| Poll finds almost no one thinks Trump's military parade is a good idea Posted: 09 Feb 2018 03:19 PM PST  President Donald Trump made waves this week as reports emerged that he had asked the Pentagon to work up plans for a massive military parade akin to the type normally seen in countries like Russia and North Korea.
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| Tweeters Criticize CNN Over 'Propaganda' Piece On Kim Jong Un's Sister Posted: 10 Feb 2018 11:32 PM PST  CNN is catching heat online for publishing an article about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, which critics claim paints her family's repressive regime in a positive light.
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| Teen Set To Testify Against Man She Accused Of Rape Found Dead Posted: 10 Feb 2018 10:46 AM PST  A teenager who had been set to testify against a Michigan man she said raped her has been found dead in what police are investigating as a homicide.
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| 71 feared dead in Russian passenger plane crash Posted: 11 Feb 2018 05:46 AM PST  A Russian passenger plane carrying 71 people crashed outside Moscow on Sunday after taking off from the capital's Domodedovo airport, officials and local media said. The Antonov An-148 plane operated by the domestic Saratov Airlines was flying to Orsk, a city in the Urals, and crashed in the Ramensky district on the outskirts of Moscow. Russian news agencies reported 65 passengers and 6 crew were on board and all were feared dead.
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| 'House Of Cards' Actor Reg E. Cathey Is Dead At 59 Posted: 09 Feb 2018 04:42 PM PST  Actor Reg E. Cathey, who played Freddy on "House of Cards," has died.
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| The Latest: YPG official confirms British extremist detained Posted: 09 Feb 2018 11:25 AM PST  LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the capture of two British Islamic State members (all times local):
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| Man Claims Teen Girl Hired Him on Craigslist to Kill Her Posted: 10 Feb 2018 12:58 PM PST  He claims she wanted to end her life because of problems with her boyfriend
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| L.L. Bean Changes 100-Year-Old Return Policy To Combat Abuse Of It Posted: 09 Feb 2018 11:23 AM PST  If you've been abusing L.L. Bean's generous return policy, well, this is on you: The Maine-based company is revoking its 100 percent satisfaction guarantee and imposing a one-year limit on most returns. In a letter to customers issued on Friday, L.L. Bean Chairman Shawn Gorman announced the change and what prompted it.
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| Israeli PM: Airstrikes dealt 'severe blows' to Iran, Syria Posted: 11 Feb 2018 06:30 AM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prime minister said Sunday his country delivered "severe blows" to Iranian and Syrian forces and vowed to take further action against its adversaries following the most serious Israeli engagement in Syria since the war there erupted almost seven years ago.
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| Kremlin critic says top Russian official vacationed with tycoon Posted: 09 Feb 2018 12:02 PM PST  A video published online by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny alleging that an influential Russian deputy prime minister enjoyed lavish hospitality from a billionaire tycoon went viral on Friday, receiving more than 2 million views. The video includes footage that Navalny said was shot by a woman who has written a book about seducing oligarchs. Navalny, who has been barred from running against President Vladimir Putin in next month's election, said the video appears to show Putin's former top foreign policy adviser Sergei Prikhodko vacationing on the yacht of 50-year-old Oleg Deripaska, an aluminium magnate.
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| ICE Set To Deport Undocumented Father Whose 5-Year-Old Son Is Battling Cancer Posted: 10 Feb 2018 07:09 AM PST  Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to deport an undocumented man from Mexico whose child is battling cancer.
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| Police find remains of at least six people in plant plots connected to Canadian 'serial killer' Posted: 09 Feb 2018 09:50 AM PST  The remains of at least six people have been recovered from plant pots in the grounds of a property connected to a suspected Canadian serial killer. Police in Toronto made the grisly discovery at the home of Bruce McArthur, who was charged in January with the murder of five men near Toronto's Gay Village. Investigators had previously uncovered the remains of three people in flowers pots on a property where the 66-year-old stored his tools.
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| Suspect Dead After Killing Police Officer Near Atlanta Posted: 09 Feb 2018 10:51 AM PST  Two deputies were also wounded in the shooting
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| Dan Rather Calls Trump's Defense Of Porter A 'Heat-Seeking Missile' Posted: 10 Feb 2018 08:23 PM PST  Long-time CBS anchor Dan Rather called President Donald Trump's defense of Rob Porter, a former White House staff secretary accused of domestic abuse, a "heat-seeking missile" aimed at some of the president's "biggest vulnerabilities."
