WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: Death toll rises to 73 in Mexico pipeline blast
Hidalgo state Gov. Omar Fayad says the death toll from an explosion at a punctured pipeline in central Mexico has risen to 73, while the number of injured stands at 74. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he will reinforce security along the country's pipeline network, if necessary, but that pipelines remain the most efficient and cost-effective way to distribute fuel. The death toll has risen to 71 from a grisly explosion at an illegal pipeline tap in central Mexico that occurred amid government efforts to curb widespread fuel theft.
WorldAssociated PressIsrael increasingly goes public with its strikes in Syria
Israel on Monday claimed responsibility for a series of airstrikes on Iranian military targets in Syria, drifting further away from its longstanding policy of playing down or covering up its military activities in the war-torn country. For years, Israel has remained largely silent about its attacks against Iran and its Shiite proxies operating in neighboring Syria. This policy appears to be aimed at sending a message to key players in Syria, including President Bashar Assad and Russia, that Iran's continued presence there risks triggering even tougher and potentially destabilizing Israeli action.
NewsUSA TODAYCovington Catholic could expel students who taunted Native American man in viral video
The Kentucky high school students seen in a video showing a confrontation between them and a Native American man at a march in Washington, D.C., could be expelled. Covington Catholic High School and the Diocese of Covington said Saturday that they are investigating the incident that happened at the Indigenous Peoples March on Friday. "We will take appropriate action, up to and including expulsion," the statement said.
PoliticsReutersGiuliani backtracks on comments Trump sought Moscow deal throughout 2016
U.S. President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani backtracked on Monday from earlier comments that Trump pursued a business deal to erect a tower bearing his name in Moscow throughout 2016, saying his statements "were hypothetical and not based on conversations I had with the President." Giuliani told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that Trump may have continued to pursue the project and had discussions about it with his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, until as late as October or November 2016, when Trump was closing in on his election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Giuliani went a step further with the New York Times, where he quoted Trump saying the Trump Tower Moscow discussions were "going on from the day I announced to the day I won." The Moscow deal ultimately did not materialize, but Giuliani's remarks suggest that Trump's discussions about the project with Cohen may have dragged on until the election, raising new questions for congressional investigators looking into possible ties between the president and Russia.
BusinessAFPBritish pound recovers as May outlines Brexit 'Plan B'
The pound recovered ground Monday after British Prime Minister Theresa May said she plans to return to Brussels to discuss changes to the Brexit deal she agreed with EU leaders last month despite an overwhelming rejection of the draft text by MPs last week. There was mixed news out of China, with official data showing the country's economic growth at its slowest pace in 28 years offsetting a report that the country has offered to eliminate its massive trade surplus with the United States -- easing trade war tensions between the world's two biggest economies. Britain, meanwhile, is on course to crash out of the European Union on March 29 without a deal unless UK MPs can force a delay or come up with an alternative plan that Brussels is also happy with.
- WorldThe Independent
Chile earthquake: Magnitude 6.7 quake rocks north of country
A magnitude- 6.7 earthquake hit the coast of north Chile, causing buildings to shake and fears of a possible tsunami. It reportedly caused homes to rattle, as well as minor damage to old buildings and power outages in the nearby coastal city of La Serena – a popular beach town about 250 miles north of Santiago. Chilean mining group Antofagasta Plc said operations were continuing as normal at its Los Pelambres copper mine following the nearby earthquake.
- NewsUSA TODAY
United Airlines passengers stranded over 15 hours at frigid Canadian military base
Passengers aboard a United Airlines flight out of New Jersey found themselves stranded at a Canadian military base for more than 15 hours. United Flight 179 left New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday afternoon, destined for Hong Kong International Airport. But a medical emergency diverted the flight to Goose Bay airport in Newfoundland, Canada, flight records show.
ScienceAFP Relax NewsTotal lunar eclipse woos sky watchers
An unusual set of celestial circumstances came together over Sunday night and the wee hours of Monday for sky watchers in Europe, Africa and the Americas, where the moon was fully obscured before lighting up again with a faint red glow. In the streets of Mexico City, Los Angeles and Paris and in the Moroccan desert, moon gazers turned to the sky to observe the phenomenon, around midnight in the Americas, and shortly before dawn in Europe and Africa. The eclipse lasted about three hours: during the first hour the full moon was gradually swallowed up by the shadow of the Earth, then an hour of total eclipse where it was not invisible but instead appeared tinted in hues of red, orange and pink,...
