| Israel to withhold $138 mln from Palestinians over prisoner payments Posted: 17 Feb 2019 10:15 AM PST  Israel said its security cabinet on Sunday decided to withhold $138 million (122 million euros) in tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority over its payments to prisoners jailed for attacks on Israelis. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the withheld cash would be equal to that paid by the PA last year to "terrorists imprisoned in Israel, to their families and to released prisoners". Israel alleges the payments encourage further violence.
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| Man punches and throws hot coffee on Sikh 7-Eleven clerk because he 'hates Muslims' Posted: 19 Feb 2019 08:28 AM PST  A man has been charged with a hate crime after allegedly attacking a Sikh employee of a California 7-Eleven convenience store. The man can allegedly be seen on surveillance footage punching the employee, and throwing coffee on him after he attempted to leave without paying for coffee. The man, identified by police as John Crain, was arrested by the Marysville Police Department.
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| Bernie Sanders launches second Democratic U.S. presidential bid Posted: 19 Feb 2019 04:41 AM PST  Sanders, 77, announced his candidacy in a lengthy early morning email to supporters, pledging to build a vast grassroots movement to confront the special interests that he said dominate government and politics. "Our campaign is about creating a government and economy that works for the many, not just the few," Sanders said in the email, asking for 1 million people to sign up to start the effort. The senator from Vermont launched his insurgent 2016 candidacy against Clinton as a long shot, but ended up capturing 23 state nominating contests and pushing the party to the left, generating tension between its establishment and liberal wings that has not entirely abated.
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| Buckle up and hunker down: Coast-to-coast storm to bring weather misery to 200 million Posted: 19 Feb 2019 03:26 AM PST  A powerful storm will roar across the country over the next 2-3 days, spreading heavy snow, torrential rain, and crippling ice to more than 200 million Americans.
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| Sex abuse survivors to meet with Vatican summit organizers Posted: 18 Feb 2019 05:29 AM PST  VATICAN CITY (AP) — The organizers of Pope Francis' summit on preventing clergy sex abuse will meet this week with a dozen abuse victims who have descended on Rome to protest the Catholic Church's response to the crisis and demand an end to decades of cover-up by church leaders, officials said Monday.
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| Farrakhan Praises Omar’s Anti-Semitic Remarks: ‘Shake Up That Corrupt House’ Posted: 18 Feb 2019 01:57 PM PST  Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan on Sunday praised Representative Ilhan Omar's (D., Minn.) recent endorsement of an anti-Semitic trope and urged the freshman lawmaker not to bow to pressure from critics."Ms. Omar from Somalia – she started talking about 'the Benjamins' and they are trying to make her apologize. Sweetheart, don't do that. Pardon me for calling you sweetheart, but you do have a sweet heart. You sure are using it to shake the government up, but you have nothing to apologize for," Farrakhan said during his annual Saviour's Day address in Chicago, in comments first reported by the Washington Free Beacon."Israel and AIPAC pays off senators and congressmen to do their bidding, so you're not lying. So if you're not lying, stop laying down. You were sent there by the people to shake up that corrupt House," he added.Farrakhan, who has long engaged in anti-Semitic conspiracy-mongering, went on to mock Omar's Democratic allies, who have defended her remarks as the result of inexperience and lack of knowledge regarding the historic plight of the Jewish people."'Oh she's just young. She just got here. Don't be so hard on her,'" he said, mocking Omar's defenders. "My beautiful sisters, you were sent there to shake that House up. Your people voted you in, but God is the overseer."Omar argued in a series of tweets sent last week that the pro-Israel stance held by many of her colleagues can be attributed to the nefarious influence of jewish donors and organizations, such as the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). She subsequently apologized after being publicly urged to do so by Democratic leadership.Since being elected in November, Omar has been confronted with allegations of anti-Semitism by critics who cite both her past tweets, one of which accused Israel of "hypnotizing the world," and her more-recent statements and associations with noted anti-Semitic pro-Palestinian activists.Farrakhan has managed to maintain ties with a number of prominent Democratic lawmakers and activists despite his extensive record of bigotry. Women's March co-chair Tamikah Mallory was roundly criticized for praising Farrakhan as the "GOAT" or "greatest of all time" on social media following his 2018 Saviour's Day address, during which he labeled Jews "satanic.""I didn't call him the greatest of all time because of his rhetoric. I called him the greatest of all time because of what he's done in black communities," Mallory said during an appearance on ABC's The View last month when asked about the Instagram post.
