WorldAssociated PressPalestinian forces soldier on amid Israeli raids, US neglect
The Palestinian Authority has faced mounting protests over the security coordination as the Trump administration pursues policies seen by critics as obliterating whatever chance remains for a two-state solution, from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital to cutting off economic aid to the Palestinians. And yet the security coordination with Israel has endured for more than a decade, through one crisis after another, including three wars in Gaza and clashes at Jerusalem's holiest site.
NewsUSA TODAYAirlines already canceling flights into Monday from Winter Storm Harper
Flight headaches were on the rise Saturday as a potent winter storm moved from the Midwest into the Northeast. For Saturday, more than 1,545 flights had been canceled nationwide and another 1,221 delayed as of 12:20 p.m. ET, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. The storm, dubbed Winter Storm Harper by The Weather Channel, was dumping snow, ice and rain across the Great Lake and Ohio Valley early Saturday morning.
WorldReutersTrump travels to Delaware base to honor four Americans killed in Syria
U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday to receive the remains of four Americans killed in a suicide bombing in northern Syria. Trump, locked in a battle with congressional Democrats that has led to a nearly month-long partial government shutdown, announced his trip via a predawn tweet, saying he was going "to be with the families of 4 very special people who lost their lives in service to our Country!" Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House prior to departure that he planned to meet the families, a duty which he said "might be the toughest thing I have to do as president."
- NewsMashable
Mexican airline trolls Americans with brilliant ad
While the debate over immigration and a border wall between the United States and Mexico has helped grind the U.S. federal government to a halt, Mexico's national airline, AeroMexico, is trolling Americans with a new ad called "DNA Discounts." The ad features purported residents of Wharton, Texas, a town about 60 miles southwest of Houston, professing a variety of opinions about Mexico and its citizens. The ad also drops some knowledge about the long history of immigration from Mexico to the U.S., and notes that many in southern and southwestern states have a touch of Mexican DNA.
NewsAFPChicago ex-cop sentenced to nearly seven years over teen shooting
A white former Chicago police officer was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison on Friday for fatally shooting a black teenager in 2014, an incident that triggered months of protests in the city. Jason Van Dyke fired 16 bullets into 17-year-old Laquan McDonald during the confrontation, which occurred while he still a member of the force. The slaying was captured on police video that showed the knife-wielding teen appearing to walk away from officers when he was shot.
- BusinessBloomberg
Singapore Plans to Buy F-35 Fighter Jets to Replace F-16 Fleet
Singapore has identified Lockheed Martin Corp. s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as the most suitable replacement for its fleet of F-16 fighter jets and plans to buy a small number for evaluation, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Friday. The Air Force's F-16s that were in service since 1998 will retire soon after 2030, Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post the same day.
PoliticsFOX News VideosWhy did Democrats vote for a barrier along the southern border in 2013, but won't now?
Former U.S. Border Patrol Chief under former President Barack Obama Mark Morgan says that the border wall needs to be built.
- CelebrityAOL.com
Man makes terrifying jump from 11th story cruise ship balcony
Royal Caribbean has banned a group of thrill seekers after one of the men jumped off the cruise ship's high deck. The video, which has been gaining immense traction on social media, shows Nick Naydev of Vancouver, Washington, thoughtlessly plunging into the waters more than 100 feet below. Though the boat was docked, the stunt, equal to jumping from an 11-story building, was incredibly dangerous.
- NewsYahoo News
Tulsi Gabbard apologizes, again, for past antigay views
One week after her 2020 presidential rollout, the campaign of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, has hit a pothole. Gabbard issued an apology Thursday for antigay views she expressed in the past, attributing them to her conservative upbringing. “In my past, I said and believed things that were wrong,” said Gabbard, who represents Hawaii's second district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
NewsAssociated PressOn day Jayme escaped, suspect sought job _ with dodgy resume
The Wisconsin man suspected of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents apparently applied for a job online the day that Jayme escaped, calling himself an "honest guy" even though his resume contains inaccuracies about his work experience. Jake Patterson is charged in an Oct. 15 home invasion at the Closs home near Barron in northwestern Wisconsin. According to a criminal complaint, Patterson told investigators that he broke into the house in the middle of the night, gunned down Jayme's parents and made off with the teen, hiding her in a remote cabin for nearly three months.
NewsUSA TODAYArctic blasts threaten weekend blizzards, heavy snow and paralyzing ice storms
Back-to-back blasts of bitter Arctic air from Canada are expected to power high winds and heavy snow from the Corn Belt to New England this weekend followed by an ice storm that could paralyze travelers in the Ohio Valley and Northeast. Heavy snow, with blizzard-like conditions, could leave from 30 to 40 inches of snow in parts of interior New England. The National Weather service says the first strong surge of Canadian air over the Plains will re-energize a storm system coming out of the Rockies.
