PoliticsYahoo NewsMitch McConnell: Nancy Pelosi's plan for investigating the Capitol attack is a 'bizarre partisan concept'
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he's concerned Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plan to establish a commission to investigate the U.S. Capitol attack would be overly “partisan.” Speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon, McConnell noted Pelosi's proposal was criticized by the leaders of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission it was supposedly modeled after because it would feature seven members appointed by Democrats and four appointed by Republicans. McConnell began by saying he has spoken out against the assault that took place on Jan. 6 when supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to block the certification of President Biden's election victory.
BusinessAssociated PressNissan ex-CEO tells Japanese court Ghosn's pay was too low
Former Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa told a Japanese court Wednesday he believed the compensation for his predecessor Carlos Ghosn was too low “by international standards,” and so he supported Ghosn's retirement packages to prevent him from leaving. “Mr. Ghosn had outstanding abilities and achievements,” Saikawa said, testifying in Tokyo District Court in the criminal trial of Greg Kelly, a former senior executive at Nissan Motor Co. “We needed to prepare for Mr. Ghosn's eventual retirement to keep him motivated and to have him continue to work for Nissan,” he said in answer to a prosecutor's questioning.
- WorldReuters
Iraq militia denies role in anti-U.S. attacks, welcomes pressure on Saudi
An Iran-aligned Iraqi militia group on Tuesday denied any role in recent rocket attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq, but said an attack against Saudi Arabia last month was justified. It is a rare direct denial and the first time the Kataib Hezbollah group, one of the Iraqi factions closest to Iran, has commented on the most serious incident this year, a rocket attack in Erbil on Feb. 15 that killed a contractor working with U.S.-led forces. The attacks over the past 10 days are an escalation against U.S. sites in Iraq at a time when Washington and Tehran are looking for a way to return to the nuclear deal abandoned by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
WorldNextSharkInstagram Influencer Sparks Outrage After Posing Naked on Top of Endangered Elephant in Bali
A 22-year-old Russian social media influencer is facing heavy criticism online for posing naked on top of an endangered elephant in Bali, Indonesia for her 553,000 Instagram followers. Alesya Kafelnikova received backlash for the short video she posted on Feb. 13, where she was filmed lying naked on top of a “critically endangered” Sumatran elephant, according to The Sun. In a follow-up post, Kafelnikova shared an image presumably with the same elephant and said in the caption, “To love nature is human nature.”
WorldThe TelegraphChina awards woman £5,400 compensation in first divorce ruling to put value on housework
A divorce court in China has ordered a man to pay his wife £5,500 as compensation for the housework she did during their five-year marriage, in what is believed to be a landmark legal first. Beijing's Fangshan District Court ruled in favour of the woman, who had complained that her husband “didn't care about or participate in any kind of chores around the house,” according to China Women's News, the official publication of the state-backed All-China Women's Federation. Each day, the husband went out to work leaving her to care for their child and do all the housework, said the woman, who was identified in state media reports by her surname, Wang.
WorldAssociated PressPutin warns of unnamed foreign efforts to destabilize Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his nation's top counterintelligence agency Wednesday to redouble its efforts to address what he described as Western attempts to destabilize Russia. Speaking at a meeting of top officials of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the main KGB successor agency, Putin pointed at the “so-called policy of containment of Russia,” charging that it includes efforts to “derail our development, slow it down, create problems alongside our borders, provoke internal instability and undermine the values that unite the Russian society.” The Russian president added that those activities by foreign powers, which he didn't name, are aimed at “weakening Russia and putting it under outside control.”
WorldReutersIndia warns of worsening COVID-19 situation, vaccinations to expand
India announced an expansion of its COVID-19 vaccination programme on Wednesday but warned that breaches of coronavirus protocols could worsen an infection surge in many states. Nearly a month after the health minister declared that COVID-19 had been contained, states such as Maharashtra in the west and Kerala in the south have reported a spike in cases amid growing reluctance to wear masks and maintain social distancing. India's infections are the second highest in the world at 11.03 million, swelled by a further 13,742 in the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed.
- NewsYahoo News Video
Trump could face woman who accuses him of raping her in court
During a December visit to New York City, writer E. Jean Carroll says she went shopping with a fashion consultant to find the “best outfit” for one of the most important days of her life —when she'll sit face-to-face with the man she has accused of raping her decades ago, former President Donald Trump.
