- PoliticsYahoo News
Democratic rivals pummel Bloomberg at start of Nevada debate
The knives were out for Michael Bloomberg as he joined his fellow candidates on the Democratic debate stage Wednesday in Las Vegas. “I'd like to talk about who we're running against, a billionaire who calls women 'fat broads' and 'horse-faced lesbians,' and, no, I'm not talking about Donald Trump, I'm talking about Mayor Bloomberg,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Sen. Bernie Sanders also hit Bloomberg's record.
WorldAFPSuspects in abduction, murder of 7-year-old Mexican girl detained
Mexican authorities arrested a couple believed to have kidnapped, tortured and murdered a seven year-old girl on Wednesday, days after the discovery of the victim's body sparked protests in the violence-wracked country. The suspects "were detained in a town in the State of Mexico," Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum tweeted, without giving more detail. Prosecutors on Tuesday released pictures of the two suspects -- identified as Giovana and Mario Alberto "N" -- after searching a house near the victim's home.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Hate crimes go unchecked at Syracuse University, students say
A student activist group that took over a Syracuse University administration building to protest long-simmering charges of racism and bias on campus rejected an attempt by the school to end its three-day sit-in, the school said in a statement Wednesday. The black-led movement #NotAgainSU launched the sit-in at Crouse-Hinds Hall with more than 20 students Monday to protest the administration's handling of racial incidents at the university. The university's Department of Public Safety sealed off the building and hasn't allowed in food or medicine since Tuesday, according to The Daily Orange, the university's independent newspaper.
- WorldBloomberg
South Korea Posts Surge in Coronavirus Cases Tied to Church
South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Thursday that of the 31 new confirmed cases, 24 attended the “same Korean cult” with at least five of them having an “epidemiological link“ to a patient confirmed with the coronavirus earlier this week. The Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, formerly known as Shincheonji Church of Jesus, said in a statement on its website that the patient identified as No. 31 by KCDC attended a worship service in one of its churches in Daegu. The outbreak in Daegu, a city about 235 kilometers (150 miles) south of Seoul, has raised renewed concerns about the virus after a lull in reported cases last week.
- WorldAssociated Press
Pope tenderly kissed on forehead by man in front-row seat
Well-wishers at Pope Francis' weekly audience have thrust soccer T-shirts, flowers and many a wailing baby into his arms. On Wednesday, Francis seemed to thoroughly enjoy a surprise expression of affection: a long, tender kiss planted on his forehead by a man in one of the front-row seats reserved for ailing or disabled people at the end of his audience. Francis appeared to be smiling when the man, who stood up when the pontiff approached to greet him and others in the front row, pulled the pope's head toward him and gave a kiss lasting several seconds, pressing his nose against Francis' forehead in the process.
- U.S.Business Insider
2 socialites have reportedly died after their Mercedes fell off a ferry leaving the most expensive ZIP code in the United States
Fisher Island, a private, man-made island off the coast of Miami, is known for being the richest ZIP code in the US, where the average income of residents is $2.2 million and the median home value is roughly $2.9 million. Police recovered and identified the bodies as socialites Emma Afra and Viviane Brahms, according to The Miami Herald. A blue Mercedes-Benz inexplicably rolled off the Fisher Island Ferry on Tuesday at around 5 p.m., killing the two women sitting in the car, according to The Miami Herald.
- EntertainmentArchitectural Digest
9 Rural Farms of the 21st Century Featuring Stunning Modern Design
From Italy to Tasmania, a new book covers those farms with an eye on both sustainability and beautiful design Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- WorldReuters
China says will help manage Mekong as report warns of dam danger
VIENTIANE/BANGKOK (Reuters) - China on Thursday said it was helping its downstream neighbors cope with a prolonged drought by releasing more water from its dams on the Mekong River, adding it would consider sharing information on hydrology to provide further assistance in the future. The statement came as a new economic report predicted that the building of dams to harness hydropower on the Mekong River would reshape the economies of five countries along the waterway, fuelling long-term inflation and dependence on China. The drought over the past year has severely hurt farming and fishing in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, and many blame China's 11 dams on the upper Mekong - which China calls the Lancang River - as well as climate change.
