Border Patrol officer sneaks Mexican woman into US to be her nanny in Texas, feds say

A Border Patrol officer is accused of sneaking a Mexican woman into the U.S. to be her nanny, authorities say. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer Rhonda Lee Walker, 40, was charged with conspiring to transport an illegal alien and making false statements after undercover agents and surveillance video caught her bringing the woman across a Laredo border crossing, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. In June, an anonymous tipster told the federal agency that Walker employed a live-in caretaker and nanny who didn't have permission to work in the U.S., according to a criminal complaint.

Russia beefs up fines for protest violations after Navalny rallies

Russian President Vladimir Putin approved legislation on Wednesday beefing up fines for offences committed during street protests after thousands were detained at unsanctioned rallies in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The legislation increases fines for insubordination to law enforcement officers to up to 4,000 roubles ($54.30) from 1,000 roubles in addition to a maximum of 15 days in detention. The amended law also introduces fines of up to 20,000 roubles for protest organisers who violate funding regulations.

Biden nominee Neera Tanden’s tweet about Joe Manchin’s daughter may come back to haunt her

Neera Tanden, Joe Biden's nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, previously criticised Democratic Senator Joe Manchin's daughter, a slight that might factor into whether or not she is confirmed for the position. Ms Tanden tweeted an image of an article about Mr Manchin's daughter, Heather Bresch, taking aim at a significant increase in her pay while she was CEO of Mylan. In the tweet, Ms Tanden pointed out that the company's board was justifying the pay raise by saying Ms Bresch had "contributed significantly to the company's growth in recent years".

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  Joe Biden's Nominees Of Color Are Facing Outsize Opposition

  HuffPost
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  White House: No 'Plan B' on Neera Tanden nomination

  Associated Press Videos

"Momentous occasion": First COVID-19 vaccines distributed by COVAX arrive in Ghana, West Africa

The first COVID-19 vaccine doses distributed by the World Health Organization's global sharing scheme COVAX arrived in Ghana, West Africa, on Wednesday. Why it matters: The shipments represent the "beginning of what should be the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history," per a joint statement from the WHO and UNICEF hailing the arrival as a "momentous occasion." The global initiative to ensure that every country has access to COVID-19 vaccines has more than 180 nation participants.

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  Ghana 1st nation to receive coronavirus vaccines from COVAX

  Associated Press
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  Ghana 1st nation to receive vaccines from COVAX

  Associated Press Videos

Angry Democrat Gerry Connolly tells Trump ally he ‘will not be lectured’ by someone who tried to overturn election

Virginia Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly blasted Ohio Republican Representative and staunch Trump ally Jim Jordan, telling him during a hearing on the postal service that he "will not be lectured" about partisanship by people who voted to overturn the election. The hearing before the House Oversight Committee included questioning of the president of the American Postal Workers Union Mark Dimondstein and the Postmaster-General, Trump appointee Louis DeJoy. Mr Jordan defended Mr DeJoy who he argued had been unfairly criticised by Democrats during the lead-up to the 2020 election, saying: "They accused you of things, they said you were restricting overtime - False.

Man cuts out woman’s heart, cooks it and tries to serve it to uncle, Oklahoma cops say

Disturbing details have emerged following the gruesome deaths of three people in an Oklahoma neighborhood. On Feb. 9, police received a 911 call from the Chickasha home of Leon Pye, 67, the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) said in a news release. Police busted through the door and found Pye and his 4-year-old granddaughter Kaeos Yates dead, the OSBI said.

