WorldAFPIsrael to withhold $138 mln from Palestinians over prisoner payments
Israel said its security cabinet on Sunday decided to withhold $138 million (122 million euros) in tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority over its payments to prisoners jailed for attacks on Israelis. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the withheld cash would be equal to that paid by the PA last year to "terrorists imprisoned in Israel, to their families and to released prisoners". Israel alleges the payments encourage further violence.
- WorldBloomberg
More U.S.-Sent Humanitarian Aid for Venezuela Lands in Colombia
A second U.S. cargo of humanitarian aid for Venezuela arrived at the Colombian border, adding pressure on the Nicolas Maduro administration to accept supplies of food and medicine and help alleviate a burgeoning crisis. U.S. military airplanes loaded with food, medicine and hygiene kits took off from Homestead Air Reserve Base in Miami and landed at the Colombian border city of Cucuta on Saturday. The aid now sits alongside relief supplies that arrived on Feb. 8.
- NewsThe Independent
Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner to register as sex offender after prison release
Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner has been released from federal prison after being convicted of having illicit online contact with a 15-year-old girl in 2017. He will have to register as a sex-offender and spend three years on supervised release under the terms of his sentence. The Federal Bureau of Prisons website shows the 54-year-old New York Democrat is currently in the custody of its Residential Re-entry Management office in Brooklyn, New York.
- BusinessTime
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Celebrated Amazon Pulling Out of New York––But the Governor Says It Cost the City 25,000 Jobs
The dispute between the two Democrats lays bare a divide over the plan to offer $2.8 billion in tax breaks for Amazon to establish a major presence in New York City. On one side, old hands like Cuomo; on the other, the newly insurgent, left-leaning wing represented by Ocasio-Cortez. Today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers and their neighbors defeated Amazon's corporate greed, its worker exploitation and the power of the richest man in the world,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.
WorldReutersIran summons Pakistan's envoy over deadly suicide bomb attack: Tasnim
Iran has summoned the Pakistani ambassador to protest about a suicide bombing that killed 27 of its elite Revolutionary Guards near the border earlier this week, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday. The Sunni group Jaish al Adl (Army of Justice), which says it seeks greater rights and better living conditions for the ethnic minority Baluchis, claimed responsibility for the attack on Wednesday. Iran says militant groups operate from safe havens in Pakistan and have repeatedly called on the neighboring country to crack down on them.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Emails show how fake university set up by ICE lured foreign students
The email exchanges with Ali Milani – who is described in a LinkedIn profile as the president of the University of Farmington – show how the school in Farmington Hills, Michigan, may have lured students to enroll in a fake university set up by The Department of Homeland Security. Jan. 30: Feds set up fake university in Michigan to nab undocumented immigrants A federal indictment unsealed Jan. 30 said that the university was produced by federal agents with an investigative division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is part of DHS. Federal agents posed as university officials such as "Ali Milani" to trick the students, say attorneys.
PoliticsAssociated PressThe Latest: NC official says US House race saw ballot scheme
Kim Strach described the investigation at the opening of a state elections board hearing Tuesday into ballot fraud in North Carolina's 9th congressional district. Republican Mark Harris holds a slim lead over Democrat Dan McCready in unofficial results, but the election wasn't certified. The board is expected to either certify a winner in the race or order a new election after the hearing.
- U.S.KGO – San Francisco
Aurora shooting victims: What we know about those killed in Henry Pratt warehouse shooting
Five employees were fatally shot when a gunman opened fire Friday inside a sprawling manufacturing warehouse in Aurora, Illinois.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Let us raise our daughter's baby, say family of Bethnal Green Jihadi bride Shamima Begum
The family of Bethnal Green teenager Shamima Begum have urged the British government to give them custody of her unborn child while she faces the prospect of imprisonment for supporting Islamic State. The pregnant 19-year-old has said she fears her baby, due to be born anytime now, will be taken from her if she manages to return to Britain after leaving the country in 2015 to join the terror group in Syria. Now her family have said that if she were to face a custodial sentence for her support of a terrorist organisation they will step in to raise the child, rather than the taxpayer having to pick up the cost.
