| President Trump will sign a funding bill to avert another government shutdown, but will also declare a national emergency to fund his desired border wall, according to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. In a statement, Sanders said Trump will sign the bill and “take other executive action—including a national emergency—to ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border.” “The president is once again delivering on his promise to build the wall, protect the border, and secure our great country,” Sanders wrote. Earlier, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Trump told him he intended to declare the national emergency. “And I’ve indicated to him that I’m going to support the national emergency declaration,” he added. A funding bill has to be signed before the government runs out of money at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, otherwise the government will again enter a shutdown—just weeks after the longest-ever shutdown ended in late January. The previous shutdown occurred over a dispute in border wall funding, with Trump demanding $5.7 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she might pursue a legal challenge to the declaration. Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) issued a joint statement saying: “Declaring a national emergency would be a lawless act, a gross abuse of the power of the presidency and a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that President Trump broke his core promise to have Mexico pay for his wall.” View this cheat in a browser to see this embedded tweet. |
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| Amazon announced Thursday that it has canceled plans to build a new, second headquarters in Queens, New York, following extensive pushback from local officials. “For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials who will be supportive over the long term,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City.” The company planned to create 25,000 jobs just across the river from Manhattan in exchange for almost $3 billion in incentives—a deal that was fiercely criticized as too generous by lawmakers. In recent weeks, the state senate nominated an Amazon critic to a board on which he had the power to possibly veto the deal, and city council members lambasted Amazon officials at local hearings. Amazon will continue with plans to build a second corporate campus in suburban Washington, D.C., but said it does not plan to look for a replacement for the Queens campus. View this cheat in a browser to see this embedded tweet. |
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| The American Civil Liberties Union joined other civil rights organizations in filing a federal lawsuit on Thursday challenging the Trump administration’s policy of requiring asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their claims are processed in the United States. “The Trump administration is forcibly returning asylum seekers to danger in Mexico,” said Judy Rabinovitz, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “The administration is breaking the law in order to deter asylum seekers from seeking safety in the United States.” The lawsuit contends that the policy, announced in December, violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Administrative Procedures Act, and international laws and treaties that obligate governments to not deport asylum seekers to countries where they may face danger. “This is no longer just a war on asylum seekers, it’s a war on our system of laws,” said Melissa Crow, a senior supervising attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center, which joined the ACLU in filing the suit. “This misguided policy deprives vulnerable individuals of humanitarian protections that have been on the books for decades and puts their lives in jeopardy.” |
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| The Chicago Police Department has identified two “persons of interest” in the alleged Jan. 29 attack on Empire star Jussie Smollett, according to a statement tweeted Thursday by spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. “Through s (sic) meticulous investigation, #ChicahoPolice (sic) detectives have identified the persons of interest in the area of the alleged attack of the Empire cast member,” Guglielmi wrote. “These individuals are not yet suspects but were in area of concern and are being questioned. Investigation continues.” The statement comes hours after Smollett—who claims he was attacked by two men who hurled racist and homophobic slurs at him—appeared on Good Morning America to condemn critics who doubted his account of the alleged crime. |
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| If your heart is cold and gray this Valentine’s Day, there’s a story of second-act romance that will put a rom-com meet-cute to shame. It started in the unlikeliest of places, a VIP Facebook group for players of Caesars Slots, a top social gaming app. Our leads? Donna, a widow from Ontario who had been married for 32 years, and Gary, recently single and living in Halifax. Donna made the first move, liking Gary’s posts and low-key commenting before sliding into his DMs: “Thanks for all the positive messages you post.” Clearly, the woman had game in more ways than one. Donna recalls, “It was the first time in my life to reach out to a guy. I never do that. It’s not in my personality. But I felt something. I thought he was the sweetest guy ever. And I felt like I wanted to get to know him.” The conversation spilled from Facebook messages to texts until after a year – a full year – they took the plunge into video chats, talking late into the night about music, politics, and Donna’s cat. After another year – two full calendar years after meeting on Facebook, Gary finally made his move, suggesting they meet. Donna was surprised, asking, “You’d come here? Halfway across the country? Just to meet me?” And Gary’s you-couldn’t-script-it-better-if-you-tried reply? “Honey, I’d fly halfway around the world to meet you!” Did you melt? We melted. And that was it. Gary was flying out to meet Donna for a two-week first date. There was only one rule: no expectations. They’d meet as friends and see where the time led them. Before the weeks were up, they’d planned a second trip. It was on this second trip, two years and one gaming app later, that Donna and Gary’s relationship took a slot-spin for the romantic. Donna’s heart was his: “I never thought I’d find love again. And then Gary found me.” But Gary is quick to contradict her, “I’m the lucky one.” He must be talking about love, since Donna has more virtual app coins than Gary does. Today, our OTP (One True Pair) Donna and Gary live together in Ontario, snuggling on the couch and still playing Caesars Slots. Now that’s what we call a jackpot. |
