| Israel to withhold $138 mln from Palestinians over prisoner payments Posted: 17 Feb 2019 10:15 AM PST  Israel said its security cabinet on Sunday decided to withhold $138 million (122 million euros) in tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority over its payments to prisoners jailed for attacks on Israelis. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the withheld cash would be equal to that paid by the PA last year to "terrorists imprisoned in Israel, to their families and to released prisoners". Israel alleges the payments encourage further violence.
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| Vatican defrocks ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after finding him guilty of sexual crimes Posted: 16 Feb 2019 11:20 AM PST  Former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been defrocked by Pope Francis after Vatican officials found him guilty of sexual crimes against minors and adults, the Vatican said Saturday.
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| Police: Gunman in shooting rampage had 6 prior arrests in Aurora, Illinois, including domestic battery charges Posted: 16 Feb 2019 03:33 PM PST ![Police: Gunman in shooting rampage had 6 prior arrests in Aurora, Illinois, including domestic battery charges]( "Police: Gunman in shooting rampage had 6 prior arrests in Aurora, Illinois, including domestic battery charges") Five male workers of Henry Pratt Co. were found dead and the gunman was killed in a shootout with police after a search of the sprawling warehouse.
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| Jihadi bride Shamima Begum gives birth and says 'people should have sympathy for me' Posted: 17 Feb 2019 02:15 PM PST  The British schoolgirl who ran away to join Isil has appealed for public sympathy following the birth of her son, as a row intensifies over whether she should be allowed to return to the UK. Shamima Begum, 19, went to Syria in 2015 and was discovered there in a refugee camp last week, heavily pregnant and insisting she wanted to go home. The birth of her child over the weekend prompted calls for the baby to be subject to care proceedings should Begum be able to return from Syria, as it emerged that the Family Division of the High Court had presided over cases involving at least 150 children deemed at risk of radicalisation in the last five years. In an interview with Sky News recorded at the Kurdish-controlled camp she fled to from the last pocket of Isil-controlled territory, Begum said there was "no evidence" she had done anything wrong and she could not see "any reason" why her child should be taken from her when she had simply been living as a housewife. Speaking just hours after giving birth, her baby at her side, she said she had no regrets about fleeing the family home in Bethnal Green, east London, to support Isil, claiming the experience had made her "stronger, tougher". Shamima Begum's Dutch-born husband Yago Riedjik She said she could see a future for herself and her son, whom she has named Jarah after one of the two children she lost to malnutrition and disease in the last three months, "if the UK are willing to take me back and help me start a new life again and try and move on from everything that's happened in the last four years". She added: "I wouldn't have found someone like my husband [Yago Riedijk, 26, a Muslim convert from the Netherlands] in the UK. I had my kids, I had a good time there." Her other children, Jarah and Surayah, a daughter, died aged 18 months and nine months. Asked how she felt about the debate over whether she should be allowed to return home, Begum said: "I feel a lot of people should have sympathy for me, for everything I've been through. "I didn't know what I was getting into when I left, I just was hoping that maybe for the sake of me and my child they let me come back. "I can't live in this camp forever. It's not really possible." Isil bride Shamima Begum | Read more In the interview, Begum apologised for the first time to her family for running away, and said that though she knew it was "like a big slap in the face" for her to ask after she had previously rejected their calls for her to return, "I really need their help". Tim Loughton, deputy chairman of the home affairs select committee, said he thought it "extraordinary" that Begum was asking to come back while showing "not a scintilla of regret". The Conservative MP added: "My own feeling is in line with most others, that she has made her bed and should lie in it. But the law must prevail and we are probably going to have to let her back. "However, I think her child should be subjected to care proceedings due to the threat of radicalisation." He said a forthcoming report by the Henry Jackson Society disclosed that the Family Division of the High Court had presided over cases involving at least 150 children deemed at risk of radicalisation in the last five years. Isil schoolgirls' journey into Syria Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, said last week that he would "not hesitate" to prevent the return of anyone who supported terrorist organisations abroad. He reiterated his stance in a Sunday newspaper article, expressing compassion for any child born or brought into a conflict zone, but stating that the safety and security of children living in this country had to be the priority. Jeremy Wright, the Culture Secretary and former Attorney General, said Britain was "obliged" to take back British