WorldReutersTwo Canadians die in shooting at Mexican Caribbean resort
Two Canadians died of gunshot wounds after an argument turned violent at a resort near Cancun on Mexico's Caribbean coast, authorities said on Friday. Both guests at the upscale resort on the Riviera Maya of Quintana Roo state had criminal records, said Mexican officials, citing information from the Canadian police. Mexican police are searching for another person thought to have fired the shots who had a "long" criminal record in Canada, said the attorney general's office in Quintana Roo, home to a stretch of white-sand beach resorts and lush jungles.
PoliticsThe HillBill Maher pushes back on Fauci: 'Don't sit there in your white coat and tell me "just do what we say"'
"That's not a criticism of them like they're being corrupt, although there certainly is plenty of corruption in the medical establishment," the "Real Time" host said in an interview with Deadline published Friday, when asked if he believes Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease doctor ,or the medical establishment "really know what they are doing." The medical community, the controversial HBO host said, has been wrong "a lot" throughout history. Despite the country seeing more than 860,000 deaths from COVID-19 since 2020, Maher said he was "never scared" of the pandemic.
U.S.BBCUS man found dead surrounded by deadly pythons and cobras
A US man has been found dead at his home surrounded by dozens of snakes - many of them venomous. Neighbours alerted police after going to the house in the US state of Maryland and discovering him lying on the floor, apparently unconscious. When officers arrived, they found 124 venomous and non-venomous snakes including pythons, cobras and rattlesnakes.
U.S.Associated PressMother: teachers manipulated child to change gender identity
A mother who claims teachers secretly manipulated her 11-year-old daughter into changing her gender identity and name has filed a legal case against a tiny California school district. Spreckels Union School District was responsible for “extreme and outrageous conduct” that led the student on a path toward transitioning as a boy and drove a wedge between mother and child, according to the claim filed Wednesday by a conservative legal group. Jessica Konen said two middle school teachers who ran the school's Equality Club — later known as UBU (You Be You) — planted the seed that her daughter was bisexual in 6th grade and then introduced the idea she was transgender.
BusinessINSIDERRep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sold up to $15,000 worth of Activision Blizzard stock on the day Microsoft announced plans to buy the video game company
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a stock disclosure that she sold up to $15,000 worth of Activision stock on January 18. Microsoft's announced plans to acquire video-game giant Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion on the same day. Activision's stock soared that day, and Greene reported more than $200 in capital gains from the sale.
U.S.TheGrioThe problem with Joe Rogan…and white boys
However, I cannot, in good conscience, declare that I am unbiased when it comes to Spotify's $100 million white man because of one fact: I like Joe Rogan. Perhaps “like” is too austere a word. I've paid to see him perform live.
U.S.Associated PressTexas attorney general refuses to hand over Jan. 6 records
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has rejected a prosecutor's demand for records of his appearance at a pro-Donald Trump rally that preceded the assault on the U.S. Capitol. Last week, the Travis County district attorney's office had set a four-day deadline for Paxton to turn over the records involving the Jan. 6, 2021, rally or face a lawsuit accusing him of violating the state open records law. But in a letter to the district attorney's office Friday, the attorney general's office denied any violations and rejected the office's demands.
- BusinessYahoo Entertainment
'SNL' stars Pete Davidson and Colin Jost buy decommissioned Staten Island ferry for $280K at auction
Pete Davidson and Colin Jost have purchased an old Staten Island ferry — and, no, it's not for a Saturday Night Live bit. The sketch-show stars — and Staten Island natives — have been revealed as the mystery buyers of the out-of-service passenger ferry that was operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry, named the John F. Kennedy, which had been retired from service, went up for auction this week.
U.S.The Daily BeastFBI Reveals What Was in Brian Laundrie’s Notebook
Brian Laundrie scrawled messages in a notebook admitting that he killed his girlfriend Gabby Petito, the FBI said in a statement Friday as they announced that their investigation into the couple's deaths was now closed. The notebook was found alongside Laundrie's remains in a wooded area in Florida in October, weeks after police say he killed Petito while they were traveling the country in a van. “The FBI's primary focus throughout the investigation was to bring justice to Gabby and her family,” said FBI Denver Special Agent Michael Schneider.
