| ‘Microwaves that turn into cameras’: Conway defends Trump claim by implying wider domestic surveillance at play Posted: 13 Mar 2017 07:00 AM PDT  White House counselor Kellyanne Conway is fanning out in interviews this week to defend, among other things, President Trump's evidence-free claim that former President Barack Obama tapped his phones at Trump Tower before election. "There are many ways to surveil each other," Conway told the Record, a New Jersey newspaper, on Sunday. Conway seemed to be referring to WikiLeaks' release last week of nearly 8,000 documents that purportedly reveal methods of the Central Intelligence Agency's surveillance.
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| How Much Caffeine Is Too Much? Posted: 13 Mar 2017 01:48 PM PDT  How much caffeine should you actually be drinking in a day? Health's resident medical editor weighs in.
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| ‘It’s a free country’: Sean Spicer shrugs off viral Apple Store confrontation Posted: 13 Mar 2017 12:16 PM PDT  White House press secretary Sean Spicer is shrugging off his encounter with a woman who confronted him in an Apple Store over the weekend — saying he doesn't mind fielding critical questions from the public, even when they're sprung on him in a checkout line. "I interact with individuals all day long," Spicer said at his daily press briefing on Monday. Shree Chauhan approached Spicer in the Washington store Saturday afternoon and began filming him as she fired off a series of critical questions at the top White House spokesman.
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| Carlos the Jackal regrets not killing 'people I should have' Posted: 13 Mar 2017 12:25 PM PDT  PARIS (AP) — Once the world's most-wanted fugitive, the man known as "Carlos the Jackal" appeared in a French court Monday for a deadly 1974 attack on a Paris shopping arcade, a trial that victims' families awaited for decades.
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| These stylish sweaters are warm, colorful and made for chickens Posted: 13 Mar 2017 05:28 PM PDT  Blizzards are best spent wrapped up in a well-worn sweater and all the blankets a couch can support. But what about when you're a chicken? Good question. Great question. Egg-cellent question (sorry). SEE ALSO: Kind man dresses wild toad in wonderful, tiny hats to make a little boy happy It's a little-known fact that egg production goes way down for chickens living in tough winter conditions from a combination of low temperature and limited daylight hours. Lots of chickens aren't cut out for New England's winters — some breeds shed their feathers, while others from more tropical climates aren't used to the significantly colder temperatures. Luckily for these chilly chickens, a group of Boston-area retirees has banded together to knit chicken-sized sweaters to help them fend off the cold. Does it come in green? Of course it does. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock Barbara Stevens holds Prince Peep, who, again, is a chicken. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock A knitting group at the Fuller Village retirement home in Milton, Massachusetts, was inspired to undertake the project after they "heard about the hardships that some chickens suffer this time of year," according to the Associated Press. Honestly, these chickens have never looked better. Someone get this rooster an agent. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock Their nonchalance is truly selling the garment. The knitting group said that the project helped them as well— one found it "calming," while another said it helped her overcome her fear of birds. Even better, a spokesperson for the estate that owns the chickens said that "egg production has jumped noticeably since the birds began wearing them." Good news all around! WATCH: This transparent bowl swing is what cat dreams are made of
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| How to Get Rid of Frizzy Hair Posted: 13 Mar 2017 01:19 PM PDT  Does your hair look great when you walk out the door and poufy three minutes later? These styling maneuvers will keep your strands under control in all kinds of weather.
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| Ousted South Korea leader slammed for defiance Posted: 13 Mar 2017 01:06 AM PDT  Ousted South Korean leader Park Geun-Hye was assailed by newspapers and politicians Monday for her defiance over the court ruling that ended her tenure as president. Park left Seoul's presidential complex on Sunday, two days after the Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment by parliament and stripped her of executive power and privileges. The conservative Dong-A Ilbo daily, which long supported Park, said in a front-page headline: "To the last... there was no word of acceptance" of the ruling.
