WorldReutersPoland pulls out of Israel summit in row over WW2 role
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki branded the remarks "racist and unacceptable". The leaders of the other three 'Visegrad Group' nations - Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia - all still planned to attend the talks, Israel said, but Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said they would instead consist of bilateral discussions and that the summit would be rescheduled for later in 2019. Poland's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government has made what it sees as the defense of national honor over its wartime record a cornerstone of foreign policy since taking power in 2015.
- 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.
WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: Aid group says 62 die fleeing IS fighting
The International Rescue Committee says more than 60 people have died in recent weeks after making their way out of the last area controlled by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria. Over 30,000 people who left the last IS-held areas have arrived at the al-Hol camp in Syria's northern Hassakeh province in the last few weeks, raising the overall population of the camp to almost 42,000. Syrian opposition activists and paramedics say two bomb blasts have struck the northwestern city of Idlib, killing at least 10 people.
- PoliticsNational Review
Farrakhan Praises Omar's Anti-Semitic Remarks: 'Shake Up That Corrupt House'
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan on Sunday praised Representative Ilhan Omar's (D., Minn.) recent endorsement of an anti-Semitic trope and urged the freshman lawmaker not to bow to pressure from critics. “Ms. Omar from Somalia – she started talking about 'the Benjamins' and they are trying to make her apologize. You sure are using it to shake the government up, but you have nothing to apologize for,” Farrakhan said during his annual Saviour's Day address in Chicago, in comments first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
- U.S.KTRK – Houston
American Airlines denies man was on flight from Los Angeles
American Airlines had a huge mix-up when they claimed to have no trace of a passenger.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
How Social Security could get benefits boosted to help most vulnerable like widows
Social Security faces a looming funding shortfall roughly 15 years down the road. Despite that dismal backdrop, several proposals continue to be circulated that would enhance benefits for the most vulnerable groups of beneficiaries. As discussed in a series of briefs by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, one proposal would provide enhanced benefits to the elderly at or around age 85, when financial vulnerability increases.
- WorldTime
Huawei Founder Says There's No Stopping China's Tech Giant, Despite U.S. Pressure
In an interview with the BBC, Ren Zhengfei spoke confidently about the company's fate despite mounting pressure from Washington. The U.S. has accused the company of circumventing sanctions against Iran and stealing trade secrets. The U.S. has leveled 23 charges against Huawei and Ren's daughter and Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested at Washington's request in Vancouver, where she is currently under house arrest awaiting possible extradition.
- WorldBloomberg
Trump Demands End to Maduro Regime in Broad Attack on Socialism
Donald Trump called on the Venezuelan military to drop its support for Nicolas Maduro in a Miami speech critical of socialism, previewing attacks he may deploy against Democrats in his re-election campaign. The twilight hour of socialism has arrived in our hemisphere and frankly in many, many places around the world,” Trump said to an audience at Florida International University. The days of socialism and communism are numbered, not only in Venezuela but in Nicaragua and in Cuba as well.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Florida inmates use criminal skills to rescue baby from car
A group of prisoners in Florida put their criminal skills to good use on Valentine's Day – breaking into a car, to free a baby locked inside. The prisoners, on work-release, were repairing parking meters in Pasco County, north of Tampa, when they spotted the family in distress. Another person in the video, filmed by the baby's mother Shadow Lantry, can be heard commenting on the "hilarious situation," with police watching the crew unlock the car.
WorldReutersIndian journalist condemns Twitter for blocking account after abuse online
Dutt said some people had posted and circulated her phone number on Twitter, enabling the harassment, which she said included threats of rape and images of genitalia being sent to her phone. Dutt tweeted some of the threats and images on Monday, and she included phone numbers and names of the men who allegedly threatened her, after which her account was suspended. "I would like to place on record my absolute horror and disgust at Twitter's encouragement of sexual abuse and gender inequality," said Dutt, a former managing editor at news channel NDTV and a regular columnist with the Washington Post.
NewsThe IndependentMan punches and throws hot coffee on Sikh 7-Eleven clerk because he 'hates Muslims'
A man has been charged with a hate crime after allegedly attacking a Sikh employee of a California 7-Eleven convenience store. The man can allegedly be seen on surveillance footage punching the employee, and throwing coffee on him after he attempted to leave without paying for coffee. The man, identified by police as John Crain, was arrested by the Marysville Police Department.
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.
