| 'El Chapo' heading to Supermax prison? Who else is inside the hellish 'Alcatraz of the Rockies' Posted: 14 Feb 2019 08:19 AM PST  Inmates spend about 23 hours of every day in solitary confinement inside a 12-by-7-foot cell. "This place is not designed for humanity."
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| Iran's Rouhani blames U.S., Israel for attack on elite Guards: TV Posted: 14 Feb 2019 03:00 AM PST ![Iran's Rouhani blames U.S., Israel for attack on elite Guards: TV]( "Iran's Rouhani blames U.S., Israel for attack on elite Guards: TV") Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed the United States and its regional allies on Thursday for a suicide bombing in southeastern Iran that killed 27 members of the country's elite Revolutionary Guards, Iranian state TV reported. The force said on Wednesday a suicide bomber driving a vehicle laden with explosives had attacked a bus transporting members of the Guards in the province of Sistan-Baluchestan. A militant Sunni Muslim group, Jaish al Adl (Army of Justice), which says it seeks greater rights and better living conditions for the ethnic minority Baluchis, has claimed responsibility for the attack, Iranian media have reported.
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| Thai Princess Ubolratana Says She's Sorry for Causing Problems Posted: 12 Feb 2019 03:38 PM PST  The post follows a political party's failed bid to make the princess its prime ministerial candidate, after her brother King Maha Vajiralongkorn said it was inappropriate for her to seek office. Thailand officially treats top royals as semi-divine and apolitical. Thai Raksa Chart is linked to exiled former prime minster Thaksin Shinawatra.
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| Trump flaunts his concern for minorities. Native Americans need not apply. Posted: 12 Feb 2019 11:53 AM PST  He did not offer to resign himself over a mocking reference to Native American genocide, or call out his son, Donald Jr., for applauding that remark.
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| British schoolgirl Shamima Begum who joined Isil found in Syria and 'wants to come home' Posted: 14 Feb 2019 12:18 AM PST  A British schoolgirl who fled to Syria to join Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has said she does not regret it, but wants to return to the UK to give birth. Shamima Begum, 19, vanished from her home in Bethnal Green in London four years ago, along with two other teenage girls, Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase. A girl who identified herself as Shamima Begum, was found in a refugee camp in Syria as the Isil caliphate collapsed, the Times reported. In an interview with the newspaper she described how she had been living in the caliphate and had married an Isil fighter from the Netherlands called Yago Riedijk. She was heavily pregnant and due to give birth any day. Kadiza Sultana, Amira Abase, and Shamima Begum Credit: PA The girl is living in the al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria along with 39,000 other refugees. She described having seen a severed head in a bin during her time with Isil, and escaping bombs dropping, the Times reported. The teenager also said she had already given birth to two children, both of whom died in infancy. She told the Times: "I'm not the same silly little 15-year-old schoolgirl who ran away from Bethnal Green four years ago. And I don't regret coming here." She added: "I am scared this baby is going to get sick in this camp, that's why I want to get back to Britain, because I know my baby will be looked after." The three girls had joined another London teenager, Sharmeena Begum, in Syria. All were married off to jihadists. Shamima Begum said at least one of her friends, Kadiza Sultana, had been killed when a bomb hit a house in Raqqa. Renu, eldest sister of Shamima Begum, 15, holds her sister's photo while being interviewed by the media at New Scotland Yard, central London Credit: PA The other two girls reportedly stayed on to fight in Baghuz in eastern Syria, along with a few hundred Isil fighters, as the caliphate came to an end. Shamima Begum and her husband fled instead, and the husband surrendered to Kurdish forces. The girl told the Times she had spoken to her mother in the UK and asked for her support when she goes home. She had also read what had been written about her online by people back in the UK. "The caliphate is over," she told the Times. "There was so much oppression and corruption that I don't think they deserved victory. I know what everyone at home thinks of me. But I just want to come home to have my child. All I want to do is come home to Britain." WATCH: Isil schoolgirl Shamima Begum: I wasn't fazed by seeing a severed head The Home Office said it does not comment on individual cases, although anyone who returns to the UK after travelling to IS territory faces criminal investigation and stricter laws are now in place. Security Minister Ben Wallace said: "The UK advises against all travel to Syria and parts of Iraq. Anyone who does travel to these areas, for whatever reason, is putting themselves in considerable danger. "Everyone who returns from taking part in the conflict in Syria or Iraq must expect to be investigated by the police to determine if they have committed criminal offences, and to ensure that they do not pose a threat to our national security. "There are a range of terrorism offences where individuals can be convicted for crimes committed overseas and we can also use Temporary Exclusion Orders to control an individuals' return to the UK." A displaced Syrian woman and a child walk toward tents at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp of al-Hol in al-Hasakeh governorate in northeastern Syria Credit: AFP Tasnime Akunjee, a lawyer who was instructed by the Bethnal Green girls' families