giant asteroid was hurtling toward the Earth.

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Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

Corey Ballentine, "Avengers: Endgame" and more of the weekend's top news.

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Spain's Socialists, short of majority, weigh partners for forming government

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faces a choice between a complex alliance with fellow leftists Podemos or joining forces across the political divide with the center-right Ciudadanos. The Socialists won 123 seats in Sunday's election, up from 84 in the outgoing parliament as they saw off the challenge from the right, which was splintered by the rise of the far-right Vox. With nearly all the votes counted, the Socialists together with the far-left Podemos were 11 seats short of a majority in the 350-seat parliament.

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Trump Lashes Out after Firefighters’ Union Endorses Biden

President Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden traded barbs on Monday after a firefighters' union endorsed Biden, becoming the first major labor group to back a candidate in the 2020 race.The International Association of Fire Fighters announced its decision in a video message that described Biden as an advocate for the middle class."Joe's a lot like our firefighters. He's a problem solver who cares deeply about America and committed to making our country better. He's one of the staunchest advocates for working families," said Harold Schaitberger, the IAFF's general president. "He knows that a strong middle class means a strong America, and we know, as president, he will stand up for all the patriotic Americans who want nothing more than to earn a decent wage, send their kids to college, have affordable health care and a decent and secure retirement."> BREAKING NEWS: The International Association of Fire Fighters endorses @joebiden for President of the United States. https://t.co/yewUm8wMGd> > -- IAFF (@IAFFNewsDesk) April 29, 2019Biden said on Twitter that he "couldn't be more proud" to have the union's backing. "Unions built the middle class in this country -- and as President, I'll fight to strengthen them and grow the backbone of this country," he wrote.Later Monday, Trump attacked Biden and the IAFF on Twitter, accusing the union of charging exorbitant dues and claiming that its members would rather support him than Biden.> I’ll never get the support of Dues Crazy union leadership, those people who rip-off their membership with ridiculously high dues, medical and other expenses while being paid a fortune. But the members love Trump. They look at our record economy, tax & reg cuts, military etc. WIN!> > -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 29, 2019Biden responded by tweeting that he is "sick" of Trump "badmouthing unions."> I'm sick of this President badmouthing unions. Labor built the middle class in this country. Minimum wage, overtime pay, the 40-hour week: they exist for all of us because unions fought for those rights. We need a President who honors them and their work.> > -- Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 29, 2019Biden has long had the support of organized labor and has strong ties to unions. He is formally launching his campaign Monday with a rally in Pittsburgh at the union hall of Teamsters Local 249.

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Deadly Seattle crane collapse was likely caused by human error, experts say

Human error may be to blame for the Seattle crane collapse on Saturday that killed four people and injured another four, experts said based on videos.

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From Heisei to Reiwa: how Japan changed under Emperor Akihito

Japan marks the end of an era with Tuesday's abdication of Emperor Akihito, and the outgoing monarch leaves behind a much-changed country. Crown Prince Naruhito will inherit a Japan vastly different from that of the start of his father's reign, when the country was in the grip of an economic bubble and on the verge of a tech revolution. Japan's shrinking population is among the country's most pressing social and economic issues.

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Sri Lanka resorts face uncertain future after suicide blasts

The cancellations started before the dust had settled on the hotels and churches hit by suicide bombers in Sri Lanka as tourists and operators pressed the panic button. Sanath Ukwatte, chairman of the colonial-era Mount Lavinia hotel in Colombo, said he lost about 30 percent of his bookings within days of the Easter Sunday attacks that killed 253 people. The United States, Britain, Australia, India and Israel have all warned their nationals against visiting, while the Netherlands is organising a special flight to evacuate hundreds of Dutch tourists.

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The Latest: Pence says Lugar was 'leader on the world stage'

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Latest on the death of former Sen. Richard Lugar (all times local):

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Army Vet Hatched Domestic Terror Plot to Avenge New Zealand Shooting: Feds

