WorldReutersDeath toll from Mexico pipeline blast reaches 91, Pemex defends response
Hundreds of people near the small town of Tlahuelilpan in Hidalgo state rushed to collect fuel from a gushing duct which authorities said was punctured by suspected thieves, and dozens were caught in the explosion that followed. The blast followed severe shortages of gasoline in central Mexico after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in late December launched a major crackdown on fuel theft, ordering pipelines closed in a bid to thwart the criminal activity. "'It's spilling onto the ground, let's get it.'" On Monday, a pipeline was breached by suspected thieves a few miles (km) southwest of Tlahuelilpan at the village of Teocalco, but was quickly cordoned off by soldiers, Fayad said.
- NewsThe National Review
WaPo Issues Correction after Falsely Labeling Nathan Phillips a Vietnam Vet
The Washington Post issued a correction Tuesday after falsely describing the elderly Native American man whose confrontation with a group of high-school students went viral over the weekend as a veteran of the Vietnam War. Earlier versions of this story incorrectly said that Native American activist Nathan Phillips fought in the Vietnam War. Phillips served in the U.S. Marines from 1972 to 1976 but was never deployed to Vietnam,” reads the correction to the Sunday report titled, “'It was getting ugly': Native American drummer speaks on his encounter with MAGA-hat-wearing teens.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Kamala Harris Seeks to Make Historic 2020 Presidential Run
Black Voters Key Harris's likely path to the Democratic nomination runs through black voters, who made up a quarter of the primary electorate in 2016 and were critical to nominating Hillary Clinton, as well as to electing Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. The backing of African Americans, who dominate the Democratic electorate in early primaries like South Carolina, which is expected to hold its primary in February 2020, followed by other Southern states in the first half of March, would make her formidable. Winning her delegate-rich home state of California, which votes relatively early on March 3, compared with its 2016 primary in June, could make Harris the favorite.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
The New 2020 GMC Sierra HD Is a Reskinned Silverado HD
The new 2020 GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickup truck has just crested the horizon, hot on the heels of Chevrolet's redesigned Silverado HD. As you'd expect, the styling is the biggest differentiator between the two trucks, which is either a good or a bad thing depending on how you feel about the Silverado HD's polarizing new face. The new GMC also introduces a few optional features that are said to help with towing, hauling, and other truck tasks.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: White House reaches out to Kentucky students
The school was closed Tuesday as a security precaution. p.m. Catholic church officials in Kentucky say an independent, third-party investigation will begin this week into the recent encounter between white Catholic high school students from Covington and a black religious sect and a Native American in Washington, D.C. The Diocese of Covington said Friday's encounter near the Lincoln Memorial is "a very serious matter that has already permanently altered the lives of many people."
BusinessAFPChina's population growth slows despite two-child policy
China's population grew at a slower rate last year despite the abolition of the one-child policy, official data showed Monday, raising fears an ageing society will pile further pressure on an already slowing economy. China's government raised the limit to two children in 2016 to rejuvenate the world's most populous country, which has nearly 1.4 billion people, and experts say it may remove the cap next year. "Decades-long social and economic transformations have prepared an entirely new generation in China, for whom marriage and childbearing no longer have the importance as they once did for their parents generation," said Wang Feng, a sociology professor at University of California, Irving.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Polar plunge: Record low temperatures roll into Midwest, East behind snowstorm
High winds and brutally cold temperatures greeted brave souls armed with shovels digging out Monday from up to 2 feet of snow that fell across a wide swath of the nation. "In some cases, temperatures may plummet 40 degrees," AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. Adding to the temperature troubles: wind gusts of up to 50 mph, capable of knocking down tree limbs and electrical lines and disrupting power.
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.
PoliticsBloombergNewark Among Airports With Longest MLK Wait Times Amid Shutdown
The nation's airport security force continues struggling to find enough workers, creating longer-than-normal wait times at some of the busiest U.S. airports over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. The Transportation Security Administration screened 2.18 million people Monday, the close of the three-day holiday weekend, and four airports had wait times that exceeded 30 minutes, according to the agency. Airports including Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota; Newark, New Jersey; Seattle and Baltimore have had repeated issues during the weekend.
- 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.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
FOG Design+Art Shakes Things Up in San Francisco
An array of galleries, artists, and collectors converged in San Francisco to celebrate creativity and innovation
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- U.S.KABC – Los Angeles
Native American elder, teen at center of crowd in viral video speak out
After a Native American elder and a group of teens were at the center of a viral video showing a confrontation after the Indigenous Peoples March, both sides are speaking out.
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.
NewsAFPStriking teachers in LA reach tentative settlement with district
Los Angeles public school teachers reached a tentative settlement with school officials Tuesday in order to end a weeklong strike that has affected some 500,000 students. The settlement -- reached after 21 hours of marathon talks that ended early Tuesday -- was set to be voted on by the roughly 30,000 members of the teachers union later in the day and classes are due to resume on Wednesday. "The strike nobody wanted is now behind us," Los Angeles United School District superintendent Austin Beutner said at a joint press conference with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Alex Caputo-Pearl, the president of United Teachers Los Angeles.
- 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.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Open letter to Xi demands China release detained Canadians
A group of 143 former diplomats and scholars from 19 countries have penned an open letter to Xi Jinping, China's president, demanding Beijing to “immediately release” two Canadians detained in China. Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a prominent consultant on North Korean business issues, have been held for six weeks in Beijing. In their respective roles, the two frequently met with Chinese officials, researchers and scholars, the letter noted.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
2019 Mercedes-AMG E53 Coupe - Photos
View 2019 Mercedes-AMG E53 Coupe Photos from Car and Driver. From Car and Driver
- 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.
WorldReutersReport reveals an undeclared North Korean missile base headquarters
One of 20 undeclared ballistic missile operating bases in North Korea serves as a missile headquarters, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published on Monday. quot;The Sino-ri missile operating base and the Nodong missiles deployed at this location fit into North Korea's presumed nuclear military strategy by providing an operational-level nuclear or conventional first strike capability," the report said. The discovery of an undeclared missile headquarters comes three days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he "looks forward" to another summit to discuss denuclearization with North Korean leader Kim Jo...
NewsUSA TODAYAnalysis: Breaking down the full video with Covington Catholic students
Video of an incident in Washington, D.C., on Friday involving Covington Catholic High School students, Native American marchers and Black Hebrew Israelites has sparked intense debate about how, exactly, the encounter played out. The March for Life, for which the Covington Catholic students traveled to Washington, started at 10 a.m. Friday and featured music and a rally. At 1 p.m., the march itself began, ending outside the Supreme Court and Capitol Building. The Indigenous Peoples March occurred from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The rally portion of the event started at 11 a.m. and lasted until 5 p.m., according to a flyer for the event.
- CelebrityThe National Review
Meet the Women Who Protested the Women's March
Women from various political and ideological backgrounds challenged the 2019 Women's March by marching in protest and organizing alternative rallies near the Washington, D.C. event on Saturday. The third annual Women's March took place in Freedom Plaza, a more confined space than in years past, suggesting that organizers anticipated smaller crowds after facing allegations of anti-Semitism and defending Nation of Islam's anti-Semitic leader Louis Farrakhan. Following the development of those controversies, conservative group Independent Women's Forum (IWF) organized a rally across the street in the name of “all women” at the same time as the Women's March.
- 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.