BusinessReutersU.S. suspends 44 U.S flights by Chinese carriers after China action
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. government said on Friday it would suspend 44 China-bound flights from the United States by four Chinese carriers in response to the Chinese government's decision to suspend some U.S. carrier flights over COVID-19 concerns. The suspensions will begin on Jan. 30 with Xiamen Airlines' scheduled Los Angeles-to-Xiamen flight and run through March 29, the Transportation Department said. The decision will cut some flights by Xiamen, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.
U.S.Lansing State JournalMSU police find body believed to be missing teen Brendan Santo in Red Cedar River
The search for Brendan Santo is finally over. Police on Friday recovered a body from the Red Cedar River they believe to be that of the 18-year-old Grand Valley State University student who disappeared from the Michigan State University campus about 12 weeks ago. MSU police Inspector Chris Rozman said police recovered a body from the river about 12:30 p.m.
U.S.The Weather NetworkAn incredibly rare tropical cyclone might develop near Hawaii this week
This would be the earliest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the eastern Pacific. More on this odd situation, and a look ahead at the 2022 hurricane seasons, below. THE SYSTEM HAS A MEDIUM CHANCE OF DEVELOPING BY FRIDAY Forecasters are watching a low-pressure system swirling about 1,600 km east-northeast of Hawaii for potential tropical or subtropical development through Friday.
U.S.Associated PressKansas teen's death has spotlight on 'stand your ground' law
Kansas lawmakers were thinking of homeowners facing down burglars and people attacked on the street when they wrote a “stand your ground” law more than a decade ago allowing use of deadly force in self defense. Now even some Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature who support the idea behind the law want to revisit it. Police took 17-year-old Cedric Lofton to the center after a foster care agency said he needed a mental health exam for increasingly erratic behavior.
U.S.INSIDERA Black woman involved in a botched Chicago police raid got a $2.9 million settlement. She said she would have rather seen the cops get fired.
A Black woman received a $2.9 million settlement after a botched Chicago police raid in 2019. Anjanette Young told CBS she would've been happier if the cops were fired and she "didn't receive a dime." A Black woman who received a $2.9 million settlement over a botched Chicago police raid said she would've been happier if the cops involved were fired and she "didn't receive a dime."
PoliticsHuffPostTrump Revives Beef With One Of His Most Bizarre Foes In Rambling 'Hannity' Call
Former President Donald Trump revived his years-long beef with windmills on Fox News, this time complaining that they are “ruining the atmosphere.” It's one of his go-to talking points during his rambling phone interviews with the network's Sean Hannity, who hosted the former president Thursday for a similar affair. Trump has long disliked wind turbines, ever since a protracted and unsuccessful legal battle to stop Scottish officials from building what he called a “really ugly wind farm” in view of his Aberdeen golf resort.
WorldReutersSpain sends warships to Black Sea, considers sending warplanes
Spain has sent warships to join NATO naval forces in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea as tension in the region rises over the Russian military build-up on the Ukrainian border, Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Thursday. A mine-sweeper is already en route and a frigate will sail within three or four days, Robles told reporters. "Russia cannot tell any country what to do, so NATO will protect and defend the sovereignty of any country that can or wants to join NATO," she said.
U.S.The Daily BeastRacist New York Couple From Viral Train Incident Are Arrested... and Fired
A man and woman in New York have been both fired and arrested for verbally assaulting a family on a train in an incident that police have determined to be a hate crime. The Daily Voice reported that Justin Likerman and Kristin Digesaro, of Long Island, turned themselves in on Wednesday. New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority said the charges were brought in conjunction with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the Hate Crimes Unit.
