| House Democrats gear up for showdown over Mueller report Posted: 12 Feb 2019 02:57 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are stepping up their efforts to investigate President Donald Trump and his associates, hiring new lawyers and staff as they take on oversight responsibility and prepare for a showdown over access to special counsel Robert Mueller's final Russia report.
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| Winter storm: Flight cancellations now at 2,500+, extend into Wednesday Posted: 13 Feb 2019 05:05 AM PST  Large system brought snow, ice and rain from Midwest to New England. Nearly all big airlines were waiving change fees for airports in the storm's path.
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| Republican leader says Senate will vote on Green New Deal Posted: 12 Feb 2019 01:48 PM PST  "I've noted with great interest the Green New Deal, and we're going to be voting on that in the Senate, give everybody an opportunity to go on record and see how they feel about the Green New Deal," McConnell said. The goal is to transition the U.S. economy away from burning fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse gasses blamed for climate change, rising sea levels and severe storms. The initiative was unveiled by Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a rising political star, and Senator Edward Markey.
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| Man Tased While Handcuffed Sues Phoenix Police Department Posted: 12 Feb 2019 01:01 AM PST  An Arizona man is suing a suburban Phoenix police department for excessive force after he claims officers used a Taser on him 11 times, including purposefully on his testicles. The Glendale Police Department denies many of the claims.
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| Sorry Traders, T-Mobile’s Sprint Deal Is Anybody’s Guess Posted: 13 Feb 2019 06:07 AM PST  With romance in the air, it's only appropriate that T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. will appear side by side on Wednesday morning to defend their union to a panel of lawmakers questioning its effects. T-Mobile CEO John Legere and Sprint Executive Chairman Marcelo Claure are back on Capitol Hill to testify before the House subcommittee on communications and technology about the pending merger of the nation's third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers.(1) The gregarious and straight-talking Legere smoothly handled a mild Senate grilling last June, but much has changed since then, not least that Democrats took control of the House in the latest midterm elections.
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| Suicide attack on Iran Revolutionary Guards bus kills 20: state news agency Posted: 13 Feb 2019 09:03 AM PST  A suicide attack on Wednesday on a Revolutionary Guards bus in southeastern Iran killed at least 20 people, the official news agency IRNA reported. "The suicide attack on an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps personnel bus happened on the Khash-Zahedan road," IRNA said. A picture released by the Fars news agency showed a hulk of twisted metal at the scene.
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| Guaido seeks to wrest control of Venezuela's oil company Posted: 13 Feb 2019 02:40 PM PST  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly appointed a transitional board of directors for the state oil company Wednesday, in a bid by congress chief Juan Guaido to gain control of an industry that is the economic backbone of the country.
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| Police: Man Arrested in Connection to Woman Found Dead in Suitcase Posted: 12 Feb 2019 05:13 PM PST  Police arrested and charged Queens, N.Y. resident Javier Da Silva with kidnapping
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| McConnell, Schumer Urge Trump to Sign Spending Deal Posted: 12 Feb 2019 12:57 PM PST  Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and minority leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday urged President Trump to sign the tentative spending deal Congress reached Monday night."I have recommended that if it becomes what we think it is, I do recommend [Trump] sign it," McConnell told reporters. "I think he's got a pretty good deal here. . . . I hope he'll find this agreement acceptable and he'll sign the bill."Schumer, meanwhile, said Trump would be to blame if another government shutdown occurred, and urged the president to back the deal to prevent one."Sign it and don't cause a shutdown," the New York Democrat said.Congress has until Friday, when funding runs out for about a quarter of the government, to craft a spending package Trump will sign. Lawmakers reached a tentative deal Monday that included $1.375 billion for the construction of barriers on the southern border, not the $5.7 billion the president requested for a concrete wall. Republicans and Democrats hope to avoid repeating the partial shutdown that began in late December and dragged on for a record 35 days.Trump has hinted he may not sign the current deal, telling reporters on Tuesday, "I'm not happy about it. It's not doing the trick.""I'm adding things to it, and when you add whatever I have to add, it's all going to happen where we're going to build a beautiful, big, strong wall," he added.Some Republican members of Congress expressed even more displeasure and called on the president to take executive action to build the wall."This conference agreement is hardly a serious attempt to secure our border or stop the flow of illegal immigration," Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows wrote in a Monday night tweet. "It kicks the can down the road yet again, failing to address the critical priorities outlined by Border Patrol Chiefs. Congress is not doing its job."Trump has floated moving federal funds around and using his executive power, including possibly declaring a national emergency, to build hundreds of miles of border wall.
