'We are bigger than Jesus.' Telegram messages show how Trump's 2020 comments galvanized Proud Boys

USA TODAY
Supreme Court ruling could upend cases for some Jan. 6 insurrectionists
Plus: Nationwide antisemitism; Trump allies join forces with sheriff's group. It's the week in extremism, from USA TODAY.
9m ago
Associated Press
AP PHOTOS: For the world's largest democratic exercise, one village's polling officers are all women
The line was orderly at Government Middle School as people waited patiently to vote, even after one of the voting machines malfunctioned. The officers working at the polling station in Chedema village in India's tiny mountain state of Nagaland on Friday had arrived the day before, all of them women on electoral duty for the first time. The four women surveyed the polling station, secured the perimeter and started on the tedious paperwork involved with India's multiphase national election.
22m ago
USA TODAY
25 years ago, the trauma of Columbine was ‘seared into us.’ It’s still 'an open wound'
The trauma of the massacre at Columbine High School still haunts survivors, witnesses nationwide and students who weren’t alive when it happened.
41m ago
Associated Press
Firefighters to tackle scaffolding dangling outside ruins of fire-ravaged Danish landmark
Firefighters in Copenhagen plan to start taking down scaffolding that is left dangling dangerously Friday outside the ruins of the Danish capital's historic Old Stock Exchange building after a fire tore through it and collapsed much of its structure. “Right now, structural engineers and engineers are assessing how it can be done to cut the scaffolding free,” said Tim Ole Simonsen, a spokesman for the Greater Copenhagen Fire Department. Tuesday's blaze was believed to have started on the roof of the building, which had been wrapped up in scaffolding while the building was being renovated.
42m ago
Associated Press
Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska's petroleum reserve
The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm. The decision — part of an ongoing, yearslong fight over whether and how to develop the vast oil resources in the state — finalizes protections first proposed last year as the Biden administration prepared to approve the controversial Willow oil project. The approval of Willow drew fury from environmentalists, who said the large oil project violated Biden's pledge to combat climate change.
43m ago
Reuters
US restricts drilling and mining in Alaska wilderness, angering state leaders
The Biden administration on Friday took steps to limit both oil and gas drilling and mining in Alaska, angering state officials who said the restrictions will cost jobs and make the U.S. reliant on foreign resources. The measures are aligned with President Joe Biden's efforts to rein in oil and gas activities on public lands and conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters to combat climate change. The Interior Department finalized a regulation to block oil and gas development on 40% of Alaska's National Petroleum Preserve to protect habitats for polar bears, caribou and other wildlife and the way of life of indigenous communities.
44m ago
Associated Press
Key ally of Pakistan's prime minister demands end to ban on social media platform X
An important ally of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif demanded the government lift a two-month-old ban on the social media platform X, saying on Friday that it violates citizens' right to speech and expression. The ban on X has been in place since February, when the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a nationwide protest against alleged election rigging ahead of the Feb. 8 vote that allowed Sharif to come to power. “We demand that the ban on X, which is known as Twitter, should immediately be lifted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to stop any further violation of human rights,” said Farhatullah Babar, a senior leader of the Pakistan People's Party.
45m ago
Associated Press
Biden’s new Title IX rules protect LGBTQ+ students, but transgender sports rule still on hold
The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday by the Biden administration. The new provisions are part of a revised Title IX regulation issued by the Education Department, fulfilling a campaign pledge by President Joe Biden.
45m ago
CNN
Biden administration bans drilling in nearly half of Alaska petroleum reserve in sweeping win for climate advocates
The Biden administration is banning drilling on nearly half of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
45m ago
Associated Press
More people are evacuated after the dramatic eruption of an Indonesian volcano
More people living near an erupting volcano on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island were evacuated on Friday due to the dangers of spreading ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and the possibility of a tsunami. An international airport in Manado city, which is located less than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the erupting Mount Ruang, is still temporarily closed as volcanic ash was spewed into the air. Satellite imagery from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency showed that the ash has spread to the west, northwest, northeast and southeast, covering Manado and North Minahasa, according to a statement from Indonesia’s Transportation Ministry.
50m ago
CNN
Iran says it shot down drones as regional conflict escalates. How did we get here?
An unclaimed aerial attack in central Iran on Friday comes fresh on the heels of tit-for-tat Iranian and Israeli strikes earlier this month, marking a potentially dangerous escalation of the Middle East conflict.
1h ago
AFP
West Bank villagers vigilant but vulnerable after settler attacks
Sitting around a fire in the hills of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Ibrahim Abu Alyah and some friends stood watch over his herd in the aftermath of a settler attack on their village.People watched powerless as settlers rampaged through the village.
1h ago
Associated Press
South Korea slows plan to hike medical school admissions as doctors' strike drags on
Desperate to end a weeks-long strike by thousands of doctors, South Korea’s government said Friday it will slow down a plan to admit more students to the country's medical schools from next year. More than 90% of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents have been on strike since late February, when the government announced a plan to recruit 2,000 more students next year. The government adopted a compromise proposal put forward by the presidents of six state-run universities on Thursday, under which medical schools will increase admissions over several years.
1h ago
Associated Press
Ukraine claims it shot down a Russian strategic bomber. Moscow says the plane crashed
Ukraine’s air force claimed Friday it shot down a Russian strategic bomber, but Moscow officials said the plane crashed in a sparsely populated area due to a malfunction after a combat mission. Previous Ukrainian claims of shooting down Russian warplanes during their more than two-year war have met with silence or denials from Moscow. Meanwhile, Russian missiles struck cities in the central Dnipro region of Ukraine, killing eight people, including an 8-year-old girl, and injuring 25, local officials said.
1h ago
Associated Press
Japanese doctors demand damages from Google over "groundless" reviews
A group of Japanese doctors has filed a civil lawsuit against U.S. search giant Google, demanding damages for what they claim are unpoliced derogatory and often false comments. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Tokyo District Court, demands 1.4 million yen ($9,400) in damages for 63 medical professionals. Google said in an emailed statement Friday that it is working “24 hours a day” to reduce misleading or false information on its platform, combining human and technological resources “to delete fraudulent reviews.”
1h ago
AFP
Oil jumps, equities fall as Iran blasts fan MidEast fears
Oil prices rallied and equities fell Friday as reports said explosions had been heard in Iran and Syria, fuelling fears of an escalation of the Middle East crisis after last weekend's missile attack on Israel by Tehran."It is now clear that the escalating shadow warfare between Israel and Iran... has finally ignited the powder keg in the Middle East, and we have moved decisively out of the shadows and into the glaring light of open conflict," said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
1h ago
Reuters
Two held in Poland over attack on Navalny aide, Lithuania says
WARSAW (Reuters) -Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Leonid Volkov, an exiled top aide to the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters on Friday. Volkov suffered injuries from hammer blows in the attack on March 12 outside his home in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. The Kremlin declined to comment.
1h ago
CNN
Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, US official tells CNN, as region braces for further escalation
Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN Friday, a move that threatens to push the region deeper into conflict. The target is not nuclear, the official added.
1h ago
CNN
NYPD arrested over 100 people during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University. Here’s what we know
The New York Police Department arrested more than 100 people Thursday on suspicion of criminal trespass during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University that began with an encampment a day earlier, according to a law enforcement official.
1h ago
Yahoo Finance
Jay Powell just made buying a home this spring even more challenging
The Fed chair this week doused any hope homebuyers still had that mortgage rates would soften anytime soon.
2h ago

