| Michael Anton is the most interesting man in the White House Posted: 16 Feb 2017 01:19 PM PST  At left are Michael Flynn and K.T. McFarland. WASHINGTON — Sitting in a small office in the West Wing last Friday, White House senior national security staffer Michael Anton lamented that he wants to remain behind the scenes.
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| Young man charged in shooting death of 11-year-old Chicago girl Posted: 15 Feb 2017 04:21 PM PST ![Young man charged in shooting death of 11-year-old Chicago girl]( "Young man charged in shooting death of 11-year-old Chicago girl") A 19-year-old Chicago man has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of an 11-year-old girl, one of three children fatally shot in the city in recent days, Chicago police said on Wednesday. Antwan Jones, 19, was charged after turning himself into police late on Tuesday, Chicago Police Department Commander Brendan Deenihan told a news conference on Wednesday. Takiya Holmes, 11, was shot in the head on Saturday evening while sitting in the back seat of a van outside the Parkway Gardens housing complex on the city's South Side.
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| The Latest: 2nd arrest in death of N.Korean leader's brother Posted: 15 Feb 2017 06:45 PM PST  KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Latest on the apparent assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half brother, Kim Jong Nam, at a Malaysian airport (all times local):
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| Zealandia Might Be The World's Smallest Continent, Not Austrailia Posted: 17 Feb 2017 04:11 AM PST  According to the Geological Society of America, the landmass is believed to have broken away from Gondwana 60-85 million years ago.
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| Undocumented mother seeks sanctuary in US church Posted: 16 Feb 2017 11:45 PM PST  Jeanette Vizguerra fled to the United States from Mexico with her family after her husband was kidnapped three times, once with a gun to his head. Now, nearly 20 years later, she is seeking refuge again, this time in a church to avoid being deported as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigrants living in the country illegally. Vizguerra, 47, and her three young children, who are US citizens, are living in the basement of Denver's First Unitarian Society Church, where she sought sanctuary late Tuesday, rightly suspecting that a stay of her deportation order would not be extended by a judge the following day.
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| Despite gov't claims, 'Dreamer' lawyers say gang ties false Posted: 16 Feb 2017 09:49 PM PST  SEATTLE (AP) — A Seattle area man detained by immigration agents despite his participation in a federal program to protect those brought to the U.S. illegally as children admitted to having gang ties, the U.S. Justice Department said in court documents filed Thursday.
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| Venezuela opposition parties fear election ban as Socialists dig in Posted: 17 Feb 2017 12:40 AM PST ![Venezuela opposition parties fear election ban as Socialists dig in]( "Venezuela opposition parties fear election ban as Socialists dig in") By Brian Ellsworth CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government is pushing forward with measures that could exclude some opposition political parties from future elections, potentially paving the way for the ruling Socialists to remain in power despite widespread anger over the country's collapsing economy. The Supreme Court, loyal to socialist president Nicolas Maduro, has ordered the main opposition parties to "renew" themselves through petition drives whose conditions are so strict that party leaders and even an election official described them as impossible to meet. Socialist Party officials scoff at the complaints.
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| The 2018 Jaguar XE S Makes 380 Horsepower, Is Out for 3 Series Blood Posted: 16 Feb 2017 12:43 PM PST  That's a 40-horsepower increase over the current XE 35t.
