| The #SchumerShutdown Hashtag Is Getting A Big Boost From Russian Bots Posted: 21 Jan 2018 07:33 PM PST  WASHINGTON ― As lawmakers wage a messaging war over who caused the government shutdown, Republicans and the White House are getting a big boost in their efforts to blame Democrats for the mess ― from the Russians.
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| Teen Says MSU Is Still Billing Her Family For Appointments Where Nassar Assaulted Her Posted: 22 Jan 2018 01:48 PM PST  The 95th witness to deliver an impact statement at the sentencing hearing for disgraced former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar said the school is still billing her family for appointments where she was allegedly sexually abused.
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| The Latest: EU slaps sanctions on 17 more North Koreans Posted: 22 Jan 2018 04:34 AM PST  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Latest on North Korea's participation in the Pyeongchang Olympics (all times local):
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| Serial Stowaway Charged Following Latest Arrest at O`Hare Airport Posted: 22 Jan 2018 05:43 AM PST  A 66-year-old woman, who has been arrested several times for sneaking onto planes without a ticket and even a passport, is back at it again. This time she made it from Chicago to London before she was caught.
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| Vermont Makes History By Legalizing Marijuana, But Its Law Comes With A Catch Posted: 22 Jan 2018 11:36 AM PST  For the first time, a U.S. state has legalized marijuana with the stroke of a pen, not a vote at the ballot box.
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| Service Dog Atlas Meets Pluto During Trip to Disney World Posted: 22 Jan 2018 07:31 AM PST  Atlas, a golden retriever, even has a stuffed Pluto toy at home.
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| Jeanette Epps is not the only astronaut NASA has removed from their planned flights Posted: 21 Jan 2018 12:59 PM PST  On Jan. 18, NASA announced that astronaut Jeanette Epps would not fly, as expected, to the International Space Station in June. The mission would have been historic, since she would have become the first African-American crewmember on the orbiting outpost. The space agency hasn't released any information about why Epps was benched from her planned mission, saying only that "these decisions are personnel matters for which NASA doesn't provide information," according to NASA spokesperson Brandi Dean. Epps will now work in the Astronaut Office at Johnson Space Center and await another possible flight assignment. Epps' removal from her planned flight isn't without historic precedent. SEE ALSO: Astronaut expected to be the 1st African-American Space Station crewmember won't fly in 2018 after all NASA has benched astronauts before flights many times in its decades as a federal agency, and for many different reasons. "Flight assignments have been changed often in the past at various stages of training for a variety of reasons," Dean said via email. Specifically, quite a few astronauts have been removed from their missions for health reasons. NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps.Image: NASANASA's Ken Mattingly was pulled from the Apollo 13 crew just a few days before their scheduled launch because he was exposed to German measles. From the ground, Mattingly was part of the team that helped bring back the Apollo 13 crew to Earth after an oxygen tank exploded, putting the lives of the crew in serious danger and forcing them to abandon their planned moon landing. Mattingly still earned a place in cinematic history, since he was portrayed by actor Gary Sinise in the movie Apollo 13. "Long before Jeanette Epps was pulled from her upcoming space station expedition, astronauts such as Ken Mattingly in 1970 and Don Thomas in 2002 were reassigned due to medical issues, while Mark Lee was pulled from a 2001 space station assembly shuttle mission for reasons NASA never disclosed," space historian and editor of collectSPACE.com Robert Pearlman said in an interview. "To their crewmates' credit, despite the interruptions, the missions went on as planned (or in the case of Apollo 13, went awry but at no fault of Mattingly's replacement, Jack Swigert)." NASA also replaced Jeff Ashby in 1997 due to an illness in his family, and other astronauts have been removed due to other medical or personal issues. "NASA invests a lot of time, effort and money in training their astronaut crews, and stresses teamwork throughout, so the decision to remove an astronaut from a flight is never taken lightly," Pearlman said. Epps's 2018 mission was announced in 2017 and it immediately went viral. News organizations profiled Epps and wrote about her expected upcoming flight, making the news of her reassignment all the more surprising. She has not yet flown to space. Epps was