PoliticsReutersTrump blocks Pelosi trip as tensions mount over U.S. government shutdown
President Donald Trump's conflict with Democrats over a partial U.S. government shutdown escalated on Thursday with Trump denying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi use of military aircraft for an overseas trip in apparent retaliation for her suggestion that he delay the annual State of the Union address. The rising tension suggested that the shutdown, now in its 27th day, remains far from being resolved. In the meantime, the Trump administration continued to try to mitigate the shutdown's impact.
- NewsThe Independent
Iran state TV presenter arrested by FBI and moved to Washington DC, say reports
An American-born journalist working for Iran's state TV broadcaster has reportedly been arrested after flying into the US. Press TV interrupted its broadcast on Wednesday to report Marzieh Hashemi was arrested after she arrived at St Louis Lambert International Airport on Sunday. The English-language Iranian broadcaster, citing family members, said its TV presenter and documentary film maker was taken into FBI custody and brought to Washington, DC.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Rep. Steve King raising money off controversy from white nationalism, supremacy comments
While Republicans and Democrats are condemning or calling for Rep. Steve King's resignation after his comments on white nationalism and white supremacy, the congressman is using the backlash to raise money for his campaign. "The unhinged left has teamed up with Republican 'NeverTrumpers' and is pulling out all the stops to destroy me," King wrote in a campaign email to his supporters. In the email, King, R-Iowa, said the New York Times and "rabid leftist media" are coming after him for supporting President Donald Trump and because of his views on immigration.
- NewsThe National Review
David Webb's White Privilege
And here I thought I was the only black man with white privilege. Areva Martin, a CNN “analyst” — whatever in hell that means anno Domini 2019 — was in the middle of a spirited exchange with the conservative talk-radio host David Webb about racial preferences in hiring. Webb argued — as conservatives of many different races argue!
- WorldThe Independent
Enes Kanter: Turkey 'seeking arrest' of New York Knicks player
Turkish prosecutors are seeking the arrest and extradition of New York Knicks enter Enes Kanter, accusing him pf being a member of an "armed terrorist group". Mr Kanter is accused of ties to Fethullah Gulen, who Turkish authorities allege is behind the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016, the Daily Sabah reported. Mr Gulen has repeatedly denied any involved in the failed coup.
- BusinessAOL.com
Marriott is rolling out a brand new rewards program -- Here's everything you need to know
This included SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest), Marriott Rewards and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards — three previously unrelated loyalty programs that existed with separate point-value systems and benefits. The merger essentially unified the currency for all three separate rewards programs and allowed for members of any of the three programs to use their points across Marriott's entire combined portfolio of 29 brands and 6,700 participating resorts and hotels. Today, Marriott has solidified the mega-merger under the new name and introduction of Marriott Bonvoy, the new travel-focused loyalty program that will be taking the place of the three merged programs.
- BusinessThe Telegraph
Apple boss Tim Cook attacks 'shadow economy' of data in call for new privacy law
Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has called for the US to introduce a national privacy law, attacking a “shadow economy” in which people's personal data is bought and sold without their knowledge. Mr Cook said companies should have to collect as little data as possible and make it easy for people to delete the information that is held about them. It is the latest attempt from Apple to position itself as the steward of consumers' privacy, and to draw a line between itself and companies such as Facebook and Google.
WorldReutersOxford University suspends funding from China's Huawei
The University of Oxford said on Thursday it has stopped accepting funding from China's Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], the leading global supplier of telecoms network equipment, after scrutiny over the company's relationship with China's government. quot;Oxford University decided on January 8 this year that it will not pursue new funding opportunities with Huawei Technologies Co Ltd or its related group companies at present," the university said in a statement. quot;The decision has been taken in the light of public concerns raised in recent months surrounding UK partnerships with Huawei.
- U.S.Meredith Videos
Mexican Airline Trolls Americans With Ad About Debate Over the Wall
Aeroméxico, Mexico's large airline, is taking on the border debate in their own way: by trying to convince Americans to visit Mexico.
