| Manafort penalty sparks outrage among legal experts: '4-year sentence far below the recommended 20 years' Posted: 08 Mar 2019 05:31 AM PST  The sentencing of Paul Manafort, former chairman of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, was highly anticipated, capping a significant chapter in Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation. As a federal judge handed down his sentence in a jam-packed Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom and observers digested the judge's decision - 47 months - Manafort's case was immediately perceived as a high-profile instance of the justice system working one way for a wealthy, well-connected man, while working in another, harsher, way for indigent defendants facing lesser crimes. "Paul Manafort's lenient four-year sentence - far below the recommended 20 years despite extensive felonies and post-conviction obstruction - is a reminder of the blatant inequities in our justice system that we all know about, because they reoccur every week in courts across America," said Ari Melber, a legal analyst for NBC News, in a tweet shortly after the verdict.
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| Hezbollah calls on supporters to donate as sanctions pressure bites Posted: 08 Mar 2019 12:17 PM PST ![Hezbollah calls on supporters to donate as sanctions pressure bites]( "Hezbollah calls on supporters to donate as sanctions pressure bites") Lebanon's Hezbollah on Friday called on its supporters to donate money as it comes under increasing pressure from Western sanctions intended to isolate it financially. The United States deems all parts of Hezbollah a terrorist organization and has been steadily increasing financial sanctions against the Iran-backed movement. "I announce today that the resistance is in need of its (popular base)," Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said, adding that donations were needed to support the group's activities.
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| Utah teacher on leave after forcing student to wash off Ash Wednesday cross Posted: 08 Mar 2019 09:35 AM PST  A Utah school district has placed a teacher on administrative leave for forcing a student to remove the Ash Wednesday cross from his forehead.
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| Michael Cohen has an International Women's Day message for President Trump Posted: 08 Mar 2019 09:32 AM PST  Michael Cohen tells the president to come clean and apologize to Karen McDougal and Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels.
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| ICE makes more arrests at decoy university Posted: 09 Mar 2019 07:42 AM PST  Federal immigration authorities made more arrests at a decoy university created to catch illegal immigrants.
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| Markets Right Now: Stocks mark 1st weekly loss since January Posted: 08 Mar 2019 01:12 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local):
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| Baby of Islamic State teenager in UK furor dies: group Posted: 08 Mar 2019 12:34 PM PST  DEIR AL-ZOR, Syria (Reuters) - The baby of Shamima Begum, a teenager who left London to join the Islamic State group in Syria, has died, a spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday. Begum, whose two older children had also previously died, was stripped of her British citizenship last month on security grounds after she was discovered in a detention camp in Syria. The 19-year-old left London to join IS when she was 15.
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| Democrats including Ocasio-Cortez condemn US strategy on Venezuela Posted: 07 Mar 2019 07:21 PM PST  Sixteen Democratic lawmakers, among them rising star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, on Thursday sent a joint letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticizing what they described as "counterproductive" US strategy on crisis-hit Venezuela. "We write to express our deep concern regarding the Trump Administration's handling of relations with Venezuela, particularly its suggestions of military intervention, imposition of broad unilateral sanctions, and recent recognition of an opposition leader as interim president," the legislators wrote.
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| Google warns everyone to update their Chrome browser right now Posted: 08 Mar 2019 07:01 AM PST  It's always smart to keep all of your software up to date, but it's not too often that a developer goes out of its way to stress to all of its users that they should drop everything and apply the latest update as soon as possible. But that is exactly what Google has done this week, as Clement Lecigne of the company's Threat Analysis Group reveals in a blog post that two zero-day vulnerabilities have been discovered in Google Chrome.First reported on February 27th, Google was quick to release an update two days later on March 1st to address the issue. In all likelihood, your Chrome browser updated itself automatically, but if you want to check, go to Help > About Google Chrome, and make sure you're on version 72.0.3626.121. If not, update right away.As Chrome security engineer Justin Schuh explained in a series of tweets on Wednesday, this attack is different from previous attacks on Chrome because, rather than targeting Flash, it targets the Chrome code directly.When Flash was the first exploit in the chain, Google could silently update the Flash plugin behind the scenes, and Chrome would automatically switch over to the updated plugin without any user intervention. On the other hand, this zero-day exploit requires the user to manually restart the browser, so even if the update is installed on your system, you still have to close and reopen the browser for it to take effect.https://twitter.com/justinschuh/status/1103763265119707136The (relatively) good news is that, as of yesterday, Google has "only observed active exploitation against Windows 7 32-bit systems," so if you're on Windows 10 (or even Windows 8), you're probably in the clear. Nevertheless, there's no point in taking any risks, so be sure that your browser is up to date, and if it isn't, update today.
