- PoliticsYahoo News
Democratic rivals pummel Bloomberg at start of Nevada debate
The knives were out for Michael Bloomberg as he joined his fellow candidates on the Democratic debate stage Wednesday in Las Vegas. “I'd like to talk about who we're running against, a billionaire who calls women 'fat broads' and 'horse-faced lesbians,' and, no, I'm not talking about Donald Trump, I'm talking about Mayor Bloomberg,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Sen. Bernie Sanders also hit Bloomberg's record.
WorldAFPSuspects in abduction, murder of 7-year-old Mexican girl detained
Mexican authorities arrested a couple believed to have kidnapped, tortured and murdered a seven year-old girl on Wednesday, days after the discovery of the victim's body sparked protests in the violence-wracked country. The suspects "were detained in a town in the State of Mexico," Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum tweeted, without giving more detail. Prosecutors on Tuesday released pictures of the two suspects -- identified as Giovana and Mario Alberto "N" -- after searching a house near the victim's home.
- WorldAssociated Press
Pope tenderly kissed on forehead by man in front-row seat
Well-wishers at Pope Francis' weekly audience have thrust soccer T-shirts, flowers and many a wailing baby into his arms. On Wednesday, Francis seemed to thoroughly enjoy a surprise expression of affection: a long, tender kiss planted on his forehead by a man in one of the front-row seats reserved for ailing or disabled people at the end of his audience. Francis appeared to be smiling when the man, who stood up when the pontiff approached to greet him and others in the front row, pulled the pope's head toward him and gave a kiss lasting several seconds, pressing his nose against Francis' forehead in the process.
- U.S.Business Insider
2 socialites have reportedly died after their Mercedes fell off a ferry leaving the most expensive ZIP code in the United States
Fisher Island, a private, man-made island off the coast of Miami, is known for being the richest ZIP code in the US, where the average income of residents is $2.2 million and the median home value is roughly $2.9 million. Police recovered and identified the bodies as socialites Emma Afra and Viviane Brahms, according to The Miami Herald. A blue Mercedes-Benz inexplicably rolled off the Fisher Island Ferry on Tuesday at around 5 p.m., killing the two women sitting in the car, according to The Miami Herald.
- BusinessBloomberg
Nigerian Governor Demands 100,000 Troops to Quell Insurgency
Nigeria must recruit 100,000 additional soldiers to end the long-running insurgency by the Islamist Boko Haram group, the governor of a state at the epicenter of the violence said. The militant group has inflicted “horrific and simultaneous attacks” in Borno state since March 2019, Governor Babagana Zulum said in a statement on Wednesday. The military don't have the manpower, they don't have the equipment.
- WorldThe Week
Pompeo says 'mature, responsible countries' don't 'restrict speech' after China expels reporters
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is condemning China for its decision to expel three reporters from The Wall Street Journal from the country. "Mature, responsible countries understand that a free press reports facts and expresses opinions," Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. This came after China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said three journalists from the Journal would have their credentials revoked over the paper's recent headline, "China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia," The New York Times reports.
- WorldReuters
Australia quarantines coronavirus cruise ship arrivals; extends travel ban
More than 150 Australians arrived home on Thursday to begin two weeks of quarantine after finally leaving a cruise ship docked in Japan on which more than 600 people had contracted a new coronavirus. Since Feb. 3, the Diamond Princess, owned by Carnival Corp, has been quarantined at Yokohama, south of the capital, Tokyo, with 220 Australian holidaymakers among the 3,700 aboard initially. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 170 Australians were evacuated to the northern port city of Darwin, with 47 left in Japan after either getting infected or deciding to wait out the rest of their quarantine on the ship.
