- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Coast Guard officer, self-described white nationalist, planned terror attack to 'kill almost every last person,' feds say
A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant and self-described white nationalist planned a domestic terrorist attack targeting politicians and journalists, federal prosecutors say in court papers. Christopher Paul Hasson was arrested last week on gun and drug charges, but intended "to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country," according to court documents filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Maryland. Hasson was scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon in Maryland.
WorldAFPVietnam readying for Kim train arrival next week: sources
Vietnamese authorities are preparing for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to arrive by train next week ahead of his summit with US president Donald Trump, several sources told AFP Friday. The leaders are slated to meet in Hanoi on February 27-28 to follow up on their first meeting last June in Singapore that ended with vaguely worded commitments on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programme. In the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong, which borders on North Korea, there were signs that Kim's train could be crossing over into China imminently en route to Vietnam.
- WorldReuters
'Don't mess with Pakistan,' India is told amid Kashmir tension
Pakistan will respond to any attack by India with "full force", the army said on Friday amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, as Islamabad said it took over the base of a militant group that claimed a deadly bombing in Kashmir. Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor was speaking a week after a Pakistani-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary policemen in the Himalayan region disputed between India and Pakistan. Pakistan late on Friday announced a takeover of Jaish's headquarters in a southern Punjab province district bordering India.
PoliticsAssociated PressSen. Warren: US needs to address 'ugly history of racism'
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said earlier this week that she supports reparations for black Americans who have been affected by slavery, told reporters Friday that the nation needs to confront its "ugly history of racism" and "talk about the right way to address it and make change." Warren addressed race in a speech Friday to New Hampshire Democrats, but didn't speak specifically about reparations.
BusinessUSA TODAYSouthwest Airlines flights temporarily grounded due to computer outage
Southwest Airlines suffered a computer outage early Friday that temporarily grounded flights across the country, adding to a string of flight woes at the airline this week. Southwest had some issues with a computer system that automatically uploads flight plans to the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said. Southwest said in a statement that it suspended operations for about 50 minutes early Friday to "ensure performance'' of software systems that were upgraded overnight.
NewsThe IndependentTucker Carlson: Fox News host laughs along with guest after he suggests black people 'need to move on' from slavery
A guest who appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show said African Americans “need to move on” from slavery because it was abolished “a century-and-a-half ago”. Mark Steyn, a cultural commentator, made the comments on Thursday during a segment discussing 2020 presidential candidates who are in favour of reparations for African Americans. During his rant, Steyn said: “Slavery was abolished a century and a half ago, nobody alive today has a grandparent who was a slave, and in that sense I think you reach a point where, you know, you need to move on.
- SportsKABC – Los Angeles
Barack Obama's '44' bomber jacket wins over the internet
Former President Barack Obama can now add style icon to his list of titles.
WorldBloombergFiery Skirmishes Erupt as Guaido Tries to Bring Venezuela Aid
On the border with Colombia, National Guard soldiers fired volleys of tear gas and plastic pellets at supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who were trying to persuade them to defect and permit tons of food and medicine into the country. Masked paramilitary gangs supporting the autocrat Maduro tore through the area there on motorcycles, firing guns in the air. Maduro said on state television that his forces had managed to repel an invasion and said he was breaking off diplomatic relations with Colombia.
- WorldTime
Saudi Sisters Stranded for Months in Hong Kong After Fleeing the Kingdom, Rights Group Says
Two Saudi Arabian sisters have spent almost six months hiding in Hong Kong after authorities reportedly foiled an attempt to flee the conservative kingdom, a human rights group says. Using aliases to protect their identities, non-profit Justice Centre Hong Kong said in a statement that Reem, 20, and Rawan, 18, arrived in the city on Sept. 6, 2018, after escaping during a family holiday in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. The pair had booked a connecting flight to Melbourne Australia, where they planned to seek asylum, but they were intercepted upon landing and told their flight had been cancelled.
- BusinessUSA TODAY Opinion
Robert Kraft prostitution scandal exposes depth of modern slavery, sex trafficking industry
If true, Robert Kraft is one of millions Even though slavery has been illegal in the United States since the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1865, slavery persists in this country because there is very little real penalty for the offense. Sex slavery in particular persists because men are largely able to purchase female bodies for sexual gratification with little to no penalty. These men appear to believe that money somehow confers the right to own another human being for a period of time, like subletting property.
WorldAFPPlanes and armoured trains: the Kims' foreign trips
The first sign that Kim Jong Un was potentially on his way to meet US President Donald Trump for a second summit was the reported appearance of an armoured train in China. If that train trundles all the way to Hanoi carrying the North Korean leader, it'll mean a nearly 4,000-kilometre (2,500-mile), 60-hour journey on board for Kim. The engine and carriages appeared similar, possibly identical, to the train Kim used the previous year to travel to the Chinese capital for his first overseas visit.
NewsAssociated PressSen. Feinstein debates children over climate change
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and a group of San Francisco Bay Area students squared off over climate change in a sometimes tense exchange captured on video and widely shared on social media. The 15-minute video of the impromptu Friday meeting captures the students and Feinstein debating the merits of the Green New Deal, an ambitious Democrat plan to shift the U.S. economy from fossil fuels to renewable sources such as wind and solar power. The students passionately urged the California Democrat to support the legislation.
