Corpus Christi

Kobe Bryant's helicopter crashed in foggy conditions considered so dangerous that the LAPD grounded all its flights

The NBA legend and eight others were flying in heavy fog before crashing into a hillside in Calabasas, California, at about 9:45 a.m. on Sunday.

‘Fox & Friends’ Does Everything It Can to Defend Trump From Bolton Book Claims

The morning after it was revealed that former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s forthcoming book claims Donald Trump tied military aid to Ukraine investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Trump’s favorite morning show Fox & Friends dutifully downplayed such claims, doing everything in its power to defend the president.As first reported Sunday by The New York Times, Bolton wrote that Trump told him in August that he wanted to keep the freeze on $391 million of congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine until the country’s officials agreed to investigate the Bidens. This contradicts a central element of Trump’s defense—that the holding up of the aid had nothing to do with the president’s partisan desire for Biden probes.With the president having already raged on Twitter overnight that he “NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens,” Fox & Friends’ curvy couch denizens and their guests went into full spin mode on Monday morning. Co-host Steve Doocy, who in September said it would be “off-the-rails wrong” if Trump said he’d give Ukraine money only if the country investigated Biden, sang a drastically different tune in light of the Bolton blockbuster. “But we heard him say in the transcript he wanted President Zelensky to look into the Bidens and what happened in 2016, so is this a big, big, big story?” Doocy wondered aloud.The timing of the Bolton manuscript leak—which came as the president’s counsel delivers its defense in the Senate impeachment trial—was also a major point of contention. After Doocy sarcastically said it’s “gotta be a coincidence” that this dropped before senators decide to allow additional witnesses, Fox News contributor Dan Bongino invoked a children’s toy from the ’80s to lash out at lead House impeachment manager Adam Schiff.“Everything is a coincidence,” the pro-Trump commentator exclaimed. “A whistleblower magically appears. A whistleblower, people from the NSC are working on Adam Schiff’s staff. What a coincidence. Adam Schiff is like the modern-day Teddy Ruxpin. You put a quarter in his back and he tells you a story. This is the next story. Now Bolton has the keys to the kingdom.”Co-host Brian Kilmeade, meanwhile, said the president’s big takeaway from this and the “Lev and Igor tapes” is that he “has to do a better job vetting his staff.” (Interestingly, before becoming Trump’s national security adviser, Bolton spent more than a decade as an on-air commentator for Fox News, often appearing on Kilmeade’s show.)Seth Meyers Exposes ‘Self-Serving Hypocrite’ Fox News Host Ainsley EarhardtLater on in the program, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham—who has yet to hold a press briefing—waved off the entire Bolton story, reiterating the president’s late-night Twitter defense before suggesting Bolton’s book is untrustworthy because it’s from “the same publisher that [James] Comey used.” (Simon & Schuster has also published several books by Trump himself.)With Bolton’s legal team indicating in a statement that they only provided the manuscript to the White House National Security Council for review of classified material, Fox & Friends also took aim at leakers within the Trump administration.“If John Bolton’s lawyers are telling the truth here and they just submitted it in and it’s leaked out, if that is indeed the case, more evidence that people within the administration are actually against the administration,” Kilmeade bemoaned. “And the other thing is, devastating timing because this thing was on the fast track to closing out without witnesses on Friday.”Fox News contributor Mike Huckabee, meanwhile, reiterated Kilmeade’s concern about those who are “disloyal” to Trump within his own administration. “That is dishonorable, it’s dishonest, it’s disgusting, and people like that shouldn’t be listened to,” he huffed.Kellyanne Conway Melts Down Under Grilling by Fox NewsRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

German Auschwitz prosecutor recalls powerful tales from Holocaust survivors

Of the hundreds of testimonies he heard from survivors of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, retired German prosecutor Gerhard Wiese says the one that touched him most was of a Jewish father who had tried but failed to save his twins from the gas chamber. The father had offered his children to Josef Mengele, the Nazi officer known as the Angel of Death for his inhumane genetic experiments focused on twins, hoping they stood a better chance of survival. "After this witness statement there was absolute silence in the room," said 91-year-old Wiese, as Germany and the world mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Sanders Goes After JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon in New Ad