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| 10 Things to Expect from the 2020 Toyota Camry TRD Posted: 12 Feb 2019 01:32 PM PST |
| High-speed rail could still be a reality in California – and elsewhere, proponents say Posted: 13 Feb 2019 03:02 PM PST  California Gov. Gavin Newsom has put the high-speed rail line to Los Angeles and San Francisco on the slow track, but advocates are pressing on.
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| New York Lawmakers Fuming Without Key Details on Amazon Campus Posted: 12 Feb 2019 11:06 AM PST  "Is it a done deal?" Senator John Liu, a Democrat who represents the borough's northeast, asked Howard Zemsky, president and chief executive officer of Empire State Development, at a hearing on Tuesday in Albany. When Zemsky said finalization is pending, Liu asked him to disclose any up-front taxpayer costs to lure Amazon, one of the world's richest companies, to Long Island City. "You have to perform, be it on jobs or the investment, before you get anything back if you're Amazon," said Zemsky, referring to targets the Internet retailer must hit, including those involving job creation and capital expenditures.
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| As time runs out, Washington ready to help with jihadist repatriation Posted: 12 Feb 2019 07:42 AM PST  The United States is ready to help countries repatriate Islamic State jihadists detained in Syria but time is of the essence and Washington insists that ultimately it is up to their home governments to come up with solutions. The window to organize the fighters' return with US support "is quickly closing," a US State Department official told AFP, on condition of anonymity. US President Donald Trump's sudden announcement in December that US troops would be withdrawing from Syria set off a countdown for governments whose citizens, having joined IS, were captured by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
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| From Mass Weddings to Spilled Wine: How 6 Countries Around the World Celebrate Valentine's Day Posted: 13 Feb 2019 11:58 AM PST  Here are some unusual Valentine's Day traditions around the world
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| Beto’s counter-rally hints at how he might run against Trump Posted: 12 Feb 2019 08:59 AM PST  Privately, those close to O'Rourke offer nothing further than that. Among his fans was President Barack Obama, who praised O'Rourke for his authenticity. Those close to O'Rourke say they believe he would prefer to run the same kind of campaign for the White House.
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| Not ‘All Americans’ Are ‘Proud That We Have More Women in the Work Force Than Ever Before’ Posted: 12 Feb 2019 07:17 AM PST  In his State of the Union address, President Trump announced, "All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the work force than ever before." It was one of the few times he received a standing ovation from both Democrats and Republicans.I would not have stood and cheered.Either the president or whoever wrote that line honestly thought it was something worth celebrating or the president simply wanted to say something that would sound wonderful to both Democrats and Republicans, as well as to Americans who do not otherwise support him.Whatever the reason, both the fact that there are more women in the work force than ever before and the fact that Trump thought mentioning it would bring credit to his administration constitute a victory for the feminist Left. Getting women to leave home for the workplace has been one of the central goals of modern feminism.Feminists deny this, claiming they don't prefer that women work outside the home; they only want women to have the choice to do so. But if that were true, why did congressional Democrats -- the women in white, feminists all -- jump up and cheer?The answer is obvious: Feminists consider women who eschew a career to take care of their home, their children, and their husband to be less than women who place career first.But even if one prefers that women work outside the home, "All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the work force than ever before" is simply not true. As feminists often note, many women work outside the home not because they want to but because they have no choice: They have to support themselves, their household and/or their children.Why should we be proud of that?What if every woman in America were in the work force? Would we be proud of that? By the "more of women than ever" logic, we should be.On the other hand, if the president had said, "All Americans can be proud of the fact that more women than ever now have the choice to work inside or outside the home," that would be true. That is something I, too, would have cheered.But the members of Congress did not stand and cheer because more women have the choice to work outside the home. They cheered because more women than ever before are working outside the home.