Delta plane makes emergency landing after windshield shatters mid-flight
A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Washington made an emergency landing in Denver on Thursday after the plane’s windshield shattered midair. After the crew of Delta Flight 760 “declared an emergency due to a cracked windshield,” the flight landed safely at Denver International Airport around 11:15 p.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. What caused the windshield to crack is still undetermined, but the FAA said it would conduct an investigation. Melissa Long, a Delta spokesperson, confirmed that the plane, a Boeing 757, had a “maintenance issue midflight,” but did not offer information about when the windshield started to crack or why.
As both parties gerrymander furiously, state courts block the way
State courts in both Democratic and Republican states have been aggressively striking down gerrymandered political maps, as this year’s redistricting fights drag on and begin to create chaos in upcoming primary elections. In Maryland, a state judge last month threw out a congressional map drawn by Democrats, citing an “extreme gerrymander.” In North Carolina, the state Supreme Court in February struck down maps drawn by Republicans. The flood of rulings reflects an emerging reality: that state courts, rather than federal ones, have become a primary firewall against gerrymandering as both Democrats and Republicans try to carve out maximum advantages in the maps they control.
Garland faces growing pressure as Jan. 6 investigation widens
Immediately after Merrick Garland was sworn in as attorney general in March of last year, he summoned top Justice Department officials and the FBI director to his office. He wanted a detailed briefing on the case that will, in all likelihood, come to define his legacy: the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. Even though hundreds of people had already been charged, Garland asked to go over the indictments in detail, according to two people familiar with the meeting. The attorney general’s deliberative approach has come to frustrate Democratic allies of the White House and, at times, President Joe Biden himself.
Pope blames a ‘potentate’ for casting ‘dark shadows of war’ on Ukraine
Pope Francis on Saturday inched closer to blaming President Vladimir Putin of Russia for invading Ukraine and said that a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, was possible as he arrived in Malta for a short visit emphasizing the plight of migrants, an issue that has long topped the pontiff’s agenda and that has become critical with the war in Ukraine. In his address to the dignitaries and officials in a frescoed government chamber in Malta, Francis blamed a “potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests,” for casting “dark shadows of war” from Europe’s east.
Yemen’s warring parties to begin first cease-fire in 6 years
A two-month truce between the warring parties in Yemen went into effect Saturday, providing some hope for a reduction of violence in a war that has roiled the Arabian Peninsula and caused a crushing humanitarian crisis. The truce, the first coordinated cease-fire in years, which was brokered by the United Nations, includes a stop to all attacks inside Yemen and outside its borders; the entry of fuel ships to a rebel-controlled port; and the resumption of some commercial flights at the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
Israeli troops kill 3 Palestinian militants in West Bank
Israeli security forces killed three Palestinian militants in the West Bank early Saturday as they continued to scale up their operations in response to a wave of attacks in Israel. Israeli police said the militants had been intercepted while driving through the West Bank, after authorities received a tip that they were about to carry out an attack. Israel security forces have bolstered their presence across Israel and the occupied territories since a Palestinian gunman killed five people in Bnei Brak, Israel, on Tuesday. That was the latest in a string of attacks in Israel that killed 11 people since March 22.
Lithuania says it has stopped importing gas from Russia
Lithuania has stopped importing natural gas from Russia as of April and will be able to rely instead on deliveries from other countries to meet its energy needs, the country’s president announced Saturday, saying the move was an example for other European Union members. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU had been looking for ways to reduce its dependency on Russian fossil fuels, including coal and oil but especially gas. Nearly 40% of the bloc’s total natural gas came from Russia. But since Moscow ordered tanks into Ukraine on Feb. 24, member states have been more actively seeking ways to cut their gas needs.