(Bloomberg) -- Bernie Sanders goes after Jamie Dimon in a new campaign ad, labeling the JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive officer “the biggest corporate socialist in America today.”The jab continues criticism by the Vermont senator and presidential candidate after Dimon knocked socialism in an op-ed published last week in Time magazine as part of its coverage of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Are you kidding me?” a Sanders aide exclaims in the ad, which was posted on Twitter. The spot cites Dimon’s pay, including $31.5 million last year, and says JPMorgan received bailouts after the global financial crisis 12 years ago.Dimon, a 63-year-old billionaire, has previously said JPMorgan, which expanded during the crisis by acquiring collapsing rivals, didn’t need a bailout to survive at the time. In 2012, he said his firm temporarily accepted money from a Treasury Department program because “we were asked to” so weaker rivals could tap it without being singled out. (Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)This post is part of Campaign Update, our live coverage from the 2020 campaign trail.To contact the author of this story: Todd Shields in Washington at tshields3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Ros Krasny at rkrasny1@bloomberg.net, Magan SherzaiFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Georgia inmate who came close to execution in 2017 dies

A Georgia death row inmate whose planned execution was halted in September 2017 by the U.S. Supreme Court after his lawyers argued his death sentence was tainted by a juror's racial bias has died, according to the state Department of Corrections. Keith “Bo” Tharpe, 61, died of natural causes Friday, Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman Joan Heath confirmed in an email Sunday. In 1991, a jury convicted Tharpe of murder in the September 1990 slaying of his sister-in-law, Jacquelyn Freeman, and sentenced him to death.

Portuguese hacker says he is behind Angola corruption leaks

Lawyers for a Portuguese computer hacker said on Monday he was responsible for revealing the dealings of Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, a corruption scandal with fallout across Europe and Africa. The hacker, Rui Pinto, handed over a hard drive "containing all data related to the recent revelations concerning Ms. Isabel Dos Santos’s fortune" to a whistleblowing organisation in 2018, his lawyers said. The tycoon daughter of former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos now faces a slew of corruption allegations stretching across Angola's state oil and diamond industries and banks -- all of which she has denied in interviews from London.

Millions of locusts are swarming in Kenya. These striking photos show just how bad the outbreak is

Hundreds of millions of locusts are swarming into Kenya from neighboring Somalia and Ethiopia with unprecented size and destructive potential.

The coronavirus has reached Los Angeles, where the fourth person diagnosed in the US just arrived from China

The fourth person the US to be diagnosed with coronavirus just arrived in Los Angeles from Wuhan, China, where the virus originated.

Russia Is Determined to Buy Stealth Fighters, Bombers, Drones and Even a New Aircraft Carrier

The Russian armed forces have committed to a wide range of expensive acquisitions programs, in particular new ships and planes. The likely cost strains credulity.

Kobe Bryant was famous for using his Sikorsky S-76 private helicopter, a type that has a strong safety record

The S-76 was first developed in the 1970s and has developed a reputation for a strong safety record and reliability.

This Fox News poll on Trump and the economy is baffling

A Fox News poll released Sunday has some good news for President Trump, but if you combine it with the poll's bad news, it's not at all clear where Trump stands with the American public or how voters are feeling about the state of the union.On the positive side, 55 percent of voters said the economy is good or excellent, the highest number since 59 percent said they felt positive about the economy in January 2001 (two months before the start of the ugly 2001 recession). A 42 percent plurality of voters credit Trump and the Republicans for the economy, and Trump's job approval rating on the economy is a record 56 percent.The bad news? A 55 percent majority of voters say the way the economy works is unfair and 56 percent say they are dissatisfied with how things are going in the country, Fox News found. Trump's overall approval rating is 45 percent, with 54 percent disapproving, and he is underwater on all non-economy issues: guns (-9 percentage points), immigration (-15 points), foreign policy (-16 points), health care (-16 points), government spending (-18 points), race relations (-19 points), the environment (-22 points), even trade deals (-1 point).Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson sees the glass half full: "The president's job approval on the economy has consistently outpaced his overall job approval," and "a strong economy creates a good foundation for an incumbent seeking re-election, even if voters will also say things could always be even better or more fair." Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, whose firm conducted the Fox News poll with GOP pollster Daron Shaw, argued that Trump's approval on the economy "is tenuous ground on which to stake his re-election," because "outside the Republican base, voters think the economy under Trump doesn't work for most people."The poll was conducted Jan. 19-22 by Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Co. (R), surveying 1,005 randomly selected registered votes over the phone. The poll's overall margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.More stories from theweek.com Fox & Friends' Brian Kilmeade says the Bolton fallout should teach Trump to 'better vet his staff.' Bolton used to work for Fox. GOP senators reportedly 'blindsided' by Bolton revelations Trump and Rudy Giuliani slam Bolton, question his manhood after book excerpt report

