- 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.
- NewsThe Independent
Iran state TV presenter arrested by FBI and moved to Washington DC, say reports
An American-born journalist working for Iran's state TV broadcaster has reportedly been arrested after flying into the US. Press TV interrupted its broadcast on Wednesday to report Marzieh Hashemi was arrested after she arrived at St Louis Lambert International Airport on Sunday. The English-language Iranian broadcaster, citing family members, said its TV presenter and documentary film maker was taken into FBI custody and brought to Washington, DC.
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.
- 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
WorldUSA TODAYMore snow! Airlines expand change fees as new storms approach
Airlines are waiving change fees as two more winter storms are set to move across the Midwest and Northeast. American, Delta, Southwest, United, JetBlue, Alaska and Frontier airlines all rolled out waivers Thursday, with several carriers expanding the scope of the policies as forecasts solidified. The waivers come as two different winter storms were forecast to affect airports across large parts of the Midwest and Northeast.
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.
WorldAFPSniffer dogs, bomb experts comb through Kenya attack site
Kenyan police aided by bomb experts and sniffer dogs on Thursday resumed their search of the Nairobi hotel complex struck by Islamists as police arrested nine more suspects over the attack which left 21 dead and 28 injured. A police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were confident there were no more people trapped inside the hotel or surrounding office buildings after the 20-hour assault unleashed on Tuesday, during which some 700 civilians were rescued. "We are confident that we have no more people there," the officer told AFP, "but in a situation like this, you are not done until you are done."
- WorldThe Independent
Enes Kanter: Turkey 'seeking arrest' of New York Knicks player
Turkish prosecutors are seeking the arrest and extradition of New York Knicks enter Enes Kanter, accusing him pf being a member of an "armed terrorist group". Mr Kanter is accused of ties to Fethullah Gulen, who Turkish authorities allege is behind the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016, the Daily Sabah reported. Mr Gulen has repeatedly denied any involved in the failed coup.
- BusinessAOL.com
Marriott is rolling out a brand new rewards program -- Here's everything you need to know
This included SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest), Marriott Rewards and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards — three previously unrelated loyalty programs that existed with separate point-value systems and benefits. The merger essentially unified the currency for all three separate rewards programs and allowed for members of any of the three programs to use their points across Marriott's entire combined portfolio of 29 brands and 6,700 participating resorts and hotels. Today, Marriott has solidified the mega-merger under the new name and introduction of Marriott Bonvoy, the new travel-focused loyalty program that will be taking the place of the three merged programs.
- WorldThe National Review
Pence Declares ISIS 'Defeated' Hours after Group Brags of Killing U.S. Troops
Vice President Mike Pence declared the Islamic State “defeated” in remarks at the State Department Wednesday delivered just hours after the terror group claimed credit for a deadly suicide bombing that killed several U.S. service members. The caliphate has crumbled and ISIS has been defeated,” Pence said during an address to the Global Chiefs of Mission Conference at the State Department. Pence celebrated victory over ISIS hours after a coalition spokesman confirmed reports that an unspecified number of American troops were killed in a suicide bombing Wednesday while patrolling the northern Syrian city of Manbij.
- 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.
BusinessAssociated PressMarkets Right Now: Banks lead stock gains on Wall Street
The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local): 4 p.m. Strong earnings from several big banks powered more gains on Wall Street, with Goldman Sachs and Bank of America leading the way. Goldman Sachs jumped 9.5 percent Wednesday, its biggest gain in 10 years, after the bank said gains in its advisory business offset a rough quarter in trading.
- U.S.Meredith Videos
Mexican Airline Trolls Americans With Ad About Debate Over the Wall
Aeroméxico, Mexico's large airline, is taking on the border debate in their own way: by trying to convince Americans to visit Mexico.
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.
WorldReutersBackstop 'means to an end' of avoiding hard border: Irish PM
Ireland's prime minister pledged to defend the contentious Brexit "backstop" but said it was important to remember that the insurance mechanism was a means to an end of avoiding the return of a hard customs border on the island of Ireland. The Brexit divorce deal was resoundingly defeated by British lawmakers on Tuesday, with much of the opposition centered on the "backstop" requirement for the British province of Northern Ireland to stay closely aligned to EU rules to eliminate the need for border checks with EU member Ireland. The Irish government joined the European Union's executive in insisting that the divorce deal with the bloc was not open for renegotiation and urged London to come up with solutions that both they and the European Union can accept.
