- WorldUSA TODAY
American ISIS bride Hoda Muthana, from Alabama, wants to return, face U.S. justice
An American woman who traveled to the battlefields of Syria to marry and have a child with an Islamic State fighter says she wants to come home and face the U.S. justice system, her family's Florida-based lawyer told USA TODAY. Hoda Muthana left Alabama to join the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, four years ago at age 19. While in Syria she called for Americans to be attacked and she spread the group's propaganda online.
WorldReutersVenezuelan soldiers to guard border ahead of aid entry, minister says
Venezuelan troops will remain stationed along the country's borders to prevent territorial violations, the defense minister said on Tuesday, ahead of the opposition's plan to bring in humanitarian aid to alleviate an economic crisis. President Nicolas Maduro has rejected offers of foreign food and medicine, denying there are widespread shortages and accusing opposition leader Juan Guaido of using aid to undermine his government in a U.S.-orchestrated bid to oust him. Guaido has said that aid will enter Venezuela from neighboring countries by land and sea on Saturday.
- BusinessTime
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Celebrated Amazon Pulling Out of New York––But the Governor Says It Cost the City 25,000 Jobs
The dispute between the two Democrats lays bare a divide over the plan to offer $2.8 billion in tax breaks for Amazon to establish a major presence in New York City. On one side, old hands like Cuomo; on the other, the newly insurgent, left-leaning wing represented by Ocasio-Cortez. Today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers and their neighbors defeated Amazon's corporate greed, its worker exploitation and the power of the richest man in the world,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.
- 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.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
10 of the Best Car-Upholstery Cleaners Tested
These products will keep your vehicle's interior looking like new From Car and Driver
- WorldThe Telegraph
Pope's credibility 'on the line' as Vatican convenes global meeting on combating child abuse by clergy
Victims of clerical sex abuse have warned Pope Francis that his credibility is on the line as he confronts the biggest challenge of his papacy with a landmark conference on protecting children from rape and molestation. Nearly 200 bishops, archbishops, patriarchs and other senior Catholic figures from around the world will convene in Rome on Thursday for an unprecedented four-day conference that is supposed to tackle the scourge of child abuse by clergy. It is the biggest effort so far to address scandals that have eroded faith in the Catholic Church in the US, Ireland, Australia and elsewhere.
WorldAFPIran arrests 3 'terrorists' over suicide bomb attack
Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said Monday it has arrested three "terrorists" involved in last week's deadly suicide bomb attack on security forces in a region bordering Pakistan. "Safe houses in (the cities of) Saravan and Khash were identified and eliminated, and the terrorists based in them were arrested," the force said on its official Sepah news agency. "Three of the terrorists were arrested and 150 kilograms (330 pounds) of explosives and 600 kilograms of explosive materials as well as weapons and ammunition were confiscated," it said.
- PoliticsNational Review
Farrakhan Praises Omar's Anti-Semitic Remarks: 'Shake Up That Corrupt House'
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan on Sunday praised Representative Ilhan Omar's (D., Minn.) recent endorsement of an anti-Semitic trope and urged the freshman lawmaker not to bow to pressure from critics. “Ms. Omar from Somalia – she started talking about 'the Benjamins' and they are trying to make her apologize. You sure are using it to shake the government up, but you have nothing to apologize for,” Farrakhan said during his annual Saviour's Day address in Chicago, in comments first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
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.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Lindsey Graham says redirected funds for Trump border wall 'better for school kids' than new school
That's because the $62m (£48m) that was earmarked for the school's construction is among the billions of dollars already appropriated to the Defence Department, the pot of money the Trump administration now wants to redirect to pay for 230 miles of barriers along the southern border as part of the president's national emergency declaration. And those Kentucky middle schoolers will be better off because of it - at least according to senator Lindsey Graham. The powerful Republican and outspoken Trump ally said that border barriers top a new school.
PoliticsReutersVice President Pence picks familiar face for chief of staff
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has chosen a familiar White House figure for his new chief of staff: Marc Short, who was President Donald Trump's top legislative aide until he left in July. "He has a strong relationship with the vice president," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. "Everybody feels like it will be a good fit." Pence's last top aide, Nick Ayers, left in December after he ruled out taking the chief of staff role for Trump.
- WorldTime
7 Lawmakers Quit U.K.'s Labour Party Over Brexit and Anti-Semitism
Seven lawmakers resigned from the U.K.'s opposition Labour party on Monday morning, in what they described as an act of protest against the party's Brexit policy and persistent allegations of anti-Semitism, just 39 days before the country is set to leave the European Union. The lawmakers said they supported calls for a so-called “People's Vote,” or second Brexit referendum, which the Labour party leadership has so far refused to back. No deal has yet been struck between the U.K. and the E.U. over Brexit, with U.K. lawmakers rejecting May's deal and the bloc saying renegotiation is off the table.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
How Social Security could get benefits boosted to help most vulnerable like widows
Social Security faces a looming funding shortfall roughly 15 years down the road. Despite that dismal backdrop, several proposals continue to be circulated that would enhance benefits for the most vulnerable groups of beneficiaries. As discussed in a series of briefs by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, one proposal would provide enhanced benefits to the elderly at or around age 85, when financial vulnerability increases.