Poland, Israel condemn resurgent anti-Semitism at Auschwitz commemoration

The presidents of Israel and Poland called on Monday for greater efforts to combat anti-Semitism as the world marked 75 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp amid concerns over a global resurgence of anti-Jewish prejudice. "Our duty is to fight anti-Semitism, racism and fascist nostalgia, those sick evils that... threaten to eat away at the foundations of our democracies," Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said at a venue near the former camp, which is now a museum. Polish President Andrzej Duda, who did not attend Israel's national Holocaust Memorial last Thursday because he was not allowed to speak, thanked Rivlin for his presence at Auschwitz.

Death Toll Rises in Turkey Quake as Erdogan Slams Social Media

(Bloomberg) -- A magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Turkey’s eastern Elazig province on Friday evening killed at least 31 people and injured hundreds. By Sunday, 45 people had been rescued from the rubble of collapsed buildings.A total of 76 buildings were destroyed and 645 heavily damaged, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD, said in a statement. As many as 20 of the 640 aftershocks since the first temblor had a magnitude greater than 4 on the Richter scale, according to the agency.Speaking on Sunday in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan targeted “provocative” social media posts about the earthquake. “Some messages are terrible, depraved,” he said, according to the Anadolu Agency. “For example, some question what the government has done about earthquakes in the past two decades.”The earthquake occurred at 8:55 p.m. local time on Friday at a depth of 6.75 kilometers (4.2 miles) on the East Anatolia Fault Line. Tremors were felt in many cities across the region.Prosecutors have launched an investigation into social media posts found to be “provocative,” Anadolu reported. Two people in Gaziantep province have been detained.Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, Environment & Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum and Health Minister Fahrettin Koca were in Elazig as of early Sunday to coordinate rescue efforts.Turkey is situated in a seismically active area and is among countries, including China and Iran, that can experience catastrophic earthquakes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In 1999, a 7.5-magnitude quake shook the western Marmara region killing thousands of people and damaging more than 300,000 buildings. The nation’s economy contracted 3.4% that year.To contact the reporters on this story: Cagan Koc in Istanbul at ckoc2@bloomberg.net;Taylan Bilgic in Istanbul at tbilgic2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, Lars Paulsson, Michael GunnFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Chinese Uighurs in Saudi face impossible choice

His eyes brimming with tears, a Uighur student in Saudi Arabia holds out his Chinese passport -- long past its expiry date and condemning him to an uncertain fate as the kingdom grows closer to Beijing. The Chinese mission in Saudi Arabia stopped renewing passports for the ethnic Muslim minority more than two years ago, in what campaigners call a pressure tactic exercised in many countries to force the Uighur diaspora to return home. Half a dozen Uighur families in Saudi Arabia who showed AFP their passports -- a few already expired and some approaching the date -- said they dread going back to China, where over a million Uighurs are believed to be held in internment camps.

Mexican march for peace swarmed by angry protesters

A four-day pilgrimage by family members of murdered or missing Mexicans culminated in a tense confrontation in the capital's main square Sunday as supporters of Mexico's president hurled insults at the families — including dozens of Mormons with dual U.S.-citizenship. Fervent followers of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador swarmed the Caravan for Truth, Justice and Peace as it neared the National Palace with the intention of leaving a letter for the president. There were nearly 35,000 homicides in Mexico last year — a record high for the country and a disappointing figure for López Obrador's first full year in office.

Fifth U.S. Case of Coronavirus Confirmed in Patient Who Traveled From Wuhan, China