PoliticsReuters'Too early' to tell if Ocasio-Cortez will help New York: Governor Cuomo
"It's early yet to find out what she actually produces," Cuomo told reporters after a news conference in Washington in which he argued for Congress to reverse a provision in the new federal tax code that disproportionately hurts his constituents. "You know, New York is very basic in our approach, we're sort of, 'What have you brought home for us lately?' I think it's a little early in the session yet for the evaluation." Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated a long-time Democratic lawmaker to get elected to Congress in 2018, has pushed her party to embrace a more liberal platform and ruffled feathers with her quick rise. Cuomo and Ocasio-Cortez ended up on opposite sides of the debate about Amazon.com opening a new headquarters in New York.
- BusinessThe Independent
Airlines admit having cameras installed on back of passengers' seats
Three of the world's biggest airlines have admitted some of their planes have cameras installed on the backs of passenger seats. American Airlines, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines have new seat-back entertainment systems that include cameras. Companies that make the entertainment systems are fitting them with cameras to offer passengers options such as seat-to-seat video conferencing, according to an American Airlines spokesman.
BusinessReutersCORRECTED: Microsoft workers demand it drop $480 million U.S. Army contract
The organising effort, described to Reuters by three Microsoft workers, offers the latest example in the last year of tech employees protesting cooperation with governments on emerging technologies. Microsoft won a contract in November to supply the Army with at least 2,500 prototypes of augmented reality headsets, which digitally displays contextual information in front of a user's eyes. In a petition to Microsoft executives, posted on Twitter, workers said they "did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used." They called on the company to develop "a public-facing acceptable use policy" for its technology and an external review board to publicly enforce it.
- WorldThe Independent
Venezuela: Two killed in clashes over humanitarian aid as Maduro breaks relations with Colombia
At least two people have been killed in Venezuela in clashes with security forces over the opposition's plan to bring in humanitarian aid from neighbouring Brazil and Colombia, doctors said. Hospital staff in a town near the border said another 18 were injured as violence between residents and soldiers erupted, though Bogota later claimed a much higher figure of 285. Trucks loaded with food were set ablaze after president Nicolas Maduro deployed troops and armoured vehicles to turn back humanitarian assistance at border crossings.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Cargo jet with three on board crashes near Houston airport
A Boeing 767 cargo jetliner heading to Houston with three people aboard disintegrated after crashing Saturday into a bay east of the city, according to a Texas sheriff. Witnesses told emergency personnel that the twin-engine plane "went in nose first," leaving a debris field three-quarters of a mile long in Trinity Bay, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said. Witnesses said they heard the plane's engines surging and that the craft turned sharply before falling into a nosedive, Hawthorne said.
- NewsTime
R. Kelly Charged with 10 Counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse
R. Kelly was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, Kim Foxx, the Cook County State's Attorney, said in a press conference on Friday. Kelly was indicted by a grand jury that charged him with sexually abusing four victims, at least three of them underage. Foxx said that each count had a sentencing range of three to seven years, which means he could face up to 70 years in prison.
BusinessAFPGlobal equities climb on hopeful trade talk vibes
World stock markets advanced Friday as investors awaited what they hoped will be encouraging news from US-China trade talks in Washington, dealers said. Europe's key equity markets were modestly higher at the close, building on earlier Asian gains. Wall Street was also higher in the late New York morning as US economic concerns appeared to be eclipsed by hopes that high-level talks between the United States and China will seal a trade war truce.
- WorldBloomberg
North Korea's Surprise New Nuclear Envoy Key to Trump-Kim Talks
Kim Hyok Chol, a career diplomat from an elite North Korean family, made his international debut just a few weeks ago as Pyongyang's new point man for nuclear negotiations. In the run-up to the Feb. 27-28 summit, he has been in talks with U.S. counterpart Stephen Biegun to lay the groundwork for the meeting, taking diplomats by surprise. To those who know him, Kim Hyok Chol is a skilled rhetorician who has played a crucial role in crafting the joint statement signed by the North Korean leader Kim and South Korean president Moon Jae-in at their latest summit last year.
NewsAssociated PressStorm dumps record-breaking snow in Arizona on way to Texas
A winter storm dumped record-breaking amounts of snow in Arizona and forced the closure Friday of roads, schools and government offices across the Southwest. The storm was pushing through eastern Arizona and heading for New Mexico and Texas after dumping nearly 3 feet (0.9 meters) of snow Thursday at the Flagstaff airport during the city's snowiest day on record, and more than 2 feet (0.6 meters) in Payson, a town that logs that much snow as its yearly average. Residents were digging out from the weather that the National Weather Service characterized as "not your average" storm.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
A 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback Is the Latest to Be Immortalized in Legos
This 1970s-era Ford Mustang kit is customizable; there's a supercharger, front and rear spoilers, tail or side pipes, and even a nitrous-oxide tank. A removable roof panel permits access to the attentively detailed interior. The kit will be available directly from Lego stores or online, starting March 1.
- LifestyleMashable
Get the Insignia 8-Quart Multi-Function Pressure Cooker for less than $40 at Best Buy
When you get home from a long day, the last thing you want to do is spend an hour bent over a hot stove making dinner. Yeah you can pop something in a slow cooker before you leave for your day, but that takes advanced planning and sometimes you just don't have the time or energy for that. With a pressure cooker, you can just toss ingredients in like a slow cooker, but the food cooks in a fraction of the time.
WorldReutersChina, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela in hot seat at U.N. rights forum
China is lobbying hard to thwart scrutiny of its mass detention camps for Muslim Uighurs in the Xinjiang region at the U.N. Human Rights Council's main annual session opening on Monday, diplomats and activists said. Saudi Arabia will face criticism for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and its failure to cooperate with a U.N.-led inquiry, diplomatic sources said. And ambassadors from some European countries plan to boycott a speech by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza on Tuesday, as more countries back opposition leader Juan Guaido and spurn President Nicolas Maduro, they add.
