- 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.
NewsAssociated PressAmerican anchor for Iranian TV is arrested on visit to US
A prominent American anchorwoman on Iranian state television has been arrested by the FBI during a visit to the U.S., the broadcaster reported Wednesday, and her son said she was being held in a prison, apparently as a material witness. Marzieh Hashemi, who worked for the network's English-language service, was detained in St. Louis, where she had filmed a Black Lives Matter documentary after visiting relatives in the New Orleans area. The FBI said in an email that it had no comment on the arrest of the woman who was born Melanie Franklin in New Orleans and has worked for Iran's state television network for 25 years.
NewsReutersLos Angeles teachers strike for second day as mayor seeks to restart talks
Some 30,000 Los Angeles teachers on strike for higher pay, smaller classes and more staff walked picket lines in the rain for a second day on Tuesday as Mayor Eric Garcetti embraced their cause while trying to nudge the two sides back to the bargaining table. Negotiators for the Los Angeles Unified School District and the United Teachers Los Angeles have not met since union leaders rejected the LAUSD's latest contract offer on Friday night, calling the proposal an "insult." Asked on Tuesday afternoon whether the two parties had any intention of resuming labor talks, an LAUSD spokeswoman said: "Nothing is scheduled at this time."
PoliticsFOX News VideosHouse Democrats vows to vote for a border barrier because that's what her constituents want
Are there any signs other Democrats will break from the establishment line? Congresswoman Katie Hill explains her reasons for supporting Trump's physical border barrier
- PoliticsThe Independent
Kirsten Gillibrand: Democrat senator and Trump critic enters 2020 presidential race
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand used an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to announce she was formally entering the race to become president in 2020 – the latest high profile Democrat to enter what will become a crowded field. “I'm going to run for president of the United States, because as a young mom I'm going to fight for other people's kids as hard as I would fight for my own,” she said, when asked if she had any news to share with the audience. The formation of the exploratory committee will allow her to legally begin fundraising and organising her campaign, as she seeks to carve out a distinct presence in a field of candidates that could reach two dozen.
NewsReutersIn 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.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Kenya attack: At least six killed in Nairobi hotel complex terror siege
Islamist terrorists detonated explosives and fired automatic weapons as they mounted a deadly attack on a hotel and business complex frequented by Westerners in Nairobi on Tuesday. Six people have been confirmed killed in the attack, while a Kenyan police officer told reporters 15 bodies had been taken to the mortuary. A mortuary worker added that identification papers indicated that 11 were Kenyan, one was American and one was British, while the other two did not have documents on them.
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.
- ScienceAccuWeather
Venus-Jupiter conjunction: Set your alarm for this celestial meet-up on Tuesday morning
Jupiter and Venus will shine bright together before dawn on Tuesday in an astronomical event known as a conjunction. "A conjunction is a celestial event in which two planets or a planet and the moon or a planet and a star appear close together in the night sky," according to the NASA website. Close encounters of Jupiter and Venus in the sky occur on a fairly regular basis, most recently happening on Nov. 13, 2017.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Poll shows federal workers don't prefer a border wall to getting paid
President Trump has claimed repeatedly that most federal workers support his tactic of shutting down the government to enforce his demand for a border wall — including those directly affected by it. According to the survey conducted by the Government Business Council and GovExec.com and released Tuesday, 71 percent of federal workers oppose the shutdown, compared to just 21 percent who support it. Just 34 percent of federal employees surveyed support Trump's demand for funding for the wall, while 56 percent oppose it.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: California storm cancels Santa Anita horse races
Southern California's Santa Anita Park canceled horse racing Thursday because of stormy weather. Track Superintendent Andy LaRocco says Santa Anita has taken on 3.5 inches (89 millimeters) of rain since Monday. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows improved conditions in California after a series of storms.
- 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!
NewsConsumer ReportsHow to Avoid Common Car-Seat Installation Mistakes
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. The Monday incident, reported in Mankato, Minn., has gained social media attention because it was captured on a dash cam video from a nearby vehicle. Most drivers who transport children believe their car or booster seat is installed correctly, (73 percent), but nearly half (45 percent) of the installations are flawed in some way, according to the 2015 National Child Restraint Use Special Study, the latest government research available.
PoliticsAssociated PressWhite House denounces Rep. King's white supremacy remarks
Comments by Republican Rep. Steve King about white supremacy are "abhorrent," the White House said Wednesday as bipartisan condemnation of King continued. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders praised a move by House Republicans to strip the nine-term Iowa lawmaker of his committee assignments. The House on Tuesday approved a Democratic measure rebuking King, and a member of the House Republican leadership suggested King should leave Congress.
WorldReutersTurkish prosecutor seeks extradition of NBA's Kanter over Gulen links: Anadolu
Turkish prosecutors are seeking the extradition of New York Knicks center Enes Kanter over his links to the U.S.-based cleric accused of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016, state-owned Anadolu news agency said. Kanter, a vocal critic of President Tayyip Erdogan, was indicted by a Turkish court last year over alleged membership of an "armed terrorist group" after being contacted repeatedly by people close to Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen. Anadolu said on Tuesday prosecutors had sought the issue of a "red notice" for Kanter, an Interpol request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- U.S.WLS – Chicago
Illinois parents get 25 years in death of boy, 6, who weighed 17 pounds when he died
An Illinois father and stepmother will spend decades in prison in the starvation death of their 6-year-old son, who authorities say weighed just 17 pounds when he died.
WorldAFPAmerican killed in Kenya attack was 9/11 survivor
The American man who was among the 21 people killed in an attack on a luxury hotel complex in the Kenyan capital Nairobi was a consultant who survived the 9/11 attacks, and specialized in emerging economies. Authorities did not formally name Jason Spindler as one of the victims, but his mother Sarah and brother Jonathan confirmed his death on Facebook and to several US media outlets. "It's with a heavy heart that I have to report that my brother, Jason Spindler, passed this morning during a terror attack in Nairobi," Jonathan wrote on Facebook, in comments visible only to his friends.
- NewsAccuWeather
Photos: At least 5 fatalities reported as intense storms slam California
Heavy snowfall, multiple spin-outs and a jack-knifed big rig led to the closure of a major Northern California freeway in the Sierra Nevada, AP News reports. The heavy snowfall also prompted an avalanche warning in the Sierra Nevada on Wednesday. Pedestrians make their way along a rain soaked Hollywood Blvd.
- PoliticsThe National Review
Pelosi Says She 'Doesn't Care' After DHS Contradicts Claim that SOTU Should be Cancelled
Speaker Nancy Pelosi reacted with ambivalence Wednesday night after the Department of Homeland Security contradicted her claim that the upcoming State of the Union address should be cancelled due to security concerns resulting from the ongoing government shutdown. “I don't care what they said,” Pelosi told reporters when asked about the secret service's claim that they cold secure the House chamber for President Trump's upcoming State of the Union speech. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen pushed back Wednesday afternoon after Pelosi sent a letter to Trump asking him to deliver the State of the Union in writing, or delay it until the record government shutdown is resolved and the requisite agencies are better able to secure the venue.
- BusinessCar and Driver
A Look at the 2020 BMW 7-series
The BMW flagship sedan also gets revised engines and plenty of new tech. From Car and Driver
- 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.