chosen as part of NASA's 2009 astronaut class as one of 14 candidates. Her path to NASA is different from many other astronauts, however. Epps started off as a NASA fellow and then worked at Ford Motor Company before spending seven years at the Central Intelligence Agency. Epps was inspired to become an astronaut after watching the first class of women become NASA astronauts decades ago. "It was about 1980, I was nine years old. My brother came home and he looked at my grades and my twin sisters' grades and he said, 'You know, you guys can probably become aerospace engineers or even astronauts,'" Epps said in a NASA video. "And this was at the time that Sally Ride [the first American woman to fly in space] and a group of women were selected to become astronauts — the first time in history. So, he made that comment and I said, 'Wow, that would be so cool.'" WATCH: Here's how Virgin's space program is different than SpaceX
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| Taliban lays claim to deadly attack on Kabul hotel Posted: 21 Jan 2018 11:20 AM PST ![Taliban lays claim to deadly attack on Kabul hotel]( "Taliban lays claim to deadly attack on Kabul hotel") Taliban militants who killed at least 22 people at a luxury Kabul hotel went from room to room searching for foreigners, survivors and a security source said Monday as more details of the victims emerged. Insurgents armed with Kalashnikovs and suicide vests attacked the landmark Intercontinental Hotel overlooking the Afghan capital late Saturday in an assault that lasted more than 12 hours and prompted questions over how the attackers breached security. Officials have said that at least 14 foreigners were killed.
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| Mick Mulvaney, Supporter Of 2013 Government Shutdown, Blames Obama For That One Posted: 21 Jan 2018 07:30 AM PST  White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Sunday the current government shutdown was different than the one that occurred in 2013 because then-President Barack Obama wanted a closure to hurt Republicans. "I will look you in the eye and tell you President Obama wanted that shutdown.
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| Pope Francis Compares Gossiping Nuns To Terrorists Posted: 21 Jan 2018 10:06 PM PST  Pope Francis compared gossiping nuns to terrorists during his latest South American tour stop in Lima on Sunday.
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| Philippine volcano rains ash, violent eruption feared Posted: 22 Jan 2018 12:59 AM PST  A giant mushroom-shaped cloud shot up from the Philippines' most active volcano on Monday, turning day into night as it rained ash on communities where tens of thousands have fled after warnings of an impending eruption. "Hazardous eruption imminent," the state volcanology agency concluded in its latest bulletin, saying Mayon volcano could blow up within days after two weeks of activity. Fine ash and sand fell on Legazpi, a city of about 200,000 people, and nearby areas after the midday explosion turned the area into virtual nighttime, forcing motorists to switch on their lights and use windscreen wipers, an AFP video stringer said.
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| Leaders to meet with white separatist town official in Maine Posted: 21 Jan 2018 10:44 AM PST ![Leaders to meet with white separatist town official in Maine]( "Leaders to meet with white separatist town official in Maine") PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Leaders in a Maine town said Sunday they will meet with their town manager, who has come under fire for espousing white separatist views.
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| Women's March Activists Rally In Las Vegas, Vow To Bring Their 'Power To The Polls' Posted: 21 Jan 2018 10:50 AM PST  Women's March activists gathered in Las Vegas on Sunday to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the largest single-day protest in U.S. history and to launch a nationwide political action tour.
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| The Latest: France tells UN that Syria is at 'a crossroads' Posted: 22 Jan 2018 01:16 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — The latest on developments in Syria and Turkey's offensive on the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Afrin (all times local):
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| Underdog Eagles overpower Vikings to win NFC crown Posted: 21 Jan 2018 06:37 PM PST  Nick Foles tossed three touchdown passes, and the Philadelphia Eaglesscored 38 unanswered points as they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 in the NFC Championship on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. LeGarrette Blount rushed for a touchdown, the Philadelphia defense forced two turnovers, and the Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when they lost to the New England Patriots.
