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.
- PoliticsBloomberg
This Quiet Mueller Cooperator Has a Key Role in Trump Probe
Behind the headline-grabbing developments in Robert Mueller's Russia probe, one potentially pivotal witness has been quietly cooperating for almost a year on multiple investigations. Rick Gates, who spent about a decade working for Kremlin-backed political players in Ukraine, served as Donald Trump's deputy campaign manager for four months and then became the campaign's liaison to the Republican National Committee. Gates never joined the administration, but he remained in Trump's orbit until his indictment in October 2017.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- BusinessThe Telegraph
Apple boss Tim Cook attacks 'shadow economy' of data in call for new privacy law
Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has called for the US to introduce a national privacy law, attacking a “shadow economy” in which people's personal data is bought and sold without their knowledge. Mr Cook said companies should have to collect as little data as possible and make it easy for people to delete the information that is held about them. It is the latest attempt from Apple to position itself as the steward of consumers' privacy, and to draw a line between itself and companies such as Facebook and Google.
NewsUSA TODAY911 callers say Jayme Closs should get $50K reward for rescuing herself
A couple who called 911 to report that Jayme Closs had been found says they do not want reward money and think that Closs herself is more deserving of the $50,000. Closs — a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl who had been missing for three months after a home intruder killed her parents — was found in Gordon, Wisconsin on Jan. 10 by Jeanne Nutter, a local walking her dog. Nutter took Closs to her neighbors, Peter and Kristin Kasinskas. The group would go on to contact authorities to report Closs had been found.
- CelebrityAOL.com
Man makes terrifying jump from 11th story cruise ship balcony
Royal Caribbean has banned a group of thrill seekers after one of the men jumped off the cruise ship's high deck. The video, which has been gaining immense traction on social media, shows Nick Naydev of Vancouver, Washington, thoughtlessly plunging into the waters more than 100 feet below. Though the boat was docked, the stunt, equal to jumping from an 11-story building, was incredibly dangerous.
- NewsAccuWeather
State of emergency declared in Pennsylvania, New Jersey as Midwest, Northeast rush to finalize snowstorm preparations
A major snowstorm will strike the Midwest and Northeast this weekend, dumping mass amounts of snow and creating treacherous travel conditions. Local officials warn communities to prepare ahead of the dangerous winter storm. The National Weather Service (NWS) on Friday had winter storm watches and warnings in effect across the Northeast and Midwest.
WorldAFPSix suspects in court over Nairobi hotel attack
Six suspects, including a Canadian national, appeared in a Kenyan court on Friday in connection with a radical Islamist attack on a Nairobi hotel complex that left 21 dead. A magistrate granted a request from the prosecution to detain four men and one woman for 30 days while investigations continue. The suspects are accused of "possible involvement" in the almost 20-hour siege of the DusitD2 hotel and office complex by a suicide bomber and four gunmen who were killed by security forces, a court document said.
- BusinessCar and Driver
10 of the Kia Telluride's Coolest Design Details, from the Designer Himself
The new Telluride's design is big, blocky, and-hold on, this might be its most American SUV yet. From Car and Driver
- PoliticsFOX News Videos
Why did Democrats vote for a barrier along the southern border in 2013, but won't now?
Former U.S. Border Patrol Chief under former President Barack Obama Mark Morgan says that the border wall needs to be built.
WorldAssociated PressChinese ambassador warns Canada to stop rallying allies
China's ambassador to Canada warned the Canadian government Thursday to stop recruiting international support in its feud with China and threatened retaliation if Canada bans Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei for security reasons. Ambassador Lu Shaye said last month's arrest of a top Huawei Technologies executive was an act of "backstabbing" by a friend and he warned of repercussions if Canada bars the firm from its new 5G network. He said it would be a bad idea for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to use next week's World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, to press for support against China.
PoliticsReutersBid to keep U.S. sanctions on Russia's Rusal fails in Senate
Senators voted 57-42 to end debate on the measure, as 11 of Trump's fellow Republicans broke from party leaders to join Democrats in favor of the resolution, amid questions about Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. To keep the administration from lifting the sanctions, the measure must pass both the House and Senate and muster the two-thirds majority needed in both chambers to override an expected Trump veto. Many members of Congress have been questioning the U.S. Treasury Department's decision in December to ease sanctions imposed in April on the core businesses of Deripaska - Rusal, its parent, En+ , and power firm EuroSibEnergo - watering down the toughest penalties imposed on Russian entities since Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Prince Philip crash: As Duke takes delivery of another Land Rover, will he be back on the road soon?
