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More than 150 IS militants handed over to Iraq from Syria

OUTSIDE BAGHOUZ, Syria (AP) — U.S.-backed Syrian forces fighting the Islamic State group handed over more than 150 Iraqi members of the group to Iraq, an Iraqi security official said Thursday, marking the biggest repatriation from Syria of captured militants so far.

Jussie Smollett Now Considered a Suspect for Allegedly Filing a False Hate-Crime Report

Embattled Empire actor Jussie Smollett is now considered a “suspect” for filing a false police report, evidence of which has been presented before a grand jury, a Chicago Police Department spokesman announced on Wednesday.> Case Update: Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony). Detectives are currently presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury. pic.twitter.com/FhDcbBKsuU> > -- Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) February 20, 2019The announcement came after Smollett’s attorneys met with prosecutors and detectives on Wednesday. Smollett initially told police that he was attacked outside of a Subway restaurant at around 2 a.m. on January 29 by two masked men who allegedly beat him, poured an unknown chemical on him, and placed a noose around his neck. Smollett later added that the men had yelled, “This is MAGA country” as they fled, a detail he reported only after TMZ claimed it had taken place.Chicago police announced last Friday that the focus of their investigation had “shifted” after interviewing two Nigerian brothers, one of whom worked as an extra on Empire, and both of whom claimed that Smollett had paid them to stage the attack. The brothers also told police that Smollett was motivated to stage the attack after he sent himself a threatening a letter and did not receive the attention from co-workers and fans that he believed the letter warranted.“We are not racist. We are not homophobic and we are not anti-Trump. We were born and raised in Chicago and are American citizens,” the brothers said in a statement provided to CBS Chicago on February 19.Smollett has repeatedly denied that he staged the attack and has maintained that he was the victim of a hate crime.Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx, Chicago’s top prosecutor, recused herself from the Smollett investigation on Tuesday, citing “familiarity with potential witnesses.”“Out of an abundance of caution, the decision to recuse herself was made to address potential questions of impartiality based upon familiarity with potential witnesses in the case,” spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said.Filing a false police report is a class-four felony and typically results in a prison sentence of one to three years.

Democrats plan House vote Tuesday on measure to stop Trump's declaration of emergency at the border

Many Republicans are uneasy with the president declaring a national emergency to get border wall funding, but it's unclear if they'll vote against it.

Canada looks to reunite Syrian family after fire claims seven kids

Canada is looking to quickly bring over siblings of a Syrian refugee distraught over the loss of her seven children in a Halifax house fire, the prime minister said Thursday. "The immigration minister is seized with this particular case," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said when asked if Ottawa would fast-track the immigration or asylum process to bring the woman's brothers to Canada in order to provide her with family support. The family was among tens of thousands of Syrian refugees welcomed by Canada over the past four years.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Invoked Pop Culture to Hit Back at a Critical Billboard

The congresswoman has hit back at an attack billboard

Attorney for Nicholas Sandmann says the Washington Post gave online bullies a megaphone to tarnish his client

Lin Wood explains the Covington Catholic High School student's $250 million lawsuit against the Washington Post.

Saudi Crown Prince Set to Arrive in China as Asian Tour Rolls On

The visit will include a meeting with President Xi Jinping and a high-level joint dialogue aimed at boosting relations after the nations agreed to promote a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016. China overtook the U.S. as the kingdom’s biggest trading partner in 2013. The world’s most populous nation accounted for about 15 percent of all Saudi imports and exports last year compared with 8 percent a decade earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Funeral held for youngest victim of factory shooting

SHERIDAN, Ill. (AP) — A small funeral home was packed with hundreds of mourners for a 21-year-old college student who was killed on the first day of his internship when a worker opened fire inside an Illinois manufacturing facility.

U.S.-backed SDF hand Iraqi, foreign Islamic State fighters to Iraq

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) handed over more than 150 Iraqi and other foreign Islamic State fighters to Iraq on Thursday. "The majority of the fighters are Iraqi," said a military colonel whose unit is stationed at the Syrian border. "But we have a few foreigners." The mayor of Iraqi border town Al-Qaim, Ahmed al-Mahallawi, said some fighters' families were also transferred.