after they ran away, said he was "glad (Ms Begum) is alive and safe". He told the Press Association the authorities should be reminded of former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe's position at the time of their disappearance. "The position of the Metropolitan Police was that they should be treated as victims, so long as they hadn't committed any further offences while they are out there," he said. Mr Akunjee said he had spoken to the girls' families, who had "expressed the position that they want time and space to process what's happened". The Western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are expected to announce the territorial defeat of Isil in the coming days. Around 2,000 US special forces are expected to be brought home by April. Giving evidence to MPs in the wake of the British schoolgirls's disappearance, in 2015, senior police officers said they would not be treated as criminals if they returned home. They said there was a "difference between the person running around with a Kalishnikov" and three schoolgirls who had been duped into travelling to Syria. The girls funded their travel to Syria by stealing jewellery from relatives, paying more than £1,000 in cash to a local travel agent for their flights to Turkey. Donald Trump has said Isil is "defeated"and that an announcement is imminent on "100 percent of the caliphate" having been retaken. The war to push Isil out of its so-called caliphate had lasted more than four-and-a-half years. The area once covered part of Syria and Iraq that was around the size of Britain. Pentagon officials have warned that Isil remains an "active insurgent group in both Iraq and Syria". Sign up for your essential, twice-daily briefing from The Telegraph with our free Front Page newsletter.
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| The Society of Tattletales Posted: 12 Feb 2019 01:58 PM PST  Esquire magazine launched a series of reported essays this morning with an article titled "The Life of an American Boy at 17." It featured a tall, handsome, but not particularly dynamic white kid from Wisconsin who thinks he's likely to end up working at a "water plant." Thousands of people who don't subscribe to Esquire, or normally read Esquire, or fit in with Esquire's target demographic are furious about the choice of subject. Or at least they are pretending to be. Our future water-plant worker is just too unbearably privileged for the leading minds of New York media. He shouldn't be represented this way. For reasons that aren't altogether clear.The outrage that this article exists in is recursive in quality. It begins with a presumption that this particular subject, a tall white teenager who vaguely supports the president, should not be "centered" — or given attention at all, that he has earned too much attention. Again, these aren't Esquire subscribers or regular readers. The question occurs: "Aren't you in control of your attention? Couldn't you just ignore this article?" Apparently not. And because there is outrage that he got attention, the controversy itself becomes the cause of further controversy. The people claiming they don't want to "center" Esquire's cover subject draw him into the center of a hurricane.Some of the excuses for the outrage are made up. How many women were in the decision-making process for this article? (The article's author is a woman.) "Why are you centering whiteness? Are you defining American as white and male?" (It's only the first in a series looking at white, black, and LGBTQ teen subjects). "Why did Esquire do this in February, which is Black History Month?" (It's the March cover subject). But March is Women's History Month! Although my favorite complaint is when people say, "Who thought this was a good idea?" Why isn't someone an acceptable answer?Seriously, why can't someone be interested in this? Why does a men's magazine that creates journalism jobs by selling ad space to luxury brands aimed at men have to cater to everyone but privileged males? Why should it be having BuzzFeed's conversation imposed on it? Like much of the anger directed at National Review, boycotts and canceled subscriptions aren't a threat when they come from people who decided they hated you decades ago.Most of the critics, if they could read (and we shouldn't presume), would find that a great many of their preferred topics and narratives about the world are subtly represented in the story, which looks at American society through this young man's eyes. As he sees it, the world is ready to lash out at him for being what he can't help being, for reasons that are unintelligible to him. The reaction to the article more than proved the point.And by the way, if it wasn't Esquire, the outrage would have been about Bloomingdale's. The department store stocked a T-shirt with the words "Fake News" on it. If it weren't liberals leading the outrage, it would be conservatives, moaning about the Oscars or something. Because we live in the age of the tattletale.And worse, we don't even tattle to the authorities. How many real attempts at persuasion were sent to Esquire's editor? Instead, we tattle to the anonymous online mob. Or, occasionally, we tattle to mega corporations that advertise, hoping that they see the mob and dole out the real punishment that matters.You would think that an age of diversity would be less anxious and vindictive. You'd think that it would privilege institutions that make judgments and stand behind them, rather than complaints made by randos who can't. You would think that the forces that a diverse age called upon would be reasonable, full of liberality. Instead it's thousands of idiots, pretending to be mad, pretending that the March issue is about February, that a men's magazine should be about anything other than men, and that a kid destined for the local plant in Wisconsin is privileged.