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| SpaceX's historic rocket launch Saturday could end in another dramatic landing Posted: 17 Feb 2017 12:15 PM PST  On Saturday, SpaceX is expected to make history by launching its first Falcon 9 rocket from historic launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The pad was originally used during NASA's Apollo era in the 1960s but was revamped to serve the space shuttle in the 1970s. SEE ALSO: SpaceX did something amazing over the weekend "Some of humanity's greatest adventures in orbit began at Launch Complex 39A," NASA said in a statement. "Astronauts lifted off from this pad six times between 1969 and 1972 to walk upon lunar soil." On Saturday, 39A will feel the flames of a rocket that represents a new generation of American spaceflight — one marked by private ambition and public partnerships — for the first time. A Falcon 9 rocket landing on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean in January 2017. Image: spacex If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9 will launch an uncrewed Dragon cargo ship loaded down with astronaut supplies and experiments on its way to the International Space Station at 10:01 a.m. ET. The launch is under a contract with NASA. But that's not all. Elon Musk's private spaceflight company will also attempt to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket back on land at Cape Canaveral, a feat they have pulled off twice before. This one will occur during daylight, which will make for a unique spectacle. You can watch the history-making launch and landing in the window below: SpaceX usually attempts to land its rockets on drone ships in either the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, far from shore. So far, the company has managed five of those drone ship landings. While these rocket landings look amazing, they're also out to serve an important purpose. SpaceX is testing the feasibility of reusing rocket stages instead of building new hardware for every launch. Traditionally, rocket stages are simply discarded in space after serving their purpose, but by reusing them, it could greatly reduce the cost of launching objects to orbit. A Dragon capsule attached to the International Space Station. Image: nasa If this launch is successful, it will be SpaceX's first from Cape Canaveral since one of the company's Falcon 9 rockets exploded during fueling before what should have been a routine test in September. That explosion occurred at a different one of SpaceX's launch pads, severely damaging it. Assuming the Dragon takes flight on time, it should reach the Space Station by around Monday. BONUS: SpaceX's most recent rocket landing looks so sci-fi in new photos
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| NATO’s Buildup In Black Sea Could Lead To Cold War, Russian Envoy Says Posted: 17 Feb 2017 03:16 AM PST  The comments came after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the 28-nation bloc would fortify its military presence in the Black Sea region.
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| Philippines' Duterte says anti-money laundering body to show his bank accounts Posted: 17 Feb 2017 07:06 AM PST ![Philippines' Duterte says anti-money laundering body to show his bank accounts]( "Philippines' Duterte says anti-money laundering body to show his bank accounts") Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday he had ordered the anti-money laundering council to make public his bank accounts, a day after one of his staunchest critics revived allegations of millions of dollars of hidden assets. At a private dinner with retired military and police officers in Baguio City, Duterte said he was proud to have been made an honorary member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 1967 and added that "I would shame the class" by any involvement in corruption. "I've ordered the anti-money laundering council and everybody to give information on what my worth is in this, in terms of pesos on this planet, so I will not shame you," the firebrand leader said.
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| Mom of 11-Year-Old Girl Killed by Stray Bullet to Accused Shooter: 'I Hope You Rot in Hell' Posted: 16 Feb 2017 11:05 AM PST  Naikeeia Williams vowed to be present for every court appearance of Antwan Jones, who was charged with first degree murder in the death of her daughter.
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| Colorado's 834 million dead trees threaten to worsen fires Posted: 15 Feb 2017 05:37 PM PST  DENVER (AP) — Colorado's beetle-infested forests are peppered with an estimated 834 million standing dead trees that threaten to worsen wildfires and degrade vital water supplies that flow from mountains, officials said Wednesday.
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| Indonesian accused of Kim half-brother's murder 'duped': officials Posted: 17 Feb 2017 09:01 AM PST  An Indonesian woman arrested over the assassination of the North Korean leader's half-brother was "duped" into believing that she was taking part in a TV prank show, officials said Friday. Siti Aishah is among three people detained over the Cold War-style killing of Kim Jong-Nam in a Malaysian airport on Monday that South Korea says was carried out by female agents armed with poison working for Pyongyang. Malaysian police say that Kim Jong-Nam, the estranged elder brother of Kim Jong-Un, was preparing to board a plane to Macau when he was jumped by two women who squirted some kind of liquid in his face.
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| Now I Get It: The role of the national security adviser Posted: 17 Feb 2017 05:25 AM PST  In the wake of Michael Flynn's resignation as President Trump's national security adviser and the coming announcement of his replacement, Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric takes a look at what that job entails and how some in history, from Henry Kissinger to Brent Scowcroft, have handled the role differently.