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| India says suicide attack mastermind killed Posted: 19 Feb 2019 01:04 AM PST  India's army said Tuesday it had killed the mastermind of a major suicide bomb attack in Kashmir which it blamed on Pakistan, as calls grew for reprisals over the deaths of more than 40 paramilitaries and soldiers. Indian forces have staged operations since Thursday's attack while anti-Pakistan and anti-Kashmir sentiment has spread across the country, fuelled by social media including widely shared false news reports. Three militants from the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) group, which claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, were killed in a gunbattle that lasted much of Monday, Lieutenant General Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon told a press conference in Srinagar.
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| Huawei founder says Huawei CFO arrest was politically motivated - BBC Posted: 18 Feb 2019 07:24 PM PST  "Firstly, I object to what the U.S. has done. This kind of politically motivated act is not acceptable," Ren told the BBC in an interview. Canada arrested Meng on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States.
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| Florida inmates use criminal skills to rescue baby from car Posted: 18 Feb 2019 12:09 PM PST  A group of prisoners in Florida put their criminal skills to good use on Valentine's Day – breaking into a car, to free a baby locked inside. The prisoners, on work-release, were repairing parking meters in Pasco County, north of Tampa, when they spotted the family in distress. The one-year-old child was trapped inside the car, with the keys inside. The family was unable to afford a locksmith and so, in the 56 degree Fahrenheit heat, the father was preparing to break the window. That is when the prisoners, in their black and white uniforms, offered to help, and worked in a team to pry open the front door just enough for one inmate to use a coat hanger to push a button that unlocked the 4x4's door. In a video, which has gone viral, police are heard telling the father to "pop his head in the window" so "strange faces" would not scare the baby. Another person in the video, filmed by the baby's mother Shadow Lantry, can be heard commenting on the "hilarious situation," with police watching the crew unlock the car. The whole endeavour took about two minutes, and ended with the group cheering. Ms Lantry said the child was "just sitting there happy" throughout the ordeal. The parents thanked the crew, deputies and firefighters for their help.
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| Poland Demands Israeli Response Over ‘Racist’ Holocaust Comments Posted: 18 Feb 2019 04:37 AM PST  Morawiecki canceled sending a delegation to Jerusalem, where he was slated to meet his counterparts from the Visegrad Group of eastern European nations Monday, after Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu was reported as saying last week that the Polish nation cooperated with Nazi occupiers during World War II. While Israel clarified that Netanyahu had been talking about "individuals, and not the whole nation" collaborating with the Nazis, the comments drew swift reaction from the government in Warsaw, which has passed laws criminalizing the act of blaming Poland or its people for wartime crimes committed against Jews and other minorities.
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| How Social Security could get benefits boosted to help most vulnerable like widows Posted: 19 Feb 2019 05:55 AM PST ![How Social Security could get benefits boosted to help most vulnerable like widows]( "How Social Security could get benefits boosted to help most vulnerable like widows") Despite a looming funding shortfall, proposals to enhance Social Security benefits are being circulated.
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| The 10 Cheapest Hybrid Cars and SUVs in 2019 Posted: 19 Feb 2019 08:12 AM PST |
| Mysterious 'witches marks' discovered in ancient cave in Creswell Crags, England Posted: 18 Feb 2019 10:11 AM PST  Mysterious 'witches marks' discovered in an ancient cave in Creswell Crags, England and the discovery highlights the importance of the Crags for researchers in England.
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| Florida student faces misdemeanor charges after refusing to stand for Pledge of Allegiance Posted: 18 Feb 2019 11:14 AM PST  An 11-year-old student in Florida refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and was arrested for a resulting confrontation with a teacher and police officer.
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| Vice President Pence Receives Awkward Silence in Munich After Offering 'Greetings' From President Trump Posted: 17 Feb 2019 01:34 PM PST  "I bring greetings from the 45th President," Pence said to resounding silence
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| The Latest: Aid group says 62 die fleeing IS fighting Posted: 18 Feb 2019 08:12 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the Syria conflict (all times local):
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| Indian journalist condemns Twitter for blocking account after abuse online Posted: 19 Feb 2019 01:17 AM PST  Dutt said some people had posted and circulated her phone number on Twitter, enabling the harassment, which she said included threats of rape and images of genitalia being sent to her phone. Dutt tweeted some of the threats and images on Monday, and she included phone numbers and names of the men who allegedly threatened her, after which her account was suspended. "I would like to place on record my absolute horror and disgust at Twitter's encouragement of sexual abuse and gender inequality," said Dutt, a former managing editor at news channel NDTV and a regular columnist with the Washington Post.
