- PoliticsUSA TODAY
California Sen. Kamala Harris announces 2020 presidential bid on 'Good Morning America'
In 2008, Barack Obama, a freshman Democratic senator, became the first African-American man elected president of the United States. A decade later, another first-term Democrat from the Senate is making a bid for the White House, this time to become the first African-American woman to lead the nation. Sen. Kamala Harris of California announced Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America" that she is running to unseat President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
NewsThe IndependentThree dead from separate avalanches in Colorado and New Mexico
Two deaths have been confirmed in the US after two separate avalanches in Colorado and New Mexico trapped skiers in crushing snow this week and last. Authorities in Aspen, Colorado confirmed the most recent death on Monday, which happened to be the same day that relatives of a New Mexico avalanche victim announced their loss. A second victim of the New Mexico avalanche had already been reported.
- WorldBloomberg
Release Jailed Canadians, China Experts Urge Xi in Open Letter
More than 100 China experts and former envoys to Beijing called on President Xi Jinping to release two Canadians who have been detained for six weeks, saying the cases undermine his efforts to build bridges to the rest of the world. The group, including former U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke, ex-Hong Kong Governor Christopher Patten and five former Canadian ambassadors to China, released an open letter to the Chinese leader Tuesday urging the two men's freedom. The letter said that Michael Kovrig, a Canadian diplomat on leave to work with the International Crisis Group in Hong Kong, and Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur who helped organize tourist trips to North Korea, had advocated exchanges that ...
- U.S.WLS – Chicago
Police searching for Round Lake man after girl, 11, drives to school
Police in far north suburban Round Lake are searching for a man after teachers at John J. Murphy Elementary School saw an 11-year-old girl pull up to the school with the adult man in the passenger seat.
WorldReutersEx-U.S. marine jailed in Russia for spying was misled: lawyer
The lawyer for a former U.S. marine accused of spying by Russia said on Tuesday that his client had been misled before his arrest and believed that a thumb drive handed to him in a hotel room had contained holiday snaps rather than secret information. Russia's Federal Security Service detained Paul Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, in a Moscow hotel room on Dec. 28. Whelan appeared in a Moscow court on Tuesday, where a judge rejected releasing him on bail.
- LifestyleThe National Review
Ocasio Cortez: 'The World is Going to End In Twelve Years If We Don't Address Climate Change'
“Millennials and people, you know, Gen Z and all these folks that will come after us are looking up and we're like: 'The world is gonna end in 12 years if we don't address climate change and your biggest issue is how are we gonna pay for it?'” Ocasio-Cortez told interviewer Tanehisi Coates at an “MLK Now” event in New York. The timeline Ocasio-Cortez referenced was likely based on a U.N. backed report, released last year, that predicted the consequences of man-made climate change would become irreversible in twelve years if global carbon emissions are not immediately and dramatically reduced. Since upsetting six-term incumbent Representative Joe Crowley (D., N.Y.) in November, Ocasio-Cortez has frequently utilized her massive social media following to publicly challenge the more centrist members of her party, drawing condemnations from senior lawmakers.
NewsAssociated PressNorth Dakota couple killed by fallen tree in San Diego
A North Dakota couple died while vacationing in San Diego when a 75-foot-tall pine tree crashed onto their rental house as they slept, relatives and police said. Troy and Jessica Nelson ran a promotional products and apparel company, Trojan Promotions, in Grand Forks. They were spending the weekend at the house after attending a trade show during the week, according to the man's sister Tammy Reynolds.
BusinessAFPBritish pound recovers as May outlines Brexit 'Plan B'
The pound recovered ground Monday after British Prime Minister Theresa May said she plans to return to Brussels to discuss changes to the Brexit deal she agreed with EU leaders last month despite an overwhelming rejection of the draft text by MPs last week. There was mixed news out of China, with official data showing the country's economic growth at its slowest pace in 28 years offsetting a report that the country has offered to eliminate its massive trade surplus with the United States -- easing trade war tensions between the world's two biggest economies. Britain, meanwhile, is on course to crash out of the European Union on March 29 without a deal unless UK MPs can force a delay or come up with an alternative plan that Brussels is also happy with.
