- PoliticsAssociated Press
AP FACT CHECK: Trump's compulsive claims of 'biggest' ever
Just as his tax cuts are far from the biggest in history, the economy isn't the best ever and his election victory in 2016 was no landslide of historic proportions, Trump's two trade deals don't stand atop the field of presidential endeavors. One is a partial settlement of trade grievances with China; the other is a refresh of what past presidents created for North America. The opening of the Senate impeachment trial stirred other fabrications from the president this past week while Democratic presidential contenders engaged in their final debate before the first votes of the 2020 campaign, in Iowa.
- WorldThe National Interest
Iran Has New Submarines, And That's Bad News For America
Key point: Certain technical questions notwithstanding, the inauguration of the Fateh class suggests that Iran is moving ahead with its Naval modernization program... In yet another milestone on Tehran's path to becoming a self-sustaining regional power, Iranian state news announced the Iranian Navy has commissioned its first homemade submarine. The new Fateh-class vessel was unveiled by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani last week, at a ceremony held at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
WorldAFPOff-duty Hong Kong police officer arrested for supporting protests
An off-duty Hong Kong police officer was arrested along with seven other people on Friday as they tried to put pro-democracy posters on a footbridge, police said. It's the first known case of a police officer being apprehended for supporting the massive demonstrations that have led to more than 6,500 arrests in the past seven months. The officer, 31, and the seven other people aged 14 to 61, were arrested at 3:00 am on Friday in Tuen Mun, a district in northwest Hong Kong.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Body of woman who was missing for almost 6 years found in car submerged in NJ river
Vanessa Smallwood, who was 46 at the time of her disappearance, was identified in a statement from New Jersey State Police. Smallwood was a Maple Shade resident, according to the statement. Smallwood was last seen at a dry cleaner's store in Cherry Hill on Jan. 27, 2014, according to the FBI's missing-persons notice.
- PoliticsPolitico
Sanders runs into resistance as he looks beyond Warren dispute
While Sanders' supporters have rallied around him in the days following the he-said-she-said rift — Warren accused Sanders of privately telling her a woman couldn't win the presidency, which he denied — the campaign is taking steps to remedy the chance it has damaged his standing among undecided voters. In the days following the debate, the Sanders campaign vetted the prospect of having Warren serve as both the vice president and the Treasury secretary, according to an Intercept report.
- WorldAccuWeather
Was the Taal Volcano eruption large enough to influence the climate?
The eruption, which began on Jan. 12, 2020, has forced more than 125,000 people to evacuate the Philippine province of Batangas, where the volcano is located. During the height of the eruption, a large plume of searing hot volcanic ash blossomed approximately 50,000 feet, about 9.5 miles, into the atmosphere, with some materials making it into the stratosphere, according to observations from NASA. The eruption was accompanied by incredible displays of volcanic lightning, which made for breathtaking video footage, fountains of scalding lava and more than 400 earthquakes.
- WorldReuters
Philippine military says 5 Indonesians kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants
The Philippine military on Sunday said it has launched search and rescue operations for five Indonesian fishermen kidnapped by militants belonging to the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf group in Malaysian waters last week. Eight Indonesians were abducted in Sabah on Thursday. Three were released, while the remaining five were probably brought by their captors to the southern Philippine province of Sulu, said Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, chief of the military's Western Mindanao Command.
WorldAFP Relax NewsSpain's Balearic Islands crack down on alcohol-fuelled holidays
Spain's Balearic Islands passed a bill Friday aimed at clamping down on alcohol-fuelled holidays in the Mediterranean archipelago which bans happy hours when drinks are offered a discount and open bars. "This is the first law adopted in Europe which restricts the sale and promotion of alcohol in certain touristic areas," the regional government of the Balearic Islands which have long been a magnet for young German and British tourists, who often drink heavily and enjoy rowdy late-night clubbing. The restrictions will apply to three areas with a reputation for excess: San Antoni on the island of Ibiza and El Arenal and Magaluf -- which has been nicknamed "Shagaluf" because of its reputation for drunken casual sex -- on Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic's four islands.
