| Death toll from Mexico pipeline blast reaches 91, Pemex defends response Posted: 21 Jan 2019 05:19 PM PST  Hundreds of people near the small town of Tlahuelilpan in Hidalgo state rushed to collect fuel from a gushing duct which authorities said was punctured by suspected thieves, and dozens were caught in the explosion that followed. The blast followed severe shortages of gasoline in central Mexico after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in late December launched a major crackdown on fuel theft, ordering pipelines closed in a bid to thwart the criminal activity. Some people at the blast site said those shortages had encouraged local residents to try to make up the deficit by collecting fuel from the ruptured pipeline - a version of events that was backed up by officials in the state government.
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| US to seek Huawei exec's extradition from Canada Posted: 22 Jan 2019 04:16 PM PST  The United States confirmed Tuesday that it plans to seek the extradition of Chinese telecom giant Huawei's finance director, who was detained in Canada on a US request, before a January 30 deadline. "We will continue to pursue the extradition of defendant Ms. Meng Wanzhou, and will meet all deadlines set by the US/Canada Extradition Treaty," said Justice Department spokesperson Marc Raimondi.
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| WaPo Issues Correction after Falsely Labeling Nathan Phillips a Vietnam Vet Posted: 22 Jan 2019 01:31 PM PST  The Washington Post issued a correction Tuesday after falsely describing the elderly Native American man whose confrontation with a group of high-school students went viral over the weekend as a veteran of the Vietnam War. "Earlier versions of this story incorrectly said that Native American activist Nathan Phillips fought in the Vietnam War.
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| The New 2020 GMC Sierra HD Is a Reskinned Silverado HD Posted: 22 Jan 2019 04:23 PM PST  As usual, the GMC will come with extra chrome and an in-your-face grille.
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| Kamala Harris Seeks to Make Historic 2020 Presidential Run Posted: 21 Jan 2019 07:43 PM PST  Harris, a daughter of a Jamaican-born father and Indian immigrant mother, would be the first black woman as well as the first Indian-American in the Oval Office. The backing of African Americans, who dominate the Democratic electorate in early primaries like South Carolina, which is expected to hold its primary in late February 2020, followed by other Southern states in the first half of March, would make her formidable.
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| Romania president: plan to invalidate graft cases not legal Posted: 22 Jan 2019 01:47 PM PST ![Romania president: plan to invalidate graft cases not legal]( "Romania president: plan to invalidate graft cases not legal") BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's president said on Tuesday that a government decree that could invalidate hundreds of corruption cases involving senior officials is "crassly unconstitutional," a development that also prompted concern from the European Union.
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| China Demands the U.S. Drop Extradition Efforts for Huawei Executive Meng Wanzhou Posted: 22 Jan 2019 01:35 AM PST  China is demanding the U.S. drop a request that Canada extradite a top executive of the tech giant Huawei.
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| Polar plunge: Record low temperatures roll into Midwest, East behind snowstorm Posted: 21 Jan 2019 02:31 PM PST  High winds and brutal cold greeted brave souls armed with shovels digging out Monday from up to two feet of snow across a wide swath of the nation.
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| Ex-U.S. marine jailed in Russia for spying was misled: lawyer Posted: 22 Jan 2019 12:59 PM PST  Russia's Federal Security Service detained Paul Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, in a Moscow hotel room on Dec. 28. Whelan appeared in a Moscow court on Tuesday, where a judge rejected releasing him on bail. Whelan, who denies the charges, was detained after receiving a thumb drive containing a list of all the employees of a secret Russian state agency, the Russian online news portal Rosbalt.ru reported this month.
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| America's F-35 Stealth Fighter: The Ultimate Missile Killer? Posted: 21 Jan 2019 08:00 PM PST  The Pentagon wants to add F-35 stealth fighters to America's missile shield. But to have any chance at shooting down ballistic missiles, the F-35 might need a new weapon.