citizens. However, he added: "That doesn't mean that we can't put in place the necessary security measures to monitor their activities. It doesn't mean either that we can't seek to hold them to account for their behaviour thus far." He said the nationality of Begum's baby was a "difficult question", but the pair's health was the most pressing matter. "In the end she will have to answer for her actions," he added. "So I think it is right that if she's able to come back to the UK that she does so on the understanding that we can hold her to account for her behaviour thus far." Begum said she was attracted to Isil by videos that she had seen online, which she said showed "how they'll take care of you". She said she knew that the group carried out beheadings, but that she "was OK with it at first. I started becoming religious just before I left and from what I heard Islamically that is all allowed". "At first it was nice," she said of life in the so-called Islamic State. "It was how they showed it in the videos, you know, you come, make a family together, but then things got harder. "We had to keep moving and moving and moving. The situation got fraught." Begum acknowledged that it would be "really hard" to be rehabilitated after everything she had been through. "I'm still in that mentality of planes over my head, emergency backpacks, starving... it would be a big shock to go back to the UK and start again," she said. Writing in The Sunday Times, Mr Javid said that decisions about what to do with potential returnees had to be made on a case-by-case basis, based on the "facts of each case, the law and the threat to national security". He added: "I think about the children that could in future get caught up in dangerous groups if we don't take a firm stance against those who support them… And that means sending a message to those who have backed terrorism: there will be consequences." His comments were described as "sick" by Begum's lawyer on Sunday. Tasnime Akunje told Radio 4's The World This Weekend: "We are talking about a newborn baby who poses no risk or threat to anybody, [who is] not even cognitive, and yet he's speaking about a child who's a British citizen in terms of a security threat." Mr Akunje suggested that the birth of Begum's child increased pressure on the British authorities to allow her to return home. He also revealed that Begum's family has struggled to make direct contact with her and is now considering the possibility of getting out to Syria themselves. Her family has indicated that if she is jailed for supporting a terrorist group, they want to step in and raise her son themselves.
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| Amazon pays zero federal taxes for second year in succession despite doubling profits, says new report Posted: 16 Feb 2019 12:49 PM PST  Amazon has paid zero federal taxes for the second year in succession, despite a doubling of its profits, according to a new report. Although the tech giant founded by Jeff Bezos saw its profits grow from $5.6bn (£4.3bn) in 2017 to $11.2bn (£8.7bn) in 2018, it will actually receive a tax rebate of $129m (£100m). "The company's newest corporate filing reveals that, far from paying the statutory 21 per cent income tax rate on its US income in 2018, Amazon reported a federal income tax rebate of $129m," said the report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), which describes itself as a "non-partisan, non-profit think tank", based in Washington DC.
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| More U.S. aid for Venezuela touches down amid distribution uncertainty Posted: 16 Feb 2019 04:12 PM PST ![More U.S. aid for Venezuela touches down amid distribution uncertainty]( "More U.S. aid for Venezuela touches down amid distribution uncertainty") The shipment will be the second arrival of large-scale U.S. and international aid for Venezuelans, many of whom have scant access to food and medicine, since opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president in defiance of socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Guaido, who argued Maduro's 2018 re-election was a sham and invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself the country's leader last month, has said aid will enter Venezuela on Feb. 23. Speaking in Caracas to supporters who had volunteered to help with the aid effort, Guaido said he would announce details on Monday about how he planned to get aid into the country from Colombia, Brazil and Curacao despite Maduro's opposition.
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| How to Watch the Super Snow Moon, the Biggest Supermoon of 2019 Posted: 17 Feb 2019 06:00 AM PST  Here's what to know about the upcoming February full moon, also known as the 'super snow moon'— and what the best time is to see it.
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| Merck, Pfizer drug combo extends kidney cancer survival: study Posted: 16 Feb 2019 02:19 PM PST  Nearly 90 percent of patients who received the combination therapy were still alive after 12 months compared with about 78 percent of patients who were alive after a year when treated with the older drug Sutent, data showed. Merck on Monday released interim data from the trial, saying the combination reduced the risk of death by 47 percent compared with Sutent. The findings add to an arsenal of positive clinical data for Keytruda, which is approved to treat several types of cancer, making it by far Merck's most important growth driver.