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| The Senate voted Thursday to confirm President Trump’s nominee for attorney general, William Barr. Barr—who previously served as attorney general under President H.W. Bush—faced vocal opposition from Democrats, who expressed concern that Barr had previously criticized an element of the Mueller probe. During his Senate confirmation hearings, Barr backed the legitimacy of Mueller’s investigation. “I believe it is in the best interest of everyone—the president, Congress, and, most importantly, the American people—that this matter be resolved by allowing the special counsel to complete his work,” he said, adding that he thinks it is “very important” that those results be shared with congress and the public. Barr will take the reins from acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, who has faced pushback in recent days for his combative attitude towards lawmakers and has been a vocal critic of the Mueller investigation. |
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| A jogger in Colorado managed to fend off and kill a mountain lion after the animal started biting and clawing at his face. The man, who hasn’t been identified, was jogging on a trail at the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space on Monday, officials said. The mountain lion attacked him from behind, lacerating his face, back, legs and arms. “The runner did everything he could to save his life... In the event of a lion attack, you need to do anything in your power to fight back, just as this gentleman did,” said Mark Leslie, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northeast regional manager. It’s not clear how the runner managed to kill the lion. His injuries are serious but not life-threatening. The good news is mountain lion attacks are very rare: Only 16 known attacks have happened in Colorado since 1990. “It is unfortunate that the lion’s hunting instincts were triggered by the runner,” said Ty Petersburg, area wildlife manager for the CPW in a statement. “This could have had a very different outcome.” |
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| Nine members of Louisiana State University’s Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity were arrested Thursday on allegations of horrific hazing that included urinating on pledges while they lay face down on a basketball court covered in broken glass. Pledges also allege that they had gasoline poured on them and were forced to submerge themselves in an ice machine wearing nothing but their underwear, according to newly released arrest warrants. Fraternity members are also accused of kicking pledges with steel-toe boots and attempting to burn them with cigarettes. DKE national—one of the oldest fraternities in the nation—announced the sudden closure of its LSU chapter last month. An LSU freshman died in 2017 during a hazing incident at the university. The arrest report for fraternity brother Cade Duckworth includes several of the most egregious alleged instances. A victim alleges that he was made to lay on a basketball court that had broken glass all over it. “The victim stated that another pledge was made to lie on the court next to him, face down while they were both sprayed with a hose, had milk crates thrown at them, and were urinated on,” the report says. Duckworth is being held on one count of second-degree battery, attempted second-degree battery, and false imprisonment— all felonies. |
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| The House of Commons has voted against the British government’s Brexit strategy by 303 votes to 258. Unlike some of her most humiliating defeats, the latest insult to Prime Minister Theresa May was only symbolic, but it may cause real damage to her negotiating position in Europe. May has spent the last few weeks trying to cobble together a stable majority who agree on what concessions must be granted by Brussels for the British Parliament to vote through her withdrawal agreement. Thursday’s defeat means May is in no position to return to Europe and tell negotiators that she can get any newly negotiated compromise deal through her own parliament. The next meaningful votes in Westminster are expected at the end of the month. |
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| Some Kansas lawmakers are backing a bill that labels same-sex marriages “parody marriages” and seeks to stop the state from recognizing them. The bill comes just months after voters elected the state’s first openly gay lawmakers, and less than two weeks after the introduction of a bill that would prohibit discrimination against LGBT individuals. The bill is very unlikely to get past the state’s Democratic Governor Laura Kelly, whose first act in office was to restore non-discrimination protections for LGBT state workers. However, the bills mark the reemergence of debate over same-sex marriage at a time when Democrats and some Republicans are pushing for non-discrimination legislation. The Kansas Constitution still prohibits same-sex marriage, but the Supreme Court has ruled that gay couples have the right to marry. “Their marriage probably doesn’t affect me... but in my opinion, they’re trying to force their beliefs on society,” said Rep. Randy Garber, a Republican and the bill’s lead sponsor. One of the bills describes sexual orientation as “mythology.” “I am very disappointed,” said Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Democrat who is the first lesbian to serve openly in the Kansas Legislature. “I’m not a myth.” |
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