WorldAFPPoland shuns Israel summit amid Holocaust row
Poland's prime minister on Monday cancelled Warsaw's participation in a Jerusalem summit, accusing an Israeli minister of "racist" comments about the actions of Poles during the Holocaust, further souring relations between the two nations. Mateusz Morawiecki's decision to scotch Poland's involvement in the summit of central European nations comes after the latest salvo in a long row between Poland and Israel over history. Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Sunday told a Tel Aviv-based international television station that "there were many Poles who collaborated with the Nazis, and like (former PM) Yitzhak Shamir, whose father was murdered, said, 'Poles suckle anti-Semitism with their m...
- WorldThe Telegraph
Jihadi bride Shamima Begum gives birth and says 'people should have sympathy for me'
Shamima Begum, 19, went to Syria in 2015 and was discovered there in a refugee camp last week, heavily pregnant and insisting she wanted to go home. The birth of her child over the weekend prompted calls for the baby to be subject to care proceedings should Begum be able to return from Syria, as it emerged that the Family Division of the High Court had presided over cases involving at least 150 children deemed at risk of radicalisation in the last five years. In an interview with Sky News recorded at the Kurdish-controlled camp to which she fled from the last pocket of Isil-controlled territory, Begum said there was “no evidence” she had done anything wrong and she could not see “any reason”...
WorldAssociated PressFamily: UK teen who joined Islamic State has baby in Syria
The family of a British teenager who ran away to join the Islamic State group and now wants to return to the U.K. said Sunday she has given birth to a baby boy. The family's lawyer said 19-year-old Shamima Begum and the baby are in good health. News about Begum and her desire to go back to Britain have ignited a debate in the U.K. about how to deal with citizens who joined IS and want to leave Syria now that the extremist group is on the verge of collapse.
- NewsThe Independent
Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner to register as sex offender after prison release
Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner has been released from federal prison after being convicted of having illicit online contact with a 15-year-old girl in 2017. He will have to register as a sex-offender and spend three years on supervised release under the terms of his sentence. The Federal Bureau of Prisons website shows the 54-year-old New York Democrat is currently in the custody of its Residential Re-entry Management office in Brooklyn, New York.
WorldReutersU.S. Senator Rubio warns Venezuela's Maduro not to act against opposition
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, visiting the Colombia-Venezuela border on Sunday, warned Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of severe consequences if he takes action against the country's opposition leader and self-declared president or U.S. citizens. In a televised interview, Rubio declined to say if he would support U.S. military action against Venezuela, which is mired in a political and economic crisis. But the Republican senator said he was confident that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration would not stand by if the Venezuelan government harmed or imprisoned opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president last month.
- PoliticsNational Review
Farrakhan Praises Omar's Anti-Semitic Remarks: 'Shake Up That Corrupt House'
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan on Sunday praised Representative Ilhan Omar's (D., Minn.) recent endorsement of an anti-Semitic trope and urged the freshman lawmaker not to bow to pressure from critics. “Ms. Omar from Somalia – she started talking about 'the Benjamins' and they are trying to make her apologize. You sure are using it to shake the government up, but you have nothing to apologize for,” Farrakhan said during his annual Saviour's Day address in Chicago, in comments first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Emails show how fake university set up by ICE lured foreign students
The email exchanges with Ali Milani – who is described in a LinkedIn profile as the president of the University of Farmington – show how the school in Farmington Hills, Michigan, may have lured students to enroll in a fake university set up by The Department of Homeland Security. Jan. 30: Feds set up fake university in Michigan to nab undocumented immigrants A federal indictment unsealed Jan. 30 said that the university was produced by federal agents with an investigative division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is part of DHS. Federal agents posed as university officials such as "Ali Milani" to trick the students, say attorneys.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The New Ford Focus ST Looks Awesome and Makes 276 Horsepower
Ford newest hot hatch, the Focus ST, has officially arrived-unfortunately only for the European market. Based on the new-generation Focus compact car, the new Focus ST has a turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine with 276 horsepower that mates with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission. Enthusiasts will be bummed that Ford has no plans to bring any version of the new Focus to America, as the company has killed off all car nameplates in its U.S. lineup save for the Mustang.
