Here’s the biggest news you missed this weekend
‘We are done dying’
The NAACP, along with Virginia’s attorney general and a congressman are expressing outrage at the actions of police officers who pointed weapons, pepper-sprayed and threatened a Black and Latino military officer in December during a traffic stop that was caught on video. Army Lt. Caron Nazario filed a $1 million lawsuit against the officers, saying that his constitutional rights were violated, and in recent days, video from the officers’ body cameras and Nazario’s cellphone has gone viral. The local NAACP said it is launching an investigation into the Windsor Police Department, where the officers work. “Please know this will not go unaddressed,” the group said. “We are done dying. We will not stand silently while another African American’s civil rights are violated.”
- Virginia cops pepper-sprayed and pointed their weapons at a Black and Latino Army officer who had his hands raised during a December traffic stop, video shows.
A Black and Latino U.S. Army lieutenant sued two Virginia police officers who drew their guns and pepper-sprayed him during a traffic stop. (Photo: AP)
US vows to be leader in global vaccinations
If Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has his way, the United States will be “the world leader on helping to make sure the entire world gets vaccinated,” saying on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that China failed to share information and provide access to international public health experts in the early stages of the pandemic, which fueled the global crisis. “I think China knows that in the early stages of COVID, it didn’t do what it needed to do,” Blinken said. “And one result of that failure is that the (virus) got out of hand faster and with, I think, much more egregious results than it might otherwise.” Blinken said the World Health Organization must be strengthened and reformed, and that “China has to play a part in that.”
📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has more than 31 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 561,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 135.5 million cases and more than 2.93 million deaths.
- Women report more side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine than men. Health experts explain why.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from right, listens as national security adviser Jake Sullivan, right, speaks at the opening session of US-China talks at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, March 18, 2021. (Photo: Frederic J. Brown, AP)
US has commitment to Israel, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin says
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday declared an “enduring and ironclad” American commitment to Israel, reinforcing support at a tense time in Israeli politics and amid questions about the Biden administration’s efforts to revive nuclear negotiations with Israel’s archenemy, Iran. Austin’s first talks in Israel since he became Pentagon chief in January come as the United States seeks to leverage Middle East diplomatic progress made by the Trump administration, which brokered a deal normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states. After meeting with Defense Minister Benny Gantz in Tel Aviv, Austin said he had reaffirmed “our commitment to Israel is enduring and ironclad.” Austin made no mention of Iran.
Real quick
- Nearly 40% of Marines decline the COVID-19 vaccine, prompting some Democrats to urge Biden to set a mandate for the military.
- Republican unity? Not so much. Donald Trump goes off-script to attack Mitch McConnell, Mike Pence and others.
- Are you due more stimulus money? ‘Plus-up’ payments are being sent to some Americans. More answers to your COVID-19 relief questions here.
- Trevor Lawrence’s weekend: The Masters, marriage, and a fancy toaster from Jaguars fans.
- ‘Nomadland’ director Chloé Zhao makes history at the 2021 Directors Guild of America Awards on way to Oscars.
- ‘Saturday Night Live’ paid tribute to two recent deaths that touched the ‘SNL’ family: Rap legend DMX and ’70s show writer Anne Beatts.
- Robert Shook, who initially survived the shooting in South Carolina, has died —becoming the sixth person killed by a gunman who later took his own life.
- A year ago, COVID-19 almost killed him. On Saturday, he ran the 20 miles between the hospitals that saved him.
Boehner: Trump ‘abused’ his loyalists by lying to them
In an exclusive interview with USA TODAY ahead of his book release, “On the House: A Washington Memoir,” former House Speaker John Boehner says Donald Trump “abused” his loyalists by lying to them. “He stepped all over their loyalty to him by continuing to say things that just weren’t true,” Boehner said. The memoir, published Tuesday, describes Texas Sen. Ted Cruz as “Lucifer in the flesh.” Freedom Caucus members as “political terrorists” and “far-right knuckleheads.” He also depicts Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as smart and strategic but also someone who “holds his feelings, thoughts, and emotions in a lockbox closed so tightly that whenever one of them seeps out, bystanders are struck silent.” “I wasn’t going to write some typical Washington walk,” he told USA TODAY, in an extraordinary rebuke of the current-day GOP.
- Exclusive: Ex-Speaker Boehner says Matt Gaetz should resign if indicted — or be expelled.
Former Speaker of the House John Boehner stands for a portrait after speaking with USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page about his new memoir “On the House: A Washington Memoir," in Marco Island, Fla. on April 5, 2021. (Photo: Jessica Koscielniak, USA TODAY)
Prince Philip’s death left ‘a huge void’ in the Queen’s life
The death of Prince Philip has left a “huge void” in Queen Elizabeth II’s life, their son Prince Andrew said Sunday. “We’ve lost, almost, the grandfather of the nation,” he said. “And I feel very sorry and supportive of my mother, who’s feeling it probably more than everybody else.” His younger brother, Prince Edward, called Philip’s death a “dreadful shock” but said the 94-year-old queen was “bearing up.” Edward’s wife, Sophie, said the monarch was “thinking of others before herself.” Philip’s funeral will take place April 17 at Windsor Castle in a family service that will be closed to the public, according to Buckingham Palace.
- Celebrities, politicians and high-profile figures are paying tribute to the life of Prince Philip: ‘We are a kingdom united both in grief and gratitude.’
- A look at the British royal family tree, spanning four generations.
April 9, 2021: An ardent Royals fan lays a floral tribute at the front of Buckingham Palace in central London after the announcement of the death of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Philip, who recently spent more than a month in hospital and underwent a heart procedure, died on April 9, 2021, Buckingham Palace announced. He was 99. (Photo: Tolga Akmen, AFP via Getty Images)
Health alert issued for 211,000 pounds of ground turkey
Check your freezer: A public health alert has been issued for approximately 211,406 pounds of raw ground turkey products potentially linked to salmonella hadar illness. The Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued the alert Saturday night, warning that since the products were shipped to stores nationwide with “use by/freeze/sell by” dates in January, the affected turkey could be lurking in freezers nationwide. “Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the alert said.
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This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Contributing: Associated Press.
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