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| US 'Self-Humiliating' Over Russia Hacking Claims: Kremlin Posted: 12 Mar 2017 11:26 PM PDT  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election hacking and called the cyberattack claims by the United States "self-humiliating."
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| Israel closes Palestinian map bureau, arrests head Posted: 14 Mar 2017 11:18 AM PDT  Israeli police on Tuesday closed a Palestinian research centre in Jerusalem and briefly arrested its director, a prominent cartographer, accusing him of working for the Palestinian security services. The office of cartography in occupied east Jerusalem was shut down for six months, a police statement said. Israeli officials accused its head Khalil Tafakji of working with the Palestinian Authority to monitor the sale of land by Palestinians to Israeli Jews in east Jerusalem.
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| White nationalist group's tax-exempt status revoked by US Posted: 14 Mar 2017 11:10 AM PDT  The U.S. government has revoked the tax-exempt status of a group run by prominent white nationalist Richard Spencer for its failure to file tax returns.
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| EU prolongs until September blacklist of Russians over Ukraine crisis Posted: 13 Mar 2017 06:30 AM PDT ![EU prolongs until September blacklist of Russians over Ukraine crisis]( "EU prolongs until September blacklist of Russians over Ukraine crisis") The European Union has prolonged for six months until Sept. 15 a blacklist of Russian and Crimean individuals and firms accused of undermining Ukraine's integrity and independence, an EU statement said on Monday. The sanctions were introduced in March 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea and its involvement in the revolt in eastern Ukraine. The list includes advisers and aides of President Vladimir Putin, parliamentarians, defense and intelligence officials, army and navy commanders, as well as Crimean separatists and rebels in east Ukraine.
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| Trump says Republican healthcare plan to replace Obamacare will not be ‘one-size-fits-all’ Posted: 13 Mar 2017 10:44 AM PDT  During a listening session on healthcare Monday, President Trump said the House Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act will offer Americans more choices at lower cost.
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| An intense cold snap turned this waterfront home into a striking ice castle Posted: 13 Mar 2017 01:07 PM PDT  While a good chunk of the Northeast is prepping for a storm, some New York residents are dealing with another winter nuisance: ice. A home situated directly on Lake Ontario in Webster, New York, has turned into an almost literal ice house after strong winds coupled with low temperatures over the course of multiple days encased the home with a thick blanket of ice. Bad will soon get worse on Lake Ontario. A foot of snow is on the way for parts of #WNY @spann @JimCantore @StormHour @News_8 @WizardWeather pic.twitter.com/Bnq2Fyp6Zv — John Kucko (@john_kucko) March 13, 2017 Photographer John Kucko brought the ice house to the internet's attention when he first posted some photos to his Facebook page and Twitter. When people tried to say they were altered, he took some videos to prove them wrong. SEE ALSO: We're doomed (for a day): Paralyzing blizzard set to slam Philly, New York and Boston Wow, didn't expect THIS reaction! #IceHouse has no retaining wall on Lake Ontario (just rocks), neighbors do @spann @JimCantore @StormHour pic.twitter.com/4izLsN4TWh — John Kucko (@john_kucko) March 13, 2017 Some believed the photos were faked because the neighboring homes did not have the problem, Kucko claims that because the other homes have retaining walls, the ice doesn't build up nearly as much. In one clip, Kucko claims that the ice may be up to six inches thick on the side if the home that faces the lake. According to a neighbor, the home has been "going through this for years," so this is probably not the first time the home looked like a house out of Disney's Frozen. We reached out to Kucko for additional information and comments. WATCH: Check out this glorious map of lightning striking around the globe
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| Multiple Shots Fired During Ferguson Protests Posted: 12 Mar 2017 11:14 PM PDT  Protesters gathered around Ferguson Market and Liquor on Sunday after new facts emerged in the Michael Brown shooting case.