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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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| Airbus pulls plug on costly A380 superjumbo: statement Posted: 13 Feb 2019 10:16 PM PST  European aerospace giant Airbus said Thursday it would end production of the A380 superjumbo, the double-decker jet which earned plaudits from passengers but failed to win over enough airlines to justify its massive costs. The firm said it would stop deliveries of the A380 in 2021 after Dubai-based airline Emirates reduced its order of the model by 39 planes. "Following a review of its operations, and in light of developments in aircraft and engine technologies, Emirates is reducing its A380 orderbook from 162 to 123 aircraft," Airbus said in a statement.
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| Google investing billions in US operations Posted: 13 Feb 2019 11:08 AM PST  Google said Wednesday it will invest $13 billion in US data centers and offices this year as the internet giant continues to expand across the country. The spending will build on more than $9 billion in US investments in the past year and should create the potential for tens of thousands of new jobs, according to chief executive Sundar Pichai. "This growth will allow us to invest in the communities where we operate, while we improve the products and services that help billions of people and businesses globally," Pichai said in an online post.
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| Former Air Force intelligence officer charged with spying for Iran and revealing defense secrets Posted: 13 Feb 2019 08:40 AM PST  Former Air Force intel officer charged with espionage for Iran govt
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| White supremacist gets life for killing black man to start a race war Posted: 14 Feb 2019 01:56 AM PST  James Jackson, 30, a former U.S. Army specialist, had hoped to start a race war when he attacked Timothy Caughman with a sword.
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| Think Valentine's Day Is Tough Now? The Holiday Used to Involve Choosing a Sweetheart by Lottery Posted: 14 Feb 2019 06:30 AM PST  "Chance must often have been unfriendly," one 19th century historian acknowledged
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| Ilhan Omar confronts Elliott Abrams over human rights Posted: 13 Feb 2019 01:02 PM PST  Omar suggested Americans would have reason to doubt Abrams' testimony about the United States role in Venezuela. "If I could respond to that," said Abrams. "I'm not going to respond to that question, I'm sorry," said Abrams. Omar continued.
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| These Are the 8 Most Reliable Used Cars Posted: 14 Feb 2019 07:01 AM PST |
| British-born rapper 21 Savage to be released on bond amid US deportation threat Posted: 12 Feb 2019 07:58 PM PST  UK-born rap artist 21 Savage, who has been in custody in Georgia for nine days on immigration charges, was granted bond on Tuesday and will be released from custody on Wednesday, his lawyer said. The entertainer, whose real name is Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was arrested on February 2 by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents over accusations he had overstayed his visa by more than a decade. Officials said he came to the United States from Britain in 2005. Atlanta US Immigration Court Judge Dan Pelletier granted the 26-year-old bond during a hearing on Tuesday, his attorney Charles Kuck told Reuters by phone. The bond amount was set at $100,000, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. Kuck declined to confirm the amount. His legal team earlier on Tuesday released a statement that said he had been released. Kuck later said Abraham-Joseph remained in ICE custody because the bond was not granted before a daily 2pm deadline, but said he would be released on Wednesday. 21 Savage was born in the UK Credit: AP The rapper, who was born in Plaistow, east London, but moved to the US with his mother when he was seven, was granted an expedited hearing after speaking with ICE officials to clarify his legal standing and bond eligibility, his legal team said in a statement. "He will not forget this ordeal or any of the other fathers, sons, family members and faceless people, he was locked up with or that remain unjustly incarcerated across the country," they said. ICE officials were not immediately available for comment. The rapper still faces deportation proceedings in federal immigration court, Kuck said. "His case is not over by a long shot," he added. https://t.co/2dXm2pI0wgpic.twitter.com/WkBM318ljl— Saint Laurent Don (@21savage) February 7, 2019 Abraham-Joseph was convicted on felony drug charges in Georgia in 2014, and was arrested as part of a targeted operation with the cooperation of local law enforcement, an ICE spokesman told Reuters when the rapper was taken into custody. 21 Savage was nominated for two Grammy Awards for the hit "Rockstar," with Post Malone, including the coveted record of the year category, but was unable to attend the glitzy awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday because he was being held in Georgia. His Facebook page shows he has several concerts scheduled in the coming weeks.