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| Plane crash outside Moscow leaves 71 dead amid snowy conditions Posted: 11 Feb 2018 05:18 AM PST  An airplane carrying 65 passengers and 6 crew members has crashed outside Moscow amid snowy conditions.
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| Team USA's Openly Gay Athletes Aren't Backing Down From Feud With Vice President Posted: 09 Feb 2018 10:17 AM PST  Vice President Mike Pence's anti-LGBTQ track record continues to haunt him halfway around the world. Rippon and Kenworthy both published photos on social media Friday from the opening ceremony, with captions that subtly ― and not so subtly ― called out the vice president's history of undermining LGBTQ rights.
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| Pennsylvania lawmakers face Friday deadline for new congressional map Posted: 09 Feb 2018 02:22 PM PST ![Pennsylvania lawmakers face Friday deadline for new congressional map]( "Pennsylvania lawmakers face Friday deadline for new congressional map") Republican leaders in Pennsylvania's legislature said they will submit new proposed congressional districts to Democratic Governor Tom Wolf by Friday's court-ordered deadline, moving closer to a revamped map that could reshape the 2018 electoral battle for Congress. The new map is the result of a Jan. 22 order from Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, which invalidated the existing district boundaries as an illegal gerrymander by the Republican-controlled legislature. In a 5-2 vote along party lines, the high court's Democratic majority found the current map's precisely engineered lines violate the state constitution by marginalizing Democratic voters.
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| Autopsy gives no insight on motive in Vegas mass shooting Posted: 09 Feb 2018 05:56 PM PST  LAS VEGAS (AP) — The much anticipated autopsy report on Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock did nothing to help explain why he carried out the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history — his body didn't hold diseases or drugs or other substances that could have caused aggressive behavior.
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| 'Unacceptable' to endanger lives of Russian soldiers in Syria: Moscow Posted: 10 Feb 2018 05:22 AM PST  Russia on Saturday called for "restraint" from all parties in Syria and said it considered risking the lives of Russian soldiers "absolutely unacceptable" following large-scale Israeli air strikes inside Syria. "We strongly call on all sides involved to show restraint and avoid all acts that could lead to complicating the situation further," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. "It is absolutely unacceptable to create threats to the lives and security of Russian soldiers that are in the Syrian Arab Republic on the invitation of the legal government to assist in the fight against terrorism," it added.
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| 'Cheer Up!' North Korean Cheerleaders Rally Unified Women's Hockey Team During 8-0 Loss Posted: 10 Feb 2018 09:46 AM PST  "Cheer up!" the North Korean cheerleaders told the Korean team, pointing a unified Korean flag at players during the 2018 Winter Olympics
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| President Who Loves Making False Accusations Suddenly Pleads 'Due Process' Posted: 10 Feb 2018 09:35 AM PST  President Donald Trump, a man notorious for throwing around patently false accusations, has suddenly appealed for "due process" as top White House aides have been cast out over domestic violence allegations.
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| Alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur also did landscaping at nearby apartments Posted: 10 Feb 2018 08:17 AM PST  The alleged serial killer accused of killing at least six people and stuffing them into planter boxes also did work on nearby properties, according to neighbors. "He would work on the lawn, take care of flowers, planters, and stuff like that," Frederic Bisson, a former neighbour of the area, told CBC Canada. The alleged killer, Bruce McArthur, has been charged for first degree murder for nearly half a dozen deaths after investigators found bodies of several individuals in planter boxes.
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| Police: Man with knife kills 1, injures 12 at Beijing mall Posted: 11 Feb 2018 02:18 AM PST  BEIJING (AP) — A 35-year-old man with a personal grievance attacked 13 people with a knife in a busy shopping mall in Beijing on Sunday, killing one, police said.
