PoliticsAssociated PressCourt filing: Manafort faces more than 19 years in prison
Paul Manafort, the one-time chairman of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, could spend more than 19 years in prison on tax and bank fraud charges, prosecutors said Friday. Court documents filed by special counsel Robert Mueller's office reveal that Manafort faces possibly the lengthiest prison term in the Russia investigation. The 69-year-old Manafort is also at serious risk of spending the rest of his life in prison if a federal judge imposes a sentence within federal guidelines.
WorldReutersU.S. raises pressure on Maduro via sanctions, aid airlift
The U.S. Treasury said it sanctioned PDVSA chief Manuel Quevedo, three top intelligence officials and Rafael Bastardo, who U.S. officials say is the head of a national police unit responsible for dozens of extrajudicial killings carried out in nighttime raids on Maduro's behalf. Separately, a U.S. official said U.S. military aircraft are expected to deliver more than 200 tons of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia, with the shipment likely to take place on Saturday. The steps are part of a wider effort by the United States to undermine Maduro, whose 2018 election it views as illegitimate and whose government it has disavowed, and to strengthen opposition leader and self-declared president Juan Guaido.
- 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.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The 20 Most Powerful Crossovers and SUVs You Can Buy in 2019
Is 400 horsepower not enough for your people- and cargo-hauler in 2019? How does 500, 600, or 700 horsepower sound? From Car and Driver
WorldAFP20 Palestinians wounded in border clashes: Gaza ministry
Palestinian medical officials said that 20 Gazans were wounded Friday by Israeli fire during weekly clashes on the border, while Israeli police said one officer was hurt by an explosive device. "Twenty injuries by the Israeli occupation forces with live ammunition," the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry said in a statement. The Israeli army said that 11,000 "rioters and demonstrators" gathered at several points along the border barrier, with people throwing rocks at soldiers and the fence, as well as "several explosive devices and grenades" aimed at the troops.
WorldAssociated PressFamily of IS teen appeals to UK to help bring her home
The family of a pregnant British teenager who ran away to join the Islamic State group urged the government Friday to help bring her home. Shamima Begum's family issued a statement appealing for government assistance "as a matter of urgency." Begum, now 19, resurfaced this week at a refugee camp in Syria where she gave an interview to the Times of London saying she didn't regret her decision, but wanted to come home. "Given Shamima's four-year ordeal, we are concerned that her mental health has been affected by everything that she has seen and endured," the family said in a statement to Britain's ITV, describing her words as those of child who had been groomed by IS recruiters.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Honda's pickup trucks recalled because they can catch fire from car wash soap
Honda is recalling more than 100,000 Ridgeline trucks because they could catch fire after being washed. The pickup trucks from model years 2017, 2018 and 2019 are affected by an issue stemming from fuel pump feed ports, which can be corroded over time by acids found in products like car wash soaps, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Corrosion can lead to cracks that may allow gas to leak out, increasing the risk of fire.
- WorldThe Independent
Top US cardinal expelled from Catholic priesthood over allegations he abused teenager and solicited sex during confession
A disgraced former US cardinal has been expelled from the Roman Catholic priesthood over allegations he abused a teenage boy and solicited sex during confession. The Vatican announced the defrocking of Theodore McCarrick on Saturday days before the Pope is to lead an extraordinary gathering of bishops from around the world over the sex abuse crisis engulfing the church. McCarrick, a once-powerful prelate and former Archbishop of Washington, is the highest profile church figure to be dismissed from the priesthood in modern times.
- ScienceMashable
Watch a space harpoon impale a piece of space debris
To clean up the growing mess, scientists at the University of Surrey have previously tested a net to catch chunks of debris. Now, they've successfully tested out a harpoon. The video below, released Friday by the university's space center, shows a test of the experimental RemoveDEBRIS satellite as it unleashes a harpoon at a piece of solar panel, held out on a 1.5-meter boom.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Suspects in alleged attack on 'Empire' actor released
Suspects arrested in connection with an alleged racist and homophobic assault on "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett in Chicago were released on Friday, police said. "Due to new evidence as a result of today's interrogations, the individuals questioned by police in the Empire case have now been released without charging and detectives have additional investigative work to complete," the Chicago Police Department said in a email to Reuters. A spokesman for the department on Friday night declined to confirm whether the individuals released were the two Nigerian brothers police said they arrested on Wednesday at Chicago O'Hare Airport in connection to the attack.
- PoliticsYahoo News
2020 Vision: Buckle up, America! It's gonna be a long, crowded campaign
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., declares her candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in Minneapolis on Sunday. Reminder: There are 362 days until the Iowa caucuses, and 633 days until the 2020 presidential election. Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, who ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016, has become the first Republican to announce a challenge to President Trump.
WorldReutersU.S. to deliver over 200 tons of aid to Venezuelan border
U.S. military aircraft are expected to deliver more than 200 tons of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia, with the shipment likely to take place on Saturday, a U.S. official said on Friday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. State Department planned to make an announcement about the shipment on Friday but provided no further details. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- BusinessCar and Driver
It Looks Like the Land Rover Discovery SVX Is Dead
Land Rover showed a V-8–powered Discovery SVX concept in 2017, but U.K. media are reporting it's not going to reach production. The SVX name may still be used later, the sources report. UPDATE 2/15/19: Land Rover confirmed that the Discovery SVX concept will not reach production, at least not with the planned V-8 powertrain.