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| Senate Intel Chairman Says No ‘Goodwill’ Left for Michael Cohen Posted: 12 Feb 2019 03:52 PM PST  The Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said the committee is losing patience with Michael Cohen, who skipped out on planned testimony Tuesday."I can assure you that any goodwill that might have existed in the committee with Michael Cohen is now gone," Chairman Richard Burr told reporters Tuesday.Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, said in a statement that his client's committee appearance was postponed "due to post-surgery medical needs" from Cohen's minor shoulder surgery. However, this is the third time President Trump's former personal lawyer has postponed planned testimony for a myriad of reasons.The committee has subpoenaed Cohen, who admitted in November to lying to the same committee about how long talks to build a Trump Tower in Moscow continued into the 2016 campaign season. He faces a three-year prison term set to begin in March for lying to Congress, a slew of financial crimes, and campaign finance violations for the Trump campaign."The way he's positioning himself not coming to the committee we may help him go to prison," the North Carolina senator warned."He's had a letter for six months asking for his return," Burr continued. "He's already stiffed us on being in Washington today because of an illness,. Yet on Twitter a reporter reported he was having a wild night Saturday night eating out in New York with five buddies. Didn't seem to have any physical limitations and he was out with his wife last night."Burr said he thinks it would be "prudent" to talk to Cohen before the committee concludes its investigation into the 2016 election, adding he would go to "every length I could to make sure we got his testimony."The senator said that he would prefer to hear what Cohen has to say before he goes to prison, rather than bringing him out afterwards for testimony.
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| The Latest: German minister says Airbus must find jobs Posted: 14 Feb 2019 09:23 AM PST  TOULOUSE, France (AP) — The Latest on Airbus' announcement that it will stop making the superjumbo A380 (all times local):
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| Bill and Melinda Gates get asked whether billionaires should exist Posted: 13 Feb 2019 03:32 AM PST  Should billionaires actually be a thing?That was one of the first questions Stephen Colbert put to Bill and Melinda Gates during their appearance on The Late Show on Tuesday, where they spoke about philanthropy and taxing the wealthy."I think you can make the tax system take a much higher portion from people with great wealth," responded Bill. "These great fortunes were not made from ordinary income, so you probably have to look to the capital gains rate and the estate tax if you want to create more equity there."They were clear that the wealthy should be taxed more than they currently are, but less sure about a specific upper tax rate."There have been many times where you're in France where they'll say, gosh, we wish we could have a Bill Gates, we wish we could have a vibrant tech sector," said Melinda. "But the taxes have been done there in such a way that it doesn't actually stimulate good growth."
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| Putin, Erdogan Spar Over Syria Militants Amid Split on Safe Zone Posted: 14 Feb 2019 08:42 AM PST  While Putin urged Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at a summit on Thursday to work out ways to "completely destroy the terrorist hotbed" in the Idlib region, a joint statement after the talks referred only to the need for "concrete steps" to restore a September truce shattered by the Islamist takeover last month. Erdogan said he'd "relayed our expectations" to Putin and Rouhani for Syrian government forces to "abide by the cease-fire" agreed in September, and for Russia and Iran to support Turkey's demand for a buffer zone inside northern Syria to counter U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in the region.
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| Catholic dioceses in New Jersey release names of accused priests Posted: 13 Feb 2019 07:14 PM PST  The disclosure was the result of an internal investigation of archdiocese records and all of the priests and deacons listed have previously been reported to law enforcement and none remain in the ministry, Newark Archbishop Cardinal Joseph Tobin said in a statement. New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal formed a task force in September to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy in his state, along with any efforts to cover up such abuse. "I am pleased to see that our task force's grand jury investigation has prompted the dioceses to finally take some measures to hold predator priests accountable," Grewal said in a statement on Wednesday.
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| The Ilhan Omar Controversy Reveals a Larger Struggle Over Israel Among Democrats Posted: 12 Feb 2019 09:49 PM PST  A controversy over tweets by Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has revealed the fault lines in a debate over Israel that is going to intensify.