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| A century on, Basra's British-era shipyard going strong Posted: 22 Jan 2019 07:47 AM PST  Thousands of ships, including former dictator Saddam Hussein's yacht, have passed through the Iraqi shipyard's three docks, where a giant steam engine hauls them out of the water and up the century-old wooden tracks. Mohammed Adnan, who has been operating the huge steam engine for six years now, says it is not easy. "They say they [the British] brought in the wood from Burma... we tried to drill a 1.5 inch nail into it once, we couldn't," said Jassim Hussain Sabour, the shipyard's longest-serving worker.
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| Trump Presses Ahead on State of Union After Pelosi’s Suggestion to Delay Posted: 22 Jan 2019 09:30 AM PST  The request was made to House officials, according to White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and is another escalation in his battle with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The House sergeant-at-arms, one of the recipients of the White House request over the weekend, is awaiting a response from Pelosi's office. Pelosi last week said Trump should postpone the address because of security concerns stemming from the shutdown and consider delivering it in writing instead of in-person.
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| 2019 Mercedes-AMG E53 Coupe - Photos Posted: 22 Jan 2019 09:42 AM PST |
| Prince Philip crash: passenger who broke wrist claims police haven't asked her for statement four days on Posted: 21 Jan 2019 03:16 AM PST  A woman who broke her wrist in a car crash with the Duke of Edinburgh has criticised police for their treatment of her, claiming she has still not been asked for a statement four days on. Emma Fairweather, 46, was a passenger in a Kia Carens which collided with the Duke's Land Rover on Thursday, and has said she is "very upset" by the treatment she has received from police and Buckingham Palace. Claiming she has not even been asked to give a statement detailing what happened, she said she believed she was being treated differently to the Duke, who has since been photographed out driving again. Ms Fairweather has received a message of support from the Queen, delivered by a lady-in-waiting via a telephone message while she was away from home, but said of the approach of police and palace: "The support that I was offered initially hasn't really been the reality for me. "I've had no opportunity to discuss this in any formal capacity. "I need somebody to understand that I still have medical concerns. I'm very worried that I haven't been asked for a statement from the police. The scene of the crash, near Sandringham "When I contacted the Family Liaison Officer to say I have a number of questions, he hasn't been prepared to listen to those." She added: ""There needs to be a decision as to whether Prince Philip and I are from the same walk of life or not, and we either receive the same treatment or we don't. "I haven't had a full medical check over yet, I just feel that his treatment or his experience hasn't been the same as mine." A Norfolk Police spokesman said: "In any collision investigation our priority is to ensure medical welfare is addressed in the first instance before taking any statement. "We can confirm arrangements were made on Friday (18 January) to take a statement from the passenger involved in the collision. This will take place tomorrow (22 January). "Further contact was attempted on a number of occasions over the weekend but unfortunately these were not successful. "Family liaison officers are not normally deployed for collisions of this nature. However, recognising the level of public interest in this case we felt it appropriate to provide additional support. "All family liaison officers give advice around handling media attention, and as part of this, it is made clear that it is a decision for the individual whether or not to speak to journalists." Ms Fairweather was interviewed on ITV's This Morning, following several interviews with the Daily and Sunday Mirror newspapers. Her friend, the 28-year-old driver of the car Ellie Townsend, has chosen not to speak publicly, understood to be shaken by the experience after fearing for her nine-month-old baby son in the back of the car. Ms Fairweather claimed she has asked for car insurance details from Mrs Townsend "a number of times" in the aftermath of the crash, telling This Morning: "Finally yesterday afternoon I received a very formal email from her husband to share those details with me." The Duke of Edinburgh driving in September 2018 Credit: Peter Jolly Asked what she hoped for from officials, she said: "I think an acknowledgement, not so much any admission of responsibility, but that somebody who would like to talk to me about how difficult this is going to be for me. "I've had no support. The only support I've had is my very immediate family. "Neither party [the Duke or the second driver] have been forthcoming with very much information." Asked about whether she had spoken to the Duke immediately after the crash, she said: "Somebody said he did try to but he was advised not to. "[But] I don't think asking if you're OK is accepting liability." The Duke was photographed on Saturday driving a replacement Land Rover near to the Sandringham Estate, without wearing a seatbelt. Ms Fairweather said she had been "very upset" after seeing the pictures, adding: "Of course accidents happen, but there needs to be a period of reflection on what could be done differently to prevent the same thing happening again. "It was highly insensitive and inconsiderate to me." The Queen attends church at Sandringham on Sunday Credit: Mark Cuthbert Mary Morrison, the Queen's lady-in-waiting, had telephoned Ms Fairweather prior to the interview, saying in a message: "Hello, I'm ringing from Sandringham House. "The Queen has asked me to telephone you to pass on her warmest good wishes following the accident and she is very eager to know how you are and hope that everything is going as well as can be expected. "We're all thinking of you very much at Sandringham and I'll try you at a later date. Unfortunately I've got to go out quite shortly but I hope all is well as can be expected for you. Thank you very much indeed. Goodbye." A senior Palace aide has also spoken directly to the driver.
