- WorldAssociated Press
21 dead, 71 burned in fire at illegal tap on Mexico pipeline
A huge fire exploded at a pipeline leaking fuel in central Mexico on Friday, killing at least 21 people and badly burning 71 others as locals were collecting the spilling gasoline in buckets and garbage cans, officials said. The leak was caused by an illegal tap that fuel thieves had drilled into the pipeline in a small town in the state of Hidalgo, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) north of Mexico City, according to state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex. Video footage showed dozens of residents near the town of Tlahuelilpan gathered to collect spilled fuel in buckets, garbage cans and other vessels.
- NewsThe Telegraph
First picture: Prince Philip car crash victim 'not getting enough support from Palace'
A mother of two whose wrist was broken when the car she was in collided with Prince Philip's Land Rover has told friends she is “unhappy” with the way Buckingham Palace has handled the accident. The Telegraph can reveal that Emma Fairweather, 45, was the passenger in the Kia car last Thursday when it struck the Duke of Edinburgh's Land Rover near the Queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Ms Fairweather has since complained of feeling “overwhelmed” by the experience of being involved, firstly, in a crash and, secondly, in one involving the husband of the monarch.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Aeromexico ad campaign trolls anti-Mexican sentiment in US with DNA discounts
The two-minute commercial, which features visuals of beautiful Mexican locations, could be seen as a trolling trifecta, tweaking anti-Mexican sentiment in the U.S. and, without mentioning him, President Donald Trump and his anti-illegal immigration comments aimed at countries south of the U.S. border. The slogan for the "DNA Discounts" campaign, "There are no borders within us," can be read as a swipe at Trump, whose disagreement with Congressional Democrats over money for a wall has led to a protracted partial-government shutdown. The commercial for the Mexican airline opens by saying, "Mexico's first destination is America," showing a fleet of jetliners flying north, before adding, "But America's first destination is not Mexico," as one lone plane flies in the opposite direction.
- WorldTime
These Are the Americans Who Were Killed in Syria This Week
Three of the four Americans killed in a bomb blast in Syria on Wednesday have been identified. The Department of Defense said Special Forces Chief Warrant Officer Jonathan Farmer; Shannon Kent, a sailor assigned to Cryptologic Warfare Activity 66; and Scott Wirtz, an operations support specialist with the Defense Intelligence Agency, died as a result of wounds sustained in the explosion. The fourth American, a civilian contractor, has not yet been identified.
NewsReutersWinter storm to hit U.S. northeast with up to two feet of snow
The Weather Service issued winter storm warnings or advisories for a swath of the eastern United States that is home to 100 million people, said meteorologist Rich Otto of the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. The storm system, which was moving from west to east and was strengthened by arctic air from Canada, hit many parts of the Midwest on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. In Chicago, where some neighborhoods received 8 inches (20 cm) of snow, a third of flights were canceled at the city's two main airports, said Mark Duell, vice president of operations for tracking firm FlightAware.
BusinessAFPGlobal stocks surge on China-US trade breakthrough hopes
Stock markets across the globe powered higher Friday, buoyed by hopes of a breakthrough in efforts to defuse a US-China trade war. European and Asian indices bounced back strongly on Thursday after The Wall Street Journal reported Washington was considering lifting tariffs on China as officials look to hammer out a trade deal. Wall Street joined the party later Friday, with major indices rising one percent or more to close out the fourth day in a row of gains.
- CelebrityAOL.com
Man makes terrifying jump from 11th story cruise ship balcony
Royal Caribbean has banned a group of thrill seekers after one of the men jumped off the cruise ship's high deck. The video, which has been gaining immense traction on social media, shows Nick Naydev of Vancouver, Washington, thoughtlessly plunging into the waters more than 100 feet below. Though the boat was docked, the stunt, equal to jumping from an 11-story building, was incredibly dangerous.
PoliticsFOX News VideosWhat do Democrats not understand about the need for border security?