Several new cases of the deadly coronavirus have been confirmed in the U.S., bringing the total infections to five as the situation in China, where the bug originated, grows increasingly dire.Health officials revealed Sunday morning that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that a person in Orange, County California, who had traveled from Wuhan, China, has the virus. They are listed in “good condition.” Within hours, authorities revealed two more cases: a student at Arizona State University who is “not severely ill” and a patient who reported he was not feeling well when he got off a plane at Los Angeles International Airport. “Everything worked as it should,” Dr. Sharon Balter of the L.A. County Department of Public Health. “The patient presented for care, the patient was immediately transported to a hospital, the patient has remained in the hospital.”Grim Scenes at Chinese Hospitals as Doctors Rush to Treat Deadly CoronavirusTwo previous U.S.-based cases—a woman in her 60s from Chicago and a man in his 30s from Washington state—have also been confirmed, but the CDC says the risk to Americans is low. “There is no evidence that person-to-person transmission has occurred in Orange County,” the CDC said in a statement Sunday. “The current risk of local transmission remains low.”All of the U.S. patients had traveled from Wuhan, the epicenter of the health crisis. That’s important to note because it means there have been no confirmed person-to-person transmissions inside the U.S.In each case, health officials will now need to trace the patient’s steps and identify anyone who had close contact with them so they can be monitored—and then isolated, as well, if they develop symptoms.The new virus—which originated in a market that traded live wild animals and likely passed in snake-to-human contact—has infected more than 2,000 people globally, according to Reuters.Health officials in Canada were tracking down passengers who flew with a man from Wuhan to Toronto via Guangzhou on a China Southern Airlines flight last Thursday after confirming his diagnosis—the first in Canada. China is struggling to contain its outbreak and warned Sunday that doctors there have determined the virus can be passed before the carrier shows symptoms. Ma Ziaowei, head of China’s National Health Commission, announced Sunday that the new virus’ incubation period is 10 to 14 days, and it is contagious during that time.That finding has not been publicly confirmed by U.S. or global health officials. If true, it would present a major complication for containment. For instance, in the U.S., those who had close contact with confirmed patients are not quarantined unless they have symptoms, under the belief that they are not contagious until then.China’s Coronavirus Keeps Spreading but the WHO Still Won’t Declare a Global EmergencyChinese authorities have locked down Wuhan and several other cities to stop the virus from galloping across the country, but the U.S. and other countries been given special dispensation to evacuate their citizens. A charter flight from Wuhan to San Francisco with diplomats and private citizens is scheduled for Tuesday, according to CNN. France and Russia have also made similar arrangements. Two new hospitals being built near Wuhan specifically to house those infected with the virus are expected to be completed in the coming week. The Chinese government has also dispatched hundreds of medical officials and military troops to help manage the crisis in the hardest hit areas of the country.As The Daily Beast reported, doctors and nurses are so overwhelmed by the explosion of patients, they are wearing diapers so they don’t have to take bathroom breaks. With supplies running low, they are fashioning anti-infection goggles out of spare materials.In a sign of the virus’ strength, the the death toll in China has climbed from 41 to 56 in just 24 hours. But no deaths have been yet reported in any of the 40 other countries where the virus has been confirmed. Still, Chinese communities across the world have taken precautions ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations this weekend, including the cancellation of the annual parade in Paris on Sunday. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said Sunday that she had no choice but to cancel the celebrations. “I have met with the Chinese community in Paris. They are very emotional and concerned, and they have decided to cancel the parade that was scheduled for this afternoon at Place de la Republique,” Hidalgo said Sunday. “They are really not in a mood to party now.” Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Taliban says it gunned down U.S. military plane in Afghanistan, killing all personnel onboard

The Taliban said it had shot down a U.S. military plane in the central Afghan province of Ghazni on Monday, killing all personnel onboard.

Google 'When did Kobe Bryant die' and it lists day of deadly crash as 'date of assassination'

A Google search for "When did Kobe Bryant die," lists Sunday as the former NBA star's "date of assassination" instead of "date of death."

GOP Senator, military veteran defends Trump's comments on soldiers' brain injuries

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a U.S. military veteran, stood by President Trump in wake of the backlash against the commander-in-chief's comments describing brain injuries suffered by U.S. troops after an Iranian missile attack on a base in Iraq earlier this month as "headaches" and "not very serious."CBS' Margaret Brennan asked Cotton during Sunday's edition of Face the Nation if Trump should apologize to the soldiers, 34 of whom it turned out suffered traumatic brain injuries. She pointed out that Veterans of Foreign Wars, a prominent U.S. veterans advocacy group, called on Trump to apologize for his "misguided" comments about potentially dangerous injuries, while also noting Cotton likely knew several people who suffered from similar injuries during his time in the military, which included deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.Cotton, though, argued Trump wasn't "dismissing" the soldiers' injuries, but simply "describing them." > NEW: @SenTomCotton defends @realdonaldtrump 's comments about soldiers impacted by the Iran strike, says Trump wasn't "dismissing" traumatic brain injuries by calling them "headaches" pic.twitter.com/HH8daFhsIv> > -- Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 26, 2020More stories from theweek.com Fox & Friends' Brian Kilmeade says the Bolton fallout should teach Trump to 'better vet his staff.' Bolton used to work for Fox. GOP senators reportedly 'blindsided' by Bolton revelations Trump and Rudy Giuliani slam Bolton, question his manhood after book excerpt report

France's Barracuda Attack Submarine Is Changing How Paris Views Military Power

It's just that good.