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| United Airlines passengers stranded over 15 hours at frigid Canadian military base Posted: 21 Jan 2019 05:29 AM PST  United Flight 179 passengers leaving New Jersey were stranded for nearly a day in Canada and then sent back to Newark Liberty International Airport.
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| Russia opens civil cases against Facebook, Twitter - report Posted: 21 Jan 2019 01:54 AM PST  Russia's communication watchdog said on Monday it was opening administrative proceedings against Twitter and Facebook for failing to explain how they plan to comply with local data laws, the Interfax news agency reported. Roskomnadzor, the watchdog, was quoted as saying that Twitter and Facebook had not explained how and when they would comply with legislation that requires all servers used to store Russians' personal data to be located in Russia.
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| Women’s March Leader Claims Questions about Anti-Semitism Were Racist Posted: 21 Jan 2019 12:30 PM PST  Women's March co-chair Tamika Mallory claimed during a recent interview that The View's Meghan McCain aggressively questioned her about her ties to infamous anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan because McCain is racist. Mallory, who labeled Farrakhan the GOAT on social media after attending a speech in which he labeled Jews "satanic," said she intended to praise the Nation of Islam leader's past advocacy on behalf of the black community, not his virulent and frequently displayed anti-Semitism. Asked by McCain to explicitly condemn Farrakhan, Mallory refused — a decision she now attributes to McCain's aggressive rhetorical style, which she claims was racially motivated.
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| U.S. Banks Boost Aid to Customers as Federal Shutdown Drags On Posted: 22 Jan 2019 01:53 PM PST  Navy Federal Credit Union, a Vienna, Virginia-based lender with more 8.1 million members, is offering no-interest, no-fee loans up to $6,000 for its 100,000 affected customers. "One can only imagine, as far as missing a paycheck, of course there's great concern and financial uncertainty," Tynika Wilson, senior vice president of debit card and fund services at Navy Federal, said Tuesday in an interview.
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| Google spends big on U.S. lobbying amid antitrust, bias battles Posted: 22 Jan 2019 03:10 PM PST  Alphabet Inc's Google disclosed on Tuesday that it spent a company-record $21.2 million on lobbying the United States government in 2018, topping its previous high of $18.22 million in 2012, as the search engine operator fights wide-ranging scrutiny into its practices. Google said in a quarterly disclosure to Congress that it spent $4.9 million on lobbying activities during the fourth quarter, slightly above $4.4 million in the same period a year ago. The 2018 total also surpassed $18.04 million spent on lobbying in 2017, according to tracking of the filings by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
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| Where the investigations related to President Trump stand Posted: 21 Jan 2019 09:17 PM PST  A look at where the investigations related to President Donald Trump stand and what may lie ahead for him:
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| FOG Design+Art Shakes Things Up in San Francisco Posted: 22 Jan 2019 11:17 AM PST |
| Waymo will build self-driving cars in Michigan Posted: 22 Jan 2019 11:42 AM PST  The company says the state has "excellent snowy conditions" for testing.
