- WorldBloomberg
May Wins Confidence Vote and Opens Cross-Party Brexit Talks
U.K. leader Theresa May survived an attempt to oust her government and immediately opened talks with rival political parties in an attempt to break the Brexit deadlock, as time runs out to reach a deal. The prime minister fought off the threat of a national election and won the right to continue running the country when the House of Commons voted 325 to 306 against a motion of “no confidence” in her administration. May invited other party leaders, who back keeping much closer ties to the European Union, for talks tonight to discuss how to forge a compromise Brexit plan that Parliament can support.
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.
- 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.
- PoliticsTime
Former Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Paid to Have a Twitter Account Praise Him As a 'Sex Symbol'
Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison in December after pleading guilty to tax evasion, campaign finance violations and making false financial statements. According to a Thursday report in the Wall Street Journal, Cohen not only hired RedFinch Solutions — a small IT firm owned by Liberty University chief information officer John Gauger — to rig online polls in Trump's favor ahead of his presidential campaign, but also paid Gauger to enlist a female friend to create and run the Twitter account @WomenForCohen. The purpose of the account, which is still active as of Thursday, was to paint Cohen as a “sex symbol” and “pit bull” by posting tweets that “praised his looks and character, and promoted his appearances and statements boosting Mr. Trump's Candidacy,” the Journal reports.
PoliticsFOX 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
WorldReutersU.S. eyes Taiwan risk as China's military capabilities grow
The senior U.S. defense intelligence official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, did not predict that China's military, known as the People's Liberation Army (PLA), would take such a step but said such a possibility was the top worry as China expands and modernizes its military capabilities. "The biggest concern is that ... they are getting to a point where the PLA leadership may actually tell Xi Jinping that they are confident in their capabilities," the official said, referring to China's president. Pressed on whether the official was referring to Chinese confidence in its capabilities to be able to successfully win a battle with Taiwan, the official said, "Well, specifically that would be the most concerning to me." Taiwan is only one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, including a trade war between the countries, U.S. sanctions on the Chinese military, and China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea.
NewsAssociated PressCalifornia storms bring mudslide fears, blizzard warning
A Pacific storm that brought fears of dangerous mudslides and a rare blizzard warning in the Sierra Nevada was less fierce than expected but hundreds of homes in fire-scarred California areas remained under evacuation orders as more rain was expected. "Please heed disaster messages and prepare to leave immediately," officials in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles warned residents. The blaze that broke out in November destroyed more than 1,500 homes and other buildings from Ventura County to Malibu and killed four people.
- SportsThe Independent
Enes Kanter: Turkey 'seeking arrest' of New York Knicks player
Turkish prosecutors are seeking the arrest and extradition of New York Knicks enter Enes Kanter, accusing him pf being a member of an "armed terrorist group". Mr Kanter is accused of ties to Fethullah Gulen, who Turkish authorities allege is behind the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016, the Daily Sabah reported. Mr Gulen has repeatedly denied any involved in the failed coup.
NewsUSA TODAYWilliam Barr confirmation hearing, Brexit future, California storms: 5 things to know Wednesday
Trump's attorney general gets grilled ... again Attorney General nominee William Barr continues his confirmation hearing with a lineup of character witnesses Wednesday in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. During his testimony Tuesday, Barr asserted that President Donald Trump exacted no promises of favoritism and that he would not direct the Justice Department as an extension of the White House.
- PoliticsBloomberg
New York's Gillibrand Takes First Step Toward Presidential Race
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced Tuesday she's taking a first step toward formally running for president in 2020, joining what's shaping up to be the biggest field of Democratic candidates in a generation. I'm filing an exploratory committee for president of the United States tonight,” Gillibrand said during a taping of CBS's “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. She's one of a dozen congressional Democrats who are either considering or have announced their intention to seek the party's 2020 presidential nomination, along with as many as another dozen current or former federal, state and local officeholders eyeing a bid.
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.
- 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
WorldAFPAmerican citizen killed in Nairobi attack: official
A US citizen was killed Tuesday in an attack by Islamist militants on an upmarket hotel and office complex in Nairobi, a US official said. "We can confirm that a US citizen was killed in the attack. An AFP photographer in Nairobi saw the bodies of five victims and a police source said he had seen as many as 14 dead.
- 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.
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Steve King's Fall Offers Three Lessons for Conservatives
All of his fellow Republicans supported the action – he even voted for it himself, to show his remorse – and earlier this week, the party's leaders stripped King of his committee assignments. In a statement a week following the original Times report, King denied that he meant this. In the New York Times, Trip Gabriel reports that while Republicans are now denouncing King, who has been in the House since 2003, he has “disparaged nonwhite groups for years.” Gabriel supplies a list of what the Times headline calls King's “Racist Remarks and Divisive Actions.” But many items on that list, especially in the earlier years, don't involve any disparaging of nonwhite groups.
- 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!
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.
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.
- NewsThe Independent
US air traffic controllers say system 'eroding' beneath them due to government shutdown
Federal air traffic controllers have warned that the government shutdown is going to make travel delays worse given its dwindling workforce, which has already suffered from record low employment rates in recent years. With the federal closure well into its fourth week, officials with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Natca) say that dysfunction in Washington is causing undue stress for their members who already have precious little room for error in their jobs. Without money coming in, air traffic controllers who have been required to come to work and oversee the delicate dance between planes as they take off, land, and taxi at high speeds must now also worry about whether they have money to pay for their mortgages and child care payments.
SportsReutersTurkish prosecutor seeks extradition of NBA's Kanter over Gulen links: Anadolu
Turkish prosecutors are seeking the extradition of New York Knicks center Enes Kanter over his links to the U.S.-based cleric accused of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016, state-owned Anadolu news agency said. Kanter, a vocal critic of President Tayyip Erdogan, was indicted by a Turkish court last year over alleged membership of an "armed terrorist group" after being contacted repeatedly by people close to Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen. Anadolu said on Tuesday prosecutors had sought the issue of a "red notice" for Kanter, an Interpol request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition.
NewsAssociated PressCharter school educators back striking Los Angeles teachers
Los Angeles school administrators urged the union to resume bargaining as thousands of teachers walked picket lines for a second day Tuesday, joined for the first time by some of their counterparts from independent charter schools. "We need our educators back in our classrooms helping inspire our students," said Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner. Teachers are pressing for higher pay, smaller class sizes and more support staff that school officials say could bankrupt the nation's second-largest system.