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| Hackers can gain full control over Xiaomi electric scooter, security group finds Posted: 13 Feb 2019 11:42 AM PST  The Xiaomi M365 electric scooter has a defect in which hackers can take complete control over the vehicle, according to Zimperium.
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| Gay couples in Japan join together on Valentine's Day to sue government over same-sex marriage ban Posted: 14 Feb 2019 04:00 AM PST  Thirteen gay couples filed Japan's first lawsuit challenging the country's rejection of same-sex marriage on Valentine's Day, arguing the denial violates their constitutional right to equality. Six couples holding banners saying "Marriage For All Japan" walked into Tokyo District Court to file their cases against the government, with similar cases filed by three couples in Osaka, one couple in Nagoya and three couples in Sapporo. Plaintiff Kenji Aiba, standing next to his partner Ken Kozumi, told reporters he would "fight this war together with sexual minorities all around Japan." Mr Aiba and Mr Kozumi have held onto a marriage certificate they signed at their wedding party in 2013, anticipating Japan would emulate other advanced nations and legalise same-sex unions. That day has yet to come, and legally they are just friends even though they've lived as a married couple for more than five years. So they decided to act rather than waiting. "Right now we are both in good health and able to work, but what if either of us has an accident or becomes ill? We are not allowed to be each other's guarantors for medical treatment, or to be each other's heir," Mr Kozumi, a 45-year-old office worker, said in a recent interview with his partner Mr Aiba, 40. "Progress in Japan has been too slow." Politician Mizuho Fukushima has spoken out in favour of gay rights in Japan Credit: AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi Ten Japanese municipalities have enacted "partnership" ordinances for same-sex couples to make it easier for them to rent apartments together, among other things, but they are not legally binding. Japanese laws are currently interpreted as allowing marriage only between a man and a woman. In a society where pressure for conformity is strong, many gay people hide their sexuality, fearing prejudice at home, school or work. The obstacles are even higher for transgender people in the highly gender-specific society. The Supreme Court last month upheld a law that effectively requires transgender people to be sterilized before they can have their gender changed on official documents. The LGBT equal rights movement has lagged behind in Japan because people who are silently not conforming to conventional notions of sexuality have been so marginalized that the issue hasn't been considered a human rights problem, experts say. "Many people don't even think of a possibility that their neighbors, colleagues or classmates may be sexual minorities," said Mizuho Fukushima, a lawyer-turned-politician and an expert on gender and human rights issues. "And the pressure to follow a conservative family model, in which heterosexual couples are supposed to marry and have children, is still strong." Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ultra-conservative supporters have campaigned to restore a paternalistic society based on heterosexual marriages. The government has restarted moral education class at schools to teach children family values and good deeds. "Whether to allow same-sex marriage is an issue that affects the foundation of how families should be in Japan, which requires an extremely careful examination," Mr Abe said in a statement last year.
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| Trump set for compromise with Congress over Mexico border wall to avoid government shutdown Posted: 14 Feb 2019 05:10 AM PST  Congress is set to resolve its clattering brawl with President Donald Trump in uncommonly bipartisan fashion as lawmakers prepare to pass a border security compromise providing a mere sliver of the billions he's demanded for a wall with Mexico and averting a rekindled government shutdown this weekend. With Mr Trump's half-hearted signature widely expected but hardly guaranteed, congressional leaders planned votes Thursday on the sweeping package. Mr Trump's assent would end a raucous legislative saga that commenced before Christmas and was ending, almost fittingly, on Valentine's Day.
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| Heavy rain forces Californians to flee, triggers mudslide Posted: 14 Feb 2019 10:38 AM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Waves of heavy rain pounded California on Thursday, filling normally dry creeks and rivers with muddy torrents, flooding roadways and forcing residents to flee their homes in communities scorched by wildfires.
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| Man whose daughter was killed by an illegal immigrant hopes to meet with Nancy Pelosi about the border wall Posted: 13 Feb 2019 07:20 AM PST  Dan Ferguson says he wants to show House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that Angel Moms and Dads are reasonable in their request for a border wall.
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| Airbus A380, the Concorde: technical feats, commercial flops Posted: 14 Feb 2019 02:45 AM PST  The scratching of the superjumbo jet Airbus A380 echoes the sad fate of the supersonic Concorde, another feat of aviation technology that turned out to be a commercial flop. The inaugural commercial flight on January 21, 1976 of Concorde, the world's first supersonic passenger plane, promised a revolution in aviation. It was the first computer-controlled commercial aircraft in history and also innovated with a weight-saving aluminium body and triangular delta wings.
