| Immigration advocates denounce DHS plan to implement Trump executive orders Posted: 21 Feb 2017 06:48 PM PST  Immigration policy experts lashed out Tuesday at the Department of Homeland Security's plan to implement President Trump's executive orders on immigration. "In my many years of practicing immigration law, I have not seen a mass deportation blueprint like this one," Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that advocates for the rights of low-income immigrant families, said in a conference call with reporters. In two memos issued Tuesday, DHS Secretary John Kelly laid out sweeping new guidance for officers tasked with carrying out the president's immigration policies.
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| Meet the 22-year-old fighting Trump’s terror talk about Sweden from the country’s official Twitter feed Posted: 21 Feb 2017 11:40 AM PST  Before President Trump's reference on Saturday to a terror attack in Sweden, the biggest story in Stockholm was this one: a report about the so-called "fake news" industry published by Dagens Nyheter, a Swedish newspaper. "You look at what's happening last night in Sweden," the president said to his supporters at a campaign-style rally in Melbourne, Fla., on Saturday. "Sweden, who would believe this?" Trump later explained he was watching a Fox News segment that featured a documentary filmmaker accusing the Swedish government of covering up an immigration-related crime wave there.
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| Ex-Hong Kong leader jailed in fall from 'such a height' Posted: 22 Feb 2017 02:49 AM PST ![Ex-Hong Kong leader jailed in fall from 'such a height']( "Ex-Hong Kong leader jailed in fall from 'such a height'") By Venus Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang was jailed for 20 months on Wednesday for misconduct in public office, making him the most senior city official to serve time behind bars in a ruling some said reaffirmed the financial hub's vaunted rule of law. The sentence brings an ignominious end to what had been a long and stellar career for Tsang before and after the 1997 handover to Chinese control, service that saw him knighted by the outgoing British colonial rulers. "Never in my judicial career have I seen a man falling from such a height," said High Court justice Andrew Chan in passing sentence.
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| Azerbaijan’s President Makes His Wife Second in Command Posted: 21 Feb 2017 09:00 AM PST  Autocratic relationship goals.
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| 7 Earth-sized planets discovered with possible life Posted: 22 Feb 2017 02:45 PM PST  NASA announced the discovery of the most Earth-sized planets found in the habitable zone of a single star. The dwarf star, TRAPPIST-1, was discovered in 2008.
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| Le Pen top aide put under formal investigation Posted: 22 Feb 2017 01:42 PM PST ![Le Pen top aide put under formal investigation]( "Le Pen top aide put under formal investigation") The chief of staff of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was put under formal investigation on Wednesday after a day of questioning over the alleged misuse of EU funds to pay parliamentary assistants, a judicial source said. Catherine Griset was taken into custody for questioning along with Le Pen's bodyguard Thierry Legier, who was later released without being put under investigation, according to the source. In reaction to the news, Le Pen said that she formally denied any wrongdoing in a case that she said was being used to undermine her campaign.
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| The Latest: Russian UN diplomat's death needs further study Posted: 21 Feb 2017 10:04 AM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the death of Russia's ambassador to the United Nations (all times local):
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| Is North Korea’s Kim Jong Un A War Criminal? Posted: 21 Feb 2017 12:58 AM PST  A U.N. group of experts has proposed to establish a special international tribunal to deal with human rights violation in the reclusive country.
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| Trump to unveil first budget 'mid-March' Posted: 22 Feb 2017 11:48 AM PST  US President Donald Trump in mid-March will unveil his first government budget, a keystone statement of his priorities for the coming years, the White House said Wednesday. The nearly four trillion dollar annual federal budget is a declaration of intent that puts the president's policy goals down in black and white. "We'll have something in mid-March," said White House spokesman Sean Spicer.
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| Support pours in for damaged Jewish cemetery near St. Louis Posted: 22 Feb 2017 02:05 PM PST  UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. (AP) — A suburban St. Louis Jewish cemetery badly damaged by vandals is getting a show of support from cleanup volunteers, well-wishers and financial contributors from across many faiths.