WorldAssociated PressIsraeli leaders' Nazi remarks scuttle summit with Europeans
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's off-hand comment in Warsaw about Poland and the Holocaust set in motion a diplomatic crisis that on Monday scuttled this week's summit of central European leaders in Israel. Poland's abrupt decision to cancel its participation in the planned Visegrad conference in protest blew up the gathering, which Netanyahu has touted as a major milestone in his outreach to emerging democracies in eastern Europe and his broader goal of countering the criticism Israel typically faces in international forums. The crisis was sparked last week when Netanyahu told reporters that "Poles cooperated with the Nazis."
- WorldThe Independent
American Isis bride Hoda Muthana pleads with US authorities to return home from Syria
Less than 24-hours after Isis bride Shamima Begum asked to return to the UK from Syria, an American woman in the same Syrian refugee camp has has pleaded to return home. Hoda Muthana said she deeply regreted joining the terrorist group. The 24-year-old left her home in Alabama four years ago and is now living with her 18-month-old son in the al-Hawl refugee camp – the same facility where Ms Begum is being held.
- 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.
WorldReutersHuawei founder says will not share data with China - CBS News
Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's founder and chief executive pledged not to share any customer information with the Chinese government and said the company had never done so, in an interview with CBS News that aired on Tuesday. Asked if it had shared data with China's government, Huawei's Ren Zhengfei said in a translated interview with the television news outlet: "For the past 30 years, we have never done that. On Monday, Ren said in a separate interview with the BBC that the technology company would not undertake any spying activities and that it could shift its business investments to other countries amid an ongoing U.S. pressure campaign.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The 10 Cheapest Hybrid Cars and SUVs in 2019
Want to spend as little money as possible on a money-saving, fuel-sipping hybrid? From Car and Driver
- WorldTime
7 Lawmakers Quit U.K.'s Labour Party Over Brexit and Anti-Semitism
Seven lawmakers resigned from the U.K.'s opposition Labour party on Monday morning, in what they described as an act of protest against the party's Brexit policy and persistent allegations of anti-Semitism, just 39 days before the country is set to leave the European Union. The lawmakers said they supported calls for a so-called “People's Vote,” or second Brexit referendum, which the Labour party leadership has so far refused to back. No deal has yet been struck between the U.K. and the E.U. over Brexit, with U.K. lawmakers rejecting May's deal and the bloc saying renegotiation is off the table.
- NewsNational Review
Man Charged with Pulling Gun on Couple in MAGA Hats
A Tennessee man was arrested Tuesday for pulling a gun on a couple who were wearing the Make America Great Again hats popularized by Donald Trump's presidential campaign. James Phillips, 57, of Cottontown, Tenn. was charged with first-degree wanton endangerment after he reportedly pulled the gun in a Kentucky Sam's Club store amid an argument, according to his arrest citation.
- U.S.KABC – Los Angeles
Alleged DUI crash: Parked cars smashed in LA, passenger thrown 80 feet
A chaotic crash was captured on video as a speeding car careened into multiple parked vehicles and sent a passenger flying 80 feet down the street.
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.
- WorldBloomberg
Pakistan Vows Retaliation If India Launches Military Strikes
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan said his nation would retaliate if attacked by India, following New Delhi's strongest accusations yet that its nuclear-armed neighbor was responsible for a major terrorist attack in Kashmir. Pakistan will not think of retaliation, Pakistan will retaliate,” Khan said in a televised speech on Tuesday. There will be no other option than retaliation.
WorldAssociated PressSaudis say crown prince doesn't intend to buy Man United
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman does not intend to buy Manchester United, the kingdom's government said, while confirming its sovereign wealth fund held sponsorship talks with English football's most successful team. New York-listed United has been valued at around $4 billion and British newspaper The Sun reported Prince Mohammad was stepping up a bid over the weekend. The crown prince was at the center of a global outcry last year over the death of writer Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
NewsUSA TODAYAirlines begin waiving change fees for new winter storm
TUESDAY UPDATE: Airlines are canceling flights and expanding their rebooking waivers ahead of a new winter storm that looks increasingly likely to disrupt flights at airports from the Great Plains into the Northeast. Full story: Airlines already canceling Wednesday flights for new winter storm PREVIOUS UPDATE: Air travelers faced disruptions this week from a new round of wintry weather. A developing storm system was expected to spread a mix of snow, rain and icy weather across a large swath of the United States this week.
LifestyleAFP Relax NewsIn photos: Winners of the World Restaurant Awards
The inaugural edition of the World Restaurant Awards took place Monday, attracting the gastronomic glitterati to Paris. Modeled after the Oscar awards, the ceremony bestowed honors in different categories including Tweezer-free kitchen, No Reservations Required and House Special. Here are some of the big winners of the night.