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| Dems see disparity in handling of Clinton, Russia inquiries Posted: 16 Feb 2017 12:39 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are criticizing the FBI over its refusal to discuss potential contacts between Russian officials and associates of President Donald Trump, saying the bureau's tight-lipped approach and its public disclosures about Hillary Clinton's emails during the fractious election campaign reflect a double standard.
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| Feds Investigating Fox News For Alleged Securities Laws Violations Posted: 15 Feb 2017 04:49 PM PST  The revelation came during a hearing in a $50 million sexual harassment suit against Roger Ailes filed by former Fox News personality Andrea Tantaros.
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| Heavy rains, flooding force evacuations in the Gaza Strip Posted: 16 Feb 2017 11:11 AM PST ![Heavy rains, flooding force evacuations in the Gaza Strip]( "Heavy rains, flooding force evacuations in the Gaza Strip") Heavy rains have caused flooding across the Gaza Strip, overwhelming the territory's beleaguered sewage system and forcing at least eight families to evacuate from their makeshift homes. Basma al-Bishawi said some residents used buckets to try to bail water from their homes "in vain" on Thursday, and that he pulled his own son from a river of sewage. The restrictions, and three wars between Israel and Hamas, have taken a heavy toll on Gaza's infrastructure.
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| Mexico hails big year for tourism in 2016 Posted: 15 Feb 2017 10:56 PM PST  Mexico enjoyed a banner year in 2016 for tourism, hitting "historic highs" in part due to a spike in the number of US travelers drawn in by the weakened peso, the government said Wednesday. A total of 35 million foreign visitors went to Mexico last year, up nine percent from 2015, the tourism ministry said. The government said the figures showed that the tourism sector was "one of the main driving forces" for the country's economy.
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| Venezuela pulls Spanish-language CNN from air for 'distorting truth' Posted: 15 Feb 2017 07:29 PM PST ![Venezuela pulls Spanish-language CNN from air for 'distorting truth']( "Venezuela pulls Spanish-language CNN from air for 'distorting truth'") By Girish Gupta and Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) - President Nicolas Maduro's government ordered the suspension of CNN's Spanish-language service from Venezuela's airwaves on Wednesday, accusing it of distorting the truth in coverage. U.S.-based 'CNN en Espanol' became unavailable on Venezuela's major cable providers minutes after a statement by telecommunications regulator Conatel announcing the suspension. The network had irked the socialist government with various reports, including one alleging passports and visas were being sold illegally at Venezuela's embassy in Iraq.
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| Scientists need your help to find the mysterious planet they suspect is lurking in our solar system Posted: 16 Feb 2017 01:24 PM PST  Calling all space fans: Astronomers want you to help them hunt for a large planet that might be lurking on the outskirts of our solar system. Scientists working with a number of institutions have created a website filled with data that will allow people to hunt for previously undiscovered objects circling the sun from beyond Neptune's orbit. SEE ALSO: Scientists want you to help them find planets in this database of stars The website, called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, asks people to look through flipbooks of images to try to find "failed stars," known as brown dwarfs, or even the elusive "Planet 9" — a theoretical planet thought to circle the sun from the reaches of the solar system. Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 should help add to the automated searches for these objects already underway. "Automated searches don't work well in some regions of the sky, like the plane of the Milky Way galaxy, because there are too many stars, which confuses the search algorithm," Berkeley scientist Aaron Meisner said in a statement. "Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 has the potential to unlock once-in-a-century discoveries, and it's exciting to think they could be spotted first by a citizen scientist," Meisner added. The new website uses processed data from NASA's WISE telescope to allow citizen scientists to see even the dimmest objects moving out there in the solar system. A diagram of where Planet 9 might be. Image: CALTECH/R. HURT (IPAC) For decades, scientists have wondered if there might be some kind of large object orbiting the sun past Pluto. Last year, however, astronomers Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin found indirect evidence that actually suggests this world exists. Brown and Batygin thinks the Neptune-sized world probably completes a full circuit of the sun every 15,000 years. The team of Caltech scientists think they have compelling evidence for the existence of the world because about six objects they studied in the Kuiper Belt — the icy mass of objects in Pluto's part of space — all seem to have orbits perturbed in the same way. "It's almost like having six hands on a clock all moving at different rates, and when you happen to look up, they're all in exactly the same place," Brown said in a statement in January 2016. "Basically it shouldn't happen randomly. So we thought something else must be shaping these orbits." Whether the planet is found or not, Backyard Worlds should help speed up the process in some way. The website will also help citizen scientists find any brown dwarfs that might be relatively close our sun. These "failed stars" are basically objects that are too big to be considered planets, but too small to be stars. "Brown dwarfs form like stars but evolve like planets, and the coldest ones are much like Jupiter," team member Jackie Faherty, said in a statement. "By using Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, the public can help us discover more of these strange rogue worlds." BONUS: Could massive solar 'superflares' help us find life on other planets?
