- WorldBloomberg
Putin, Erdogan Spar Over Syria Militants Amid Split on Safe Zone
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to agree on military action to oust militants who've seized control of a key region of Syria, amid continued divisions over Ankara's demand for a security zone inside the Middle Eastern country. While Putin urged Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at a summit on Thursday to work out ways to “completely destroy the terrorist hotbed” in the Idlib region, a joint statement after the talks referred only to the need for “concrete steps” to restore a September truce shattered by the Islamist takeover last month. Those steps don't include military action, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
NewsUSA TODAYAt least five dead, six officers injured as gunman opens fire at Aurora, Ill., plant
AURORA, Ill. — Five people were killed and six police officers injured after a gunman opened fire at a manufacturing plant Friday in the southwest Chicago suburb of Aurora, Illinois, police reported. Officers found themselves immediately in an afternoon gun battle after arriving at the Henry Pratt Company plant only four minutes after terrified workers called police for help, said Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman. “Our hearts go out to the victims in this horrific tragedy,” said Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin.
NewsAssociated Press10 Things to Know for Today
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today: 1. BORDER SECURITY SEEMS NEAR A SERENE RESOLUTION Congress is set to resolve its clattering brawl with President Donald Trump in uncommonly bipartisan fashion as lawmakers prepare to pass a border security compromise. FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL MASSACRE ONE YEAR LATER The anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre will primarily be about remembering the 14 students and three staff members who died in the third high-profile mass shooting in Florida since 2016.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump Venezuela envoy interrogated by Ilhan Omar over his role in Iran-Contra scandal
Donald Trump's envoy to Venezuela was left flustered and visibly angry following an interrogation by Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar over his controversial political past. Elliot Abrams was appointed special envoy to Venezuela last month to help lead the US response to the political crisis in the South American country, which is seeing widespread hunger and violence following the collapse of its economy. On Wednesday, Mr Abrams, who served in the Reagan administration, testified in front of the House foreign affairs select committee, where he was subjected to a fierce line of questioning by Ms Omar.
BusinessReutersAmazon's NY exit spurs reactions on money saved and jobs lost
Amazon.com Inc's decision on Thursday to scrap its proposal to locate a second headquarters in the Queens borough of New York City ignited a sea of duelling reactions on Twitter, with some calling it a victory for working people while others said it meant that fewer people would work. Some people who praised the pullout included references to the wealth of Amazon's chief executive and founder, Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man with an estimated fortune of about $135 billion, while many who saw the decision as a blow to New York cited the loss of potentially tens of thousands of new jobs. The deal negotiated by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had offered the world's largest online retailer about $3 billion in incentives, in exchange for the company's promise of 25,000 new jobs in the Long Island City section of Queens.
PoliticsFOX News VideosSenator Bob Menendez reportedly threatens to call police on Daily Caller reporter Henry Rodgers about the Green New Deal
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) reportedly threatens to call police on Daily Caller reporter Henry Rodgers who asked the Senator about the Green New Deal.
- CelebrityThe Telegraph
Gay couples in Japan join together on Valentine's Day to sue government over same-sex marriage ban
Thirteen gay couples filed Japan's first lawsuit challenging the country's rejection of same-sex marriage on Valentine's Day, arguing the denial violates their constitutional right to equality. Six couples holding banners saying "Marriage For All Japan" walked into Tokyo District Court to file their cases against the government, with similar cases filed by three couples in Osaka, one couple in Nagoya and three couples in Sapporo. Plaintiff Kenji Aiba, standing next to his partner Ken Kozumi, told reporters he would "fight this war together with sexual minorities all around Japan."
NewsAFP Relax NewsIn America, high-speed train travel is off track
California's suspension this week of a high-speed rail project underscores the up-hill battle the modern mode of transport faces in the United States -- including myriad cultural, political and economic obstacles. Long gone are the days of the 19th century gold rush, when Americans raced to build transcontinental rail links and conquer the nation's vast expanse. "We have a Congress polluted by special interest money ... that has been working for years to stop/prevent any rail investment," said Andy Kunz, head of the US High Speed Rail Association, pointing to the oil, aviation and auto industries in particular.
LifestyleAFPPost-box love for lonely Britons on Valentine's Day
Big-hearted Britons have penned thousands of uplifting messages to be delivered to single seniors on Valentine's Day in a project aimed at alleviating loneliness. The letters and cards were written in recent weeks and left in ten models of old-fashioned red post-boxes set up in locations across London and several other cities. Red Letter Days, a gift experience company which came up with the idea, will dispatch the messages to needy elderly recipients in selected care homes during Thursday.
- WorldBloomberg
U.K. Spy Warns Against Triumphalism Over Islamic State Collapse
“We are not triumphant because I think from triumphant you get to hubris,” MI6 Chief Alex Younger told reporters in Munich on Friday. Younger said Islamic States's so-called caliphate was now in its “end game,” with the extremist militants clinging to the last square mile of land they hold in the village of Baghuz in eastern Syria. Meanwhile the U.K. is debating the case of Shamima Begum, a 19-year-old from east London who wants to come home despite expressing no regrets over becoming a so-called jihadi bride with Islamic State in Syria at the age of 15.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The 20 Most Powerful Crossovers and SUVs You Can Buy in 2019
Is 400 horsepower not enough for your people- and cargo-hauler in 2019? How does 500, 600, or 700 horsepower sound? From Car and Driver
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Denver teachers back at work after 3-day strike
Under a deal reached Thursday, the union said teachers would get a base pay raise of between 7 to 11 percent in the next school year and cost-of-living increases in the following two years. However, the district put the average increase at 11.7 percent next year. The union agreed to raise bonuses for teachers working in low-income schools deemed the most challenging to $3,000 a year, despite believing that they weren't preventing teacher turnover in those schools.
