PoliticsAssociated PressAP source: FBI had backup plan to save Russia probe evidence
The FBI developed a backup plan to protect evidence in its Russia investigation soon after the firing of FBI Director James Comey in the event that other senior officials were dismissed as well, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. The plan was crafted in the chaotic days after Comey was fired, when the FBI began investigating whether President Donald Trump had obstructed justice and whether he might be, wittingly or not, in league with the Russians. The goal was to ensure that the information collected under the investigations, which included probes of Trump associates and possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, would survive the firings or reassignments of top law enforcement officials.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Catholic Church 'nowhere close' to confronting global 'epidemic' of child sex abuse by priests
The Catholic Church is "nowhere close" to enacting the reforms needed to stop the "epidemic" of sex abuse by predatory priests and bishops against children, campaigners warned on Tuesday. Pope Francis is "in retreat" from any meaningful effort to bring abusers to justice, said Bishop Accountability, a leading pressure group. Nearly 200 archbishops, bishops and other senior officials are to join the Pope at the Vatican for an unprecedented, four-day conference on combating the sexual abuse of minors by clergy.
WorldReutersIsrael should apologize to Poland in Holocaust row: U.S. ambassador to Warsaw
Washington's ambassador to Warsaw on Wednesday called on Israel to apologize to Poland in a row between the two countries over the Holocaust, after Israel's acting foreign minister said "many Poles" had collaborated with the Nazis. The row, initially sparked by media reports suggesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Poles of complicity in the Holocaust, deepened on Monday after the comment by his minister Israel Katz, who also labeled Poles anti-Semites. Katz's words led Poland to pull out of a planned summit of central European states in Israel.
NewsThe IndependentLesbian couple turned away by Indiana tax preparer four years after Mike Pence signed anti-LGBTQ law
A married lesbian couple in Indiana were turned away by a tax preparer when they attempted to file their taxes jointly last week, making them one of many victims of the state's anti-LGBTQ laws. Bailey and Samantha Brazzel got married last July and decided to file their taxes jointly for the first time. The couple went to Carter Tax Service in Russiaville to meet with Nancy Fivecoate, a tax preparer Ms Bailey used for the last four years.
- 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.
- 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.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Empire star Jussie Smollett arrested after being charged with lying to police over race hate attack
Actor Jussie Smollett has been arrested after he was charged with lying to police when he claimed he was attacked and beaten by two masked men shouting racist and homophobic slurs, Chicago police said on Thursday on Twitter. Smollett, a 36-year-old black, openly gay actor on the hip-hop TV drama Empire, ignited a firestorm on social media by telling police on Jan. 29 that two men had struck him, put a noose around his neck and poured bleach over him. Smollett turned himself in at central booking, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
- BusinessU.S.News & World Report
7 Stocks Warren Buffett Just Bought or Sold
The biggest news from Buffett's filing is the disclosure that Berkshire sold shares of Apple in the fourth quarter. Buffett trimmed his stake in his largest holding from 253.4 million shares to 249.6 million shares, a 1.5 percent reduction. Apple investors knew the day would come at some point when Buffett would stop buying Apple, and it may have taken fears over a 2019 iPhone sales slowdown to finally reach that point.
- BusinessCar and Driver
See Photos of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz SL Grand Edition
The current SL reminds us of Benzes bygone, so it's leaving the scene with exclusive colors and body trim. From Car and Driver
- NewsYahoo News
Conspiracy theorists are claiming Ruth Bader Ginsburg is dead. She isn't.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the Supreme Court bench Tuesday to hear oral arguments for the first time since undergoing cancer surgery in December. According to Supreme Court reporters, Ginsburg smiled as she arrived with her fellow justices at court, taking her seat unassisted at 10 a.m. ET. Ginsburg's public appearance came four days after former White House adviser Sebastian Gorka questioned whether 85-year-old associate justice was still alive, advancing a conspiracy theory that has been circulating in fringe circles since news of her cancer surgery broke.
PoliticsUSA TODAYAlec Baldwin, Donald Trump Jr. exchange Twitter jabs over 'Saturday Night Live' skit
Alec Baldwin is taking on another Trump. After clashing with President Donald Trump over his "Saturday Night Live" portrayal, Baldwin took to Twitter to address criticism from another member of the family – Donald Trump Jr. Trump's eldest son, 41, slammed Baldwin after the actor reprised his Emmy award-winning impression of Trump on the NBC show Saturday. During the opening sketch, Baldwin, 60, poked fun at the president's national emergency declaration from the Rose Garden on Friday.
- WorldReuters
Factbox: Who has quit Theresa May's Conservative Party? And what does it mean?
Three pro-EU lawmakers from Britain's governing Conservative Party quit to join an independent group in parliament on Wednesday, in a blow to Prime Minister Theresa May's attempts to unite her party around her Brexit plans. May's Conservative Party does not have a majority in parliament and is only able to govern thanks to a deal with 10 lawmakers from the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party. There are now 313 active Conservative lawmakers in the 650-seat parliament.
