- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump says his side in impeachment trial has 'all the material'
President Trump boasted Wednesday that his side in the impeachment trial has information that wasn't shared with the House Democrats who pursued the investigation and brought the charges. One of the impeachment managers presenting the case against the president observed that his remarks, at a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, appeared to support one of the two charges he faces: obstruction of Congress by refusing to answer requests for documents or allow testimony by administration officials. The White House has resisted turning over documents and allowing witnesses familiar with Trump's dealings with Ukraine to testify in the investigation about whether the president pressured a foreign government to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, who at the time was leading in polls for the Democratic presidential primary.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Police: Mom accused of killing her 3 kids said she smothered them while singing
PHOENIX – The 22-year-old mother accused of killing her three children in Phoenix sang to her children as she smothered them to death, according to court records. Rachel Henry was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder Monday after she admitted to killing her three children under the age of 4, police said. Police initially said her son was 3 years old and her daughters were 2 years old and 7 months old, but a probable cause document released Tuesday night says the girls were 1 year old and 7 months old.
- WorldAssociated Press
Putin to meet mother of Israeli backpacker jailed over hash
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to meet with the mother of an Israeli tourist who was jailed in Russia for carrying a few grams of hashish, the Kremlin said Wednesday. The Russian leader is set to meet with Naama Issachar's mother while he is visiting Israel on Thursday, Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy Land, are also taking part in the meeting that will focus on “the humanitarian aspect” of the case, Ushakov told reporters Wednesday.
- LifestylePopular Mechanics
REI’s January Sale Offers 50% off Cold-Weather Outdoor Gear
Save big on Patagonia, The North Face, Columbia, and more of our favorite outdoor brands. From Popular Mechanics
- WorldBusiness Insider
The nasty spyware likely used to hack Jeff Bezos lets governments secretly access everything in your smartphone, from text messages to the microphone and cameras — here's how it works
In short: The analysis contends that Crown Prince Mohammed sent Bezos a video file that, regardless of him clicking on the file, enabled Pegasus to infiltrate Bezos' iPhone. The report said the analysis found that "within hours of receipt of the MP4 video file from the Crown Prince's account, massive and (for Bezos' phone) unprecedented exfiltration of data from the phone began." The content of the video wasn't made clear in the report, but The New York Times described it as having "an image of Saudi and Swedish flags overlaid with Arabic text."
- CelebrityINSIDER
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's move to Canada could influence Archie's accent
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS - WPA Pool/Getty Images If he spends significant time in Canada, Archie will likely sound Canadian Chambers told Insider that factors like place of schooling, friends' accents, and whether or not Archie receives elocution training will have large roles in the evolution of his accent. With Canadian, English, and American accents all at play, according to Chambers, there are a few accents Archie could end up speaking with, although a Canadian accent is most likely.
- WorldBloomberg
China Sentences Ex-Interpol Chief Meng to 13.5 Years in Prison
A Chinese court sentenced former Interpol President Meng Hongwei to 13.5 years in prison, more than a year after he went missing during a visit to his home country. Meng previously pleaded guilty to charges that he accepted bribes of 14.5 million yuan ($2.1 million) between 2005 and 2017. China had earlier removed him from his government post as vice public security minister over violations that included taking bribes and abusing power, and expelled him from the Communist Party.
- BusinessThe National Interest
How Does the Air Force's F-16 Stack up Against the Best Chinese and Russian Fighters?
Key point: America's F-16 has lasted a long time and has been given many upgrades. However, the F-16 might not be as good against the very best that Beijing and Moscow can throw at it. You May Also Like: 5 Best Submarines of All Time, 5 Best Aircraft Carriers of All Time, 5 Best Battleships of All Time and Worst Submarine of All Time.