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| President Donald Trump and Michael Cohen call each other liars over pardon request Posted: 08 Mar 2019 11:35 AM PST  President Donald Trump says Michael Cohen asked him for a pardon in a Friday tweet, saying "He lied!" Cohen says it didn't happen that way.
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| Scientists Think They May Have Found a New Kind of Killer Whale Posted: 07 Mar 2019 11:39 PM PST  The "Type D killer whale" was discovered off the coast of Chile
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| Paul Manafort Was an Agent of Ukraine, Not Russia Posted: 09 Mar 2019 03:30 AM PST  Paul Manafort, the clandestine agent of Russia at the heart of the Trump campaign's "collusion" scand — oh, wait.Have you ever noticed what Paul Manafort's major crime was? After two years of investigation, after the predawn raid in which his wife was held at gunpoint, after months of solitary confinement that have left him a shell of his former self, have you noticed what drew the militant attention of the Obama Justice Department, the FBI, and, ultimately, a special counsel who made him the centerpiece of Russia-gate?According to the indictment Robert Mueller filed against him, Manafort was an unregistered "agent of the Government of Ukraine." He also functioned as an agent of Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine's president from 2010 to 2014, and of two political parties, the Party of Regions and its successor, the Opposition Bloc.Manafort was not an unregistered agent of Russia. Mueller never alleged that Manafort was a clandestine operative of the Kremlin. He worked for Ukraine, not Putin. Indeed, for much of his time in Ukraine, he pushed his clients against Putin's interests.Mueller's prosecutors looked on glumly Thursday as Manafort was sentenced to a mere 47 months' imprisonment by Judge T. S. Ellis III of the federal court in Alexandria, Va. After rescinding the cooperation agreement they had extended Manafort following his convictions at trial, Mueller's team had pressed for a sentence of up to 24 years for the 70-year-old former Trump campaign chairman. The judge demurred, pointedly observing that Manafort was "not before this court for anything having to do with collusion with the Russian government to influence [the 2016] election."The prosecutors won't be chagrined long, of course. Against Manafort, one case with a potential century of jail time was not enough. There's a case in Washington, too. There, Manafort will be sentenced next week, by a different judge who will surely impose a sentence more to the special counsel's liking. The knowledge of that, more than anything else, explains Judge Ellis's comparative wrist-slap, which ignored sentencing guidelines that called for a severe prison term.Those guidelines were driven by prodigious financial fraud, not espionage. No one has even alleged espionage -- even though the investigation was aggressive, even though the two indictments charge numerous felonies, and even though Mueller has had as his star informant witness Manafort's longtime sidekick, Richard Gates, a fellow fraudster who was deeply involved in his partner's work for foreign governments.Understand: Paul Manafort would never have been prosecuted if he had not joined Donald Trump's campaign. He would not have been prosecuted if Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 election and spared Democrats the need to conjure up a reason to explain their defeat -- something other than nominating a lousy candidate who stopped campaigning too early.Manafort's Ukrainian work was not a secret. By the time of the 2016 campaign, he'd been at it for over a dozen years. He wasn't alone. Not even close. An array of American political consultants flocked to post-Soviet Ukraine because that's where the money was. Manafort worked for the Party of Regions, led by Yanukovych. The Obama consultants worked for Yanukovych's rival, Yulia Tymoshenko -- the populist-socialist who sometimes colluded with Putin and other times posed as his opponent. The Clinton consultants lined up with Viktor Yuschenko, Putin's generally pro-Western bête noire, who was nearly assassinated by Kremlin operatives and who navigated between east and west.What you may already notice is that Ukraine is complicated. That collusion narrative you've been sold since November 8, 2016? It's a caricature.The people peddling it know that Americans are clueless about the intricacies of politics in a former Soviet satellite and the grubby bipartisan cesspool of international political consultancy. You are thus to believe that the Party of Regions was nothing but a cat's paw of Moscow; that Manafort went to work for Yanukovych, the party's Putin puppet; and that Manafort's entrée into the Trump campaign was a Kremlin coup, a Russian plot to control of the White House.Sure. But then . . . where's the collusion charge? If that's what happened, where is the special counsel's big indictment of a Trump–Russia conspiracy, with Manafort at its core?There is no such case because the collusion narrative distorts reality.Manafort is not a good guy. He did business and made lots of money with Ukrainian and Russian oligarchs who, largely through their organized-crime