- PoliticsThe Independent
Paul Manafort: Trump's ex-campaign manager should serve at least 20 years, special counsel Robert Mueller recommends
Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort should serve at least 20 years in prison, Robert Mueller has recommended. In requesting what will effectively be a life sentence for the 69-year-old, Mr Mueller also asked a judge that he push ahead with sentencing for the man who served as Mr Trump's campaign manager for just a few months in the summer of 2016. “Manafort acted for more than a decade as if he were above the law, and deprived the federal government and various financial institutions of millions of dollars,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing on Friday night.
WorldAFPNorth Koreans pay tribute to Kim's father in freezing cold
The Day of the Shining Star dawned bitterly cold in Pyongyang. Kim, the son of the isolated North's founder Kim Il Sung and the father and predecessor of current leader Kim Jong Un, was born on February 16. According to Pyongyang's orthodoxy, he came into the world in 1942, in a snow-covered hut at a secret camp on the slopes of Mount Paektu, the spiritual birthplace of the Korean people, where his father was fighting occupying Japanese forces.
WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: Extremist attack in Nigeria kills 4 civilians
The chairman of Nigeria's electoral commission says the last-minute, weeklong delay of the presidential election has nothing to do with insecurity or political influence. Mahmood Yakubu tells election observers and others in the capital, Abuja, that the delay is due to "very trying circumstances" including bad weather affecting flights in recent days and serious fires at three commission offices. He calls the fires an apparent "attempt to sabotage our preparations."
NewsReuters5 killed as gunman opens fire at Illinois warehouse
A gunman opened fire in an industrial warehouse in Aurora, Illinois, on Friday, killing five people and wounding five police officers before he was slain, law enforcement officials said. Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said the gunman, identified as Gary Martin, 45, was an employee at the industrial complex. Please avoid the area," the Aurora Police Department said in a tweet shortly after 2 p.m. CST, adding that additional details would be forthcoming.
- NewsUSA TODAY
More rain, snow expected in storm-battered California, following days of mudslides and floods
Although the worst of the storm had moved well inland Friday, forecasters said some leftover showers and snow was still likely to fall across the state on Friday and Saturday. The higher elevations of the Sierra could see an additional 3 to 6 feet of snow over the next few days, on top of the 3 feet that fell Thursday, the National Weather Service said. So much snow has fallen in the area that cities are running out of places to put the snow, according to Kevin Cooper of Lake Tahoe TV In Southern California, officials said rain-drenched hillsides could still loosen and collapse, bringing down mud, boulders and debris.
- 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.
- BusinessTime
Amazon's New York City Deal Was Killed By a Cocktail of Hubris and Miscalculations
After facing local opposition to its plan to open a large corporate office in New York, Amazon said on Thursday that it was dropping the idea altogether, along with a pledge to hire up to 25,000 for its new location over a period of years. Whether Amazon's pullout is good or bad for New York City will be debated tirelessly by politicians and urban residents for months. It is a clear loss for Amazon and a wake-up call for all tech companies.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Airlines to begin adding new gender option for 'non-binary' flyers
“U.S. airlines value a culture of diversity and inclusion, both in the workplace and for our passengers, and we work hard each day to accommodate the needs of all travelers, while delivering a safe, secure and enjoyable flight experience,” A4A said in a statement to USA TODAY. The nation's five biggest -- American, Delta, United, Southwest and Alaska airlines -- have all told USA TODAY that they plan to implement the trade groups' suggestion. “As part of Delta's ongoing efforts to accommodate the needs of diverse customers throughout our business, we are planning to offer a non-binary gender option during the booking process,” the carrier said in a statement.
- 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.
- PoliticsThe Telegraph
Democrats vow to fight Donald Trump's 'unlawful' national emergency as he reveals $8bn border wall plan
Democrats and campaign groups have vowed to fight Donald Trump's “unlawful” national emergency declaration as he revealed plans to raid existing government funds to build his Mexico border wall. The US president hopes to gather $8 billion through various means to construct barriers along America's southern border, declaring at a White House press conference that “walls work 100 per cent”. Most controversial is the $3.6 billion Mr Trump wants to redirect from existing military construction projects by using a power only available to him after declaring a national emergency.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
Our Favorite Eco-friendly Finds Put Sustainable Materials to Stylish Use
WorldAFPIndia mourns dead soldiers amid calls for revenge
Thousands of mourners across India attended funerals on Saturday for some of the 41 soldiers killed in a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir as a round-the-clock curfew remained in force in part of the restive region. The paramilitary troops were killed on Thursday as explosives packed in a van ripped through a convoy transporting 2,500 soldiers in the disputed Himalayan region, the deadliest attack in a 30-year-old armed conflict. TV stations showed coffins wrapped in Indian flags being carried by thousands of people across their hometowns, after the bodies were flown to New Delhi late Friday for a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- NewsAssociated Press
PR push for white officer accused of killing armed black man
The attorney for a white police officer charged with fatally shooting an armed black man in Tennessee is calling for legal discovery documents to be sealed from members of the public. Meanwhile, a police union has launched a digital ad campaign seeking to defend the Nashville officer, Andrew Delke, and bolster his image in public. The officer shot 25-year-old Daniel Hambrick from behind during a foot chase last July and is charged with first-degree murder.