- PoliticsThe Week
Attorney: Due to a conflict of interest, William Barr must recuse himself from Lev Parnas' criminal case
An attorney for Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Monday, requesting the he recuse himself from Parnas' criminal case. Parnas was arrested last October and charged with campaign finance violations. In the letter, which was also filed in New York federal court, attorney Joseph Bondy said Barr has a conflict of interest and asked that a special prosecutor from outside the Justice Department handle Parnas' case.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump impeachment trial: Republicans block witnesses and evidence while insisting president is 'a man of his word'
The Republican-controlled US Senate has voted along party lines to approve the rules of Donald Trump's impeachment trial, rejecting Democratic efforts to obtain evidence and ensure witnesses are heard. The third presidential impeachment trial in American history began with a marathon session of nearly 13 hours on Tuesday, as rancorous debate about the terms of proceedings stretched out until nearly 2am in Washington (7am UK time). Senators voted 53-47 to block four separate motions from Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer to subpoena documents related to Mr Trump's dealings with Ukraine from the White House, the State Department, the Defence Department and the Office of Management and Budget.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoFeds: White supremacists hoped rally would start civil war
A hidden camera captured members of a white supremacist group expressing hope that violence at a gun rights rally in Virginia this week could start a civil war, federal prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday.
- U.S.Associated Press
Teen accused in fatal family shooting to be charged as adult
A teenager in Utah accused of fatally shooting four of his relatives and wounding a fifth will be charged as an adult as soon as Wednesday, a prosecutor said. Tooele County Attorney Scott Broadhead told KUTV-TV that prosecutors still don't know what the 16-year-old boy's motive was in shooting the three children and their parents Friday night in the small town of Grantsville west of Salt Lake City. "He has not talked to the police or anyone in authority, so we don't really know what he was thinking, what his thoughts were, what his motivations were," Broadhead said.
- BusinessCBS News
As coronavirus spreads, doctor says "be proactive" but don't panic
The contagious coronavirus spreading out of China has now killed at least 17 people, and a Washington state resident has been diagnosed as the U.S.'s first case after returning from Wuhan, the center of China's outbreak. "Coronaviruses are found worldwide and typically cause mild to moderate respiratory illness, but can be more severe as seen with SARS and MERS," she said. The CDC says the risk to the general public is "considered low," but people should remain cautious.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Russia admits its deadly Zircon hypersonic missile is suffering from 'childhood diseases'
Associated Press Russia's deadly Zircon hypersonic missile is apparently suffering from unspecified "childhood diseases," the Russian Navy's top admiral revealed. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov told RIA Novosti that the weapon is likely still years away from entering service. In February of last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted that the developmental missile can hit speeds up to Mach 9 and eliminate targets up to 620 miles away.
- WorldINSIDER
The brazen (and careless) Russian assassination team behind the Salisbury poisonings has been spotted in Europe, again
PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA New images have been published of the Russian GRU assassination team working in Europe. A video from a case in Bulgaria shows a man connected to the 2015 poisoning of an arms dealer. The suspects in the Bulgarian poisoning are believed to be part of the same Russian unit that conducted the poison attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Biden Holds Onto National Lead in New Poll
Joe Biden is holding onto his lead among Democratic voters according to a national Monmouth University poll out Wednesday. Among registered voters, Biden carried 30% followed by Bernie Sanders with 23% and Elizabeth Warren with 14% less than two weeks before the first voters weigh in. Patrick Murray, director of Monmouth University's Polling Institute, says the national numbers have remained stagnant but there's room for upset after the first caucus and primary.
- WorldThe National Interest
China Learned the True Lesson of Pearl Harbor—Can We?
Imperial Japan would have been far better off had it forgone the attack on Pearl Harbor and confined its operations to the Western Pacific. Had Tokyo exercised some forbearance, it may have avoided rousing the “sleeping giant” that Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto reputedly said he feared so much. And even if it did awaken the American giant, it would have avoided filling him with what Yamamoto called a “terrible resolve” to crush Japan.