connections, made their fortunes in the post-Soviet gangster-capitalism era, when the spoils of an empire were up for grabs.Manafort got himself deeply in hock with some of these tycoons. He may owe over $25 million to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian aluminum magnate. Deripaska, you've repeatedly been told, is Putin's oligarch. That may be true -- they are close enough for Putin to have intervened on his behalf when the U.S. government imposed travel restrictions. But former senator Bob Dole intervened on Deripaska's behalf, too. So did the FBI, when they thought Deripaska could help them rescue an agent detained in Iran. So did Christopher Steele, the former British spy of Steele-dossier infamy.Having business with Deripaska did not make Manafort a Russian spy. No more than taking $500,000 from a Kremlin-tied bank made Bill Clinton a Russian spy. For a quarter century, the United States government encouraged commerce with Russia, notwithstanding that it is anti-American and run like a Mafia family. As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton worked with the Putin regime to develop Moscow's version of Silicon Valley. Business with Russia was like what the Clintons used to tell us about lies about sex: Everybody does it.Manafort's business eventually soured. There is good reason to believe that, once he was installed as chairman of the Trump campaign -- when Trump looked like a sure GOP-nomination winner and general-election loser -- Manafort tried to monetize his position of influence. He hoped to make himself "whole," as he put it, by demonstrating that he was once again a political force to be reckoned with -- offering Deripaska briefings on the campaign, offering his Ukrainian oligarch benefactors polling data showing that Trump had a real chance to win.Manafort likes the high life. Running with this crowd helped him live it, and helped him hide most of his money overseas, in accounts he could stealthily access without sharing his millions with the taxman.But all that said, Manafort was not a Russian agent. Even Robert Mueller, who went after him hammer and tongs, never accused him of that.When his Ukrainian oligarch sponsors asked him to take Yanukovych on as a client, Manafort was reluctant. Yanukovych was essentially a thug who grew up in the Soviet system. The corruption of the 2004 presidential election, which Yanukovych's Kremlin-backed supporters tried to steal, ignited Kiev's Orange Revolution. Manafort, a cold-blooded Republican operative who had cut his teeth fighting off the Reagan revolution in the 1976 Ford campaign, calculated that Yanukovych was damaged goods.But in the shadowy world of international political consultancy, money talks and scruple walks. Manafort's oligarch patrons made the Regions reconstruction project worth his while. He remade Yanukovych from the ground up: Learn English, warm to Europe, embrace integration in the European Union, endorse competitive democracy, be the candidate of both EU-leaning Kiev and Russia-leaning Donbas.This was not a Putin agenda. It was an agenda for Ukraine, a country with a split personality that needs cordial relations with the neighborhood bully to the east as it fitfully lurches westward. Regions was a pro-Russia party, but that is not the same thing as being Russia. What the oligarchs want is autonomy so they can run their profitable fiefdoms independent of Kiev. They leverage Moscow against the EU . . . except when they talk up EU integration to ensure that they are not swallowed up by Moscow. What the oligarchs mainly are is corrupt, which suited Manafort fine.The unsavory business was successful for a time. Regions returned to power. Yanukovych finally won the presidency and immediately announced that "integration with the EU remains our strategic aim." It was a triumph for Manafort, but a short-lived one. While Yanukovych rhapsodized about rising to Western standards, he ran his administration in the Eastern authoritarian style, enriching his allies and imprisoning his rivals.The latter included Tymoshenko, who was prosecuted over a gas deal she had entered when she was prime minister -- with Putin. Russia bitterly criticized her prosecution, and when she was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, the Kremlin blasted Yanukovych's government for pursuing her "exclusively for political motives." Manafort, meanwhile, continued to airbrush Yanukovych's image in the West, scheming with lobbyists and a law firm to help him defend the controversial Tymoshenko trial -- a scheme abetted by lawyer Alex van der Zwaan, who eventually pled guilty to making false statements to Mueller's investigators.Yanukovych's moment of truth came in late 2013. He was poised to sign the Association Agreement with the EU, a framework for integration. Putin furiously turned up the heat: blocking Ukrainian imports, drastically reducing Ukrainian exports, bleeding billions of trade dollars from Kiev's economy, threatening to cut off all gas supplies and drive Ukraine into default. Manafort pleaded with his client to stick with the EU. Yanukovych caved, however, declining to enter the Association Agreement and making an alternative pact with Putin to assure gas supplies and financial aid.It was over this decision that the