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| U.S. charges former top Apple lawyer with insider trading Posted: 13 Feb 2019 11:59 AM PST  Authorities said Gene Levoff exploited his positions as corporate secretary, head of corporate law and co-chairman of a committee that reviewed draft copies of Apple's financial results to trade illegally between 2011 and 2016. Prosecutors said Levoff, 45, of San Carlos, California, generated $604,000 in illegal gains, including realized profit and avoided losses, before Apple terminated his decade-long employment in September.
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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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| 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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| Contrasting realities on immigration as Trump, O'Rourke host dueling rallies in El Paso Posted: 12 Feb 2019 01:47 PM PST  Standing within earshot distance of one another, President Trump and Beto O'Rourke held opposing rallies in El Paso, Texas, that clashed over immigration. Trump and his contingent of an estimated 6,500 chanted "Build the wall" and "U-S-A" over and over, while O'Rourke and an estimated 10,000 supporters called for a path to citizenship for those wanting to cross the border. While Trump spoke from inside a packed El Paso County Coliseum arena with a large U.S. flag and "Finish the Wall" signs perched on either side, O'Rourke spoke outside on a stage set up inside a baseball field with a mariachi band as his backdrop.
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| Suicide bomber targeting Iran's Revolutionary Guard kills 27 Posted: 13 Feb 2019 11:50 AM PST  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A suicide car bomber claimed by an al-Qaida-linked group attacked a bus carrying members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard paramilitary force Wednesday, killing at least 27 people and wounding 13 others, state media reported.
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| There’s Not Much Performance in Denver Schools’ ‘Pay for Performance’ System Posted: 14 Feb 2019 03:30 AM PST  On Monday, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) went on strike, the latest in a series of teacher strikes that have erupted across the country over the past year. While Denver teachers have voiced concerns about class sizes, support staff, and starting salaries, the consensus is that the issue at the heart of the strike is teacher frustration with Denver's once-celebrated ProComp pay system, which was jointly developed by the DCTA and Denver Public Schools in 2005.Back then, ProComp was heralded as a pioneering step forward on pay-for-performance/merit pay, and that framing has colored coverage of the strike. Even before the strike started, education outlet Chalkbeat ran an explainer headlined, "How a once-promising merit pay system led Denver teachers to the brink of a strike." This week, the Washington Post reported "Denver teachers strike in bid to dismantle pay-for-performance system." The New York Times account was headlined, "Denver Teachers' Strike Puts Performance-Based Pay to the Test."The only problem? This narrative is bunk. For all the talk about "merit" and "performance," ProComp is almost wholly devoid of any links between pay and teacher performance.As Denver Public Schools' compensation chart illustrates, ProComp allows teachers to earn an annual $3,851 pay bump for obtaining an advanced degree or license; a $2,738 boost for working in a "hard to staff" field or a "hard to serve" school; $1,540 for working in a "ProComp Title I" school, which is different than a "hard to serve" school; $855 for completing the requisite "professional development units"; and between $800 and $5,000 for filling designated leadership roles. There is also a yearly bonus for teachers based on students' state-wide-exam results.None of these bonuses, save perhaps for the last one, are performance-based. The only other component of ProComp resembling anything even remotely close to a performance-based incentive for individual teachers is the $855 they can receive for a satisfactory evaluation on a paper-driven performance rubric — and that figure falls by half for longtime educators. (Just how modest is such a sum in context? Average teacher pay in Denver before incentives is about $51,000, and the district has already offered teachers a 10 percent raise.)A couple points here merit note. First, contra the coverage of the strike, the Denver pay system which has sparked so much backlash is not actually rewarding performance. Rather, ProComp is mostly designed to reward the usual credentialism and to steer teachers to work in certain schools or fields. That's all fine, and some of it makes good sense, but it's a misnomer to characterize it as constituting a "pay-for-performance" scheme.Second, to the extent that ProComp seeks to reward performance in any fashion, it has opted for school-wide bonuses to schools that make large gains on math and reading scores (what the district euphemistically terms "top performing-high growth" schools). Reading and math scores matter, a lot. But education reform's fascination with paying for test points is troubling on several counts. It is bizarrely detached from the instruction that most teachers (including those who teach science, foreign languages, music, or history) are asked to focus on and has encouraged corner-cutting and outright cheating. It also has parents concerned about narrow curricula and soulless instruction, and teachers feeling like insurance salesmen.Performance pay is always