- PoliticsNational Review
Mike Lee Slams Equal Rights Amendment as Part of ‘Radical Pro-Abortion Agenda’
By passing this amendment, we would be upending decades of legal precedent that makes these things clear, putting into their place uncertainty and putting into their place a radical pro-abortion agenda with which I passionately disagree with,” Lee told the audience. Republicans contend the amendment would be used as a constitutional protection for legalized abortion at any stage. On February 13, the House passed a resolution scrapping the deadline for passage of the amendment, which expired almost 40 years ago.
- U.S.Yahoo News
Trump declares himself 'chief law enforcement officer' as he issues numerous pardons
President Trump on Tuesday exercised his pardon power, granting clemency to or commuting the sentences of nearly a dozen people convicted of crimes, including former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and junk bond pioneer Michael Milken. Trump also referred to himself as the nation's “chief law enforcement officer,” a title typically reserved for the attorney general. On Tuesday morning, the White House announced Trump's pardoning of former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. for his involvement in a 1998 corruption case against former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards.
- PoliticsThe Week
Elizabeth Warren came out swinging against 'arrogant billionaire' Mike Bloomberg
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) skipped the pleasantries during Wednesday night's Democratic debate in Nevada. Just three minutes into the debate, after former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has no chance of beating President Trump in November due to his Medicare-for-all policy, Warren quickly interjected and brought up allegations that Bloomberg has a long history of making sexist comments. "I'd like to talk about who we're running against — a billionaire who calls women 'fat broads' and 'horse-faced lesbians,'" she said.
- U.S.NBC News
Body of missing college student found in Georgia, boyfriend arrested
Police found the body of a missing college student in Georgia and the young woman's boyfriend has been arrested on other charges, authorities said Wednesday. Anitra Lashay Gunn, a senior studying agriculture at Fort Valley State University, was found Tuesday afternoon in a wooded area off Greer Road in Crawford County near the border of Peach County, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation statement. "The body was partially covered," appearing that someone had tried to hide it, Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese told reporters at the scene on Tuesday.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Secession in the Pacific Northwest? Some Oregon residents petition to join Idaho
Frustrated by liberal policies, some Oregon residents petitioned to leave the state – by moving the border with Idaho westward. The movement secured initial approval from two counties and aims to get enough signatures to put the proposal on ballots in November, according to the group called Greater Idaho. If the group succeeds, voters in southeast Oregon may see a question on whether their county should become part of Idaho by redrawing the border.
- WorldAssociated Press
Vatican sees intense interest in opening of Pius XII archive
More than 150 historians and researchers have signed up to access the soon-to-open Vatican archives of Pope Pius XII, evidence of the intense scholarly interest into the World War II-era pope and his record during the Holocaust, officials said Thursday. Cardinal José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça, the Vatican's chief librarian, told reporters that all researchers — regardless of nationality, faith and ideology — were welcome to request permission to use the Vatican's Apostolic Library, which will open the archive on March 2. Some Jewish groups and historians have said Pius, who was pope from 1939-1958, stayed silent during the Holocaust and didn't do enough to save lives.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
The Mormon Church's secretive $100 billion fund revealed huge stakes in Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Here are its 10 biggest holdings.
The Mormon Church's secretive $100 billion investment fund revealed massive stakes in Microsoft, Apple, and other tech titans for the first time this month. Ensign Peak Advisors, the investing arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, boasted a $40 billion stock portfolio at the end of December, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The fund — which is more than 50 years old — held $6 billion worth of shares in just five companies: Microsoft, Apple, Google-parent Alphabet, Amazon, and Intel.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoVirginia lawmakers reject assault weapons ban over fears of potential civil war
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's push to ban the sale of assault weapons has failed after members of his own party balked at the proposal. Senators voted to shelve the bill for the year and ask the state crime commission to study the issue, an outcome that drew cheers from a committee room packed with gun advocates.
- WorldThe National Interest
Russia Hates This: Why the Astute-Class Submarine Is the Pride of the Royal Navy
Key Point: London's Astute class submarines are powerful and very well-built. Since the commissioning of HMS Dreadnought in 1963, the Royal Navy has maintained a formidable force of nuclear attack submarines. The latest nuclear attack subs, the Astute class, have become a critical component of the future of the Royal Navy—but, given Russia's resurgence, are they enough?