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| China data leak exposes mass surveillance in Xinjiang Posted: 19 Feb 2019 02:36 AM PST  A Chinese technology firm has compiled a range of personal information on 2.6 million people in Xinjiang -- from their ethnicity to locations -- according to a data leak highlighting the wide extent of surveillance in the restive region. Xinjiang is home to most of China's Uighur ethnic minority lives and has been under heavy police surveillance in recent years after violent inter-ethnic tensions. Nearly one million Uighurs and other Turkic language-speaking minorities in Xinjiang are reportedly held in re-education camps, according to a UN panel of experts.
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| Kamala Harris faces scrutiny over Jussie Smollett ‘modern day lynching’ comment at 2020 campaign event Posted: 19 Feb 2019 02:25 AM PST  Senator Kamala Harris visited New Hampshire on Monday for the first time in her life, and quickly experienced the realities of being a presidential candidate: She faced questions from national reporters about her political ideology and her description of the alleged assault on actor Jussie Smollett as "an attempted modern day lynching," followed by a town hall-style forum with a big crowd of more than 1,000 voters. Unlike most presidential hopefuls, who come to New Hampshire years before the primary, Ms Harris — who is from California and relatively new to the national political stage — waited until roughly a year before the primary to show up. Barack Obama, who had never been to New Hampshire before running for president, visited the state in December 2006, about 13 months before its 2008 primary.
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| The New Ford Focus ST Looks Awesome and Makes 276 Horsepower Posted: 18 Feb 2019 01:00 PM PST  It's not too late for Ford to change its mind about bringing this hot hatch to America, is it?
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| Aurora warehouse where 5 killed won't reopen until next week Posted: 18 Feb 2019 07:23 PM PST  AURORA, Ill. (AP) — The suburban Chicago manufacturing warehouse where five people were fatally shot won't reopen until next week, but its doors will be open to support workers, company officials said Monday.
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| Las Vegas snow: Up to 2 inches of snow falls on strip for 1st time in decade Posted: 18 Feb 2019 10:26 AM PST  Wild weather in Nevada! Parts of Las Vegas, including the strip, are waking up to as much as 2 inches of snow Monday morning.
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| Trump's 'relentless attack' on FBI prompted memoir by former official: NPR Posted: 18 Feb 2019 04:41 AM PST  Former top FBI official Andrew McCabe decried the "relentless attack" he said President Trump has launched against the agency.
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| In photos: Winners of the World Restaurant Awards Posted: 19 Feb 2019 05:46 AM PST |
| Nine killed as Indian security forces battle Kashmir militants after suicide bombing Posted: 18 Feb 2019 01:08 AM PST  Nine people including five troops died in a fire fight in India's disputed Kashmir region on Monday, days after a suicide bomber killed 42 paramilitary force members in the insurgency-ridden state. Police said the gun battle erupted after security forces surrounded Pinglan village in Pulwama district, 20 miles south of Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar, following a tip-off that militants were hiding there. As the forces launched search operations in the village, they came under heavy gunfire from militants hiding in a house. An Indian Army major, three other soldiers, a policeman, three suspected militants and a civilian were killed in the shootout. Police said the two militants killed in the attack were involved in last Thursday's bombing of the paramilitary convoy in nearby Awantipora, the deadliest single attack on the Indian security forces in nearly 30 years in Kashmir. They claimed both of them were Pakistani nationals and members of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM or Army of Mohammad) Islamist group that has claimed responsibility for last week's bombing. India holds the Pakistani military's Inter Services Intelligence Directorate responsible for planning the strike that was executed by a 19-year old Kashmiri student from Srinagar. "The ISI's fingerprints are all over the bombing as the 19-year old suicide bomber could not have organised such a major operation by himself" a senior security official said on condition of anonymity. The attack replicates similar bombings in Afghanistan and one carried out last week on the Pakistan-Iran border in which 27 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel were killed, he added. Indian demonstrators shout slogans against Pakistan during a protest at India Gate in New Delhi on Sunday Credit: AFP The bomber had recorded a video message before the strike, which surfaced on social media soon after. "I had never imagined my son would become a suicide bomber" the bomber's father told the NDTV news channel. "I don't know why it is happening," he added. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised a "jaw breaking" response to Pakistan, which has denied any involvement in the bombing. With tension mounting between the nuclear-armed neighbours over the bombing, Pakistan has withdrawn its High Commissioner to New Delhi for consultations. India had recalled its envoy in Islamabad last week for "discussions" within hours of the convoy attack. India has also retracted the Most Favoured Nation trade privileges it had unilaterally extended to Pakistan for several years and at the weekend slapped a 200 per cent import duty on all goods imported from its neighbour. Analysts said however that both measures were unlikely to adversely impact Pakistan, as annual bilateral trade between the two sides was limited. India's home ministry has warned against rising sectarian tensions across the country, with scores of Kashmiris living outside their state suffering violence in response to the suicide bombing. Profile | Khalid Mahmood Many young Kashmiri students in northern Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand states have been asked to leave their rented homes, whilst others have been severely beaten by locals enraged over the bombings. As the bodies of the paramilitary personnel returned to their homes across India for cremation and burial at the weekend, passionate crowds waved the national flag, chanted patriotic slogans and demanded vengeance against Pakistan and Kashmiris. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence from Britain in 1947, but claimed in its entirety by both. The two sides fought two wars over Kashmir and their armies clashed once again in 1999 in the state's mountainous Kargil region for 11 weeks, resulting in the deaths of 1200 soldiers. The conflict threatened to escalate into a nuclear exchange but was defused after Washington's intervention. India also blames Pakistan for stoking the insurgency which erupted in Kashmir in 1989 and has claimed over 70,000 lives, an allegation that is denied by Islamabad.