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| Dissecting the Syrian Civil war: who's fighting who and where Posted: 10 Feb 2018 05:44 AM PST  Damascus, Idlib, Afrin and Aleppo - the blood-soaked regions in Syria's seven-year civil war are the subject of near daily reports of airstrikes, chemical attacks and civilian massacres. The scars of the conflict stretch far and wide - across ethnic divides, religious sects and down family lines - indiscriminately reducing whole cities to rubble, their remains pockmarked with bullet holes of seemingly endless fighting. But behind each region torn apart by the violence lies a distinct power struggle, between government forces, rebel fighters, Islamists, and proxy armies masking the strategic goals of a world powers. These multiple mini civil wars within the greater conflict in Syria make a peaceful solution little more than a distant hope. Here we break down and analyse five of the key battles raging across the country. Afrin Afrin (North West Syria) territorial control map On January 20, Turkey launched an offensive in northern Syria codenamed Operation Olive Branch alongside Free Syrian Army (FSA), aimed at dislodging Kurdish militia fighters from the Kurdish canton of Afrin. The battle for Afrin opened up another front in an already complicated, multi-sided war in Syria. The area is controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG), who are considered terrorists by Turkey because of the group's connection to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkey sees the capture of Afrin as vital to securing its volatile southern border. Rebel fighters spearheading the battle want to capture the city to help create a land border to Idlib, which is controlled by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The more moderate opposition fighters in the FSA are hoping to oust the al-Qaeda-linked rebels and reclaim the province. Kurds see Afrin as vital to any future autonomous state for the minority. The YPG has around 8,000-10,000 core fighters in Afrin but is gaining new recruits every day, including international volunteers. The offensive has rallied Kurds, who are hoping to use the cover of the war to make their federalist dream a reality. British and other foreign fighters who fought alongside the YPG against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in Raqqa have joined the battle, pitting a Nato army against nationals from Nato members. Much of YPG's weaponry is American, including machine guns, rocket launchers and MRAP-type armored vehicles, having been armed by Washington for the Raqqa battle. The YPG is coming up against Turkey, Nato's second-largest military, and some 10,000 rebel fighters. Turkey has sent dozens of special forces and tanks to the border. The campaign has set Ankara on a collision course with Washington, which sees the Kurds are their most important ally in the fight against Isil. The operation was most likely launched with the consent of Russia, which backs President Bashar al-Assad and has troops stationed in Afrin. This is the second time the rebels have played a role in Turkey's efforts to protect its interests in northern Syria. In its previous cross-border Operation Euphrates Shield in August 2016, Ankara had utilised FSA units to establish a wedge between the two Kurdish cantons along Turkey's border. Idlib Idlib (North West Syria) territorial control map Idlib in northern Syria, which covers territory from northern Aleppo all the way to the border with Turkey, is the largest-remaining rebel stronghold. The province fell to the opposition in 2011 and has been fought over by both sides in the conflict ever since. Its important lies in its strategic positioning along the Aleppo to Turkey route - valuable to both the Syrian government and its opposition. Idlib has become something of a holding pen for rebels, who have been displaced from other areas of Syria by Assad forces. FSA rebels from Aleppo were sent there after surrendering to the regime in December 2016. More recently Isil fighters who fled their former territory in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor have also arrived in Idlib and the surrounding countryside, joining HTS, al-Qaeda's Syria branch, which has become the most dominant group in the area. Moderate groups have had to make deals HTS in order to survive against Assad's forces. The province is one of four designated "de-escalation zones" agreed upon by international powers Russia, Iran and Turkey at peace talks. However, the Syrian government has violated this agreement in recent weeks with its latest offensive. The Assad regime, supported by Russian jets, late last year launched its most serious attempt at retaking the province. The region is now pounded daily by both Syrian and Russian air strikes, which has left hundreds dead. Idlib was hit by a sarin gas last April, and the government has carried out an increasing number of chlorine attacks as the battle intensifies. The ground operation, which has seen Syrian troops and allied forces moving in on Idlib from its southern outskirts, has prompted the largest exodus of the nearly seven-year war, sending hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing north towards the closed Turkish border. Experts say the largest and most deadly battle of the conflict will be in Idlib, where as many as two million civilians live. Deir Ezzor Deir