WorldAFPChina against forcefully sending aid to Venezuela
China said Friday it was against forcefully sending "so-called humanitarian assistance" to Venezuela, warning it could spark conflict in the crisis-torn country. China has loaned billions to Venezuela and has remained committed to President Nicolas Maduro even as the country has fallen deeper into economic crisis. Foreign aid mostly from the US has piled up on Venezuela's borders as the Maduro government refuses to let it into the country.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Roger Stone Faces Judge After Posting Her Image With Crosshairs
On Monday, Stone, a sometime adviser to President Donald Trump who faces charges of lying to Congress and obstructing a federal investigation, posted a photo of U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on his Instagram account, along with a short diatribe saying she's the judge overseeing his “upcoming show trial.” Beside the head shot of Jackson was an image of what looked like rifle-scope crosshairs. After the post caught the attention of social media, Stone took it down and apologized to the judge, conceding it was improper. On Thursday, Stone will appear before Jackson as she weighs whether to tighten a gag order or change the terms of his bail.
WorldReutersAs tensions over aid rise, Venezuelan troops fire on villagers, kill two
The United States, which is among dozens of Western nations to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate president, has been stockpiling aid in the Colombian frontier town of Cucuta to ship across the border this weekend. With tensions running high after Guaido invoked the constitution to declare an interim presidency last month, Maduro has denied there is a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela despite widespread shortages of food and medicine and hyperinflation. The socialist president has declared Venezuela's southern border with Brazil closed and threatened to do the same with the Colombian border ahead of a Saturday deadline by the opposition to bring in humanitarian assistance.
- NewsNational Review
Jussie Smollett Now Considered a Suspect for Allegedly Filing a False Hate-Crime Report
Embattled Empire actor Jussie Smollett is now considered a “suspect” for filing a false police report, evidence of which has been presented before a grand jury, a Chicago Police Department spokesman announced on Wednesday. Case Update: Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by #ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony). Smollett initially told police that he was attacked outside of a Subway restaurant at around 2 a.m. on January 29 by two masked men who allegedly beat him, poured an unknown chemical on him, and placed a noose around his neck.
NewsUSA TODAYRobert Kraft, accused of soliciting prostitution, known for philanthropy, bringing people together
BOSTON – Just weeks ago, before Robert Kraft won his sixth Super Bowl as owner of the NFL's New England Patriots, he was awarded perhaps a greater honor. The Genesis Prize is awarded to leaders of Jewish heritage "who have attained international renown in their chosen professional fields" and "have made a significant contribution to improving the world." It's sometimes called the Jewish Nobel Prize. The announcement capped decades of good works by the billionaire businessman, an icon not only in professional sports but in philanthropy.
BusinessAssociated PressCustomers angry that disabled Walmart greeter could lose job
Walmart says it's hoping to keep him in the store. Catlin has served in the traditional "people greeter" role since graduating from high school. But at many Walmart locations, the job has morphed into that of "customer host," and those workers are now responsible for helping with returns, checking receipts to help prevent shoplifting, and keeping the front of the store clean.
- BusinessThe National Interest
Meet the 'New' F-21 Fighter: An F-16 On Steroids (With F-22 and F-35 DNA)?
In fact, the F-21 is an F-16 that Lockheed has upgraded with new cockpit displays, conformal fuel tanks, a larger airframe spine that can accommodate additional electronics, fittings for towed radar decoys, a new infrared sensor and a refueling probe that's compatible with India's Russian-made aerial tankers.