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2017 nearly 75 million women were in the American civil work force. But it is inconceivable that 75 million women want to be in the work force. So, again, why all the cheering?We know why Democrats did: They want women to eschew homemaking and time with children in favor of work outside the house.But why did Republicans stand up and cheer?One reason bears testimony to the thesis of a recent column I wrote: The greatest fear in America is fear of the Left. The last thing Republican members of Congress wanted was to be photographed sitting quietly after the president of the United States announced, "All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the work force than ever before" -- especially while every Democrat was standing and cheering. The left-wing media, meaning virtually all mainstream media, would have depicted every such Republican as "sexist" and "misogynist."A second reason bears testimony to another fact of contemporary life: Republicans have been far more influenced by leftism than Democrats have been by conservatism. While many of the Republicans who cheered did so out of fear of the Left and/or to support their party's beleaguered president, many sincerely believe that the record number of women in the workplace is something worth celebrating.But believe it or not, there are still many women and men who do not agree. We all acknowledge that with enough money and/or familial support, a woman can raise fine children and maintain a happy home and a loving marriage. Nevertheless, we also know that doing all three is difficult enough when a woman devotes full time to those three goals. But when a woman works outside the home, devoting full time to home and family is impossible.So, yes, more women than ever are in the workplace. But before we stand and cheer, it is worth asking:Are women happier today?Are families doing better today?Are marriages happier with wives at home or in the workplace?Do young people grow up happier and better adjusted with mothers at home or with mothers in the workplace?Is society's emphasis on work and career inhibiting more young women from marrying and having children?Is society better off or worse off when a record number of women leave home to enter the workplace?Only when those questions are answered will we know whether to cheer.Copyright 2019 Creators.com
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| Global oil supply to swamp demand in 2019 despite output cuts: IEA Posted: 13 Feb 2019 05:45 AM PST  The IEA left its demand growth forecast for 2019 unchanged from its last report in January at 1.4 million barrels per day. "It is supported by lower prices and the start-up of petrochemical projects in China and the U.S. Slowing economic growth will, however, limit any upside," the agency said. The IEA raised its estimate of growth in crude supply from outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to 1.8 million bpd in 2019, from 1.6 million bpd previously.
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| There's 'no place on the planet' – not even Hawaii – to escape climate change, experts say Posted: 12 Feb 2019 05:38 AM PST  Climate experts in the Aloha State told USA TODAY on Monday that tourists cannot escape climate change — not even on the islands, where 60-foot waves and wind gusts up to 191 mph were part of a fierce weekend storm that downed power lines and felled trees.
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| Police apologise for sending officers in blackface to impersonate black drug dealers Posted: 13 Feb 2019 08:58 AM PST  One night in February 1993, Frankie Caruso and another white Baton Rouge detective darkened their faces to impersonate black drug dealers, as part of what was then characterised as a successful sting operation. The blackface operation, which current officials said had been approved by the Police Department, drew swift condemnation this week from the city's mayor and its police chief. "Blackface photographs are inappropriate and offensive," Police Chief Murphy J Paul Jr said in a statement on Monday.
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| Former US Air Force agent charged with defecting to Iran Posted: 13 Feb 2019 12:06 PM PST  The US Justice Department charged a former Air Force intelligence official Wednesday with spying for Iran, saying she exposed a fellow US agent and helped the Revolutionary Guard target her former colleagues for cyber attacks. US officials said Monica Witt, 39, who worked a decade in Air Force counterintelligence, had an "ideological" turn against her country and defected in 2013, turning over information on US espionage operations against Tehran. "It is a sad day for America when one of its citizens betrays our country," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, announcing the indictment.
