WorldReutersIS 'caliphate' on brink of defeat in Syria as Trump urges Europe to do more
Jiya Furat said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had cornered the remaining militants in a neighborhood of Baghouz village near the Iraqi border, under fire from all sides. "In the coming few days, in a very short time, we will spread the good tidings to the world of the military end of Daesh," he said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Trump on Saturday said the caliphate was "ready to fall and that the United States was asking European allies to take back more than 800 Islamic State fighters captured in Syria and put them on trial.
WorldUSA TODAYHere's why Donald Trump will threaten Venezuela's military leaders during a speech in Florida
President Donald Trump will issue a stern warning Monday to Venezuela's military leaders during a speech in Miami threatening they and their families will lose everything if they don't work toward democracy. In unusually blunt language, Trump also will say the U.S. knows where the Latin American country's military leaders and their families have money hidden throughout the world, a threat intended to pressure the military to abandon embattled President Nicolas Maduro. Trump's remarks come just weeks after his administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's president and will be directed at Florida's Venezuelan community as he tries to appeal to Latino votes heading into the 2020 election.
- WorldAssociated Press
Vatican defrocks former US cardinal McCarrick for sex abuse
Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been found guilty by the Vatican of sex abuse and defrocked, as calls rose Saturday for Pope Francis to reveal what he knew about the once-powerful American prelate's apparently decades-long predatory sexual behavior. The announcement Saturday, delivered in uncharacteristically blunt language for the Vatican, meant that the 88-year-old McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, D.C., becomes the highest-ranking churchman and the first cardinal to be punished by dismissal from the clerical state, or laicization. The pontiff next week leads a summit of bishops from around the world who have been summoned to Rome help him grapple with the entrenched problems of clerical sex abuse and the systematic cover-ups by the Catholic church's hierarchy.
- NewsThe Independent
Man awarded £120m in compensation from Ford after being paralysed in car accident
An Alabama jury has awarded $151.8m (£117.4m) to a young man paralyzed in a 2015 rollover accident involving a Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle, Ford and lawyers in the case said on Sunday. The jury awarded $100m in punitive damages and the rest in compensatory damages after finding that the 1998 Ford Explorer did not meet the company's own safety guidelines, according to a court document seen by Reuters and lawyers for plaintiff Travaris “Tre” Smith. The document, released on Friday, said Ford “acted wantonly” in designing the vehicle.
WorldAFPIndia, Pakistan 'spy' row heads for UN top court amid tensions
India will on Monday renew its bid to persuade international judges to take an alleged spy off death row in Pakistan, in a controversial court case as fresh bloodshed in Kashmir sends tensions between the neighbours soaring. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, a former Indian navy officer, was arrested in the restive southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan in March 2016 on charges of espionage and sentenced to death by a military court. India insists Jadhav was not a spy and that he was kidnapped in Pakistan.
BusinessAFP Relax NewsGMC Acadia souped up with new engine, trim, and tech
GMC has unveiled the refreshed Acadia for the 2020 model year complete with a new trim, a fresh look, and the latest GMC infotainment system. GMC announced on Monday that the Acadia has gotten its midcycle refresh, and now, the lineup looks more like a group of Sierra pickups from the front than mid-size SUVs. In addition to its new exterior styling, the Acadia has a new powertrain option and an assortment of new technologies including an enhanced infotainment system and heads-up display.
- 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.
BusinessBloombergGlobal Slowdown Leaves Growth Weakest Since Financial Crisis
The global economy's loss of momentum has left expansion now looking like its weakest since the global financial crisis, a development that's already sparked a dramatic shift among central banks. A UBS model suggests world growth slowed to a 2.1 percent annualized pace at the end of 2018, which it says would be the weakest since 2008-2009. An early reading for this quarter shows a slight improvement, but the numbers still mean there'll need to be a dramatic improvement to reach the 3.2 percent pace UBS has forecast for the three months as a whole.
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.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Shamima Begum is 'traumatised', says her lawyer as he likens Isil bride to a First World War soldier
Show me some sympathy', says Isil bride after giving birth The British schoolgirl who ran away to join Isil has appealed for public sympathy following the birth of her son, as a row intensifies over whether she should be allowed to return to the UK. Shamima Begum, 19, went to Syria in 2015 and was discovered there in a refugee camp last week, heavily pregnant and insisting she wanted to go home. The birth of her child over the weekend prompted calls for the baby to be subject to care proceedings should Begum be able to return from Syria, as it emerged that the Family Division of the High Court had presided over cases involving at least 150 children deemed at risk of radicalisation in the las...
WorldReutersU.S. Senator Rubio, other officials visit site of Venezuelan aid
While Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is refusing to allow in the food, medicine and other supplies, opposition leader and self-declared president Juan Guaido has vowed to move hundreds of tonnes of the aid into the country on Feb 23. Guaido, who argues that Maduro's 2018 re-election was a sham, invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself the country's leader last month. Most Western countries and many of Venezuela's neighbors have recognized Guaido as the legitimate head of state, but Maduro retains the backing of Russia and China and control of Venezuelan state institutions including the military.
WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: US Jewish group asks Poland, Israel to stay calm
Poland pulled out of a meeting in Israel on Monday after the acting Israeli foreign minister said "Poles collaborated with the Nazis" and quoted a former Israeli prime minister who commented 30 years ago that Poles "sucked anti-Semitism with their mothers' milk." p.m. Jewish leaders in Poland say they are offended Israel's acting foreign minister said Poles "sucked anti-Semitism with their mothers' milk."
- 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.
WorldAFPYemen sides agree deal on first pullback: UN
Yemen's government and Huthi rebels have agreed on the first phase of a pullback of forces from the key city of Hodeida, in a deal the United Nations described Sunday as important progress. The redeployment from Hodeida is a critical part of a ceasefire deal reached in December in Sweden that calls on the government and Huthis to move forces away from ports and parts of city. The fragile truce deal marks the first step toward ending a devastating war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Southwest Airlines under FAA investigation for aircraft weight, balance calculations
The investigation, disclosed for the first time Monday by the Wall Street Journal, began in February 2018, FAA spokesman Gregory Martin confirmed to USA TODAY. There have been no fines nor enforcement action from the investigation to date. "Since that time, the FAA has directed the development of a comprehensive solution to the methods and processes used by Southwest Airlines to determine this (weight and balance) performance data,'' he said in a statement.
- EntertainmentTime
Here's What's Open and Closed on President's Day 2019
Remember that day in February that isn't Valentine's and isn't Groundhog Day? Many places throughout the country will observe this President's Day by closing their doors so people can enjoy a 3-day weekend honoring our the birthday of nation's first President, George Washington. Here's what's open and closed on President's Day 2019.
- TechnologyThe National Interest
This Is the Airpower Theorist the Air Force Needs (And Already Has)
If one's main text on airpower is Douhet's Command of the Air, as it appears to be at the Naval War College, then it is no wonder that one feels the need to call for a Corbett of airpower. James Holmes recently argued that airpower needs a theorist with the heft of Clausewitz. This, he insists, would help us to steer clear of tiresome, never-ending debates about whether the Air Force needs to invest more in A-10s, F-35s, or light-attack aircraft.
PoliticsBloombergTrump Receives Report on U.S. Security Threat of Car Imports
President Donald Trump has received the findings of a probe into whether imported vehicles pose a national security threat, which could lead the U.S. to impose tariffs. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has submitted his recommendations to Trump, the department said in a statement on Sunday in Washington, without offering any insights into the findings. Trump has 90 days to decide whether to act on the findings.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Pope's credibility 'on the line' as Vatican convenes global meeting on combating child abuse by clergy
Victims of clerical sex abuse have warned Pope Francis that his credibility is on the line as he confronts the biggest challenge of his papacy with a landmark conference on protecting children from rape and molestation. Nearly 200 bishops, archbishops, patriarchs and other senior Catholic figures from around the world will convene in Rome on Thursday for an unprecedented four-day conference that is supposed to tackle the scourge of child abuse by clergy. It is the biggest effort so far to address scandals that have eroded faith in the Catholic Church in the US, Ireland, Australia and elsewhere.
WorldReutersVenezuela denies EU lawmakers entry given 'conspiratorial motives'
Venezuela denied a group of European Parliament deputies entry into the country on Sunday, arguing they had "conspiratorial motives" for flying to Caracas in the throes of a political crisis. The European Parliament last month joined a slew of Western nations in recognizing Venezuelan opposition chief Juan Guaido as interim head of state after President Nicolas Maduro won a second term in an election last year that critics denounced as a sham. The four deputies from the center-right European People's Party (EPP) were traveling to Venezuela to meet with Guaido, one of them said in a video distributed via social media.
- BusinessAssociated Press
This Week: Walmart results, Fed minutes, US home sales
A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week: MIXED RESULTS? Wall Street expects that Walmart's latest quarterly snapshot will show mixed results. Financial analysts predict the world's largest retailer will report Tuesday that its earnings were flat in the November-January quarter versus a year earlier, even as revenue increased.
- BusinessThe Independent
Amazon announces plans to make half of shipments carbon neutral by 2030
Online retail giant Amazon has announced plans to make alf if its shipments carbon neutral by the year 2030. The company, which ships millions of packages a year to shoppers, said that it will achieve that goal by switching to renewable energy sources and by asking suppliers to reimagine their packaging. “It won't be easy to achieve this goal, but it's worth being focused and stubborn on this vision and we're committed to seeing it through,” Dave Clark, Amazon senior vice president of worldwide operations, said.
PoliticsFOX News VideosPresident Trump's national emergency declaration is the first to counter a budget decision made by Congress
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Judith Miller says President Trump's national emergency declaration is an apparent violation of the constitution.
- HealthUSA TODAY
How many push-ups can you do? Study finds men who can do 40 have lower risk of heart disease
Those who could do more than 40 push-ups during a timed test at a preliminary examination were 96 percent less likely to have developed a cardiovascular problem compared to those who could do no more than 10 push-ups, according to the report published Friday in the medical journal JAMA Network Open. Nearly half of U.S. adults deal with some form of cardiovascular disease as of 2016, according to the American Heart Association.The study's authors believe push-ups may be an easy way to test men's risk for heart disease.
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.
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