Top Stories Today – April 26, 2019
Top Stories Today – April 26, 2019
N Korea billed US for Warmbier’s hospital care
North Korea reportedly presented the United States with a $2 million bill for Otto Warmbier’s hospital care — and the US reportedly agreed to pay it. US envoy, Joseph Yun, went to Pyongyang in 2017 to bring the detained American student home, and was reportedly issued a $2 million bill.
Warmbier had fallen into a coma after he was detained in 2016 and remained unconscious for 15 months, dying six days after he finally returned stateside. Yun reportedly signed a pledge agreeing the US would pay this $2 million bill under orders from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and President Trump. CNN reports that the US has not paid the bill. The Week
Joe Biden picks up endorsements
Former Vice President Joe Biden received endorsements from several Democratic senators shortly after he announced his 2020 presidential campaign on Thursday. Sens. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) and Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) were among the first to back Biden’s bid.
Sen. Tom Carper (D), the other senator from Delaware, later endorsed the former vice president. Democratic Sen. Doug Jones (Ala.) also said in a tweet that Biden can “bring people together” and “find common ground while standing up for what he believes is right.” FiveThirtyEight reports Biden has received the most out-of-state endorsements of any 2020 Democrat. The Hill, Five Thirty Eight
Suspected Sri Lanka attack leader died in bombing
The suspected leader of the militant group Sri Lankan authorities said carried out a series of Easter bombings died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel, one of six hotels and churches targeted in the attacks that killed at least 250 people, officials said Friday.
Police also said they had arrested the group’s second-in-command. They said investigators had determined that the assailants’ military training was provided by someone they called “Army Mohideen,” and that weapons training had taken place overseas and at some locations in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province. The Voice of America
Trump abortion rule blocked
A federal judge in Washington on Thursday granted a nationwide injunction blocking the Trump administration’s new rules prohibiting federally-funded health-care providers from referring patients for abortions. The Department of Health and Human Services announced the policy earlier this year. Already, groups receiving money under the Title X program are not allowed to perform abortions with that funding.
The new rules would have hit low-income Americans who use Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of reproductive health services in the US, especially hard. In his ruling, US District Judge Stanley Bastian wrote the restrictions reverse “long-standing positions of the Department without proper consideration of sound medical opinions and the economic and non-economic consequences.” The Washington Post via The Week
Mozambique hit by its strongest storm ever
The strongest cyclone ever to hit Mozambique has made landfall in the country’s north, five weeks after Cyclone Idai devastated its center, according to meteorologists. Surpassing both Idai and the 2000 cyclone that had been the strongest to date, Cyclone Kenneth hit Cabo Delgado province with wind speeds of 140mph (225km/h), bringing the threat of extreme rainfall.
The storm is expected to stall inland for several days and around one meter of rain is expected in the area north of the city of Pemba, more than the usual average for an entire year in the region. The Guardian