- PoliticsNational Review
Mike Lee Slams Equal Rights Amendment as Part of ‘Radical Pro-Abortion Agenda’
By passing this amendment, we would be upending decades of legal precedent that makes these things clear, putting into their place uncertainty and putting into their place a radical pro-abortion agenda with which I passionately disagree with,” Lee told the audience. Republicans contend the amendment would be used as a constitutional protection for legalized abortion at any stage. On February 13, the House passed a resolution scrapping the deadline for passage of the amendment, which expired almost 40 years ago.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoVirginia lawmakers reject assault weapons ban over fears of potential civil war
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's push to ban the sale of assault weapons has failed after members of his own party balked at the proposal. Senators voted to shelve the bill for the year and ask the state crime commission to study the issue, an outcome that drew cheers from a committee room packed with gun advocates.
- EntertainmentArchitectural Digest
9 Rural Farms of the 21st Century Featuring Stunning Modern Design
From Italy to Tasmania, a new book covers those farms with an eye on both sustainability and beautiful design Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump declares himself 'chief law enforcement officer' as he issues numerous pardons
President Trump on Tuesday exercised his pardon power, granting clemency to or commuting the sentences of nearly a dozen people convicted of crimes, including former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and junk bond pioneer Michael Milken. Trump also referred to himself as the nation's “chief law enforcement officer,” a title typically reserved for the attorney general. On Tuesday morning, the White House announced Trump's pardoning of former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. for his involvement in a 1998 corruption case against former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards.
- U.S.NBC News
George Zimmerman sues Warren, Buttigieg for $265 million
The lawsuit claims the candidates "defamed Zimmerman for political gain in misguided and malicious attempts to bolster their standings amongst African-American voters, all at Zimmerman's expense." They did so in "separate postings on their Twitter accounts" on Feb. 5 that suggested that Zimmerman killed Martin as a result of "racism" or "fear" because of the teen's skin color, the suit alleges. "The defamatory tweets are not an account of two sides of an issue that raises questions in a reader's mind," the suit states.
- WorldAssociated Press
Abbott says top Malaysian leaders suspected pilot of MH370
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said the “top levels” of the Malaysian government long suspected that the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 almost six years ago was a mass murder-suicide by the pilot. Australia, working on Malaysia's behalf, coordinated what became the largest search in aviation history, but it failed to find the plane before being ended in 2017. Speaking in a Sky News documentary to air on Wednesday and Thursday, Abbott said high-ranking Malaysian officials believed veteran pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah deliberately downed the jet.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
The Mormon Church's secretive $100 billion fund revealed huge stakes in Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Here are its 10 biggest holdings.
The Mormon Church's secretive $100 billion investment fund revealed massive stakes in Microsoft, Apple, and other tech titans for the first time this month. Ensign Peak Advisors, the investing arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, boasted a $40 billion stock portfolio at the end of December, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The fund — which is more than 50 years old — held $6 billion worth of shares in just five companies: Microsoft, Apple, Google-parent Alphabet, Amazon, and Intel.
- WorldChristian Science Monitor
Coronavirus outbreak: Three questions on China’s response
It's hard to say – and worth keeping in mind that other parts of the world have also experienced outbreaks in recent years, such as the 2009 swine flu pandemic that started in Mexico, and the MERS coronavirus that originated in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Many Chinese at home and abroad have raised concern about increased bias since this outbreak came to light. Here's a look at how China's top-down politics plays into public health, as well as what Beijing and the rest of the world are doing to stem the tide.
- PoliticsReuters
Bloomberg moves into second behind Sanders among Democrats, Biden third: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Michael Bloomberg, a late entry into the Democratic presidential race, has moved into second place ahead of onetime front-runner Joe Biden, according to a Reuters/Ipsos national poll released on Tuesday that showed Bernie Sanders widening his lead over the field. The opinion poll taken from Friday to Monday showed 25% of registered Democrats and independents said they would vote for Sanders, 78, a liberal firebrand who won last week's New Hampshire primary. Bloomberg, 78, a billionaire media mogul and former New York mayor, was backed by 17% of respondents, versus 13% for Biden, 77, a former vice president, who long led in national polls among Democrats vying to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election.