- U.S.INSIDER
The TSA apologized after an agent pulled a Native American passenger's braid and said "giddyup!" during a pat down
Molly Riley/Reuters Native American woman Tara Houska says a TSA agent grabbed her braids, whipped them like reins and said "giddyup" while she was going through security at the Minneapolis airport on Monday. A TSA official apologized to Houska for the incident, and released a statement saying "improper behavior is taken seriously" by the agency. The Transportation Security Administration was forced to issue an apology on Tuesday after a Native American woman described on Twitter a humiliating experience going through security at the Minneapolis-St.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Republican group hits Trump with $1 million attack ads on his favorite Fox shows
Republicans for the Rule of Law is launching a $1 million ad campaign aimed at pressuring Senate Republicans into calling witnesses during President Trump's impeachment trial.
- SportsPopular Mechanics
The 25 Best PSP Games
Console-sized action. On-the-go goodness.From Popular Mechanics
WorldAFPAngolan ex-president dos Santos denies ties to daughter's alleged graft
Angola's former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos has denied links to alleged public company embezzlement during his rule, in his first response to corruption investigators last month freezing his daughter's assets. Isabel dos Santos, the ex-president's billionaire first-born, has been the target of an anti-corruption campaign led by her father's successor President Joao Lourenco. The investigation is looking at alleged irregularities involving diamond marketing firm Sodiam and Sonangol -- Angola's national oil company, which was handed over to Isabel dos Santos by her father in 2016.
- WorldAssociated Press
Iran backtracks on plan to send flight recorders to Ukraine
The Iranian official leading the investigation into the Ukrainian jetliner that was accidentally shot down by the Revolutionary Guard appeared to backtrack Sunday on plans to send the flight recorders abroad for analysis, a day after saying they would be sent to Kyiv. Hassan Rezaeifar was quoted by the state-run IRNA news agency as saying “the flight recorders from the Ukrainian Boeing are in Iranian hands and we have no plans to send them out. He said Iran is working to recover the data and cabin recordings, and that it may send the flight recorders — commonly known as black boxes — to Ukraine or France.
- U.S.Business Insider
Barron Trump is really tall, and people are joking he could be a future NBA star
Trump's youngest son, Barron, is really tall. Social media users were quick to joke that Barron's height could make him an exciting NBA prospect. US President Donald Trump's youngest son Barron was pictured with his dad and mom, Melania, on Friday, and there's only one thing people on the internet can focus on: how tall he is.
- U.S.USA TODAY
'Sick, dizzy and nauseated:' Teachers sue Delta over jet's fuel dump over schools
A lawsuit was filed Friday against Delta Air Lines by four teachers at an elementary school drenched by jet fuel from an airliner preparing to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport. The four say jet fuel rained down on them after it was jettisoned by the Boeing 777 that was returning to the airport shortly after takeoff . As a result, they became "sick, dizzy and nauseated." Though firefighters didn't transport any of the affected teachers or students from any of several schools that had been under the plane's flight path, one of the teachers said at a press conference said she sought medical help for recurring symptoms.
- WorldThe National Interest
China Thinks It Can Nuke American Cities. Should We Worry?
Key Point: Despite the developments related above, the balance of opinion in Beijing seems impressively moderate on the prospects for a major nuclear buildup by China. When one reads enough Chinese naval literature, diagrams of multi-axial cruise missile saturation attacks against aircraft carrier groups may begin to seem normal. Targets include the biggest cities on the East and West Coasts, as well as in the Midwest, as one would expect.
- U.S.The Independent
Groom accused of sexually assaulting teenage waitress at wedding spared jail
A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman at his own wedding reception pleaded guilty to misdemeanours after more serious charges against the New Jersey groom were dropped, keeping him out of prison. In a Pennsylvania court on Thursday, 32-year-old newlywed Matthew Aimers received six years of probation as part of a plea agreement on misdemeanour charges of simple assault, indecent exposure and disorderly conduct during his November 2018 reception. Charges of indecent assault, imprisonment of a minor and harassment were dropped.