Chicago police on Jussie Smollett arrest: Actor 'took advantage of the pain and anger of racism'

Jussie Smollett was taken into custody by police in Chicago early Thursday, three weeks after the 36-year-old “Empire” actor claimed he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack.

The Latest: Judge imposes gag order on Trump confidant Stone

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Roger Stone (all times local):

Pompeo Denies ‘ISIS Bride’ Request to Return to U.S.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that an Alabama woman who fled to Syria to join ISIS in 2014 is not a U.S. citizen and, as a result, is not entitled to return to the U.S. with her 18-month-old son, as she had hoped to do.“Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and will not be admitted into the United States,” Pompeo said in a statement. “She does not have any legal basis, no valid U.S. passport, no right to a passport, nor any visa to travel to the United States. We continue to strongly advise all U.S. citizens not to travel to Syria.”Muthana, 24, was taken to a refugee camp in northeast Syria by Kurdish forces after escaping ISIS territory.An attorney representing Muthana's parents claims she is a U.S. citizen despite the fact that her father was serving as a Yemeni diplomat when she was born in New Jersey, which, according to the State Department, means she is not entitled to birthright citizenship.Muthana's son was fathered by one of the three ISIS fighters she was married to during her time in the caliphate. In a 2015 tweet, she urged Americans to carry out domestic terror attacks.“Americans wake up! Men and women altogether. You have much to do while you live under our greatest enemy, enough of your sleeping!” she wrote, according to The Guardian. “Go on drivebys, and spill all of their blood, or rent a big truck and drive all over them. Veterans, Patriots, Memorial, etc day . . . Kill them.”In a recent interview with The Guardian, Muthana pleaded with U.S. officials to allow her return to America, citing her youth and immaturity at the time she fled to Syria.“I would tell them please forgive me for being so ignorant, and I was really young and ignorant and I was 19 when I decided to leave,” she said.

Carbon dioxide in our atmosphere may soar to levels not seen in 56 million years

Emissions of carbon dioxide – the greenhouse gas most responsible for global warming – could soar to levels not seen in 56 million years, scientists warned.

Rubio Predicts Maduro’s Troops Won’t Block Humanitarian Aid

Senator Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) said Wednesday that Venezuelan troops have already begun to disobey orders and will likely refuse to block the thousands of volunteers who plan to escort a humanitarian-aid caravan across the country's border on Saturday.“Saturday’s a day when we’re going to find a lot about the Maduro regime,” Rubio told Bloomberg in a telephone interview. “I have reason to believe that rank-and-file military are not going to violently suppress aid workers.”Opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who is officially recognized as the president of Venezuela by the Trump administration and 30 other nations, has urged the military to defect and refuse Maduro's orders to block aid shipments at the border.“There’s already significant resistance” by rank-and-file troops, causing military leaders to doubt “whether the people under their command are going to do what they’re asking them to do,” Rubio said.More than 600,000 Venezuelans have preemptively signed up to escort large shipments of much-needed food and medicine across the country's border with Colombia, according to Guaidó, who vowed the aid will enter the country “one way or another.”The supplies have been accumulating at the border due to the Maduro regime's refusal to accept foreign aid intended to ease starvation and sickness. Maduro has repeatedly cast the foreign-aid efforts as a "political show," designed to serve as a pretext for invasion.

Saudi Sisters Stranded for Months in Hong Kong After Fleeing the Kingdom, Rights Group Says

They were trying to seek asylum in Australia but were stopped in Hong Kong

Empire executives suspend Jussie Smollett and say his character Jamal will not appear in final two episodes