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| Polish PM cancels Israel visit amid new Holocaust tensions Posted: 17 Feb 2019 12:21 PM PST  WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki canceled his plans to attend a meeting of central European leaders in Israel starting Monday amid new tensions over how Polish behavior during the Holocaust is remembered and characterized.
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| Global Slowdown Leaves Growth Weakest Since Financial Crisis Posted: 18 Feb 2019 04:30 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The global economy's loss of momentum has left expansion now looking like its weakest since the global financial crisis, a development that's already sparked a dramatic shift among central banks.
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| Isil bride Shamima Begum suggests she is prepared to go to prison if Britain allows her back Posted: 18 Feb 2019 12:57 PM PST  The schoolgirl who ran away to join Isil has indicated that she is prepared to go to prison if she gets her wish to return to Britain. Shamima Begum said that she was still determined to come back from Syria despite knowing that UK authorities have the "option" to send her to jail. In an interview with the BBC yesterday, while cradling a newborn baby, the teenager was asked what she thought would happen on her return. "My first priority is my son, obviously," she replied. "Because I don't know whether he'd be taken away from me or they'll let me keep him or give him to my family while the UK decides what to do with me. To put me in prison, to put me in a de-radicalisation course, I don't know." Isil bride Shamima Begum | Read more Ms Begum flew to the Middle East four years ago to join the terror group.There, she married a Dutch-born fighter with whom she had three children. Her two eldest children have died, but she reportedly gave birth at a refugee camp in northeastern Syria at the weekend. Since she was discovered, Ms Begum has faced criticism for a lack of remorse, and an apparent reluctance to disavow Isil teachings. When asked about the enslavement and rape of Yazidi women by jihadist fighters, she replied yesterday: "Shia do the same in Iraq." Shamima Begum has indicated she is prepared to go to prison if she is allowed back to Britain Credit: Enterprise/Enterprise Later she likened the deaths of 22 innocent people in the terrorist attack on an Ariana Grande concert in 2017 to the "women and children" being bombed in Baghuz, where Isil fighters are currently making their last stand. "I do feel that it's wrong that innocent people did get killed," she said. "It's one thing to kill a soldier that is fighting you, it's self-defence, but to kill the people like women and children... "Just people like the women and children in Baghuz that are being killed right now unjustly, the bombings. It's a two-way thing really. "Because women and children are being killed back in the Islamic State right now and it's kind of retaliation. Like, their justification was that it was retaliation so I thought 'OK, that is a fair justification'." Ms Begum said she was old enough at 15 to make her own decisions, and added that she was partly inspired by videos hostages being beheaded, and also by propaganda videos showing "the good life" under IS. Isil schoolgirl | The schoolgirl who turned to Isil She added that she had watched videos of the murders of British hostages but did not know the names of the victims. "I just want forgiveness really, from the UK," she said. "Everything I've been through, I didn't expect I would go through that. "Losing my children the way I lost them, I don't want to lose this baby as well and this is really not a place to raise children, this camp." The teenager also admitted that her disappearance had been a propaganda coup for Isil but insisted that she did not ask to be the subject of international media attention. She said: "I didn't want to be on the news at first. I know a lot of people, after they saw that me and my friends came, it actually encouraged them. "I did hear, yeah, a lot of people were encouraged to come after I left but I wasn't the one that put myself on the news. "The poster girl thing was not my choice."
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| Macau police investigate suspected murder at Sands casino resort: media Posted: 17 Feb 2019 10:02 PM PST  Police in the world's biggest gambling hub of Macau are investigating what they suspect is a rare murder in a five-star casino resort after a Chinese man was found stabbed in his bed, broadcaster TDM reported on Monday. Murder cases have been rare in the Chinese territory since Portugal ceded control of what had been a colonial backwater on the heel of China's southern coast 20 years ago. The suspected murder took place in Sands China's Conrad Macau hotel, TDM reported, citing police.
