Nigeria could shun London after visa hassle

Nigeria could avoid playing friendlies in London from now on because of problems obtaining visas for staff and players, coach Gernot Rohr has said.
The Super Eagles played Senegal at non-league Barnet's ground in north London last Friday, drawing 1-1, but a second scheduled match against Burkina Faso on Monday had to be called off.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said seven Burkinabe players failed to secure British entry visas.
Rohr said several of his players also found themselves unable to travel, including defenders Kingsley Madu, of Belgian side Zulte Waregem, and Musa Mohammed, who plays with Zeljeznicar Sarajevo.
The German coach said he will now suggest that friendlies and training camps be arranged on mainland Europe to avoid further difficulties as it was "too complicated to get visas" in Britain.
"I think it's better to stay in Schengen, in Europe, than go to London where the people have problems. Even some players in our team couldn't come, you know. They didn't get the visa in time."

Obamacare to stay

The US House Speaker Paul Ryan, said the country is “going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future” after he abruptly canceled a scheduled vote on the contentious Republican health care bill Friday, 24th March, 2017.“Obamacare is the law of the land, and it will remain the law of the land until it’s replaced,” Ryan said.
The vote on the American Health Care Act planned for Friday afternoon was scuttled minutes before it was to be held. House Republican leaders and the White House failed to win over a bloc of conservative members who thought the measure didn’t go far enough in repealing the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
“Moving from an opposition party to a governing party comes with growing pains,” Ryan told reporters Friday afternoon. “We’re feeling those growing pains today.”
The failure to bring the bill to a vote is a major embarrassment for President Trump, Ryan and congressional Republicans, who had vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act since its passage in 2010.
“We came really close today, but we came up short,” Ryan said.
Republican members of the conservative Freedom Caucus had balked at the bill’s failure to repeal insurance regulations and presented a unified front that ultimately forced Ryan to pull the measure.
Ryan said Mr. Trump has “really been fantastic” in advocating for the bill, saying he “gave his all in this effort.”
Ryan informed members of the Republican caucus of his decision to cancel the vote during a meeting shortly after the cancellation. Following the meeting, Rep. Bill Flores of Texas told CBS News’ Walt Cronkite that Ryan told members the GOP would be pulling the bill and moving on to another subject. Flores said Ryan told the caucus they would focus on other reforms for now.

Murder Suspect Planned To Kill ‘As Many Black Men’ As He Could

 

A white Army veteran accused of fatally stabbing a black man in New York City was charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime in a Manhattan criminal court on Thursday. 

James Harris Jackson, 28, intended to “kill as many black men here in New York as he could” on Friday, the day he attacked Timothy Caughman, 66, with a 26-inch sword, prosecutor Joan Illuzi said, according to NBC New York. “The defendant was motivated purely by hatred,” Illuzi added.

Jackson could face additional charges, including first-degree murder, said the prosecutor, who described the killing as “an act, most likely, of terrorism.”

Jackson told police that he traveled on a bus from Baltimore to New York “for the purpose of killing black men,” according to the criminal complaint. Authorities said that Jackson chose New York because it’s the “media capitol of the world” and he wanted to draw attention to his mayhem.

Caughman ― a “can and bottle recycler,” according to his Twitter account ― was rummaging through a trash can when Jackson stabbed him in the back, face and hand with the sword. Caughman, bloodied from his injuries, walked to a nearby police precinct. He died while being rushed to a hospital, according to WPIX-TV.

Surveillance video from before the killing shows Jackson stalking another black man without attacking him, according to CBS News.

Jackson reportedly surrendered to a Times Square NYPD substation a little more than 24 hours after the attack, telling officers: “You need to arrest me. I’ve got the knife in my coat.”

Jackson revealed to police that he’s harbored a hatred for black men for at least 10 years, authorities said during a Wednesday press conference. The New York Times reported that Jackson wrote a manifesto detailing his plans, which he had intended to deliver to the paper. 

Jackson’s attorney, Sam Talkin, said the defense would address “the obvious psychological issues that are present in this case,” according to The Associated Press.

Hank Newsome, president of Black Lives Matter’s New York branch, told NBC News that the attack was “an act of domestic terrorism,” adding that “there is no way Mr. Caughman should have had to die like this.”

Jackson, a Baltimore native, served in the Army from 2009 to 2012, according to the Baltimore Sun.

FBI Director James Comey Finally Refutes President Donald Trump’s ‘Wiretap’ Tweets

The FBI is investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with a covert Russian campaign to interfere with the U.S. presidential election, FBI Director James Comey told Congress Monday, an explosive disclosure that could shadow the Trump presidency.
In his opening statement at a hearing before the House Intelligence Committee, Comey said the investigation was being undertaken "as part of our counterintelligence mission," and that he could not disclose any details about it. Normally, he said, the FBI doesn't confirm or deny investigations, but it can make exceptions in cases of major public interest.
Later in the hearing, Comey said he "has no information that supports" Trump's allegation that President Obama ordered surveillance of his communications in Trump Tower during the campaign.
Comey added that courts grant permission for electronic surveillance, "carefully overseen," and that "no individual in the United States can direct electronic surveillance of anyone."

Uber President Jeff Jones Resigns After Six Months of Controversy

Jeff Jones, President of Ride services company Uber Technologies Inc has departed the company, an Uber spokesman has said.
The spokesman said in statement in San Francisco that Jones quit less than seven months after joining the company.
In a statement late on Sunday, Jones said he could not continue as president of a business with which he was incompatible.
“I joined Uber because of its mission, and the challenge to build global capabilities that would help the company mature and thrive long term.
“It is now clear, however, that the beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced at Uber.
“I can no longer continue as president of the ride sharing business,” Jones said.
Jones wished the “thousands of amazing people at the company” well.
Jones’ role was put into question after Uber earlier this month launched a search for a chief operating officer (COO) to help run the company alongside Chief Executive Travis Kalanick.
Jones had been performing some of those COO responsibilities. He joined Uber from Target Corp, where he was chief marketing officer and is credited with modernising the retailer’s brand.
“We want to thank Jeff for his six months at the company and wish him all the best,” an Uber spokesman said.
Uber’s vice-president of maps and business platform, Brian McClendon, also said separately he planned to leave the company at the end of the month to explore politics.
“I’ll be staying on as an adviser,” McClendon said in a statement to Reuters.
“This fall’s election and the current fiscal crisis in Kansas is driving me to more fully participate in our democracy.”
Jones and McClendon are the latest in a string of high-level executives to leave the company.
Last month, engineering executive Amit Singhal was asked to resign due to a sexual harassment allegation stemming from his previous job at Alphabet Inc’s Google.
Earlier this month, Ed Baker, Uber’s vice-president of product and growth, and Charlie Miller, Uber’s famed security researcher, departed.