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| Texas Hunters Who Claimed They Were Shot by 'Illegal Aliens' Actually Shot Each Other: Cops Posted: 21 Feb 2017 11:43 AM PST  The hunters had falsely claimed they were ambushed by illegal immigrants, authorities said.
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| David Cassidy Has Dementia: Here's What That Means Posted: 22 Feb 2017 07:01 AM PST  Actor and singer David Cassidy recently revealed he has dementia, but what exactly does this term mean? Cassidy, who is 66, told People magazine on Monday (Feb. 20) that he has dementia, and will stop touring as a musician because of his diagnosis. The actor also said that both his mother and grandfather suffered from dementia.
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| These are the world's best beaches 2017: TripAdvisor Posted: 22 Feb 2017 05:46 AM PST  If there's one single beach that leaves visitors enamored, recharged and inspired, it's Baia do Sancho in Brazil, which captured the title of world's best beach by TripAdvisor travelers for a third time.
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| Apple says new California headquarters to open in April Posted: 22 Feb 2017 10:22 AM PST ![Apple says new California headquarters to open in April]( "Apple says new California headquarters to open in April") (Reuters) - Apple's sprawling new campus, dubbed "Apple Park," will open in April, the iPhone maker said on Wednesday. Although the first wave of employees will begin moving into the new Cupertino, California, headquarters this spring, it will take about six months for all of the 12,000-plus workers to make the transition, Apple said. Apple also said the 1,000-seat theater at its futuristic headquarters will be named for its late co-founder, Steve Jobs, who helped design the 175-acre campus before his death in 2011.
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| College Board tightens SAT exam security, but key risk remains Posted: 22 Feb 2017 02:05 PM PST ![College Board tightens SAT exam security, but key risk remains]( "College Board tightens SAT exam security, but key risk remains") The New York-based College Board said the steps include reducing the number of times the test is given outside the United States and increasing the auditing of test centers. As Reuters reported last year, the College Board has failed to stop a widespread and known security problem. Asian test-preparation companies are gathering questions and reading passages from past SAT exams, and then giving their clients that material to practice upon.
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| UK court: Income rule to bring in foreign spouses is lawful Posted: 22 Feb 2017 04:31 AM PST ![UK court: Income rule to bring in foreign spouses is lawful]( "UK court: Income rule to bring in foreign spouses is lawful") LONDON (AP) — Britain's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the government is entitled to set a minimum-income threshold for people wanting to bring foreign spouses to the country, a measure introduced to ensure that immigrants won't draw on public welfare funds.
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| UN concerned over new West Bank demolition plans Posted: 22 Feb 2017 10:09 AM PST  The United Nations raised concerns Wednesday over newly announced demolition plans in a Palestinian Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank that threaten dozens of buildings including a primary school. Israeli officials have over the past week issued dozens of demolition orders threatening "nearly every structure" in a part of the village of Khan al-Ahmar, the UN said. The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, Robert Piper, visited the village where the primary school is among 140 structures at risk of demolition.
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| U.S.-backed offensive pounds Islamic State in western Mosul as civilians flee Posted: 22 Feb 2017 09:45 AM PST ![U.S.-backed offensive pounds Islamic State in western Mosul as civilians flee]( "U.S.-backed offensive pounds Islamic State in western Mosul as civilians flee") A few hundred civilians have fled their homes in the outskirts of western Mosul, the first reported displacement since a U.S.-backed offensive on the jihadists' remaining stronghold there began at the weekend. A Reuters correspondent saw about 200 women and children being transported on buses by federal police on Wednesday to the town of Hammam al-Alil, some 20 km (12 miles) south of Mosul, where camps have been set up. The federal police and elite Interior Ministry units known as Rapid Response have made quick progress towards western Mosul in a sweep from the south through hilly desert terrain since fighting resumed on Sunday.
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| Judge blocks Texas cutting Medicaid to Planned Parenthood Posted: 21 Feb 2017 03:49 PM PST ![Judge blocks Texas cutting Medicaid to Planned Parenthood]( "Judge blocks Texas cutting Medicaid to Planned Parenthood") AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Texas can't cut off Medicaid dollars to Planned Parenthood over secretly recorded videos taken by anti-abortion activists in 2015 that launched Republican efforts across the U.S. to defund the nation's largest abortion provider.