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| China carfentanil ban a 'game-changer' for opioid epidemic Posted: 16 Feb 2017 10:30 AM PST  SHANGHAI (AP) — So deadly it's considered a terrorist threat, carfentanil has been legal in China— until now. Beijing is banning carfentanil and three similar drugs as of March 1, China's Ministry of Public Security said Thursday, closing a major regulatory loophole in the fight to end America's opioid epidemic.
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| Fast Food Manager Charged with Involuntary Manslaughter Over Bullied Teen Worker Who Killed Himself Posted: 15 Feb 2017 05:21 PM PST  Kenneth Suttner, 17, shot himself in the head a few days before Christmas after repeatedly being bullied by his boss and fellow students, cops said.
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| Girl, 7, Gets Letter From Google CEO Posted: 16 Feb 2017 10:10 AM PST  "Dear Google Boss," Chloe Bridgewater, who lives in Hereford, England, started her letter.
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| 34 civilians killed in bombing on Syria town: monitor Posted: 16 Feb 2017 09:48 AM PST  Turkish bombardment of an Islamic State group-held town in Syria has killed 34 civilians in one day, a monitor said Thursday, but Turkey's army said only "terrorists" died in the operation. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the dead in air strikes and shelling on the town of Al-Bab had killed 24 civilians -- including 11 children -- by Thursday morning. Renewed bombardment later in the day killed another ten civilians, among them six children, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
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| Washington court rules against florist in gay wedding case Posted: 16 Feb 2017 12:08 PM PST  OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a florist who refused to provide services for a same-sex wedding broke the state's antidiscrimination law, even though she claimed doing so would violate her religious beliefs.
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| Best Buy is running a killer President’s Day sale on the iPhone 7/7 Plus, HDTVs and more Posted: 17 Feb 2017 11:24 AM PST 
The holiday season might be over, but that doesn't mean we have to wait until the end of the year for more great sales. On Friday at midnight, Best Buy kicked off its annual President's Day sale, offering up dozens of deals on smartphones, TVs, computers, cameras, appliances and more. The sale lasts all weekend and the retailer says that quantities are limited, so don't delay if you see an interesting deal.
Rather than list all of the deals available in the sale, we've rounded up the very best that we could find and broke them down by category below. Whether you're looking for a cheap iPhone 7, an affordable 4K TV or a touchscreen laptop that won't break the bank, we've got you covered: Smartphones Televisions Computers There are plenty of other unlocked phones, printers, vacuum cleaners, headphones, routers, cases, external hard drives and more available on Best Buy's website, so be sure to check out the full sale there.