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| New Jersey Makes Bid for Amazon HQ2 After Company Pulls Out of New York Posted: 15 Feb 2019 07:24 PM PST  On the first full day after Amazon scrapped its plans to open its second headquarters in Queens, New Jersey made it very clear that it wants as many of the company`s jobs as possible to be added in the Garden State.
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| UK teen who joined IS gives birth in Syrian refugee camp Posted: 17 Feb 2019 08:08 AM PST  A teenager who joined the Islamic State group in Syria but now wants to return to Britain on Sunday gave birth in a refugee camp, as European governments grapple with what to do with returning jihadists ahead of a US troop pullout. Shamima Begum, whose fate has stirred controversy ever since she and two friends fled London to join the terror network in 2015 aged just 15, told Sky News she had delivered a boy. "I just gave birth so I'm really tired," the 19-year-old said as she made a renewed appeal to be allowed back to Britain with her newborn baby.
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| Aurora shooting: Man who shot five dead 'was about to lose job', say police as victims identified Posted: 16 Feb 2019 12:50 PM PST  Gary Martin, 45, also injured five police officers and a sixth employee after he opened fire at Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, Illinois, on Friday. It later emerged that Martin was not legally allowed to own a gun because of a previous conviction for aggravated assault in Mississippi. Illinois State Police sent Martin a letter asking him to voluntarily surrender the weapon, but he did not, according to Aurora police chief Kristen Ziman.
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| Back in the Bronx, Ocasio-Cortez says to keep up the fight Posted: 16 Feb 2019 03:36 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez returned to her home district in the New York City borough of the Bronx on Saturday to encourage her supporters to keep up the kind of activism that resulted in Amazon rescinding its plan to build a campus in the city.
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| Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman heads to Pakistan on Asian diplomatic offensive Posted: 17 Feb 2019 05:10 AM PST  Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman flew to Pakistan at the start of a three nation diplomatic tour designed to repair the kingdom's reputation and bolster ties with key regional allies. The crown prince's visit could be overshadowed by dangerously spiraling tensions between Pakistan and India. The trip comes days after a suicide bomber killed 44 Indian paramilitary police in the disputed Kashmir region. New Delhi has accused Pakistan of having a hand in Thursday's attack and vowed to punish Islamabad, which denies involvement. Iran, a regional rival of Saudi Arabia, accused Pakistan of harbouring and training militants behind a suicide bombing in Baluchistan that killed 27 troops on Wednesday. Crown prince Mohammed is expected to travel to Dehli to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday. He will spend Thursday and Friday in China. The three nation tour has been characterized as part of a Saudi "pivot to the east" and is in part meant to repair the crown prince's reputation following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the ensuing state-led cover-up. Despite his vow to shift Saudi Arabia to renewable energy, the trip is also in part a roadshow to sell Saudi oil. China is the world's largest buyer of Saudi crude, and India is close behind. As the guardians of the most holy site in Islam, the Saudi royal family carry great clout in Pakistan. The visit also deepens a long standing alliance that has seen Saudi Arabia propping up Pakistan's fragile economy. Pakistani officials have said that Saudi Arabia will announce eight investment agreements during the visit, including a $10 billion refinery and petrochemicals complex in the coastal city of Gwadar, where China is building a port. Saudi Arabia has in recent months helped keep Pakistan's economy afloat by propping up its rapidly dwindling foreign exchange reserves with a $6 billion loan, giving Islamabad breathing room as it negotiates a bailout with the International Monetary Fund.