WorldAFPTake back jihadists, Trump tells Europe
Trump shocked allies in December by declaring the pullout of roughly 2,000 US troops who had been assisting local forces in Syria against IS, whose sole remaining territory is half a square kilometer (one-fifth of a square mile) in eastern Syria. The pending US pullout set off a countdown for governments whose citizens, having joined IS, were captured by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). "The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial," Trump said in a tweet, using another acronym for IS.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Alabama man awarded $151M in Ford Explorer rollover lawsuit
A Dallas County jury has awarded $151,791,000 to a Selma, Alabama man who was left paralyzed after a 1998 Ford Explorer rolled over, leaving him paralyzed. The jury found that Ford Motor Co. failed to meet its own safety guidelines for the Explorer's rollover resistance requirement and attempted to cover up the defective design. One of Smith's lawyers, Kendall Dunson of Montgomery-based Beasley Allen, said the decision will give him access to home care and assistance.
WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: Cardinal calls McCarrick punishment 'important'
Cardinal Sean O'Malley issued a statement Saturday after the announcement that McCarrick had been found guilty by the Vatican of sex abuse, including while hearing confession. O'Malley says church leaders "must enforce accountability for cardinals and bishops." O'Malley says his archdiocese is committed to taking reports of abuse seriously, saying it has a "moral responsibility" to be always vigilant.
- BusinessThe Independent
Amazon pays zero federal taxes for second year in succession despite doubling profits, says new report
Amazon has paid zero federal taxes for the second year in succession, despite a doubling of its profits, according to a new report. Although the tech giant founded by Jeff Bezos saw its profits grow from $5.6bn (£4.3bn) in 2017 to $11.2bn (£8.7bn) in 2018, it will actually receive a tax rebate of $129m (£100m). “The company's newest corporate filing reveals that, far from paying the statutory 21 per cent income tax rate on its US income in 2018, Amazon reported a federal income tax rebate of $129m,” said the report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), which describes itself as a “non-partisan, non-profit think tank”, based in Washington DC.
WorldReutersIndia says mastermind of Kashmir bombing killed in clash
Indian forces on Monday killed three militants, including the suspected organizer of a suicide bombing in the disputed region of Kashmir that fueled tension between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, police said, with five troops also killed in the clash. The suicide bomb attack on a paramilitary police convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir last Thursday killed at least 40 men, the deadliest single assault on Indian forces in 30 years of insurgency in the Muslim-majority region. The Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Vigil honors victims of gun rampage at Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, Illinois
The victims of a gunman's rampage at a manufacturing plant were memorialized in a prayer vigil Sunday as authorities investigated how the killer had a firearm almost five years after his permit was revoked. The Aurora Prayer Coalition and area churches hosted the vigil at the Henry Pratt Co., where police said Gary Martin fatally shot five co-workers and wounded six other people, including five police officers, before being killed in a gunfight. The Kane County Coroner's Office said autopsies performed on three victims – Russell Beyer, 47, Trevor Wehner, 21, and Clayton Parks, 32 – determined a preliminary cause of their deaths as multiple gunshot wounds.
- WorldTime
Australia Blames a Foreign Government for the Cyberattack on Political Parties
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday accused a “sophisticated state actor” of carrying out a cyberattack that breached Parliament's network and also affected major political parties, Reuters reports. Morrison did not disclose which state he suspected of being behind the Feb. 8 attack, or reveal what, if any information was accessed. “Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity,” Morrison told parliament.
