WorldAssociated PressUN envoy arrives in Yemen to discuss truce around port city
U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths arrived on Sunday in the capital, Sanaa, to discuss the "complex situation" in and around the key port city of Hodeida, Yemeni security officials said. The Houthi rebels said their leader, Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, met with Griffiths to discuss the implementation of peace deals from December talks with Yemen's internationally recognized government. In Sweden in December, the two sides agreed to confidence-building measures, including to a cease-fire in Hodeida and the exchange of thousands of prisoners.
PoliticsReutersTrump's 'relentless attack' on FBI prompted memoir by former official: NPR
"I think the FBI has been under a relentless attack in the last two years," said McCabe, who is promoting his new memoir, "The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terrorism and Trump." Trump's attack is one of the reasons he wrote his book, he said in a wide-ranging interview that covered everything from his own firing, the probe into Russia's alleged role in the 2016 presidential election, and FBI morale. McCabe denied news reports that anyone in the Justice Department had made a serious effort to remove the president.
- 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.
- PoliticsTime
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Celebrated Amazon Pulling Out of New York––But the Governor Says It Cost the City 25,000 Jobs
The dispute between the two Democrats lays bare a divide over the plan to offer $2.8 billion in tax breaks for Amazon to establish a major presence in New York City. On one side, old hands like Cuomo; on the other, the newly insurgent, left-leaning wing represented by Ocasio-Cortez. Today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers and their neighbors defeated Amazon's corporate greed, its worker exploitation and the power of the richest man in the world,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.
NewsAFPBelgian Jewish museum trial interrupted as juror questioned
The trial of a Frenchman accused of shooting dead four people at the Jewish museum of Belgium was briefly interrupted on Monday as police were summoned to question a juror. "We cannot start the closing arguments under these conditions," judge Laurence Massart said, after recusing the juror for having communicated with outside parties. "The sixth juror contacted police officials on Friday afternoon to say he met with parties not heard in this trial with whom he discussed the case file," she added.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Tariff uncertainty could hurt auto industry more than plant closures in 2019
An auto industry that many experts think already is overdue for a slowdown just got a major dose of uncertainty that could reduce investment in new technologies and vehicles. The Trump administration dealt automakers a wild card by reportedly deciding not to reveal the Commerce Department's recommendations on whether to apply new tariffs on imported vehicles and components. Uncertainty is Kryptonite to the auto industry, which routinely invests tens of billions of dollars in projects that can take a decade or more to pay off.
WorldAFPVenezuela expels Europe lawmakers as aid showdown intensifies
Venezuela has expelled five visiting European lawmakers, an act opposition leader Juan Guaido branded "irrational" as his showdown with President Nicolas Maduro over the arrival of international aid intensifies. The members of the European Parliament were being tossed out with no explanation, said Spanish MEP Esteban Gonzalez Pons, who led the group. "We are being expelled from Venezuela.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Let us raise our daughter's baby, say family of Bethnal Green Jihadi bride Shamima Begum
The family of Bethnal Green teenager Shamima Begum have urged the British government to give them custody of her unborn child while she faces the prospect of imprisonment for supporting Islamic State. The pregnant 19-year-old has said she fears her baby, due to be born anytime now, will be taken from her if she manages to return to Britain after leaving the country in 2015 to join the terror group in Syria. Now her family have said that if she were to face a custodial sentence for her support of a terrorist organisation they will step in to raise the child, rather than the taxpayer having to pick up the cost.
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.
BusinessBloombergGlobal Slowdown Leaves Growth Weakest Since Financial Crisis
The global economy's loss of momentum has left expansion now looking like its weakest since the global financial crisis, a development that's already sparked a dramatic shift among central banks. A UBS model suggests world growth slowed to a 2.1 percent annualized pace at the end of 2018, which it says would be the weakest since 2008-2009. An early reading for this quarter shows a slight improvement, but the numbers still mean there'll need to be a dramatic improvement to reach the 3.2 percent pace UBS has forecast for the three months as a whole.
- WorldReuters
Israel trims funds to Palestinians over militant stipends
Under interim peace deals, Israel collects taxes on behalf the Palestinians, who put the current sums at $222 million a month. With negotiations stalled since 2014, Israel has at times withheld money as a measure of protest or pressure. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, though facing steep aid cuts by Donald Trump's administration that he has boycotted over perceived bias, has held to paying stipends to the families of Palestinians jailed as security offenders or killed by Israel.
- 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.
- CelebrityTime
Here's What's Open and Closed on President's Day 2019
Remember that day in February that isn't Valentine's and isn't Groundhog Day? Many places throughout the country will observe this President's Day by closing their doors so people can enjoy a 3-day weekend honoring our the birthday of nation's first President, George Washington. Here's what's open and closed on President's Day 2019.
