- WorldReuters
Sex seminar model who claimed to know Trump secrets deported from Thailand
A model from Belarus who was arrested during a "sex training seminar" in Thailand and then claimed to have evidence of Russian interference in U.S. President Donald Trump's election was deported on Thursday. Thai authorities said Anastasia Vashukevich, 27, two other Belarussians and five Russians were being sent to their home countries two days after they pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy and soliciting. Vashukevich drew world attention last February when she said she had hours of audio recordings that could shed light on links between Russian officials and Trump's election in 2016.
- WorldBloomberg
Kenya Hunts Gunmen in Fatal Hotel Attack Claimed by Al-Qaeda
The attack on 14 Riverside Drive in Nairobi began with an explosion targeting three vehicles in the parking lot and then a suicide-bombing in the foyer of a Dusit Hotels & Resorts Co. outlet, police Inspector-General Joseph Boinnet said Tuesday in a televised briefing. Al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda based in neighboring Somalia, said it killed 47 people in the attack, according to Radio Andalus, a broadcaster that supports its insurgency. The group didn't say how it obtained the figure, but if its involvement was confirmed it would be the Islamists' first significant assault in Kenya since a raid on a university campus in Garissa county in April 2015 that killed at least 147 people.
PoliticsYahoo NewsSteve King faces increasing pressure to resign after 'white supremacy' remarks
Rep. Steve King's base of support, including in his home state of Iowa, continues to erode after comments he made appearing to praise white supremacy were published in the New York Times. The latest salvo came as the Sioux City Journal, a conservative newspaper in Iowa's Fourth District that had previously endorsed the Republican congressman, called on him to resign. “It's hard for us to summon words that will properly convey how repugnant we view that remark,” said the paper in response to King asking, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” earlier this month.
BusinessAFPFord forecasts $112 mn Q4 loss amid restructuring costs
Ford said Wednesday it expected to post a $112 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2018 as the automaker implements a massive restructuring in the United States and Europe. The second-biggest US automaker said it would still post a profit after charges stemming from the drive to cut $11 billion in costs. The firm sees adjusted profit of 30 cents a share during this period, according to the statement, less than the 32 cents anticipated by the markets.
- NewsThe Independent
California storms: At least five people killed after heavy rain and snow cause devastation
At least five people have died in severe rain and snowstorms that blanketed parts of California with at least five feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains this week, besides triggering flooding and mudslides, officials said. Forecasters expect the bitter weather to push eastwards into the Rockies and US Midwest through the weekend, while the California Highway Patrol said rain-slicked highways led to two fatal accidents that killed four people. A family of three, including a one-year-old baby, died in El Dorado County on Tuesday, after their car spun across a rain-soaked freeway to hit another car, the San Francisco Chronicle said.
BusinessUSA TODAYSouthwest Airlines flights canceled, delayed due to computer issue in Baltimore
A four-hour Southwest Airlines computer glitch on Tuesday caused delays and cancellations for passengers traveling to and from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The exact number of delayed and canceled flights isn't clear, though 37 Southwest flights were canceled leaving the airport Tuesday out of 174 scheduled. It's also not yet clear what caused the four-hour glitch between 10 a.m.
- BusinessThe Telegraph
Apple boss Tim Cook attacks 'shadow economy' of data in call for new privacy law
Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has called for the US to introduce a national privacy law, attacking a “shadow economy” in which people's personal data is bought and sold without their knowledge. Mr Cook said companies should have to collect as little data as possible and make it easy for people to delete the information that is held about them. It is the latest attempt from Apple to position itself as the steward of consumers' privacy, and to draw a line between itself and companies such as Facebook and Google.
NewsReutersIn third year, U.S. women's marches turn to 2020 elections
Millions of people took part in the women's marches in Washington and other cities in the United States and abroad on Jan. 21, 2017, the day after the Republican president was sworn in. Vanessa Wruble, a co-founder of the original Women's March on Washington who left to start March On, a separate grassroots coalition, said the movement has evolved from being a reaction to Trump's presidency. Women's March, a national nonprofit organization that evolved from the initial Washington march, is using its #WomensWave marches in Washington and elsewhere on Saturday to roll out a 10-part policy platform that includes raising the federal minimum wage and protecting reproductive rights.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Grandfather: Suspect 'backed off from crowds'
The Latest on the kidnapping of 13-year-old Jayme Closs (all times local): 6:30 p.m. The grandfather of a 21-year-old Wisconsin man accused of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents during a home invasion says his grandson was "quiet and shy." Jim Moyer told ABC News on Tuesday that his grandson, Jake Thomas Patterson, is a "nice boy, polite" who often "backed off from crowds."