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| Young Mother Becomes 4th Member of Montecito Family Found Dead in Mudslides Posted: 21 Jan 2018 05:39 AM PST  The discovery of 28-year-old Faviola Benitez Calderon puts the death toll at 21, with two still missing.
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| China's top paper says U.S. forcing China to accelerate South China Sea deployments Posted: 21 Jan 2018 05:59 PM PST ![China's top paper says U.S. forcing China to accelerate South China Sea deployments]( "China's top paper says U.S. forcing China to accelerate South China Sea deployments") China's top newspaper, decrying Washington as a trouble-maker, said on Monday U.S. moves in the South China Sea like last week's freedom of navigation operation will only cause China to strengthen its deployments in the disputed waterway. China's foreign ministry said the USS Hopper, a destroyer, came within 12 nautical miles of Huangyan island, which is better known as the Scarborough Shoal and is subject to a rival claim by the Philippines, a historic ally of the United States. It was the latest U.S. naval operation challenging extensive Chinese claims in the South China Sea and came even as President Donald Trump's administration seeks Chinese cooperation in dealing with North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.
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| 2 IEDs Explode At Florida Mall Posted: 21 Jan 2018 11:35 PM PST  Two improvised explosive devices detonated at a mall in central Florida on Sunday, authorities said.
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| Lindsey Graham Slams Trump Aide, Says White House Staff Making Negotiations ‘Difficult’ Posted: 21 Jan 2018 04:21 PM PST  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday blasted White House staff for undercutting efforts to craft a deal on immigration and end the ongoing government shutdown.
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| Oil slick off China coast trebles in size: official Posted: 21 Jan 2018 10:01 PM PST  The spill from a sunken Iranian tanker off China's east coast has more than trebled in size, just over a week after the ship sank in a ball of flames. Authorities spotted three oil slicks with a total surface area of 332 square kilometres (128 square miles), compared to 101 square kilometres reported on Wednesday, the State Oceanic Administration said in a statement late Sunday. The Sanchi, which was carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil from Iran, collided with Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter the CF Crystal in early January, setting off a desperate race by authorities to search for survivors and stave off a massive environmental catastrophe.
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| Turkish troops enter Kurdish enclave in northern Syria Posted: 21 Jan 2018 10:35 AM PST  HASSA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish troops and Syrian opposition forces attacked a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria on Sunday in their bid to oust from the area a U.S.-allied Kurdish militia, which responded with a hail of rockets on Turkish towns killing at least one refugee.
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| Bipartisan Group Of Senators Push For Deal To End Government Shutdown Posted: 21 Jan 2018 03:07 PM PST  WASHINGTON ― A bipartisan group of centrist senators met Sunday to work out a potential compromise that would fund the government until Feb. 8, contingent on a promise to hold a vote on an immigration bill before then.
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| Private Investigators Say Several People Murdered Canadian Billionaire Couple Barry and Honey Sherman Posted: 21 Jan 2018 10:20 PM PST  The suggestion contradicts earlier theories that their deaths were a result of a murder-suicide
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| Rescue Crews in Colorado Save Deer Trapped in Frozen Reservoir Posted: 22 Jan 2018 07:46 AM PST  The first responders had to cut a path in the ice to get to the deer.
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| Paul Ryan Collected $500,000 In Koch Contributions Days After House Passed Tax Law Posted: 20 Jan 2018 06:23 PM PST  Just days after the House passed its version of the federal tax law slashing corporate tax rates, House Speaker Paul Ryan collected nearly $500,000 in campaign contributions from billionaire energy mogul Charles Koch and his wife, according to a recent campaign donor report.