Euromaidan protests erupted. Yanukovych fled the country in early 2014, given sanctuary in Moscow. Subsequently, Regions renounced Yanukovych, blaming him for the outbreak of violence and for looting the treasury. The party disbanded, with many of its members reemerging as the Opposition Bloc, the party to which Manafort gravitated -- along with his partner, Konstantin Kilimnik, and his lobbyist associate, W. Samuel Patten. (Like Manafort, Patten has pled guilty to working as an unregistered agent of Ukraine; Kilimnik, who is in Russia, was indicted by Mueller for helping Manafort tamper with witnesses.)Paul Manafort is a scoundrel. He was willing to do most anything for money -- even offering to burnish Putin's image as he burnished Yanukovych's. But Manafort was never a Kremlin operative working against his own country, except in the fever dreams of the Clinton campaign's Steele dossier. And his crimes notwithstanding, he'd be a free man today if Mrs. Clinton had won. Instead, he'll be sentenced yet again next week. And this time, he'll get slammed.
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| 7 Energy Stocks That Don't Need Higher Oil Prices Posted: 08 Mar 2019 09:52 AM PST ![7 Energy Stocks That Don't Need Higher Oil Prices]( "7 Energy Stocks That Don't Need Higher Oil Prices") The best oil stock ideas from Bank of America.
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| KitchenAid has a new line of cooking utensils exclusive to Walmart, and we want them all Posted: 09 Mar 2019 02:00 AM PST  KitchenAid has a new Walmart-exclusive line of cooking gadgets and tools -- possibly as a tribute to KitchenAid's 100th birthday a few months ago -- and we are psyched. KitchenAid is our jam. There are no new stand mixers in the collaboration (boo), but other gorgeous cooking gear like utensils, strainers, bowls, and more can up the style factor in your kitchen. And that stuff is just as important as the big appliances.SEE ALSO: Walmart just launched a new line of furniture and it's actually really niceNot surprisingly, you can expect premium materials, heat-resistant handles, stainless steel blades, and dishwasher-safe plastic. It's all super affordable like the rest of Walmart's prices (nothing over $40, actually), but still rocks that KitchenAid name and quality. That's a win-win you won't find anywhere else. A few of our favorite pieces are below, but you can shop the whole collection here. KitchenAid 15-piece kitchen tool and gadget set -- $39.97Image: kitchenaidBuying the must-have utensils separately just doesn't make sense when you can snag 'em in a set. New college students, homeowners, or anyone learning to cook more than noodles will appreciate having a slotted spatula, basting spoon, euro peeler, can opener, a set of four measuring cups, and a set of five measuring spoons, all in one box for less than $40. Get it all here. Nonslip ice cream scoop -- $8.97Image: kitchenaidWhy does it seem like there's never an ice cream scoop around when you need one? This stainless steel head was designed to push through even the toughest straight-from-the-freezer ice cream, and the silicone handle won't freeze your hand. Skip the defrosting process, scoop your dessert, and throw it in the dishwasher. Get it here. 4-piece prep bowls and lids -- $9.97Image: kitchenaidConserve some of that precious cabinet space with this set of four bowls that double as meal prep or storage containers. Use the included lids to stack them in the fridge, or nest the set when they're not being used. Get them here. 7-inch stainless steel mesh strainer -- $12.97Image: kitchenaidPasta ain't the only thing you need a clean strainer for -- especially with summer not so far away. Strain your noodles, fresh veggies, and fruits with this premium oval strainer, made with durable stainless steel mesh and a metal lip for hands-free straining over a bowl. Get it here. Stainless steel tongs -- $12.97Image: kitchenaidStop using a spatula to pick up a steak or a spoon to serve salad -- it's time to get tongs like an adult. These stainless steel tongs are topped with silicone grabbers to gently grasp meats, veggies, spaghetti, and more. The silicone is heat-resistant up to 500 degrees (!), and they can go in the dishwasher. Get them here. Image: kitchenaid Shop the Walmart-exclusive KitchenAid collection See Details
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| Wisconsin man jailed for kidnap-murder confesses in letter -report Posted: 08 Mar 2019 10:24 AM PST ![Wisconsin man jailed for kidnap-murder confesses in letter -report]( "Wisconsin man jailed for kidnap-murder confesses in letter -report") Jake Patterson, 21, wrote to a reporter at KARE 11 News that he had acted "mostly on impulse" but does not "think like a serial killer," according to a copy of the Feb. 28 letter published by the Minneapolis-based television station. Patterson was charged in February with murder for the Oct. 15 shooting deaths of Closs' parents in Barron, Wisconsin, and for kidnapping the girl he is alleged to have targeted seemingly at random after spotting her boarding a school bus. KARE 11 News said the letter from the Polk County jail was sent to one of its reporters who wrote to Patterson asking him whether he had any remorse or regret for the crimes.
