U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramBorder Patrol officer sneaks Mexican woman into US to be her nanny in Texas, feds say
A Border Patrol officer is accused of sneaking a Mexican woman into the U.S. to be her nanny, authorities say. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer Rhonda Lee Walker, 40, was charged with conspiring to transport an illegal alien and making false statements after undercover agents and surveillance video caught her bringing the woman across a Laredo border crossing, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. In June, an anonymous tipster told the federal agency that Walker employed a live-in caretaker and nanny who didn't have permission to work in the U.S., according to a criminal complaint.
WorldReutersVenezuela non-profit groups denounced harassment by Maduro government
Carlos Julio Rojas, 36, says he has been detained four times in the last five years for demanding that the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro improve basic services such as power and water in the capital. Rojas, who leads the non-profit group Front for Defense of Northern Caracas, last July spent 10 hours in a jail cell for joining a protest of retirees who were seeking better pensions. "There is legal intimidation ... or harassment by armed groups or state security forces that directly impede efforts to file complaints and to protest," Rojas said in an interview.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden nominee Neera Tanden’s tweet about Joe Manchin’s daughter may come back to haunt her
Neera Tanden, Joe Biden's nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, previously criticised Democratic Senator Joe Manchin's daughter, a slight that might factor into whether or not she is confirmed for the position. Ms Tanden tweeted an image of an article about Mr Manchin's daughter, Heather Bresch, taking aim at a significant increase in her pay while she was CEO of Mylan. In the tweet, Ms Tanden pointed out that the company's board was justifying the pay raise by saying Ms Bresch had "contributed significantly to the company's growth in recent years".
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverMan cuts out woman’s heart, cooks it and tries to serve it to uncle, Oklahoma cops say
Disturbing details have emerged following the gruesome deaths of three people in an Oklahoma neighborhood. On Feb. 9, police received a 911 call from the Chickasha home of Leon Pye, 67, the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) said in a news release. Police busted through the door and found Pye and his 4-year-old granddaughter Kaeos Yates dead, the OSBI said.
WorldAssociated PressIndonesia presses regional effort to resolve Myanmar crisis
Regional diplomatic efforts to resolve Myanmar's political crisis intensified Wednesday, while protests continued in Yangon and other cities calling for the country's coup makers to step down and return Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government to power. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi visited the Thai capital, Bangkok, and held three-way talks with her Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai and Myanmar's new foreign minister, retired army colonel Wunna Maung Lwin, who also traveled to Thailand. The meeting was part of her efforts to coordinate a regional response to the crisis triggered by Myanmar's Feb. 1 military coup.
WorldReutersNo breakthrough at UK-EU talks, says Northern Ireland's Foster
There was no breakthrough at a "hugely disappointing" meeting between the European Commission and the British government on Wednesday over post-Brexit trade issues in Northern Ireland, the region's first minister, Arlene Foster, said on Wednesday. The British government is demanding concessions from the European Union to minimise disruption in trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom that have emerged since Britain left the bloc's trading orbit in January. The European Union has said it will be pragmatic in seeking solutions, but has blamed the disruption on Britain's decision to exit the European Union and has called for London to implement measures agreed.
CelebrityThe IndependentWho is Heidi Cruz? The high-powered Goldman Sachs executive and wife to ‘disgraced’ Texas senator Ted Cruz
Heidi Cruz, the wife of Texas senator Ted Cruz, is reportedly on the hunt for the neighbour who leaked her text messages about their much criticised trip to Cancun during a snow-storm that left thousands without heat or electricity. “Ritz Carlton Cancun $309 plus tax,” she allegedly wrote in messages passed to The New York Times last week, that demonstrated the family was planning to violate government guidelines and the recommendations of her own husband. In 2000, when the pair met whilst working on George W Bush's presidential campaign before marrying the next year and moving into government positions, Heidi Nelson wasn't necessarily destined to be window dressing to someone else's ambitions.