Jussie Smollett's character Jamal will not appear in the final two episodes of Empire, the Fox show's executive producers have said. Smollett has been charged with filing a false police report after alleging he had been the victim of a racist and homophobic attack, authorities have said. Police in Chicago had earlier said the 36-year-old actor was being considered as a suspect in the case and have now confirmed charges have been brought against him. He has been charged by Cook County State's Attorney's Office with disorderly conduct and filing a false police report. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said detectives are now looking to arrest Smollett. In a statement, Fox said: "The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us. Jussie has been an important member of our Empire family for the past five years and we care about him deeply. "While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out. "We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show, and to avoid further disruption on set we have decided to remove the role of Jamal from the final two episodes of the season." Jussie Smollett's mugshot Lawyers acting on behalf of Smollett have said they will mount an "aggressive defence" to the charges. Lawyers Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson said in a statement: "Like any other citizen, Mr Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. "Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defence." It did not say where Smollett is and when he might turn himself in to police. The charges emerged on the same day that detectives and two brothers who were earlier deemed suspects testified before a grand jury. The announcement that charges had been made followed weeks of speculation around the investigation and lengthy interviews of the brothers by authorities, a search of their home and their release after police cleared them. Investigators have not said what the brothers told detectives or what evidence detectives collected. On Friday, it became clear the focus of the investigation had shifted when police announced a "significant shift in the trajectory" of the probe after the brothers were freed. If found guilty of the Class 4 felony, Smollett faces a prison sentence of between one to three years, but could also receive probation. Smollett had alleged he had been attacked by two masked men in downtown Chicago on January 29, telling police his attackers had shouted racist and homophobic abuse and tied a noose around his neck. Jussie Smollett as his character Jamal in Empire Credit: Chuck Hodes/Fox Smollett, who is black and came out as gay in 2015, made a tearful appearance on Good Morning America this month and said he had been "forever changed" by the alleged attack. He said: "I will never be the man who this didn't happen to. "I am forever changed and I don't subscribe to the idea that everything happens for a reason, but I do subscribe to the idea that we have the right and responsibility to make something meaningful out of the things that happen to us, good and bad." Asked what message he wanted to send by speaking about the attack, he replied: "I want young people, young members of the LGTBQ community, young black children, to know how strong they are, to know the power they hold in their little pinky." Smollett has starred in musical drama Empire since 2015. He plays Jamal, the gay son of a music mogul, played by Terrence Howard. Fox, the network which airs Empire, said it had no comment to add.

IRS employee charged in leak of Trump attorney records

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — U.S. prosecutors have charged an IRS employee with leaking banking records of President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen that flagged suspicious activity, the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco said Thursday.

Consumer Reports' Top Picks Quiz

A lot of research goes into determining which vehicles achieve a spot as one of Consumer Reports' Top Picks. Take our quiz to see how well you know our annual list of the best SUVs, cars, and tru...

Southwest Airlines cancels nearly 400 flights as maintenance woes, winter storms linger

The airline continues to have a higher-than-usual number of aircraft out of service due to maintenance and is dealing with snow in Las Vegas.

Indict the ‘ISIS Bride’