Former Border Patrol chief Mark Morgan explains how a wall is the solution to our border crisis.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Donald Trump's week of living dangerously
A Quinnipiac University poll taken right at the time Trump visited the Texas border found that 59 percent of Americans considered a wall a bad use of taxpayer money, while just 40 percent agreed with the president. While there was no shortage of polls concluding that more Americans blamed Trump than Congressional Democrats for the shutdown, the data that might have concerned him more showed that he was losing support from his vaunted political base. An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, for instance, showed Trump's support among suburban white men had dropped 18 points, his approval rating among white evangelicals was down 13 points, and there was an overall dip among all Republicans of 10 points.
WorldAssociated PressKenya court orders 6 suspects held over Nairobi hotel attack
A Canadian national and five other people suspected of helping extremist gunmen stage a deadly attack in the Kenyan capital this week appeared in court on Friday as prosecutors investigated them for suspected terror offenses. A judge ordered five of the suspects held for 30 days while authorities look into the assault on the dusitD2 hotel complex that was carried out by al-Shabab, a group that is linked to al-Qaida and based in neighboring Somalia. Kenyan authorities say 21 people, including one police officer, were killed by the attackers, one of whom blew himself up beside a restaurant.
- NewsTime
'We'll Have No Other Option Than Declaring Bankruptcy.' How the Shutdown Could Impact Government Workers for Months
As the longest government shutdown in history drags on for nearly four weeks and counting, its economic impact could have a long-term effect on many federal employees and contractors across the United States. Taylor Gautreaux, who is expecting a baby in March, works in software development for a private company under a government contract. After her work came to a halt under the shutdown, she was told by her company to use any remaining paid time off and then take leave without pay.
- BusinessCar and Driver
Tesla Is Cutting 3150 Jobs to Increase Model 3 Production
In an email sent to Tesla employees that was later published on its website, CEO Elon Musk announced that approximately 7% of Tesla's full-time employees will be let go. The cuts will hopefully help Tesla's quest to increase Model 3 production and finally introduce the $35,000 Standard Range variant that has been talked about since the Model 3's inception. In the email, Musk states "we unfortunately have no choice but to reduce full-time employee headcount," adding that "there isn't any other way" to achieve Tesla's goals.
- BusinessU.S.News & World Report
How to Get a Mortgage With Bad Credit
A bad credit score could add an extra wrinkle or two to the mortgage approval process. "While getting a mortgage with bad credit is not always easy or optimal, it's still possible under certain conditions," says Daniela Andreevska, content marketing director at Mashvisor, a real estate data analytics company. A better question might be whether you should get a mortgage with bad credit.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Snow: Flight cancellations now stretch into Sunday
SATURDAY UPDATE: Flight headaches were on the rise Saturday as a potent winter storm moved from the Midwest into the Northeast. Airline cancellations were mounting, with some flights on Monday already off the books. All big U.S. airlines were waiving change fees at many airports in the storm's path.
WorldReutersTrump missile defense review calls North Korea 'extraordinary threat'
President Donald Trump unveiled a revamped U.S. missile defense strategy on Thursday that called North Korea an ongoing and "extraordinary threat," seven months after he declared the threat posed by Pyongyang had been eliminated. The plan, which also detailed concerns about the burgeoning capabilities of Iran, Russia and China, called for developing space-based sensors to detect incoming enemy missiles and exploring space-based weapons to shoot down missiles among other steps to shield the United States. The open acknowledgment in the Missile Defense Review of U.S. plans to counter Russian and Chinese technological advances likely will alarm those nations.
- PoliticsBloomberg
China Built a Big, Beautiful Wall, Too. It Failed.
From the moment he launched his campaign for president, Donald Trump compared the barrier he wanted to build along the U.S. southern border to China's Great Wall. With the U.S. government now shuttered by the standoff over funding Trump's wall, both he and his Democratic opponents might want to take a closer look at the Chinese fortification — and why exactly it failed. The Great Wall visited by tourists today is the handiwork of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and was primarily constructed in the mid- to late 16th century.