WorldReutersIsrael aims to resolve Iran disputes with Biden at adviser level
Israel hopes to prevent personal tension between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden over their differences on the Iranian nuclear question by delegating talks on the topic to their senior staff, an Israeli official said. Netanyahu's foreign-policy fortunes have waned since Biden succeeded Republican president Donald Trump, who withdrew the United States from world powers' 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, deeming it too advantageous for Tehran - a view Israel shared. Biden, a Democrat, wants to rejoin the deal.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestNo Need to Call an Architect—These 9 Room Dividers Elegantly Get the Job Done
From ornate to subtle, these beautiful screens double as functional art Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsThe Independent‘Zero respect’: Ted Cruz pictured scrolling through phone during harrowing opening testimony into Capitol riot
Texas senator Ted Cruz has been filmed scrolling through his phone during the harrowing opening testimony at the Senate hearing into the Capitol riots, less than a week after his controversial trip to Mexico. The US Capitol's three former top security officials have been testifying on Tuesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Rules committees about how Congress was breached during the riots on 6 January. Steven Sund, who was serving as the chief of the Capitol Police at the time of the insurrection, gave a harrowing account of the actions of that day in front of the committees on Tuesday.
PoliticsReutersHistoric U.S. Interior pick tests Senate support for Biden on climate
Deb Haaland, the first Native American ever picked for a U.S. cabinet post, pledged on Tuesday to oversee the country's vast public lands and waters in line with President Joe Biden's climate priorities, and was grilled by Republican Senators who want an Interior Secretary more welcoming of oil and gas drilling on federal lands. If confirmed to lead the Department of the Interior, the Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico would oversee more than 500 million acres of federal and tribal lands, accounting for about a fifth of the nation's land surface, as well as offshore federal waters. "It is President Biden's agenda, not my own agenda that I would be moving forward," she said at the contentious confirmation hearing that reflected deep divisions over some of Biden's climate-focused executive orders.
HealthThe IndependentParents of child who died of Covid share the warning signs of the virus in kids
“It presents very differently [in children] than it does in adults, so it's hard to know what to look for,” Priscilla Morse told CNN. Gigi succumbed to the virus on August 4 last year in Tennessee. The Morses say Gigi seemed fine in the hours before she died, except for a few unusual ailments.
WorldBBCNorth Korea enslaved South Korean prisoners of war in coal mines
Generations of South Korean prisoners of war are being used as slave labour in North Korean coal mines to generate money for the regime and its weapons programme, according to a report released by a human rights organisation. Mr Choi (not his real name) said he continued to work in a mine in North Hamgyeong province alongside around 670 other prisoners of war (POWs) until his escape, 40 years later.
WorldReutersU.S. aims to return to U.N. rights body, shield Israel
U.S. President Joseph Biden's new administration said on Wednesday it would continue its international re-engagement by seeking election to the U.N. Human Rights Council where it will press to eliminate a "disproportionate focus" on ally Israel. Under former President Donald Trump's more isolationist approach, Washington quit the council in 2018 but the Biden government has already returned as an observer. "I'm pleased to announce the United States will seek election to the Human Rights Council for the 2022-24 term," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the council by video.
U.S.Business InsiderAn ex-girlfriend tipped off the FBI about an alleged US Capitol rioter after he called her a 'moron'
Richard Michetti has been charged with entering restricted grounds at the US Capitol. The Pennsylvania man was turned in by his ex-girlfriend after he called her a 'moron'. A Pennsylvania man was outed by his ex-girlfriend after trying to stop Congress from recognizing President Joe Biden's election victory, according to court documents.
WorldReutersChina rejects growing Western criticism at U.N. rights forum
China hit back on Wednesday at growing criticism by Western powers of its treatment of ethnic minorities in the regions of Xinjiang and Tibet and of citizens in the former British colony of Hong Kong. Hours earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a wide-ranging speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council, said that the Biden administration would denounce atrocities in Xinjiang. "At this high-level segment, the U.K., EU, Germany, USA, Canada, and some other countries abused this forum of the Council to make groundless charges against China, to interfere in internal affairs of our country.