- BusinessAssociated Press
This Week: Walmart results, Fed minutes, US home sales
A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week: MIXED RESULTS? Wall Street expects that Walmart's latest quarterly snapshot will show mixed results. Financial analysts predict the world's largest retailer will report Tuesday that its earnings were flat in the November-January quarter versus a year earlier, even as revenue increased.
BusinessFOX News VideosRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez taken to task by fellow progressives
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio criticizes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her opposition to the Amazon deal.
NewsAFPBelgian Jewish museum trial interrupted as juror questioned
The trial of a Frenchman accused of shooting dead four people at the Jewish museum of Belgium was briefly interrupted on Monday as police were summoned to question a juror. "We cannot start the closing arguments under these conditions," judge Laurence Massart said, after recusing the juror for having communicated with outside parties. "The sixth juror contacted police officials on Friday afternoon to say he met with parties not heard in this trial with whom he discussed the case file," she added.
- 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.
WorldAFPPoland shuns Israel summit amid Holocaust row
Poland's prime minister on Monday cancelled Warsaw's participation in a Jerusalem summit, accusing an Israeli minister of "racist" comments about the actions of Poles during the Holocaust, further souring relations between the two nations. Mateusz Morawiecki's decision to scotch Poland's involvement in the summit of central European nations comes after the latest salvo in a long row between Poland and Israel over history. Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Sunday told a Tel Aviv-based international television station that "there were many Poles who collaborated with the Nazis, and like (former PM) Yitzhak Shamir, whose father was murdered, said, 'Poles suckle anti-Semitism with their m...
- NewsUSA TODAY
Buckle up and hunker down: Coast-to-coast storm to bring weather misery to 200 million
A powerful storm that began its journey Sunday in California will roar across the country over the next two to three days, spreading heavy snow, torrential rain and crippling ice to more than 200 million Americans. By Tuesday, the storm will spread heavy snow and strong winds into the central U.S., the National Weather Service said. Late Tuesday and into Wednesday, the threat for heavy snow, ice and dangerous travel will expand across the Midwest, Ohio Valley, Mid Atlantic and the Northeast.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The 10 Cheapest Hybrid Cars and SUVs in 2019
Want to spend as little money as possible on a money-saving, fuel-sipping hybrid? From Car and Driver
- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump 25th Amendment: Lindsey Graham vows to investigate 'bureaucratic coup' against president
A key ally of Donald Trump has decried alleged efforts by senior officials to depose the president as a “bureaucratic coup” and pledged to hold a congressional investigation. Republican senator Lindsey Graham said it was “stunning” the former acting director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe, had admitted in a TV interview he had discussed invoking the 25th Amendment – which allows the cabinet to remove a president from office – with the deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein. “I know Rosenstein vehemently denied it but we're going to get to the bottom of it.
WorldReutersIndian journalist condemns Twitter for blocking account after abuse online
Dutt said some people had posted and circulated her phone number on Twitter, enabling the harassment, which she said included threats of rape and images of genitalia being sent to her phone. Dutt tweeted some of the threats and images on Monday, and she included phone numbers and names of the men who allegedly threatened her, after which her account was suspended. "I would like to place on record my absolute horror and disgust at Twitter's encouragement of sexual abuse and gender inequality," said Dutt, a former managing editor at news channel NDTV and a regular columnist with the Washington Post.
WorldAssociated Press'Taking their last breath': IS hides among Syrian civilians
From a self-proclaimed caliphate that once spread across much of Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State group has been knocked back to a speck of land on the countries' shared border. In that tiny patch on the banks of the Euphrates River, hundreds of militants are hiding among civilians under the shadow of a small hill — encircled by forces waiting to declare the territorial defeat of the extremist group. A spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighting the militants said Sunday that the group is preventing civilians from leaving the area, closing a corridor from which nearly 40,000 residents have managed to escape since December.
BusinessAFP Relax NewsGMC Acadia souped up with new engine, trim, and tech
GMC has unveiled the refreshed Acadia for the 2020 model year complete with a new trim, a fresh look, and the latest GMC infotainment system. GMC announced on Monday that the Acadia has gotten its midcycle refresh, and now, the lineup looks more like a group of Sierra pickups from the front than mid-size SUVs. In addition to its new exterior styling, the Acadia has a new powertrain option and an assortment of new technologies including an enhanced infotainment system and heads-up display.
- NewsTime
An 11-Year-Old Student Was Arrested in Florida After Refusing to Stand for the Pledge of Allegiance
A sixth grade student at a Florida school was arrested for disruption and resisting arrest after a confrontation with a teacher in which he refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, reportedly saying the flag was racist and the pledge was offensive to black people. Spectrum Bay News 9 reports that the 11-year-old was removed from class on Feb. 4, suspended for three days, arrested shortly after and taken to a juvenile detention center. The dispute ensued after a substitute teacher at Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland asked him to stand up, reportedly unaware of that the school does not require participation during the pledge.