PoliticsThe Independent‘MyPillow Guy’ complains loyalty to Trump is costing him millions while facing $1.3 billion lawsuit
Mike Lindell, a loyal ally to former President Donald Trump who has continued to promote flagrantly false and debunked claims of rampant voter fraud, lamented over his financial predicament in a new interview after he was sued on Monday for $1.3 billion by Dominion Voting Systems. “I lost 20 retailers, and it's cost me $65 million this year that I won't get back, OK?” Mr Lindell told Insider after it was reported the voting technology company sued him for repeatedly making false claims about its work in the 2020 US elections. The seemingly frustrated CEO of MyPillow.com became close to Mr Trump towards the end of his presidency, bringing notes that mentioned martial law to his meetings in the White House in the final weeks of the previous administration.
WorldAssociated PressImran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists to visit Pakistan
Visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has proclaimed his Muslim-majority nation a choice destination for religious tourism by Sri Lankans, most of whom are Buddhists. In talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday, Khan highlighted Buddhist heritage sites in Pakistan and stressed the building of cultural ties, the Pakistan Embassy said in a statement. “Pakistan probably has one of the greatest Buddhist heritages in the world and we invite people from Sri Lanka to visit them,” Khan said a day earlier after meeting with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
BusinessReutersAnalysis: Boeing alters course in speedy response to engine blowouts
But Saturday's engine failure on a United Airlines 777, which produced jarring footage of an engine on fire and chunks of metal littering a Denver suburb - but no injuries - triggered a very different response inside Boeing. Within a day, Boeing issued a statement urging airlines to suspend use of 777 jets with the same Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines - effectively grounding 128 jets as investigations played out. The world's largest aerospace company also expressed unequivocal support of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's call for extra inspections and Japan's mandatory suspension of flights.
WorldThe TelegraphHong Kong's freedoms threadbare as China removes last vestiges of political opposition
China's Communist Party wields much, if not all, of the political power in Hong Kong, having chipped away at the “one country, two systems” model meant to guarantee the former British colony's unique freedoms after being returned to mainland rule. Four elected opposition lawmakers were ousted last year and those remaining resigned in protest, further skewing the city legislature toward Beijing loyalists. Outsized political influence has allowed Beijing the ability to exercise its will over Hong Kong, often thinly disguising it as 'process' – for instance, passing a law last June through city legislature making it illegal to insult the Chinese national anthem.
PoliticsThe WeekLiz Cheney says it needs to be made 'clear' the GOP isn't 'the party of white supremacy'
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) told her fellow Republicans on Tuesday that they must "ignore the temptation to look away" and make it "clear that we aren't the party of white supremacy." Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, made her plea during an event hosted by the Reagan Institute. When supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, "you certainly saw anti-Semitism," Cheney said.
WorldAssociated PressSaudi Arabia says crown prince had 'successful' surgery
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman underwent a “successful surgery” to remove his appendix Wednesday, the royal court said, and he left the hospital soon after the operation. The 35-year-old prince had surgery for appendicitis at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in the morning, according to the royal court. Late Wednesday, Saudi state-run media published footage of the crown prince, surrounded by an entourage clad in traditional checkered headdresses, striding out of the fluorescent-lit hospital and into a waiting black Mercedes.
WorldReutersRussia beefs up fines for protest violations after Navalny rallies
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved legislation on Wednesday beefing up fines for offences committed during street protests after thousands were detained at unsanctioned rallies in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The legislation increases fines for insubordination to law enforcement officers to up to 4,000 roubles ($54.30) from 1,000 roubles in addition to a maximum of 15 days in detention. The amended law also introduces fines of up to 20,000 roubles for protest organisers who violate funding regulations.
WorldThe TelegraphMyanmar's hardened Chinese population takes stand against Beijing
Here, and across the country, swelling ranks of young ethnic Chinese protesters are joining mass rallies against the brutal junta that abruptly deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's government. Many are united by rumours, circulated widely among the protest movement, that China is helping the regime install a repressive new internet system akin to one across the border that severely restricts online freedoms behind a 'Great Firewall'. Eager to show opposition to Beijing meddling, they gather outside the embassy, some displaying bilingual posters reading “Myanmar-born Chinese oppose the military coup.