WorldAFP Relax NewsOn the menu at China virus market: rats and live wolf pups
The food market where China's deadly virus surfaced was a smorgasbord of exotic wildlife ranging from wolf pups to species linked to previous pandemics such as civets, according to vendor information and a Chinese media report. The Huanan Seafood Market in the central city of Wuhan came under greater scrutiny on Wednesday as Chinese officials said that the virus which has so far killed nine people and infected hundreds may have originated in a wild animal sold at the food emporium. Past deadly epidemics have been blamed on wild animals -- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was linked to Chinese consumption of civet meat -- setting Chinese authorities up for potential embarrassment if lax supervision of wildlife trafficking is found at fault in the latest outbreak.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Chief Justice John Roberts drops 'pettifogging' bomb while reprimanding both sides in impeachment trial
WASHINGTON – Chief Justice John Roberts admonished the House managers and the president's counsel after a fiery back and forth during the debate over amendments to a resolution outlining the rules and format of the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Roberts reprimanded the panels amid an argument over whether former national security adviser John Bolton should be subpoenaed to testify before the Senate. To illustrate his point about the level of civility expected in the Senate, Roberts referred to an incident from the impeachment trial of Florida District Judge Charles Swayne in 1905, when one senator took issue with a House manager using the word "pettifogging" (which is an old-fashioned term for "worrying too much about details that are minor or unimportant," according to Merriam-Webster).
- WorldReuters
North Korea abandons nuclear freeze pledge, blames 'brutal' U.S. sanctions
North Korea said on Tuesday it was no longer bound by commitments to halt nuclear and missile testing, blaming the United States' failure to meet a year-end deadline for nuclear talks and "brutal and inhumane" U.S. sanctions. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un set an end-December deadline for denuclearization talks with the United States and White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien said at the time the United States had opened channels of communication. O'Brien said then he hoped Kim would follow through on denuclearization commitments he made at summits with U.S. President Donald Trump.
- U.S.The Guardian
Mothers who occupied vacant Oakland house will be allowed to buy it
The homeless mothers who took over a vacant house in Oakland, California, and occupied it for almost two months will be allowed to purchase the property – a major victory in a movement working to keep such homes out of the possession of speculators. The group Moms 4 Housing entered the house on Magnolia Street on 18 November with the intent to stay. The house had sat vacant for more than two years before it was purchased in July at a foreclosure auction for $501,078 by Wedgewood Properties, a real estate investment company with a history of buying up foreclosed-upon houses cheaply, evicting the tenants, renovating the homes and then putting them back on the market at much higher prices.
- U.S.Associated Press
Fifth condemned Tennessee inmate opts for the electric chair
A Tennessee inmate has chosen the electric chair for his scheduled execution next month, opting like four other inmates in little more than a year for electrocution over the state's preferred execution method of lethal injection. Nicholas Sutton, 58, is scheduled to be put to death Feb. 20 for the stabbing death of a fellow inmate decades ago while serving a life sentence for his grandmother's slaying. An affidavit signed on Tuesday said he waives the right to be executed by lethal injection and chooses electrocution.
- CelebrityBusiness Insider
This 26-year-old former truck driver is running for Congress, and he's betting big that TikTok will help get him elected
Social media has been a useful tool to do that. Although he has nearly 60,000 followers on Twitter, more than double his TikTok following, he finds he gets "much more enthusiastic reactions on TikTok, and livestreams on TikTok go a lot better" than on other platforms. He said that its audience grew up online and so connected more with his message.
- WorldThe Independent
Missing butterfly conservationist ‘may have been targeted by illegal loggers’ in Mexico
Fifty-three police officers have been hauled in for questioning over the disappearance of an environmental activist who ran a butterfly sanctuary in Mexico. Homero Gómez Gonzalez, 50, was reported missing last week amid fears he had been targeted by criminal gangs and illegal loggers in the central state of Michoacán. As the manager of the El Rosario reserve, he has led efforts to preserve the pine and fir forests where the monarch butterfly spends the winter.
- BusinessBloomberg
Zimbabwe Opposition Vows Rolling Protests Over Economy
Sign up to our Next Africa newsletter and follow Bloomberg Africa on Twitter Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change will hold a series of demonstrations this year over the government's failure to address the deteriorating economy. The southern African nation had the continent's fastest-shrinking economy last year, after Libya, and its annual inflation rate was outpaced globally only by Venezuela, International Monetary Fund estimates show. Zimbabwe is grappling with shortages of food, fuel and foreign-exchange, while its inability to pay for adequate electricity imports and breakdowns at power plants have led to outages of as long as 18 hours a day.
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