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| GMC Acadia souped up with new engine, trim, and tech Posted: 18 Feb 2019 07:53 AM PST  GMC has unveiled the refreshed Acadia for the 2020 model year complete with a new trim, a fresh look, and the latest GMC infotainment system. GMC announced on Monday that the Acadia has gotten its midcycle refresh, and now, the lineup looks more like a group of Sierra pickups from the front than mid-size SUVs. In addition to its new exterior styling, the Acadia has a new powertrain option and an assortment of new technologies including an enhanced infotainment system and heads-up display.
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| What Happened to Jussie Smollett? Here Are All of His Case's Developments Posted: 18 Feb 2019 11:39 AM PST  Police now want to re-interview the 'Empire' actor
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| Yemen sides agree deal on first pullback: UN Posted: 17 Feb 2019 05:55 PM PST  Yemen's government and Huthi rebels have agreed on the first phase of a pullback of forces from the key city of Hodeida, in a deal the United Nations described Sunday as important progress. The redeployment from Hodeida is a critical part of a ceasefire deal reached in December in Sweden that calls on the government and Huthis to move forces away from ports and parts of city. The fragile truce deal marks the first step toward ending a devastating war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
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| US deputy attorney general 'to step down' after Trump accuses him of treason Posted: 19 Feb 2019 12:21 AM PST  The US Justice Department official who once oversaw the Russia probe, Rod Rosenstein, plans to resign in mid-March, US news outlets reported. Rosenstein's departure from his post as deputy attorney general has been expected for some time. CNN on Monday quoted a department official as saying it has nothing to do with recent explosive claims by the former acting director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe. McCabe has said that Rosenstein raised the idea of wearing a wire to tape President Donald Trump and talked about removing him from office under the 25th Amendment after Trump fired FBI director James Comey in May 2017. CNN said Rosenstein has widely been expected to leave his job after Bill Barr is confirmed to fill the vacant post of attorney general. The network said that a departure by Rosenstein next month could suggest the Russia probe being carried out by special counsel Robert Mueller is nearing completion. Trump abruptly fired Comey as pressure rose over the Russia investigation, setting off alarm bells in the FBI and Justice Department. According to McCabe, in a lengthy interview that aired Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes," Rosenstein brought up the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution, which provides for the removal of a sitting president for incapacity. "Rod raised the issue and discussed it with me in the context of thinking about how many other cabinet officials might support such an effort," said McCabe, who has a book coming out, "The Threat." The deputy attorney general, who remains in office but no longer supervises the Russia investigation, appears never to have acted on those ideas.
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| Payless liquidation sale prices: What you need to know about store closing sales Posted: 18 Feb 2019 06:55 AM PST ![Payless liquidation sale prices: What you need to know about store closing sales]( "Payless liquidation sale prices: What you need to know about store closing sales") Payless liquidation sales started Sunday. Payless hours today vary by location. Here's what you need to know to navigate the giant's bargain bonanza.
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| How to see tonight's super Snow moon in the UK Posted: 19 Feb 2019 02:22 AM PST  Dust off those binoculars because space fans are in for a celestial treat tonight. February's Snow Moon will be the second super moon of 2019 to grace our skies, appearing bigger and brighter to the human eye than usual as it makes its closest approach to Earth in the lunar cycle. As one of 12 full moons to admire every year, February's moon was nicknamed the Snow Moon by early Native Americans to symbolise the country's heavy snowfall and challenging hunting conditions. But when and how can you see it? Here we've compiled a complete guide to our moon, Earth's only natural satellite and the largest and brightest object in our night sky which has enchanted and inspired mankind for centuries. From super moon to blue moon, here's everything explained in one place. How often does a full moon occur? A full moon occurs every 29.5 days and is when the Moon is completely illuminated by the Sun's rays. It occurs when Earth is directly aligned between the Sun and the Moon. Why do full moons have names? The early Native Americans didn't record time using months of the Julian or Gregorian calendar. Instead tribes gave each full moon a nickname to keep track of the seasons and lunar months. Most of the names relate to an activity or an event that took place at the time in each location. However, it wasn't a uniform system and tribes tended to name and count moons differently. Some, for example, counted four seasons a year while others counted five. Others defined a year as 12 moons, while others said there were 13. Colonial Americans adopted some of the moon names and applied them to their own calendar system which is why they're still in existence today, according to the Farmer's Almanac. January: Wolf Moon This moon was named because villagers used to hear packs of wolves howling in hunger around this time of the year. Its other name is the Old Moon. The first full moon of 2019 was a spectacular sight, dubbed the 'super blood wolf moon'. Occurring as the product of three different phenomena: it was a supermoon, a wolf moon and a blood moon. While it was said to be the UK's last visible total lunar eclipse for 10 years, it