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| Fairfax accuser to detail allegations to Boston prosecutors Posted: 13 Feb 2019 04:04 PM PST  BOSTON (AP) — A woman who accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexually assaulting her in Boston nearly 15 years ago will meet with prosecutors to discuss her allegations, her attorney said Wednesday.
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| How Republicans Are Talking Trump Into Accepting a Smaller Border Wall Deal Posted: 13 Feb 2019 10:32 AM PST  Donald Trump has been forced to dramatically reduce his long-promised border wall in the face of financial reality.
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| Honda Tomo EV is the cute concept we hope to see in future cities Posted: 13 Feb 2019 08:31 AM PST  Designed in part by Master of Transportation Design students from Italy's Istituto Europeo di Design, the Honda Tomo EV that's expected to go on display at the Geneva Motor Show represents the compact, smart EVs of Honda's future, according to the institution. In January, the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Turin, Italy, announced that about a dozen of their graduate design students were partnering with Honda to create what turned into the zero emissions-producing Tomo concept car, whose name means "friend." Since this was announced last month, all we've known about the project -- which is part of the Master in Transportation Design graduate students' theses -- is that the model will be a compact electric vehicle that will be on display at the Geneva Motor Show, March 7-17.
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| Winter storm warnings posted as more snow heads for Hawaii's mountains Posted: 13 Feb 2019 07:49 AM PST  Days after a weekend storm dumped rare snow on Maui, another wintry system is forecast Wednesday and Thursday for the tropical island chain.
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| Choice between Brexit deal or delay is not UK government's position: minister Posted: 12 Feb 2019 11:44 PM PST  Britain does not face a choice between Prime Minister Theresa May's deal or a significant delay to Brexit, Brexit minister Steve Barclay said on Wednesday, adding reported comments by a senior Brexit negotiator did not reflect government position. Britain's lead Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins has said lawmakers face a choice between May's exit deal or a long extension of the March 29 deadline for leaving the EU, ITV news said, citing a private conversation.
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| Report: Senate Intel Committee probe finds no direct evidence of Trump-Russia collusion Posted: 12 Feb 2019 04:45 PM PST  Senate Intelligence Committee investigation winds down; Catherine Herridge has the details.
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| El Chapo will be sent to prison known as ‘Alcatraz of the Rockies’, former supermax warden says Posted: 13 Feb 2019 08:55 AM PST  Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin Guzman, known as "El Chapo," will likely be sent to a supermax prison in Colorado after being convicted on 10 drug-trafficking charges on Tuesday. Federal prosecutors said they will ask for Guzman, who twice escaped prison in Mexico, to be given a life sentence without a chance for parole. Given the drug lord's violent decades-long career smuggling tons of narcotics in the United States, it is likely Guzman will be sent to a federal supermax prison.
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| OPEC squeezes oil output to 4-year low, Russia compliance low Posted: 13 Feb 2019 01:19 AM PST  OPEC production fell to a four-year low in January as the cartel applied a new pact to boost global oil prices, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday, but Russia and other ex-Soviet states failed to cut back output as much as promised. The Paris-based organisation said that OPEC crude output dropped by 0.93 million barrels per day (mbd) to 30.83 mbd in January. OPEC members along with allies including Russia agreed in early December to trim production by 1.2 mbd from January 1, in a bid to eliminate a production glut and shore up prices.
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| Budget deal allows far less money than Trump wanted for wall Posted: 11 Feb 2019 10:23 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional negotiators reached agreement to prevent a government shutdown and finance construction of new barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, overcoming a late-stage hang-up over immigration enforcement issues that had threatened to scuttle the talks.
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| Best High-End Dishwashers From Consumer Reports' Tests Posted: 12 Feb 2019 12:31 PM PST  Best High-End Dishwashers From CR's Tests You'd think that spending $1,500 or more would get you, well, the best dishwasher money could buy. But in fact, our tests show that dishwashers in the $...
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| 9 Beautiful Examples of When Historic and Modern Architecture Come Together Posted: 12 Feb 2019 02:41 PM PST |
| A Hawaii State Park May Have Seen Its First Ever Snowfall Posted: 13 Feb 2019 06:26 AM PST  Polipoli Spring State Park in Hawaii was covered in snow in what may be the first time ever.