Ezzor (East Syria) territorial control map Deir Ezzor has always been seen as one of the prizes of the war. Home to some of the country's most lucrative oil fields, it has been fought over by more parties in the conflict than almost anywhere else. At one time or another, Isil, the Syrian government and its allied Iranian militias, Lebanese Shia militia Hizbollah, Russian troops, US special forces, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have fought for control of the province. Isil took control of the eastern city in a lightning offensive in 2014. It became one of its most important money-makers after the militants began selling off the crude oil from fields to the Syrian regime and Turkey. Both Syrian troops, backed by Iranian militias and Russian air strikes, and the US-backed SDF last year moved in on the city from opposite sides. The Euphrates river, which runs through the middle of Deir Ezzor, became the dividing line between Syrian forces on the western bank to US-backed SDF fighters on the eastern. Iran had wanted control of Deir Ezzor, which is close to Iraq and runs along the Baghdad to Damascus highway, to maintain control of a corridor from Tehran all the way to the Syrian capital. Controlling the route would ensure it could continue to get arms its allied militias in Iraq, Syria and Hizbollah in Lebanon. The US, which has a major base in al-Tanf to the south of Deir Ezzor, is keen to stop Iranian militias and maintain a presence in the area. This week the US-led coalition conducted air strikes against pro-government forces moving in on the area, in the deadliest intentional attack on the regime since the start of the conflict. Despite months of fighting, Isil has still not been fully rooted from the province and continues to launch attacks on both Syrian troops and SDF fighters, leaving large numbers of casualties on both sides. Hundreds of the jihadists are thought to be holding out in the vast Deir Ezzor desert along the Syria-Iraq border. Eastern Ghouta Damascus (South West Syria) territorial control map Eastern Ghouta, which lies in the suburbs of the capital Damascus, has been besieged by Syrian forces for nearly five years. A year longer than the siege of Sarajevo. Assad has seen Eastern Ghouta, one of the first areas to protest against the government in 2011, as an important area to regain. Close to his seat of power in Damascus, he sees the enclave as a thorn in his side. International concern has been rising over the fate of Ghouta, where the United Nations says acute shortages of food and medicine have contributed to the worst malnutrition seen in the Syrian civil war. Assad has continually denied access to the UN and other aid agencies to the enclave, where doctors say 500 people are in desperate need of urgent medical care and evacuation. It is home to almost 400,000 people and is in an agreed "de-escalation zone" under Russian-led ceasefire deals for rebel-held territory, but the fighting there has continued. The area hosts a number of Syrian rebel factions, but it is largely controlled by four main opposition groups. Jaish al-Islam, a hard-line militant group founded in 2013, is the most prominent fighting force in the eastern suburbs of the capital. More extreme groups Ahrar al-Sham and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have had some limited control over the suburbs. Rebel fighters are thought to number somewhere between 8,000-12,000. Both the Syrian army and rebels have lost hundreds of fighters and soldiers during these on-and-off skirmishes. Ghouta has been partially destroyed by years of indiscriminate air strikes from Syrian and Russian jets. It was also the site of the deadliest chemical attack of the civil war. More than 1,000 people were killed by sarin gas dropped by Syrian jets in August 2013. The Obama administration had warned that the use of chemicals by the Assad regime would be a "red line" for the US, but it never acted. Aleppo and the surrounding countryside Aleppo (North West Syria) territorial control map Syria's second city of Aleppo is the jewel in the country's crown. The eastern side of the city was badly destroyed by Syrian troops and Russian jets during the years it was under rebel control. It feel back to the regime in December 2016 after it was brought to its knees by blockades and bombing. Rebel fighters and activists who surrendered were bussed to Idlib and other opposition areas along with their families, while many civilians have still not been allowed to return. Resident of Aleppo have been forced to flee again in recent weeks as Syrian forces push up from the southern suburbs. In the north of the province, meanwhile, Turkish troops are heading towards Manbij in Aleppo governorate. Manbij is a key flashpoint in northern Syria -- located northeast of Aleppo city and around 25 miles south of Jarabulus, which sits on the Syrian-Turkish border. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the support of US air power, helped to root Isil forces from Manbij in August 2016. It is now under the control of the Manbij Military Council, which was set up by the SDF. Manbij marks the beginning of the range of influence of the SDF, the US's proxies, whom Ankara sees as terrorists. US has troops stationed there and has warned Ankara it will not withdraw them should Turkey continue. It is unclear what either Nato member would do when confronted with the other.