I  had a column in the New York Post yesterday morning about the so-called “ISIS bride,” Hoda Muthana, who is detained in a Syrian refugee camp and now pleading to come back home to her family in Alabama. I argued that, despite the fact that she has treasonously waged war against our country, she had a right to be readmitted if she tried to enter because she was -- according to the facts available at the time -- a natural-born American citizen.Now Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that Muthana will not be allowed to reenter the U.S. because she is not an American citizen: While born in America, she was the daughter of a diplomat and thus not subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. As the secretary put it in his statement, “Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and will not be admitted into the United States. She does not have any legal basis, no valid U.S. passport, no right to a passport, nor any visa to travel to the United States.”This conclusion is disputed by Muthana’s family and allies, and they may have a case. I would strongly urge the Justice Department to file an indictment against Muthana for treason, material support to terrorism, and any other readily provable offenses. She is less likely to press the issues of citizenship and right to enter if she understands that she faces prosecution and, very likely, lengthy imprisonment if she succeeds in coming here.But it’s worth taking a closer look at the citizenship question itself. To my mind, the concept of citizenship implies not just the benefits of being a full-fledged member of the body politic, but also a duty of fealty to the nation. In a rational world, then, a citizen who made war against the United States would be stripped of citizenship.Alas, that is not the law. As I related in the Post column, Supreme Court precedent holds that natural-born citizens may not have their citizenship revoked without their consent. (This is in contrast to naturalized citizens, who may have their citizenship revoked if they join a subversive organization within five years of being naturalized, but this is not relevant to Muthana’s case.)Reports indicate that Muthana, the daughter of Yemeni immigrants, was born in New Jersey in 1994. For the most part, she appears to have grown up in Alabama, attending high school and starting college there. As we’ve noted here at NR when the issue is debated from time to time, the prevailing interpretation of the 14th Amendment generally provides for birthright citizenship: If you were born here, you are a citizen, regardless of whether your parents were citizens -- even regardless of whether your parents were legally in the United States. But there is an exception, and the State Department is seizing on it here.According to the New York Times, government officials contend that Muthana’s father was not merely a Yemeni immigrant but a diplomat of that country. Children born of diplomats are deemed to be citizens of the diplomat’s sovereign. Apparently, Muthana’s camp concedes that Muthana père was a Yemeni diplomat, but contends that she was born 30 days after Yemen discharged him from his diplomat position. We are not told what his immigration status supposedly was at that point, or if he had a legal status. But Muthana would no doubt argue that even if she was an illegal alien, she’d be as entitled to birthright citizenship as any other child of an illegal alien born in the U.S.Pompeo emphasized that Muthana does not have a valid U.S. passport or a visa to travel to the U.S. That is true, but probably irrelevant. Passports and visas are just forms of travel authorization. They have no bearing on whether an American citizen may be denied entry into her own country. If an American citizen presents herself at a port of entry, the government has no authority to bar the citizen from entering (although the citizen may, of course, be detained while the authorities make certain that she is who she claims to be; and she may be prosecuted for violating travel regulations).The Times further reports that Pompeo is taking a hard-nosed position here because President Trump has directed him “not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the Country” -- as the president put it on Twitter. It is entirely appropriate for the official constitutionally responsible for protecting the nation from foreign threats to direct his subordinates to take all legal steps to prevent a terrorist enemy combatant from entering the country. But, to reiterate, if Muthana is an American citizen, she has the right to enter the U.S. if she presents herself at a port of entry; she may not be barred just because the president wants her turned away.Again: If the president and the secretary do not want Muthana to try to come back to the United States, the best strategy is to have the Justice Department indict her on serious felony charges. She may seek another alternative if she knows the risk of coming back here is decades of imprisonment. Of course, Muthana may decide to come anyway. After all, (a) she might see life in an American prison as better than her other alternatives, and (b) if she is an American citizen, there is a good argument that her young son is a citizen, too -- he’d have a more promising chance of survival and a decent life here than in Syria (or wherever else in that godforsaken region they could end up).In any event, the State Department has made its decision. Now it is up to Muthana’s supporters to establish her citizenship if they can, and for the Trump administration to indict her if it chooses.

Google moves to fix YouTube glitch exploited for child porn

Google-owned YouTube said Thursday it was taking action to close a loophole that enabled users to share comments and links on child pornography over the video-sharing service. The response came after a YouTube creator this week revealed what he called a "wormhole" that allowed comments and connections on child porn alongside innocuous videos. "Any content -- including comments -- that endangers minors is abhorrent and we have clear policies prohibiting this on YouTube," a spokesman said in an email to AFP.

ISIS bride: Father of radicalized Alabama woman sues Trump administration, seeks her return

The father of an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State in Syria filed suit against the Trump administration Thursday in an effort to allow her return to the United States.

Israel's Netanyahu to meet Putin in Moscow next week -statement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Feb. 27, Netanyahu's office said on Thursday, with the focus likely to be on Middle East issues led by Syria. At the time, the Kremlin said Netanyahu and Putin were to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including Syria.

Prosecutors: Smollett paid brothers $3,500 for staged attack

CHICAGO (AP) — Two brothers who told police that Jussie Smollett paid them $3,500 to help stage an attack on himself were linked to the actor through the "Empire" television series, and court documents filed Thursday allege one of the men provided Smollett with designer drugs.

Trump demands 6G technology in rant against American companies: 'We must be the leader in everything we do'

Donald Trump has called on American companies to become leaders around the world in "5G, even 6G" technology in a series of tweets. “I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible,” the president tweeted on Thursday morning. “I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies.

