Author: HeraldStar

Federal employees at multiple government agencies are once again being told to report their work accomplishments over the past week to the Trump administration, according to a union source and several employees who received the Friday evening missives. The emails, titled “What did you do last week? Part II,” were sent to employees at the Bureau of Prisons, General Services Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Personnel Management, Social Security Administration and the departments of Education and Veterans Affairs, among others, the sources said. CNN has viewed a number of the emails. Workers were again directed to reply to the email,…

An attorney for a Texas pipeline company said Wednesday at trial that he will prove various Greenpeace entities coordinated delays and disruptions of a controversial oil pipeline’s construction in North Dakota, and defamed the company to its lenders. Attorneys for the Greenpeace defendants told a jury there is no evidence to back up the claims by Dallas-based Energy Transfer, which seeks potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in damages from Greenpeace. The case is tied to protests in 2016 and 2017 of the Dakota Access Pipeline and its controversial Missouri River crossing upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation.…

One hundred forty-six measles cases have been reported in the outbreak in West Texas, the Texas Department of Health Services said in an update today. This is 22 more confirmed cases since an update on Tuesday, when 124 cases were reported. Twenty patients have been hospitalized, and most cases are in children aged 5 to 17 years old. Around 10% of cases have been in infants, who can have serious outcomes from measles, Dr. Jennifer Shuford, commissioner for the Texas department of State Health Services said on Friday. Infants younger than 1 are generally not protected with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine;…

Applause is in order for Lady Gaga, for her performance on “Hot Ones.” The “Abracadabra” singer appeared on Thursday’s episode of the hot wing interview show, and she took on the so-called “wings of death” like a true rock star, only showing weakness with a mere giggle. Perhaps what was most impressive is that a self-proclaimed “fashion-impaired” Gaga ate each of the wings with just one hand – on which her monstrously large engagement ring sparkled – and didn’t get a drop of sauce on her imposing beige-colored outfit, which blocked her other arm and could have been an art installation on its own.…

Sweden’s Armand Duplantis soared 6.27 metres to shatter the world pole vault record for a staggering 11th time at the All Star Perche meet in Clermont-Ferrand, France on Friday. The two-times Olympic and world champion cleared the record height on his first attempt to break his previous global mark of 6.26 set in Silesia in August, sparking track-side fireworks that lit up the arena. “I just felt really good,” Duplantis told reporters. “What can I say, I came here to do it. I put everything in place to do it. The run-up worked really well. I just did it.” Emmanouil…

Bayern Munich fought back from a goal down to maintain their place at the top of the Bundesliga with a 3-1 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Friday. The win keeps Bayern comfortably atop the Bundesliga with 61 points, 11 ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, though they have played one match more. Stuttgart took the lead in the 34th minute through Angelo Stiller, who struck a left-footed shot into the top corner from the edge of the box. In first half stoppage time, Bayern equalised as Michael Olise made a perfectly timed run and finished with ease. Bayern turned the match around…

Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid has been shut down for the remainder of the season as he deals with ongoing issues with his left knee, the team announced Friday. Per the 76ers, the team and Embiid have been consulting with specialists about his injured knee. “After further evaluation, it has been determined that he is medically unable to play and will miss the remainder of the season to focus on treatment and rehabilitation,” the 76ers said in a statement. “We are working with medical experts to determine the exact treatment plan. … The team and specialists will continue working…

Centimeter by centimeter, Mondo Duplantis is soaring closer to the sky and securing his legacy as the greatest pole vaulter in history. The 25-year-old Swede broke his own world record for the 11th time on Friday, clearing the bar at 6.27 meters while competing at the All Star Perche in Clermont-Ferrand, France. “I just felt really good,” he told reporters, according to Reuters. “What can I say, I came here to do it. I put everything in place to do it. The run-up worked really well. I just did it.” Such is Duplantis’ dominance, he seems virtually assured of winning every time he steps onto the…

Half a billion straws are used in the United States every day, according to a popular — but perhaps not the most scientific — estimate. The biggest buyer: the federal government, which buys more straws than any other group in the US. Straws are used in national parks, federal buildings and embassies, among other places. This week, President Donald Trump reversed course on a Biden administration environmental initiative that had eliminated single-use plastics like straws in federal buildings. The common alternative: paper straws. “We’re going back to plastic straws. (Paper straws) don’t work. They break. They explode If something’s hot. They…

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he plans to impose tariffs of around 25% on auto imports as well as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals shipped to the United States as early as April 2. Trump recently enacted a 10% across-board-tariff on goods coming from China and 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. For tariffs on semiconductor chips and drugs, he told reporters at his resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida that he intended to eventually increase the rate even more. “It’ll go substantially higher over a course of a year,” he said. But he added that he wanted to give…