- U.S.KTXL - Sacramento
`Going Away Party` for School Shutting Down Because of Student`s Death Causes Controversy
Some parents are outraged a California school for kids with special needs is holding a "going away party" after one of its own students died after being restrained by staff.
WorldReutersU.S. raises pressure on Maduro via sanctions, aid airlift
The U.S. Treasury said it sanctioned PDVSA chief Manuel Quevedo, three top intelligence officials and Rafael Bastardo, who U.S. officials say is the head of a national police unit responsible for dozens of extrajudicial killings carried out in nighttime raids on Maduro's behalf. Separately, a U.S. official said U.S. military aircraft are expected to deliver more than 200 tons of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia, with the shipment likely to take place on Saturday. The steps are part of a wider effort by the United States to undermine Maduro, whose 2018 election it views as illegitimate and whose government it has disavowed, and to strengthen opposition leader and self-declared president Juan Guaido.
- NewsThe Independent
California braced for mudslides and torrential rain after devastating storm
Authorities have warned of the threat of mudslides after a damaging storm struck California, trapping people in floodwaters, triggering a debris flow which destroyed homes and forcing residents to flee communities scorched by wildfires last year. The powerful system swept in from the Pacific Ocean and unleashed rain, snow and wind across the US west coast into Wyoming and Colorado after walloping northern California and southern Oregon. The National Weather Service reported staggering rainfall amounts across California, including more than 24cm over 48 hours at one location in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
United Airlines: Three new routes for fast-growing Denver hub
United Airlines will add three new domestic routes at its Denver hub. Daily flights to Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Syracuse, New York, will begin June 6 and will operate year-round. All three of the new routes will go head-to-head against service offered by Denver-based budget rival Frontier Airlines.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Judge Spells Out How Manafort Lied About Russian Associate
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson concluded that Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, made intentional false statements about his communication with Konstantin Kilimnik, a translator tied by Mueller to Russian intelligence, according to a transcript of a sealed hearing released Friday. Manafort's contacts with Kilimnik are “at the undisputed core” of Mueller's investigation into whether anyone in Trump's campaign coordinated with Russian meddling with the 2016 election, Jackson said at a Feb. 13 court hearing, according to the transcript.
- PoliticsYahoo News
2020 Vision: Buckle up, America! It's gonna be a long, crowded campaign
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., declares her candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in Minneapolis on Sunday. Reminder: There are 362 days until the Iowa caucuses, and 633 days until the 2020 presidential election. Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, who ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016, has become the first Republican to announce a challenge to President Trump.
BusinessAssociated PressGone in a New York minute: How the Amazon deal fell apart
Then Amazon made it official: It chose the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens to build a $2.5 billion campus that could house 25,000 workers, in addition to new offices planned for northern Virginia. Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Democrats who have been political adversaries for years, trumpeted the decision as a major coup after edging out more than 230 other proposals. But what they didn't expect was the protests, the hostile public hearings and the disparaging tweets that would come in the next three months, eventually leading to Amazon's dramatic Valentine's Day breakup with New York.
WorldAFPIran general says Pakistan backs group behind suicide bomb
Iran's Revolutionary Guards accused "Pakistan's security forces" of supporting the perpetrators of a suicide bombing that killed 27 troops on Wednesday, in remarks state TV aired Saturday. "Pakistan's government, who has housed these anti-revolutionaries and threats to Islam, knows where they are and they are supported by Pakistan's security forces," said Revolutionary Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, referring to jihadist group Jaish al-Adl ("Army of Justice"). "If (the Pakistan government) does not punish them, we will retaliate against this anti-revolutionary force, and whatever Pakistan sees will be the consequence of its support for them," he warned.
- NewsTime
Illinois Gunman Had a History of Domestic Violence and Was 'Stressed' Before Shooting
Five people were killed and six injured on Friday after 45-year-old Gary Martin opened fire at the Henry Pratt Co. warehouse in Aurora, Ill. Records reveal that he had a violent past before the shooting. On Saturday, Police Chief Kristen Ziman identified the five victims of the shooting as human resources manager Clayton Parks, human resources intern Trevor Wehner, mold operator Russell Beyer, stock room attendant and forklift operator Vicente Juarez and plant manager Josh Pinkard. According to the Chicago Sun–Times, Martin was convicted in 1994 of stabbing a woman in Mississippi.
- ScienceMashable
Watch a space harpoon impale a piece of space debris
To clean up the growing mess, scientists at the University of Surrey have previously tested a net to catch chunks of debris. Now, they've successfully tested out a harpoon. The video below, released Friday by the university's space center, shows a test of the experimental RemoveDEBRIS satellite as it unleashes a harpoon at a piece of solar panel, held out on a 1.5-meter boom.
WorldReutersDeal or delay? Wall Street doesn't believe no-deal Brexit threat
As the United Kingdom's Brexit crisis deepens, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have differing views of the ultimate outcome but the two titans of Wall Street agree on one thing: They don't believe there will be a no-deal Brexit. Unless Prime Minister Theresa May can get a Brexit deal approved by the British parliament, then she will have to decide whether to delay Brexit or thrust the world's fifth largest economy into chaos by leaving without a deal on March 29. Goldman Sachs said it sees a 50 percent probability of May getting a Brexit divorce deal ratified, adding that lawmakers would ultimately block a no-deal exit if needed.
- 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