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| Bishop tells Russians not to vote for Putin in rare church dissent Posted: 22 Jan 2018 05:14 AM PST  A Russian Orthodox bishop has advised the faithful not to vote for Vladimir Putin when he stands for re-election in March, a nearly unheard of occurrence in the loyal church. The angry statement marked the first time an acting bishop has spoken against supporting the current president, according to the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, but it was motivated by Mr Putin's perceived impiety rather than political differences. Bishop Yevtikhy Kurochkin of the epiphany cathedral in the Siberian city of Ishim wrote on his page on VK, Russia's most popular social network, that he could no longer follow his "desire to vote for Putin" following "blasphemous" remarks by the president. "'If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is your darkness!' are the words of Christ," Mr Kurochkin wrote. "And will I go against Christ to vote for darkness or advise anyone to do this? No, no and no!" Bishop Yevtikhy Kurochkin The bishop was angered by comments in a state television film about Valaam, an island of monasteries and churches in Lake Ladoga where the president has a holiday home. Mr Putin had argued that the Soviet regime had "adapted" Christian ideas for its communist ideology, including in its mummification of Vladimir Lenin, whose body remains on display on Red Square. "They put Lenin in the mausoleum. How does this differ from the relics of saints for Orthodox believers or Christians in general?" Mr Putin said. "When they tell me no, there is no such tradition in Christianity, how is there not? Go and look in Athens, there are the relics of saints there, and we have the relics of saints here too." While the Russian Orthodox church has been growing increasingly influential in recent years, it has usually been supportive of the ruling regime. This goes back to a tradition of loyalty in tsarist times, when the official ideology was "Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality". Mr Putin submerges himself in an icy lake as part of a popular Orthodox ritual on Thursday Credit: Alexei Druzhinin/AFP Photo/Sputnik Mr Putin has promoted conservative values during his 18 years in power and frequently appears at religious events. On Thursday, he was photographed taking a dip in an icy lake as part of an Orthodox ritual observed by many Russians. Also on Monday, a court shut down the foundation of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has sought to challenge Mr Putin for the presidency but was barred from the race. He has called for protests around Russia on Sunday. Mr Navalny has used the foundation to pay campaign workers and organise rallies. The authorities "want to transform our finely tuned electoral machine into a chaos of volunteers" by banning the foundation, Mr Navalny told The Telegraph in an interview last week. He said his campaign would devise other "partisan methods" to continue its work.
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| Trump on Twitter (Jan 22) - Democrats Posted: 22 Jan 2018 09:44 AM PST ![Trump on Twitter (Jan 22) - Democrats]( "Trump on Twitter (Jan 22) - Democrats") The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - The Democrats are turning down services and security for citizens in favor of services and security for non-citizens. Not good! [0807 EST] - Democrats have shut down our government in the interests of their far left base. They don't want to do it but are powerless! [0815 EST] - End the Democrats Obstruction! (http://bit. ...
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| Jamaica declares emergency over parts of island as gun crime soars Posted: 20 Jan 2018 08:49 PM PST ![Jamaica declares emergency over parts of island as gun crime soars]( "Jamaica declares emergency over parts of island as gun crime soars") Jamaica has declared a state of emergency in the island's second city Montego Bay, where authorities are battling to stem a wave of killings. Tourists have been urged to remain in their resorts following the declaration by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Thursday, resulting in the deployment of thousands of members of the military and police in the city of 200,000, home to some of the biggest and most luxurious resorts on the island. The move came days after the United States upgraded its travel advisory to its citizens.
