PoliticsAssociated PressWhere the investigations related to President Trump stand
Where the investigations related to President Donald Trump stand and what may lie ahead for him: WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT? Trump is facing investigations in Washington and New York. Special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia and whether the president obstructed the investigation.
PoliticsReutersCongressional Democrats move to stop U.S. Census citizenship question
Democrats in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday were moving ahead with legislation to prevent the Trump administration from adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, following a court decision this week blocking inclusion of such information. Representative Carolyn Maloney, a senior Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told reporters that she is re-introducing her bill, which was ignored by Republicans in 2017-2018 when they controlled the House of Representatives. With the Democrats takeover of the House this year and the panel that oversees the decennial census, Maloney said she hoped that her "Census IDEA Act" would advance early in 2019.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
'We're going to electrify the F-Series,' Ford exec says
Ford Motor Co. has confirmed plans to build a fully electric F-Series pickup, which industry observers called an unexpected move that protects the truck franchise against Tesla and other competitors. We're going to be electrifying the F-Series — battery electric and hybrid,” Jim Farley, Ford president of global markets, said this week during a presentation at the Deutsche Bank Global Automotive Conference in Detroit. In framing the company's redesign, Farley said a move toward all-electric and hybrid would “futureproof” the billion-dollar F-Series franchise, which he called a “global juggernaut.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Kenya attack: At least six killed in Nairobi hotel complex terror siege
Islamist terrorists detonated explosives and fired automatic weapons as they mounted a deadly attack on a hotel and business complex frequented by Westerners in Nairobi on Tuesday. Six people have been confirmed killed in the attack, while a Kenyan police officer told reporters 15 bodies had been taken to the mortuary. A mortuary worker added that identification papers indicated that 11 were Kenyan, one was American and one was British, while the other two did not have documents on them.
- NewsThe Independent
California storms: At least five people killed after heavy rain and snow cause devastation
At least five people have died in severe rain and snowstorms that blanketed parts of California with at least five feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains this week, besides triggering flooding and mudslides, officials said. Forecasters expect the bitter weather to push eastwards into the Rockies and US Midwest through the weekend, while the California Highway Patrol said rain-slicked highways led to two fatal accidents that killed four people. A family of three, including a one-year-old baby, died in El Dorado County on Tuesday, after their car spun across a rain-soaked freeway to hit another car, the San Francisco Chronicle said.
- NewsYahoo News
Tulsi Gabbard apologizes, again, for past antigay views
One week after her 2020 presidential rollout, the campaign of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, has hit a pothole. Gabbard issued an apology Thursday for antigay views she expressed in the past, attributing them to her conservative upbringing. “In my past, I said and believed things that were wrong,” said Gabbard, who represents Hawaii's second district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
WorldReutersTurkish 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.
- ScienceAccuWeather
Venus-Jupiter conjunction: Set your alarm for this celestial meet-up on Tuesday morning
Jupiter and Venus will shine bright together before dawn on Tuesday in an astronomical event known as a conjunction. "A conjunction is a celestial event in which two planets or a planet and the moon or a planet and a star appear close together in the night sky," according to the NASA website. Close encounters of Jupiter and Venus in the sky occur on a fairly regular basis, most recently happening on Nov. 13, 2017.
- U.S.FOX News Videos
House 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
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.
- PoliticsTime
Michael Cohen Says Donald Trump Ordered Him to Hire Company to Rig Online Polls
Michael Cohen says Donald Trump asked him to pay a tech company to rig online polls in Trump's favor before his presidential campaign. The President's longtime former lawyer acknowledged a story by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, that reported Cohen promised $50,000 to John Gauger, who runs the small tech company RedFinch and is the chief technology officer for Liberty University in Virginia. Gauger told the Journal that he had unsuccessfully tried to manipulate two online polls to benefit Trump.
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.
- WorldBloomberg
Al-Qaeda Hotel Attack Kills 21, Shaking Kenya Economy Pillar
Using hand grenades, automatic rifles and a suicide-bomber, the militants stormed 14 Riverside in Nairobi on Tuesday afternoon, a venue popular with business travelers and Kenya's elites and home to offices of companies including Pernod Ricard SA and Dow Chemical East Africa Ltd. That precipitated an 18-hour siege around the DusitD2 hotel, which President Uhuru Kenyatta said ended about 9 a.m. Wednesday with the attackers dead. Somalia-based al-Shabaab took responsibility for the assault, the latest in a recent wave of jihadist strikes across Africa, including in Nigeria and Mali, which a loose coalition of African, Western and United Nation troops are struggling to stop. It's al-Shabaab's first significant assault in Kenya since it killed 147 people at a northeastern university in April 2015 and echoed a September 2013 attack on Nairobi's Westgate mall that left 67 dead and rocked the tourism industry.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: California storm cancels Santa Anita horse races
Southern California's Santa Anita Park canceled horse racing Thursday because of stormy weather. Track Superintendent Andy LaRocco says Santa Anita has taken on 3.5 inches (89 millimeters) of rain since Monday. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows improved conditions in California after a series of storms.
PoliticsYahoo NewsSteve King faces increasing pressure to resign after 'white supremacy' remarks
Rep. Steve King's base of support, including in his home state of Iowa, continues to erode after comments he made appearing to praise white supremacy were published in the New York Times. The latest salvo came as the Sioux City Journal, a conservative newspaper in Iowa's Fourth District that had previously endorsed the Republican congressman, called on him to resign. “It's hard for us to summon words that will properly convey how repugnant we view that remark,” said the paper in response to King asking, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” earlier this month.
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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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!
- PoliticsThe Telegraph
Rudy Giuliani: 'I never said there was no collusion' with Russia
Rudy Giuliani, the personal lawyer of Donald Trump, insisted he "never said there was no collusion" between the president's 2016 election campaign and Russia – only that Mr Trump himself was not involved. Speaking to CNN's Chris Cuomo, the former New York mayor said he did not know if others involved in the campaign had worked with Russia. "I never said there was no collusion between the campaign, or between people in the campaign," Mr Giuliani said.
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.
- BusinessCar and Driver
A Look at the 2020 BMW 7-series
The BMW flagship sedan also gets revised engines and plenty of new tech. From Car and Driver
NewsUSA TODAYMore snow! Airlines expand change fees as new storms approach
Airlines are waiving change fees as two more winter storms are set to move across the Midwest and Northeast. American, Delta, Southwest, United, JetBlue, Alaska and Frontier airlines all rolled out waivers Thursday, with several carriers expanding the scope of the policies as forecasts solidified. The waivers come as two different winter storms were forecast to affect airports across large parts of the Midwest and Northeast.
PoliticsAssociated PressWhite House denounces Rep. King's white supremacy remarks
Comments by Republican Rep. Steve King about white supremacy are "abhorrent," the White House said Wednesday as bipartisan condemnation of King continued. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders praised a move by House Republicans to strip the nine-term Iowa lawmaker of his committee assignments. The House on Tuesday approved a Democratic measure rebuking King, and a member of the House Republican leadership suggested King should leave Congress.
ScienceAFPChina's moon cotton experiment ends in freezing lunar night
A cotton seedling that sprouted on the moon has been left to die as China's historic lunar lander continues a freezing night-time nap that will last as long as two earth weeks, scientists said. The Chinese space agency announced earlier this week that the seed had germinated inside a special canister aboard the Chang'e-4 probe, after the spacecraft on January 3 made the first-ever landing on the far side of the moon. The mini biosphere -- which operated for over 212 hours -- was shut down as planned on Saturday, said Chongqing University, which designed the experiment.