- PoliticsThe National Review
Pelosi Says She 'Doesn't Care' After DHS Contradicts Claim that SOTU Should be Cancelled
Speaker Nancy Pelosi reacted with ambivalence Wednesday night after the Department of Homeland Security contradicted her claim that the upcoming State of the Union address should be cancelled due to security concerns resulting from the ongoing government shutdown. “I don't care what they said,” Pelosi told reporters when asked about the secret service's claim that they cold secure the House chamber for President Trump's upcoming State of the Union speech. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen pushed back Wednesday afternoon after Pelosi sent a letter to Trump asking him to deliver the State of the Union in writing, or delay it until the record government shutdown is resolved and the requisite agencies are better able to secure the venue.
- BusinessAOL.com
Marriott is rolling out a brand new rewards program -- Here's everything you need to know
This included SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest), Marriott Rewards and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards — three previously unrelated loyalty programs that existed with separate point-value systems and benefits. The merger essentially unified the currency for all three separate rewards programs and allowed for members of any of the three programs to use their points across Marriott's entire combined portfolio of 29 brands and 6,700 participating resorts and hotels. Today, Marriott has solidified the mega-merger under the new name and introduction of Marriott Bonvoy, the new travel-focused loyalty program that will be taking the place of the three merged programs.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand moves toward launching 2020 presidential campaign
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday moved toward launching a 2020 presidential campaign by forming an exploratory committee. The New York Democrat announced her intentions on CBS' “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” ahead of a trip to Iowa this weekend.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
'We're going to electrify the F-Series,' Ford exec says
Ford Motor Co. has confirmed plans to build a fully electric F-Series pickup, which industry observers called an unexpected move that protects the truck franchise against Tesla and other competitors. We're going to be electrifying the F-Series — battery electric and hybrid,” Jim Farley, Ford president of global markets, said this week during a presentation at the Deutsche Bank Global Automotive Conference in Detroit. In framing the company's redesign, Farley said a move toward all-electric and hybrid would “futureproof” the billion-dollar F-Series franchise, which he called a “global juggernaut.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Republican congressman Steve King defiantly supports vote rebuking his own racist remarks
Steve King defiantly rejected what he described as an "unprecedented assault” on his freedom of speech while simultaneously supporting a resolution in Congress condemning his own racist remarks. The Iowa Republican — whose has a history of controversial rhetoric — sparked a backlash after an interview with the New York Times was published last week in which the congressman appeared to lament why language like white nationalist and white supremacist had "become offensive". Mr King took to the House floor to seemingly clarify his controversial statements before the vote.
BusinessReutersLampert wins Sears bankruptcy auction with $5.2 billion bid
Sears Holdings Corp Chairman Eddie Lampert won a bankruptcy auction to buy the once iconic U.S. retailer after presenting an improved offer of $5.2 billion, Sears said on Thursday, allowing it to keep its more than 400 stores running. Sears picked Lampert's hedge fund ESL Investments Inc as the winner at a bankruptcy court-supervised auction after his latest bid topped an earlier $5 billion proposal following weeks of talks. The deal would preserve up to 45,000 jobs and ESL would acquire substantially all of the company, including its "Go Forward Stores" on a going-concern basis, Sears said.
U.S.FOX News VideosDemocrats boycott shutdown meeting at the White House, say they will not meet until government is reopened
Ohio Congressman Brad Wenstrup, who attended the meeting, reacts to the democrats actions on 'Your World.