'We are bigger than Jesus.' Telegram messages show how Trump's 2020 comments galvanized Proud Boys

'Guys...stand by'

'Be ready to go'

'We are bigger than Jesus'

'Lets hope daddy Trump plays it right'

'My phone hasn't stopped ringing'

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Latest Stories

Supreme Court ruling could upend cases for some Jan. 6 insurrectionists

AP PHOTOS: For the world's largest democratic exercise, one village's polling officers are all women

25 years ago, the trauma of Columbine was ‘seared into us.’ It’s still 'an open wound'

Firefighters to tackle scaffolding dangling outside ruins of fire-ravaged Danish landmark

Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska's petroleum reserve

US restricts drilling and mining in Alaska wilderness, angering state leaders

Key ally of Pakistan's prime minister demands end to ban on social media platform X

Biden’s new Title IX rules protect LGBTQ+ students, but transgender sports rule still on hold

Biden administration bans drilling in nearly half of Alaska petroleum reserve in sweeping win for climate advocates

More people are evacuated after the dramatic eruption of an Indonesian volcano

Iran says it shot down drones as regional conflict escalates. How did we get here?

West Bank villagers vigilant but vulnerable after settler attacks

South Korea slows plan to hike medical school admissions as doctors' strike drags on

Ukraine claims it shot down a Russian strategic bomber. Moscow says the plane crashed

Japanese doctors demand damages from Google over "groundless" reviews

Oil jumps, equities fall as Iran blasts fan MidEast fears

Two held in Poland over attack on Navalny aide, Lithuania says

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, US official tells CNN, as region braces for further escalation

NYPD arrested over 100 people during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University. Here’s what we know

Jay Powell just made buying a home this spring even more challenging