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| Damaged dam threatens Northern California towns Posted: 16 Feb 2017 07:10 AM PST ![Damaged dam threatens Northern California towns]( "Damaged dam threatens Northern California towns") Californians who were ordered to evacuate due to a threat from erosion at the tallest dam in the United States can now return home after state crews working around the clock reinforced a drainage channel that was weakened by heavy rain.
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| Trump says he will unveil overhauled immigration order next week Posted: 16 Feb 2017 01:57 PM PST ![Trump says he will unveil overhauled immigration order next week]( "Trump says he will unveil overhauled immigration order next week") U.S. President Donald Trump said he will issue a new version next week of his executive order banning citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries and all refugees from traveling to the United States. At a news conference on Thursday, Trump once again blasted federal courts that blocked the implementation of his travel ban. "We had a bad court, got a bad decision," Trump said of the judicial actions that temporarily stopped his immigration ban.
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| Yahoo notifies users of sophisticated breach methods Posted: 15 Feb 2017 10:46 PM PST  Yahoo said Wednesday it was notifying some users that hackers may have been able to use a maneuver to break into their accounts without stealing passwords. The notification indicates the investigation into the attacks are in the final stage, according to a source familiar with the matter, noting that messages had been sent to "a reasonably final list" of Yahoo users. A Yahoo spokesman said the company was notifying all potentially affected users and that it had "invalidated" the forged cookies.
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| 5 Fall Beauty Trends You Can Rock Right Now Posted: 16 Feb 2017 12:45 PM PST  Fall collections have just gone down the runway at New York Fashion Week. Why wait until the fall try to out the trends? Here are 5 Fall Beauty Trends you can rock right now!
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| The Latest: 12-year-old shot over weekend dies Posted: 15 Feb 2017 05:57 PM PST  CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on deadly violence in Chicago (all times local):
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| Russian Spy Ship Not A ‘Direct Threat,’ Pentagon Says Posted: 15 Feb 2017 09:51 PM PST  Viktor Leonov was spotted off the U.S. eastern coast soon after Donald Trump's national security adviser resigned amid security concerns over his communications with Russia.
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| Blair urges pro-EU Britons to 'rise up' against Brexit Posted: 17 Feb 2017 12:37 PM PST  Former British prime minister Tony Blair on Friday urged Britons who support the European Union to "rise up" and persuade Brexit voters to change their mind about leaving the bloc in a high-profile speech. "This is not the time for retreat, indifference or despair but the time to rise up in defence of what we believe," he said at an event organised by Open Britain, a campaign group lobbying for Britain to retain close ties with the EU. "We have to build a movement that will stretch across party lines," he said, announcing that he was creating an institute that would also develop arguments against Brexit and keep ties with the EU.
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| Thai police raid temple belonging to Buddhist sect Posted: 16 Feb 2017 06:56 PM PST  PATHUM THANI, Thailand (AP) — Thai police raided the head temple of a controversial Buddhist sect but failed to find and arrest the abbot, who faces criminal charges over accepting $40 million in embezzled money.
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| Apple's WWDC 2017 Kicks Off June 5: What to Expect Posted: 16 Feb 2017 07:52 AM PST  There's a remote chance we'll get a sneak peek of the iPhone 8, but you can definitely expect to see the software that will power Apple's 10th anniversary phone when the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicks off June 5. Apple CEO Tim Cook will kick off WWDC 2017 on June 5. This year's edition of WWDC will move out of San Francisco, where it's been held the last 14 year, and head down to San Jose, Calif., and the McEnery Convention Center.
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| Google Home just caught up with Amazon Echo in one key area Posted: 16 Feb 2017 05:32 PM PST 
While Google's Home is every bit as powerful and intelligent as Amazon's Echo on many fronts, there are a few areas where it doesn't quite stack up. On Thursday though, Google brought the Home one step closer to the Echo by adding shopping functionality to Google Assistant -- the AI that powers Google Home.