REUTERSA U.S. Army veteran has been arrested for an attempted terror attack in “multiple” Los Angeles locations allegedly in “retribution” for the mosque mass shooting in New Zealand last month, federal prosecutors announced Monday.Mark Domingo, a 26-year-old former U.S. Army infantryman who served in Afghanistan, was charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists in his attempt to make an improvised explosive device (IED) “in order to commit mass murder,” according to an U.S. District court indictment filed over the weekend. The California man was arrested Friday night after receiving what he thought was a live bomb to carry out his attack but was, in fact, a fake explosive delivered by an undercover law-enforcement officer as part of an FBI investigation. According to the complaint, Domingo was outraged over the massacre at two New Zealand mosques that killed 50 people and injured dozens on March 14, and he boasted in online posts about purchasing supplies to make several bombs.“There were mosque shootings in New Zealand,” Domingo posted to a private online chat on March 14, according to federal prosecutors. “[T]here must be retribution.”He added: “I feel like I should make a christians life miserable tomorrow for our fallen bros n sis in [N]ew Zealand...maybe a jews life...they shed our blood...no Muslim should have to experience this, a message needs to be sent.”In various conversations with an FBI informant who was already in the private message group and an FBI “online covert employee” two days later, Domingo expressed support for a violent jihad, the indictment claimed.For six weeks, Domingo plotted with the informant about murdering several “enemies,” including Christians, Jews, white supremacists, LAPD police officers, even his next-door neighbor. He also allegedly discussed his desire to set off explosives on the Santa Monica Pier and on several Los Angeles freeways, and voiced support for ISIS—though he had trouble developing a concrete plan. In one exchange, the informant asked Domingo if he intended to get caught, to which he replied: “Martyrdom, bro,” Domingo said, according to the indictment.Finally, the 26-year-old “asked his confederate… to find a bomb-maker,” revealing he had “purchased several hundred nails to be used as shrapnel inside the IED.”“Domingo said he specifically bought three-inch nails because they would be long enough to penetrate the human body and puncture internal organs,” the complaint stated. Domingo also allegedly showed up to one meeting with the informant, armed with a rifle similar to an AK-47. The 26-year-old, who completed a four-month deployment to Afghanistan in Jan. 2013, was finally arrested after he told the informant of his plans to attack a “white-nationalist rally” in Huntington Beach on April 27.“This investigation successfully disrupted a very real threat posed by a trained combat soldier who repeatedly stated he wanted to cause the maximum number of casualties,” U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said on Monday in news conference announcing the “chilling terrorism plot.”Domingo, who has been in federal custody since his arrest, is expected to appear in court Monday afternoon.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here

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FAA considered grounding some Boeing 737 Max planes last year: source

US regulators considered grounding some Boeing 737 MAX planes last year after learning belatedly of a problem with a system that is now the main suspect in two deadly crashes, a source close to the matter said. Investigators in the Lion Air crash in October and the Ethiopia Airlines disaster in March have zeroed in on the planes' anti-stall system, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. Last year, before the Lion crash, inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration discovered that the manufacturer had de-activated a signal designed to advise the cockpit crew of a malfunctioning of the MCAS system, the source said.

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Meet the Army veteran and off-duty Border Patrol agent who chased the San Diego synagogue shooter

Jonathan Morales and Oscar Stewart aided in efforts to stop a suspected gunman who opened fire at Chabad of Poway near San Deigo on Saturday.

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Beluga whale wearing harness may have been trained by Russian Navy, marine experts say

The whale had a harness that says "Equipment St. Petersburg," prompting speculation it may have come from a Russian military facility.

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Follower of Sri Lanka bomber sought India attack: police

An alleged follower of Sri Lankan bombing leader Zahran Hashim is to appear in a southern Indian court Tuesday after admitting he wanted to carry out an attack in India's Kerala, investigators said. The accused, identified as Riyas A, alias Riyas Aboobacker, 29, was arrested Monday by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA), which handles counter-terrorism cases. During interrogation, he allegedly "disclosed that he has been following speeches/videos of Zahran Hashim of Sri Lanka for more than a year", an NIA statement said.

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Impeach or investigate? Democrats see no reason to choose

WASHINGTON (AP) — Whatever happens next, don't call it impeachment.

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U.K. Conservatives Still Seeking Brexit Deal Before EU Election

Theresa May is still pursuing a Brexit deal that would get the U.K. out of the European Union before elections next month. With negotiations with the opposition Labour Party set to continue next week, there’s still time for Parliament to settle on a deal before the May 23 vote, Conservative Party Chairman Brandon Lewis said in an interview with the BBC on Sunday.

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Police shoot man after five bodies discovered in two remote Tennessee homes

Police officers have shot and arrested a man suspected of killing five people in two homes in rural Tennessee.Michael Cummins, 25, became the subject of a mass manhunt after four bodies were found at a property near the town of Westmoreland and a fifth discovered at a second home nearby.A sixth person, who is believed to have called police, was also found suffering unspecified injuries at the first scene.Cummins himself was shot by at least one SWAT officer after he emerged from a wood holding several weapons, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.He was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.Police spokesman Josh DeVine told a press conference: “The community should hopefully be able to rest a little bit easier tonight, knowing that [Cummins] is in custody.”Authorities have not released any details about the victims and have not said exactly how they were killed.It is not clear if Cummins knew them.