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| Away from the adoring crowds, an elusive George Weah is leading Liberia into the unknown Posted: 21 Jan 2018 08:24 AM PST  As the morning sun beat down on a small training stadium in Monrovia,the capital of Liberia, a steady trickle of black SUVs with tinted windows appeared in the heavy humid heat, meandering between the stands and the pitch before coming to a halt in precision formation. George Weah, the former World Footballer of the Year and president-elect, had already alighted in his bright red football kit. Then out stepped his team, the Weah All Stars, streaming onto the pitch to play their final game before the former AC Milan star's long-awaited inauguration. The invite-only match against the Armed Forces of Liberia, packed with diplomatic corp and press, was a relatively muted affair in comparison to the campaign trail, which attract the kinds of die-hard supporters who propelled the country's biggest star to power. Standing outside the gates of the ground, clinging to a Liberian flag, a ticketless Benjamin Karr, in his 20s, gave a taste of the kind of adoration and hope that has propped up the former footballer so far. "He's going to bring healthcare, good education and infrastructure and development and we need it to come for our youth to work. He will do that because he loves the country and he loves the people," he told The Telegraph. On the streets of the capital, Liberia is still in thrall of its superstar president-elect, voted in three weeks ago and due to finally be inaugurated on Monday in the first democratic transfer of power in the country since 1944. The party has continued since George Weah was elected president at the end of December Credit: THIERRY GOUEGNON/ REUTERS Flag-sellers still line the streets as optimism runs high and Weah's party's headquarters have been a riot of colour and noise, more akin to a festival than a political base, for months. But behind the jubilation that a national icon is taking over, there are reasons to be cautious: Weah, 51, faces a tanking economy, a fraught coalition tarnished by the country's dark history, and an increasingly sceptical press to whom he has given almost nothing away. For a man who has given his fair share of interviews since becoming the only African ever to have won the coveted Ballon d'Or football award and FIFA World Player of the Year, he has become surprisingly elusive. Journalists from around the world have arrived for the inauguration party and left with nothing - with the BBC, no less, among those to suffer abrupt cancellations from Weah's office. In rare but short comments to the gathering press pack before the game on Saturday, Weah remained tight-lipped: "I believe that with the help of the Liberian people I will be successful," he declared, before taking his place up front. Some believe his phobia of the media could well be a fear of making statements that he finds himself unable to deliver on, leading to unwanted repercussions at home. George Weah faces trouble with his coalition, the economy and his political inexperince Credit: THIERRY GOUEGNON/ REUTERS He is inheriting an economy that has suffered from shocks caused by a slump in global iron ore and rubber prices as well as the Ebola outbreak in 2014-15 which saw the death of over 4,000 Liberians. The Liberian dollar is depreciating rapidly in value against its US counterpart, which the country also uses, meaning life is getting increasingly expensive and the poorest are hardest hit. And this is where Weah's popularity is most concentrated. Supporters are convinced that he will bring jobs and reduce the cost of rice, the staple food, by half. Quite how he will bring about the desired changes is unclear. In The Telegraph's many failed attempts to pin down Weah for an interview, one source within his camp said: "We have a strategy and we have tactics, and one of our tactics is to tell no one our strategy." Another reason for Weah's elusiveness could be a lack of confidence in his own leadership abilities. Unlike Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a former World Bank economist and the first elected female head of state in Africa, who defeated Weah on two previous occasions before stepping down, he is not considered an intellectual. Nor is he a gifted orator, by his own admission, and close friends were surprised when he stated his intention to run for the presidency in 2005 - feeding the theory that he has been propelled to the top by others keen to profit from his poster-boy popularity is strong in certain camps. But perhaps the most immediate issue as Weah looks to name his cabinet on Monday, is the fragile coalition agreement that is unlikely to be a happy marriage. Weah's own Congress for Democratic Change is joined by vice president Jewel Howard-Taylor's National Patriotic Party, founded by her ex-husband Charles Taylor, who served as president from 1997 to 2003 after leading a rebellion against the government of Samuel Doe. Taylor is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence in HMP Frankland in County Durham for war crimes committed in Sierra Leone. No one has ever faced trial for the atrocities committed during Liberia's own civil war which ended in 2003, and reconciliation is a word on the lips of many. The Liberia People Democratic Party is the third partner in the coalition and headed by the former House of Representatives speaker, Alex Tyler, who is implicated in an ongoing bribery case involving British company Sable Mining. 15 curious things you didn't know about Liberia Whatever the outcome, Weah's presidency is an anomaly in Liberia's chequered history, not just because of his celebrity status. Politics in the country has traditionally been dominated by the minority Americo-Liberian elite who are descended from freed American slaves. Weah's humble beginnings combined with his native ancestry could not be further from the norm. "He represents those who are down the drain. He's their role model, and we have to let the people's voice be heard," one Monrovia resident Renee Murray told The Telegraph. Christian Grant, another one of the thousands of fanatical young Weah supporters, is also optimistic. "I think there will be a brand new Liberia and that's our dream," he said. "Things will improve and children will go to school. Job facility will flow. That's what we expect our president to do and we know that he will do more than that for us."