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| The rise and fall of 'El Chapo,' Mexico's most wanted gangster Posted: 12 Feb 2019 11:23 AM PST  The audacious exploits of "El Chapo," or "Shorty," captured the world's imagination and turned him into a folk hero for some in Mexico, despite the thousands of people killed by his brutal Sinaloa cartel. Beyond putting Guzman's personal life and drug dealings on public display, the case has also highlighted Mexico's longtime fight to bring down its chief adversary in the bloody war on drug trafficking. Six months earlier, he had humiliated Mexico's then-president, Enrique Pena Nieto, by escaping from prison through a mile-long (1.6-km-long) tunnel dug straight into his cell and equipped with a motorbike - his second time escaping a Mexican penitentiary.
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| FBI emails show agency officials scrambled to respond to Hillary Clinton legal team leading up to 2016 election Posted: 12 Feb 2019 07:53 AM PST  The email from Clinton's lawyer David Kendall to FBI General Counsel James Baker came after then-FBI Director James Comey reopened the investigation into whether classified information was mishandled by former of Secretary of State Clinton; chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge reports
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| Sweet airfare deals just in time for Valentine's Day Posted: 13 Feb 2019 12:45 PM PST  Love is really in the air as airlines try to woo travelers' Valentine's bookings.
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| U.S. Open to Russia Nuclear Treaty and Warns Turkey on Arms Posted: 13 Feb 2019 02:28 AM PST ![U.S. Open to Russia Nuclear Treaty and Warns Turkey on Arms]( "U.S. Open to Russia Nuclear Treaty and Warns Turkey on Arms") "Our government is firmly in the camp of looking for an opportunity to have an arms control agreement that would include all the countries that have these intermediate ballistic missiles," U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said during a Tuesday call with reporters.
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| Trump supporter 'violently attacks' BBC cameraman at rally after US president whips up anger over media Posted: 12 Feb 2019 12:49 AM PST  A Trump supporter launched an "incredibly violent attack" on a BBC cameraman at a Texas rally in which the US president repeatedly whipped up the crowd's anger over supposed media bias. The BBC's Washington correspondent Gary O'Donoghue, who is blind, said his colleague Ron Skeans had been filming Donald Trump's campaign-style rally in El Paso on Monday evening when the incident occurred. "It was an incredibly violent attack.
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| US strikes IS-held mosque as Syria battle intensifies Posted: 12 Feb 2019 09:05 AM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. military said Tuesday it struck a mosque that had allegedly been used as an Islamic State control center, as American-allied Syrian forces battled the extremists in their last stronghold in eastern Syria amid reports of more civilian casualties.
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| Refugee footballer makes triumphant return to Australia Posted: 12 Feb 2019 01:11 AM PST  Refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi made a triumphant return to Australia Tuesday, ending a harrowing two months in Thai detention, as his supporters called for an investigation into why he was arrested in the first place. "I want to thank Australia," said a smiling Araibi, ending an ordeal that saw him jailed during his honeymoon and threatened with extradition to his native Bahrain. "I don't have citizenship yet, but my country is Australia.
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| Nail the perfect tomato sauce for dinner tonight Posted: 12 Feb 2019 05:00 AM PST  One of the simplest and romantic dinners is pasta. And what pairs better with pasta than the perfect creamy tomato sauce? Not much!
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| Cars submerged, vineyards flooded as storm slams California Posted: 13 Feb 2019 03:55 PM PST  Among the hardest hit areas was northern California, with rain driven by winds of up to 75 mph (120 kph) pounding parts of Sonoma County's wine country. In the Sacramento Valley, flood warnings were in effect from Chico to Stockton as the warm "Pineapple Express" tropical system brought rain to the mountains, melting snow and swelling creeks. A woman was injured when a tree fell on a home in Carmel, and falling trees knocked out power to houses in Atherton near Palo Alto, according to tweets from the National Weather Service (NWS) and local authorities.
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