PoliticsAFPHouse Republicans join rebuke of Trump for easing Russia sanctions
More than 130 US House Republicans joined Democrats Thursday in opposing the easing of sanctions against an ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin, dealing a rebuke to President Donald Trump's administration. The Democratic-controlled chamber overwhelmingly voted 362 to 53 approving the bill that would block the Treasury Department's December move to lift sanctions on companies connected to Oleg Deripaska. The oligarch was targeted last year as part of US congressional efforts to punish Russia for interfering in the 2016 presidential race.
NewsAssociated PressCalifornia storm moving out after battering state for 3 days
The storm that pummeled much of California for three days began moving east Thursday after causing at least six deaths, forcing wildfire victims threatened by floods to flee their homes and plunging nearly 300,000 utility customers into darkness. The winter storm is forecast to unleash heavy rain, snow and wind in Colorado and "will be slamming the East Coast by Sunday," National Weather Service forecaster Steve Anderson said. Anderson said most of California should be dry and sunny by Friday.
- NewsYahoo News
Tulsi Gabbard apologizes, again, for past antigay views
One week after her 2020 presidential rollout, the campaign of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, has hit a pothole. Gabbard issued an apology Thursday for antigay views she expressed in the past, attributing them to her conservative upbringing. “In my past, I said and believed things that were wrong,” said Gabbard, who represents Hawaii's second district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
WorldReutersOxford University suspends funding from China's Huawei
The University of Oxford said on Thursday it has stopped accepting funding from China's Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], the leading global supplier of telecoms network equipment, after scrutiny over the company's relationship with China's government. quot;Oxford University decided on January 8 this year that it will not pursue new funding opportunities with Huawei Technologies Co Ltd or its related group companies at present," the university said in a statement. quot;The decision has been taken in the light of public concerns raised in recent months surrounding UK partnerships with Huawei.
- NewsMashable
Mexican airline trolls Americans with brilliant ad
While the debate over immigration and a border wall between the United States and Mexico has helped grind the U.S. federal government to a halt, Mexico's national airline, AeroMexico, is trolling Americans with a new ad called "DNA Discounts." The ad features purported residents of Wharton, Texas, a town about 60 miles southwest of Houston, professing a variety of opinions about Mexico and its citizens. The ad also drops some knowledge about the long history of immigration from Mexico to the U.S., and notes that many in southern and southwestern states have a touch of Mexican DNA.
PoliticsFOX News VideosHannity: Pelosi feigns moral outrage over furloughed government workers
President Trump postpones Nancy Pelosi's congressional delegation trip overseas until a deal is negotiated to end the partial government shutdown.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Friday TSA status: Long lines in Seattle, Atlanta as holiday weekend kicks off
Travelers headed out for the long holiday weekend are already finding long security waits at some airports as the government shutdown drags into its 28th day. One major trouble spot Friday: Seattle, where wait times at Sea-Tac Airport were up to 60 minutes at some checkpoints Friday morning,according to the airport's mobile app. An airport spokesman attributed it to a high volume of passengers heading out for the holiday weekend.
- BusinessCar and Driver
10 of the Kia Telluride's Coolest Design Details, from the Designer Himself
The new Telluride's design is big, blocky, and-hold on, this might be its most American SUV yet. From Car and Driver
- BusinessThe Telegraph
Apple boss Tim Cook attacks 'shadow economy' of data in call for new privacy law
Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has called for the US to introduce a national privacy law, attacking a “shadow economy” in which people's personal data is bought and sold without their knowledge. Mr Cook said companies should have to collect as little data as possible and make it easy for people to delete the information that is held about them. It is the latest attempt from Apple to position itself as the steward of consumers' privacy, and to draw a line between itself and companies such as Facebook and Google.
WorldAFPRussia detains model claiming Trump secrets
Russia on Thursday detained a Belarusian model who claimed she had evidence of Russian efforts to help Donald Trump win office, witnesses told AFP. Anastasia Vashukevich, known by her pen-name Nastya Rybka, was held for questioning at a Moscow airport on Thursday evening after she was deported from Thailand as part of a group convicted of participating in a "sex training course," other passengers on the flight told AFP. Russian authorities detained her and several others including Alex Kirillov, a self-styled Russian seduction guru, witnesses said.
- NewsThe Independent
California storms: At least five people killed after heavy rain and snow cause devastation
At least five people have died in severe rain and snowstorms that blanketed parts of California with at least five feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains this week, besides triggering flooding and mudslides, officials said. Forecasters expect the bitter weather to push eastwards into the Rockies and US Midwest through the weekend, while the California Highway Patrol said rain-slicked highways led to two fatal accidents that killed four people. A family of three, including a one-year-old baby, died in El Dorado County on Tuesday, after their car spun across a rain-soaked freeway to hit another car, the San Francisco Chronicle said.
WorldAssociated PressPalestinian forces soldier on amid Israeli raids, US neglect
The Palestinian Authority has faced mounting protests over the security coordination as the Trump administration pursues policies seen by critics as obliterating whatever chance remains for a two-state solution, from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital to cutting off economic aid to the Palestinians. And yet the security coordination with Israel has endured for more than a decade, through one crisis after another, including three wars in Gaza and clashes at Jerusalem's holiest site.