Paula White, Trump's spiritual adviser, calls for 'satanic pregnancies to miscarry'

Paula White, a controversial televangelist who joined the White House in an official capacity last year, is arguing that the content of a sermon she delivered on Jan. 5, which mentioned adversaries of President Trump and soon after advocated for divine forces to cause the miscarriage of babies in “satanic wombs,” was taken out of context.

The history of Auschwitz-Birkenau

Warsaw (Poland) (AFP) - The Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau is an enduring symbol of the Holocaust.

A new report indicates that the deadly Chinese coronavirus may not actually have originated at a wet market in Wuhan

Scientists found that 13 out of 41 cases were linked to the market, and the first reported case of the virus was also not linked to the market.

Prince Andrew called uncooperative in Jeffrey Epstein probe

Britain's Prince Andrew has provided “zero cooperation” to the American investigators who want to interview him about his dealings with the late millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a U.S. prosecutor said Monday. Speaking at a news conference outside Epstein's New York mansion, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Prince Andrew's lawyers and asked to interview him. “To date, Prince Andrew has provided zero cooperation,” said Berman, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan.

Public anger grows over coronavirus in Thailand, with eight cases of the illness

The health minister in Thailand, the country with the most confirmed cases outside China of the new coronavirus, called an emergency meeting on Sunday with the transport and tourism ministries amid rising public discontent over the government's handling of the illness. "We can control the situation and are confident in our ability to handle the crisis," Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters. The number of cases of the disease in Thailand rose on Sunday to eight.

Sen. Lindsey Graham's 'testimony' should convict Donald Trump in impeachment trial

Between what Sen. Graham said in 1999 and the evidence presented over the past few days, the case should be open and shut.

To Combat the Soviets, the U.S. Almost Built Its Own "Skyfall" Nuclear Powered Missile

The mistake was narrowly avoided.

Postal worker dies a week after being shot while delivering mail in Mississippi

The local community rallied around Ingold by hosting prayer vigils, dressing in purple and placing purple bows along her mail route.

CBS Polling Shows Iowa Caucus Race Tight and Fluid in Final Stretch

(Bloomberg) -- Bernie Sanders, with 26% support, and Joe Biden, with 25%, are at the top of the Democratic pack in Iowa but the race is tight and fluid heading into the final week of campaigning for the state’s first-in-the-nation caucus, CBS News said Sunday.In addition to hoping for a strong showing, candidates are in a battle for delegates, with Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren also in the hunt, according to results of the YouGov survey, which was conducted Jan. 16-23 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.Biden, the former vice president, could get a boost from his status as the second choice of those backing Amy Klobuchar, polling at 7%, if they switch to him on caucus night, CBS said.After months of candidate visits, events and television advertising only a little over a third of Iowa voters surveyed said they’ve “definitely” made up their minds. Sanders had the most solidly committed supporters, at 48%, the poll showed. That compared with Warren at 40% and Biden backers at just 27% committed. Warren picked up an endorsement Saturday from the Des Moines Register, the state’s largest newspaper.Biden scored high marks on the question of being prepared to be commander in chief, at 84% among Iowa Democrats. Sanders outpaces the field on the measure of being seen as someone who “fights for people like you.”(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)This post is part of Campaign Update, our live coverage from the 2020 campaign trail.To contact the author of this story: Ros Krasny in Washington at rkrasny1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Magan SherzaiFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Seven months detained: seven-year-old is longest-held child migrant in US