PoliticsUSA TODAY OpinionPence and Biden in Munich: Stark contrast shows how Trump is ruining relations with Europe
Former Vice President Joe Biden spoke for many former American officials in both parties who believe that the Trump administration has needlessly weakened our ties to Europe. The normally quiet and polite Merkel came out swinging against President Donald Trump's America First policy, charging the United States with unfair sanctions and criticism over Europe's continued participation in the Iran nuclear deal. She lamented Trump's recent decisions to back away from U.S. military commitments in Syria and Afghanistan and his aggressive trade policies toward the European Union.
- WorldAFP
Polish PM nixes trip to Israel after Netanyahu Holocaust 'comment': govt
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has cancelled a visit to Israel for a high-level summit, a government spokesperson told AFP on Sunday, after uproar in Poland over reported comments by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu about the Poles and the Holocaust. Netanyahu -- who was initially quoted in Haaretz newspaper as saying that "The Poles collaborated with the Nazis" -- has been condemned in Poland for appearing to accuse all Polish people of cooperating with Germany during World War II. Warsaw has long been at pains to point out that Poland, which was occupied by Nazi Germany, could not have and did not collaborate in the Holocaust although individual Poles may have done so.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Florida inmates use criminal skills to rescue baby from car
A group of prisoners in Florida put their criminal skills to good use on Valentine's Day – breaking into a car, to free a baby locked inside. The prisoners, on work-release, were repairing parking meters in Pasco County, north of Tampa, when they spotted the family in distress. Another person in the video, filmed by the baby's mother Shadow Lantry, can be heard commenting on the "hilarious situation," with police watching the crew unlock the car.
SportsFOX News VideosGisele Bundchen flaunts bikini bod, Tom Brady during family vacation
Gisele Bundchen flaunts bikini bod and husband Tom Brady during a family vacation to Costa Rica.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Vigil honors victims of gun rampage at Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, Illinois
The victims of a gunman's rampage at a manufacturing plant were memorialized in a prayer vigil Sunday as authorities investigated how the killer had a firearm almost five years after his permit was revoked. The Aurora Prayer Coalition and area churches hosted the vigil at the Henry Pratt Co., where police said Gary Martin fatally shot five co-workers and wounded six other people, including five police officers, before being killed in a gunfight. The Kane County Coroner's Office said autopsies performed on three victims – Russell Beyer, 47, Trevor Wehner, 21, and Clayton Parks, 32 – determined a preliminary cause of their deaths as multiple gunshot wounds.
- NewsThe Independent
Man awarded £120m in compensation from Ford after being paralysed in car accident
An Alabama jury has awarded $151.8m (£117.4m) to a young man paralyzed in a 2015 rollover accident involving a Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle, Ford and lawyers in the case said on Sunday. The jury awarded $100m in punitive damages and the rest in compensatory damages after finding that the 1998 Ford Explorer did not meet the company's own safety guidelines, according to a court document seen by Reuters and lawyers for plaintiff Travaris “Tre” Smith. The document, released on Friday, said Ford “acted wantonly” in designing the vehicle.
- BusinessAssociated Press
This Week: Walmart results, Fed minutes, US home sales
A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week: MIXED RESULTS? Wall Street expects that Walmart's latest quarterly snapshot will show mixed results. Financial analysts predict the world's largest retailer will report Tuesday that its earnings were flat in the November-January quarter versus a year earlier, even as revenue increased.
WorldReutersLivni warns over peace and democracy as she quits Israeli politics
One of Israel's most prominent dovish politicians, former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, said on Monday she was leaving politics and warned "democracy is in danger". A former peace negotiator with the Palestinians, Livni won recognition abroad for her part in U.S.-brokered talks that aimed to end the decades-old conflict and which collapsed in 2014.But her career has foundered in recent years, along with the Middle East peace process. The United States plans to present a new peace plan after Israel's April 9 election, although expectations of a breakthrough are low.