tricky, but a raft of for-profit and non-profit organizers have muddled through in pretty sensible ways — tapping human judgment, seeking to assess the full contribution that an employee makes, and relying more upon promotions and raises than one-time bonuses.Denver's situation is so noteworthy because Denver is no laggard. Indeed, for many years, it has been celebrated as a "model" district by reformers. So it's disheartening how little progress the city has actually made. Reformers wound up being so focused on finding ways to pay teachers to switch schools or raise test scores that they missed what might have been a larger opportunity to reshape the teaching profession by reimagining how teachers' job descriptions, pay structures, and responsibilities could work. Indeed, given the limited dollar amounts involved (a 1–2 percent bonus if a teacher aces his personal evaluation), it's hard to imagine why anyone ever expected ProComp to be a game-changer.As teacher strikes continue apace and efforts to improve schooling move on from the enthusiasm of the Bush and Obama years, there may emerge new opportunities to rethink teacher pay. If they do, reformers should seize them by focusing more intently on how well teachers do their jobs, and less on where they work or how many boxes they check.Frederick M. Hess is the director of education-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Brendan Bell is the education-program manager at AEI.
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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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| 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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| Migrants overwhelm New Mexico border post with thousands of illegal crossings Posted: 13 Feb 2019 03:46 PM PST  New Mexico border patrol resources stressed after more than 28 large migrant groups make illegal crossings since October
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| Talks to end three-day Denver teachers strike resume after progress reported Posted: 13 Feb 2019 11:09 AM PST  Negotiators for striking Denver teachers and the city school district returned to the bargaining table on Wednesday after a productive session the previous day, as the walkout affecting 92,000 students entered a third day. The two sides sounded an optimistic note on Tuesday after resuming talks that had broken off on Saturday, and went late into the night seeking to resolve differences over a variable pay system, known as ProComp, which has been at the center of the dispute. "We exchanged proposals that are moving us closer and are hopeful that we will get to an agreement soon," union President Henry Roman and schools Superintendent Susana Cordova said in a joint statement late on Tuesday.
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| Netanyahu tones down bellicose Iran talk - in English Posted: 14 Feb 2019 05:05 AM PST  Israel's prime minister's office has quitely toned down talk by Benjamin Netanyahu of a shared interest with Arab states in "war" with Iran, replacing the word with "combating" in its English-language transcript. Netanyahu made the comments on Wednesday on the sidelines of an international conference in Warsaw organised by Washington to discuss Iran and the region, and attended by the foreign ministers of a raft of Gulf Arab states. Netanyahu and his US ally have sought to play up the rare public appearance of senior Arab officials at a common forum with an Israeli prime minister.
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| Brock Long, who oversaw Trump administration's response to Hurricane Maria, resigns as FEMA chief Posted: 13 Feb 2019 01:30 PM PST  Deputy Administrator Pete Gaynor will become acting administrator upon Brock Long's departure.
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| Congress nears votes to end border security brawl with Trump Posted: 14 Feb 2019 10:21 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress rolled toward resolving its border security brawl with President Donald Trump in uncommonly bipartisan fashion Thursday, preparing to approve a compromise averting a new government shutdown this weekend but providing a mere sliver of the billions Trump has demanded for a wall with Mexico.
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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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| GM names its e-bikes 'Ariv,' plans Europe launch this spring Posted: 14 Feb 2019 06:30 AM PST  40 miles of electric range on a charge, but it won't come cheap
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| Ohio man pleads not guilty to deputy slaying charges Posted: 13 Feb 2019 12:29 PM PST  CINCINNATI (AP) — A man who could face the death penalty if convicted pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he fatally shot an Ohio sheriff's deputy and tried to kill others during a standoff.
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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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| Too Faced teases brand new skincare line Posted: 13 Feb 2019 01:02 AM PST  Cult cosmetics brand Too Faced is officially entering the skincare arena. The cruelty-free makeup label is preparing to launch a brand new 'Hangover Good To Go' moisturizer, formulated with SPF 25 and featuring hydrating coconut water, as well as prebiotic and probiotic ingredients. The product appears to be based on the brand's existing 'Hangover' line, which comprises a face primer and a 3-in-one setting spray.
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