- LifestyleUSA TODAY
'Frozen' Niagara Falls photos spread across social media
The bad news: A popular North American tourist spot is facing harsh winter temperatures. The good news: The pictures are outstanding. Niagara Falls tourists flocked to social media to document the phenomenon, and one visitor even compared the sight to the movie "Frozen."
- BusinessThe National Interest
America's F-35 Stealth Fighter: The Ultimate Missile Killer?
David Axe Security, The Pentagon wants to add F-35 stealth fighters to America's missile shield. But to have any chance at shooting down ballistic missiles, the F-35 might need a new weapon. The Pentagon wants to add F-35 stealth fighters to America's missile shield.
NewsAssociated PressTeen in confrontation with Native American: I didn't provoke
The student who stared and smiled at an elderly Native American protester drumming in his face outside the Lincoln Memorial as his schoolmates chanted and laughed says he did nothing to provoke the man in the videotaped confrontation and was only trying to calm the situation. The student identified himself in an email statement Sunday evening as junior Nick Sandmann of Covington Catholic High School in a northern Kentucky suburb of Cincinnati. An official working with the family confirmed Sandmann's identity, speaking on condition of anonymity because the source didn't want to distract from the statement.
- WorldBloomberg
Zimbabwe Says Tweet About Palace Coup Talk Was Fake
Zimbabwe's Ministry of Information said on Monday that a Twitter account using the presidential spokesman's name is fake. Bloomberg erroneously reported earlier that President Emmerson Mnangagwa's spokesman, George Charamba, dismissed rumors of a palace coup, citing a tweet from the account. Charamba does not have a Twitter account, Regis Chikowore, principal director at the information ministry, said by phone.
WorldReutersHuawei calls for swift end to case of executive arrested in Canada
China's Huawei Technologies wants a quick resolution of the case of its former finance chief Meng Wanzhou, who is accused of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran and has been detained in Canada, its chairman said on Tuesday. The United States has told Canada it will request Meng's extradition, but has not said when it will do so, David MacNaughton, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., said in a Globe and Mail interview on Monday. "We are following this issue closely but haven't had direct contact with the authorities.
WorldReutersA century on, Basra's British-era shipyard going strong
Thousands of ships, including former dictator Saddam Hussein's yacht, have passed through the Iraqi shipyard's three docks, where a giant steam engine hauls them out of the water and up the century-old wooden tracks. Mohammed Adnan, who has been operating the huge steam engine for six years now, says it is not easy. "They say they [the British] brought in the wood from Burma... we tried to drill a 1.5 inch nail into it once, we couldn't," said Jassim Hussain Sabour, the shipyard's longest-serving worker.
- PoliticsThe National Review
The Mueller Squirrel Cage
Special Counsel Robert Mueller recently indicted yet another peripheral character in his Trump probe, Russian attorney Natalia V. Veselnitskaya, for alleged money laundering in a matter quite separate from Trump. Like almost all of Mueller's indictments of the past 20 months, the charges against Veselnitskaya had nothing to do with his original mandate of finding any possible Trump–Russia collusion. If Mueller was not a special counsel, and if he was not looking for anyone deemed useful to flip to find dirt on Donald Trump, then Veselnitskaya would have been just another daily Washington foreign influence-peddler being courted with impunity by her American influence-peddling and often equally suspect counterparts.
- PoliticsMashable
White House tweets about Martin Luther King Jr. aren't going over well
Sarah Huckabee Sanders' tweet honoring Martin Luther King Jr. is not going over well. In a tweet, the White House press secretary wrote that King "gave his life" for the civil rights movement, and that "our country is better thanks to his inspiration and sacrifice." Here's the thing: King didn't give his life.
