- PoliticsThe Week
Fox's Lou Dobbs declares John Bolton, veteran of 4 GOP administrations, a 'tool for the left'
The John Bolton who worked in the Reagan administration probably never saw this coming. According to Fox Business' Lou Dobbs, Bolton, who has never drifted from Republican politics in his 40-plus years in Washington, D.C., is now "a tool for the left." That's what a graphic on Dobbs' show declared Monday night, while a zany web connected Bolton to "foreign policy RINO" Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and former FBI Director James Comey. Bolton was Romney's foreign policy adviser during his 2012 presidential run, and through Bolton, Romney is apparently connected to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and his brother Col. Yevgeny Vindman, Dobbs' very simplified web map showed.
- WorldBloomberg
Mother of Jailed Israeli Backpacker Hopes for Russia Pardon
The mother of an Israeli woman imprisoned on drug-smuggling charges in Russia said she's hopeful President Vladimir Putin will pardon her daughter. Naama Issachar, a 26-year-old U.S.-born Israeli army veteran, was sentenced in October to 7 1/2 years for carrying a small amount of hashish in her luggage on a transit flight via Moscow after a backpacking trip to India. Her plight has become a cause celebre in Israel, where it's widely seen as politically motivated.
- WorldAssociated Press
Iran, photos suggest a US-criticized satellite launch looms
Iranian officials and satellite images suggest the Islamic Republic is preparing to a launch a satellite into space after three major failures last year, the latest for a program which the U.S. claims helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program. Satellite images from San Francisco-based Planet Labs Inc. that have been annotated by experts at Middlebury Institute of International Studies show work at a launchpad at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran's Semnan province. The photos also show more cars and activity at a facility at the spaceport, some 230 kilometers (145 miles) southeast of Iran's capital, Tehran.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoTaliban says it gunned down U.S. military plane in Afghanistan, killing all personnel onboard
The Taliban said it had shot down a U.S. military plane in the central Afghan province of Ghazni on Monday, killing all personnel onboard.
- U.S.The Independent
South Carolina shooting: Two dead and four wounded after gunman opens fire in bar
Two people are dead and at least four are wounded following a shooting at a South Carolina bar on Sunday morning. The Darlington County Coroner's Office identified Dicaprio Collins, 21 and Bryan Robinson, 29 as the victims of the shooting at Mac's Lounge in Hartsville, South Carolina. Hartsville Police confirmed in a Monday morning Facebook post that they had two suspects in custody in connection with the shooting.
- WorldCBS News
Wisconsin family trapped in Wuhan amid coronavirus outbreak
The United States will evacuate some Americans in Wuhan on a flight out of the quarantined city Wednesday morning as concern over the spread of the coronavirus continues. Sam Roth, a Wisconsin father, is doing everything he can to help get his family get out of Wuhan. Priority for the State Department's chartered flight out of Wuhan will be given to those at greatest risk, the government said.
- StylePopular Mechanics
Get Early Access to Backcountry’s Big Winter Sale Right Now
Now's a better time than any to stock up on hiking boots, jackets, and more outdoor gear. From Popular Mechanics
- PoliticsReuters
Biden's final Iowa drive sweeps through rival territory
When U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden went to an Iowa university to campaign this week, one thing was in short supply: students who support him. Biden, 77, joked that it can be difficult to get college students to show up before 4 p.m. and, indeed, a few more young people appeared at a later campaign event at the University of Iowa. "I'm the only one that gets a significant portion of the young vote, as well as the old vote, in-between vote, black vote, Hispanic vote, all the vote," Biden said.
- SportsBusiness Insider
So many drones and aircraft swarmed the site of Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash that the FAA was forced to close the airspace
Óscar J.Barroso/Europa Press/Getty The Federal Aviation Administration closed the airspace surrounding the area where the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant crashed. The crash killed Bryant and eight other passengers, including his daughter Gianna "Gigi" Bryant. News, rescue, and law-enforcement helicopters are a common sight above crash scenes, but the FAA told Business Insider that a large number of aircraft, including drones, operating around the crash site led to the airspace closure.