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Spain's knife-edge election is a bellwether for the next European Parliament

According to Vox, Spain’s new hard-Right force, today’s general elections are about the survival of Spain as a national entity. Most European observers, however, will be looking to see how strongly Spain’s forces of moderation can survive the first real assault of Right-wing, anti-immigration and slightly Eurosceptical populism the country has experienced. With no elections due this year in any of Europe’s biggest nations, all eyes are today on Spain as a bellwether for next month’s European Parliament poll, in which populist movements are expected to make a bigger impact than ever. Spain, despite its political fragmentation that has brought about this, its third election in less than four years, has been making solid economic progress in the past half-decade, while also putting order in its public finances. With unemployment still close to 15 per cent, the economy might have been expected to feature prominently in the campaign. But instead Spaniards have been beaten around the head with the strategic importance of the country’s first general election since the Catalan regional government’s unconstitutional referendum and declaration of independence in 2017. Despite the fact that his Socialist party (PSOE) minority government fell because Catalan pro-independence parties withdrew their confidence and supply support, the incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been accused of betraying Spain for trying to launch a negotiation process with Catalonia’s leaders. The main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) and liberal Ciudadanos have been joined in rage at Mr Sánchez’s search for a Catalan compromise by Vox, which polled just 0.2 per cent in 2016, but is expected to surge into Congress today with around a tenth of the seats. Spanish politics has been split into two blocs by the Catalan issue, with Mr Sánchez and his PSOE’s only hope of a stable coalition partner lying in the hard-Left Podemos. Ciudadanos and PSOE have previously sought coalition deals together, but the polarisation over Catalonia is such that the liberal party’s leader, Albert Rivera, prefers to look to Vox for support. According to polling, it is very possible that neither bloc will make it over the line. The PSOE-Podemos alliance could seek to woo pragmatic Basque nationalists, but Mr Sánchez will hope not to have to rely on Catalan parties again. While a Left-wing government could serve to take the sting out of the Catalan independence movement, the PP, Ciudadanos and Vox have competed to take the strongest line against separatism. All three back a prolonged suspension of Catalonia’s autonomy, plus measures to either ban or limit the political freedom of pro-independence parties. A third scenario is political stasis from an impossible hung parliament. This may not be the last general election in Spain this year.

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Japanese Emperor Akihito begins historic abdication

Akihito, who says he is too old for the role, is the first Japanese emperor to stand down in 200 years.

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US deputy attorney general tells Trump he quits

Rod Rosenstein, who was once accused of treason by the president, exits after a turbulent two years.

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'Yeti footprints': Indian army mocked over claim

Its claim to have discovered footprints of the 'mythical beast' prompts derision on social media.

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IS leader al-Baghdadi appears in first video in five years

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has not been seen on camera since 2014, vows revenge for his militants.

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Guantanamo Bay commander fired over 'loss of confidence'

Navy Rear Admiral John Ring was fired as Guantanamo Bay prison commander after a month-long inquiry.

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'Completely avoidable' measles outbreak hits 25-year high in US

Officials say more than 700 Americans have been infected, calling the outbreak "completely avoidable".

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Mozambique cyclone: Death toll rises as storm blocks aid

Torrential rain and strong winds make getting aid into the cyclone-affected area almost impossible.

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Trade war: What you need to know about US-China talks

Talks appear to be reaching the final stretch though both sides remain divided on several key issues.

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Australian Senate candidate Steve Dickson quits over strip club videos

Footage showed aspiring Australian senator Steve Dickson groping women and making derogatory remarks.

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San Diego synagogue attack suspect 'evil', says his family

Lori Kaye was killed after shielding her rabbi from a gunman who opened fire at a Passover service.

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US Army veteran 'planned to bomb Nazi rally'

The 26-year-old Muslim convert also allegedly plotted terror attacks on Jews and churches.

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Boeing safety system not at fault, says chief executive

Dennis Muilenburg says a safety mechanism was only one factor in two fatal Boeing plane crashes.

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'Our water pollution is a cancer'

"Waterkeeper" Nabil Musa fights Iraq's water crisis, which he calls the country's gravest threat yet.

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Rabbi describes seeing synagogue attacker

A rabbi who was injured in the deadly shooting at a synagogue near San Diego on Saturday has described the moment he faced the gunman.