- BusinessCar and Driver
10 of the Kia Telluride's Coolest Design Details, from the Designer Himself
The new Telluride's design is big, blocky, and-hold on, this might be its most American SUV yet. From Car and Driver
- WorldReuters
Syrian opposition sees window for political solution in Syria
Syria now has a good opportunity to reach a political solution to its devastating eight-year war as ceasefires have brought calm to many areas of the country, Syria's chief opposition negotiator said on Saturday. quot;I think now that we have an opportunity, because nearly in Syria we have a ceasefire now, in the northeast of Syria and the north of Syria, and the efforts of fighting terrorism has achieved good results," Nasr Hariri told Reuters in an interview in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, where he is based. Hariri, the opposition's chief negotiator in U.N. peace talks, met with the newly appointed United Nations Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen on Friday.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Police chief calls 14-year-old's death 'tragic'
A suburban Phoenix police chief has offered her condolences to the family of a 14-year-old burglary suspect who was shot and killed by an officer. Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir called the death this week "tragic" and asked that the public withhold judgment until an investigation is completed. The boy, identified by his family as Antonio Arce, was carrying a replica handgun when he was shot by a Tempe officer identified only as Officer Jaen.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Prince Philip crash: As Duke takes delivery of another Land Rover, will he be back on the road soon?
A replacement Land Rover, previously driven by the Duke of Edinburgh, has been delivered to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, hours after his car was involved in a horror crash. A black Land Rover Freelander was driven into Sandringham inside a delivery truck on Friday morning. The Land Rover is the same model as the one Prince Philip, 97, was driving in yesterday's crash, which also involved a Kia.
NewsAFPUS State Department to bring back full staff despite shutdown
Unlike many federal employees such as airport security screeners and Coast Guard members who are working without pay, the State Department said it would pay all of its 75,000 employees using available funds it has located. An official said it had become clear as the shutdown dragged on that the full departmental workforce was needed to address the "myriad critical issues requiring US leadership around the globe." "We are also deeply concerned about growing financial hardship and uncertainty affecting department employees whose salaries and well-being are affected by the unprecedented length of the lapse," he added on condition of anonymity.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
What is open and closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday falling on the third Monday of every January. The day, also celebrating King's birthday, honors his legacy and shines a light on civil rights. King was assassinated in April 1968 on a motel balcony in Memphis. On Nov. 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill marking the third Monday of every January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
- PoliticsYahoo News
2020 prospect Sen. Klobuchar: It's 'difficult to imagine' voting for Trump AG pick
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar — a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and prospective Democratic candidate for president in 2020 — says it is “very difficult to imagine” she will vote to confirm nominee William Barr as attorney general in light of his refusal to commit to releasing special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia investigation. While saying she still wants to finish reviewing the transcript of this week's confirmation hearing before making a final decision, she criticized the nominee for his equivocation during this week's confirmation hearing on two key issues relating to the Russia probe. “He wouldn't say he would follow the ethics advice of career lawyers in the department when it came to recusal regarding the Russia investigation, and also he didn't 100 percent commit — not even 80 percent commit — to making the report public,” Klobuchar said.
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.
WorldAssociated PressWeekend winter storm sweeping from Midwest to New England
A winter storm started sweeping across the Midwest on Friday, leading to slick roads and runways, as it inched its way toward New England, where it was forecast to dump up to 2 feet (0.61 meters) of snow. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings from the Dakotas, across the Great Lakes states and into New England. The weather service at one point warned that conditions in New England over the weekend "could approach blizzard criteria." Ice was also a possibility in some areas in the storm's path.
CelebrityUSA TODAYDivers in Hawaii may have been swimming with biggest great white shark on record
A group of divers near Oahu were monitoring tiger sharks feeding off a decomposed sperm whale when they encountered a giant great white shark, reports The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Ocean Ramsey, one of the divers who studies sharks, told The Star-Advertiser that, based on the shark's size and markings, the shark may be Deep Blue, one of the largest great whites on record. "I'm without words; it's heartwarming; she's probably the most gentle great white I've ever seen," Ramsey told The Star-Advertiser.
- WorldBloomberg
U.S. Should Slow Syria Pullout to Contain Risks, Graham Says
The U.S.'s planned exit from Syria must be gradual or it risks letting the Mideast nation be overrun by Iran, Islamic State terrorists or Kurdish militants, Senator Lindsey Graham said. I believe it would be an absolute disaster to walk away from Syria and drop in Erdogan's lap armed elements of YPG that he considers to be terrorist and expect Turkey to deal with that and prevent ISIS from coming back,” Graham, a South Carolina Republican, told Bloomberg in an interview in Ankara. Addressing concerns by Turkey, a NATO ally, over Kurdish militant group YPG can dovetail with American objectives such as containing Iran and the jihadist group Islamic State, he said.
NewsAssociated PressSchism leads to dueling women's march events in NYC
Conflicts over control, inclusivity and alleged anti-Semitism will mean that women protesting on the second anniversary of the Women's March on Washington are faced with competing demonstrations this weekend in New York City. One procession, around the edge of Central Park and down Sixth Avenue, is being organized by the Women's March Alliance, a nonprofit group whose leaders are putting on their version of the demonstration for the third straight year. Another event, a downtown rally held at roughly the same time Saturday, is being organized by the New York City chapter of Women's March Inc., the group formed to help organize the 2017 demonstration in Washington, D.C., the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration.
- 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.
- WorldThe Independent
US Navy chief hints aircraft carrier could be sent through Taiwan Strait, despite threat of new Chinese missiles
The US Navy could still send an aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait in spite of Chinese military technology advances which pose a greater threat to American warships than ever before, the US chief of naval operations has said. Such an operation would inevitably increase the risk of military conflict between the world's largest superpowers, which are currently locked in an escalating trade war and ongoing disputes over territorial claims in the South China Sea. Washington sent ships through the strategic waterway, which separates Taiwan from the Chinese mainland, three times last year, but has not dispatched a carrier in more than 10 years.