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| Woman Arrested After Doing Cartwheels During Field Sobriety Test: Cops Posted: 22 Feb 2017 05:56 AM PST  Bryelle Marshall, 23, was arrested and charged with battery, aggravated DWI, and for an expired license plate.
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| United Airlines enters basic economy fare wars in the US Posted: 22 Feb 2017 03:36 AM PST  Airfare wars are heating up in the US, with United Airlines the latest carrier to launch a basic economy fare in response to the low-cost competition.
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| Cyprus's Anastasiades says regrets Akinci's decision not to attend talks Posted: 22 Feb 2017 03:32 AM PST ![Cyprus's Anastasiades says regrets Akinci's decision not to attend talks]( "Cyprus's Anastasiades says regrets Akinci's decision not to attend talks") Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades expressed regret on Wednesday over the decision of Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci not to attend scheduled peace talks on Thursday. "I am ready to continue the dialogue at any time," Anastasiades wrote on Twitter. Greek Cypriot officials earlier reported Akinci had pulled out of Thursday's peace talks, ongoing for almost two years.
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| Possible 'Hidden Chamber' in King Tut's Tomb Invites More Secretive Scans Posted: 21 Feb 2017 07:20 AM PST  A group of archaeologists has said the tomb of Tutankhamun may hold a hidden chamber containing the tomb of Queen Nefertiti. Now, a physicist plans to lead a team conducting another series of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) scans as a last-ditch effort to find Nefertiti's burial site. In this method, high-frequency radio waves bounce off the ground and off of walls, and the reflected signals can reveal hidden treasures, or empty chambers.This is the third time that this method has been used in Tutankhamun's tomb and it is unclear how the new scans will be different than the others.
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| Trump comments put focus on Sweden's embrace of immigrants Posted: 21 Feb 2017 03:05 PM PST  HELSINKI (AP) — When a riot broke out in a predominantly immigrant Stockholm suburb this week, the biggest surprise for many Swedes was that a police officer found it necessary to fire his gun.
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| British suicide bomber in Iraq had won compensation for Guantanamo stay Posted: 22 Feb 2017 10:12 AM PST ![British suicide bomber in Iraq had won compensation for Guantanamo stay]( "British suicide bomber in Iraq had won compensation for Guantanamo stay") By Guy Faulconbridge and Ali Abdelaty LONDON/CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamic State suicide bomber from Britain who blew himself up in an attack on Iraqi forces this week had been given compensation for his detention in the Guantanamo Bay military prison, Western security sources said on Wednesday. Islamic State militants said Abu-Zakariya al-Britani, a British citizen who was originally known as Ronald Fiddler and then cast himself as Jamal Udeen al-Harith, detonated a car bomb at an Iraqi army base southwest of Mosul this week.
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| 'Making a Murderer' prosecutor on what he would have done differently in the Steven Avery investigation Posted: 21 Feb 2017 01:52 PM PST  Ken Kratz, the former special prosecutor in the murder trials of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey, spoke to Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga about his new book, "Avery: The Case Against Steven Avery and What 'Making a Murderer' Gets Wrong.' When asked if he regrets having local investigators' involved in the case while they were also being sued by Avery, he said, "You can look back, and would I have rather now had somebody else? Sure." He noted that the resources available at the time made that very difficult, and that they were not the only officers involved.
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| Shark kills bodyboarder on Reunion island Posted: 21 Feb 2017 03:32 AM PST  Saint-André (France) (AFP) - A 26-year-old man bodyboarding off of Reunion island was killed by a shark on Tuesday, local officials said, in the latest attack in the waters of the Indian Ocean holiday destination. It was the 20th recorded shark attack on the island since 2011, eight of which have been fatal, despite efforts by local authorities to install nets and warn locals and tourists about the dangers. The man, a former shark spotter from the island once employed by the local surfing association, was pronounced dead after the shark bit through a major artery in his leg off the eastern coast near Saint-Andre.
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| Drunken driver gets 12 years plus in death of police officer Posted: 21 Feb 2017 09:43 AM PST  GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A man was sentenced Tuesday to at least 12 years in prison on third-degree murder, drunken driving and other charges for a wrong-way crash that killed a western Pennsylvania police officer.