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| India returns key diplomat to Pakistan as tensions ease Posted: 09 Mar 2019 09:00 AM PST  NEW DELHI (AP) — India said Saturday that it was returning a key diplomat to Pakistan's capital amid an easing of tensions between the nuclear neighbors, but also demanded that its archrival take concrete steps against terrorists operating from its territory.
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| Every Toyota-Built Hybrid You Can Buy (Lexuses Included!) Posted: 08 Mar 2019 11:25 AM PST |
| Omar throws shade at Obama: 'We don't want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished' Posted: 08 Mar 2019 09:58 AM PST  Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is an outspoken critic of President Trump. But she's also critical of his predecessor.
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| Warren Says Breaking Up Tech Giants Will Keep Market Competitive Posted: 09 Mar 2019 01:23 PM PST  The Massachusetts senator spoke Saturday at the annual South by Southwest cultural festival in Austin, Texas, a day after proposing to take steps to break up companies like Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Co.'s Google if she's elected. On Friday she called for legislation that would designate large technology companies as "platform utilities," and for the appointment of regulators who'd unwind technology mergers that undermine competition and harm innovation and small businesses.
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| Winter storms threaten heavy snow, high winds in north; hail and twisters south and east Posted: 09 Mar 2019 01:48 PM PST ![Winter storms threaten heavy snow, high winds in north; hail and twisters south and east]( "Winter storms threaten heavy snow, high winds in north; hail and twisters south and east") Two powerful winter storms threatened strong winds, heavy snow and even blizzard conditions in the north; hail, possible tornadoes in the South.
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| Canadian man behind mosque massacre appeals sentence: reports Posted: 08 Mar 2019 03:38 PM PST  A Canadian man sentenced to 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole for the killing of six worshippers at a Quebec mosque in January 2017 has launched an appeal, local media reported Friday. Alexandre Bissonnette was convicted on February 8 to life imprisonment for the murders, the deadliest attack on a Muslim place of worship in the West. In their appeal at the Quebec courthouse, Bisonnette's lawyers argued that Judge Francois Hout had imposed "an illegal punishment, manifestly unreasonable and not indicated in ordering 40 years imprisonment before being eligible for parole," according to the public Radio-Canada.
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| In Gaza, women walk thin line between hope and despair Posted: 07 Mar 2019 11:54 PM PST  Amid the poverty and deprivation of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian women struggle to find a taste of normality that is taken for granted in much of the rest of the world. Nada Rudwan used to work in digital marketing, but as her work slowed - unemployment in Gaza stands at nearly 50 percent - she decided to put her tech skills towards one of her passions: cooking. "It is an attempt to beat the physical blockade of Gaza by finding a job that just needs some talent, a camera and internet connection," she said.
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| Fact: South Korea's Army Is Armed with Russian T-80 Main Battle Tanks Posted: 07 Mar 2019 06:00 PM PST  North Korea's worst nightmare?
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| US-backed fighters could soon resume offensive against IS Posted: 09 Mar 2019 09:34 AM PST  BAGHOUZ, Syria (AP) — U.S.-backed fighters could soon resume an offensive against the Islamic State group in the last area they control in Syria, an official said Saturday, adding that the battle against the extremists is expected to take three days.