- EntertainmentCar and Driver
See the New 2019 McLaren 600LT Spider in Photos
All the better to listen to its top-exit exhaust pipes. From Car and Driver
NewsAssociated PressCalifornia storms kill at least 5 as flooding fears rise
Heavy rain, snow and wind pummeled much of California Thursday, causing at least five deaths, leaving thousands without power and forcing wildfire victims threatened by floods to flee their homes. Southern California authorities concerned with rising streams and excessive runoff ordered evacuations in parts of Malibu and other areas scarred by wildfires. In harder hit Northern California, authorities warned of imminent floods and debris flows in the wildfire-ravished city of Paradise and the surrounding region denuded of protective trees and vegetation, telling residents to prepare to flee their homes on a moment's notice.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Barr Say He, Not Mueller, May Write the Public Report on Russia Probe
William Barr vowed to protect Robert Mueller's Russia investigation from political interference but said he -- not Mueller -- may ultimately write the public version of the special counsel's findings if he's confirmed as attorney general. I will commit to providing as much information as I can consistent with the regulations” on special counsels, Barr, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Justice Department, said Tuesday in the first of two days of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Barr, 68, has been through the confirmation process before and served as attorney general in the 1990s.
- BusinessThe National Review
Procter & Gamble's Toxic Sanctimony
Recognized around the world as a symbol of manly civility for more than a century, Gillette will now be remembered as the company that did itself in by sacrificing a massive consumer base at the altar of progressivism. In case you hadn't seen or heard: Parent company Procter & Gamble launched a Gillette ad campaign blanket-demonizing men as ogres and bullies. At home and at work, in the boardroom, on the playground, and even while barbecuing in the backyard, Gillette sees nothing but testosterone-driven trouble.
WorldAFPVenezuela's parliament tries to lure military into disavowing Maduro
Venezuela's opposition-controlled but powerless National Assembly stepped up its battle with President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday by offering an amnesty to anyone from the military who joins it in disavowing the socialist leader. The "amnesty law" would extend also to civilian government officials who collaborate "in the restitution of constitutional order," parliament said. The row between the legislature and Maduro has intensified since the socialist leader was sworn in last week for a second term of office in the crisis-hit country, after he won snap elections in May that were boycotted by the opposition and dismissed by the United States, European Union and Organization of American States as a fraud.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
New Richard Branson-backed cruise line Virgin Voyages to have 'massive' suites
The first ship for startup cruise line Virgin Voyages will have two of the largest suites at sea. The Richard Branson-backed company on Wednesday unveiled plans for two giant, 2,147-square-foot suite complexes that will sit atop the bridge of Scarlet Lady, the 2,860-passenger, adult-only Virgin Voyages vessel arriving in 2020. The complexes will be called the Massive Suites and have a rock music theme that includes music rooms stocked with guitars and an amplifier – a nod to the rock and roll heritage of Branson's Virgin Group.
- WorldThe Independent
New migrant caravan travelling to US from Honduras adding to tensions over border
Yet another migrant caravan is making the long and dangerous journey to the United States, with the situation on the US-Mexico border having already contributed to the longest government shutdown in American history. Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister Nelly Jerez said that between 800 and 1,000 people were travelling together and headed towards the Agua Caliente border crossing into Guatemala. Hundreds of Honduran refugees and migrants also left a bus station in the northern city of San Pedro Sula and moved along to join the caravan.
NewsReutersLos Angeles teachers strike for second day as mayor seeks to restart talks
Some 30,000 Los Angeles teachers on strike for higher pay, smaller classes and more staff walked picket lines in the rain for a second day on Tuesday as Mayor Eric Garcetti embraced their cause while trying to nudge the two sides back to the bargaining table. Negotiators for the Los Angeles Unified School District and the United Teachers Los Angeles have not met since union leaders rejected the LAUSD's latest contract offer on Friday night, calling the proposal an "insult." Asked on Tuesday afternoon whether the two parties had any intention of resuming labor talks, an LAUSD spokeswoman said: "Nothing is scheduled at this time."
- BusinessReuters
McDonald's loses 'Big Mac' trademark case to Irish chain Supermac's
McDonald's Corp has lost its rights to the trademark "Big Mac" in a European Union case ruling in favour of Ireland-based fast-food chain Supermac's, a decision from the EU's Spain-based Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) showed. The judgement, provided to Reuters by Supermac's, revoked McDonald's registration of the trademark, saying that the world's largest fast-food chain had not proven genuine use of it over the five years prior to the case being lodged in 2017. The EUIPO did not respond to phone calls and emails requesting comment.