"Starting today, you can shop for your everyday essentials—from paper towels to vitamins," Google revealed in a blog post on Wednesday. You'll be able to order from participating Google Express retailers, including Costco, Whole Foods Market, Walgreens, PetSmart, Bed Bath & Beyond and more than 50 other national and locally available retailers [which you can see in the link above]." All you have to do to start shopping is say "Ok Google, how do I shop?" at which point Google Assistant will explain how the process works. You can also just jump straight into shopping by saying something like "Ok Google, order paper towels." Google Assistant will verify the command and order the product. Additionally, from now until April 30th, 2017, Google won't charge you for any service or membership fees. If you want to take advantage of this limited-time offer, head to the "More settings" section of the Google Home app, tap "Payments" and set your default credit card and shipping address. You can check out more detailed instructions on the set-up process on Google's support website. Google says that this is "just the beginning of what's possible for shopping with the Google Assistant." Purchases will be enabled in more apps and services "over the coming months."
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| Assad says Trump travel ban targets terrorists, not Syria's people Posted: 16 Feb 2017 12:51 AM PST ![Assad says Trump travel ban targets terrorists, not Syria's people]( "Assad says Trump travel ban targets terrorists, not Syria's people") Syria's President Bashar al-Assad said President Donald Trump's ban on Syrians entering the United States targeted terrorists, not the Syrian people, appearing to defend the logic of the measure in an interview broadcast on Thursday. Trump last month issued an executive order, since suspended by a U.S. district judge, that temporarily barred travelers from seven mostly Muslim countries including Syria, as well as imposing an indefinite ban on all Syrian refugees. It happened in Europe, mainly in Germany," Assad said in the interview with Europe 1 radio and TF1 television which was recorded on Tuesday in English.
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| How to Look Your Best No Matter How Old You Are: Get The No7 Offer Here Posted: 16 Feb 2017 11:43 AM PST  A dermatologist who helps women look their best is sharing her secrets.
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| The Ferrari 812 Superfast Is Maranello's Most Powerful Production Car Ever Posted: 17 Feb 2017 09:20 AM PST  With its naturally-aspirated V12 producing 789 horsepower, it's also the fastest, hence the name.
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| Judge: Bridge case complaint against Christie can proceed Posted: 16 Feb 2017 09:58 AM PST  HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey judge ruled for the second time that a criminal complaint against Gov. Chris Christie can go forward, saying Thursday there's probable cause to believe he knew lane closings at the George Washington Bridge in 2013 were more than just a routine traffic study.
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| Lincoln Ranks As Top President Posted: 17 Feb 2017 07:14 AM PST  Who's in the top five of all time? And who finished dead last?
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| NATO to boost naval presence in Black Sea Posted: 16 Feb 2017 11:41 AM PST  NATO will step up naval war games and surveillance in the Black Sea to complement its increased presence of land and air forces near a more assertive Russia, the alliance said Thursday. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the decision taken by alliance defence ministers in Brussels was not designed to be a provocation at a time of heightened tension with Russia, which annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. "We agreed on... an increased NATO naval presence in the Black Sea for enhanced training, exercises and situational awareness," Stoltenberg said at a press conference.
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| Nigeria’s struggling textile industry Posted: 16 Feb 2017 06:02 AM PST ![Nigeria's struggling textile industry]( "Nigeria's struggling textile industry") Talba Goni has been trying, without luck, to secure government funds or loans to restart a textile plant in Kaduna, the former industrial heartland in northern Nigeria, that he was running until it closed almost 15 years ago. President Muhammadu Buhari hopes to revive the once-flourishing textile and leather industries in northern Nigeria to end the country's dependence on oil exports and diversify Africa's biggest economy.
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| Police: 2 bodies found in Indiana are missing girls Posted: 15 Feb 2017 04:20 PM PST  DELPHI, Ind. (AP) — Two bodies found along a northern Indiana stream are those of two teenage girls who went missing Monday and their deaths are being investigated as homicides, authorities said on Wednesday.