StyleArchitectural DigestThe Best Dishwasher Models, According to Interior Designers
The designer-approved dishwashers look good—and perform even better Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
ScienceAssociated PressBats, birds among wildlife pummeled during Southern freeze
As many people in the southern U.S. hosted neighbors who had no heat or water during the vicious February storm and deep freeze, Kate Rugroden provided a refuge for shell-shocked bats. “They burned through their energy reserves as they tried to wake up and get away from the cold and ice," said Rugroden, of Arlington, Texas, one of numerous rehabilitation specialists nursing stranded bats plucked up by sympathetic people. Bats are among numerous wildlife believed to have taken a beating in the South, a region unaccustomed to such a severe and prolonged cold snap.
PoliticsReutersRepublican-backed voting curbs set for U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny
Fresh off an election in which former President Donald Trump made false claims of fraud, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to ponder the legality of a restriction on early voting in Arizona that his fellow Republicans argued was needed to combat fraud. The Republican-backed law, spurred in part by a video purportedly showing voter fraud that courts later deemed misleading, made it a crime to provide another person's completed early ballot to election officials, with the exception of family members or caregivers. Community activists sometimes engage in ballot collection to facilitate voting and increase voter turnout.
WorldAssociated PressSanctions prompt Venezuela to expel head of EU delegation
Venezuela's government on Wednesday ordered the expulsion of the chief European Union diplomat in the South American nation following the bloc's decision to impose sanctions on several Venezuelan officials accused of undermining democracy or violating human rights. Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa was given 72 hours to leave the troubled country. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said Brilhante Pedrosa was declared persona non grata by decision of President Nicolás Maduro.
HealthAssociated PressPfizer COVID-19 vaccine works well in big 'real world' test
A real-world test of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in more than half a million people confirms that it's very effective at preventing serious illness or death, even after one dose. Wednesday's published results, from a mass vaccination campaign in Israel, give strong reassurance that the benefits seen in smaller, limited testing persisted when the vaccine was used much more widely in a general population with various ages and health conditions. The vaccine was 92% effective at preventing severe disease after two shots and 62% after one.
PoliticsReutersU.S. Postal Service on 'death spiral' without urgent reform - chief
The U.S. mail system is losing $10 billion a year and urgently needs reform and legislative relief from Congress, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told lawmakers on Wednesday. "I would suggest that we are on a death spiral," DeJoy told the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform committee at a hearing, who did not rule out changing first-class deliver standards or other significant changes. DeJoy, a supporter of former President Donald Trump appointed to head the Postal Service last year, suspended operational changes in August after heavy criticism over postal delays.
PoliticsThe WeekRepublican leaders want to avoid a party civil war. Trump might have other ideas.
In a two-page memo addressed to GOP donors, voters, leaders, and activists, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) declared: "The Republican Civil War is now canceled." It isn't clear if his fellow Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, are listening. Scott is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and in the memo, first obtained by Fox News, he writes that Democrats control the White House, Senate, and House, but Republicans have a path to victory in 2022.
- ScienceReuters Videos
Wild sheep freed from his own wool
This wild sheep had a much-needed shearing relieving him of over 78 lbs of fleece That's nearly half the weight of an adult kangaroo Baarack Location: Lancefield, Australia Rescuers say he used to have an owner but was found wandering in a forest Baarack is now settling in with other rescued sheep in a farm sanctuary
PoliticsINSIDERThe White House has 132 rooms and its own restaurant. Here's what it's like inside Joe Biden's new home.
The six-story Executive Residence building is the White House's largest, consisting of two basement levels, a ground floor where building staff work, a state floor for events and receptions, and two floors where the first family lives and sleeps.
“How about we skip ‘he won’t win’ cycle and not do 2016 all over again. Trump can absolutely win another presidential election.”
“With independents deserting him, there is simply no path for Trump to get back into the White House — except as a tourist.”
“They might as well cancel the 2024 primaries...because there is no way he can lose.”
“The next Republican presidential primary will be heavily shaped by Trump — whether or not he decides to run again.”
“Donald Trump will not be running for president again. He will, however, continue to tease the possibility of a 2024 run.”