- U.S.NY Daily News
Arnold Schwarzenegger involved in serious car crash in Los Angeles
Arnold Schwarzenegger was in a serious car crash Friday night in Los Angeles, according to multiple reports. Schwarzenegger escaped with only minor injuries, according to TMZ, but a woman in another vehicle was bleeding and taken to a hospital. The SUV belonging to the action star and former California governor was pictured resting atop two different vehicles on Sunset Boulevard, TMZ reported.
WorldReutersBulgaria says it decides on its defence with NATO allies
Bulgaria decides on its defence plans in coordination with its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said on Friday after Russia said its security demands included that NATO forces leave Bulgaria and Romania. Concern is running high in the West as Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine's border. Russia denies planning an attack, but says it could take unspecified military action if its security demands are not met.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThe former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis says the January 6 committee members are subpoenaing her because they're 'mad they can't date' her
Ellis said the January 6 panel's subpoena is because members are 'mad they can't date' her. Ellis was subpoenaed by the panel, along with Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Boris Epshteyn. The former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis has a theory about why she was subpoenaed by the January 6 panel investigating the Capitol riot.
U.S.Tacoma News TribuneAfter mega-quake, there won’t be much time before tsunami waves reach Olympic Peninsula
Those same residents would have only 10 minutes to evacuate for waves up to 100-feet-high that would hit them following a massive earthquake in the Cascadia subduction zone. Some might not get that much time. Ground sinking below their feet might flood during a magnitude 9 quake.
PoliticsReuters'No SALT no deal': Democrats vow to block Build Back Better bill without tax break
Several U.S. House members from President Joe Biden's Democratic Party are threatening to block a renewed push for his Build Back Better spending bill if it does not include the expansion of a federal deduction for taxes paid to states and local entities. Expanding the deduction, known as SALT for State and Local Taxes, has been a demand of lawmakers in higher-tax states such as California, New Jersey and New York, especially in suburbs where Democrats seek to retain control in Nov. 8 elections. The SALT deduction, part of the U.S. income tax code from its inception more than a century ago, was restricted to $10,000 in a 2017 Republican tax law.
PoliticsHuffPostExecutive Privilege Ruling Lands Steve Bannon, Mark Meadows In 'Deep Doo-Doo': Legal Expert
Onetime White House strategist Steve Bannon and former chief of staff Mark Meadows are in “deep doo-doo” now that the Supreme Court has ruled against former President Donald Trump's claim of executive privilege to shield documents sought in the U.S. Capitol riot probe, warned law professor Neal Katyal. Bannon and Meadows have refused to testify before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress, claiming that they, too, were protected by the executive privilege shield Trump has claimed. Asked by MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Wednesday what they face now, Katyal quipped: “I think the technical legal term is deep doo-doo.
WorldThe HillUS sends aircraft carrier group to Mediterranean as Russia threat looms
The U.S. military has sent the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier strike group to take part in a NATO naval exercise in the Mediterranean amid tensions between the West and Russia, the Pentagon's top spokesperson announced Friday. Neptune Strike 22 exercises, which are set to begin Monday and run through Feb. 4, will "demonstrate NATO's ability to integrate the high-end maritime strike capabilities of an aircraft carrier strike group to support the deterrence and defense of the alliance," press secretary John Kirby told reporters.
- U.S.Associated Press
2 Canadians killed, 1 wounded in Mexico resort shooting
Two Canadians were killed Friday and one more wounded in a shooting at a hotel along Mexico's Caribbean coast, state authorities said. Quintana Roo state security chief Lucio Hernández said via Twitter that authorities were searching for a Hotel Xcaret guest in the shooting. He shared a photo of a man walking with a handgun.
“Cooking is the No. 1 way you’re polluting your home … You’re basically living in this toxic soup.”
“People (myself included) like cooking with gas! It’s one of the few energy uses that inspires brand loyalty to the fuel consumed.”
“It’s time to start making new buildings all-electric and switching out all those existing gas appliances, including gas stoves.”
“If you're looking for personal ways to protect the environment and your health right now, you have much bigger fish to fry.”
“Market-based solutions have not achieved their desired goals, thus new ways of thinking need to emerge.”