Maddie Hernandez and her father, Emerson, fled crime in Guatemala. After months, her parents says she has changedEmerson Hernandez and his daughter Maddie have withstood hunger and thirst.They’ve been dumped in a threatening border city in Mexico, a foreign country with nowhere to shelter. And, for seven months, they’ve been locked up at what critics call a “baby jail”.The father and daughter have weathered all of this just for a chance at asylum in the United States after they fled a home in Guatemala that’s now overrun with crime.“I don’t want my daughter to grow up in that environment of delinquency. I really am afraid that something could happen to her,” Emerson told the Guardian.Maddie has been detained the longest of any child currently held in family immigration detention across the country, her attorneys say. On 17 January, she turned seven years old at Berks county residential center, a controversial detention facility in Pennsylvania where she has spent roughly 8% of her life.Despite her lawyers exhausting the legal avenues that could get her out, the government won’t release her and Emerson together.A spokesperson for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), the agency detaining them, said, “ICE’s custodial determinations for Mr. Hernandez and Maddie have been based on the merits and factors of their individual cases and are in conformity with the law and current agency priorities, guidelines and legal mandates.”Emerson said Maddie has always been strong, but being confined for such a long time has changed her. She’s gone from an easy, smiley little girl to someone who has become violent and throws explosive temper tantrums, according to her parents and an attorney.“Her change was sudden,” Emerson said. “And she says to me, ‘When are we going to leave this place?’”The truth is no one knows. The Flores settlement, a landmark 1997 federal agreement that regulates child and family detention, made it the longstanding rule that kids and families should be released within 20 days. But there have been huge exceptions: Bridget Cambria, a lawyer representing Maddie, said the longest she was aware of a child being held through family detention was 707 days.Emerson and Maddie are desperate to see the rest of their family, Maddie’s mother, Madelin, and her newborn baby, who still hasn’t met his dad. Madelin traveled to the US with a visa and lives in New Jersey, but Maddie’s visa application was denied. She and Emerson made a more perilous journey north last spring, when they went a full day without stopping.“That day was hard for me,” Emerson remembered. “To see that my daughter said to me, ‘Papi, I’m thirsty, Papi, I want to eat,’ and I had nothing to give her.”Madelin said she came to the US because she thought her family would be reunited soon after. But Maddie and Emerson were swept into the Trump administration’s increasingly hardline immigration policies, and Madelin hasn’t seen them since.Last April, Emerson and Maddie finally made it to the US only to be turned back to Tijuana, Mexico, through the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), a Trump-era program that returns people across the border while they await US immigration court hearings.Suddenly, they were homeless in one of the world’s most dangerous cities.Emerson called Madelin to say there was no space for them at the local shelter. “I remember that he started to cry, and I did, too, because we didn’t know what to do,” she said.A US Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said around 57,000 people had been subject to MPP, and in October, Reuters found that 16,000 migrants under 18 had been sent to Mexico.At least 816 violent attacks against migrants under MPP have been reported, including 201 cases of children who were kidnapped or almost kidnapped, according to the not-for-profit Human Rights First.On days when Emerson and Maddie found housing with good Samaritans, she rarely went outside because the city was so dangerous.“Tijuana is not a very pretty place, it’s not a safe place,” Emerson said.After two months in Mexico, they got their opportunity to go in front of a US immigration judge in June. Emerson made the mistake of following advice he said an immigration official gave him. He told the judge that he had come to the US to give his daughter a better life, a line that completely discredited his case.There are immigration laws that protect asylum seekers. There aren’t immigration laws that protect devoted parents.The judge gave him two options: he could return to Mexico and, against all odds, continue to fight for the right to come to the US. Or – after all Emerson and Maddie had endured –they could return to Guatemala.Faced with an impossible choice, Emerson opted for the latter because at least if something happened to him at home, his family could look after his daughter and wife. But when he and Maddie boarded a plane, it didn’t land in Guatemala. Instead, they took a long trip deep into the country’s interior, to Berks county residential center in Leesport, Pennsylvania.The family immigration detention facility garnered national notoriety a few years ago after an employee admitted to sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman who was being held there. Critics have advocated for its closure, and reports of poor medical care and racism from employees have hamstrung the facility’s reputation.But it continues to operate, as it has since 2001.After Emerson and Maddie arrived at Berks, they met Cambria, the attorney who has helped to revive their asylum bid. When the government flew them to San Diego in July and tried to return them to Mexico again, Cambria quickly filed a federal lawsuit to bring them back to Berks, where they’ve remained ever since.That lawsuit could eventually set a major precedent as to whether children can legally be placed under MPP. A ruling in Maddie’s favor would mean other kids like her could sue the government, arguing they shouldn’t be sent to Mexico. (Ice’s spokesperson said the agency did not comment on pending litigation.)But Maddie didn’t come to the US to challenge immigration policy. She’s a kid who celebrated a Christmas and a birthday in detention, without her mom and little brother.“This little girl is not doing well psychologically, we’ll put it that way,” said Cambria. “She’s saying things that are scary. She’s very sad.”Ice has offered for Maddie to leave Berks, but without Emerson. This family separation is legally dubious, and Cambria said it was unprecedented in her experience representing immigrant families.Amy Maldonado, another of Maddie’s lawyers, said Ice could release both Maddie and Emerson at any time, and has done so for families in similar situations.Cambria said she doesn’t know why Ice is treating Emerson and Maddie differently from any other family at Berks. But the detention center is only for parents with children. If Maddie leaves and Emerson doesn’t, he’ll be sent away to another facility for adults or returned to Mexico.Maddie is so young that she thinks of everything she’s gone through as a vacation, and she keeps telling her parents she’s ready for the vacation to be over.“When I speak to her, she sometimes cries and says, ‘Mami, I want to leave already,’” Madelin said.“‘I want to leave already.’”