BusinessAFPIconic US retailer Sears saved from the brink - for now: reports
Historic but failing US retail chain Sears got a reprieve on Wednesday after a billionaire hedge fund manager won an auction to keep the remaining stores alive -- for now, according to reports. Edward Lampert, who steered the company into bankruptcy last year in order to restructure it, won the bid to buy the remaining assets, beating out others who would have killed off the brand, according to news reports. The deal with Lampert's ESL hedge fund could keep up to 50,000 people in work and 425 stores open, but requires approval from a bankruptcy court.
- NewsThe Independent
California storms: At least five people killed after heavy rain and snow cause devastation
At least five people have died in severe rain and snowstorms that blanketed parts of California with at least five feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains this week, besides triggering flooding and mudslides, officials said. Forecasters expect the bitter weather to push eastwards into the Rockies and US Midwest through the weekend, while the California Highway Patrol said rain-slicked highways led to two fatal accidents that killed four people. A family of three, including a one-year-old baby, died in El Dorado County on Tuesday, after their car spun across a rain-soaked freeway to hit another car, the San Francisco Chronicle said.
- 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!
- PoliticsTime
President Trump Canceled Nancy Pelosi's Trip to Afghanistan Over the Shutdown Fight
One day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi essentially disinvited President Trump from delivering his State of the Union in the U.S. Capitol, he responded by informing her he would cancel the private government plane she was using for her trip overseas because of the partial government shutdown. Due to the Shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt and Afghanistan has been postponed. We will reschedule this seven day excursion when the shutdown is over,” he wrote in a letter to Pelosi which communications staffers promptly circulated on Twitter.
- WorldBloomberg
Al-Qaeda Hotel Attack Kills 21, Shaking Kenya Economy Pillar
Using hand grenades, automatic rifles and a suicide-bomber, the militants stormed 14 Riverside in Nairobi on Tuesday afternoon, a venue popular with business travelers and Kenya's elites and home to offices of companies including Pernod Ricard SA and Dow Chemical East Africa Ltd. That precipitated an 18-hour siege around the DusitD2 hotel, which President Uhuru Kenyatta said ended about 9 a.m. Wednesday with the attackers dead. Somalia-based al-Shabaab took responsibility for the assault, the latest in a recent wave of jihadist strikes across Africa, including in Nigeria and Mali, which a loose coalition of African, Western and United Nation troops are struggling to stop. It's al-Shabaab's first significant assault in Kenya since it killed 147 people at a northeastern university in April 2015 and echoed a September 2013 attack on Nairobi's Westgate mall that left 67 dead and rocked the tourism industry.
- 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.
- ScienceBGR News
NASA's Cassini spacecraft spotted fresh rainfall on Saturn's moon Titan
NASA's Cassini orbiter has been dead for well over a year now, but its incredible discoveries continue to trickle in as researchers pore over data and images it collected while it was active. Consequently, studies focused on the orbiter's findings continue to crop up on a regular basis, such as a recent study from University of Idaho in Moscow doctoral student Rajani Dhingra, who, along with her colleagues, found evidence of rainfall on the north pole of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in an image taken on June 7th, 2016. This indicates that summer had arrived on the moon's northern hemisphere later than climate models had predicted.
- LifestyleUSA TODAY
7 dreamy Tuscan villas for rent
When it comes to vacation dreams, few hold the enduring appeal of staying in a Tuscan villa. Think classic stone architecture, intricate tile work, pergola views over sun-dappled vineyards. And the fantasy might be more approachable than you think, especially for a large family or extended group of friends.
PoliticsReutersU.S. Representative Ocasio-Cortez says to serve on financial services panel
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, part of a new crop of Democrats swept into office this year on a stronger liberal platform, said she is poised to serve on a key congressional panel overseeing Wall Street, a potential setback for the financial services industry. "I'm looking forward to digging into the student loan crisis, examining for-profit prisons/ICE detention, and exploring the development of public & postal banking," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted late Tuesday. "I am very grateful for the opportunity to sit on this committee as a freshman." Other incoming progressive Democrats, including Katie Porter, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, are also expected to secure spots on the committee, Politico reported.
BusinessAFPFord forecasts $112 mn Q4 loss amid restructuring costs
Ford said Wednesday it expected to post a $112 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2018 as the automaker implements a massive restructuring in the United States and Europe. The second-biggest US automaker said it would still post a profit after charges stemming from the drive to cut $11 billion in costs. The firm sees adjusted profit of 30 cents a share during this period, according to the statement, less than the 32 cents anticipated by the markets.