WorldAssociated PressMerkel's Bavarian allies elect new head, ushering in new era
Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian allies elected a new leader Saturday, a change that offers Germany's center-right a chance to move past their persistent bickering over recent years. The 52-year-old Markus Soeder was elected unopposed in Munich with more than 87 percent of the votes to lead the Christian Social Union. The CSU is the Bavaria-only sister party to Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, an independent-minded and sometimes-awkward ally despite the fact that they have a joint group in Germany's national parliament.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY Opinion
BuzzFeed Michael Cohen report: Will it hold up? Will it change the game for Trump and GOP?
BuzzFeed's dramatic report Thursday night, based on two unidentified federal law enforcement sources involved in the investigation, suggested prosecutors might have what they need to prove President Donald Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress in 2017 about Trump Tower Moscow negotiations during the 2016 campaign. Special counsel Robert Mueller's office took the unusual step Friday, after this column was first published, of calling the BuzzFeed report "not accurate" in its "description of specific statements to the Special Counsel's Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen's Congressional testimony."
- NewsUSA TODAY
Pursuing R. Kelly: Could he end up convicted of sex crimes like Bill Cosby?
At the moment, it looks possible that Kelly could at least end up like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, two men at the top of the #MeToo list of accused sexual predators who have been charged with sexual assault and will soon face trial in New York and Massachusetts respectively. And, like them, Kelly is facing professional ruin: Sony Music has decided to part ways with him, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. But it's not a sure thing that Kelly will end up in the legal dock, say lawyers, for a variety of reasons.
- EntertainmentTime
Sophie Turner Says Sansa Stark's Hair Is Full of Game of Thrones Secrets
Sophie Turner's lips may be sealed when it comes to the plot of season 8 of Game of Thrones, but it turns out her hair could be the real spoiler culprit. In an interview with InStyle that was published on Wednesday, Turner explained how Sansa Stark's hair has mirrored her character development throughout Game of Thrones. “The first few episodes she was a Northerner in Winterfell and took after her mother with a simple braid down the back,” she said.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The New 2020 GMC Sierra HD Will Be a Reskinned Silverado HD
There's a new GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickup truck soon to crest the horizon. The Denali model pictured above has the requisite chrome-laden front grille, along with headlights with an LED accent strip similar to the light-duty Sierra's. GMC is likely to offer similar trim levels for the Sierra 2500 and 3500 models as the Sierra 1500, such as the off-road-oriented AT4 and the less well-equipped SLE and SLT models. As for the Sierra HD's dirty bits, don't expect much variation from the new Silverado HD's powertrain offerings, which include a gasoline V-8 and a turbo-diesel V-8.
- BusinessU.S.News & World Report
How to Find a Real Estate Agent
Here's what you need to know about searching for top real estate agents, interviewing potential candidates and understanding what services you can expect as you work toward a successful transaction. The process of finding the right real estate agent includes: -- Reaching out early in the process if you need more guidance. Asking friends, family and neighbors for recommendations.
NewsAssociated PressResearchers come face to face with huge great white shark
Two shark researchers who came face to face with what could be one of the largest great whites ever recorded are using their encounter as an opportunity to push for legislation that would protect sharks in Hawaii. Ocean Ramsey, a shark researcher and conservationist, told The Associated Press that she encountered the 20-foot (6-meter) shark Tuesday near a dead sperm whale off Oahu. The event was documented and shared on social media by her fiancé and business partner Juan Oliphant.
- WorldReuters
Bomb explodes on southern edge of Damascus - state TV
A bomb exploded near a highway at the southern edge of Syria's capital Damascus on Sunday morning, state media reported. An attacker was arrested and no one was injured, state news agency SANA said. The head of the city's civil defense, Asef Hababe, told Reuters that military technicians had detonated a device.
- BusinessBloomberg
Singapore Plans to Buy F-35 Fighter Jets to Replace F-16 Fleet
Singapore has identified Lockheed Martin Corp. s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as the most suitable replacement for its fleet of F-16 fighter jets and plans to buy a small number for evaluation, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Friday. The Air Force's F-16s that were in service since 1998 will retire soon after 2030, Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post the same day.