Pakistan police arrest Pashtun rights leader critical of military

A charismatic Pashtun rights leader who repeatedly accused the powerful military of abuse has been arrested in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, police said Monday. Manzoor Pashteen, chief of the Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM), appeared before a magistrate after being detained shortly after midnight, said police official Shiraz Khan. Khan said Pashteen would be transferred to another district where he is wanted on charges including sedition, hate speech, incitement against the state, and criminal conspiracy.

A Chinese official warned of a shortage of protective masks and suits amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak

Local governments have lauded the protective wear as a preventive measure, but there's been a tight strain on resources since the outbreak.

Movement to highlight missing Native women expands to males

Margaret Bitsue's days are filled with prayer: that her son has a clear mind and that he remembers home, a traditional Navajo hogan at the end of a dirt road where a faded yellow ribbon hanging from the cedar trees points to her agony. Bitsue hasn't seen or heard from Brandon Lee Sandoval, the youngest of her four children, in more than two years. The woman's words are soft but capture a room at a government center on the Navajo Nation where people are gathered to talk not about women and girls who have gone missing or been killed, but men and boys.

Military investigating video of Navy members shot through peephole

The Navy is reportedly investigating videos found on the website Pornhub that it believes show unsuspecting Navy service members through a peephole in a bathroom.

Warren Says She’s Ready to Fight After Des Moines Register Nod

(Bloomberg) -- The Des Moines Register endorsed progressive favorite Senator Elizabeth Warren a little more than a week before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3, saying the Massachusetts lawmaker would “push an unequal America in the right direction.” The influential newspaper in Iowa’s largest city revealed its pick for the first-in-the-nation nominating contest on its website Saturday evening."At this moment, when the very fabric of American life is at stake, Elizabeth Warren is the president this nation needs," the Register's editorial board said.The Register said that many of Warren’s ideas “are not radical. They are right.  They would improve life in America, and they are generally shared by the other Democratic candidates, who bring their own strengths to this race.” The candidate is “tough and compassionate,” the newspaper said.   ``Thank you, @DMRegister, for your endorsement! Iowans are ready to make big, structural change—and I’m going to fight my heart out for everyone in Iowa and across the country,’’ Warren said on Twitter. Fair Markets Warren, 70, is polling at 16.3% in Iowa. She’s trailing Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, and statistically tied for third pace with Pete Buttigieg, in the RealClearPolitics polling average of the state. In a New York Times Iowa poll released on Saturday, Warren’s standing had slipped recently. The newspaper said the second-term senator is ``a capitalist” but one that ``wants fair markets, with rules and accountability. She wants a government that works for people, not one corrupted by cash.” Warren, a former Harvard Law School professor, ``believes government should actively work to prevent and respond to abusive practices that jeopardize individuals and the country’s economy,’’ the Register’s editorial said.  The newspaper wrote at length about what it described as the pluses and minuses of other Democratic candidates contesting next month’s caucus. Biden, the former vice president, was said to lack Warren's specific expertise on income inequality issues. Biden was also said to represent ``incremental improvements on the Obama years'' rather than ``the bold agenda the times demand.''  Poor Predictor The newspaper said it had doubts about whether Sanders, who is not a member of the Democratic Party, could build the consensus needed to govern. The Vermont senator has also opposed trade agreements supported by Iowa's farmers, it noted. Buttigieg was said to offer ``refreshing, common-ground approaches unburdened by the constraints of Washington insider politics." But his eight-year tenure as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, ``hardly seems adequate preparation for leading this vast, diverse, divided country,'' the editorial board said.While coveted by candidates, the Des Moines Register’s endorsement has been a poor predictor of caucus-night performance. Since the Register started making recommendations in 1988, only three of its endorsed candidates went on to win the state’s caucuses: Republicans Bob Dole in 1988 and 1996 and George W. Bush in 2000, and Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.    (Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.) To contact the author of this story: Gregory Korte in Washington at gkorte@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Max Berley at mberley@bloomberg.net, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

US Army picks 6 to work on autoloader for extended-range cannon

You won't recognize many of these companies, as the Army departs from turning to big, traditional defense contractors to solve a field artillery problem on the battlefield.