WorldBusiness InsiderNorth Korea hacked Pfizer because it wants to sell bootleg COVID vaccines on the international black market, sources say
North Korea wants "to decide which [vaccine] will be the easiest to bootleg and transport for the black market," said an official. The nation has a long history of counterfeiting, bootlegging, drug dealing, and arms smuggling. The dictatorship wants foreign currency.
- ScienceReuters Videos
Wild sheep freed from his own wool
This wild sheep had a much-needed shearing relieving him of over 78 lbs of fleece That's nearly half the weight of an adult kangaroo Baarack Location: Lancefield, Australia Rescuers say he used to have an owner but was found wandering in a forest Baarack is now settling in with other rescued sheep in a farm sanctuary
PoliticsThe Daily BeastPostmaster General Taunts Dems: You’re Stuck With Me for Good
Louis DeJoy had a defiant message on Wednesday for those craving to see him ousted as U.S. Postmaster General: “Get used to me. The comment came after Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) asked the embattled U.S. Postal Service chief how long he would remain as Postmaster General—“long time,” DeJoy spat back—during a Wednesday hearing in the House Oversight Committee. That exchange was indicative of the entire proceeding, which was frequently chippy, combative, and fueled by Democratic lawmakers' outrage over DeJoy's handling of the USPS at a time of worsening mail delays and difficult questions about the service's long-term viability.
U.S.Architectural Digest9 Products to Help You Become a Better Plant Parent
You can't buy a green thumb, but at least you can buy the right tools Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldINSIDERA Chinese couple paid $155,000 in fees to have 7 children in violation of the country's 2-child policy
A Chinese couple has paid $155,000 in fees in order to have seven children in violation of the law that limits couples to having two children, Mandy Zuo reported for the South China Morning Post. Zhang Rongrong, a 34-year-old businesswoman, and her 39-year-old husband have five boys and two girls between one and 14 years old, Zhang told the Post. In flouting China's two-child policy, the couple had to pay their local government "social support fees."
PoliticsBusiness InsiderGucci has reportedly extended its lease in the Trump Tower. Other companies, including Tiffany's, have pulled away from the former president.
Gucci has extended its lease in Trump Tower, where it's the biggest commercial tenant, the NYT reported. In 2020, the company extended its lease beyond 2026 and reduced its rent, sources told the publication. Gucci was paying $18.7 million in annual rent for the space in 2012, per an SEC filing.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTrump-appointed federal judge indefinitely blocks the Biden administration's 100-day deportation freeze
A federal judge blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a 100-day deportation freeze. The ruling does not mandate that deportations have to return to their previous rate. Democrats are hoping to pass a large-scale immigration overhaul in Congress this year.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderDemocrats want to enact a new stimulus package within weeks. Here's the possible calendar for passage of $1,400 direct payments.
Democrats want to pass President Joe Biden's rescue package within weeks. Final passage could come in early March, before the expiration of enhanced unemployment insurance. Democrats aim to pass President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion economic rescue plan in a matter of weeks.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThree-quarters of all voters, including 60% of Republicans, support Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan: poll
A Politico/Morning Consult poll found that 76% of all voters and 60% of Republicans support the bill. A majority of all voters, including Republicans, support the passage of President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package, a new Politico/Morning Consult poll shows. The Politico/Morning Consult poll found that 76% of all Americans strongly support or somewhat support the legislation, with just 17% saying that they somewhat oppose or strongly oppose the package.
“How about we skip ‘he won’t win’ cycle and not do 2016 all over again. Trump can absolutely win another presidential election.”
“With independents deserting him, there is simply no path for Trump to get back into the White House — except as a tourist.”
“They might as well cancel the 2024 primaries...because there is no way he can lose.”
“The next Republican presidential primary will be heavily shaped by Trump — whether or not he decides to run again.”
“Donald Trump will not be running for president again. He will, however, continue to tease the possibility of a 2024 run.”