- WorldBloomberg
Ireland Rules Out Time-Limited Backstop: Brexit Update
The International Monetary Fund renewed its warning about the economic risks of a no-deal Brexit to the U.K. It held its 2019 growth forecast at 1.5 percent, saying fiscal stimulus in the last budget would offset the dampening effect of Brexit, but warned “substantial uncertainty” surrounds the estimate. “This baseline projection assumes that a Brexit deal is reached in 2019 and that the U.K. transitions gradually to the new regime,” the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook Update on Monday.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Prince Philip 'could be sent on driving awareness course' as police investigate crash
The Duke of Edinburgh could be sent on a drivers' awareness course, it has emerged, as police continue to investigate a crash which left two women hospitalised. The Duke, 97, is understood to have no intention of giving up driving, having been photographed on public roads driving a new car less than 48 hours after the accident. Two women, aged 45 and 28, will also be asked for their recollections of the accident, after their Kia Carens collided with the Duke's Land Rover Freelander on the A149 on Thursday.
WorldAssociated PressRecent developments surrounding the South China Sea
A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves: EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest developments in the South China Sea, the location of several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region. TOP U.S. NAVY OFFICER URGES CHINA TO RESPECT RIGHT OF PASSAGE The U.S. Navy's top officer says he urged China to follow international rules at sea to avoid confrontations and insisted that ships should be able to pass safely though the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
WorldAFPEx-diplomats, scholars urge China to release Canadians
A group of former diplomats and academics have signed an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for the release of two Canadians who have been detained on allegations of espionage. Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor were last month arrested in China for activities that "endanger China's security" -- a phrase often used by Beijing when alleging espionage. Their detentions are thought to be in retaliation for Canada's arrest on a US request of Huawei vice president Meng Wanzhou, who is accused of violating Iran sanctions.
WorldReutersAustralian rallies demand safe streets for women after Israeli student murder
Several thousand people marched through major Australia cities on Sunday calling for safety for women after an Israeli exchange student was murdered in Melbourne. The marches, part of the Women's March rallies held around the world in support of women's rights, gathered some 3,000 people in Sydney, who in their chants demanded safe streets for women in Australian cities. Aiia Maasarwe, 21, was killed when walking home after a night out with friends in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, earlier this week.
PoliticsFOX News VideosHave Democrats lost the shutdown showdown high ground after largely rejecting Trump's compromise proposal?
President Trump offers DACA protections in exchange for border wall funding in bid to end government shutdown; reaction and analysis from Katrina Pierson, senior adviser to the Trump 2020 campaign, Bill Bennett, Fox News contributor and former secretary of education, and Kennedy, host of 'Kennedy' on Fox Business Network.
- NewsThe Independent
Trump confuses weather with climate change again: 'Wouldn't be bad to have a little good old fashioned Global Warming right now!'
Donald Trump has again confused weather with climate change, suggesting the US would benefit from “a little of that good old fashioned Global Warming right now” amid forecasts of snow and cold conditions. Little more than two months since a similarly misleading conflation, the president tweeted: “Be careful and try staying in your house. Large parts of the Country are suffering from tremendous amounts of snow and near record setting cold.
BusinessUSA TODAYWhy the stock market is headed for a swift recovery
In my four earlier ones, I covered why December was lousy and why stocks are on the right side of a swift V-shaped recovery. U.S. stocks have climbed more than 10 percent since the market close on Christmas Eve. Assuming December 24 remains the bottom, this correction ended later in a calendar year than any correction or bear market ever.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Man rescued from New York river island
Coast Guard crew members in New York have rescued a 21-year-old man stranded on an island in the Navensink River in 34-degree weather (1 Celsius) after his small boat broke down. The Coast Guard said crews arrived on the island just over half an hour after the call came in Monday morning. The search and rescue coordinator for Coast Guard Sector New York says a bad situation can turn to worse very fast in such conditions.