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| NASA posts image of ghostly blue objects, deep in the cosmos Posted: 17 Feb 2019 08:19 AM PST  When a star is born, a chaotic light show ensues. NASA's long-lived Hubble Space Telescope captured vivid bright clumps moving through the cosmos at some 1,000 light years from Earth. The space agency called these objects clear "smoking gun" evidence of a newly formed star — as new stars blast colossal amounts of energy-rich matter into space, known as plasma. Seen as the vivid blue, ephemeral clumps in the top center of the new image below, these are telltale signs of an energy-rich gas, or plasma, colliding with a huge collection of dust and gas in deep space. As NASA says, these blue masses are transient creations in the cosmos, as "they disappear into nothingness within a few tens of thousands of years." Bright lights inside a nebula. Image: ESA/Hubble/NASA/K. Stapelfeldt These blue clumps are traveling at 150,000 mph toward the upper left direction (from our view, anyhow). In total, there are five of these ghostly clumps, hurtling through space. SEE ALSO: Opportunity rover's last picture is as grim as it is dark NASA doesn't identify the new star itself, called SVS 13, perhaps because it's obscured by thick clouds of cosmic matter. This collection of dust and gas is part of a distant nebula, which are often the remnants of exploded stars swirling through the infinity of space. WATCH: Ever wonder how the universe might end?
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| Polish PM cancels trip to Israel in wake of comments on Poles in Holocaust Posted: 17 Feb 2019 10:53 AM PST  Poland's prime minister has canceled a trip to Israel in the wake of reported remarks made by his Israeli counterpart suggesting Polish complicity during the Holocaust, an aide in his office told Polish media on Sunday. A government spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters that Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki would not attend the summit and would send Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz instead. Morawiecki informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his decision to cancel his visit in a telephone call on Sunday afternoon, spokeswoman Joanna Kopcinska said.
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| Top US cardinal expelled from Catholic priesthood over allegations he abused teenager and solicited sex during confession Posted: 16 Feb 2019 01:51 AM PST  A disgraced former US cardinal has been expelled from the Roman Catholic priesthood over allegations he abused a teenage boy and solicited sex during confession. The Vatican announced the defrocking of Theodore McCarrick on Saturday days before the Pope is to lead an extraordinary gathering of bishops from around the world over the sex abuse crisis engulfing the church. McCarrick, a once-powerful prelate and former Archbishop of Washington, is the highest profile church figure to be dismissed from the priesthood in modern times.
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| Hong Kong economy stalls amid trade dispute: finance chief Posted: 17 Feb 2019 01:31 AM PST  Hong Kong's economy stalled last year as the ongoing China-US trade dispute and retail woes dragged down local business, the city's financial chief said Sunday. Beijing and Washington have already imposed duties on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, roiling global financial markets and weighing heavily on manufacturing output in both countries. "The impact of China-US trade frictions on Hong Kong's exports has clearly emerged at the end of last year," said finance secretary Paul Chan.
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| Donald Trump's emergency declaration is an attack on democracy Posted: 17 Feb 2019 10:37 AM PST  Invoking a bogus emergency to build a wall Congress rejected will have long-term impacts on the rule of law.
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| Potential privacy lapse found in Americans' 2010 census data Posted: 16 Feb 2019 04:08 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — An internal team at the Census Bureau found that basic personal information collected from more than 100 million Americans during the 2010 head count could be reconstructed from obscured data, but with lots of mistakes, a top agency official disclosed Saturday.
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| Yemen sides agree deal on first pullback: UN Posted: 17 Feb 2019 02:32 PM PST  Yemen's government and Huthi rebels have agreed on the first phase of a pullback of forces from the key city of Hodeida, in a deal the United Nations described Sunday as important progress. The redeployment from Hodeida is a critical part of a ceasefire deal reached in December in Sweden that calls on the government and Huthis to move forces away from ports and parts of city. The fragile truce deal marks the first step toward ending a devastating war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
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| Medical emergency triggers stampede at San Francisco theater Posted: 16 Feb 2019 02:11 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Chaos broke out during a performance of the musical "Hamilton" at San Francisco's Orpheum theater Friday night after audience members mistook a medical emergency for a shooting.