WorldAFPIranians cry 'revenge' at funeral of suicide bomb victims
Tens of thousands of Iranians called for "revenge" Saturday at the funeral of 27 Revolutionary Guards killed in a suicide attack perpetrated by jihadists that Tehran accuses Pakistan of supporting. "The government of Pakistan must pay the price of harbouring these terrorist groups and this price will undoubtedly be very high," said Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, referring to jihadist outfit Jaish al-Adl ("Army of Justice"). "The Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer observe the previous reservations and will directly act to counter such acts," Jafari told mourners gathered at the city of Isfahan's Bozorgmehr Square.
NewsAssociated PressWashington state snow plow rage: 2 plow drivers threatened
Unusually heavy snow in the Spokane area has caused snow plow rage: Two plow drivers clearing streets this week were threatened by people infuriated when their driveways ended up blocked with mounds of snow. In one incident, a man with a holstered handgun yelled obscenities at a plow driver and climbed onto the plow truck, trying to open a door, said Spokane County spokeswoman Martha Lou Wheatley-Billeter. Spokane has received 21 inches (53 centimeters) of snow since Feb. 1, making the first two weeks of February this year the seventh snowiest for that period since record keeping began in 1893, the National Weather Service said.
- NewsUSA TODAY
More rain, snow expected in storm-battered California, following days of mudslides and floods
Although the worst of the storm had moved well inland Friday, forecasters said some leftover showers and snow was still likely to fall across the state on Friday and Saturday. The higher elevations of the Sierra could see an additional 3 to 6 feet of snow over the next few days, on top of the 3 feet that fell Thursday, the National Weather Service said. So much snow has fallen in the area that cities are running out of places to put the snow, according to Kevin Cooper of Lake Tahoe TV In Southern California, officials said rain-drenched hillsides could still loosen and collapse, bringing down mud, boulders and debris.
BusinessAFP Relax NewsPolestar teases next-gen electric car again ahead of Geneva launch
Just two weeks before the official online reveal on February 27, Volvo's Polestar gave us another glimpse of the Polestar 2 just a couple of weeks after the first announcement. While the latest official teaser of the Polestar 2 isn't nearly as informational as the first announcement made a few weeks ago, we have still been graced by another image of a discernible part of the exterior body: the top, left-hand side of the rear end. The white Polestar logo blends into the white body to avoid distracting onlookers from the snappy and chic design.
- U.S.KTXL - Sacramento
`Going Away Party` for School Shutting Down Because of Student`s Death Causes Controversy
Some parents are outraged a California school for kids with special needs is holding a "going away party" after one of its own students died after being restrained by staff.
- NewsTime
Illinois Gunman Had a History of Domestic Violence and Was 'Stressed' Before Shooting
Five people were killed and six injured on Friday after 45-year-old Gary Martin opened fire at the Henry Pratt Co. warehouse in Aurora, Ill. Records reveal that he had a violent past before the shooting. On Saturday, Police Chief Kristen Ziman identified the five victims of the shooting as human resources manager Clayton Parks, human resources intern Trevor Wehner, mold operator Russell Beyer, stock room attendant and forklift operator Vicente Juarez and plant manager Josh Pinkard. According to the Chicago Sun–Times, Martin was convicted in 1994 of stabbing a woman in Mississippi.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
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- WorldBloomberg
U.K. Spy Warns Against Triumphalism Over Islamic State Collapse
“We are not triumphant because I think from triumphant you get to hubris,” MI6 Chief Alex Younger told reporters in Munich on Friday. Younger said Islamic States's so-called caliphate was now in its “end game,” with the extremist militants clinging to the last square mile of land they hold in the village of Baghuz in eastern Syria. Meanwhile the U.K. is debating the case of Shamima Begum, a 19-year-old from east London who wants to come home despite expressing no regrets over becoming a so-called jihadi bride with Islamic State in Syria at the age of 15.
ScienceReutersNASA mulls buying new rides to space from Russia amid program delays
The U.S. space agency has since had to rely on Russia's Roscosmos program to ferry astronauts to the orbital space station at a cost of roughly $80 million per seat, NASA has said. After 2019 there are no seats available on the spacecraft for U.S. crew, and a NASA advisory panel recommended on Friday that the U.S. space program develop a contingency plan to guarantee access to the station in case technical problems delay Boeing and SpaceX any further. A NASA spokesman on Friday characterized a solicitation request NASA filed on Wednesday as a contingency plan.
WorldAFPUS sanctions Venezuela officials close to 'former President' Maduro
The US Treasury announced Friday it was imposing sanctions on five intelligence and security officials close to crisis-hit Venezuela's "former" President Nicolas Maduro. Those targeted are "aligned with illegitimate former President Nicolas Maduro, who continue to repress democracy and democratic actors in Venezuela," a Treasury Department statement read. Among the five men is Manuel Quevedo, described by the Treasury as the "illegitimate" president of Venezuela's state-owned oil firm, PDVSA.
WorldAssociated PressPompeo visits Iceland as US-EU rift on Iran grows
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrapped up a five-nation tour of Europe in Iceland on Friday after the Trump administration launched a scathing attack on the European Union over its approach to Iran. Pompeo was in the Icelandic capital for talks with officials on enhancing trade, Arctic policy, threats posed by Russia and other NATO security issues. Pompeo noted that he was the first secretary of state to visit Reykjavik since 2008 and, as he did at previous stops in Hungary and Slovakia, said the U.S. was re-engaging with allies that it had neglected over the past decade.
- NewsUSA TODAY
During a school lockdown, 7-year-old writes note on her arm in case she dies
WILMINGTON, Del. — A note that a Delaware student scrawled on her arm during a school lockdown is going viral online. Shelley Harrison Reed, the mother of the 7-year-old student, posted the haunting image on Facebook after her daughter came home following a lockdown at the Wilmington-area Odyssey Charter School on Feb. 7. Reed said it was the first school lockdown her daughter and 10-year-old son have ever experienced. She wrote they appeared to be fine once they got home.
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