- BusinessCar and Driver
Every Photo of the Heavy Duty 2020 GMC Sierra
As always, the GMC will come with extra chrome and an in-your-face grille. From Car and Driver
WorldAFPIsrael opens new international airport near Red Sea
Israel inaugurated a new international airport Monday in its desert south meant to boost tourism to the nearby Red Sea and serve as an emergency alternative to Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the inauguration ceremony at the sleek terminal, arriving on the ceremonial first flight to the airport, whose location has upset neighbouring Jordan. "Ramon airport, this is Arkia 683, we're very excited," Netanyahu said from the cockpit on arrival in an exchange with the tower relayed over loudspeakers.
- NewsUSA TODAY
United Airlines passengers stranded over 15 hours at frigid Canadian military base
Passengers aboard a United Airlines flight out of New Jersey found themselves stranded at a Canadian military base for more than 15 hours. United Flight 179 left New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday afternoon, destined for Hong Kong International Airport. But a medical emergency diverted the flight to Goose Bay airport in Newfoundland, Canada, flight records show.
- NewsThe Independent
Florida police run over couple lying in the road to watch lunar eclipse
A police officer in Florida ran over two people lying on a dark road to watch the lunar eclipse, leaving them requring hospital treatment. The West Palm Beach Police Department has confirmed the officer ran over the two people, who were taken to hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries after the incident on Sunday night. Police said that the individuals, who have not been identified, were hit around 11.30pm, just at the height of the eclipse.
- WorldAssociated Press
Romania president: plan to invalidate graft cases not legal
Romania's president said on Tuesday that a government decree that could invalidate hundreds of corruption cases involving senior officials is "crassly unconstitutional," a development that also prompted concern from the European Union. President Klaus Iohannis blasted the measure put forward this week by the justice minister, saying the ruling Social Democrats "don't care about Romania; they care about their own politicians with legal problems." Premier Viorica Dancila is considering the measure, which could lead to the suspension of trials and verdicts and lead to resentencing in the cases of some convictions.
- NewsBloomberg
New York's Gun-Transportation Rules Draw Supreme Court Scrutiny
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider bolstering constitutional gun rights for the first time in almost a decade, agreeing to hear a challenge to New York City rules that sharply limit where licensed handguns may be taken. The court said it will hear an appeal from three city handgun owners and an advocacy group who say New York has the most extreme firearm-transportation restrictions in the country. The court is expected to hear arguments in its next term starting in October.
PoliticsReutersTrump says no amnesty for 'Dreamers,' signals support in broader deal
President Donald Trump said on Sunday his proposed immigration deal to end a 30-day partial government shutdown would not lead to amnesty for "Dreamers," but he appeared to signal support for amnesty as part of a broader immigration agreement. In a morning Twitter storm, Trump also said he would not seek the removal of millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States, while bashing House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats for turning down an offer he made on Saturday, including for Dreamers, the immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. quot;No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer.
- NewsThe National Review
Women's March Leader Claims Questions about Anti-Semitism Were Racist
Women's March co-chair Tamika Mallory claimed during a recent interview that The View's Meghan McCain aggressively questioned her about her ties to infamous anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan because McCain is racist. Mallory, who labeled Farrakhan the GOAT on social media after attending a speech in which he labeled Jews “satanic,” said she intended to praise the Nation of Islam leader's past advocacy on behalf of the black community, not his virulent and frequently displayed anti-Semitism. Asked by McCain to explicitly condemn Farrakhan, Mallory refused — a decision she now attributes to McCain's aggressive rhetorical style, which she claims was racially motivated.
BusinessAssociated PressReport: China population growth continued to slow in 2018
China's population growth rate continued to slow in 2018, spelling possible trouble ahead as a swelling number of retirees pushes up against a shrinking labor pool. Numbers released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics put the population at 1.395 billion in 2018. China for decades sought to slow its population growth, seeing a massive population as a drag on development, and it now joins Japan, South Korea and other East Asian nations in seeing a radical drop in its birthrate.