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'Russian spy whale'

A beluga whale was found with suspicious equipment off Norway's coast

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Heavy flooding hits eastern Canada

Thousands of people were told to evacuate after rising floodwaters breached a dyke following heavy rain.

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How one woman beat mining giants and saved rare snow leopards

A woman from Mongolia has won the Goldman Environmental Prize after a campaign to stop mining firms destroying a critical habitat for snow leopards.

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Indonesia floods: Dozens killed in floods

Flooding caused by torrential rains has killed nearly 40 people and left thousands homeless in Sumatra.

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UK university puts stress-busting dogs on staff

A university has taken on five "canine teaching assistants" to tackle student anxiety.

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Norway finds 'Russian spy whale' off Arctic coast

A tame beluga wearing a Russian harness is thought to have come from a Russian navy facility.

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North Korea TV revamps weather report

North Korean state TV introduces a more casual, modern-looking weather broadcast.

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Korean elderly back road safety seats

A city in South Korea has put out special seating for older people at road crossings.

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Japanese Emperor Akihito's human touch

Emperor Akihito will be remembered as the man who began the modernisation of Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne.

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Jeopardy: How a pro gambler 'cracked' US game show

Sports bettor James Holzhauer's unusual strategy is paying off as he crushes Jeopardy records.

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'We are students thanks to South Africa's #FeesMustFall protests'

What has changed since mass protests led South Africa to announce free education for poor university students?

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How tech is bringing Israelis and Palestinians together

Young people on either side of a decades-old conflict seldom meet, but tech is building bridges.

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Sri Lanka attacks: Where else in the world have face coverings been banned?

Following the Sri Lankan ban, BBC Reality Check looks at other countries that have imposed either a partial or complete ban on face coverings

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India student leader 'a symbol of protest' against PM Modi

Kanhaiya Kumar has emerged as an outlier in an election being seen as a battle for India's identity.

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Experts: Human error may be cause of Seattle crane collapse

SEATTLE (AP) — Human error may have caused a crane collapse that killed four people and injured four others in Seattle over the weekend, experts said Monday.

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End of an era: Japan's emperor kicks off abdication rites

Draped in ornate golden-brown robes and wearing a towering black hat, Japan's Emperor Akihito on Tuesday kicked off ceremonies for his abdication, the first in 200 years for the world's oldest monarchy. Akihito is handing over the Chrysanthemum Throne to his eldest son, 59-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito, in a series of solemn rituals that also usher in the new imperial era named "Reiwa" -- meaning beautiful harmony -- that will last throughout the new monarch's reign. As crowds began to gather early Tuesday in drizzle outside the sumptuous Imperial Palace in central Tokyo, Akihito performed a ritual to "report" his abdication to his ancestors and the Shinto gods at several "sanctuaries".

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Biden takes aim at Trump during 2020 campaign kickoff rally in Pittsburgh

Biden looking to court vote of union workers; reaction and analysis from the 'Special Report' all-star panel.

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Historian Ron Chernow Used Past Presidents to Call for Civility at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

"Civility has been an essential lubricant in our democratic culture"

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Brexit Bulletin: Looming Defeats

Talks between Theresa May and the opposition Labour Party on breaking the Brexit impasse continue this week, with Conservative Party Chairman Brandon Lewis saying Sunday that there’s still time for Parliament to settle on a deal before the U.K. participates in EU elections on May 23. For its part, Labour insists it’s not “dragging its heels” in the talks and that the government has refused to budge on any of its red lines, the party’s business spokeswoman Rebecca Long-Bailey said on Sky News on Sunday. Long-Bailey also hinted that Labour would be prepared to back a Brexit deal even if it comes without a commitment to a new public vote.

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U.S. measles outbreak hits 'completely avoidable' 25-year-high: officials

The number of measles cases in the United States has reached a 25-year peak, propelled by the spread of misinformation about the vaccine that can prevent the disease, federal health officials said on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 704 cases as of April 26, a 1.3 percent increase since the most recent tally of 695 reported on Wednesday. The vast majority of cases have occurred in children who have not received the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which confers immunity to the disease, officials said.

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Richard Lugar, US foreign-policy luminary, dies at 87

Senator Richard Lugar, a leading US voice on foreign policy for decades and a onetime presidential candidate known for his civility and bipartisan ways, has died at a medical center in Falls Church, Virginia. Lugar died of chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy, according to a statement from the Lugar Center in Washington, a global policy institute which he founded in 2013. A soft-spoken Republican moderate, Lugar was twice chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and built a reputation as one of Washington's most influential foreign-policy voices during the record six terms he represented Indiana in the Senate.