NewsUSA TODAYJussie Smollett recounts violent attack on 'GMA': I saw the rope 'and I started screaming'
Jussie Smollett got emotional about his Jan. 29 assault Thursday on "Good Morning America," telling anchor Robin Roberts he is upset, not just by the people who physically harmed him, but also by what he sees as a willful ignorance of the truth. "It's the attackers, but it's also the attacks," said Smollett, who's black and openly gay.
- HealthReuters
Trump enters obese range, but still in 'good health,' exam findings show
President Donald Trump has put on a few pounds over the past year and is now in the obese range, although he remains in "very good health overall," according to the results of a physical examination conducted last week. "After taking into account all the laboratory results, examinations and specialist recommendations, it is my determination that the president remains in very good health overall," the president's physician, Sean Conley, wrote in a memo on Thursday. A copy of the memo was released by the White House.
- NewsAOL.com
FBI releases 16 drawings prolific serial killer Samuel Little made of his victims
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released more than a dozen drawings made by a prolific serial killer in hopes the public may be able to identify some of his victims. Samuel Little, 78, was arrested at a Kentucky homeless shelter in September 2012 and extradited to California, where he was wanted on a narcotics charge. In 2014, Little was convicted on all three counts and was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Mike Pence attacks UK for 'breaking US sanctions against Iran'
Mike Pence, the US vice president, has accused Britain, France and Germany of trying to sabotage American sanctions against Iran and called on the European states to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal. In an unusually blunt attack on America's traditional European allies, Mr Pence told a summit in Warsaw that the three countries were leading “an effort to break American sanctions against Iran's murderous revolutionary regime”. He focused his criticism on a financial mechanism created by the three states and the EU to allow European firms to continue trading with Iran in a way that skirts punishing US sanctions.
- NewsThe Independent
Parkland shooting: How the NRA is more vulnerable than ever after a year of protests and a wave election
One year after gunfire began in the freshman building of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the movement those bullets sparked has swept through the US and opened a new chapter on guns in America. Guns have come to dominate political debate this past year in way unseen previously in the US, with massive protests from March for Our Lives attracting headlines and major news coverage — and virtually all Democrat presidential candidates supporting stricter gun control. Meanwhile, dozens of states have moved to pass new gun control laws in an historic effort, as communities across America continue to be scarred by gun violence.
BusinessAFPAmazon invests in electric vehicle startup Rivian
Electric vehicle startup Rivian on Friday announced a $700 million investment round led by Amazon, which recently pumped money into a young self-driving car technology firm. Details of Amazon's stake in US-based Rivian were not disclosed, but the company said it will remain independent. The potential Tesla rival late last year unveiled an electric pickup truck and an electric sport utility vehicle at an auto show in Los Angeles.
WorldBloombergRush to Disband Princess-Backed Party Evokes Thai Bloodshed
The Constitutional Court on Thursday accepted a case calling for the party, Thai Raksa Chart, to be dissolved for hostility toward the constitutional monarchy. The accusation reached the court five days after King Maha Vajiralongkorn sunk the party's shock bid to make his sister a candidate for prime minister. "If parties linked to Thaksin keep being disbanded, the conflict will never end, and will intensify," said Punchada Sirivunnabood, an associate professor at Mahidol University's Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities near Bangkok.
- BusinessCar and Driver
It Looks Like the Land Rover Discovery SVX Is Dead
Land Rover showed a V-8–powered Discovery SVX concept in 2017, but U.K. media are reporting it's not going to reach production. The SVX name may still be used later, the sources report. UPDATE 2/15/19: Land Rover confirmed that the Discovery SVX concept will not reach production, at least not with the planned V-8 powertrain.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
Our Favorite Eco-friendly Finds Put Sustainable Materials to Stylish Use
NewsUSA TODAY5 Delta passengers injured in severe turbulence, flight made emergency landing in Reno
A Delta Air Lines flight en route from California to Washington was forced to make an emergency landing in Reno, Nevada, on Wednesday after five passengers were injured due to severe turbulence. The flight touched down in Reno about 1:30 PST, according to Reno-Tahoe International Airport spokesperson Brian Kulpin. Kulpin said three of the injured passengers were transported to a local hospital.
NewsAssociated PressDenver teacher strike revealed US divide over bonus pay
Denver teachers went on strike to improve their pay, but the fight wasn't that simple. Emboldened by teacher activism nationwide and struggling to live in a rapidly growing city, Denver educators challenged one of the nation's oldest incentive pay systems, which was originally endorsed by the teachers union and education reform advocates. The system known as Professional Compensation, or ProComp, allows teachers to add on to their base salary by earning bonuses of up to $3,000 a year for working in a hard-to-staff position or high poverty school or if their schools improve.
- NewsReuters
White supremacist gets life for killing black man to start a race war
A white man who killed a black man with a sword in the hopes of starting a race war was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday in New York, multiple media accounts said. James Jackson, 30, a former U.S. Army specialist, apologized for the slaying, before the State Supreme Court Justice Laura A. Ward sentenced him to the maximum allowed under the law, the New York Times reported. Last month, Jackson plead guilty to first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism, in the March 2017 death of Timothy Caughman, 66.
PoliticsYahoo NewsTrump will sign spending bill but end-run Congress to build wall
President Trump will sign the bipartisan funding bill pending in Congress and then declare a national emergency to build the border wall, the White House announced Thursday afternoon. That was the course of action recommended by Fox anchor and informal Trump adviser Sean Hannity, who on Monday denounced the funding bill as a “garbage compromise” but later said it was acceptable if coupled with an emergency declaration. This is the time.