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| Potato rösti Posted: 17 Feb 2019 02:00 AM PST  This potato rösti is the perfect way to use up that last bit of cheese in the fridge. SERVES Two INGREDIENTS 500g potatoes, ideally a nice waxy chip potato 1 small onion, finely sliced 1 garlic clove, crushed and chopped Pinch of dried chilli 50g butter 120g mixed grated cheese such as cheddar, gruyere or comté (a great opportunity to use up leftovers) Large pinch of fresh or dried sage METHOD Peel the potatoes and coarsely grate them into a bowl. Add the onion, garlic and chilli and season well. Tip onto a tea towel and squeeze them tightly to remove any excess liquid, then return to the bowl and mix in 25g of the butter, diced. Add 15g of the butter to a large non-stick and ovenproof frying pan (large enough to hold the potato mixture) and allow to melt. Press the potato mixture into the pan and cook over a medium heat until the underside starts to crisp – from around six to 10 minutes. When ready, flip the rosti onto a plate (cooked side up), melt the rest of the butter in the pan and slide the rosti into it to cook on the other side for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through. To finish, preheat the grill and sprinkle the rosti with the grated cheese and sage, along with a good grinding of black pepper. Place until the grill until the cheese melts and bubbles. Serve with a crisp green salad. RECIPES | Angela's budget-friendly dishes
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| Venezuela's Exit From U.S. Sanctions? Show Maduro the Door Posted: 16 Feb 2019 01:00 AM PST  The Treasury Department said Friday it would "consider lifting sanctions" on those who take concrete steps to "restore democratic order" in the country, as it imposed fresh penalties on five of Maduro's close associates, including Venezuelan Oil Minister and PDVSA Chairman Manuel Quevedo. The move is the latest in a series of steps the U.S. has taken to chip away at Maduro's inner circle.
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| Germany's SPD climbs in polls after welfare rethink Posted: 17 Feb 2019 05:24 AM PST  Support for Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) has hit its highest level in almost six months, a poll showed on Sunday, a week after the center-left party outlined new welfare plans aimed at winning back working class voters. Ahead of European elections in May and four regional votes this year, the Emnid poll for the Bild am Sonntag newspaper put support for the SPD, which shares power with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, on 19 percent, up 2 points from a week ago.
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| Former U.S. Cardinal McCarrick defrocked for sex crimes Posted: 16 Feb 2019 07:27 AM PST  Pope Francis has decided that the ruling, which followed an appeal by McCarrick, a power-broker as Archbishop of Washington, D.C. from 2001 to 2006, was now final. A Vatican statement said his crimes were made more serious by "the aggravating factor of the abuse of power". The 88-year-old, who in July became the first Roman Catholic prelate in nearly 100 years to lose the title of cardinal, has now become the highest profile church figure to be dismissed from the priesthood in modern times.
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| How many push-ups can you do? Study finds men who can do 40 have lower risk of heart disease Posted: 17 Feb 2019 02:02 PM PST ![How many push-ups can you do? Study finds men who can do 40 have lower risk of heart disease]( "How many push-ups can you do? Study finds men who can do 40 have lower risk of heart disease") Active, middle-aged men who could do more than 40 push-ups in timed test had significantly lower risks for heart problems, according to a new study.
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| Watch Mike Pence gasp when no one claps at his terrible applause line Posted: 17 Feb 2019 11:19 AM PST  Vice President Mike Pence isn't a complicated man. He likes Chili's, using his personal AOL account for official government business, and gay conversion therapy. And so, when he addressed attendees at the Middle East conference in Poland on Feb. 14, it's clear he believed that same down-home flavor that's treated him so well in Trump Country would garner rounds of applause from his European audience. That, dear reader, is where he went wrong.Speaking about the widely supported Iran nuclear deal, Pence told those in attendance that it was time to follow in the footsteps of the U.S. and withdraw. The response, or rather lack thereof, from the crowd appeared to shock the veep. SEE ALSO: Sure looks like Trump declared a 'national emergency' via the Notes app"The time has come for our European partners to stand with us and the Iranian people, to stand with our allies and friends in the region," he told the audience. "The time has come for our European partners to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and join with us as we bring the economic and diplomatic pressure necessary to give the Iranian people, the region, and the world, the peace, security, and freedom they deserve."The video pretty much says it all. > OMG -- Pence was visibly shook in Poland when he received absolutely no reaction to what was clearly supposed to be an applause line about how "the time has come for our European partners to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal." pic.twitter.com/biRxARZkcM> > -- Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 16, 2019Amazing, right? The people of the internet think so, too. > Surprised no one threw a shoe at him.> > -- Warren (@Rusty94582) February 17, 2019> His desperate gasp for breath is priceless!!!> > -- Craig Lapierre (@clspartan) February 17, 2019> Not sure what's more embarrassing: That he has so many beats for applause written into his script, or that the applause never came.> > -- Johnny Moonrock (@JohnnyMoonrock) February 17, 2019Notably, this has been happening to Pence a lot lately. On Feb. 15, he was speaking at the 55th annual Munich Security Conference, and told those gathered that Trump says hello."I bring greetings from the 45th President of the United States of America, President Donald Trump."Deafening silence followed. Better luck next time. WATCH: Cardi B speaks out on government shutdown
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| US ‘tells India it respects its right to self-defence’ after cross-border militant attack kills 44 paramilitary police Posted: 16 Feb 2019 11:35 AM PST  The US has supported India's right to "self defence" against cross-border terrorism after an attack claimed by Pakistan-based militants killed at least 44 police officers in the disputed territory of Kashmir. In comments that will please Indian hawks but also raise fears that tensions between India and Pakistan could escalate yet further, US national security advisor John Bolton reportedly told his counterpart in Delhi, that America "offered all assistance to India" to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice. Mr Bolton and Ajit Doval also "resolved to hold Pakistan to account for its obligations under UN resolutions", India's foreign ministry said in a statement.