CelebrityAssociated PressObama joined by Curry to tell minority boys 'you matter'
Former President Barack Obama and Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry told a roomful of minority boys on Tuesday that they matter and urged them to make the world a better place. Obama was in Oakland, California, to mark the fifth anniversary of My Brother's Keeper, an initiative he launched after the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The initiative was a call to communities to close opportunity gaps for minority boys, especially African-American, Latino and Native American boys, Obama said to roughly 100 boys attending the alliance's first national gathering.
WorldAFPAbbas says will reject reduced tax reimbursement from Israel
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Wednesday he would not accept partial payment of tax transfers owed by Israel, which decided to withhold reimbursements in retaliation for payments to prisoners jailed for attacks. "We shall not accept the (tax) money if it is not paid in full," Abbas told a central committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Israel's security cabinet on Sunday approved the freezing of $138 million (122 million euros) over the Palestinian Authority's payments to prisoners jailed for attacks on Israelis.
WorldReutersChilean nuns find 'relief' in Pope's recognition of Church abuse
Three former Chilean nuns who claim to have been sexually abused over two decades ago by priests in their religious order have hailed comments by Pope Francis earlier this month in which he recognized the abuse of nuns in the Catholic Church. The three nuns, who had been members of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan order in the Chilean city of Molina, 130 miles south of Santiago, told Reuters in an interview on Friday that they were embraced and fondled during the 1990s and 2000s by several priests who had since died. The three, Yolanda Tondreaux, Eliana Macias and Marcela Quitral, told Reuters TV they had reported the abuse to their mother superior but were told either that they were lying or had provoked the abuse and were threatened with being forced to leave the convent.
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.
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.
U.S.FOX News VideosChicago police say Jussie Smollett has been charged with felony disorderly conduct
Cook County State's Attorney approves felony charges against 'Empire' star Jussie Smollett; Mike Tobin reports.
- NewsYahoo News
Alabama editor who called for lynchings by Klan should quit, senators say
Officials in Alabama are calling for a small-town newspaper editor to resign because of an editorial calling for the Ku Klux Klan to terrorize Washington, D.C. Goodloe Sutton, the editor and publisher of the Democrat-Reporter in Linden, Ala., wrote the editorial titled “Klan needs to ride again” that ran in the paper last week. “Time for the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again,” read the Feb. 14 editorial.
- 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.
WorldReutersPakistani PM warns India against attack, urges talks on Kashmir blast
Khan added that he wanted to cooperate in investigating the suicide bombing on Thursday, when 40 Indian paramilitary police were killed in an attack claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group. Pakistani authorities have denied any involvement in the attack and called for United Nations intervention. "And after that where will it head?" The United Nations is "deeply concerned" at the rising tensions and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is available to mediate if both sides ask, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.
CelebrityAssociated PressMariano Rivera calls child support allegations 'unfounded'
Just weeks after becoming baseball's first unanimous Hall of Fame selection, Mariano Rivera is defending himself from accusations in his native Panama that he has failed to support two children he had outside his marriage. "I have always acted ... as a good family father," the 49-year-old told local media. Rivera's comments came as he is being asked to appear before Panamanian judicial authorities to answer accusations that he has failed to fulfill his obligations to support the boy and girl, ages 11 and 15.
WorldAFPBritain to strip IS teen of citizenship: lawyer
Britain will strip citizenship from a UK teenager who joined the Islamic State group in Syria but now wants to return home with her newborn baby, a lawyer for her family said Tuesday. The case points to a dilemma facing many European countries, divided over whether to allow jihadists and IS sympathisers home to face prosecution or barring them over security concerns as the so-called "caliphate" crumbles. A lawyer for her family, Tasnime Akunjee, said on Twitter that they were "very disappointed with the Home Office's intention to have an order made depriving Shamima of her citizenship," and that they were considering "all legal avenues".
WorldReuters'Malthouse Compromise' on Brexit not dead: UK lawmaker after PM May talks
A eurosceptic British lawmaker said the "Malthouse Compromise" - an attempt to redraft the contentious Irish backstop in the Brexit deal - was "alive and kicking" after a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday. Reports had said May's government would not pursue the proposal, which had been championed by some Conservative lawmakers, in talks with the European Union. Steve Baker, a member of a euroskeptic group in May's ruling Conservative Party, said: "The Malthouse Compromise is alive and kicking.
WorldUSA TODAYAs Vatican meets on sex abuse, Pope must defrock Guam's Apuron, groups say
HAGATNA, Guam –Two leading U.S. organizations protecting victims and documenting the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic priesthood have called on Pope Francis to sustain the guilty verdict on Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron in a case involving sexual abuse of minors, and to defrock or expel him from the priesthood. "It is wrong for Pope Francis to leave Guam Catholics twisting in the wind and waiting to discover the fate of Archbishop Apuron, especially since it has been nearly a full year since the archbishop was found guilty of abusing children," said Zach Hiner, executive director for the Missouri-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the world's largest and oldest survivors group for abuse victims.