was pictured across skies around the world with a deep orange hue. In January 2018 there were two Wolf Moons, both of which were supermoons. When two moons occur in one month, the second is called a blue moon. While blue moons typically occur only once every two to three years, last year we were treated to two moons - the second appearing at the end of March. When? January 21 Super Wolf Blood Moon: The total lunar eclipse, in pictures from around the world February: Snow Moon The Snow moon is named after the cold white stuff because historically it's always been the snowiest month in America. It's also traditionally referred to as the Hunger Moon, because hunting was very difficult in snowy conditions. While February 2018 had no full moon at all, this year's Snow Moon will also be the second of three supermoons to occur in 2019. Rising in the sky at 3.53pm, the moon will make its closest approach to Earth all year and appear visibly bigger and brighter to the naked eye. When? February 19 March: Worm Moon As temperatures warm, earthworm casts begin to appear and birds begin finding food. It's also known as Sap Moon, Crow Moon and Lenten Moon. This year's Worm Moon will also be the third super moon of 2019, appearing 30 per cent brighter and 14 per cent bigger to the human eye. When? March 21 April: Pink Moon April's full moon is known as the Pink Moon, but don't be fooled into thinking it will turn pink. It's actually named after pink wildflowers, which appear in the US and Canada in early spring. This moon is also known as Egg Moon, due to spring egg-laying season. Some coastal tribes referred to it as Fish Moon because it appeared at the same time as the shad swimming upstream. This moon is important because it is used to fix the date of Easter, which is always the Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. This year, that moon appears on Friday April 19, which means Easter Sunday falls two days later, on Sunday April 21. When? April 19 May: Flower Moon Spring has officially sprung by the time May arrives, and flowers and colourful blooms dot the landscape. This moon is also known as Corn Planting Moon, as crops are sown in time for harvest, or Bright Moon because this full moon is known to be one of the brightest. Some people refer to it as Milk Moon. When? May 18 June: Strawberry Moon This moon is named after the beginning of the strawberry picking season. It's other names are Rose Moon, Hot Moon, or Hay Moon as hay is typically harvested around now. This moon appears in the same month as the summer solstice, the longest day of the year (June 21) in which we can enjoy approximately 17 hours of daylight. When? June 17 July: Thunder Moon Named due to the prevalence of summer thunder storms. It's sometimes referred to as the Full Buck Moon because at this time of the year a buck's antlers are fully grown. When? July 16 August: Sturgeon Moon Tribes in North America typically caught Sturgeon during this month, but also it is when grain and corn were gathered so is also referred to as Grain Moon. August will also see what is known as a 'black moon' in the UK, which is when there are two new moons in one month. The first will be on August 1 and the second on August 30. This month's full moon appears in the same month as the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks on August 12. When? August 15 September: Harvest Moon The Harvest Moon is the name given to the first full moon that takes place closest to the Autumn equinox, which this year will come on September 14. The Harvest Moon arrived late in 2017, on October 5 - it normally rises in September. It was during September that most of the crops were harvested ahead of the autumn and this moon would give light to farmers so they could carry on working longer in the evening. Some tribes also called it the Barley Moon, the Full Corn Moon or Fruit Moon. When? September 14 October: Hunter's Moon As people planned ahead for the cold months ahead, the October moon came to signify the ideal time for hunting game, which were becoming fatter from eating falling grains. This moon is also known as the travel moon and the dying grass moon. When?October 13 November: Frost Moon The first of the winter frosts historically begin to take their toll around now and winter begins to bite, leading to this month's moon moniker. It is also known as the Beaver Moon. When? November 12 December: Cold Moon Nights are long and dark and winter's grip tightens, hence this Moon's name. With Christmas just a few weeks away, it's also referred to as Moon before Yule and Long Nights Moon. When? December 12 Total lunar eclipses Space fans will remember that a total lunar eclipse graced our skies on January 21. In total the phenomenon - which was also a full moon and a supermoon - lasted five hours, 11 minutes and 33 seconds, with its maximum totality peaking at 5.12am. The celestial spectacle, otherwise known as a 'blood moon', occurs when the moon moves into the Earth's shadow. At the distance of the moon this shadow appears like the bull's eye at the centre of a dartboard. The umbral shadow slowly creeps across the moon's disc until it engulfs it completely. You might think the moon would disappear from view at this point but this is typically not the case. The Earth's atmosphere acts like a lens, refracting or bending the Sun's red light to infill the otherwise dark umbra. This results in the moon's usual bright white hue transforming into a deep blood orange. July 2018 saw the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting from 8.49pm to 10.13pm in London. Making the phenomenon even more spectacular, Mars was at its closest point to Earth since 2003, meaning the Red Planet was close to maximum brightness. Once in a blue moon Does this well-known phrase have anything to do with the moon? Well, yes it does. We use it to refer to something happening very rarely and a blue moon is a rare occurrence. It's the name given to a second full moon that occurs in a single calendar month and this typically occurs only once every two to three years. There's lots of other