A replacement Land Rover, previously driven by the Duke of Edinburgh, has been delivered to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, hours after his car was involved in a horror crash. A black Land Rover Freelander was driven into Sandringham inside a delivery truck on Friday morning. The Land Rover is the same model as the one Prince Philip, 97, was driving in yesterday's crash, which also involved a Kia.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Aeromexico ad campaign trolls anti-Mexican sentiment in US with DNA discounts
The two-minute commercial, which features visuals of beautiful Mexican locations, could be seen as a trolling trifecta, tweaking anti-Mexican sentiment in the U.S. and, without mentioning him, President Donald Trump and his anti-illegal immigration comments aimed at countries south of the U.S. border. The slogan for the "DNA Discounts" campaign, "There are no borders within us," can be read as a swipe at Trump, whose disagreement with Congressional Democrats over money for a wall has led to a protracted partial-government shutdown. The commercial for the Mexican airline opens by saying, "Mexico's first destination is America," showing a fleet of jetliners flying north, before adding, "But America's first destination is not Mexico," as one lone plane flies in the opposite direction.
- 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!
- NewsUSA TODAY
Snow: Flight cancellations now stretch into Sunday
Airlines are already canceling flights into Sunday ahead of a new winter storm that's forecast to bring snow and ice from the Great Plains to the Midwest and Northeast. Adding to Friday's flight headaches: all flights were suspended for several hours at Nebraska's Omaha airport after a Southwest Boeing 737 slid off a runway there. Icy conditions were reported in Omaha Friday afternoon, but it was not immediately clear if that was related.
WorldAssociated PressKenya court orders 6 suspects held over Nairobi hotel attack
A Canadian national and five other people suspected of helping extremist gunmen stage a deadly attack in the Kenyan capital this week appeared in court on Friday as prosecutors investigated them for suspected terror offenses. A judge ordered five of the suspects held for 30 days while authorities look into the assault on the dusitD2 hotel complex that was carried out by al-Shabab, a group that is linked to al-Qaida and based in neighboring Somalia. Kenyan authorities say 21 people, including one police officer, were killed by the attackers, one of whom blew himself up beside a restaurant.
- PoliticsTime
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's First House Speech Broke a C-SPAN Record. Here's What She Said
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's first speech from the House floor has set a minor record with C-SPAN. Ocasio-Cortez slammed the Trump Administration over the partial government shutdown in her remarks. A C-SPAN tweet of her nearly four-minute speech garnered 1.16 million views in a little more than 12 hours, setting a record for the most-watched Twitter video from the outlet of any remarks by a House member, according to a tweet from Howard Mortman, C-SPAN's communications director.
- BusinessCar and Driver
Chevy Pulls Commercial Claiming Superior Reliability
UPDATE 1/18/19: Chevrolet stopped using the advertisement discussed in this opinion column following complaints about its claim to be the "most reliable" brand. If you were watching the NFL playoffs or the Golden Globes, you probably saw a new spot from Chevrolet in its "Real People. In it, Chevy spokesperson Potsch Boyd asks a series of Ford, Honda, and Toyota owners if they'd be surprised to hear that their chosen make is the most reliable car company.
- U.S.WLS – Chicago
Illinois parents get 25 years in death of boy, 6, who weighed 17 pounds when he died
An Illinois father and stepmother will spend decades in prison in the starvation death of their 6-year-old son, who authorities say weighed just 17 pounds when he died.
WorldReutersSex seminar model who claimed Trump secrets deported from Thailand
A model from Belarus who was arrested during a "sex training seminar" in Thailand and then claimed to have evidence of Russian interference in U.S. President Donald Trump's election was deported on Thursday. Thai authorities said Anastasia Vashukevich, 27, two other Belarussians and five Russians were being sent to their home countries two days after they pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy and soliciting. Vashukevich drew world attention last February when she said she had hours of audio recordings that could shed light on links between Russian officials and Trump's election in 2016.
- LifestyleThe Telegraph
Netflix tidying guru sparks charity shop boom
A Netflix tidying guru has sparked a charity shop boom, as branches of Salvation Army, Scope and the British Heart Foundation have said she has led to increase in donations. It comes as decluttering expert Marie Kondo has rapidly risen to fame with her "KonMari" household organisation method, which promises to provide not only a de-cluttered house, but also a clean mind. Through her hit Netflix show she is teaching those with messy tendencies to get their homes in order by throwing out old and unwanted items to create a calmer home environment.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Omaha airport closed after Southwest Airlines plane goes off runway
A Southwest Airlines plane went off the runway Friday after landing at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, resulting in the airport's closure and the suspension of all flights. "Initial reports indicate Southwest flight #1643, a Boeing 737-800, traveling from Las Vegas to Omaha, slid onto a runway overrun area after landing and while taxiing to the terminal," Southwest confirmed to USA TODAY in a statement. The airport tweeted out a statement Friday afternoon about the incident, and followed up with several additional Twitter updates. Omaha was the final destination for all passengers.