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| Iran launches 'cruise missile capable' submarine Posted: 17 Feb 2019 07:35 AM PST  Iran on Sunday launched a new locally-made submarine capable of firing cruise missiles, state TV said, in the country's latest show of military might at a time of heightened tensions with the US. The launch ceremony, led by President Hassan Rouhani, took place in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. "Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully self-reliant on land, air and sea," Rouhani said.
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| 'Taking their last breath': IS hides among Syrian civilians Posted: 17 Feb 2019 12:57 PM PST  BAGHOUZ, Syria (AP) — From a self-proclaimed caliphate that once spread across much of Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State group has been knocked back to a speck of land on the countries' shared border. In that tiny patch on the banks of the Euphrates River, hundreds of militants are hiding among civilians under the shadow of a small hill — encircled by forces waiting to declare the territorial defeat of the extremist group.
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| US military planes land near Venezuela border with aid Posted: 16 Feb 2019 04:45 PM PST  CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — The U.S. military airlifted tons of humanitarian aid to a Colombian town on the Venezuelan border Saturday as part of an effort meant to undermine socialist President Nicolas Maduro and back his rival for the leadership of the South American nation.
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| Archaeologists discover Incan tomb in Peru Posted: 15 Feb 2019 08:07 PM PST  Peruvian archaeologists discovered an Incan tomb in the north of the country where an elite member of the pre-Columbian empire was buried, one of the investigators announced Friday. The discovery was made on the Mata Indio dig site in the northern Lambayeque region, archaeologist Luis Chero told state news agency Andina. Archaeologists believe the tomb belonged to a noble Inca based on the presence of "spondylus," a type of sea shell always present in the graves of important figures from the Incan period, which lasted from the 12th to the 16th centuries.
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| San Jose hostage situation involving UPS truck ends, suspect shot, killed Posted: 15 Feb 2019 06:47 PM PST  The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office says the suspect who was in a standoff in a UPS truck was shot and killed after attempting to run from the truck. Friends have identified the suspect as Mark Morasky.
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| Netanyahu gives up role as Israel's foreign minister Posted: 17 Feb 2019 05:50 AM PST  Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday handed over his role as foreign minister to intelligence minister Israel Katz, giving up the portfolio he has held since 2015. Netanyahu's decision to appoint Katz as acting foreign minister came after an advocacy group, the Movement for Quality Government, went to court to press the prime minister to stop serving as foreign minister as well.
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| Mueller says searches yielded evidence of Stone-WikiLeaks communications Posted: 15 Feb 2019 06:31 PM PST  U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller disclosed for the first time on Friday that his office has evidence of communications between Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, and WikiLeaks related to the release of hacked Democratic Party emails. In a court filing on Friday, Mueller's office said it had gathered that evidence in a separate probe into Russian intelligence officers who were charged by Mueller of hacking the emails during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and staging their release. In an email criticizing media coverage of Mueller's filing on Friday, Stone said the evidence was "innocuous Twitter direct messages" that have already been disclosed to the House Intelligence Committee and "prove absolutely nothing".