- WorldReuters
UK's Johnson, France's Macron reiterate commitment to Iran nuclear deal
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated their commitment on Sunday to the Iran nuclear deal and agreed a long-term framework was needed, Downing Street said on Sunday. "On Iran, the leaders reiterated their commitment to the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and also acknowledged the need to define a long-term framework to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon," a Downing Street spokeswoman said in a statement after the two met on the sidelines of a Libya summit in Berlin. "They agreed on the importance of de-escalation and of working with international partners to find a diplomatic way through the current tensions."
- PoliticsNational Review
Pompeo Says State Department Will Probe Suspected Surveillance of Former U.S. Ambassador
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said the State Department will investigate the possibility that former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was illegally surveilled while serving in Kiev. We will do everything we need to do to evaluate whether there was something that took place there,” Pompeo told conservative radio host Tony Katz in an interview. Earlier this week, House Democrats released texts between Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas and Connecticut Republican congressional candidate Robert Hyde in which Hyde rails against Yovanovitch and suggests he had her under surveillance while she was in Kiev and was reporting her actions back to Parnas.
- WorldDefense News
Assessing Israel’s tactical laser breakthrough
Israel's Ministry of Defense announced Jan. 8 a “breakthrough” in its development of laser technology to intercept aerial threats. This technological milestone promises to strengthen Israel's lower-tier missile defense and provides another opportunity for U.S.-Israel research and development cooperation. In 2006, the same Israeli committee that recommended the development of Iron Dome for short-range missile defense also recommended that Israel continue R&D to develop a solid-state laser for the same purpose.
WorldAFPRainstorms douse bushfires across eastern Australia
Rain and thunderstorms doused long-burning bushfires across much of eastern Australia Saturday, but they also brought a new threat of flooding in some areas. Major bushfires continued to rage in regions of the south and southeast of the country that have so far missed out on the rain, including in wildlife-rich forests on Kangaroo Island off the southern coast. The fire service in New South Wales (NSW) state, the country's most populous and the hardest hit by the crisis, said 75 fires continued to burn Saturday, down from well over 100 a few days earlier.
- U.S.Associated Press
Remains of fallen US soldier returned to Fort Bragg
The remains of a paratrooper who was killed a week ago in Afghanistan have been returned to his family in the U.S. The family of Staff Sgt. Ian McLaughlin greeted his flag-draped casket at Pope Army Airfield at Fort Bragg on Saturday, The Fayetteville Observer reported. The 29-year-old from Newport News, Virginia, was killed Jan. 11 by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. Also killed in the attack was 21-year-old Pfc.
- PoliticsPolitico
'Brazen and unlawful': Trump team attacks House impeachment effort in first formal response
President Donald Trump launched his first formal attack on the House's effort to remove him from office on Saturday, calling the Democrats' impeachment case against him fatally flawed and “constitutionally invalid” while blasting the effort as a political hit job by his adversaries. “This is a brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election — now just months away,” Trump's lawyers argued in a six-page response filed with the Senate just days before the president's trial begins in earnest. The allegations raised by Trump's attorneys — a soft swing at the substance of the impeachment articles and a more direct rebuke of the process Democrats used to get there — mirror the House's charges against him.
- U.S.Business Insider
USS Abraham Lincoln shatters US Navy's record for longest post-Cold War carrier deployment with 10-month around-the-world tour
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Zachary Pearson/ReleasedShortly after the deployment began, the powerful armada sailed through the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean, at one point sending a message to Russia in joint operations with the USS John C. Stennis. US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeremiah Bartelt On May 5, plans unexpectedly changed. The Trump administration ordered the Lincoln to the Middle East to send an "unmistakable message" to Iran.
- WorldThe National Interest
What Can Iran Hope To Do Against America's Stealth Aircraft?
Key point: The need for stealth grew only more urgent in 2019 when an Iranian missile knocked an MQ-4C out of the sky. U.S. forces on deployment to the Middle East include F-15E fighter-bombers, F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters and B-52 bombers, among others. But as tensions escalate between the United States and its allies including Saudi Arabia on one hand, and Iran and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on the other hand, it's worth considering what other American aircraft might be in the region.
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