ScienceMashableNASA posts image of ghostly blue objects, deep in the cosmos
NASA's long-lived Hubble Space Telescope captured vivid bright clumps moving through the cosmos at some 1,000 light years from Earth. Seen as the vivid blue, ephemeral clumps in the top center of the new image below, these are telltale signs of an energy-rich gas, or plasma, colliding with a huge collection of dust and gas in deep space. NASA doesn't identify the new star itself, called SVS 13, perhaps because it's obscured by thick clouds of cosmic matter.
BusinessAFPHong Kong economy stalls amid trade dispute: finance chief
Hong Kong's economy stalled last year as the ongoing China-US trade dispute and retail woes dragged down local business, the city's financial chief said Sunday. "The impact of China-US trade frictions on Hong Kong's exports has clearly emerged at the end of last year," said finance secretary Paul Chan. Economic growth in the semi-autonomous Chinese city for the last quarter of 2018 was less than 1.5 percent -- the weakest since the first quarter of 2016 and a "significant slowdown" from the average growth rate of 3.7 percent in the first three quarters, Chan wrote on his official blog.
- WorldMashable
Watch Mike Pence gasp when no one claps at his terrible applause line
Speaking about the widely supported Iran nuclear deal, Pence told those in attendance that it was time to follow in the footsteps of the U.S. and withdraw. "The time has come for our European partners to stand with us and the Iranian people, to stand with our allies and friends in the region," he told the audience.
- LifestyleThe Telegraph
Potato rösti
This potato rösti is the perfect way to use up that last bit of cheese in the fridge. SERVES Two INGREDIENTS 500g potatoes, ideally a nice waxy chip potato 1 small onion, finely sliced 1 garlic clove, crushed and chopped Pinch of dried chilli 50g butter 120g mixed grated cheese such as cheddar, gruyere or comté (a great opportunity to use up leftovers) Large pinch of fresh or dried sage METHOD Peel the potatoes and coarsely grate them into a bowl. Add the onion, garlic and chilli and season well.
CelebrityFOX News VideosGisele Bundchen flaunts bikini bod, Tom Brady during family vacation
Gisele Bundchen flaunts bikini bod and husband Tom Brady during a family vacation to Costa Rica.
NewsAssociated PressBack in the Bronx, Ocasio-Cortez says to keep up the fight
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez returned to her home district in the New York City borough of the Bronx on Saturday to encourage her supporters to keep up the kind of activism that resulted in Amazon rescinding its plan to build a campus in the city. The freshman Democratic lawmaker did not mention Amazon by name but said, "It's not just about any job, it's about dignified jobs in New York City. Ocasio-Cortez's district encompassing parts of the Bronx and Queens adjoins the Long Island City neighborhood where Amazon planned to build its campus, and she was one of the early politicians to voice opposition to the tech giant's plans.
WorldReutersU.S. Senator Rubio warns Venezuela's Maduro not to act against opposition
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, visiting the Colombia-Venezuela border on Sunday, warned Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of severe consequences if he takes action against the country's opposition leader and self-declared president or U.S. citizens. In a televised interview, Rubio declined to say if he would support U.S. military action against Venezuela, which is mired in a political and economic crisis. But the Republican senator said he was confident that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration would not stand by if the Venezuelan government harmed or imprisoned opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president last month.
NewsAFPBelgian Jewish museum trial interrupted as juror questioned
The trial of a Frenchman accused of shooting dead four people at the Jewish museum of Belgium was briefly interrupted on Monday as police were summoned to question a juror. "We cannot start the closing arguments under these conditions," judge Laurence Massart said, after recusing the juror for having communicated with outside parties. "The sixth juror contacted police officials on Friday afternoon to say he met with parties not heard in this trial with whom he discussed the case file," she added.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Will Procter & Gamble stock split again soon?
Procter & Gamble stock is near all-time highs as its turnaround efforts appear to be taking hold. Shares peaked just 30 cents below $100 last week, which begs a welcome question that investors haven't been able to ask in 15 years: When will P&G stock split next? Usually, when P&G stock crosses the century mark, the consumer products giant doubles the number of shares outstanding with two-for-one splits.