- WorldBloomberg
Merkel Says She Plans to Stay Out of Search for Successor
“My historical experience is that predecessors should stay out of such things,” Merkel said at a news conference after hosting Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Berlin. Merkel, who plans to leave politics when her fourth term expires next year at the latest, previously said she plans to “cooperate very well” in the effort to find a new head for the Christian Democratic Union, who would have the inside track to be the party's chancellor candidate in the next national election. The leadership race was thrown open last week when her chosen successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, unexpectedly announced she would step down after a state chapter defied her orders and threw its lot in with the far-right AfD.
- U.S.The National Interest
Why Aren't Countries Buying This Powerful Chinese Drone?
Key point: The CH-4 is roughly similar to the U.S.-made MQ-1 Predator. China's CH-4 killer drone appears to be falling out of favor with some of its major operators. The Iraqi air force is down to just one operational CH-4 out of a fleet of around 10, according to an August 2019 report from the U.S. inspector-general.
WorldAFP'Could you live on $170 a month?' Russian woman asks Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday faced what appeared to be a rare unscripted grilling from a Russian woman who asked him how much he earns and whether he could live on her income of $170 a month. While visiting his native city of Saint Petersburg, Putin had laid a wreath at a political mentor's grave and was approached by people passing nearby, who filmed him on cell phones. A woman in a hooded coat pushed through and immediately asked Putin: "Please tell me, is it possible to live on 10,800 rubles ($170)?"
- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump repeatedly struggles to pronounce words during conspiracy-laden rally, before suggesting he'll pardon Roger Stone in late-night tweet
Donald Trump delivered a stumbling, incoherent and at times outright fictitious re-election rally addres in which he complained about a dog's media coverage and appeared to approve calls to imprison Hillary Clinton. The dark, grievance-filled speech to supporters, delivered at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Arizona, was followed by a tweet which appeared to suggest he may pardon convicted friend and former advisor Roger Stone. It came just a day after Mr Trump, apparently emboldened by his impeachment acquittal, pardoned a host of white-collar criminals, many with personal connections to the president's donors and supporters.
- U.S.NBC News
Body of missing college student found in Georgia, boyfriend arrested
Police found the body of a missing college student in Georgia and the young woman's boyfriend has been arrested on other charges, authorities said Wednesday. Anitra Lashay Gunn, a senior studying agriculture at Fort Valley State University, was found Tuesday afternoon in a wooded area off Greer Road in Crawford County near the border of Peach County, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation statement. "The body was partially covered," appearing that someone had tried to hide it, Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese told reporters at the scene on Tuesday.
- WorldAssociated Press
Looted 18th century crown returned to Ethiopia after decades
A rare and looted crown from the 18th century was returned to Ethiopia on Thursday after it was discovered in the Netherlands two decades ago. The Dutch government facilitated the handover “with the belief that it has a duty to restitute this important artifact back to Ethiopia,” the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said, sharing photos of a smiling Abiy holding the ceremonial crown. “This is a historic day for us,” Hirut Kassaw, Ethiopia's minister for culture and tourism, told The Associated Press.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
The Air Force just started testing its new Grey Wolf helicopter, the replacement for the Huey
The MH-139A Grey Wolf, the helicopter that will replace the Air Force's UH-1N Huey fleet, conducted its first combined test flight in Florida this month. The new helicopter closes the Huey's capability gaps in the areas of speed, range, endurance, payload, and survivability in support of the command's ICBM missions. EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) — The Air Force's newest helicopter, the MH-139A Grey Wolf, completed its first combined test flight, February 11.
- WorldINSIDER
China is offering families of doctors who died fighting the coronavirus a 'sympathy payment' of $716
Chinese healthcare workers are on the frontlines of battling the coronavirus outbreak and several have lost their lives to the virus. On Monday, the government announced that it will pay $716 to families of healthcare providers who have died, Shanghaiist reported. Chinese healthcare providers are on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak, and several have lost their lives trying to save others.
WorldYahoo News VideoFormer Australian PM suspected pilot of mass-murder mission in MH370 tragedy
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said the “top levels” of the Malaysian government long suspected that the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 almost six years ago was a mass murder-suicide by the pilot.
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