- U.S.KGO – San Francisco
LA-based civil rights activist calls for arrest of Jussie Smollett, believes he lied about alleged attack
A Los Angeles-based civil rights activist called for the arrest of Jussie Smollett and says he believes the actor lied about being a victim of a hate crime.
WorldAFPIran arrests 3 'terrorists' over suicide bomb attack
Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said Monday it has arrested three "terrorists" involved in last week's deadly suicide bomb attack on security forces in a region bordering Pakistan. "Safe houses in (the cities of) Saravan and Khash were identified and eliminated, and the terrorists based in them were arrested," the force said on its official Sepah news agency. "Three of the terrorists were arrested and 150 kilograms (330 pounds) of explosives and 600 kilograms of explosive materials as well as weapons and ammunition were confiscated," it said.
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.
PoliticsAssociated PressEx-FBI official: 'Crime may have been committed' by Trump
McCabe also said in the interview with "60 Minutes" that the FBI had good reason to open a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was in league with Russia, and therefore a possible national security threat, following the May 2017 firing of then-FBI Director James Comey. And the idea is, if the president committed obstruction of justice, fired the director of the of the FBI to negatively impact or to shut down our investigation of Russia's malign activity and possibly in support of his campaign, as a counterintelligence investigator you have to ask yourself, Why would a president of the United States do that? McCabe said.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Southwest Airlines under FAA investigation for aircraft weight, balance calculations
The investigation, disclosed for the first time Monday by the Wall Street Journal, began in February 2018, FAA spokesman Gregory Martin confirmed to USA TODAY. There have been no fines nor enforcement action from the investigation to date. "Since that time, the FAA has directed the development of a comprehensive solution to the methods and processes used by Southwest Airlines to determine this (weight and balance) performance data,'' he said in a statement.
WorldReutersVenezuela to distribute food to poor Colombians amid aid tension
Venezuela's government will distribute food to poor residents of the Colombian border city of Cucuta this weekend, the Information Minister said on Monday, an effort that would parallel opposition plans to bring in humanitarian aid. Opposition activists have vowed to bring in food and aid provided in part by the United States via neighboring countries on Saturday, despite President Nicholas Maduro's refusal to accept assistance. "We are going to take more than 20,000 boxes of (food) to the brothers and sisters of Cucuta to help with the situation of extreme need facing the boys and girls of Cucuta," Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said in televised statements.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Police: Gunman in shooting rampage had 6 prior arrests in Aurora, Illinois, including domestic battery charges
The gunman who shot and killed five co-workers and injured five police officers after he was fired from his job had his gun permit revoked five years ago after a background check turned up a prior felony conviction in Mississippi, police said Saturday. The gunman, Gary Martin, 45, was shot and killed by police after officers swarmed the scene Friday at the Henry Pratt Co. plant in Aurora. Henry Pratt is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Mueller Water Products.
CelebrityFOX 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.
- BusinessThe Independent
Amazon pays zero federal taxes for second year in succession despite doubling profits, says new report
Amazon has paid zero federal taxes for the second year in succession, despite a doubling of its profits, according to a new report. Although the tech giant founded by Jeff Bezos saw its profits grow from $5.6bn (£4.3bn) in 2017 to $11.2bn (£8.7bn) in 2018, it will actually receive a tax rebate of $129m (£100m). “The company's newest corporate filing reveals that, far from paying the statutory 21 per cent income tax rate on its US income in 2018, Amazon reported a federal income tax rebate of $129m,” said the report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), which describes itself as a “non-partisan, non-profit think tank”, based in Washington DC.
- TechnologyThe National Interest
This Is the Airpower Theorist the Air Force Needs (And Already Has)
If one's main text on airpower is Douhet's Command of the Air, as it appears to be at the Naval War College, then it is no wonder that one feels the need to call for a Corbett of airpower. James Holmes recently argued that airpower needs a theorist with the heft of Clausewitz. This, he insists, would help us to steer clear of tiresome, never-ending debates about whether the Air Force needs to invest more in A-10s, F-35s, or light-attack aircraft.
WorldAFPPolish 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.
WorldAFPSpanish victims of sex abuse priests speak out
A trickle of accusations of sexual abuse against priests in schools and seminaries is starting to erode the wall of silence in Catholic Spain, whose Church representatives are set to attend a major Vatican meeting on child protection. "This is only the tip of the iceberg," warned Miguel Hurtado, who recently made his case public. For 20 years, Hurtado stayed quiet, trying to come to terms with the abuse he suffered when he joined a boy scout troup at the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, which sits high up in jagged mountains northwest of Barcelona.
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