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FAA considered grounding some Boeing 737 Max planes last year: source

US regulators considered grounding some Boeing 737 MAX planes last year after learning of a problem with a system that is now the main suspect in two deadly crashes, a source close to the matter said. Investigators in the Lion Air crash in October off the coast of Indonesia and the Ethiopia Airlines disaster in March have zeroed in on the planes' anti-stall system, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. Last year, inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration discovered Boeing de-activated a signal designed to advise the cockpit crew of a malfunctioning of the MCAS system, the source said.

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Beto O'Rourke unveils climate plan with Yosemite as backdrop

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke on Monday announced his first major policy initiative, a $5 trillion plan to combat climate change that he says will keep the Earth from sliding past the point of no return in less than a generation.

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Five Things to Know About the Modern Japanese Monarchy

The country will swear in its 126th emperor on Wednesday

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East Sri Lanka on edge after Easter bombers linked to region

KALMUNAI, Sri Lanka (AP) — Suicide bombings at a militants' safe house have shaken the simple homes of this east Sri Lankan town as well as the rest of this idyllic coast, as the investigation into the Islamic State-claimed Easter bombings has spread here.

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Poway Synagogue Vigil Erupts Into Debate About Trump, Anti-Semitism

REUTERS/John GastaldoPOWAY, California—An intense political debate broke out at a candlelight vigil on Sunday for the dead and wounded of Chabad of Poway synagogue, where mourners argued whether it was a lack of gun control, or a lack of political self-control, that led to this terrorist attack.A 19-year-old nursing student who penned a virulently racist manifesto is accused of opening fire on the congregation the day before, killing congregant Lori Kaye, who died when she stepped between the gunman and Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, effectively taking a bullet for her spiritual leader. Authorities say they are investigating the attack as a hate crime.Hundreds gathered in Valle Verde Park, less than a mile from the attack, including Janith Seidel, who came to the vigil to pay her respects to Kaye. and to question the absurdity of the senseless act. “I knew Lori. Everyone knew Lori,” Seidel told The Daily Beast. “She was just such a big volunteer. If you ever were involved, if you ever came to the shul, if you ever came to the Chabad at all, you knew Lori.”Seidel, who was not at the synagogue when Earnest opened fire, questioned why–yet again–anyone was allowed access to a semi-automatic weapon. “We need to license every gun,” she said. “Like a car.”A few feet away, a trio of attendees huddled together, locked in a tense conversation about the root of the problem that shattered their community. “Thank God we had a Jew with a gun,” Dorina Feygin, an older woman said, referring to the off-duty Border Patrol agent who is credited with helping chase the gunman away. “Thank God for a Jew with a gun.” (The agent said he recently rediscovered his Jewish roots.)Feygin, who emigrated from Ukraine, came to the vigil from Mt. Carmel, California, where she is a member of the local Chabad there. Feygin, a self-described Donald Trump voter, seemed to believe that anti-Semitism does not come from the right wing, but from the left. “It’s not right-white nationalism. It’s left,” she claimed. “Fascism is a socialist ideology. I’m from the Soviet Union. I should know the signs. Fascism and socialism are the same sides of a different coin.”Mary Marshall and Steve Gould, members of the Beth Israel Congregation from Carmel Valley who were standing near Feygin, disagreed. “Trump is feeding white nationalism in this country,” Marshall said. “No, he’s not,” Feygin shot back. “Of course, he is,” Gould responded. As the crowd around the trio started to interject with heated opinions, Marshall ended the dispute. “This is not the time for this,” she said. “We do not need it today. We have a very big difference of opinion. We shouldn’t talk about it right now.”Earlier in the day, Rabbi Goldstein talked at length about how he had received a phone call from President Trump. “He was so comforting. He brought amazing consolation,” he said. “I had a 15 minute conversation. He spoke to me like a friend. Like a colleague. He spoke to me like he felt for me, for my anguish and pain. We spoke about why is there so much anti-Semitism, and what we can do to change that.”During his conversation, Goldstein told Trump about his proposed solution to curb gun violence. His idea was not increased gun control, stricter background checks, or improved mental health and counseling services. Instead, Goldstein proposed implementing a moment of prayer in the school system.“I told him about how I thought we should have a moment of silence in our public schools,” he said. “It used to be that in our public schools, children would be required to pray every morning. And then, they stopped that.”Near the end of the service, a woman spontaneously took the microphone and was quickly booed off of the stage. Calling herself Janice, she claimed the rabbi, who she referred to as a “strict Jew,” was “good with money.” She suggested that Earnest might not have attacked the Chabad if he only had “Jesus in his heart.”“This is about Poway,” she said. “It’s about curing the depression in the schools. If this boy had Jesus in his heart, he wouldn't have had a gun.” When the audience began to yell ”she’s done,” Janice was quickly ushered away from the podium and the crowd returned to the difficult task of trying to understand their grief.Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Impeachment Would Be a Redundant Judgment