BusinessAFP Relax NewsGMC Acadia souped up with new engine, trim, and tech
GMC has unveiled the refreshed Acadia for the 2020 model year complete with a new trim, a fresh look, and the latest GMC infotainment system. GMC announced on Monday that the Acadia has gotten its midcycle refresh, and now, the lineup looks more like a group of Sierra pickups from the front than mid-size SUVs. In addition to its new exterior styling, the Acadia has a new powertrain option and an assortment of new technologies including an enhanced infotainment system and heads-up display.
- PoliticsTime
'Very Illegal Act.' Trump Lashes Out at FBI Officials Involved in Russia Probe
President Donald Trump is suggesting that key officials involved in the Russia probe were engaged in “treasonous” behavior. Trump is lashing out on Twitter at former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, whose new book details his concerns about potential foreign influence over the president, and current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who initiated special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Trump says McCabe and Rosenstein “look like they were planning a very illegal act, and got caught.
- WorldBloomberg
Poland Demands Israeli Response Over 'Racist' Holocaust Comments
Morawiecki canceled sending a delegation to Jerusalem, where he was slated to meet his counterparts from the Visegrad Group of eastern European nations Monday, after Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu was reported as saying last week that the Polish nation cooperated with Nazi occupiers during World War II. While Israel clarified that Netanyahu had been talking about “individuals, and not the whole nation” collaborating with the Nazis, the comments drew swift reaction from the government in Warsaw, which has passed laws criminalizing the act of blaming Poland or its people for wartime crimes committed against Jews and other minorities.
WorldAFPGroup sees 'disconnect' between pope's words, actions on sex abuse
A US-based group that compiles data on sexual abuse by Catholic clerics and bishops accused of covering it up fears that a bid by Pope Francis to tackle the scandals is a case of too little, too late. Speaking ahead of a Vatican summit of bishops this week to discuss the crisis, Anne Barret Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, complained of a "disconnect" between the pontiff's strong statements and his actions. The non-governmental organisation is taking part in a counter-summit of victims running alongside the Vatican event.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Indian authorities detain 23 after deadly Kashmir attack
Indian forces have detained 23 men suspected of links to the Pakistan-based militant group that masterminded the bombing of an Indian security convoy that killed 44 paramilitary police, a top police official said on Sunday. The 23 men included members and sympathisers of Jaish-e-Mohammad, the militant group that claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack, the deadliest on Indian security forces in decades. The attack has fuelled tensions between India and Pakistan.
- HealthUSA TODAY
How many push-ups can you do? Study finds men who can do 40 have lower risk of heart disease
Those who could do more than 40 push-ups during a timed test at a preliminary examination were 96 percent less likely to have developed a cardiovascular problem compared to those who could do no more than 10 push-ups, according to the report published Friday in the medical journal JAMA Network Open. Nearly half of U.S. adults deal with some form of cardiovascular disease as of 2016, according to the American Heart Association.The study's authors believe push-ups may be an easy way to test men's risk for heart disease.
- BusinessThe Independent
Amazon announces plans to make half of shipments carbon neutral by 2030
Online retail giant Amazon has announced plans to make alf if its shipments carbon neutral by the year 2030. The company, which ships millions of packages a year to shoppers, said that it will achieve that goal by switching to renewable energy sources and by asking suppliers to reimagine their packaging. “It won't be easy to achieve this goal, but it's worth being focused and stubborn on this vision and we're committed to seeing it through,” Dave Clark, Amazon senior vice president of worldwide operations, said.
WorldReutersMacau police investigate suspected murder at Sands casino resort: media
Police in the world's biggest gambling hub of Macau are investigating what they suspect is a rare murder in a five-star casino resort after a Chinese man was found stabbed in his bed, broadcaster TDM reported on Monday. Murder cases have been rare in the Chinese territory since Portugal ceded control of what had been a colonial backwater on the heel of China's southern coast 20 years ago. The suspected murder took place in Sands China's Conrad Macau hotel, TDM reported, citing police.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Will Procter & Gamble stock split again soon?
Procter & Gamble stock is near all-time highs as its turnaround efforts appear to be taking hold. Shares peaked just 30 cents below $100 last week, which begs a welcome question that investors haven't been able to ask in 15 years: When will P&G stock split next? Usually, when P&G stock crosses the century mark, the consumer products giant doubles the number of shares outstanding with two-for-one splits.