WorldAFPUN envoy in Yemen for talks on Hodeida truce
The UN envoy for Yemen landed in rebel-held Sanaa Monday for talks aimed at shoring up a truce between rebels and a government alliance in the port city of Hodeida. Diplomat Martin Griffiths landed in the capital at around 10:30 am local time (1330 GMT), an official at Sanaa airport told AFP on condition of anonymity. A UN source confirmed the news, saying Griffiths was in Yemen to "work on the rapid implementation of the Hodeida agreement".
- LifestyleCar and Driver
The Entry-Level 2019 Porsche Cayenne Deserves Your Attention
The route from Los Angeles to our desert testing grounds climbs over the San Gabriel Mountains through 40 miles of corners and clouds that test handling, braking, and power. Of our dozens of commutes over these mountains this year, there are a few memorable standouts: the traffic-free run in a Mustang GT, the 911 GT3's 9000-rpm shriek bouncing off the rock walls, a paradigm-busting drive in an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, and this most recent assault in the redesigned Porsche Cayenne. Porsche did spec this one with the optional air springs and adaptive dampers ($4160) and 21-inch wheels wrapped in wide summer tires ($5510).
- WorldThe Telegraph
Model who alleged Russian meddling in US election tells Moscow court she will not publish Deripaska recordings
Anastasia Vashukevich, the model who recorded a former employer of Paul Manafort allegedly discussing US relations with a Russian deputy prime minister during the 2016 election, has promised in a Moscow court not to release any further recordings. Ms Vashukevich previously claimed to have evidence of Russian interference in the US election from a fling with Oleg Deripaska, the metals magnate to whom Donald Trump's campaign manager Manafort reportedly promised private briefings, something Deripaska always denied. Video she uploaded to Instagram showed Mr Deripaska speaking on a yacht in 2016 with Sergei Prikhodko, a deputy prime minister and long-time aide to Vladimir Putin.
- WorldTime
'We Are All Stakeholders of Our Global Future': Klaus Schwab, Founder of the World Economic Forum, Talks Change and Progress
Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, sat down with TIME to discuss a sweeping vision for a rapidly changing world ahead of this year's summit, which will begin in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday. “Big issues in the world cannot be solved by governments alone,” Schwab said, speaking with TIME Editor-in-Chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal and National Correspondent Haley Sweetland Edwards in December. Decades ago, Schwab helped define “stakeholder theory,” which holds that businesses are not only responsible to their shareholders, but also to the wider array of “stakeholders” — employees, governments, customers and others — that it impacts.
- NewsReuters
Enbridge gas pipeline explosion causes fireball in Ohio
An explosion of an Enbridge Inc natural gas pipeline in Ohio on Monday created a fireball of flame and damaged homes, prompting the evacuation of nearby residents. The explosion occurred on Enbridge's Texas Eastern pipeline system and appeared to have destroyed two homes, said Chasity Schmelzenbach, emergency management director for Noble County, Ohio. "We got reports flames were shooting (up) 80 feet to 200 feet (25-60 meters)," Schmelzenbach said.
U.S.KABC – Los AngelesWoman fabricates attempted kidnapping story to Long Island police to cover up how baby was injured
Police on Long Island said a woman fabricated a story about an attempted kidnapping in order to cover up how her 1-year-old son was injured.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Rudy Giuliani: Talks of Trump Tower Moscow continued throughout 2016 election
Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who is now President Trump's personal attorney, said Sunday that plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow may have continued until at least the 2016 presidential election — months later than previously acknowledged. Giuliani said on NBC's “Meet the Press” that Trump recalls discussing the project with his former lawyer Michael Cohen until late 2016. He said Trump doesn't remember the exact dates or sequence of these conversations but that they didn't go anywhere.
NewsThe Independent'Fox & Friends' mistakenly airs Ruth Bader Ginsburg obituary graphic
The hosts of 'Fox & Friends' apologised on Monday after airing a graphic suggesting that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. The graphic featured a photo of the 85-year-old liberal justice with the dates 1933-2019, a tribute image similar to those made to announce the death of prominent public figures. The hosts blamed the control room for the mishap.