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| 9 Interior Design Trends to Look Out for in 2019 Posted: 08 Mar 2019 06:43 AM PST ![9 Interior Design Trends to Look Out for in 2019]( "9 Interior Design Trends to Look Out for in 2019") An October 2018 report from the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University projected that remodeling spending is expected to grow to more than $350 billion in the third quarter of 2019. Whether you're renovating your home for yourself, updating your home to sell or looking to spice up a living space that you rent, you'll see some new trends entering the interior design field this year -- and others easing out of the spotlight. An interior design trend, by definition, is the temporary popularity of a style, pattern, color or approach to decor.
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| Trump: Founder of alleged prostitution spa 'sold Chinese businessmen access to president’ Posted: 09 Mar 2019 11:10 AM PST  Chinese clients have allegedly been offered access to Donald Trump and his administration by the female founder of a massage parlour involved in a high-profile prostitution sting. Li Yang, the Chinese founder of the Orchids of Asia Day spa in Florida, made headlines last week when US media unearthed a photo of her smiling alongside the US president at his West Palm Beach country club during last month's Super Bowl. Less than three weeks after the selfie was taken, Robert Kraft, owner of Super Bowl champions the New England Patriots, was charged with soliciting prostitution at Orchids of Asia after police said they caught him on video in January paying for oral sex.
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| Women divided by race over key issues, but with areas of overlap Posted: 07 Mar 2019 09:01 PM PST  American women of all races want many of the same things, but they don't necessarily agree on what their biggest issues are, or the best way to solve them, according to the results of a new poll conducted by Langer Research Associates for Yahoo, HuffPost, Makers and other Verizon media brands, in partnership with Care. Two years into the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, most women agree that sexual harassment is a problem, but there's a significant difference between the races over how big: 80 percent of women of color call it a "serious" problem, compared to 63 percent of white women. In the fight for equal rights, one in five white women think it has gone too far or far enough, but that drops to 7 percent among black women.
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| Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez struggles to defend Rep. Omar Posted: 08 Mar 2019 05:57 AM PST  The freshman Democrat lawmaker calls the anti-Semitism controversy a 'learning experience.
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| India signs $3 bn submarine deal with Russia: reports Posted: 07 Mar 2019 11:14 PM PST  India has signed a $3 billion deal to lease a third Russian nuclear-powered submarine for 10 years, giving Delhi a boost in the Indian Ocean against arch-rivals Pakistan and China, media reports said. The deal -- which according to the reports took months to negotiate -- comes as tensions run high between India and Pakistan following their biggest standoff in years, and as Chinese influence grows in the region. A defence ministry spokesman declined to confirm the agreement to AFP but the reports said that the submarine, the third India has leased from Russia, would be delivered by 2025.
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| Without vaccine, hundreds of children die in Madagascar measles outbreak Posted: 08 Mar 2019 01:47 AM PST  A few weeks later, all three children were dead, victims of the worst measles outbreak on the Indian Ocean island in decades. Measles cases are on the rise globally, including in wealthy nations such as the United States and Germany, where some parents shun life-saving vaccines due to false theories suggesting links between childhood immunizations and autism. In Madagascar, one of the world's poorest countries, parents are desperate to vaccinate their children, many trudging for miles to get to clinics for shots.
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| Smollett's lawyer cites 'overkill' after actor indicted on 16 counts of lying to police Posted: 08 Mar 2019 06:47 PM PST  The "Empire" star's legal woes deepened after a Chicago grand jury indicted him on 16 felony counts of lying to police about alleged hate-crime attack.
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| PM Khan says no militants will be allowed to attack from Pakistani soil Posted: 08 Mar 2019 05:38 AM PST  Pakistan faces growing international pressure to rein in Islamist groups that carry out attacks in neighboring India. One such attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Feb. 14, claimed by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Pakistan-based group, killed 40 Indian paramilitary police and led to clashes between the nuclear-armed rivals as India retaliated. Both countries carried out aerial bombing missions last week and even fought a brief dogfight over Kashmir before tensions cooled.
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| Trump investigation designed to 'impeach or embarrass' president, furious leading Republican claims amid fury at Manafort sentence Posted: 08 Mar 2019 01:26 PM PST  President Donald Trump has again attacked the "witch hunt hoax" embroiling his administration following the sentencing of ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort, declaring the outcome proved "no collusion" with Russia as Democrats decried the lenience of Manafort's 47-month sentence as a "miscarriage of justice". Departing for Alabama to tour the state's devastation by a recent tornado, the president found time to denounce his opposition as an "anti-Israel, anti-Jewish" party over Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's comments on the influence of Israeli interest groups in Washington, despite the House having passed a resolution condemning prejudice of all kinds by 402 to 23.