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| Three dead from separate avalanches in Colorado and New Mexico Posted: 22 Jan 2019 12:22 PM PST  Two deaths have been confirmed in the US after two separate avalanches in Colorado and New Mexico trapped skiers in crushing snow this week and last. Authorities in Aspen, Colorado confirmed the most recent death on Monday, which happened to be the same day that relatives of a New Mexico avalanche victim announced their loss. A second victim of the New Mexico avalanche had already been reported.
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| Police searching for Round Lake man after girl, 11, drives to school Posted: 21 Jan 2019 05:40 PM PST  Police in far north suburban Round Lake are searching for a man after teachers at John J. Murphy Elementary School saw an 11-year-old girl pull up to the school with the adult man in the passenger seat.
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| Israel PM says will block 'Iranian aggression' after Syria strikes Posted: 21 Jan 2019 03:36 AM PST  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday Israel would not allow "Iranian aggression", after its military struck what it called Iranian targets in Syria in response to missile fire. "Yesterday evening, the air force struck a strong blow against Iranian targets in Syria after Iran fired a missile from there toward Israel," Netanyahu said at an inauguration ceremony for a new airport in southern Israel.
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| Open letter to Xi demands China release detained Canadians Posted: 21 Jan 2019 08:03 PM PST  A group of 143 former diplomats and scholars from 19 countries have penned an open letter to Xi Jinping, China's president, demanding Beijing to "immediately release" two Canadians detained in China. Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a prominent consultant on North Korean business issues, have been held for six weeks in Beijing. In their respective roles, the two frequently met with Chinese officials, researchers and scholars, the letter noted. The "detentions send a message that this kind of constructive work is unwelcome and even risky in China," the letter said. "That will lead to less dialogue and greater distrust, and undermine efforts to manage disagreements and identify common ground. Both China and the rest of the world will be worse off as a result." The pair disappeared as tensions escalated between Canada and China after Meng Wanzhou, a top executive from Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, was arrested in December in Vancouver on a US extradition request related to Iran sanctions violations. Although Beijing has denied any link between the detentions and Ms Meng, 46, the two men were seized shortly after China threatened "serious consequences" over her case. Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou arrives at a parole office with a security guard in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018 Credit: Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press Last week, China handed down a death sentence to a Canadian citizen on drug trafficking charges in a rushed retrial that experts say is another example of Beijing acting in retaliation for Meng, and further efforts to pressure Ottawa in a diplomatic row that has now lasted weeks. A spate of British diplomats and politicians have signed the letter, including former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former Ambassador to China Sir Christopher Hum, and Member of Parliament Lord David Alton. Signatories also included Gareth Evans, the former foreign minister of Australia, two US deputy assistant secretaries of state, former ambassadors to China from Canada, the US, Australia, Germany, Sweden, and Mexico, and scholars Orville Schell of the Asia Society, Minxin Pei, a professor and expert on Chinese politics at Claremont McKenna College, and Bonnie Glaser, senior advisor for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank. Meng is currently under house arrest as her case remains pending. Kovrig and Spavor have been allowed a handful of consular visits in detention.
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| Report reveals an undeclared North Korean missile base headquarters Posted: 21 Jan 2019 12:31 PM PST  "The Sino-ri missile operating base and the Nodong missiles deployed at this location fit into North Korea's presumed nuclear military strategy by providing an operational-level nuclear or conventional first strike capability," the report said. The discovery of an undeclared missile headquarters comes three days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he "looks forward" to another summit to discuss denuclearization with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late February.
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| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reacts to Aaron Sorkin's Comments That Congress Members Need to Grow Up Posted: 21 Jan 2019 07:46 AM PST  "They need to stop acting like young people, ok? It's time to do that," Sorkin said.
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| The Latest: New York City airport faces wind disruptions Posted: 21 Jan 2019 05:57 PM PST  The Latest on the winter storm hitting the East Coast (all times local):
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| Andrea Kelly describes ex-husband R. Kelly as 'broken': 'He was abusive to me' Posted: 21 Jan 2019 11:43 AM PST  Andrea "Drea" Kelly said ex-husband R. Kelly was 'abusive to me verbally, emotionally, physically, sexually.'