- EntertainmentCar and Driver
See the New 2019 McLaren 600LT Spider in Photos
All the better to listen to its top-exit exhaust pipes. From Car and Driver
- PoliticsBloomberg
EPA Nominee Wheeler Defends Rollbacks While Pressed on Climate
Wheeler, a former energy lobbyist who has served as acting administrator for six months, did not mention global warming in his opening remarks to the Environment and Public Works Committee, instead touting agency deregulatory efforts he said would spare businesses some $1.8 billion in compliance costs. “How does it happen that the nominee to be head of the Environmental Protection Agency does not mention the words climate change at a time when the scientific community thinks climate change is the greatest environmental crisis facing the planet?” asked Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats.
PoliticsYahoo NewsSteve King faces increasing pressure to resign after 'white supremacy' remarks
Rep. Steve King's base of support, including in his home state of Iowa, continues to erode after comments he made appearing to praise white supremacy were published in the New York Times. The latest salvo came as the Sioux City Journal, a conservative newspaper in Iowa's Fourth District that had previously endorsed the Republican congressman, called on him to resign. “It's hard for us to summon words that will properly convey how repugnant we view that remark,” said the paper in response to King asking, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” earlier this month.
WorldAFPSniffer dogs, bomb experts comb through Kenya attack site
Kenyan police aided by bomb experts and sniffer dogs on Thursday resumed their search of the Nairobi hotel complex struck by Islamists as police arrested nine more suspects over the attack which left 21 dead and 28 injured. A police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were confident there were no more people trapped inside the hotel or surrounding office buildings after the 20-hour assault unleashed on Tuesday, during which some 700 civilians were rescued. "We are confident that we have no more people there," the officer told AFP, "but in a situation like this, you are not done until you are done."
BusinessUSA TODAYSouthwest Airlines flights canceled, delayed due to computer issue in Baltimore
A four-hour Southwest Airlines computer glitch on Tuesday caused delays and cancellations for passengers traveling to and from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The exact number of delayed and canceled flights isn't clear, though 37 Southwest flights were canceled leaving the airport Tuesday out of 174 scheduled. It's also not yet clear what caused the four-hour glitch between 10 a.m.
- WorldAssociated Press
Burkina Faso: Body of Canadian found days after abduction
A Canadian national has been found dead a day after reports of his kidnapping by suspected jihadists in Burkina Faso's volatile north near the Niger border, the West African nation's security ministry said Thursday. The ministry said Kirk Woodman's body was found 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the site where he worked for Progress Mineral Mining Company. Woodman's son, Matt Woodman, emailed The Associated Press confirming his father's death.
BusinessReutersCelebrity's 'Chefs for Feds' kitchen feeds unpaid U.S. government workers
Maurice Wilson joined dozens of fellow federal workers in Washington on Wednesday at the opening of celebrity chef Jose Andres' emergency kitchen, grateful for a free lunch of egg sandwiches, quinoa bowls and tomato soup as the partial government shutdown dragged on. "Within another two weeks, I'm going to have to figure out a way to survive,” said Wilson, 59, who is working without pay at the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency of the District of Columbia. The "Chefs for Feds" kitchen, launched by restaurateur Andres' non-profit World Central Kitchen, is the latest example of how food providers across the country are stepping up efforts to feed unpaid federal workers.
- WorldThe National Interest
The U.S. Navy's New Missile Defense Is a Bad Idea
The U.S. Navy will try for the first time to shoot down an intercontinental ballistic missile in the middle phase of the ICBM's flight, the Pentagon announced on Jan. 17, 2018. But it's not clear the Navy's SM-3 missile is up to the task. Even if it is, its deployment could lead to a dangerous arms race.
- ScienceBGR News
NASA's Cassini spacecraft spotted fresh rainfall on Saturn's moon Titan
NASA's Cassini orbiter has been dead for well over a year now, but its incredible discoveries continue to trickle in as researchers pore over data and images it collected while it was active. Consequently, studies focused on the orbiter's findings continue to crop up on a regular basis, such as a recent study from University of Idaho in Moscow doctoral student Rajani Dhingra, who, along with her colleagues, found evidence of rainfall on the north pole of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in an image taken on June 7th, 2016. This indicates that summer had arrived on the moon's northern hemisphere later than climate models had predicted.