China stiffens defences against epidemic as death toll hits 56

China expanded drastic travel restrictions Monday and prolonged a public holiday to contain an epidemic that has killed 56 people and infected nearly 2,000, as several countries prepared to evacuate their citizens from a quarantined city at the outbreak's epicentre. China has locked down the hard-hit province of Hubei in the country's centre, an unprecedented operation affecting tens of millions of people and intended to slow transmission of the respiratory virus. Its ability to spread appears to be "getting stronger" though it is "not as powerful as SARS", top Chinese health officials said at a press conference.

'They let him get away with murder': Dems tormented over how to stop Bernie

The party establishment is caught in a catch-22.

3rd woman accuses Michigan lawmaker of sexual harassment

A third woman in two weeks has publicly come forward with sexual harassment allegations against a Michigan state legislator, according to a published report Sunday. Melissa Osborn, who works as a regulatory affairs specialist for a trade group, told Crain's Detroit Business that Republican state Sen. Peter Lucido commented on her appearance and clothes while visually scanning her body and touching the region she described as “my lower back/upper butt.” Osborn, 40, said it happened at the Michigan Credit Union League's annual government affairs conference in May. Lucido declined to comment to Crain's.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Needs to Learn Economics

She just doesn't get it

Afghan forces launch air, ground attacks on Taliban, killing 51

Afghan forces used ground attacks and air strikes in multiple operations against the Taliban during the last 24 hours, killing 51 fighters in an escalation that signaled renewed deadlock in peace talks. Afghanistan's Defense Ministry said on Sunday that government forces had conducted 13 ground offensives and 12 air strikes in nine provinces, adding that 51 "terrorists" had been killed, 13 wounded and six arrested. Local officials in the northern province of Balkh said at least three women and four children were killed in the air strikes, prompting protests in front of the provincial governor's office.

Photos show the glory days of Pan Am, a symbol of a bygone era of luxurious air travel before the airline went bust 29 years ago

Pan American World Airways was once the world's largest international airline, and is remembered for its glamorous cabins, passengers, and crew.

Labour Front-Runner Starmer Warns Brexit Risks Breaking Up U.K.

(Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Keir Starmer, the front-runner to replace Jeremy Corbyn as leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, said Brexit risks breaking up the U.K. as he called for a “radical” redistribution of power to towns and regions.In a series of broadcast interviews on Monday, Starmer, the party’s Brexit spokesman, said politicians have spent the past three years arguing about what sort of divorce agreement to strike with the European Union, without focusing on the underlying causes of Brexit. That risks creating a “vacuum” that’s filled by nationalism, he said.“There’s a very deep feeling, and this did come out in the referendum, that the power, the wealth, the resource, the opportunities are all in London and they’re not in the regions: We’ve got got address that,” Starmer told Sky News. He then told the BBC: “We are at risk of watching the breakup of the United Kingdom.”The U.K. is due to leave the EU on Friday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson stormed to an 80-seat majority last month, enabling him to push his withdrawal agreement through Parliament. With 2020 set to be dominated by negotiations on the shape of future economic ties with the bloc, the premier has also said he’s keen to move onto domestic priorities including the health service, public transport and policing.But Starmer argued that people around the U.K. want to see more decisions being taken locally. He said in an emailed statement he plans to tour the U.K. during the leadership contest -- scheduled to end on April 4 -- arguing “for a radical redistribution of power, wealth and opportunity based on a new federal structure.”Power Monopoly“We need to end the monopoly of power in Westminster and spread it across every town, city, region and nation of the United Kingdom,” Starmer said.Starmer’s message chimes with that of Lisa Nandy, another candidate for the leadership, whose campaign -- focused on empowering towns -- has turned her into a genuine contender in the contest.Starmer, Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey -- viewed as Corbyn’s preferred successor -- have all crossed the threshold of support from unions, affiliated groups and local parties they need to make it onto the final ballot paper, while the party’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Emily Thornberry, has until Feb. 14 to get there.To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Robert Hutton, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.