The Mueller investigation was supposed to be a legal process concerned with crimes. Investigators identified no crimes to charge, and so it has, naturally, become something else: no longer a theory about a criminal conspiracy — only an irritable mood.An ordeal that had been conducted under the procedures of law in accordance with legal criteria is now an ordeal that is being conducted under the procedures of politics in accordance with political criteria — or, if you prefer, with moral criteria related to Donald Trump’s character. For those who want to see President Trump impeached and who think of impeachment as a fundamentally political process in spite of its mock-trial aspect, that’s just fine. They’ll take their pound of flesh, however it is had.The problem with this point of view is that the question of Donald Trump’s personal fitness for office already has been adjudicated as a political matter: That is what happened in the 2016 presidential election. Many critics, myself included, argued that Trump was unfit for the office, both morally and intellectually. We made our arguments, the voters consulted their own consciences, and, weighing these things however it is that voters weigh them, chose Trump. There wasn’t some occult intermediary step in there. That’s how things go in politics: The people behave just as if they had minds of their own! And, sometimes, they get to have their own way.In terms of Donald Trump’s character and habits, there is practically nothing in the Mueller report — or in the public record since 2016 — that voters did not already know when they elected him. And that is really the fundamental argument against impeaching President Trump: The political judgment called for in an impeachment at this point and in this context properly ought to be understood as beside the point, if we take seriously the democratic assumption that the judgment of the people, rendered in the election, is sovereign.There isn’t some shocking new thing, and, of course, some Democrats have been talking impeachment since before Trump was even sworn in. The Democrats do not propose to impeach Donald Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors, but simply for being Donald Trump. One may sympathize with that, but Donald Trump is the man the voters chose.And that goes to the real issue here: The Democrats cannot accept that they lost an election to Donald Trump. One sympathizes with that, too, but that is what actually happened, for several reasons: Trump focused on two issues — immigration and trade — that speak to a substantial bipartisan plurality with nationalistic and protectionist impulses rarely taken seriously by mainstream figures in either party; his opponent ran an inept campaign and has been questing after power for so long that both she and the voters are exhausted by it; the “elites” and Washingtonians against whom Trump & Co. inveigh were judged, not without some reason, to merit a trip to the woodshed; the so-called war on terror and the financial crisis of 2008–09 have destabilized formerly sturdy political coalitions. And, of course, it was Republicans’ turn.Which is to say: The Democrats’ talk of impeachment is partly about 2020, but it’s mainly about 2016, and their adolescent psychic need to believe that the presidential election that brought Donald Trump to the White House was illegitimate rather than an opportunity they simply blew. The theory that the election was thrown by Russian trolls posting dank memes on Twitter is hard to take seriously. If we had a list of every voter whose mind was changed in 2016 by an anonymous social-media account with a Cyrillic bio, then disenfranchising those voters would be a good start on improving things for 2020. Alas and alack, we don’t do that sort of thing. But the argument that bot-executed shenanigans nullified democracy in 2016 amounts to the Democrats protesting: “These trolls robbed us of the support of our natural base: morons!”There’s no quality control in social media — and less quality control in ordinary news media than there used to be. Lies, distortions, exaggerations, and pure inventions are going to be out there in the intellectual marketplace, whether they originate in Moscow or in Brooklyn. That’s a real problem, but it doesn’t invalidate the outcome of the 2016 election.There are many reasons to oppose an impeachment at this time: One is that no one has made a very persuasive case for one, all of the Democrats’ arguments up to this point having been transparently pretextual. Another is that the Republican majority in the Senate all but ensures that the process would be purely symbolic, an exercise in chaos for pleasure’s sake. A third is that it normalizes the invocation of a procedure that should be reserved for extraordinary circumstances in the service of ordinary short-term partisan interests. For comparison, consider that there was no serious impeachment talk when Barack Obama authorized the assassination of U.S. citizens without so much as a by-your-leave from Congress — or when he took executive actions that he himself had described as unconstitutional only months before. That suggests a pretty high standard — and if “I think that guy is a fink!” ends up being a common rationale for impeachment, then you’d better make your peace with anarchy, because Washington is going to be a ghost town.But the most important reason for forbearance here is that a political judgment already has been rendered on Donald Trump’s character — and, if you don’t like how that came out, there’s another chance right around the corner.

