- PoliticsAssociated Press
Lawyer: Ex-FBI official McCabe still facing investigation
A criminal investigation into whether former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe made false statements during an internal probe into a news media disclosure remains open, his attorney said Thursday. "We've had dealings with the U.S. attorney's office" in Washington that has been handling the case, said lawyer Michael Bromwich, who accompanied McCabe to a wide-ranging interview session with reporters. The Justice Department inspector general last year referred for investigation and possible prosecution allegations that McCabe lied under oath when questioned about the source of information in a 2016 Wall Street Journal story about an FBI inquiry into the Clinton Foundation.
WorldReutersVictims testify at child sex abuse conference
Pope Francis promised that concrete action against child sexual abuse by priests would result from a conference he opened on Thursday, with one cardinal acknowledging that the Church had to fight "the enemy within". Francis convened Catholic leaders from around the world for the four-day meeting to address the scandal that has ravaged the Church's credibility in the United States - where it has paid billions of dollars in settlements - Ireland, Chile, Australia, and elsewhere over the last three decades. "Faced with the scourge of sexual abuse committed by men of the Church against minors, I wanted to reach out to you," Francis told the assembled bishops and heads of religious orders.
- PoliticsTime
Why North Carolina's Election Fraud Hurts American Democracy
On Thursday, the North Carolina State Board of Elections ordered a new election in the state's Ninth Congressional District after testimony revealed how a political operative likely tampered with absentee ballots. The decision came three and a half months after Election Day, guaranteeing that the southern suburbs of Charlotte will be without a voice in Congress even longer as the final undecided race of 2018 is re-run. It was an embarrassing setback for Republican candidate Mark Harris, who had maintained for months that he had no real-time knowledge of a campaign consultant's shady — and perhaps illegal — efforts to submit absentee ballots to sway the vote in his favor.
WorldAFPUS Venezuela envoy departs for Colombia on aid flight
US special representative Elliott Abrams departed the US on Friday for the Colombian city of Cucuta on a plane carrying American humanitarian aid for crisis-hit Venezuela. The US Air Force C-17 cargo plane left Homestead, south of Miami, and was to arrive in Cucuta later on Friday, a day before the deadline set by Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido for the entry of humanitarian assistance that President Nicolas Maduro is seeking to prohibit. Abrams told reporters at the military base the United States was sending medical supplies and enough food to feed 2,000 people for a month.
BusinessConsumer ReportsCars Lose CR Recommendation Over Reliability Issues
Consumer Reports can no longer recommend six car models, including the Acura RDX SUV and the Tesla Model 3 sedan, because of problems identified in CR's annual reliability survey. The survey has data on 470,000 vehicles as reported by their owners. Some cars improved their standing.
EntertainmentThe IndependentTucker Carlson: Fox News host laughs along with guest after he suggests black people 'need to move on' from slavery
A guest who appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show said African Americans “need to move on” from slavery because it was abolished “a century-and-a-half ago”. Mark Steyn, a cultural commentator, made the comments on Thursday during a segment discussing 2020 presidential candidates who are in favour of reparations for African Americans. During his rant, Steyn said: “Slavery was abolished a century and a half ago, nobody alive today has a grandparent who was a slave, and in that sense I think you reach a point where, you know, you need to move on.
PoliticsUSA TODAYCarbon dioxide in our atmosphere may soar to levels not seen in 56 million years
Emissions of carbon dioxide – the greenhouse gas most responsible for global warming – could soar to levels not seen in 56 million years by the middle of next century, scientists warned in a study Wednesday. Though it won't happen in our lifetimes, it could very well happen in the lives of our grandchildren or great-grandchildren. "You and I won't be here in 2159, but that's only about four generations away," said study author Philip Gingerich, a University of Michigan paleoclimate researcher.