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| Tourist killed by falling window from Hong Kong hotel Posted: 21 Jan 2019 09:15 PM PST  A hotel employee arrested after a window she was cleaning fell onto a busy Hong Kong street and killed a tourist was released on bail Tuesday as investigators try to work out what caused the fatal tragedy. Police said a 24-year-old female tourist from the Chinese mainland was struck by the window which fell from the 16th floor of the Mira Hotel in the busy Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district on Monday. The accident sparked alarm that a window could possibly fall from the outside of a modern hotel building in a city stacked with skyscrapers.
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| Native American elder, teen at center of crowd in viral video speak out Posted: 21 Jan 2019 11:39 AM PST  After a Native American elder and a group of teens were at the center of a viral video showing a confrontation after the Indigenous Peoples March, both sides are speaking out.
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| Weakened Freedom Caucus Hustles for Relevance in the Pelosi Era Posted: 22 Jan 2019 01:00 AM PST  Freedom Caucus members remain some of President Donald Trump's staunchest and noisiest allies in a Democratic-controlled House under Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Truth of the matter is, you're going to see a branding of the Freedom Caucus that is taking it to the next level, in this Congress," said Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina, the Freedom Caucus chairman who frequently engages directly with the president, including in late-night telephone calls.
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| Ocasio Cortez: ‘The World is Going to End In Twelve Years If We Don’t Address Climate Change’ Posted: 22 Jan 2019 07:05 AM PST  "Millennials and people, you know, Gen Z and all these folks that will come after us are looking up and we're like: 'The world is gonna end in 12 years if we don't address climate change and your biggest issue is how are we gonna pay for it?'" Ocasio-Cortez told interviewer Tanehisi Coates at an "MLK Now" event in New York. The timeline Ocasio-Cortez referenced was likely based on a U.N. backed report, released last year, that predicted the consequences of man-made climate change would become irreversible in twelve years if global carbon emissions are not immediately and dramatically reduced.
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| J&J, U.S. states settle hip implant claims for $120 mln Posted: 22 Jan 2019 01:07 PM PST  Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit have agreed to pay $120 million to resolve deceptive marketing claims by several U.S. states.
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| Mr Porter and Off-White unveil their latest collaboration Posted: 22 Jan 2019 08:21 AM PST  Mr Porter has presented the fruit of its latest collaboration with streetwear label Off-White: a 44-piece capsule which reinterprets traditional sportswear. Christened "Modern Office," the collection is exclusively available from Mr Porter (www.mrporter.com). "Securing the Mr Porter account has always been a goal for me.
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| Amy Astley and Aerin Lauder Celebrate AERIN for The Shade Store Posted: 22 Jan 2019 04:07 PM PST |
| Taiwan's 'Bikini Climber' social media star dies after ravine fall Posted: 21 Jan 2019 07:01 PM PST  Taiwanese rescue teams were trying Tuesday to retrieve the body of a dead hiker who became famous on social media for taking selfies on top of mountain peaks dressed in a bikini. Gigi Wu -- dubbed the "Bikini Climber" by fans -- used a satellite phone on Saturday to tell friends she had fallen down a ravine in Taiwan's Yushan national park and badly injured herself. "The weather conditions in the mountains are not good, we have asked our rescuers to move the body to a more open space and after the weather clears we will make a request for a helicopter to bring the body down," Lin Cheng-yi, from the Nantou County Fire and Rescue Services, told reporters.
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| New York's Gun-Transportation Rules Draw Supreme Court Scrutiny Posted: 22 Jan 2019 01:39 PM PST  The court said it will hear an appeal from three city handgun owners and an advocacy group who say New York has the most extreme firearm-transportation restrictions in the country. The case may demonstrate the impact of the newest justice, Brett Kavanaugh, whose appeals court record suggests he'll be a more aggressive enforcer of gun rights than the justice he replaced, Anthony Kennedy.
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