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| Ruth Bader Ginsburg Embraces ‘Saturday Night Live’ Impression Posted: 22 Jan 2018 12:31 PM PST  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg opens up about Kate McKinnon's 'Saturday Night Live' impression of her.
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| Turkish forces push into Syria, battle Kurdish militia Posted: 21 Jan 2018 11:45 AM PST ![Turkish forces push into Syria, battle Kurdish militia]( "Turkish forces push into Syria, battle Kurdish militia") By Dominic Evans AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - Turkey's army and rebel allies battled U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in Syria's Afrin province on Sunday, stepping up a two-day-old campaign against YPG fighters that has opened a new front in Syria's civil war. Amid U.S. calls for restraint, Turkish artillery pounded YPG positions, while rockets fired from inside Syria slammed into two Turkish border towns, wounding dozens, according to the local governor's office and a witness. Turkey began its push to clear YPG fighters from a northwestern enclave of Syria on Saturday when it launched artillery and air strikes against their positions in Afrin in what it called "Operation Olive Branch".
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| Pence delivers historic address to Israel's parliament Posted: 22 Jan 2018 06:47 AM PST  Vice president gets a standing ovation after saying the U.S. embassy will open in Jerusalem next year.
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| A Nurse Already Serving a Life Sentence Was Charged With Killing 97 More Patients Posted: 22 Jan 2018 06:03 AM PST  Niels Hoegel was convicted of two murders and two attempted murders in 2015
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| Photo of Donald Trump at his desk inspires epic Twitter thread of past presidents at work Posted: 21 Jan 2018 01:04 PM PST  The White House press team might want to ask for a mulligan on this one. One day into the U.S. government's first shutdown since 2013, the White House sent out a press blast featuring photos of Donald Trump at work. The message was simple: Look at our president working so hard to end this shutdown. SEE ALSO: Here's what kids think of Trump's first year in office It was a fine idea with only one problem. There's a photo of Trump sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office where it doesn't actually look like he's working. The desk is barren, save for a coaster, a sharpie, and a phone. And Trump, who is ostensibly using the phone in the photo, really doesn't look all that engaged. Really, the whole scene looks staged. Badly staged. Image: Official White House Photo by Joyce N. BoghosianIt's a bizarrely striking image. There's Trump, sitting at his completely empty desk with a phone in hand but pulled away from his face. He's staring into the camera, eyes narrowed, wearing a serious expression. "This is a man who's hard at work," we're supposed to think. Not everyone bought it, however. Dr. Honor Sachs, a historian and professor at Western Carolina University, was one of those people. She decided to take it further than a single, snarky tweet. And for that, we can be thankful. "Hey, all you People Who Know Desks," Dr. Sachs wrote, pointing to a tweet containing the above image. "Does this look like the desk of somebody who works?" Hey, all you People Who Know Desks: Does this look like the desk of somebody who works? #desktwitter #iknowyouareoutthere https://t.co/hrKMeN1ZAo — honor sachs (@drhonor) January 21, 2018 Roughly 10 hours later, presumably dissatisfied with the responses she'd gotten, Dr. Sachs took it upon herself to share an epic 100-year thread featuring photos of past presidents working at their desks. Not all of them are at the Resolute Desk, or in the Oval Office, but there is a noticeable difference in the amount of clutter in past presidential workspaces versus the present one. Here are a few highlights. Really though, you should go and check out the full thread. It's a fun ride through history. The desk thing is still bugging me. pic.twitter.com/CEY0xdJcpY — honor sachs (@drhonor) January 21, 2018 pic.twitter.com/k9Y29KrNLN — honor sachs (@drhonor) January 21, 2018 pic.twitter.com/ug62OJhJBZ — honor sachs (@drhonor) January 21, 2018 pic.twitter.com/LtZ6tkRTNL — honor sachs (@drhonor) January 21, 2018 None of this is to say Trump is playing hooky from work during the shutdown. He's surely doing something to keep busy. But his press shop might want to browse through photos of people — presidents or otherwise — actually at work before they stage another photo opp like this. WATCH: You'll need more than a diploma to work in cybersecurity