moons, too - how many do you know? Full moon: We all know what these are. They come around every month and light up the night at night. Harvest moon: The full moon closest to the autumn equinox. Black moon: Most experts agree that this refers to the second new moon in a calendar month. The last black moon was at the start of October 2016 and the next one is expected in August 2019; the first of the month will be on the 1st and the second will fall on the 30th. Blood moon: Also known as a supermoon lunar eclipse. It's when the shadow of Earth casts a reddish glow on the moon, the result of a rare combination of an eclipse with the closest full moon of the year. There was one in the UK in January 2019, but the next one won't be until 2029. Strawberry moon: A rare event when there's a full moon on the same day as the summer solstice. It happened in June 2016 for the first time since 1967 when 17 hours of sunlight gave way to a bright moonlit sky. Despite the name, the moon does appear pink or red. The romantic label was coined by the Algonquin tribes of North America who believed June's full moon signalled the beginning of the strawberry picking season. What is a supermoon? Ever looked up at the night sky to see a full moon so close you could almost touch it? Well you've probably spotted a supermoon. The impressive sight happens when a full moon is at the point in its orbit that brings it closest to Earth. To us Earth-lings, it appears 30 per cent brighter and 14 per cent bigger to the naked eye. How a supermoon is generated Supermoon is not an astrological term though. It's scientific name is actually Perigee Full Moon, but supermoon is more catchy and is used by the media to describe our celestial neighbour when it gets up close. Astrologer Richard Nolle first came up with the term supermoon and he defined it as "… a new or full moon which occurs with the moon at or near (within 90 per cent of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit", according to earthsky.org. How many supermoons are there in 2019? The first full moon supermoon of 2019 appeared on January 21. Two more supermoons will take place on February 19 and March 21. The first of these supermoons was a total lunar eclipse, with the totality lasting 1 hour, 1 minute and 58 seconds in the UK. However, the peak of the eclipse was at 5:12am, which meant stargazers had to get up early to catch it. There will also be three new moon supermoons in 2019: one on August 1, one on August 31 and another on September 28. Unfortunately, stargazers may be unable to see these moons as new moons are generally obscured by the light of the sun. What do I look for? Head outside at sunset when the moon is closest to the horizon and marvel at its size. As well as being closer and brighter, the moon (clouds permitting) should also look orange and red in colour. Why? Well, as moonlight passes through the thicker section of the atmosphere, light particles at the red end of the spectrum don't scatter as easily as light at the blue end of the spectrum. So when the moon looks red, you're just looking at red light that wasn't scattered. As the moon gets higher in the sky, it returns to its normal white/yellow colour. Will the tides be larger? Yes. When full or new moons are especially close to Earth, it leads to higher tides. Tides are governed by the gravitational pull of the moon and, to a lesser extent, the sun. Because the sun and moon go through different alignments, this affects the size of the tides. Tell me more about the moon The moon is 4.6 billion years old and was formed between 30-50 million years after the solar system. It is smaller than Earth - about the same size as Pluto in fact. Its surface area is less than the surface area of Asia - about 14.6 million square miles according to space.com Gravity on the moon is only 1/6 of that found on Earth. The moon is not round, but is egg-shaped with the large end pointed towards Earth. It would take 135 days to drive by car to the moon at 70 mph (or nine years to walk). The moon has "moonquakes" caused by the gravitational pull of Earth. Experts believe the moon has a molten core, just like Earth. How was the Moon formed? How the Moon was formed Man on the Moon Only 12 people have ever walked on the moon and they were all American men, including (most famously) Neil Armstrong who was the first in 1969 on the Apollo II mission. The last time mankind sent someone to the moon was in 1972 when Gene Cernan visited on the Apollo 17 mission. Although Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, Buzz Aldrin was the first man to urinate there. While millions watched the moon landing on live television, Aldrin was forced to go in a tube fitted inside his space suit. Buzz Aldrin Jr. beside the U.S. flag after man reaches the Moon for the first time during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. Credit: AP When the astronauts took off their helmets after their moonwalk, they noticed a strong smell, which Armstrong described as "wet ashes in a fireplace" and Aldrin as "spent gunpowder". It was the smell of moon-dust brought in on their boots. The mineral, armalcolite, discovered during the first moon landing and later found at various locations on Earth, was named after the three Apollo 11 astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. An estimated 600 million people watched the Apollo 11 landing live on television, a world record until 750 million people watched the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. An estimated 600 million people watched the Apollo 11 landing live on television, a world record until 750 million people watched the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. How the Daily Telegraph reported Neil Armstrong's first steps on the Moon in 1969 One of President Nixon's speechwriters had prepared an address entitled: "In Event of Moon Disaster". It began: "Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay to rest in peace." If the launch from the Moon had failed, Houston was to close down communications and leave Armstrong and Aldrin to their death.