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| Google is trying really hard to make a smart jacket you won’t totally hate Posted: 13 Mar 2017 09:14 PM PDT 
If you're not tired of hearing the word "smart" in front of random appliances, furniture, and pieces of clothing, Google has a hot pitch for you. It's a smart jacket from Levi's and it uses Google's smart textiles platform that goes by the nickname "Project Jacquard." It's being shown off this week at SXSW, but even if you saw the jacket being worn by a fellow festival-goer, there's a really good chance you wouldn't even realize it.
Without a bunch of goofy screens or flashing LEDs, Levi's Jacquard jacket doesn't give the outward appearance of being a gadget at all, and that's kind of the point, at least in Levi's eyes. At a panel at SXSW, Google's Ivan Poupyrev suggested that the company's original vision for the smart apparel included a display of some kind. Levi's VP of global innovation Paul Dillinger shot down that idea and insisted the tech be integrated into parts of the jacket that already exist naturally. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grKHwQIaiaA The result is a fabric touch interface that can't be seen, but still allows the wearer to control various functions of a synced device like a smartphone. Swiping across the sensitive area of the jacket, located near the wrist, lets you skip songs and answer callsA small USB device plugs into the jacket to provide its smart functionality and can be removed so that the garment can be laundered. It's an interesting — and from various hands-on reports, adequately functional — implementation of touch technology, but its usefulness is obviously a big question mark. Swiping at your wrist to control your phone is essentially what you do with a smartwatch already, and given that you won't conceivably be wearing a jacket all day long, it seems like a very small niche to try to exploit.
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| Somali pirates suspected of first attack since 2012 Posted: 14 Mar 2017 03:12 PM PDT  Suspected pirates boarded an oil tanker and forced its Sri Lankan crew to change course towards the northeastern Somali coast, in what could be the first such attack since 2012. The armed men then demanded a ransom for the ship's release, according to the EU Naval Force who established contact with the oil tanker. After sending a distress signal on Monday afternoon, the assailants boarded the Aris 13, taking its eight crew members hostage and forcing the vessel to change course.
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| Justice Department seeks more time on Trump wiretap evidence Posted: 13 Mar 2017 06:04 PM PDT ![Justice Department seeks more time on Trump wiretap evidence]( "Justice Department seeks more time on Trump wiretap evidence") By Jeff Mason and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday it had asked for more time to respond to a request from lawmakers for evidence about President Donald Trump's allegation that then-President Barack Obama wiretapped him during the 2016 election campaign. Earlier this month, without offering evidence, the Republican president accused his Democratic predecessor of wiretapping him, a charge that Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis said was "simply false." In response, the leaders of the House Intelligence Committee sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting proof for the allegation by Monday.
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| Minneapolis hits rogue liquor store with 30-day suspension Posted: 13 Mar 2017 01:54 PM PDT  ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minneapolis liquor store that opened for Sunday business nearly four months before a new state law allowed it will lose its license for 30 days.
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| Dutch leaders clash in tense elections debate Posted: 13 Mar 2017 01:11 PM PDT  Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte clashed with his main rival anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders on Monday, as they laid out starkly opposing visions of their country's future in an election campaign now consumed by a diplomatic row with Turkey. Two days before Wednesday's crucial general election, The Netherlands is mired in a war of words with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which has provided fodder for Wilders and his uncompromising anti-immigration stance. Close the Dutch borders," Wilders told Rutte, as tempers flared in the 30-minute head-to-head televised debate.
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| Couple Found Guilty In Bali Policeman Killing Posted: 13 Mar 2017 08:22 AM PDT  Both Connor and Taylor were sentenced for killing a Bali policeman last summer.
