A Russian fighter jet on Monday reportedly intercepted and escorted U.S. and Norwegian patrol aircraft over the Barents Sea. The Russian Defense Ministry said the incident over the body of water north of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia involved a MiG-31 fighter jet, Reuters reported , citing Russia’s state-run RIA news agency. A Pentagon official told The Hill that the Defense Department was "aware of the reports." ADVERTISEMENT "Intercept activity is not unusual. The majority of these are considered safe. However, we don’t get into details of the interactions themselves,” the official said. A Russian MiG-31 last week escorted a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft along the country’s far northeast Kamchatka Peninsula over the Pacific Ocean, according to Russian news agency Tass. Moscow in the past month has heightened its military presence in the region, particularly at its border with Ukraine and in the Black Sea , with Russian jets and bombers frequently flying near allied airspace. Fighting has increased in eastern Ukraine with pro-Russian separatists. Biden administration officials have confirmed that Russia now has more troops on the border with Ukraine than at any time since 2014, when it annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. President Biden Joe Biden Graham: 'I could not disagree more' with Trump support of Afghanistan troop withdrawal Obama, Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley team up to urge communities of color to get coronavirus vaccine Biden to hold second meeting with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure MORE last week raised concerns with Russian President Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin Sullivan: 'There will be consequences' if Navalny dies Macron: Russian presence at Ukraine border is 'absolutely counterproductive and unacceptable' Doctor says Navalny could die 'at any moment' MORE about escalating tensions in Ukraine in a phone call where he ...
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Al Sharpton Walks to Board Private Jet en Route to Derek Chauvin’s Trial
MSNBC anchor Al Sharpton shared video footage of himself walking towards a private jet en route to Derek Chauvin’s trial Monday. Sharpton, who is a regular at events where “racial harmony” is strained, also boarded a private jet after giving George Floyd’s eulogy at his funeral. “Y’all do know I’m Al Sharpton. I’m going to say what I got to say,” Sharpton commenced at Floyd’s funeral. Before 2020’s social upheaval, Sharpton made $1,046,948 in 2018 from his own charity, the New York Post reported . He defended his earning by saying he works hard for his money. “It’s a six-day-a-week job and several hours a day and when [the compensation firm] compared it to other companies, other non profits, that’s the salary that they would get,” he said . Headed to Minneapolis to stand with the Floyd family as closing arguments are set to be made today. pic.twitter.com/kkS9KtHzq1 — Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) April 19, 2021 The New York Post also reported in 2015 that “corporations have shelled out thousands of dollars in donations and consulting fees to Sharpton’s National Action Network. What they get in return is the reverend’s supposed sway in the black community or, more often, his silence.” Despite Sharpton’s wealth, he admits, “Sometimes your vanity outruns your sanity, and you do things for posture. But it’s all part of growing up.” The closing arguments for Derek Chauvin’s trial are set for Monday. ...
NASA Success: Milestone Flight of First Aircraft over Another Planet as Helicopter Hovers Above Mars
The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) documented the first successful flight of an aircraft over another planet as the Ingenuity helicopter flew 10 feet above the surface of Mars for 39 seconds on Monday. “Ingenuity is the latest in a long and storied tradition of NASA projects achieving a space exploration goal once thought impossible,” acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk said in the NASA report. “The X-15 was a pathfinder for the space shuttle. Mars Pathfinder and its Sojourner rover did the same for three generations of Mars rovers. We don’t know exactly where Ingenuity will lead us, but today’s results indicate the sky – at least on Mars – may not be the limit.” In this image from NASA, NASA’s experimental Mars helicopter Ingenuity hovers above the surface of Mars Monday, April 19, 2021. The little 4-pound helicopter rose from the dusty red surface into the thin Martian air Monday, achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. (NASA via AP) “Now, 117 years after the Wright brothers succeeded in making the first flight on our planet, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has succeeded in performing this amazing feat on another world,” NASA Associate Administrator for Science Thomas Zurbuchen said about naming the airfield where the flight took place. “While these two iconic moments in aviation history may be separated by time and 173 million miles of space, they now will forever be linked. As an homage to the two innovative bicycle makers from Dayton, this first of many airfields on other worlds will now be known as Wright Brothers Field, in recognition of the ingenuity and innovation that continue to propel exploration.” The NASA report continued about the project, developed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California: Because data must be sent to and returned from the Red Planet over hundreds of millions of miles using orbiting satellites and NASA’s Deep Space Network , Ingenuity cannot be ...