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No Mass for Sri Lanka's Catholics; no veils for Muslim women

AMPARA, Sri Lanka (AP) — The effects of Sri Lanka's Easter suicide bombings reverberated across two faiths Sunday, with Catholics shut out of their churches for fear of new attacks, left with only a televised Mass, and Muslim women ordered to stop wearing veils in public.

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AJ Freund death: Parents of 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy due in court Monday

The parents of slain 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy A.J. Freund are scheduled to appear in court Monday morning.

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The Latest: Islamic State leader says attack was revenge

AMPARA, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Latest on the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka (all times local):

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Two U.S. Navy warships sail through strategic Taiwan Strait

The voyage risks further raising tensions with China but will likely be viewed by self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support from the Trump administration amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing. Taiwan is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which also include a trade war, U.S. sanctions and China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols. "The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," Commander Clay Doss, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, said in a statement.

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From Heisei to Reiwa: how Japan changed under Emperor Akihito

Japan marks the end of an era with Tuesday's abdication of Emperor Akihito, and the outgoing monarch leaves behind a much-changed country. Crown Prince Naruhito will inherit a Japan vastly different from that of the start of his father's reign, when the country was in the grip of an economic bubble and on the verge of a tech revolution. Japan's shrinking population is among the country's most pressing social and economic issues.

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Deadly Seattle crane collapse was likely caused by human error, experts say

Human error may be to blame for the Seattle crane collapse on Saturday that killed four people and injured another four, experts said based on videos.

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UN chief demands that the world step up to stamp out hatred

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres demanded Monday that the world "step up to stamp out anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hatred, persecution of Christians and all other forms of racism, xenophobia, discrimination and incitement."

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Her 'final good deed': Woman hailed as hero after taking bullets to protect rabbi during synagogue shooting

The woman killed during Saturday’s San Diego synagogue shooting stepped in front of the bullets aimed at her longtime friend and rabbi, friends said.

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Officials: Parents of suspect among 7 killed in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The man suspected of killing his parents and five other people in two rural Tennessee homes stole the car of one of the victims and was wearing a blood-stained T-shirt when he was seen, telling acquaintances the stain was just chocolate, according to authorities and court documents.

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Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders Stake Out Ideological Poles of Democratic Race

Biden is an establishment Democrat with a long record of bipartisan deals ranging from budget accords this decade to a now-maligned 1994 crime bill. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, was an early adopter of ideas including single payer health insurance and a $15 federal minimum wage, that have rapidly gained traction in the progressive base. For the moment, Biden, 76, and Sanders, 77, lead the pack in virtually every poll, buoyed by strong name recognition.

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Poway Synagogue Shooting Suspect’s Parents Call Him ‘Evil’

via FacebookPOWAY, California—The parents of John Earnest, who allegedly opened fire on a synagogue Saturday, called their son evil on Monday.“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the terrible attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue,” the family said in a statement released through an attorney. “But our sadness pales in comparison to the grief and anguish our son has caused for so many innocent people. He has killed and injured the faithful who were gathered in a sacred place on a sacred day. To our great shame, he is now part of the history of evil that has been perpetrated on Jewish people for centuries.” On Saturday morning, Earnest entered Chabad of Poway with an assault-style rifle and allegedly opened fire, killing one woman and wounding three others, including a rabbi. Twenty minutes before the attack, Earnest published a virulently anti-Semitic manifesto repeating centuries’ old libels against Jews as justification for murdering them. The message said he idolized Brenton Tarrant, the alleged Christchurch mosque attacker, and Robert Bowers, who allegedly murdered 11 Jews at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Earnest also approvingly cited Adolf Hitler. Twenty minutes after posting the message, he entered Chabad of Poway with an assault-style rifle and allegedly opened fire, killing one woman and wounding three others, including a rabbi. Earnest was chased out of the synagogue by an Army veteran and fled in a vehicle. Soon after, he called 911 and told authorities where to find him on a highway, according to authorities. He will be arraigned Wednesday morning in San Diego County court, one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.Earnest, 19, grew up in a middle-class neighborhood not far from Poway. He was an honors student and accomplished pianist at Mt. Carmel High School, where his father, also named John, works as a teacher. Earnest’s father also served as board president of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Escondido, where the family attended church weekly. Gerrit Groenewold, a member of the church, told The Daily Beast on Sunday that Earnest was the quietest of his family, so quiet that Groenewold grew concerned. “I noticed that he was quiet and just wanted to have contact,” he said. “It’s not good if someone is that quiet. He needs to be part of the community, to let them know what is going on.”Earnest was not known to law enforcement prior to the attack, authorities said, and has no known ties to white supremacist groups.Read more at The Daily Beast.