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| Islamic State readies for close combat in alleyways of west Mosul Posted: 17 Feb 2017 05:57 AM PST ![Islamic State readies for close combat in alleyways of west Mosul]( "Islamic State readies for close combat in alleyways of west Mosul") By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants are developing a network of passageways and tunnels in the narrow alleys of west Mosul that will enable them to hide and fight among the civilian population when Iraqi forces launch an attack that is expected any day now. "They opened these holes and threatened us not to close them," one resident told Reuters by telephone, asking not to be identified by name or location because Islamic State executes anyone caught communicating with the outside world. The militants are essentially under siege in western Mosul, along with an estimated 650,000 civilians, after U.S.-backed forces surrounding the city dislodged them from the east in the first phase of an offensive that concluded four weeks ago.
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| AT&T's New Unlimited Plan Is Terrible Posted: 16 Feb 2017 04:26 PM PST  Every other carrier is updating their unlimited wireless plans these days, so why not AT&T? Following the lead of Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint, AT&T trotted out a new plan of its own that isn't so new — and unlikely to win over many fans.AT&T's unlimited data plan costs $100 a month for a single line, the most expensive of any unlimited option. Sprint's plan starts at $60 a month, which the carrier is currently discounting to $50; T-Mobile's and Verizon's unlimited plans cost $70 and $80 a month, respectively.
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| There’s a broken iPhone on eBay right now for $149,999, and here’s why Posted: 16 Feb 2017 02:56 PM PST 
Want to waste some money? There's an iPhone on eBay right now that will most certainly help you achieve that. It's an iPhone 4s, the glass on both its front and back are completely shattered, but — and this is apparently the thing that makes it worth its $149,999 asking price — the back panel has been replaced with a totally unlicensed one honoring the late Steve Jobs. The seller insists that any potential buyers "do research before purchase," so let's take their advice and figure out what in the hell is going on here.
The seller's description sheds very little light on why they believe this particular shattered iPhone is worth as much as a high-end sports car, but it's clear it all comes back to that fancy Steve Jobs tribute on the back. The seller boldly claims that the phone is "1 of only 56 phones made to honor the late Steve Jobs." 
The back panel of the iPhone reads "Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011" and replaces the official Apple logo with a version using Jobs' likeness as the cutout. That particular logo was designed by Jonathan Mak, a design student in Hong Kong who created it shortly after Jobs' death as a tribute to the tech guru. It quickly went viral and was ripped off for all kinds of unlicensed accessories, from phone cases to posters. The modified logo was also used by a company called Goldgenie, which has become fairly well known for producing absurdly expensive versions of the iPhone, Apple Watch, and other Apple devices. The company modifies them by adding lots of gold and sometimes gems, and often replaces parts of Apple's devices with gold plated versions. After Jobs passed away in 2011, Goldgenie decided to roll out a special edition iPhone 4s paying tribute to him. The phone had its rear panel replaced with a gold version using Mak's logo, and Goldgenie made only — wait for it — 56 of them. 
Unfortunately for the eBay seller in question, the phone in the listing is not one of these cherished tributes. Okay, so if it's not one of these limited edition phones, how did it end up with the Steve Jobs treatment? Like I said above, that altered logo made it to all corners of the grey market, and one iPhone replacement parts maker decided to use it to create replacement panels for the iPhone 4s. 
You could buy them (on eBay, ironically) for about $10 to $15, and countless were sold in the months following Jobs' death. What the seller is trying to claim is an extremely limited edition, gold-plated tribute iPhone is really just a busted iPhone 4s with a busted $10 grey market replacement panel on the back. Try not to sprain your wrist as you pull your credit card out at mach speed.
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| Almost 500 migrants smash through border fence into Spain Posted: 17 Feb 2017 05:47 AM PST  MADRID (AP) — Almost 500 migrants forced their way into Spanish territory in North Africa early Friday by breaking through gates in the 20-foot (6-meter) high fence that separates Morocco from Spain's Ceuta enclave.
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