Hundreds of migrants have been sleeping rough in freezing conditions in central B… . A migrant from Pakistan, center, talks with another while making tea on a fire in an abandoned warehouse where they took refuge in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Feb. 6, 2017.
Day: February 8, 2017
Trump speaks with Afghan leader, U.S. commander calls for more troops
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Afghan counterpart discussed security in a phone call on Thursday, officials said, hours after the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said thousands more troops were needed to break a stalemate with the Taliban. Trump and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also spoke about opportunities to strengthen ties, counterterrorism cooperation and economic development, the White House said in a statement.
Syrian man leads Pledge of Allegiance at citizenship event
Rohi Atassi was among 117 immigrants to become the newest American citizens during a Chicago naturalization ceremony, but the Syrian dentist stood out among his peers. The 29-year-old was unexpectedly asked to lead immigrants from 37 countries in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
NFL concussion hearing Wednesday to be aired live online
A federal judge in Philadelphia will live-stream a hearing Wednesday in the NFL concussion case so retired players can learn what’s ahead as the estimated $1 billion settlement rolls out this year. The NFL this week is moving the first $65 million in payments into trust funds that cover injury claims, baseline testing and education.
Federal judge refuses to lift order delaying Ohio executions
A federal judge has refused to lift his order delaying Ohio’s executions after declaring the state’s new lethal injection process unconstitutional. Magistrate Judge Michael Merz last month rejected Ohio’s use of a sedative used in problematic executions in Arizona and Ohio.
Dakota Access pipeline construction expected to get go-ahead
This Sept. 29, 2016, file photo, shows a section of the Dakota Access Pipeline under construction near the town of St. Anthony in Morton County, N.D. The Army has notified Congress Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, that it will allow the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, completing the four-state project to move North Dakota oil to Illinois.
New Civil Air Patrol chapter in Owensboro recruiting members
Recruiting efforts are underway for a Civil Air Patrol chapter. It’s a nonprofit group that helps the US Air Force during search and rescue missions.
Warren raking in millions in campaign donations
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is raking in millions in campaign donations as she looks ahead to a re-election bid next year. According to an Associated Press review of Warren’s latest campaign finance reports, the Massachusetts Democrat took in a hefty $5.9 million in campaign contributions from January 2015 through the end of 2016.
Glitz, Gowns and Politics at This Yeara s Oscars
Amid the highly charged atmosphere surrounding the Trump administration, the emphasis this year could be on what the winners say as they accept their awards. “The Oscars are always political,” Sasha Stone, the executive editor of Awards Daily, told ABC News.
Political scandal overshadows South Korea 2018 Olympic prep
One year before the Olympics, the country is in political disarray, and winte… . In this Friday, Feb. 3, 2017 photo, a sign of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games is seen in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Silenced on the Senate floor, Elizabeth Warren goes to Facebook Live
On Tuesday night, Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invoked ” Rule XIX ,” censuring Senator Elizabeth Warren for her attempt to read a letter critical of fellow senator and attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions. The section of the rule used says that “No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.”
Bias-crimes sentencing bill advances
LaGrange Republican Sen. Sue Glick’s effort doesn’t create a separate crime as some states do.
Republicans Tried to Suppress The Words of Coretta Scott King. Bad Idea.
Senate Republicans banded together Tuesday night to block Sen. Elizabeth Warren from reading a letter Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, wrote to oppose a judicial appointment for Sen. Jeff Sessions more than 30 years ago. But the move ignited a firestorm of resistance from Democrats, ensuring widespread attention to the letter itself.
Gardner: Voted for ed chief on merit
Cabinet pick for U.S. Department of Education secretary Betsy DeVos, a Republican campaign donor, garnered the votes of all but two U.S. Senate Republicans, including Cory Gardner of Colorado, when she was confirmed to her post on Tuesday. “Senator Gardner carefully considers whomever is nominated for a Cabinet position on their merits, and their merits alone,” said spokeswoman Megan Taylor.
Bipartisan US lawmakers urge Trump to sanction Venezuela
In this Nov. 14, 2016 file photo, a billboard along the highway near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, features an ant drawing and the Spanish slogan, “Freedom from bachaqueros.” Venezuelans call people who make a living illegally reselling food “bachaqueros,” after the leaf-cutter ants that haul food through the jungles.
Sen. Warren book on middle class coming in April
This book cover image released by Metropolitan Books shows, “This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America’s Middle Class,” by Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The book will be published on April 18. Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has written previous 10 books.
A Chinese Judge Is Calling Trump a ‘Bully’ and Schooling Him on What the Law Is About
A magazine featuring a front page story on Donald Trump sits on a magazine rack at a company office in Beijing on December 28, 2016. Donald Trump's attack on the U.S. judiciary is too much for many-even in authoritarian China, it seems.
This Is the Coretta Scott King Letter That Elizabeth Warren Was Prevented From Reading in the Senate
American civil rights campaigner, and widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King stands behind a podium covered in microphones at Peace-In-Vietnam Rally, Central Park, New York, April 27, 1968. over the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General after she quoted a letter written by Coretta Scott King in which King spoke out against Sessions' character, the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Warren had “impugned the motives and conduct of our colleague from Alabama,” referring to Sessions; the Republican-held Senate then voted 49 to 43 to uphold the objection that she had breached the rules of debate.
Court hearing looms on Trump travel ban
President Donald Trump’s order temporarily banning U.S. entry to people from seven Muslim-majority countries came under intense scrutiny on Tuesday from a federal appeals court that questioned whether the ban unfairly targeted people over their religion. During a more than hour-long oral argument, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pressed a government lawyer whether the Trump administration’s national security argument was backed by evidence that people from the seven countries posed a danger.
DeVos ekes out confirmation win as Pence casts historic vote
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos smiles during a swearing-in ceremony in the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House on Feb. 7, in Washington, D.C. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos smiles during a swearing-in ceremony in the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House on Feb. 7, in Washington, D.C. WASHINGTON – Charter school advocate Betsy DeVos won confirmation as U.S. Education secretary Tuesday by the slimmest of margins, pushed to approval by the historic tie-breaking vote of Vice President Mike Pence.
Our Opinion: No one forget
Donald Trump is president in part because many Americans disliked his predecessor’s habit of refusing to recognize the exceptional nature of our government and the American people. Too often, former President Barack Obama cited our nation’s challenges – and there are many – in equating us with other, much more deeply flawed countries.
Rosie O’Donnell Offers To Play Steve Bannon On ‘SNL,’ Social Media Goes Insane
Rosie O’Donnell is willing to follow in the impressive shoes of Melissa McCarthy and join the SNL cast as controversial Trump adviser Steve Bannon. Up until now, the role of Steve Bannon on SNL has been portrayed by cast member Mikey Day donning a Grim Reaper ensemble.