PoliticsAssociated PressWhite House denounces Rep. King's white supremacy remarks
Comments by Republican Rep. Steve King about white supremacy are "abhorrent," the White House said Wednesday as bipartisan condemnation of King continued. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders praised a move by House Republicans to strip the nine-term Iowa lawmaker of his committee assignments. The House on Tuesday approved a Democratic measure rebuking King, and a member of the House Republican leadership suggested King should leave Congress.
PoliticsReuters'Not the greatest crisis': Trump's EPA pick downplays climate threat
U.S. President Donald Trump's new pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency told lawmakers on Wednesday he does not believe climate change is a major crisis, and would continue to undo Obama-era emission limits if confirmed. Trump nominated EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler last week to run the agency permanently, seeking a strong advocate for his pro-fossil fuels agenda - a choice that cheered business interests and drawn scorn from environmentalists. quot;I would not call it the greatest crisis," Wheeler said at his confirmation hearing when asked if he believed the increasingly urgent warnings from scientists about the threats from global warming.
NewsAssociated PressAmerican anchor for Iranian TV is arrested on visit to US
A prominent American anchorwoman on Iranian state television has been arrested by the FBI during a visit to the U.S., the broadcaster reported Wednesday, and her son said she was being held in a prison, apparently as a material witness. Marzieh Hashemi, who worked for the network's English-language service, was detained in St. Louis, where she had filmed a Black Lives Matter documentary after visiting relatives in the New Orleans area. The FBI said in an email that it had no comment on the arrest of the woman who was born Melanie Franklin in New Orleans and has worked for Iran's state television network for 25 years.
- WorldTime
'Enough is Enough.' How European Media Responded to the Brexit Deal Defeat
On Tuesday night, U.K. lawmakers resoundingly rejected the Brexit agreement Prime Minister Theresa May has spent a year and a half negotiating with the European Union. It was the biggest parliamentary defeat for a government proposal in the U.K.'s modern history, with 432 lawmakers voting against the deal, and only 202 in favor. As May faces a no confidence vote Wednesday and the British government scrambles to find a way to avoid crashing out of the bloc without a deal on March 29 (a “no-deal” Brexit), the rest of Europe is watching the chaos unfold.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Trump Denies Pelosi Plane to Visit U.S. Troops in Shutdown Spat
President Donald Trump informed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that she couldn't use military planes to visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan this weekend because of the partial government shutdown, telling her barely an hour before her departure that she should stay in Washington to negotiate. In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate,” Trump said in a letter to Pelosi, a day after she suggested he postpone his State of the Union speech scheduled for Jan. 29.
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."
- WorldThe Telegraph
Kenya attack: At least six killed in Nairobi hotel complex terror siege
Islamist terrorists detonated explosives and fired automatic weapons as they mounted a deadly attack on a hotel and business complex frequented by Westerners in Nairobi on Tuesday. Six people have been confirmed killed in the attack, while a Kenyan police officer told reporters 15 bodies had been taken to the mortuary. A mortuary worker added that identification papers indicated that 11 were Kenyan, one was American and one was British, while the other two did not have documents on them.
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.
- ScienceAccuWeather
Venus-Jupiter conjunction: Set your alarm for this celestial meet-up on Tuesday morning
Jupiter and Venus will shine bright together before dawn on Tuesday in an astronomical event known as a conjunction. "A conjunction is a celestial event in which two planets or a planet and the moon or a planet and a star appear close together in the night sky," according to the NASA website. Close encounters of Jupiter and Venus in the sky occur on a fairly regular basis, most recently happening on Nov. 13, 2017.
- 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
- NewsYahoo News
Tulsi Gabbard apologizes, again, for past antigay views
One week after her 2020 presidential rollout, the campaign of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, has hit a pothole. Gabbard issued an apology Thursday for antigay views she expressed in the past, attributing them to her conservative upbringing. “In my past, I said and believed things that were wrong,” said Gabbard, who represents Hawaii's second district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: California storm cancels Santa Anita horse races
Southern California's Santa Anita Park canceled horse racing Thursday because of stormy weather. Track Superintendent Andy LaRocco says Santa Anita has taken on 3.5 inches (89 millimeters) of rain since Monday. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows improved conditions in California after a series of storms.
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.
U.S.FOX News VideosHouse Democrats vows to vote for a border barrier because that's what her constituents want
Are there any signs other Democrats will break from the establishment line? Congresswoman Katie Hill explains her reasons for supporting Trump's physical border barrier
- 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.