- PoliticsNational Review
Burisma Consultant with Links to Hunter Biden Tried to Meet with State Dept. Official about ‘Troubling Events’ in Ukraine
A consultant for Burisma with links to Hunter Biden approached a top State Department official in June 2016 to discuss “troubling events” in Ukraine, according to newly released State Department emails. Consultant Sally Painter of Blue Star Strategies was at the time working with Burisma, the Ukrainian natural gas company, to quash corruption investigations into the firm. Painter approached then-deputy secretary of state Tony Blinken at an event for the Truman National Security Project, and sent an email to Blinken's top aide three days later requesting a second meeting with the deputy secretary.
- PoliticsThe Week
Trump's pardon of Bernie Kerik also apparently wiped out Kerik's $103,300 debt to taxpayers
President Trump granted a full pardon to former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik on Tuesday, clearing him of his eight counts of tax fraud, lying to federal investigators, and other crimes that accompanied his downfall. Kerik had already served his three years in prison for his crimes, but the pardon wipes out more than his criminal record, the New York Daily News reports. "The pardon cancels out $103,300 in restitution that Kerik still owed the Internal Revenue Service as part of his sentence, according to a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan."
- PoliticsThe Independent
Bloomberg referred to trans women as 'some guy in a dress' in second resurfaced video
In a video recorded last year, presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg refers to transgender women as “some guy in a dress.” This is the second time Mr Bloomberg has been recorded making such statements in recent years. The March 2019 video also has Mr Bloomberg referring to transgender people as “he, she or it” in comments aimed at warning 2020 Democratic candidates against emphasising transgender issues, arguing that they would not play well in parts of America. Mr Bloomberg joins the other Democrat candidates on stage tonight in his first debate of the primaries — the ninth for the other contenders.
- U.S.NBC News
George Zimmerman sues Warren, Buttigieg for $265 million
The lawsuit claims the candidates "defamed Zimmerman for political gain in misguided and malicious attempts to bolster their standings amongst African-American voters, all at Zimmerman's expense." They did so in "separate postings on their Twitter accounts" on Feb. 5 that suggested that Zimmerman killed Martin as a result of "racism" or "fear" because of the teen's skin color, the suit alleges. "The defamatory tweets are not an account of two sides of an issue that raises questions in a reader's mind," the suit states.
- WorldReuters
'Historic' U.S.-Taliban pact to be signed soon, says Taliban leader
The Taliban's deputy leader said the group would soon sign a agreement with the United States to reduce violence for seven days, adding that militant commanders were "fully committed" to observing the "historic" accord. "That we today stand at the threshold of a peace agreement with the United States is no small milestone," Sirajuddin Haqqani wrote in an opinion piece in the New York Times, in the first significant public statement by a Taliban leader on the accord for a week-long reduction in violence (RIV). The agreement in principle, which was struck during negotiations between U.S. and Taliban representatives in Qatar, could lead to a withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
- WorldAssociated Press
Looted 18th century crown returned to Ethiopia after decades
A rare and looted crown from the 18th century was returned to Ethiopia on Thursday after it was discovered in the Netherlands two decades ago. The Dutch government facilitated the handover “with the belief that it has a duty to restitute this important artifact back to Ethiopia,” the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said, sharing photos of a smiling Abiy holding the ceremonial crown. “This is a historic day for us,” Hirut Kassaw, Ethiopia's minister for culture and tourism, told The Associated Press.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Bernie Sanders is surging in the polls. Here's how his 'Medicare for All' plan would affect every part of the $3.6 trillion US healthcare system.
Under "Medicare for All," everyone in the US would receive comprehensive health coverage from the government. The main idea behind "Medicare for All" is straightforward: Everyone in the US would receive comprehensive health coverage from the government. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren envision a government-run insurance system where Americans would get coverage including dental, vision, and long-term care, and private insurers are eliminated or sidelined.
PoliticsYahoo News VideoTrump pardons Texas man and GOP donor who pleaded guilty to underpaying his taxes
One of President Trump's clemency actions Tuesday included pardoning the former owner of a Texas construction company who pleaded guilty to underpaying his taxes and whose family has donated to Republicans, including the president's reelection campaign last year.
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