- BusinessPopular Mechanics
What to Know About the 2020 Toyota Supra
That eight-speed automatic will make the Supra faster than a stick shift could, but the higher-ups at Toyota know enthusiasts are clamoring for a manual Supra and won't rule out that one could come down the line. As we wrote last year, the new Supra was developed in partnership with BMW and contains a lot of Bavarian parts on the inside, sharing a great deal with the new BMW Z4. We await pricing news, but expect the Supra to come in around $50,000.
- NewsThe Independent
California storms: At least five people killed after heavy rain and snow cause devastation
At least five people have died in severe rain and snowstorms that blanketed parts of California with at least five feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains this week, besides triggering flooding and mudslides, officials said. Forecasters expect the bitter weather to push eastwards into the Rockies and US Midwest through the weekend, while the California Highway Patrol said rain-slicked highways led to two fatal accidents that killed four people. A family of three, including a one-year-old baby, died in El Dorado County on Tuesday, after their car spun across a rain-soaked freeway to hit another car, the San Francisco Chronicle said.
- WorldYahoo News
Mike Pence amends claim that 'ISIS has been defeated' following deadly attack on U.S. troops
Vice President Mike Pence issued a statement Wednesday that sought to clarify remarks he delivered earlier in the day in which he claimed that “ISIS has been defeated” — several hours after the radical Islamic group set off a bomb that killed at least two U.S. service members and two American civilians in Syria. In a speech at the U.S. State Department Wednesday morning, Pence credited President Trump and the U.S. military with vanquishing Islamic State terrorists in Syria. “Thanks to the leadership of this commander in chief and the courage and sacrifice of our armed forces, we are now actually able to begin to hand off the fight against ISIS in Syria to our coalition partners,” Pence said, “And we are bringing our troops home.
PoliticsFOX News VideosRep. Wenstrup on a State of the Union during a shutdown: Americans need to hear from the president
Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup from Ohio says Speaker Pelosi's request for President Trump to postpone the State of the Union address makes no sense.
- LifestyleUSA TODAY
7 dreamy Tuscan villas for rent
When it comes to vacation dreams, few hold the enduring appeal of staying in a Tuscan villa. Think classic stone architecture, intricate tile work, pergola views over sun-dappled vineyards. And the fantasy might be more approachable than you think, especially for a large family or extended group of friends.
- WorldBloomberg
Al-Qaeda Hotel Attack Kills 21, Shaking Kenya Economy Pillar
Using hand grenades, automatic rifles and a suicide-bomber, the militants stormed 14 Riverside in Nairobi on Tuesday afternoon, a venue popular with business travelers and Kenya's elites and home to offices of companies including Pernod Ricard SA and Dow Chemical East Africa Ltd. That precipitated an 18-hour siege around the DusitD2 hotel, which President Uhuru Kenyatta said ended about 9 a.m. Wednesday with the attackers dead. Somalia-based al-Shabaab took responsibility for the assault, the latest in a recent wave of jihadist strikes across Africa, including in Nigeria and Mali, which a loose coalition of African, Western and United Nation troops are struggling to stop. It's al-Shabaab's first significant assault in Kenya since it killed 147 people at a northeastern university in April 2015 and echoed a September 2013 attack on Nairobi's Westgate mall that left 67 dead and rocked the tourism industry.
WorldReutersIn third year, U.S. women's marches turn to 2020 elections
Millions of people took part in the women's marches in Washington and other cities in the United States and abroad on Jan. 21, 2017, the day after the Republican president was sworn in. Vanessa Wruble, a co-founder of the original Women's March on Washington who left to start March On, a separate grassroots coalition, said the movement has evolved from being a reaction to Trump's presidency. Women's March, a national nonprofit organization that evolved from the initial Washington march, is using its #WomensWave marches in Washington and elsewhere on Saturday to roll out a 10-part policy platform that includes raising the federal minimum wage and protecting reproductive rights.