WorldAFPCanada looks to reunite Syrian family after fire claims seven kids
Canada is looking to quickly bring over siblings of a Syrian refugee distraught over the loss of her seven children in a Halifax house fire, the prime minister said Thursday. "The immigration minister is seized with this particular case," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said when asked if Ottawa would fast-track the immigration or asylum process to bring the woman's brothers to Canada in order to provide her with family support. The family was among tens of thousands of Syrian refugees welcomed by Canada over the past four years.
- NewsAssociated Press
Alabama woman who joined Islamic State sues to return to US
The father of an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State in Syria filed suit against the Trump administration Thursday in an effort to allow her return to the United States. Ahmed Ali Muthana argues in the suit filed in federal court in Washington that his 24-year-old daughter, Hoda Muthana, is an American citizen by birth and should be allowed to come back to the U.S. with her toddler son. Hoda Muthana is now in a Syrian refugee camp with the 18-month-old boy after fleeing the remnants of the Islamic State.
- U.S.Yahoo News Video
Should 'ISIS brides' be allowed to return home?
Hoda Muthana from the United States and Shamima Begum from Britain — have ignited debate about young people who leave their home countries to join the Islamic State but later want to come home.
- WorldAssociated Press
The Latest: Cardinal condemns how church handles sex abuse
A Colombian cardinal has warned fellow Roman Catholic bishops at a Vatican summit they could be imprisoned for covering up crimes if they don't properly deal with clergy sex abuse cases. In a remarkable speech at the abuse prevention summit, Cardinal Rubén Salazar Gómez on Thursday also denounced how bishops tend to believe priests over people reporting abuse allegations. Salazar proposed an obligatory code of conduct that outlines clear norms and penalties when bishops fall short in their handling of sexual abuse, an astonishing proposal from a cardinal of a country where the scandal hasn't erupted in full.
- NewsReuters
North Carolina elections board orders new U.S. House election
North Carolina's elections board on Thursday unanimously ordered a new election for a U.S. House seat after officials said corruption surrounding absentee ballots tainted the results of last November's vote. The bipartisan board's 5-0 decision came after Republican candidate Mark Harris requested a new vote, telling the panel that evidence of possible ballot fraud had undermined confidence in the election. In the televised hearing, board members said "corruption" and the "absolute mess with the absentee ballots" had cast doubt on the fairness of the contest and voters deserved a fresh election.
- NewsThe Independent
Girl banned from wearing MAGA hat claims school is violating her First Amendment rights
A California high school student who was banned from wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat on campus is challenging her school district for impinging on her First Amendment rights. Maddie Mueller, who attends Clovis North High School in Fresno, is a member of Valley Patriots. The conservative activist group asked its affiliates to wear the well-known hat bearing Donald Trump's campaign motto on Wednesday.
- BusinessUSA TODAY Opinion
Robert Kraft prostitution scandal exposes depth of modern slavery, sex trafficking industry
If true, Robert Kraft is one of millions Even though slavery has been illegal in the United States since the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1865, slavery persists in this country because there is very little real penalty for the offense. Sex slavery in particular persists because men are largely able to purchase female bodies for sexual gratification with little to no penalty. These men appear to believe that money somehow confers the right to own another human being for a period of time, like subletting property.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Venezuelan soldiers defect as troops fire tear gas at protesters on Colombia border
Three soldiers from the Venezuelan national guard have deserted their posts, according to reports, ahead of a planned opposition-led effort to bring aid into the economically-devastated county. The soldiers have asked for help from neighbouring Colombia's migration agency. President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the Venezuelan military to bar the aid caravan, which is being supported by the opposition, from entering the country.
ScienceReutersIsrael's first lunar lander launched into space from Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Florida on Thursday night carrying Israel's first lunar lander on a mission that if successful will make the Jewish state only the fourth nation to achieve a controlled touchdown on the moon's surface. The unmanned robotic lander dubbed Beresheet - Hebrew for the biblical phrase "in the beginning" - soared into space from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at about 8:45 p.m. EST (0145 GMT Friday) atop the 23-story-tall rocket. Beresheet was jettisoned into Earth orbit about 34 minutes after launch, followed 15 minutes later by the release of the two satellites, according to a SpaceX webcast of the event.