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  Okla. Man Now Accused of Killing Neighbor Along with Uncle, Niece, as Cops Reveal Gruesome Details

  People
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  Oklahoma Triple Murder Suspect Confesses to Cooking Victim’s Heart With Potatoes

  Complex

AP PHOTOS: Migrants evade Libyan coast guard to reach Europe

The February storm is unforgiving, violently shaking the humanitarian rescuers' vessel as they try to revive a faulty engine and save African migrants drifting in the Mediterranean Sea after fleeing Libya on unseaworthy boats. Not only must they brave 70 kph (43 mph) winds and 4-meter (13-foot) waves, but also win the race against the Libyan coast guard, which has been trained and equipped by Europe to keep migrants away from its shores. In recent days, the Libyans had already thwarted eight rescue attempts by the Open Arms, a Spanish NGO vessel, harassing and threatening its crew in the international waters of the central Mediterranean where 160 people have died so far this year.

An ex-girlfriend tipped off the FBI about an alleged US Capitol rioter after he called her a 'moron'

Richard Michetti has been charged with entering restricted grounds at the US Capitol. The Pennsylvania man was turned in by his ex-girlfriend after he called her a 'moron'. A Pennsylvania man was outed by his ex-girlfriend after trying to stop Congress from recognizing President Joe Biden's election victory, according to court documents.

Missing California woman found dead below Grand Canyon lookout, officials say

A California woman was found dead in the Grand Canyon a day after family members reported her missing, park officials said. National Park Service officials discovered a body below a popular canyon overlook, Grand Canyon National Park officials said in a Tuesday news release. The body was identified as 31-year-old Lillian Meyn from Woodside, California, officials said.

Who is Heidi Cruz? The high-powered Goldman Sachs executive and wife to ‘disgraced’ Texas senator Ted Cruz

Heidi Cruz, the wife of Texas senator Ted Cruz, is reportedly on the hunt for the neighbour who leaked her text messages about their much criticised trip to Cancun during a snow-storm that left thousands without heat or electricity. “Ritz Carlton Cancun $309 plus tax,” she allegedly wrote in messages passed to The New York Times last week, that demonstrated the family was planning to violate government guidelines and the recommendations of her own husband. In 2000, when the pair met whilst working on George W Bush's presidential campaign before marrying the next year and moving into government positions, Heidi Nelson wasn't necessarily destined to be window dressing to someone else's ambitions.

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  Former Bush Strategist Responds To Ted Cruz Calling Critics 'A**holes': 'Buy A Mirror'

  HuffPost
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  Ted Cruz says wife Heidi is ‘pretty pissed’ about Cancun text message leak

  TheGrio

No Need to Call an Architect—These 9 Room Dividers Elegantly Get the Job Done

From ornate to subtle, these beautiful screens double as functional art Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Postmaster General Taunts Dems: You’re Stuck With Me for Good

Louis DeJoy had a defiant message on Wednesday for those craving to see him ousted as U.S. Postmaster General: “Get used to me. The comment came after Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) asked the embattled U.S. Postal Service chief how long he would remain as Postmaster General—“long time,” DeJoy spat back—during a Wednesday hearing in the House Oversight Committee. That exchange was indicative of the entire proceeding, which was frequently chippy, combative, and fueled by Democratic lawmakers' outrage over DeJoy's handling of the USPS at a time of worsening mail delays and difficult questions about the service's long-term viability.

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  USPS on 'death spiral' without reform -chief

  Reuters Videos
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  House Dems, GOP joust over DeJoy, postal reform

  Associated Press Videos

Parents of child who died of Covid share the warning signs of the virus in kids

“It presents very differently [in children] than it does in adults, so it's hard to know what to look for,” Priscilla Morse told CNN. Gigi succumbed to the virus on August 4 last year in Tennessee. The Morses say Gigi seemed fine in the hours before she died, except for a few unusual ailments.

Trump-appointed federal judge indefinitely blocks the Biden administration's 100-day deportation freeze

A federal judge blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a 100-day deportation freeze. The ruling does not mandate that deportations have to return to their previous rate. Democrats are hoping to pass a large-scale immigration overhaul in Congress this year.