WorldAFPMexican president took $100 mln drug bribe, trial hears
Former Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto accepted a $100 million bribe from drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, a former collaborator told the kingpin's trial. Alex Cifuentes, a Colombian who is now collaborating with US prosecutors in the Chapo trial, made the statement under examination from defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman. "Mr. Guzman paid a bribe of $100 million to President Pena Nieto,?" the lawyer asked.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a social media star, to school House Democrats on Twitter use
Soon you may see other Democrats taking a page from her social media playbook. The House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee is hosting a session Thursday morning with Ocasio-Cortez of New York (@AOC – 2.42 million followers) and Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut (@jahimes – 76,500 followers) "on the most effective ways to engage constituents on Twitter and the importance of digital storytelling." The lesson comes as a generational divide between members of Congress and the tech platforms they oversee has been on full display.
- 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.
NewsConsumer ReportsHow to Avoid Common Car-Seat Installation Mistakes
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. The Monday incident, reported in Mankato, Minn., has gained social media attention because it was captured on a dash cam video from a nearby vehicle. Most drivers who transport children believe their car or booster seat is installed correctly, (73 percent), but nearly half (45 percent) of the installations are flawed in some way, according to the 2015 National Child Restraint Use Special Study, the latest government research available.
WorldReutersOxford University suspends funding from China's Huawei
The University of Oxford said on Thursday it has stopped accepting funding from China's Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], the leading global supplier of telecoms network equipment, after scrutiny over the company's relationship with China's government. quot;Oxford University decided on January 8 this year that it will not pursue new funding opportunities with Huawei Technologies Co Ltd or its related group companies at present," the university said in a statement. quot;The decision has been taken in the light of public concerns raised in recent months surrounding UK partnerships with Huawei.
NewsAssociated PressCalifornia storm moving out after battering state for 3 days
The storm that pummeled much of California for three days began moving east Thursday after causing at least six deaths, forcing wildfire victims threatened by floods to flee their homes and plunging nearly 300,000 utility customers into darkness. The winter storm is forecast to drop heavy rain, snow and wind in Colorado and "will be slamming the East Coast by Sunday," National Weather Service forecaster Steve Anderson said. Anderson said most of California should be dry and sunny by Friday.
- 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.
- WorldBloomberg
Al-Qaeda Hotel Attack Kills 21, Shaking Kenya Economy Pillar
Using hand grenades, automatic rifles and a suicide-bomber, the militants stormed 14 Riverside in Nairobi on Tuesday afternoon, a venue popular with business travelers and Kenya's elites and home to offices of companies including Pernod Ricard SA and Dow Chemical East Africa Ltd. That precipitated an 18-hour siege around the DusitD2 hotel, which President Uhuru Kenyatta said ended about 9 a.m. Wednesday with the attackers dead. Somalia-based al-Shabaab took responsibility for the assault, the latest in a recent wave of jihadist strikes across Africa, including in Nigeria and Mali, which a loose coalition of African, Western and United Nation troops are struggling to stop. It's al-Shabaab's first significant assault in Kenya since it killed 147 people at a northeastern university in April 2015 and echoed a September 2013 attack on Nairobi's Westgate mall that left 67 dead and rocked the tourism industry.
- WorldYahoo News
Mike Pence amends claim that 'ISIS has been defeated' following deadly attack on U.S. troops
Vice President Mike Pence issued a statement Wednesday that sought to clarify remarks he delivered earlier in the day in which he claimed that “ISIS has been defeated” — several hours after the radical Islamic group set off a bomb that killed at least two U.S. service members and two American civilians in Syria. In a speech at the U.S. State Department Wednesday morning, Pence credited President Trump and the U.S. military with vanquishing Islamic State terrorists in Syria. “Thanks to the leadership of this commander in chief and the courage and sacrifice of our armed forces, we are now actually able to begin to hand off the fight against ISIS in Syria to our coalition partners,” Pence said, “And we are bringing our troops home.
- NewsThe National Review
David Webb's White Privilege
And here I thought I was the only black man with white privilege. Areva Martin, a CNN “analyst” — whatever in hell that means anno Domini 2019 — was in the middle of a spirited exchange with the conservative talk-radio host David Webb about racial preferences in hiring. Webb argued — as conservatives of many different races argue!