WorldAFPCanada looks to reunite Syrian family after fire claims seven kids
Canada is looking to quickly bring over siblings of a Syrian refugee distraught over the loss of her seven children in a Halifax house fire, the prime minister said Thursday. "The immigration minister is seized with this particular case," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said when asked if Ottawa would fast-track the immigration or asylum process to bring the woman's brothers to Canada in order to provide her with family support. The family was among tens of thousands of Syrian refugees welcomed by Canada over the past four years.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism, warns Emmanuel Macron
France is to recognise anti-Zionism, the denial of the state of Israel, as a form of anti-Semitismin response to a surge in acts against Jews not seen “since the Second World War”. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, also promised new legislation in May to fight hate speech on the Internet, which could see platforms such as Facebook and Twitter fined for every minute they fail to take down racist or violent content. While stopping short of calling for new legislation, the President said the working definition of anti-Semitism drawn up by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance would help guide police forces, magistrates and teachers in their daily work.
WorldAFPRussia says US aid to Venezuela a 'pretext for military action'
Russia on Friday accused the United States of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against President Nicolas Maduro's government. "A dangerous provocation, instigated and led by Washington, is planned for February 23," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, pointing to efforts by opposition leader Juan Guaido to pick up US aid being stockpiled on the Colombian border. Guaido's plans to try to bring the aid across the border are aimed at provoking clashes, she said, to provide "a convenient pretext for conducting military action".
- PoliticsBloomberg
Manafort Faces March 8 Sentencing for Virginia Fraud Convictions
Paul Manafort will be sentenced on March 8 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, where Special Counsel Robert Mueller has recommended he serve as much as a quarter century in prison for his convictions on tax- and bank-fraud charge, according to a judge. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III set the date on Thursday, giving Manafort until March 1 to reply to Mueller's recommendation that he serve between 19.6 and 24.4 years in prison. Manafort, 69, was convicted by jurors last August of bank fraud, tax fraud and failure to file a foreign bank account report.
WorldReutersAt Pope's abuse summit, Church seeks to fix 'systematic failures'
The Roman Catholic Church must repair the "systematic failures" that enabled sexual abuse to take root around the world, and bishops should start policing each other's behavior, leading cardinals said on Friday. Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago and Oswald Gracias of Mumbai spoke on the second day of a conference of some 200 senior Church officials convened by Pope Francis to confront what he has called the scourge of sexual abuse by the clergy. quot;This past year has taught us that the systematic failures in holding clerics of all rank responsible are due in large measure to flaws in the way we interact and communicate with each other," Cupich said.
PoliticsUSA TODAYCarbon dioxide in our atmosphere may soar to levels not seen in 56 million years
Emissions of carbon dioxide – the greenhouse gas most responsible for global warming – could soar to levels not seen in 56 million years by the middle of next century, scientists warned in a study Wednesday. Though it won't happen in our lifetimes, it could very well happen in the lives of our grandchildren or great-grandchildren. "You and I won't be here in 2159, but that's only about four generations away," said study author Philip Gingerich, a University of Michigan paleoclimate researcher.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Lawyer: Ex-FBI official McCabe still facing investigation
A criminal investigation into whether former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe made false statements during an internal probe into a news media disclosure remains open, his attorney said Thursday. "We've had dealings with the U.S. attorney's office" in Washington that has been handling the case, said lawyer Michael Bromwich, who accompanied McCabe to a wide-ranging interview session with reporters. The Justice Department inspector general last year referred for investigation and possible prosecution allegations that McCabe lied under oath when questioned about the source of information in a 2016 Wall Street Journal story about an FBI inquiry into the Clinton Foundation.
U.S.FOX News VideosAttorney for Nicholas Sandmann says the Washington Post gave online bullies a megaphone to tarnish his client
Lin Wood explains the Covington Catholic High School student's $250 million lawsuit against the Washington Post.
- WorldReuters
Britain, EU closer to possible agreement on Brexit: EU diplomats
The European Union and Britain are moving towards a separate legal statement in which the bloc would again stress the temporary nature of the so-called Brexit backstop for the Irish border, diplomats in Brussels said. They spoke of a "parallel declaration" or "interpretative instrument" on the backstop, a day after British Prime Minister Theresa May and the head of the European Union's executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, met in Brussels to seek a way out of the Brexit deadlock. The backstop is an insurance policy designed to avoid border controls between EU member Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland after Brexit.