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| Green New Deal: Republicans talk up climate change plan – but not because they like it Posted: 17 Feb 2019 01:00 PM PST  Republicans trumpet the Green New Deal because they say the climate change plan is a losing proposition for Democrats.
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| How the 'Block' 4 F-35 Stealth Fighter Could Become A Navy Killer (And Much More) Posted: 15 Feb 2019 11:00 PM PST  New weapon systems due to be integrated in the Block 4 that will significantly expand the F-35's maritime strike, air-to-ground capabilities and air-to-air lethality.
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| Iranians cry 'revenge' at funeral of suicide bomb victims Posted: 16 Feb 2019 06:34 AM PST  Tens of thousands of Iranians called for "revenge" Saturday at the funeral of 27 Revolutionary Guards killed in a suicide attack perpetrated by jihadists that Tehran accuses Pakistan of supporting. "The government of Pakistan must pay the price of harbouring these terrorist groups and this price will undoubtedly be very high," said Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, referring to jihadist outfit Jaish al-Adl ("Army of Justice"). "The Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer observe the previous reservations and will directly act to counter such acts," Jafari told mourners gathered at the city of Isfahan's Bozorgmehr Square.
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| Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox's private jet forced to make emergency landing Posted: 15 Feb 2019 09:10 PM PST  A private jet with Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and other friends was forced to make an emergency landing Friday.
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| Egypt says deadly extremist attack hits Sinai checkpoint Posted: 16 Feb 2019 06:05 AM PST ![Egypt says deadly extremist attack hits Sinai checkpoint]( "Egypt says deadly extremist attack hits Sinai checkpoint") CAIRO (AP) — Extremists attacked an army checkpoint in the troubled northern Sinai peninsula on Saturday at dawn, causing 15 casualties among the armed forces including at least one officer shot dead, Egypt's military spokesman said.
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| No smoke without fire: Tobacco companies in quiet return to Formula One Posted: 16 Feb 2019 05:48 PM PST  Tobacco giants Philip Morris and British American Tobacco have formed partnerships with their scientific research subsidiaries and Formula 1 teams Ferrari and McLaren more than a decade after cigarette advertising was banned from the sport. US giant Philip Morris International (PMI), whose Marlboro brand was long associated with Ferrari, re-entered the sport last October, branding Ferrari cars with "Mission Winnow" and a logo that hints at the white-on-red triangles of the old Marlboro packs.
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| Mueller seeks tough sentence for ex-Trump campaign chairman Manafort Posted: 15 Feb 2019 06:56 PM PST  In their sentencing memo filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, prosecutors said Manafort, who is 69, deserves between 19.6 and 24.4 years in prison and a fine of between $50,000 and $24 million. "While some of these offenses are commonly prosecuted, there was nothing ordinary about the millions of dollars involved in the defendant's crimes, the duration of his criminal conduct or the sophistication of his schemes," prosecutors said in the memo. "Manafort did not commit these crimes out of necessity or hardship," they said.
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| Amazon pays no federal income tax for 2018, despite soaring profits, report says Posted: 16 Feb 2019 07:53 AM PST ![Amazon pays no federal income tax for 2018, despite soaring profits, report says]( "Amazon pays no federal income tax for 2018, despite soaring profits, report says") Amazon's profits nearly doubled in 2018, but it paid no federal income tax, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says.
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| U.S. President Trump to get update on China trade talks Posted: 16 Feb 2019 02:15 PM PST  White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump would meet members of his trade team at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida on Saturday afternoon. Joining Trump in person will be U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and trade expert Peter Navarro, said Sanders.
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| Beckham looks to '70s, Westwood turns catwalk into protest Posted: 17 Feb 2019 11:19 AM PST  Victoria Beckham looked back to the 1970s at London Fashion Week on Sunday, while Vivienne Westwood turned her catwalk into a stage to protest issues ranging from climate change to Brexit. In front of an audience including Beckham's husband David and their children, models wore dresses and skirts slim fitted over the knee, some with abstract chain patterns. In a collection rich in vibrant colors and patterns, Beckham stuck to her signature silhouette of fitted skirt suits, which were checkered, and wide-leg trousers.
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| Problem: The Stealth F-35 Lightning II Can't Handle Lightning Posted: 16 Feb 2019 12:31 PM PST  Is that an issue?
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