A 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback Is the Latest to Be Immortalized in Legos

The Lego Creator Ford Mustang kit includes 1471 pieces.

Mercedes-Benz Recall | Automated System Problem

Mercedes-Benz Vehicles Recalled for Partially Automated Driving System Problem Mercedes-Benz is recalling 6,200 S-Class sedans, coupes, and convertibles from the 2018 and 2019 model years becaus...

Winter weather isn't just battering the eastern US. It's even snowing in Las Vegas

While winter weather has battered the east for the past couple days, the National Weather Service said up to 3 inches of snow will fall in the outskirts of the Las Vegas Valley.

Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism, warns Emmanuel Macron

France is to recognise anti-Zionism, the denial of the state of Israel, as a form of anti-Semitism in response to a surge in acts against Jews not seen “since the Second World War”. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, also promised new legislation in May to fight hate speech on the Internet, which could see platforms such as Facebook and Twitter fined for every minute they fail to take down racist or violent content. Speaking at the annual meeting of France’s largest Jewish organization, CRIF, Mr Macron said that France and other countries in Europe had recently witnessed "a resurgence of anti-Semitism that is probably unprecedented since World War II.” “We have denounced it a lot, adopted plans, passed laws sometimes. But we haven’t been able to act efficiently,” he said. While stopping short of calling for new legislation, the President said the working definition of anti-Semitism drawn up by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance would help guide police forces, magistrates and teachers in their daily work. That definition stipulates that anti-Semitism can take the form of "denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour”. "Anti-Zionism is one of the modern forms of anti-Semitism,” said Mr Macron. "Behind the negation of Israel's existence, what is hiding is the hatred of Jews.” Such guidelines in no way infringed on people’s right to criticise to the Israeli government and its policies, he said. Mr Macron also said that his party would introduce a bill in parliament in May to force social media to withdraw hate speech posted online and use all available means to identify the authors "as quickly as possible.” Digital minister Mounir Mahjoubi said: “There will be an obligation for results: if the content is not taken down then there will be a fine, and a large fine,” Mr Mahjoubi told France Info radio. “Each minute that content remains online, it increases the harm to society. Twenty-four hours is far too long.” Anti-Semitic acts surged by 74 per cent last year in France, according to government figures Credit: Getty Images Europe France has been pressuring Internet companies to better regulate their content ever since a series of terror attacks starting in 2015. The recent “yellow vest” protests have largely been orchestrated online. Many postings have included links to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant and anti-vaccine messages, as well as a string of conspiracy theories. Mr Macron’s speech came a day after thousands attended rallies across France to denounce a rise in anti-Semitic acts and in a week in which almost 100 gravestones spray-painted with swastikas were discovered in a Jewish village cemetery in eastern France. The number of anti-Semitic incidents rose last year by 74 per cent from 311 in 2017 to 541, the government announced last week.

Pakistan bans groups linked to Mumbai attack suspects

Pakistan on Thursday banned two groups believed to be fronts for the group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, amid heightened pressure on Islamabad to act against militants. Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation were designated "proscribed organisations", the interior ministry said in a statement, adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan had ordered officials to accelerate action against banned groups. JuD and FIF are considered by the UN to be fronts for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group accused by Washington and New Delhi of carrying out the Mumbai attack, which killed 166 people and brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

The Latest: Cardinal condemns how church handles sex abuse

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Latest on the Vatican's conference on dealing with sex abuse by priests (all times local):

North Carolina Republican's son says warned father about operative's past

A state probe into the election for the 9th Congressional District has uncovered the fraudulent scheme by a consultant working for the campaign of candidate Mark Harris. The probe could lead to a new election to fill the seat, which has remained vacant since state officials refused to certify Harris' apparent victory over Democratic rival Dan McCready by 905 votes out of 282,717 ballots cast. The five-member State Board of Elections heard evidence this week that the political consultant, Leslie McCrae Dowless, hired workers to solicit and collect absentee ballots from voters in violation of state law.

