WorldAssociated PressPakistan says India using UN court for 'political theater'
Pakistan accused India on Tuesday of sponsoring terrorism and of using the United Nations' highest court for "political theater" as it urged judges to dismiss an Indian case seeking to save an alleged spy from execution. The International Court of Justice case centers on the fate of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was convicted of espionage and sabotage by a Pakistani military tribunal and sentenced to death in April 2017. Pakistan says it will put him on trial on terrorism charges if the U.N. court orders his convictions overturned.
PoliticsUSA TODAYRoger Stone denies using Instagram post to threaten federal judge presiding over his case
Instead, Stone said the now-deleted post was a "random photo" taken off the internet. The original post showed a photo of U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson with a backdrop that appeared to include the crosshairs of a gun. The photo posted on Stone's Instagram account included language that accused the judge of being part of an organized scheme against him directed by the "Deep State," according to several media outlets and social media users who took screenshots. The post pointed out that Jackson was appointed by President Barack Obama.
WorldAFPChina data leak exposes mass surveillance in Xinjiang
A Chinese technology firm has compiled a range of personal information on 2.6 million people in Xinjiang -- from their ethnicity to locations -- according to a data leak highlighting the wide extent of surveillance in the restive region. Xinjiang is home to most of China's Uighur ethnic minority lives and has been under heavy police surveillance in recent years after violent inter-ethnic tensions. Nearly one million Uighurs and other Turkic language-speaking minorities in Xinjiang are reportedly held in re-education camps, according to a UN panel of experts.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Southwest apologizes to travelers for spike in cancellations and delays, blames union
Southwest Airlines, alarmed by a spike in flight cancellations and delays in the past several days due to reported maintenance issues, has taken the unusual step of publicly apologizing to customers and blaming the mess on its mechanics' union. In a statement late Tuesday, Southwest Chief Operating Officer Mike Van de Ven said the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which has been in contract talks with Southwest since 2012, has a history of work disruptions and that Southwest will be investigating the "current disruption and exploring all possible remedies.'' He noted that Southwest also has two outstanding lawsuits against the AMFA. "We apologize to our customers who have been inconvenienced by this disruption,'' Van de Ven said.
WorldReutersVenezuela shuts border with Caribbean islands ahead of aid efforts
Venezuela on Tuesday shut the maritime border with nearby Dutch Caribbean islands ahead of an opposition effort to bring in humanitarian aid from foreign territories including neighboring Curacao despite the protests of President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro has rejected offers of foreign aid, denying there are widespread shortages and insisting that the country's economic problems are the result of sanctions by Washington. Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been recognized by dozens countries as the legitimate head of state, has said that food and medicine provided in part by the United States will enter Venezuela by land and sea on Saturday.
ScienceAFPIsrael's first lunar mission to launch this week
Israel is to launch its first moon mission this week, sending an unmanned spacecraft to collect data to be shared with NASA, organisers said Monday. The 585-kilogram (1,290-pound) Beresheet (Genesis) spacecraft is to lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida at around 0145 GMT on Friday. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and technology NGO SpaceIL announced the date at a press conference.
- NewsYahoo News
Alabama editor who called for lynchings by Klan should quit, senators say
Officials in Alabama are calling for a small-town newspaper editor to resign because of an editorial calling for the Ku Klux Klan to terrorize Washington, D.C. Goodloe Sutton, the editor and publisher of the Democrat-Reporter in Linden, Ala., wrote the editorial titled “Klan needs to ride again” that ran in the paper last week. “Time for the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again,” read the Feb. 14 editorial.
- BusinessThe Independent
Amazon announces plans to make half of shipments carbon neutral by 2030
Online retail giant Amazon has announced plans to make alf if its shipments carbon neutral by the year 2030. The company, which ships millions of packages a year to shoppers, said that it will achieve that goal by switching to renewable energy sources and by asking suppliers to reimagine their packaging. “It won't be easy to achieve this goal, but it's worth being focused and stubborn on this vision and we're committed to seeing it through,” Dave Clark, Amazon senior vice president of worldwide operations, said.
- BusinessKTRK – Houston
American Airlines denies man was on flight from Los Angeles
American Airlines had a huge mix-up when they claimed to have no trace of a passenger.
- BusinessCar and Driver
See Photos of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz SL Grand Edition
The current SL reminds us of Benzes bygone, so it's leaving the scene with exclusive colors and body trim. From Car and Driver
- NewsAssociated Press
Trial over Delaware prison riot ends with no convictions
The trial for four inmates charged with murder in a 2017 Delaware prison riot ended Monday with no convictions. Jurors deliberated about five days before acquitting Abednego Baynes, 26, and Kevin Berry, 28, of all charges filed after the uprising at Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna in February 2017, The News Journal of Wilmington reported . Officer Steven Floyd died during the 18-hour standoff.
- PoliticsThe Guardian
'So many lies': Trump attacks McCabe over explosive CBS interview
Ex-FBI deputy director discusses Comey firing and Russia links The Threat review: FBI memoir takes aim at 'mob boss' Trump Donald Trump returned to the attack against Andrew McCabe on Monday, in response to an interview in which the former deputy FBI director discussed his new book and made claims damaging to the president. In the interview, broadcast by CBS 60 Minutes on Sunday night, McCabe addressed, among other matters: How the deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein was told by Trump to write a memo justifying the firing of FBI director James Comey in May 2017.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Southwest Airlines under FAA investigation for aircraft weight, balance calculations
The investigation, disclosed for the first time Monday by the Wall Street Journal, began in February 2018, FAA spokesman Gregory Martin confirmed to USA TODAY. There have been no fines nor enforcement action from the investigation to date. "Since that time, the FAA has directed the development of a comprehensive solution to the methods and processes used by Southwest Airlines to determine this (weight and balance) performance data,'' he said in a statement.
