Family: 2 Palestinian siblings slain by Israel without cause

Palestinian siblings gunned down at a West Bank checkpoint after approaching Israeli troops — with knives, according to Israel — were needlessly killed and could have been subdued without deadly force, their parents, witnesses and an Israeli lawmaker said Thursday. Later Thursday the Israeli military said two Palestinian women attempted to stab soldiers stationed at a checkpoint in the West Bank. The fatal shootings Wednesday of 24-year-old Maram Taha and her 16-year-old brother Ibrahim raise new questions about Israel's use of lethal force against knife-carrying Palestinians in recent months, said the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.

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  Two Palestinians shot dead after checkpoint attack bid: Israel

  AFP
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  Israel police shoot and kill 2 Palestinians with knives

  Associated Press

Turkey journalists jailed for publishing Mohammed cartoon

An Istanbul court on Thursday sentenced two prominent Turkish journalists to two years behind bars for illustrating their columns with a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed originally published by French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. The sentence handed to columnists Hikmet Cetinkaya and Ceyda Karan, both columnists with the opposition Cumhuriyet daily, intensified alarm over press freedoms in Turkey under strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has made Islam the cornerstone of his politics. "The two journalists were sentenced to two years each in jail," said their lawyer Bulent Utku.

• A court in Istanbul has sentenced two journalists from a pro-opposition newspaper to two years in prison for publishing French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's controversial cover featuring a Prophet Muhammad cartoon

  US News & World Report
• Two Turkish Journalists Jailed for Charlie Hebdo Reprints

  Bloomberg

New Tennessee Bill Allows Mental Health Counselors to Refuse Patients, Because Religion

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a bill that lets mental health counselors deny treatment to patients depending on the particular counselor's set of personal or religious beliefs. The controversial bill was also met with much criticism, including comments from the American Counseling Association, which called the law an "unprecedented attack," AP reported.

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  Tennessee Enacts Law Letting Therapists Refuse Patients On Religious Grounds

  NPR.org
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  Tennessee law to allow counselors to deny service based on beliefs

  Reuters

Massive Dent Shows What Happens When Birds Fly Into Planes

It looks like the aftermath of an air disaster but this huge dent on the nose of a plane actually occurred after it collided with a bird. And while it may look pretty bad, none of the 156 people onboard the American Airlines flight to Texas were seriously

• Bird Strike Leaves Large Dent on Jetliner's Nose

  ABC News
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  CNBC update: Bird strikes American Airlines jet

  CNBC Videos

Putin hails first rocket launch from new cosmodrome after delay

Russia launched the first rocket from its new Vostochny cosmodrome on Thursday, with President Vladimir Putin hailing the event after dressing down officials over a delay caused by a technical glitch. The launch is a major milestone for Russia's beleaguered space sector, with the new spaceport in the country's far east touted to mark a rebirth of an industry plagued by a string of embarrassments in recent years. Putin was present for the take-off.

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  First launch from new Russian spaceport delayed

  Associated Press
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  Putin frustrated after witnessing scrapped rocket launch at new billion dollar space facility

  UPI

Vatican crackdown on tax cheats flagged in oversight report

The Vatican's financial watchdog said Thursday it received 544 reports of suspicious financial transactions last year, a three-fold increase over 2014, thanks in part to beefed-up efforts to flag potential tax cheats who are using the Vatican bank to hide money. In its annual report, the Financial Information Authority said it passed 17 cases on to Vatican prosecutors for follow-up investigation, up from seven a year earlier. The Vatican in 2010 created the financial watchdog to comply with international anti-money-laundering norms and in a bid to shed its image as a financially shady tax haven whose bank has been embroiled in scandal.

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  Vatican finances: Sharp increase in suspicious activity reports

  BBC News
• Vatican saw surge of suspicious financial activity reports in 2015

  Reuters

U.S. seeks three more years in prison for mobster Bulger's girlfriend

Federal prosecutors on Thursday are set to ask a judge to order former Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger's girlfriend to spend three more years in prison for refusing to say if anyone helped the couple during their 16 years on the run. Greig was arrested alongside Bulger in 2011 when federal agents caught up with the pair in a seaside condo in Santa Monica, California, where they were living with a cache of weapons and cash. Bulger fled Boston in 1995 after a tip from a corrupt FBI agent that arrest was imminent.

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  Judge to sentence Whitey Bulger girlfriend Catherine Greig today

  BostonGlobe.com
• James 'Whitey' Bulger's Ex-Companion May Face More Prison Time

  ABC News

5 Facts to Know About Your 401(k)

The way most Americans will fund their retirement is through an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan, now that few private-sector employers offer pensions. "About 25 to 30 percent of people's (retirement) income is coming from a 401(k) source. Given how vital these plans are for retirement, participants should know a few facts about them.

Congress to Air Force: You Can't Retire the A-10 Until the F-35 Proves It's Better

Congress threw down the gauntlet at the Air Force on Monday, introducing legislation to mandate keeping the A-10 Thunderbolt II-affectionately known as the Warthog-in service until the service can prove the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter can take over its job. As reported by DefenseNews, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Mack Thornberry has introduced legislation to forbid the Air Force from retiring the plane. Thornberry's proposed law would prohibit the Air Force from using funds to retire the A-10, and would forbid the service from reducing manning levels for the aircraft.

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  Only One of Six Air Force F-35s Could Actually Take Off During Mock Deployment

  Fortune
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  F-35 to Go Up Against A-10 in 'Common Sense' War Scenario Showdown

  Military.com

Hidden Cellphone Feature Tracks Your Every Move

Software on Apple and Android devices may be keeping a record of your daily routine. Here`s how to turn it off.