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| Venezuela condemns EU sanctions against seven officials Posted: 22 Jan 2018 08:53 AM PST  President Nicolas Maduro's government condemned European Union sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials Monday, accusing the bloc of subservience to the "supremacist and racist" US government. "The European Union once again offers irrefutable proof of its remarkable subordination to the supremacist and racist government of Donald Trump," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
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| Kabul hotel attack: 19 dead, including 14 foreigners, in overnight Taliban siege Posted: 21 Jan 2018 01:21 AM PST  At least 19 people were killed during a 13 hour siege after Taliban gunmen in army uniforms stormed a luxury Kabul hotel popular with Afghan officials and foreigners. Eyewitnesses described how the gunmen deliberately targeted foreigners as they rampaged through the six-floor Intercontinental Hotel. One Afghan man told the BBC that he was spared by militants who shouted "Where are the foreigners?" as they ran into the hotel's restaurant at around 9pm local time on Saturday night. At least 14 of the dead were believed to be foreign nationals, among them two Venezuelans and six Ukrainians. The gun battle ended on Sunday morning as Afghan special forces killed the last of the six gunmen, who were armed with grenades, automatic weapons and suicide vests. By 10am, Special Forces could be seen sweeping the roof of the hotel as firefighters attempted to extinguish a blaze which had ripped through the sixth floor. Thick clouds of black smoke could be seen pouring from the building, an imposing 1960s structure set on a hilltop. Afghan security personnel stand guard as black smoke rises from the Intercontinental Hotel after an attack in Kabul Credit: AP Photo/Rahmat Gul Some 150 desperate staff and guests managed to escape the building throughout the night, amid heavy gunfire and explosions. One witness told AFP that the hotel's security team fled "without a fight". Dramatic footage showed people clambering down from upper-floor balconies using bedsheets tied together. Telecoms executive Aziz Tayeb posted a desperate plea on Facebook from a hiding place behind a pillar as attackers sprayed guests and staff with bullets: "Pray for me. I may die." Mr Tayeb was at the hotel for a major IT conference set to take place yesterday. The Intercontinental hotel in Kabul is under siege from gunmen. Credit: Reuters Abdul Rahman Naseri, also at the hotel for the conference, described how he saw four gunmen dressed in army uniforms. "They were shouting in Pashto, 'Don't leave any of them alive, good or bad'. 'Shoot and kill them all,' one of them shouted," Mr Naseri said. "I ran to my room on the second floor. I opened the window and tried to get out using a tree but the branch broke and I fell to the ground. I hurt my back and broke a leg." The attackers are believed to have got into the hotel via the kitchen, and a worker in the restaurant said the men had sat down and ordered food, before opening fire. A man tries to escape from a balcony at Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel during an attack by gunmen Credit: Reuters "They were wearing very stylish clothes," the man, named as Haseeb, told Tolo News. "They came to me and asked for food. I served them the food and they thanked me and took their seats. Then they took out their weapons and started shooting the people." A senior security official said that the attackers had moved directly from the first floor to the fourth and fifth floors, suggesting the attack had been carefully prepared, possibly with inside help. An Afghan policeman keeps watch near the site of an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan. Credit: REUTERS "When the sixth floor caught fire this morning, my roommate told me, either burn or escape," said Mohammad Musa, who was hiding in his room on the top floor. "I got a bed sheet and tied it to the balcony. I tried to come down but I was heavy and my arms were not strong enough. I fell down and injured my shoulder and leg.""There were dozens of dead bodies lying around me." The Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul was previously targeted in 2011. Credit: Reuters Wahid Majroh, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, last night said 19 bodies had been brought into the city's hospitals, but a senior Afghan security official said the death toll was over 30 and might climb higher. At least 11 of the dead worked for private Afghan airline Kam Air, which on Sunday suspended domestic flights. It said a further 14 emloyees were still missing. A security personnel points his weapon near the Intercontinental Hotel after a deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Credit: Massoud Hossaini Also among the dead was Dr Abdullah Waheed Poyan, a well-respected academic who had worked for the Afghan diplomatic corps. Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danesh said a private company had taken over responsibility for security at the hotel three weeks ago and there would be an investigation into possible failings, just days after a US embassy warning of possible attacks on hotels in Kabul. Afghan security forces arrive the site of an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan. Credit: REUTERS The raid was the latest in a series of attacks that have underlined the city's vulnerability and the ability of militants to mount high-profile operations aimed at undermining confidence in the Western-backed government. The Taliban, which attacked the same hotel in 2011, claimed responsibility for the attack, its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