WorldReutersHuawei founder says Huawei CFO arrest was politically motivated - BBC
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei said on Monday that the arrest of his daughter, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, was politically motivated. "Firstly, I object to what the U.S. has done. This kind of politically motivated act is not acceptable," Ren told the BBC in an interview.
WorldAFPAfter IS, ammunition among the IV drips at Syria clinic
At a clinic in eastern Syria, the Islamic State group have fled leaving a floor strewn with medical supplies -- but also explosives and a foreign passport. US-backed fighters took the three-storey building in the village of Baghouz in recent days, and now use its roof to survey the frontline against the jihadists. After a months-long campaign, the last IS fighters are pinned down in their last scrap of territory just hundreds of metres down the road in the same village.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Third migrant dies in Border Patrol custody in as many months
A 45-year-old undocumented immigrant from Mexico died in Border Patrol custody Monday after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas, marking the third person to die in the agency's custody since December. The immigrant illegally crossed the border and was arrested by the Roma (Texas) Police Department on Feb. 2, requested medical attention and was taken to a local hospital, according to a statement released Monday night by Customs and Border Protection. The following day, after receiving a welfare check by CBP officials, the immigrant again requested medical attention and was taken to the McAllen Medical Center, where the immigrant was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and congestive heart failure, CBP said.
- WorldBloomberg
Pakistan Vows Retaliation If India Launches Military Strikes
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan said his nation would retaliate if attacked by India, following New Delhi's strongest accusations yet that its nuclear-armed neighbor was responsible for a major terrorist attack in Kashmir. Pakistan will not think of retaliation, Pakistan will retaliate,” Khan said in a televised speech on Tuesday. There will be no other option than retaliation.
WorldAssociated PressVenezuela shuts sea, air links to Dutch islands amid turmoil
Venezuelan officials said Tuesday that the country is banning air and sea trips to and from three Dutch Caribbean islands — a region that has been linked to efforts to undermine President Nicolas Maduro by sending emergency aid to the South American nation. The indefinite shutdown of the "maritime border" applies to commercial and fishing boats between Venezuela and the islands of Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire, said Falcon state's civil protection director, Gregorio Jose Montano. Airspace in the border region was also indefinitely closed to private and commercial flights, said Gen. Miguel Morales Miranda, assistant commander of the Comprehensive Defense Operations Zone.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Florida inmates use criminal skills to rescue baby from car
A group of prisoners in Florida put their criminal skills to good use on Valentine's Day – breaking into a car, to free a baby locked inside. The prisoners, on work-release, were repairing parking meters in Pasco County, north of Tampa, when they spotted the family in distress. Another person in the video, filmed by the baby's mother Shadow Lantry, can be heard commenting on the "hilarious situation," with police watching the crew unlock the car.
- U.S.KABC – Los Angeles
Porter Ranch shooting: Victims ID'd in triple homicide that police say was not random attack
Los Angeles police said Tuesday that a triple homicide inside a Porter Ranch home was not a random act of violence.
- NewsThe Independent
MAGA hat student sues Washington Post for $250m over coverage of confrontation with Native American man
A student involved in a viral confrontation with a Native American man is suing the Washington Post for $250m (£191m) over its coverage of the incident. The defamation lawsuit, filed by Covington Catholic High School pupil Nick Sandmann, claims the newspaper “wrongfully targeted and bullied” him due to its “biased agenda” against Donald Trump. The 16-year-old was wearing one of the president's signature “Make America Great Again” hats when he attended an anti-abortion rally in Washington in January along with classmates from his Kentucky school.
- NewsYahoo News
The Mysterious RBG returns, alive, to Supreme Court bench, refuting conspiracy theories
Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the Supreme Court bench Tuesday to hear oral arguments for the first time since undergoing cancer surgery in December. According to Supreme Court reporters, Ginsburg smiled as she arrived with her fellow justices at court, taking her seat unassisted at 10 a.m. ET. Ginsburg's public appearance came four days after former White House adviser Sebastian Gorka questioned whether 85-year-old associate justice was still alive, advancing a conspiracy theory that has been circulating in fringe circles since news of her cancer surgery broke.
WorldReutersFrance shaken by outbreak of anti-Semitic violence and abuse
The problem was starkly underlined on Tuesday with the discovery of more than 90 graves in a Jewish cemetery in eastern France desecrated with swastikas and other abuse. "Whoever did this is not worthy of the French republic and will be punished," declared President Emmanuel Macron as he paid homage at the site. "We'll take action, we'll apply the law and we'll punish them." Politicians from across the spectrum will join marches against anti-Semitism across France on Tuesday evening, including in Paris.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
The Best Thing in IKEA's New Summer Collection Is . . .
Despite the cacophony of color and pattern on every page, one particular set of products stood out, which we quickly deemed the best thing in the whole catalog: the SOLVINDEN outdoor lamps (which happen to be online and in stores today). Here's why . The SOLVINDEN floor lamp features a lipstick-red polka-dot shade, while the SOLVINDEN table lamp comes in marigold-and-white stripes.
NewsUSA TODAYAirlines begin waiving change fees for new winter storm
TUESDAY UPDATE: Airlines are canceling flights and expanding their rebooking waivers ahead of a new winter storm that looks increasingly likely to disrupt flights at airports from the Great Plains into the Northeast. Full story: Airlines already canceling Wednesday flights for new winter storm PREVIOUS UPDATE: Air travelers faced disruptions this week from a new round of wintry weather. A developing storm system was expected to spread a mix of snow, rain and icy weather across a large swath of the United States this week.