- U.S.National Review
Pro-Life Dem Confronts Buttigieg over Party’s Commitment to Abortion: ‘We Have No Part in the Party’
South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg was confronted by a pro-life Democratic voter over the party's position on abortion during a Fox News town hall event on Sunday. “I am a proud pro-life Democrat,” audience member Kristin Day said. “Would you support more moderate platform language [regarding abortion] in the Democratic Party to ensure that the party of diversity and inclusion really does include everybody?” Currently, the Democratic party platform supports abortion up to nine months into pregnancy.
- WorldBloomberg
China Demands Apology From Danish Newspaper Over Virus Cartoon
“We express our strong indignation and demand that Jyllands-Posten and [cartoonist] Niels Bo Bojesen reproach themselves for their mistake and publicly apologize to the Chinese people,” the embassy said in a statement posted on its website. When asked to comment, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen avoided any direct reference to Jyllands-Posten's cartoon. “I have nothing to say on the matter other than [to note that] we have a very strong tradition in Denmark not just for freedom of speech for also for freedom of satire, and we'll continue to have that in the future,” she said, according to multiple news media including Politiken.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
The Latest: Hamas chief supports Abbas rejecting Trump plan
Netanyahu was set to meet with President Donald Trump on Tuesday for the announcement of the White House's Mideast peace plan. The Prime Minister's Office said Netanyahu would "update President Putin on diplomatic developments and the 'Deal of the Century. It was not clear whether Netanyahu's visit was connected with developments in the case of Naama Issachar, an American-Israeli sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for possession of cannabis.
WorldAFPIndonesia's Aceh unveils new female flogging squad
Indonesia's president has issued a call for the public floggings to stop but he has little say over what happens in Aceh, a deeply conservative region on Sumatra island. Unlike the rest of the nation, Aceh follows religious law as part of a 2005 autonomy deal agreed with the central government that ended a decades-long separatist insurgency. Here, public whipping remains a common punishment for scores of offenders for a range of charges including gambling, adultery, drinking alcohol, and having gay or pre-marital sex.
- U.S.The Independent
British man dies in US immigration detention centre
Officials in the UK have confirmed they are looking into reports that a British man has died while in the custody of US immigration authorities. Reports said a 39-year-old had been found dead while being held in Florida by the enforcement of arm of the nation's border agency, known as ICE. BuzzFeed News, which was the first to report the death, said ICE has expanded the number of people it detains to record levels under the presidency of Donald Trump.
- BusinessDefense News
Navistar loses lawsuit against US Army and Oshkosh over vehicle buys
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has ruled in favor of the U.S. Army's decision to go with only one source for its Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles for more than 10 years, denying Navistar's lawsuit brought against the service and FMTV-maker Oshkosh Defense for not competitively procuring the vehicle. Following the Army's initial five-year contract to buy FMTVs from Oshkosh, the service chose a sole-source procurement route with the company, arguing it didn't have time to reopen competition because of urgent needs. Since 2009, the Army has spent more than $6 billion on FMTVs from Oshkosh.
- WorldThe National Interest
The Israeli Army Is Unprepared for a Ground War with Iran and Hezbollah
The 319th Division, stationed in northern Israel, is short of equipment such as tanks, and the equipment it does have is in poor condition, according to an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) audit cited by Israeli news site Ynet. According to the audit's findings, 52 percent of combat vehicles are unfit for use and there is a 20 percent shortage of weapons and night-vision equipment for soldiers,” Ynet said. The auditors found that many armored vehicles were lacking during proper maintenance checks, with 68 of them sitting uncovered and unprotected against the elements.
- WorldReuters
Ivory Coast's Soro says he remains presidential candidate despite warrant
Former Ivory Coast rebel leader Guillaume Soro said on Tuesday he would not drop out of presidential elections set for the end of the year, despite an arrest warrant out against him. Ivory Coast's public prosecutor issued the warrant for Soro on Dec. 23 as part of an investigation into an alleged coup plot. Soro denied any wrongdoing and said he was a victim of judicial persecution.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
Prince Andrew Does Nothing to Help the Jeffrey Epstein Investigation. Meanwhile, the Royal Family Burns.