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| Bus in Haiti flees accident, kills 38: officials Posted: 12 Mar 2017 07:13 PM PDT  Gonaïves (Haiti) (AFP) - A bus speeding away from a hit-and-run accident plowed into dozens of street musicians in northern Haiti on Sunday, killing 38 people, officials said. Another 13 people were injured in the crash which took place just before 4 am (0900 GMT) in Gonaives, a city of some 300,000 people located about 150 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of the capital Port-au-Prince. "We were in the band, having fun! And then the bus passed by crushing people," says Jean-Renald Edouard, lying on an emergency room bed.
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| Arctic ice loss driven by natural swings, not just mankind: study Posted: 13 Mar 2017 09:02 AM PDT ![Arctic ice loss driven by natural swings, not just mankind: study]( "Arctic ice loss driven by natural swings, not just mankind: study") By Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Natural swings in the Arctic climate have caused up to half the precipitous losses of sea ice around the North Pole in recent decades, with the rest driven by man-made global warming, scientists said on Monday. The study indicates that an ice-free Arctic Ocean, often feared to be just years away, in one of the starkest signs of man-made global warming, could be delayed if nature swings back to a cooler mode. Natural variations in the Arctic climate "may be responsible for about 30–50 percent of the overall decline in September sea ice since 1979," the U.S.-based team of scientists wrote in the journal Nature Climate Change.
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| Wary of China, Duterte tells navy to build 'structures' east of Philippines Posted: 13 Mar 2017 05:48 AM PDT ![Wary of China, Duterte tells navy to build 'structures' east of Philippines]( "Wary of China, Duterte tells navy to build 'structures' east of Philippines") By Manuel Mogato MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the navy to put up "structures" to assert sovereignty over a stretch of water east of the country, where Manila has reported a Chinese survey ship was casing the area last year. The Philippines has lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing after the vessel was tracked moving back and forth over Benham Rise, a vast area east of the country declared by the United Nations in 2012 as part of the Philippines' continental shelf. The Philippines says Benham Rise is rich in biodiversity and fish stocks.
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| NY AG says Tillerson used alias in emails on climate change Posted: 14 Mar 2017 02:21 PM PDT  DALLAS (AP) — The New York attorney general says that while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was CEO of Exxon he used an alias in emails to talk about climate change.
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| The Latest: Cleanup finished at pipeline protest camps Posted: 13 Mar 2017 09:51 AM PDT  BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Latest on the Dakota Access oil pipeline: (all times local):
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| States pile pressure on new Trump travel ban Posted: 13 Mar 2017 04:36 PM PDT  Several US states run by Democrats on Monday stepped up the pressure in federal court for the suspension of Republican President Donald Trump's amended travel ban, if possible before it takes effect Thursday. The state of Washington -- with the support of California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon -- has asked the same Seattle judge who issued a stay against Trump's first executive order on immigration to block the new measure. The first version of the order, signed by Trump on January 27, triggered howls of protest at home and abroad as well as chaos at US airports as some people were detained upon arrival and either held for hours or sent back to where they came from.
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| Pictures emerge of Apple’s secret iPhone calibration machine Posted: 14 Mar 2017 03:42 PM PDT 
Apple is weirdly protective over the repair system that goes on at the Apple Store. You'd think that there aren't many secrets to do with replacing glass screens and fixing iPhones that have gone for a swim in the toilet, but in Apple's secret walled garden, everything is a trade secret. Motherboard's Jason Koebler has been reporting on the Apple Store's repair system for a while now, and he finally got his hands on the holy grail: pictures of Apple's secret repair machine, which allows Apple to replace the Touch ID sensor on repaired phones. That's a big deal, because it's the one component that third-party repair stores have been unable to crack so far. The calibration machine that all Apple Stores have holds the secrets to why.
As Koebler explained in an earlier post, the iPhone Calibration Machine is a general testbed that allows repaired iPhones to be calibrated to factory standards before being returned to customers. From the sounds of things, they go through a series of tests to calibrate the display, touchscreen, camera, and internal sensors: "It was a big clunky machine that honestly looked like someone built it in their backyard," a former Apple Genius told me. "There were different 'moulds' that different iPhone models would go into before going in the machine, and it would take around 30 minutes … there was some weird liquid that needed to be placed in the machine that we would have to wear gloves with to fix it. Lots of gas type valves and whatnot. It literally looked like some backyard home job. Not very Apple-like at all."