- WorldAssociated Press
More than 150 IS militants handed over to Iraq from Syria
U.S.-backed Syrian forces fighting the Islamic State group handed over more than 150 Iraqi members of the group to Iraq, an Iraqi security official said Thursday, marking the biggest repatriation from Syria of captured militants so far. The official said the IS militants were handed over to the Iraqi side late Wednesday, and that they were now in a "safe place" under investigation. The transfer comes as the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces is involved in a standoff over the final sliver of land held by IS in eastern Syria, close to the Iraqi border.
- WorldTime
Saudi Sisters Stranded for Months in Hong Kong After Fleeing the Kingdom, Rights Group Says
Two Saudi Arabian sisters have spent almost six months hiding in Hong Kong after authorities reportedly foiled an attempt to flee the conservative kingdom, a human rights group says. Using aliases to protect their identities, non-profit Justice Centre Hong Kong said in a statement that Reem, 20, and Rawan, 18, arrived in the city on Sept. 6, 2018, after escaping during a family holiday in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. The pair had booked a connecting flight to Melbourne Australia, where they planned to seek asylum, but they were intercepted upon landing and told their flight had been cancelled.
- EntertainmentNational Review
Warren Backs Government Reparations for African Americans
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) on Thursday followed fellow Democratic presidential contender Senator Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) in calling for the government to pay reparations to African Americans to atone for slavery and subsequent discrimination.
- ScienceMashable
Neptune's smallest moon may have been created by comets
We're all made of star stuff, but some things in the universe are created by comets. Neptune's recently discovered and smallest moon, Hippocamp, has been confirmed and observed in detail by the Hubble Space Telescope according to new research published in Nature on Wednesday. SEE ALSO: Neptune looks extremely sharp and very blue in these latest images Named Hippocamp for the half-horse, half-fish creature from Greek mythology — all of Neptune's moons are named for Greek and Roman mythological figures — it's the smallest of the planet's seven inner moons, with a diameter of approximately 20-21 miles (34 kilometres).
WorldAFPCardinal calls for global recognition of sex abuse in Catholic Church
A leading cardinal acknowledged the global scale of the child sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church on Friday, on the second day of a landmark summit at the Vatican on tackling paedophilia in the clergy. The refusal by some bishops -- notably in Asia and Africa -- to admit clerical paedophilia was an issue in their countries was unacceptable, Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias told the extraordinary summit. The pope has been under sustained pressure to tackle abuse issues in the beleaguered institution after numerous stories of paedophilia emerged in countries across the world.
NewsUSA TODAYWinter weather isn't just battering the eastern US. It's even snowing in Las Vegas
While winter weather has battered the eastern United States for the past couple days, the National Weather Service said up to 3 inches of snow will fall in the outskirts of the Las Vegas Valley. Rain may mix with snow in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, however, meaning much less — if any — will accumulate at the city's most distinguishable landmarks along The Strip. Although Wednesday marked the fourth day Las Vegas recorded a trace of snow this month, it did not break a record, the Las Vegas Forecast Office tweeted.
PoliticsYahoo NewsTrump apparently not familiar with his administration's push for global decriminalization of homosexuality
President Trump reacted with surprise when asked Wednesday about reports that his administration was making a global push to decriminalize homosexuality. In an Oval Office exchange with reporters, Trump was asked about the plan, which was first reported by NBC News on Tuesday. “Mr. President, on your push to decriminalize homosexuality, are you going to do that?
NewsAssociated PressGirl's death haunted police until arrest made 45 years later
Investigators searched for decades for the killer of an 11-year-old girl who disappeared while walking home from summer school in a case that gripped a California seaside community. A photo of a smiling Linda O'Keefe has hung for years on the wall of the police department in Newport Beach, reminding investigators to keep pressing forward on cold cases like hers. More than four decades later, authorities in Southern California said Wednesday that a Colorado man has been arrested and charged with killing her in 1973.