Girl's death haunted police until arrest made 45 years later

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Investigators searched for decades for the killer of an 11-year-old girl who disappeared while walking home from summer school in a case that gripped a California seaside community.

Trump news - LIVE: House resolution to overturn national emergency introduced as president tells African-Americans ‘look at the progress you’ve made’

House Democrats have filed their “resolution of disapproval” challenging Donald Trump‘s decision to call a national emergency in order to build a wall on the US southern border with Mexico. While the president has claimed there is a "crisis" of illegal immigration in the United States, Democrats have questioned his motives — and noted that Mr Trump himself has suggested that he did not need to declare the emergency. Meanwhile Ahmed Ali Muthana, the father of Alabama Isis bride Hoda Muthana, announced he is suing the administration for its “unlawful attempt” to rescind her citizenship and block a return to the US.

Day one highlights from Milan Fashion Week

Hot on the heels of Benetton, which opened Milan Fashion Week Tuesday, February 20, fashion houses Gucci, Alberto Zambelli, Annakiki, Alberta Ferretti and Moncler showed their fall/winter 2019-2020 collections in the Italian city. This first official day reiterated certain trends spotted in New York and London with some colorful displays, notably at Byblos and Annakiki, mixing bright shades and prints, as well as at Gucci. Like in London and New York, plays on volume and proportion -- especially with outerwear designs -- were also on the agenda in Milan, with several extravagant pieces covered with frills and furbelows.

Tesla rolls out Model 3 in China ahead of schedule in sales push

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Tesla Inc has started delivering Model 3 cars in China slightly ahead of schedule, as it looks to revive its sales that have been hit hard by Sino-U.S. trade tensions. The California-based firm has already adjusted prices and added a cheaper Model 3 variant to its line-up to make its U.S.-made cars more affordable in China amid high import tariffs. It had initially projected a March start for Model 3 deliveries in China - the world's biggest auto market where overall car sales contracted in 2018 for the first time in more than two decades.

Surveillance video shows brothers purchasing supplies allegedly used in Smollett incident

Chicago police confirmed to ABC News the authenticity of the video.

Pakistan military warns India against 'misadventure'

Pakistan's military warned India on Friday against "misadventure", saying it was capable of responding to any threats as tensions simmer between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. "We hope you will not mess up with us," military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told a press briefing in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, the second such message Pakistan has sent to New Delhi in as many days. Tensions have risen in the days following a suicide attack in Kashmir that killed 41 Indian paramilitaries and was claimed by Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), based in Pakistan.

Some Americans face a costly surprise this tax season: tiny refunds or bigger bills

For some, this tax season so far has come with a costly surprise – a tiny tax refund or a big tax bill. The shock is hitting their finances.

Venezuela's Maduro closes Brazil border to block aid entry

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — As a showdown looms over humanitarian aid destined for Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro closed off his country's border with Brazil, vowing on Thursday to block the emergency food and medicine that has rallied his opponents and which he claims is part of a U.S.-led coup plot.

Statue of Polish Solidarity priest accused of pedophilia removed

A statue of a priest who was leading figure in the movement that toppled Communism in Poland was removed by protesters, who accused the Catholic Church of neglecting accusations that he sexually abused minors. The statue of Henryk Jankowski in central Gdansk - the birthplace of the Solidarity movement - was lifted from its plinth overnight by three men who then handed themselves in to police, Gdansk police spokeswoman Karina Kaminska said on Thursday.

Trump panel to examine whether global warming affects national security will include climate change denier

President Donald Trump is preparing to establish a panel to examine whether climate change affects national security, despite existing reports from his own government showing that global warming is a growing threat. According to a White House memo dated 14 February, Mr Trump’s staff members have drafted an executive order to create a 12-member committee, which will include a White House adviser, William Happer, whose views are at odds with the established scientific consensus that carbon dioxide pollution is dangerous for the planet.

Gory details emerge about missing woman's suspected demise

DENVER (AP) — After months of mostly silence from authorities investigating the disappearance of a Colorado mother on Thanksgiving Day, grim details about her suspected demise emerged this week, including accusations that the woman's fiance beat her to death with a baseball bat while their baby was in the next room.