But the important part, at least for third-party repair stores, is how the calibration machine allows a new Touch ID sensor to be installed. Koebler goes into detail about the pairing of the Touch ID sensor and Secure Enclave here, but the short version is that without the calibration machine, a new Touch ID sensor can't be installed on an iPhone. That obviously makes it impossible to fix the home button on newer iPhones outside of an Apple store, but it also makes working on a broken screen incredibly fiddly. Head over to the Motherboard article to see the pictures of Apple's hacked-together machine in action, and make sure to check out the previous coverage while you're at it.
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| California's Plan to Eliminate Student Debt Posted: 14 Mar 2017 09:19 AM PDT ![California's Plan to Eliminate Student Debt]( "California's Plan to Eliminate Student Debt") While a national policy on higher education has yet to be decided, it's clear where California stands. On Monday, the state's Democrats released a financial-aid plan that covers both tuition and living expenses, with the end goal of eliminating student loans among 400,000 students enrolled in the University of California and California State systems.
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| 'El Chapo' health deteriorating in US custody: lawyers Posted: 13 Mar 2017 08:52 PM PDT  The health of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, one of the world's most notorious criminals, is deteriorating in US custody, his lawyers complained Monday, challenging the conditions of his detention. The 59-year-old, accused of running one of the world's biggest drug empires and who escaped twice from prison in Mexico, has been held in solitary confinement in New York since being extradited on January 19.
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| Mermaid Toast Is the New Breakfast Obsession That’s Almost Too Pretty to Eat Posted: 13 Mar 2017 05:32 AM PDT  A post shared by Adeline Waugh (@vibrantandpure) on Mar 9, 2017 at 5:01am PST It's official: Avocado toast is old news. While you might think you're taking your breakfast meal to the next level by adding a poached egg or some brightly colored fruit on top of that avo-smeared bread, it's still kind of boring. The reason? The invention of mermaid toast is now completely overshadowing any other variation of a bread-based meal, making avocado toast seem rather bland. Mermaid ...
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| Death toll in Ethiopian garbage dump landslide rises to 65 Posted: 13 Mar 2017 12:45 PM PDT ![Death toll in Ethiopian garbage dump landslide rises to 65]( "Death toll in Ethiopian garbage dump landslide rises to 65") "My babies, my babies, my little daughter," cried one man wandering through the garbage dump in the Ethiopian capital, tears streaming down his face. The landslide late on Saturday destroyed 49 dwellings and left 28 people injured, city spokesman Amare Mekonen said. Hundreds of people live on the 50-year-old Reppi dump, the city's only landfill site, scavenging for food and items they can sell such as recyclable metal.
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| France's Fillon under formal investigation for fraud ahead of election Posted: 14 Mar 2017 12:24 PM PDT ![France's Fillon under formal investigation for fraud ahead of election]( "France's Fillon under formal investigation for fraud ahead of election") By Simon Carraud and Brian Love PARIS (Reuters) - Francois Fillon's troubled election campaign suffered yet another blow on Tuesday when magistrates put him under formal investigation on suspicion of embezzling state funds, a first for a presidential candidate in France. With less than six weeks to go until the first round of voting, Fillon has been unable to draw a line under allegations that he paid his wife hundreds of thousands of euros of public money for little work. Tuesday's decision put him one step closer to a trial and covered a wide range of grounds: suspicion of embezzling public funds, complicity in misappropriating funds, receiving the funds and not declaring assets fully, a judicial source said.
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| Officials warn of global religious extremism threat to China Posted: 13 Mar 2017 03:49 AM PDT  BEIJING (AP) — Chinese officials are issuing new warnings about the specter of global religious extremism seeping into the country, following reports of fighters from China's Muslim minority fighting alongside militants in Syria and Iraq.