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FAA considered grounding some Boeing 737 Max planes last year: source

US regulators considered grounding some Boeing 737 MAX planes last year after learning belatedly of a problem with a system that is now the main suspect in two deadly crashes, a source close to the matter said. Investigators in the Lion Air crash in October and the Ethiopia Airlines disaster in March have zeroed in on the planes' anti-stall system, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. Last year, before the Lion crash, inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration discovered that the manufacturer had de-activated a signal designed to advise the cockpit crew of a malfunctioning of the MCAS system, the source said.

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Barr threatens to skip House hearing on Mueller report over format dispute

Attorney general has expressed objections to House judiciary committee’s questioning format, according to Democratic aide The US attorney general, William Barr, is scheduled to testify before the House judiciary panel, chaired by the Democrats, on Thursday. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters The Department of Justice (DoJ) has informed the powerful House of Representatives judiciary committee that the attorney general, William Barr, may not attend a Thursday hearing to review special counsel Robert Mueller’s report of the Trump-Russia investigation. Barr has expressed objections over the panel’s questioning format, according to a senior Democratic committee aide. The department has balked at the panel’s plans to allow committee counsels from both sides to question Barr after the traditional round of questioning by members of Congress who sit on the committee, which is currently chaired by the Democrats because they control the House. Justice officials also told the committee they opposed committee chairman Jerry Nadler’s plan to go into closed session if members want to discuss redacted portions of Mueller’s report. That’s also according to the aide, who requested anonymity to discuss the confidential communications with the justice department. Barr is scheduled to testify on Wednesday before the Senate judiciary committee, which is chaired by the Republicans, the party in control of the Senate, and to the House panel on Thursday. The redacted Mueller report was made public just over a week ago. While it concluded there was not enough evidence to charge members of the Trump campaign with criminal conspiracy between the organisation and Russia, it also determined there was a lot of contact, and that Russia conclusively interfered in the 2016 election. Democrats the following day issued a subpoena for the un-redacted version. The report also found that it could not exonerate the president on the question of obstruction of justice and if Mueller could he would have done so, while also stating the investigation would not reach a conclusion on whether there had been criminal obstruction. The DoJ has deemed that a sitting president cannot be indicted. Congress is now conducting further inquiries and a number of other criminal investigations are ongoing, including by federal prosecutors in New York, against the president, though the nature of most of the investigations has not been made public. This article was amended on 29 April, to reflect that the Mueller report concluded there was not sufficient evidence to bring charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, and that the investigation would not reach a conclusion on whether there had been criminal obstruction.

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U.S. envoy signed North Korea document to pay for Warmbier's care: Bolton

The United States signed a document agreeing to pay North Korea for the care of American Otto Warmbier but never paid the $2 million Pyongyang demanded, White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday. Bolton, who said he was not part of the administration at the time, confirmed newspaper reports that North Korea demanded the money before Warmbier was flown out of Pyongyang in a coma on June 13, 2017. Asked whether U.S. envoy Joseph Yun signed the document when he went to retrieve Warmbier, Bolton told "Fox News Sunday" in an interview: "That is what I am told, yes." He said no payment was made.

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United Airlines is covering up cameras on seat backs amid privacy backlash

United Airlines is covering up all the cameras on the back of customers' seats amid backlash about privacy.

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Sean Spicer: Trump has 'insurmountable edge' in key battleground states

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer lays out how Republicans are going to compete against Democrats in 2020.

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US consumer spending jumps in March; inflation remains tame

American consumer spending leapt last month to post the biggest gain in 10 years, recovering from a weak start to 2019, while inflation remained tame, according to government data released Monday. The strong finish to the third quarter comes a day before the Federal Reserve is due to meet, with markets overwhelmingly expecting the central bank to leave interest rates untouched. The latest figures confirm the picture of steady economic growth in the first quarter that were released Friday in the Commerce Department's GDP report.

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