Israel swears in unity govt, PM insists on West Bank annexation

Israel's parliament swore in a new unity government on Sunday led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former rival Benny Gantz, ending the longest political crisis in the nation's history. After more than 500 days without a stable government and three inconclusive elections, lawmakers in the 120-seat parliament approved a three-year coalition, with 73 voting for and 46 against. The new government was set to confront serious crises in its first weeks, including the economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus and a looming battle over Israel's possible annexation of large parts of the occupied West Bank.

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Merced County sheriff declares he won't enforce California's 'stay at home' order

In a message posted to Facebook, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said he no longer believes the COVID-19 threat is as serious as Governor Gavin Newsom has stated.

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NY widens testing eligibility as social distancing hits snag

New York City residents who flouted social distancing restrictions for a night on the town got the mayor's wrath Sunday. The city's embattled health commissioner is staying on the job. Gov. Andrew Cuomo played the part of a model patient, getting swabbed for coronavirus on live TV as he announced all people experiencing flu-like symptoms are now eligible for testing.

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Japan Falls Into Recession, and Worse Lies Ahead

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Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True?

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Inspector General’s Firing Puts Pompeo’s Use of Taxpayer Funds Under Scrutiny

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Obama Lives in Trump’s Head

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2 Kansas City Officers Charged With Assaulting Transgender Woman

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13 People Shot, With One in Critical Condition, at Louisiana Memorial Service

The memorial service was apparently for Dominique James, who was recently murdered

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Tropical Storm Arthur forms off Florida, becoming the first named storm of the season

Tropical Storm Arthur formed last Saturday – the first named story of the Atlantic hurricane season.

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Italy announced that foreign travelers can visit again from June 3, as it seeks to revive its battered tourism industry

Italy suffered the first major coronavirus outbreak outside of Asia. After more than 30,000 deaths, it is gradually reopening.

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This is not 'Christmas': Dems pass $3 trillion relief bill

"These are the American people. They are suffering. They need help."

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a colossal $3 trillion dollar Democrat-sponsored coronavirus relief bill -- doubling the amount of aid already approved by Congress to respond to the crisis. But Senate Republicans say it's dead on arrival.

The so-called Heroes Act would extend to all corners of the U.S. economy. It includes $500 billion in aid to struggling state governments, another round of direct payments of up to $6,000 per U.S. household to help stimulate the economy, and hazard pay for healthcare workers and others on the front lines.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says no expense should be spared to provide relief to the millions of Americans out of work, and those fighting the disease.

"Let us come together and give them a signal that we care by allocating the resources to meet their need."

The bill also allows the Speaker to temporarily implement remote proxy voting for 45 days.

Republicans say the measure is unconstitutional and that the House should return to Washington, like the Republican-led Senate, but Democrats say it's more important to slow the spread of the virus in Washington, which is under lockdown until June 8th.

GOP Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole opposes the aid package, likening it to a Christmas wish list.

"So much that's in this bill has nothing to do with the current crisis. It's more like a liberal Christmas card wish list. It would make more sense in my view, Madame speaker, to just send it straight to Santa Claus than to send it to the United States Senate. It'll have a better chance of becoming law that way."

Pelosi hit back at that notion.

"This is not a Christmas tree. There's nothing joyful about this."

But Congressional rising star, New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, says the bill doesn't go far enough on progressive issues.

"We need to do more. We need to make sure that people get recurring payments, you know, multiple stimulus checks to get through this. We need to make sure that people feel safe in their housing... I think we can go further, especially when it comes to healthcare. We want to get to a place where people feel comfortable going to the doctor, and not being afraid of the bill."

U.S. President Donald Trump, actively pushing to reopen the U.S. economy, has promised to veto the measure, also being called the 'Phase 4' stimulus bill.

"Uh - no, not so much phase four."

Trump had previously touted 'Phase 4' as the long-awaited infrastructure bill he campaigned on to create jobs, though he's also said another round of checks to Americans isn't off the table.

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New York tourist arrested in Hawaii for violating local quarantine rule