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| Trustee: MSU president should quit over sex assault scandal Posted: 20 Jan 2018 09:08 PM PST  DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan State University trustee on Saturday called for the university president to quit over the school's handling of the sexual assault scandal involving former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
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| Judi Dench Was Up For 'Leading Roll' SAG Award, And Twitter Rolled With It Posted: 22 Jan 2018 08:02 AM PST  A half-baked SAG Awards graphic on Sunday showed that Judi Dench of "Victoria & Abdul" was among the nominees for outstanding female actor in a "leading roll."
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| Major highway reopened as California mudslides toll climbs to 21 Posted: 21 Jan 2018 03:40 PM PST ![Major highway reopened as California mudslides toll climbs to 21]( "Major highway reopened as California mudslides toll climbs to 21") Torrential rains triggered the Jan. 9 mudslides, which injured dozens more people and destroyed or damaged hundreds of buildings around the affluent community of Montecito, 85 miles (137 km) northwest of Los Angeles. Cleanup crews had been working around the clock in 12-hour shifts, officials said, while ferry boats had been making commuter runs twice a day between Santa Barbara and Ventura to help residents trying to get to work. Search and rescue teams continued working with dogs on Sunday in Montecito to look for a two-year-old and a 17-year-old who are still missing, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said on Twitter.
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| Modi and Bibi Are Brothers in Arms Posted: 22 Jan 2018 10:26 AM PST  India and Israel won't let ideology get in the way of booming bilateral trade.
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| Neil deGrasse Tyson Has A Haunting Question About Bears Posted: 22 Jan 2018 12:56 AM PST  Neil deGrasse Tyson is known for using his Twitter account to tackle everything from urgent scientific issues to pop culture.
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| No, the Tax Bill Will Not Help Republicans Posted: 21 Jan 2018 05:15 PM PST  Republicans passed a bill over the objections of the American people that, in many cases, was designed to hurt their own constituents. Last month, weeks before signing into law the most sweeping changes to corporate and individual tax rates in decades, President Trump promised the tax bill would help Republicans politically. "I think people see that and they're seeing it more and more, and the more they learn about [the tax bill], the more popular it becomes," he told reporters.
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| The Populist President Goes To Davos Posted: 21 Jan 2018 10:05 AM PST  Against the backdrop of a paralyzed government at home, Donald Trump is planning to attend the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, this week, where he'll be the first American president to address the gathering since Bill Clinton spoke in 2000.
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| Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) Destroys Expectations, Stock Soars Posted: 22 Jan 2018 02:01 PM PST ![Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) Destroys Expectations, Stock Soars]( "Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) Destroys Expectations, Stock Soars") Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) stock catapulted 9 percent higher in after-hours trading on Monday after a blowout fourth-quarter earnings report that showed dramatically more subscriber additions than Wall Street expected. Netflix also surpassed the $100 billion valuation mark in after-hours trading.
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| Amazon to open first cashierless shop to public on Monday Posted: 21 Jan 2018 11:08 PM PST  Online giant Amazon on Monday plans to open a convenience store in Seattle where hungry customers will be able to grab sandwiches and go, without having to wait in line or use a checkout. The American group unveiled the concept for its cashierless "Amazon Go" shop just over a year ago, saying the 1,800 square feet (170 square meters) store would initially offer grocery products to its own employees before being opened to the public.
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