BusinessAFPGlobal equities climb on hopeful trade talk vibes
World stock markets advanced Friday as investors awaited what they hoped will be encouraging news from US-China trade talks in Washington, dealers said. Europe's key equity markets were modestly higher at the close, building on earlier Asian gains. Wall Street was also higher in the late New York morning as US economic concerns appeared to be eclipsed by hopes that high-level talks between the United States and China will seal a trade war truce.
- NewsYahoo News
The Soviets wanted to infiltrate the Reagan camp. So, the CIA recruited a businessman to bait them.
Beginning in 1975, a big black limousine with diplomatic plates would pull up once a month to the no-parking zone outside John Greenagel's office in the handsome Merchants Exchange Building in downtown San Francisco. The man would hand Greenagel, then in his mid-30s, the paper bag, which always contained stale Cuban cigars and a bottle of Stolichnaya without a tax stamp. Yuri Pavlov was a diplomat based at the Soviet Consulate in San Francisco and an undercover KGB officer, but the KGB probably wouldn't have been pleased about who ended up partaking in these delectables.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
A 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback Is the Latest to Be Immortalized in Legos
This 1970s-era Ford Mustang kit is customizable; there's a supercharger, front and rear spoilers, tail or side pipes, and even a nitrous-oxide tank. A removable roof panel permits access to the attentively detailed interior. The kit will be available directly from Lego stores or online, starting March 1.
- U.S.KABC – Los Angeles
Gov. Newsom orders new DNA tests for inmate Kevin Cooper in 35-year-old Chino Hills murder case
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing new DNA tests for an inmate on death row who has been in prison for nearly 40 years.
- WorldAssociated Press
A global look at the Catholic Church's sex abuse problem
Some countries where the scandal has played out visibly in recent years: ARGENTINA Francis' home country is beginning to see an eruption of the scandal, with some cases even implicating the pontiff himself. As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis played a decisive and divisive role in Argentina's most famous abuse case, commissioning a four-volume, 2,000-plus page forensic study of the legal case against a convicted priest that concluded he was innocent, that his victims were lying and that the case never should have gone to trial. Despite the study, Argentina's Supreme Court in 2017 upheld the conviction and 15-year prison sentence for the Rev.
PoliticsUSA TODAYAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she could have been a teacher if it wasn't for Trump
WASHINGTON – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took on what her life could be like in another world, in another time where Donald Trump was not the president. While appearing on the premiere of Showtime's new talk show "Desus & Mero," Ocasio-Cortez was asked what she would have done if she hadn't decided to run for Congress, joining a large pool of women who ran in the midterms in direct response to Trump winning the 2016 election. Mero asked if Trump hadn't become president, "would you have run for Congress?"
BusinessReutersTesla rolls out Model 3 in China ahead of schedule in sales push
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Tesla Inc has started delivering Model 3 cars in China slightly ahead of schedule, as it looks to revive its sales that have been hit hard by Sino-U.S. trade tensions. The California-based firm has already adjusted prices and added a cheaper Model 3 variant to its line-up to make its U.S.-made cars more affordable in China amid high import tariffs. It had initially projected a March start for Model 3 deliveries in China - the world's biggest auto market where overall car sales contracted in 2018 for the first time in more than two decades.
- WorldThe Independent
Relatives of US oil industry 'hostages' in Venezuela make emotional appeal for their release
Relatives of six American oil company employees detained by the Venezuelan authorities have made a powerful appeal for their release, demanding they not be overlooked as tension mounts in the country. The six men – five US citizens and one permanent resident, and all employees of Citgo, the US subsidiary of Venezuela's state-run Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) – were detained in November 2017 after being called to Caracas from Houston for a meeting. President Nicolas Maduro went on television to denounce them as “traitors”, saying: “They're properly behind bars, and they should go to the worst prison in Venezuela.” Asdrubal Chavez, a cousin of the late president, was appointed company's new president.