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| Alibaba, Ant Said to Form Oversight Body to Tighten Control Posted: 08 Mar 2019 01:19 AM PST  China's top online retailer and its biggest internet financial services giant will create a so-called "new economy body," headed up by Alibaba Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang. Ant Financial Chairman Eric Jing will be his deputy, the people said. The move creates a high-powered team to stand watch over the financial and commerce empire founded by billionaire Jack Ma, and comes as Alibaba prepares to take a one-third equity stake in its affiliate.
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| Turkey's Erdogan stands by Russia missile deal Posted: 09 Mar 2019 01:29 PM PST  Turkey's deal to buy Russian S-400 missile defence systems had "nothing to do" with the security of the US, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday after a Pentagon warning. "It is very clear why Turkey has bought this air defence system, under what conditions it has bought them and how it will be used," Erdogan said in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. The "issue was not about the S-400s" but about Turkey "taking actions on its own accord", especially in Syria, he added.
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| Saudi app criticized for feature to control women's travel Posted: 08 Mar 2019 10:09 AM PST  The Saudi government app Absher is mostly a way for people to pay traffic fines and complete other administrative tasks electronically. But one feature isn't sitting well with civil-rights advocates: the ability for men to grant or deny a woman permission to travel.
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| Suspect in Illinois deputy shooting death arrested Posted: 08 Mar 2019 01:39 AM PST  A man suspected of fatally shooting a sheriff's deputy and wounding a woman at a Rockford, Illinois hotel was taken into custody Thursday after an hourslong standoff. Prosecutors say Floyd Brown faces charges including first degree murder. (March 8)
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| History will judge UK, EU badly if they get Brexit wrong: Hunt Posted: 08 Mar 2019 12:24 AM PST  British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said history would view both the UK and the European Union badly if they mismanage Britain's exit from the bloc. Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29 but British lawmakers have rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's deal. "History will judge both sides very badly if we get this wrong," Hunt told BBC radio on Friday.
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| President Donald Trump won't say whether he will pardon Paul Manafort Posted: 08 Mar 2019 09:14 AM PST  President Trump did not address whether he is considering a pardon for Paul Manafort, who faces nearly four years in prison.
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| Anker’s Eufy Lumos smart LED bulbs that don’t need hub are down to $13 today Posted: 08 Mar 2019 08:06 AM PST ![Anker's Eufy Lumos smart LED bulbs that don't need hub are down to $13 today]( "Anker's Eufy Lumos smart LED bulbs that don't need hub are down to $13 today") Smart LED light bulbs range in price and can cost as much as $60 per bulb. As nifty as they are, that price is just outrageous. We've told you a bunch of times about the multicolor LED bulbs just as good as Philips Hue for only $17, and now there's an even better deal on smart LED bulbs if all you want is white. Amazon's running a sale right now that slashes the eufy Lumos Smart Bulb by Anker to just $13, and you won't even need to buy a hub to make it work. Definitely grab a few while they're on sale.Here are the key details from the product page:> From eufy, the brand that lights up your life > • Delightful solutions that make your house a home > • Smart technology and innovative design that make your life easier > • Created by the same team as Anker--renowned for exceptional quality and innovation> > Illuminate By Voice > Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant-compatibility means illuminating your home is as simple as saying "Alexa, turn on the living room lights." or "Ok Google, turn on the living room lights.". Lumos is the modern "light switch" activated by your voice.> > Brilliance Working For You > Whether it's setting the lights to wake you up in the morning or timing them to signal dinner is done cooking, lighting schedules illuminate your life. And when you're out, Away mode intelligently lights the house to simulate activity inside.> > Control One Or All > Group 2 or more Lumos smart bulbs together in the EufyHome app to control the brightness of multiple bulbs at once. Only same-model bulbs can be grouped together.> > Sharing Is Caring > eufy's smart bulbs are meant to illuminate everyone's life, so giving permission to other users to adjust the lighting is as simple as accepting a request from another EufyHome account. Revoke access at anytime.> > Worry-Free Warranty > At eufy, we believe in our products. That's why we back them all with a 18-month warranty and provide friendly, easy-to-reach support.
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