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  Judge rules against Biden, bans enforcement of 100-day deportation pause

  Yahoo News Video
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  Judge bans enforcement of Biden's 100-day deportation pause

  Associated Press

Three-quarters of all voters, including 60% of Republicans, support Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan: poll

A Politico/Morning Consult poll found that 76% of all voters and 60% of Republicans support the bill. A majority of all voters, including Republicans, support the passage of President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package, a new Politico/Morning Consult poll shows. The Politico/Morning Consult poll found that 76% of all Americans strongly support or somewhat support the legislation, with just 17% saying that they somewhat oppose or strongly oppose the package.

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  Biden's COVID Package Is Overwhelmingly Popular. Republicans Hate It Anyway.

  HuffPost
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  Will Biden’s Stimulus Get Republican Votes?

  GOBankingRates

Teen Accused of Killing Disabled Sister as Parents Slept

Claire Elaina Miller, 14, has been charged with homicide after calling authorities on Feb. 22 to admit she stabbed her older sister, 19-year-old Helen Miller, while her parents were asleep, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's office. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Daily Beast, the Manheim Township Police Department arrived at the home just after 1 a.m. to find Miller, a ninth-grader at a local private school, standing in front of the house close to “what appeared to be blood on the snow near the driveway.”

A Chinese couple paid $155,000 in fees to have 7 children in violation of the country's 2-child policy

A Chinese couple has paid $155,000 in fees in order to have seven children in violation of the law that limits couples to having two children, Mandy Zuo reported for the South China Morning Post. Zhang Rongrong, a 34-year-old businesswoman, and her 39-year-old husband have five boys and two girls between one and 14 years old, Zhang told the Post. In flouting China's two-child policy, the couple had to pay their local government "social support fees."

North Korea hacked Pfizer because it wants to sell bootleg COVID vaccines on the international black market, sources say

North Korea wants "to decide which [vaccine] will be the easiest to bootleg and transport for the black market," said an official. The nation has a long history of counterfeiting, bootlegging, drug dealing, and arms smuggling. The dictatorship wants foreign currency.

Pence reportedly speaks 'very favorably' of Trump in GOP meeting and intends to launch a new political organization

Mike Pence has reportedly kept a close personal relationship with Donald Trump. In a meeting with conservatives, Pence expressed no bad feelings towards Trump over the Jan. 6 riot. Former Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday told several conservative lawmakers that he has kept a tight personal friendship with former President Donald Trump and that he intends to start a political organization that will protect the legacy of the former administration, according to a CNN report.

The White House has 132 rooms and its own restaurant. Here's what it's like inside Joe Biden's new home.

The six-story Executive Residence building is the White House's largest, consisting of two basement levels, a ground floor where building staff work, a state floor for events and receptions, and two floors where the first family lives and sleeps.

Tiger Woods was unaware of his ‘grave injuries’ in aftermath of collision, police say

Tiger Woods was unaware of how severe his injuries were in the immediate aftermath of the serious single-car accident in California which left him with “open fractures” to his legs, police have said. The Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, who was first on the scene following the brutal crash, has said that the golf star was "lucid and calm” upon discovery. "When I arrived on the scene, Mr Woods was seated in the driver's seat,” Mr Carlos Gonzalez said in a press conference.

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  Tiger Woods Awake And Recovering From Injuries Sustained In Car Crash [UPDATE]

  HuffPost
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  Deputy: 'Very fortunate that [Tiger] Woods was able to come out of this alive'

  Yahoo Sports

Marjorie Taylor Greene faces a 'bloodbath' of a reelection race in 2022 - if she isn't expelled from Congress first, district organizers say

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the new firebrand Republican in Congress, is likely to face threats from both parties when she runs for reelection next year, political leaders in her district say. Insider spoke with Republican and Democratic leaders in Georgia's 14th Congressional District after a rash of scandals put Greene in the national spotlight and resulted in the House of Representatives voting to remove her from committees earlier this month. Greene was highly scrutinized even before winning her seat in Congress in November, thanks to her connections to the QAnon conspiracy-theory movement and ardent support of false election-fraud claims.