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| Enbridge insists pipelines safe despite worn-away covering Posted: 13 Mar 2017 06:01 PM PDT  DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Operators of twin oil pipelines beneath the swirling waterway where Lakes Huron and Michigan converge insisted Monday they remain structurally sound even though an outer layer of protective covering has worn away in some places, while skeptics said the deterioration is further evidence the lines should be shut down.
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| The Best Vegetarian Chili Recipe You'll Ever Eat Posted: 14 Mar 2017 10:07 AM PDT  This slow-cooker chili dish hits all the right notes - it's savory and delicious, low in calories, packed with meat-free protein, and it's very affordable, so you can feed a crowd. What's not to like? Watch the video for the recipe.
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| Rally row: Turkey's deepening crisis with Europe Posted: 13 Mar 2017 09:41 AM PDT  Turkey and its NATO allies are locked in one of their worst disputes in years, with Ankara levelling accusations of "Nazism" and European nations toughening their stance. Ankara has been dispatching ministers to various European countries to win votes from the Turkish diaspora ahead of a crucial referendum on April 16. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government is urging the electorate to vote "yes", which would strengthen his powers and scrap the prime minister's post.
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| Why the Galaxy S8 Won't Have the iPhone 8's Slickest Feature Posted: 13 Mar 2017 06:58 AM PDT  The Galaxy S8 won't come with a physical home button and thus needs a new and awkward location for the fingerprint sensor. The Galaxy S8 will likely put the fingerprint sensor on the back. Samsung apparently had hopes of bundling a fingerprint sensor directly in the Galaxy S8's display, creating a new feature technology that would have separated the device from competitors.
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| Woman in 2001 Israel pizza shop bombing on FBI 'Most Wanted' list Posted: 14 Mar 2017 02:51 PM PDT  The US Federal Bureau of Investigation placed a Jordanian woman who assisted in the 2001 suicide bombing of a Jerusalem pizza parlor on its "Most Wanted Terrorist" list on Tuesday. The Justice Department unveiled charges against Ahlam Aref Ahmad Al-Tamimi, who was jailed in Israel for eight years in the attack that killed 15, before gaining release in an Israeli prisoner swap with Hamas in 2011. US authorities had hoped to have Tamimi extradited from Jordan but said they were frustrated by laws that ban extradition of Jordanian nationals.
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| 16 Bad Parenting Tips That Sound Like Good Parenting Tips Posted: 14 Mar 2017 10:23 AM PDT  "Stalk your child on social media to make sure they are safe."
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| Texas executes man for crime spree that left four dead, including baby Posted: 14 Mar 2017 04:51 PM PDT ![Texas executes man for crime spree that left four dead, including baby]( "Texas executes man for crime spree that left four dead, including baby") The state of Texas on Tuesday executed a man for launching a 1987 crime spree in which four people were killed, including a 4-month-old boy he drowned in a sink. After more than 25 years on death row, James Bigby, 61, was put to death by lethal injection at the state's death chamber and pronounced dead at 6:31 p.m. CDT, a prisons official said. The execution was the 542nd in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the most of any state.
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| Deadly car bomb blast kills 6 near hotel in Somalia's capital Posted: 13 Mar 2017 12:53 PM PDT ![Deadly car bomb blast kills 6 near hotel in Somalia's capital]( "Deadly car bomb blast kills 6 near hotel in Somalia's capital") A suicide car bomber detonated near a hotel in Somalia's capital Monday morning, killing at least six people and injuring four others, police said.
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| Top Saudi prince to meet Trump in White House visit Posted: 13 Mar 2017 11:44 AM PDT  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The White House confirmed Monday that President Donald Trump will meet this week with Saudi Arabia's second-in-line to the throne in the highest-level visit to Washington by a Saudi royal since November's presidential election.
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