Andrew pledged his assistance in a public statement issued as he tried to repair the damage done by his disastrous BBC interview, saying at the time: “I am willing to help any appropriate law-enforcement agency with their investigations, if required. In the actual interview, he had failed to express regret for his friendship with Epstein, offered a variety of bizarre excuses to deny the claims of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, and did not show any form of compassion for her or Epstein's victims. Officially, the palace is refusing to comment at all, arguing that Andrew, who was stripped of his royal duties last year, is no longer formally represented by the palace.
- U.S.Business Insider
Here's how much flight attendants in 10 airlines say they make
Delta Air Lines Glassdoor average base pay: $29 Delta flight attendants who reported to Glassdoor: 114 PayScale average hourly rate: $30.72 Delta flight attendants who reported to PayScale: 32 American Airlines flight attendants say they make about $35 an hour. Robert Alexander/Getty Images PayScale average hourly rate: $35.49 American flight attendants who reported to PayScale: 69 Glassdoor average base pay: $37,830 a year (Hourly rate not available on Glassdoor. American flight attendants who reported to Glassdoor: 143 Flight attendants for United Airlines say they make about $28 to $49 an hour.
- WorldBloomberg
Gambia Outlaws Group Calling for President Barrow to Step Down
Sign up to our Next Africa newsletter and follow Bloomberg Africa on Twitter The Gambian government banned an activist group, made mass arrests and shut down two radio stations in the most severe crackdown on dissent since President Adama Barrow took office three years ago. Police arrested 137 members of the 'Three Years is Enough' movement at a protest Sunday in a town about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) north of the capital, Banjul. The group was calling for Barrow to step down this year in line with a deal he struck with coalition parties that helped end his predecessor's 22-year-rule.
- PoliticsThe Week
This Fox News poll on Trump and the economy is baffling
A Fox News poll released Sunday has some good news for President Trump, but if you combine it with the poll's bad news, it's not at all clear where Trump stands with the American public or how voters are feeling about the state of the union. On the positive side, 55 percent of voters said the economy is good or excellent, the highest number since 59 percent said they felt positive about the economy in January 2001 (two months before the start of the ugly 2001 recession). A 42 percent plurality of voters credit Trump and the Republicans for the economy, and Trump's job approval rating on the economy is a record 56 percent.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoSoldier killed, general wounded during Mexico drug plane raid
A Mexican soldier was killed and a general wounded Monday when traffickers opened fire on a military patrol that sought to intercept a drug plane as it landed on a roadway, officials said.
- WorldAssociated Press
Aging Iran airliner crash-lands on highway, injuring only 2
An aging Iranian passenger airliner carrying 144 people crash-landed on a runway and skidded onto a major highway next to an airport Monday, the latest crash in the Islamic Republic as U.S. sanctions bar it from parts or new aircraft. Authorities said two people suffered injuries in the hard landing of the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 flown by Caspian Airlines in Mahshahr, a city in Iran's oil-rich southwestern Khuzestan province. Passengers, apparently in shock, calmly exited the aircraft with their carry-on baggage out of a door near the cockpit and another over the plane's wing, video from Iran's Civil Aviation Network News showed.
WorldAFPMexico deports 2,300 Hondurans from '2020 Caravan'
Mexican migration authorities said they have deported 2,300 Hondurans who illegally crossed over from Guatemala with a caravan heading to the United States. The "assisted return" of the Central Americans took place between January 18 and Monday, according to the interior ministry and the National Migration Institute. A total of 1,064 Honduran migrants were deported on National Guard planes and charter aircraft, they said in a statement.
- WorldThe National Interest
A Dangerous Game: Russia and America Keep Flying Their Planes Near Each Other's Borders
U.S. Air Force F-22 stealth fighters and supporting aircraft on both days peacefully intercepted the Russian planes. The Russian bombers and fighters remained in international airspace and at no time did the aircraft enter United States or Canadian sovereign airspace,” North American Aerospace Defense Command reported. Two pairs of F-22s and an E-3 airborne early warning and control system from North American Aerospace Defense Command positively identified and intercepted a total of four Tupolev Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone on May 20,” noted the command, which also is known by its Cold War acronym “NORAD.
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