- NewsThe National Review
David Webb's White Privilege
And here I thought I was the only black man with white privilege. Areva Martin, a CNN “analyst” — whatever in hell that means anno Domini 2019 — was in the middle of a spirited exchange with the conservative talk-radio host David Webb about racial preferences in hiring. Webb argued — as conservatives of many different races argue!
- CelebrityTime
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.
BusinessUSA TODAYTSA officers open up about what the government shutdown is doing to their families
Standing in the security line at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona, passengers likely haven't felt the impact of the partial shutdown of the federal government. Employees of the Transportation Security Administration are working without pay, but wait times have consistently been 5-10 minutes at most checkpoints. Like TSA officers elsewhere in the country, these officers missed their first paycheck on Jan. 11.
WorldBloombergMay Said to Promise Brexiteers She Won't Cave: Brexit Update
May told the MPs she did not want to rely on Labour votes to get a deal through Parliament and was aiming to get the Tories and DUP to back it. She was also firm there won't be an extension to the March 29 deadline and she's not going to rule-out leaving the EU with no deal. May's restatement of her red lines calls into question the purpose of holding negotiations with opposition politicians.
NewsAssociated PressOn day Jayme escaped, suspect sought job _ with dodgy resume
The Wisconsin man suspected of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents apparently applied for a job online the day that Jayme escaped, calling himself an "honest guy" even though his resume contains inaccuracies about his work experience. Jake Patterson is charged in an Oct. 15 home invasion at the Closs home near Barron in northwestern Wisconsin. According to a criminal complaint, Patterson told investigators that he broke into the house in the middle of the night, gunned down Jayme's parents and made off with the teen, hiding her in a remote cabin for nearly three months.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Prince Philip crash: As Duke takes delivery of another Land Rover, will he be back on the road soon?
A replacement Land Rover, previously driven by the Duke of Edinburgh, has been delivered to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, hours after his car was involved in a horror crash. A black Land Rover Freelander was driven into Sandringham inside a delivery truck on Friday morning. The Land Rover is the same model as the one Prince Philip, 97, was driving in yesterday's crash, which also involved a Kia.
WorldAFPFreeland praises Huawei CEO trust in Canada legal system
Canada's top diplomat on Thursday praised Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei for trusting the Canadian legal system as his daughter fights extradition to the United States. Meng Wanzhou, also a Huawei executive, was arrested in Vancouver last month on a US warrant over Iran sanctions-linked fraud charges -- a move Chinese ambassador to Canada Lu Shayne branded "backstabbing" earlier in the day. "I think those were very gracious comments he made," Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said.
BusinessReutersWinter storm disturbs travel as it rolls toward U.S. Midwest, Northeast
A major winter storm was expected to clobber a large swath of the northern United States with heavy snow, gusty winds and frigid temperatures making travel difficult and dangerous starting on Friday and through the weekend, forecasters said. The storm system will dump 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) of snow in the Plains and Midwest on Friday night and Saturday and as it moves east at least a foot of snow in parts of the Northeast on Saturday and Sunday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said in several advisories. The system was expected to also bring freezing rain, wind gusts of 35 miles (56 km) per hour and quickly dropping temperatures that will to dip into the teens and even below zero Fahrenheit in several areas, the service said.
- U.S.KABC – Los Angeles
Calabasas campground murder: Family of Tristan Beaudette file $90M claim over his death
The family of the man shot and killed while camping with his daughters at Malibu Creek State Park has filed a $90 million claim over his death.
- EntertainmentCar and Driver
The Coolest Real-Life Lego Cars You Can Buy
If you love any of these cars, here's how to buy them on the cheap. Assembly not included. From Car and Driver
- NewsAssociated Press
The Latest: Officer to plead not guilty after man's death
The Latest on the criminal case against a white Nashville police officer who shot and killed an armed black man who was fleeing (all times local): 4:05 p.m. The attorney for a white police officer indicted in Tennessee on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of an armed black man says the officer will plead not guilty. David Raybin says in an email that Nashville office Andrew Delke acted in accordance with his training and Tennessee law when he shot 25-year-old Daniel Hambrick from behind during a foot chase in July.
WorldUSA TODAYMissile Defense Review: North Korea remains 'extraordinary threat' to US
SEOUL – A Pentagon report released Thursday described North Korea's missile and nuclear program as an “extraordinary threat” to the United States, warning that the U.S. must “remain vigilant” despite ongoing diplomatic engagement with the North. The Missile Defense Review report, introduced by President Donald Trump during a speech at the Pentagon, was released just hours ahead of a top North Korean envoy's arrival in Washington to discuss a potential second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. While a possible new avenue to peace now exists with North Korea, it continues to pose an extraordinary threat and the United States must remain vigilant,” the report said.
- NewsThe National Review
Gillette Is Not Wrong
Is the new Gillette razor ad a radical feminist attack on masculinity — the commercial embodiment of a woke sensibility? The ad has been panned by some conservative commentators. Is it part of “a war on masculinity in America,” as Todd Starnes argued on Fox News?