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| Interval training burns off more pounds than jogging or cycling Posted: 18 Feb 2019 12:41 PM PST ![Interval training burns off more pounds than jogging or cycling]( "Interval training burns off more pounds than jogging or cycling") For the current analysis, researchers examined data from 41 smaller studies that compared weight loss results after at least four weeks of either interval training or moderate intensity continuous training programs, such as jogging, cycling or walking at a steady pace. "Losing weight is not only about how many calories you burn during exercise, but also how your body reacts during the hours and days after exercise," said senior study author Paulo Gentil of the Federal University of Goias in Brazil.
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| US-backed Syria force demands IS jihadists surrender Posted: 18 Feb 2019 10:24 AM PST  Islamic State group jihadists defending their last scrap of territory in Syria have no choice but to surrender, a Kurdish-led force said on Monday, ahead of a victory declaration expected within days. The warning by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came as European nations reacted coolly to a US call to repatriate their nationals from Syria, which Germany said would be "extremely difficult". From an SDF position hundreds of metres (yards) away, an AFP reporter spotted people moving between white tents inside the last jihadist redoubt, including a woman clad in black and masked men.
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| No more A380s? Why Airbus' bet on 'superjumbo' jets failed Posted: 19 Feb 2019 03:50 AM PST ![No more A380s? Why Airbus' bet on 'superjumbo' jets failed]( "No more A380s? Why Airbus' bet on 'superjumbo' jets failed") It's official: Airbus will pull the plug on its A380 double-decker jet. The latest A380 is now expected to roll off the assembly line in 2021.
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| LA-based civil rights activist calls for arrest of Jussie Smollett, believes he lied about alleged attack Posted: 17 Feb 2019 02:35 PM PST  A Los Angeles-based civil rights activist called for the arrest of Jussie Smollett and says he believes the actor lied about being a victim of a hate crime.
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| Iran arrests 3 'terrorists' over suicide bomb attack Posted: 18 Feb 2019 03:47 AM PST  Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said Monday it has arrested three "terrorists" involved in last week's deadly suicide bomb attack on security forces in a region bordering Pakistan. "Safe houses in (the cities of) Saravan and Khash were identified and eliminated, and the terrorists based in them were arrested," the force said on its official Sepah news agency. The Guards said the three arrested had "produced, guided and supported" the vehicle used in Wednesday's suicide bombing.
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| Trump Demands End to Maduro Regime in Broad Attack on Socialism Posted: 18 Feb 2019 03:13 PM PST  "The twilight hour of socialism has arrived in our hemisphere and frankly in many, many places around the world," Trump said to an audience at Florida International University. Republicans have portrayed Democratic proposals to expand government-run health insurance programs and combat climate change as socialist, and Trump used Maduro's example in his State of the Union speech earlier this month to caution against the perils of socialism and the policies of U.S. liberals.
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| Alabama man awarded $151M in Ford Explorer rollover lawsuit Posted: 18 Feb 2019 08:36 AM PST ![Alabama man awarded $151M in Ford Explorer rollover lawsuit]( "Alabama man awarded $151M in Ford Explorer rollover lawsuit") Jury finds company failed to meet safety guidelines and destroyed testing data.
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| Trial over Delaware prison riot ends with no convictions Posted: 18 Feb 2019 01:04 PM PST ![Trial over Delaware prison riot ends with no convictions]( "Trial over Delaware prison riot ends with no convictions") WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The trial for four inmates charged with murder in a 2017 Delaware prison riot ended Monday with no convictions.
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| Legendary Fashion Designer Karl Lagerfeld Dies in Paris at 85 Posted: 19 Feb 2019 04:11 AM PST  The German creative director of fashion house Chanel died in Paris, according to French media reports
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