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| Texas to feral pigs: It's time for the 'hog apocalypse' to begin Posted: 22 Feb 2017 07:33 AM PST  Texas has a new plan for its 2.5 million feral hogs: total annihilation. Sid Miller, the state's agriculture commissioner, just approved a pesticide — called "Kaput Feral Hog Lure" — for statewide use. "The 'hog apocalypse' may finally be on the horizon," Miller said in a statement on Tuesday. SEE ALSO: First human-pig chimeras created, sparking hopes for transplantable organs — and debate "This solution is long overdue," he added. "Wild hogs have caused extensive damage to Texas lands and loss of income for many, many years." Texas's agriculture commission estimates that feral hogs cause $52 million in damage each year to agricultural businesses by tearing up crops and pastures, knocking down fences and ruining equipment. The so-called hog lure is derived from warfarin, a blood-thinning agent that's also used to kill rats and mice in homes and buildings. Animals don't die immediately from eating the odorless, tasteless chemical. That would be too kind. Instead, they keep eating it until the anti-clotting properties cause them to bleed to death internally. This week, Miller approved a rule change in the Texas Administrative Code that allows landowners and agricultural producers to use Kaput — essentially warfarin-laced pellets — to keep feral hogs off their property. Not on my watch, hogs. Image: mark thompson/Getty Images Proponents of the hog toxicant, including the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service, say it's an effective tool because it's only strong enough to kill the swine, and not other wildlife populations or livestock. In January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered Kaput's hog bait under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, a move that made the product available for general use. Still, environmentalists and hog hunters alike staunchly oppose using warfarin to stamp out Texas's feral pig problem. Pigs poop, after all, and other animals could ingest the warfarin along the way. Some Texans hunt the pigs for sport and food, and they're worried about eating poisoned swine. "For Texas to introduce a poison into the equation is a bad decision in our opinion and could likely contaminate humans who unknowingly process and eat feral hogs," the Texas Hog Hunters Association said in a Change.org petition to block the rule change. MIke and his big ole boar from yesterday. Lamar county Texas https://t.co/jQoS5JbtnQ pic.twitter.com/2SeAKs7zbh — TX Hog Hunters Assn. (@texashoghunters) February 14, 2017 Louisiana might become the next state to use Kaput to quell its feral hog population, which worries state wildlife veterinarian Jim LaCour. He said local black bears and raccoons could easily lift the lid to the cages containing the warfarin-laced pellets. "We do have very serious concerns about non-target species," LaCour told the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. "When the hogs eat, they're going to drop crumbs on the outside, where small rodents can get them and not only intoxicate themselves but also birds of prey that eat them. Since the poison will be on the landscape for weeks on end, the chances of these birds eating multiple affected animals is pretty good," he told the newspaper. The pesticide's manufacturer, Scimetrics Ltd. Corp., assures the pesticide is safe for humans and wildlife — just not for feral pigs.
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| Virginia governor vetoes bill defunding Planned Parenthood Posted: 21 Feb 2017 01:25 PM PST ![Virginia governor vetoes bill defunding Planned Parenthood]( "Virginia governor vetoes bill defunding Planned Parenthood") Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would have blocked funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions and other health services. McAuliffe, a Democrat, said the measure would harm thousands of Virginians who relied on Planned Parenthood healthcare services and programs. "Attempts to restrict women's access to health care will impede the goal of making Virginia the best place to live, work, and run a business," he said in a statement.
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| Verizon Kickstarting 5G Revolution in These 11 Cities Posted: 22 Feb 2017 10:38 AM PST  Verizon will soon offer a preview of what 5G will feel like when the networking standard becomes more widespread. The wireless provider says it's testing out 5G connectivity on select customers in 11 markets by middle of 2017 with an eye toward seeing how 5G will work in the real world. Verizon will test 5G in 11 cities this year.
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| DC-based for decades, Apollo 11 capsule to go on road trip Posted: 22 Feb 2017 09:41 AM PST  CHANTILLY, Va. (AP) — The Apollo 11 command module, which traveled more than 950,000 miles to take Americans to the moon and back in 1969, is going on a road trip, leaving the Smithsonian for the first time in more than four decades.