The island state, with 638 Covid-19 cases, has been cracking down on those who refuse to comply with the 14-day mandated isolation * Coronavirus – latest US updates * Coronavirus – latest global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageAn adventurous but publicity-keen New Yorker is in hot water after heading to Hawaii and finding himself under arrest when he apparently failed to follow local quarantine rules.The 23-year-old man was apprehended in the state earlier this week after he posted beach pictures on Instagram when he was supposed to be isolating himself to prevent the spread of coronavirus.He was arrested for violating Hawaii’s mandatory 14-day quarantine rule and for “unsworn falsification to authority”, the Hawaii governor’s office said in a statement.As of Friday, Hawaii reported one new case of Covid-19, bringing the statewide total to 638 cases and 17 deaths.Some tourists have been arrested for defying the quarantine, amid a crackdown by the state authorities.Tarique Peters, 23, of the Bronx borough of New York City, arrived in Honolulu on Monday, according to a news release from the Hawaii Covid-19 Joint Information Center.“He allegedly left his hotel room the day he arrived and traveled many places using public transportation,” the release said. “Authorities became aware of his social media posts from citizens who saw posts of him – on the beach with a surfboard, sunbathing, and walking around Waikiki at night.”Agents from the state attorney general’s office arrested him Friday morning. Hotel staff told the agents they saw Peters leave his room and the hotel numerous times.Travelers in quarantine aren’t allowed to leave hotel rooms or residences for any reason except medical emergencies. Hotel guests don’t receive housekeeping services and must arrange for food to be delivered to them.Peters was booked, and his bail was set at $4,000. He couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.A photo on social media from two days before with the location “Honolulu – Waikiki Beach” showed him carrying a surfboard on a beach. A photo from 4 May showed him wearing a mask in New York.Lawmakers have been struggling with how to enhance enforcement of the quarantine as people continue to arrive in Hawaii. On Thursday, 252 visitors and 318 residents arrived, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.During the same time last year, nearly 30,000 passengers arrived in the tourism-dependent state daily.Hawaii attorney general Clare Connors said, “We appreciate the assistance of local people who spot flagrant violations of our emergency rules on various social media sites and report them to the appropriate authorities.”The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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Cuomo says nobody should be prosecuted for COVID-19 deaths in N.Y.

The number of deaths in New York state dropped again on Saturday to 139 people as parts of the state have begun to reopen.

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Fed's Powell: 'Medical metrics' most important data for U.S. economy now: CBS

The most important data for the U.S. economy right now are the "medical metrics" around the coronavirus pandemic, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Sunday night in broadcast remarks where he outlined the likely need for three to six more months of government financial help for firms and families. In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" news program, Powell repeatedly returned to health issues as central to the success of a U.S. economic reopening, calling on Americans to "help each other through this" by adhering to social distancing rules as state and local governments begin to lift restrictions on social and economic activities. "If we are thoughtful and careful about how we reopen the economy so that people take these social distancing measures forward and try to do what we can not to have another outbreak...then the recovery can begin fairly soon," Powell said.

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Felicien Kabuga captured: Africa's most wanted and the mastermind behind Rwandan genocide seized in Paris

French police seized the man regarded as the intellectual and financial mastermind behind the Rwandan genocide on Saturday, ending a transcontinental 26-year manhunt for “the Eichmann of Africa”. Félicien Kabuga, Africa’s most wanted fugitive, was arrested in the northern outskirts of Paris after a dawn raid on his flat in the commune of Asnières-sur-Seine. Officers said the 84 year-old had been living there under an assumed identity. French authorities released few details about the operation, beyond hailing the capture of “one of the world’s most wanted fugitives”. It is believed that a series of simultaneous raids were carried out on addresses across France, some linked to Kabuga’s children, to ensure that he did not escape. Those familiar with the investigation suggested that the operation, at least in terms of the painstaking intelligence work involved, had echoes of the Mossad mission to seize the Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann from Buenos Aires in 1960. The British security services played an “essential” role in the operation that led to Kabuga’s capture, according to United Nations prosecutors. So, too, did investigators in the United States, which has long had a $5 million (£4.1m) bounty on his head, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Kabuga will not be sedated and spirited away to Rwanda in the way Eichmann was smuggled into Israel, where he was tried and hanged for his role as a primary architect of the Final Solution. Instead he will eventually be handed over to a United Nations tribunal to answer longstanding charges of crimes against humanity.

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Wisconsin nurse went to bar to help sister reopen, now apologizes

"I let my guard down and apologize for making anyone feel uncomfortable or at risk," said nurse Katie Koutsky, who was not wearing a mask when interviewed on TV at the bar.

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Harry Dunn's mother says UK must 'stand up to US' and refuse extradition requests

The mother of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn has urged the British government to “stand up to” the US amid a continuing diplomatic row.Donald Trump’s administration has refused to extradite suspect Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official, for prosecution over Mr Dunn’s death.

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'No-knock' searches plus stand-your-ground laws: A deadly combo for civilians and police

To keep suspects from flushing drugs down the toilet, police says they need to conduct no-knock searches. Is it worth the cost in injuries and deaths?

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Immigration agency asks for emergency funds, will raise fees

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One crew member dead as Canadian forces' Snowbirds jet crashes in British Columbia

A jet from the Canadian air force's Snowbirds aerobatics team that was on a tour to lift spirits during the coronavirus outbreak crashed in Kamloops, British Columbia, on Sunday, killing one crew member and seriously injuring the other, defense officials said.

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Bolsonaro snaps photos with children at Brazil protest, defying health advice

Wearing a face mask, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro posed for photographs with children plucked out of a crowd of supporters on Sunday, disregarding public health advice aimed at containing one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks.

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