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| 10 More Kids Have Died This Flu Season — And We May Not Have Reached the Peak, CDC Says Posted: 09 Feb 2018 09:46 AM PST  'Almost everything we're looking at is bad news'
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| Boston Radio Host Suspended After Using Fake Asian Accent To Mock Tom Brady's Agent Posted: 10 Feb 2018 05:33 PM PST  The popular co-host of a Boston radio sports program has been suspended after using a fake Asian accent to impersonate the agent of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
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| US intelligence 'paid $100,000 to Russian who claimed to have compromising information on Trump but failed to provide it' Posted: 10 Feb 2018 01:26 PM PST  A Russian who offered US intelligence officials stolen cyberweapons and compromising material on Donald Trump took $100,000 (£72,000) but failed to provide any of the promised goods, according to a New York Times report. Several US intelligence officials told the newspaper they were most interested in retrieving National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency hacking tools that were stolen in 2015 and had since been used to infect millions of computers around the world. The Russian claimed to have access to a computer code for the stolen cyberweapons as well as information that would link Mr Trump and his associates to Russia, according to the paper.
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| Come visit: South Korea's leader invited to North Korea Posted: 10 Feb 2018 06:22 PM PST  PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — A rare invitation to Pyongyang for South Korea's president marked Day Two of the North Korean Kim dynasty's southern road tour, part of an accelerating diplomatic thaw that included some Korean liquor over lunch and the shared joy of watching a "unified" Korea team play hockey at the Olympics.
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| Knife-wielding attacker wounds four churchgoers in Indonesia, shot by police Posted: 11 Feb 2018 07:02 AM PST ![Knife-wielding attacker wounds four churchgoers in Indonesia, shot by police]( "Knife-wielding attacker wounds four churchgoers in Indonesia, shot by police") A knife-wielding attacker wounded four churchgoers in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta on Sunday before being shot and wounded by police who said they could not immediately confirm whether it was a terrorism-related incident. Police said they were investigating possible motives for the attack by the suspect, believed to be a university student, at a Catholic church service in Yogyakarta, widely known as the cultural center of Indonesia's main island of Java. Among them was a German-born priest who had been leading the service and who had lived in Indonesia for decades, according to a fellow priest, Dwi Harsanto.
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| Rose McGowan Responds To Former Manager's Death Posted: 10 Feb 2018 01:43 PM PST  Actress Rose McGowan addressed the death of former manager Jill Messick in a brief Instagram caption Saturday, three days after Messick's suicide.
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| The Trump Team’s Blinkered Obsession With the Iran Deal Is Poisoning the Well Posted: 09 Feb 2018 01:39 PM PST  Opponents of the nuclear agreement have distorted the debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East.
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| Kim Cattrall Accuses Sarah Jessica Parker Of Exploiting Brother's Death Posted: 10 Feb 2018 08:21 AM PST  Kim Cattrall has no interest in accepting condolences from Sarah Jessica Parker.
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| Trump support vital as Congress tackles immigration issue Posted: 11 Feb 2018 08:35 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate will open up a rare, open-ended debate on immigration and the fate of the "Dreamer" immigrants on Monday. But the most influential voice in the conversation may be on the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue.
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| Sri Lanka coalition suffers humiliation at local vote Posted: 11 Feb 2018 07:13 AM PST  Sri Lanka's ruling alliance was humiliated Sunday in local elections seen as a test of its leadership as the party of former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse pulled off a stunning landslide victory, final results showed. The mid-term polls further strained the uneasy coalition between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as they face a resurgent challenger in Rajapakse's new party. Official results showed Rajapakse's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna -- SLPP or People's Front -- won 225 councils, or two thirds of the 340 up for grabs, at Saturday's election described by private poll monitors as the most peaceful in decades.
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| Man Raped High School Student as She Died From Drug Overdose, Police Say Posted: 10 Feb 2018 05:38 PM PST  Brian Roberto Varela was charged with manslaughter, second-degree rape and controlled substance homicide in the death of Alyssa Mae Noceda
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| Olympic Skier Lindsey Vonn Gives Tearful Interview About Late Grandfather Posted: 09 Feb 2018 12:42 PM PST  Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn teared up while speaking of her beloved late grandfather during a news conference Friday in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
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