Joe Biden’s audacious gambles
Sign up to get our new weekly column as a newsletter. We're looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. (CNN) Tom Stoppard's play, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," begins with the two minor characters from "Hamlet" betting on the toss of a coin. It comes up heads ... and heads ... and heads -- 92 times in a row -- and Guildenstern has to keep handing over his money. "I'm afraid it isn't your day," says Rosencrantz. "Life is a gamble, at terrible odds," says another character near the end of the 1966 play , "if it was a bet you wouldn't take it." This week President Joe Biden continued taking some hard bets, hoping the coins will land his way. He set the pattern in January, days before he took office, by outlining a huge Covid relief package amounting to $1.9 trillion and then topped it last month with a proposal for a $2 trillion infrastructure bill. On Wednesday he made another consequential gamble by announcing he would pull all US troops out of Afghanistan , a decision his predecessors were tempted to make, but didn't. Along with new tensions with Russia and China, Biden is facing leadership challenges in the wake of the mass shooting in Indianapolis, police violence in Minnesota, Chicago and elsewhere and the stubbornly high rate of Covid-19 cases. The White House revealed that he would speak to a joint session of Congress on April 28 -- ratcheting up the stakes of the prime-time presidential ritual by scheduling it just two days before his 100th day in office, a milestone that shapes perceptions of new presidents. Read More When Biden goes to the Capitol that was overrun by rioters enraged that he, and not Donald Trump would be certified as the winner of the 2020 election -- and when he enters the House chamber that had to be defended at gunpoint on that chaotic January 6 -- it will be a defining moment, either an opportunity to show that he ...
Pittsburgh Steelers Not Where They Want To Be Through Four Weeks
By Danny Cox Four weeks of the 2012 NFL season have gone by and the Pittsburgh Steelers are sitting at 1-2 and near the bottom of the AFC North. If not for the Cleveland Browns starting out 0-4, the Steelers would be sitting in the cellar of their division and looking up at three teams instead of two. READ MORE: Stimulus Check Latest: Will You Be Receiving A Plus-Up Payment? This is nowhere near where Coach Mike Tomlin, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and the rest of the Steelers thought they would be. (Credit, Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) In the first week of the season, the Steelers had a 19-14 lead on the Denver Broncos almost halfway through the fourth quarter. Peyton Manning and Tracy Porter then stepped up for the Broncos and destroyed Pittsburgh in the final nine and a half minutes to hand them a 31-19 loss. From there, Roethlisberger took matters into his own hands in week two and decimated the defense of the New York Jets . Big Ben threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns en route to a 125.1 quarterback rating. The Jets looked like they weren’t even on the field at times. Pittsburgh’s defense tightened up after the Steelers fell behind 10-6 halfway through the second quarter. From that point on, Roethlisberger threw two touchdowns and got a rushing score from Isaac Redman as they routed New York 27-10. The Steelers were back on track with only the Oakland Raiders in their way before the bye week. It appeared as if they would soon be getting a break to heal and be sitting pretty over five hundred. At this point, the injuries really began piling up for Pittsburgh. Running back Rashard Mendenhall was still out. James Harrison and Troy Polamalu would be out at least one more week due to their injuries, and the once feared defense was now one that had holes in it all over the place. READ MORE: Precautionary Testing Underway At Ten Mile Creek Due To Oil Leak Pittsburgh traveled to Oakland and looked pretty good in holding their own ...