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| Russian Billionaire Could Be Link Between Trump, Russia Posted: 21 Feb 2017 02:45 PM PST  Natural gas titan Dmitry Firtash could be extradited to the U.S. to face corruption charges after an Austrian court ruled against him Tuesday.
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| China opposes U.S. naval patrols in South China Sea Posted: 22 Feb 2017 04:05 AM PST ![China opposes U.S. naval patrols in South China Sea]( "China opposes U.S. naval patrols in South China Sea") China said on Tuesday it opposed action by other countries under the pretext of freedom of navigation that undermined its sovereignty, after a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group began patrols in the contested South China Sea. The U.S. navy said the strike group, including the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson, began "routine operations" in the South China Sea on Saturday amid growing tension with China over control of the disputed waterway. "China always respects the freedom of navigation and overflight all countries enjoy under international law," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily news briefing.
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| Denmark extends S.Korea 'Rasputin' daughter's detention Posted: 22 Feb 2017 03:29 AM PST  A Danish court extended Wednesday for another month the detention of the daughter of Choi Soon-Sil, the woman at the centre of a corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of South Korea's president. Chung Yoo-Ra, the 20-year-old daughter of the woman dubbed South Korea's "Rasputin", is one of the figures in the influence-peddling scandal that sparked massive street protests demanding the removal of President Park Geun-Hye. Chung was detained in Denmark on January 1 for overstaying her visa, after South Korean authorities issued a warrant for her arrest.
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| The Latest: Crowd holds vigil for slain Whittier officer Posted: 20 Feb 2017 10:09 PM PST  WHITTIER, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of two California police officers as they responded to a traffic accident (all times local):
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| Why Tesla Inc (TSLA) Will Punch Through the Ceiling Again Posted: 21 Feb 2017 07:04 AM PST ![Why Tesla Inc (TSLA) Will Punch Through the Ceiling Again]( "Why Tesla Inc (TSLA) Will Punch Through the Ceiling Again") This week will mark the first time that Tesla Inc (ticker: TSLA) reports quarterly earnings under its spanking-new moniker. Elon Musk's Tesla Motors switched over to simply Tesla at the start of the month in large part to reflect the fact that the company folded in solar energy services company SolarCity Corp. last year. Expectations for double-digit growth out of Tesla still are par for the course.
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| 10 fascinating facts about the Washington Monument Posted: 21 Feb 2017 07:45 AM PST  The iconic Washington Monument is celebrating its 132nd birthday today. Learn how it took 40 years to complete the project, and the surprising connections it has to the Pope, Abraham Lincoln, and the Constitution.
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| Trump praises new African American museum during first visit Posted: 21 Feb 2017 01:27 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump denounced "bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms" during his first visit to the new Smithsonian black history museum on Tuesday.
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| For over three years, Kim murder suspect lived mystery life in Malaysia Posted: 21 Feb 2017 09:24 AM PST ![For over three years, Kim murder suspect lived mystery life in Malaysia]( "For over three years, Kim murder suspect lived mystery life in Malaysia") Chong Ah Kow said he facilitated Ri's working visa by stating in supporting documents that he was a product development manager in the company's IT department earning 5,500 ringgit ($1,230) per month. "It was just a formality, just documents, I never paid him," Chong, a Malaysian, said in an interview.
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| Turkey says only 100 jihadists left in IS-held Syria battleground Posted: 22 Feb 2017 09:41 AM PST  Turkey said Wednesday fewer than 100 jihadists were still holed up in the flashpoint Islamic-State Syrian town of Al-Bab, as rebel commanders predicted its capture was imminent. The fight for Al-Bab has seen the bloodiest clashes of Ankara's half-year campaign inside the conflict-torn country and its capture would be one of the most significant reverses for Islamic State in Syria. Speaking to NTV television, Defence Minister Fikri Isik said half of the town of Al-Bab was in the hands of Turkish troops and allied pro-Ankara Syrian rebels, after the government repeatedly said it was "largely under control".
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