| Couple Ordered To Pay Enslaved Nanny $121,000 After 2 Years Of Work Posted: 07 Jan 2018 02:39 PM PST  A Texas couple who pleaded guilty to charges related to forcing a Nigerian woman to work as their nanny for two years without pay has been ordered to pay her more than $121,000 in restitution, a judge ruled Friday.
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| Trump: I'm a 'very stable genius' Posted: 06 Jan 2018 05:52 AM PST  President Trump, pushing back on a new book by Michael Wolff, says he's not only smart but also a genius.
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| A U.S. Mountain Was Just The Second-Coldest Place On Earth Posted: 06 Jan 2018 01:17 PM PST  The temperature atop New Hampshire's Mount Washington plummeted early Saturday to an astonishing minus 36 degrees Fahrenheit, making it one of the coldest places on the planet.
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| Wing explodes in flames after on-ground collision at Toronto’s airport Posted: 06 Jan 2018 08:25 AM PST  Almost 200 terrified passengers and crew scrambled to escape from a Boeing 737 after another jet hit the plane. Several grabbed luggage, despite a plea to get out quick.
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| Merkel optimistic at start of government talks with Social Democrats Posted: 07 Jan 2018 01:12 AM PST ![Merkel optimistic at start of government talks with Social Democrats]( "Merkel optimistic at start of government talks with Social Democrats") German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday she was "optimistic" going into exploratory talks with the Social Democrats (SPD), whose leader Martin Schulz said his party would not draw any red lines at the start of discussions. Merkel's conservative bloc and the SPD have scheduled five days of talks to see if they can find enough common ground to form a re-run of the 'grand coalition' that has governed Germany for the last four years. Horst Seehofer, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU) - the Bavarian sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) - said he was going into the talks in "high spirits" and said the parties needed to come to an agreement.
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| US Navy locates crashed plane deep on Pacific seabed Posted: 05 Jan 2018 07:09 PM PST  TOKYO (AP) — The U.S. Navy has located a transport aircraft deep on the Pacific Ocean floor where it crashed in November, killing three sailors on board.
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| Staff Interacted Several Times With Vegas Mass Shooter, Hotel Says Posted: 05 Jan 2018 08:33 PM PST  The staff at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas either interacted with mass shooter Stephen Paddock or entered his room at least 10 times before the night he killed 58 people at a music festival from his suite, a hotel representative has reportedly revealed.
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| GOP tax change sparks creative counters in high-tax locales Posted: 06 Jan 2018 08:28 AM PST  Lawmakers in traditional Blue States are looking to morph taxes into "donations" so they can still be deducted from Federal returns after the new law limits deductibility.
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| Syria regime forces push towards Idlib airbase: monitor Posted: 07 Jan 2018 09:45 AM PST  Syrian regime forces on Sunday seized a strategic town as they pushed towards a jihadist-held airbase in an offensive to reclaim ground in northwestern Idlib province, a monitor said. Government forces backed up by Russian air power are conducting an operation to carve out a foothold in the southeast of the province, the last one that had remained completely beyond regime control. Troops captured Sinjar, the "biggest town in southeast Idlib", from Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate and were within 14 kilometres (9 miles) of the Abu al-Duhur military base, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
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| Memphis Megachurch Stands By Pastor Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Teenager Posted: 07 Jan 2018 07:47 AM PST  Responding to a recent report that one of their pastors had allegedly sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl while serving as a youth minister at his previous church, leaders of a megachurch in Memphis, Tennessee, said they'd long known about the incident.
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| Trump's Demands To Help Dreamers Could Doom Deal, Top Dem Says Posted: 05 Jan 2018 05:53 PM PST  WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump sent senators a lengthy set of demands on Friday that could tank a deal to help Dreamers ― young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children ― and might risk a government funding agreement in the process.
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| Thieves steal estimated millions in jewelry in real-life ‘Italian Job’ heist Posted: 06 Jan 2018 08:32 AM PST A manhunt is underway for thieves who were caught on camera stealing jewels and gold belonging to the royal family of Qatar. The heist happened Wednesday in Venice, Italy at the Doge's Palace Museum.
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| Takata Adds 3.3 Million Air Bags to Massive Recall Posted: 07 Jan 2018 07:02 AM PST  Takata is expanding the largest automotive recall in U.S. history
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| Sen. Tom Cotton on Wolff book: Trump has 'been active, engaged and effective leader' Posted: 07 Jan 2018 04:21 AM PST  Trump ally Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark), responds to the new book "Fire and Fury" and discusses border wall funding on "This Week."
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| School district changes bullying policy after child suicide Posted: 07 Jan 2018 10:36 AM PST ![School district changes bullying policy after child suicide]( "School district changes bullying policy after child suicide") CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio schools district changed its policies concerning bullying, but its superintendent hasn't directly said whether those changes were influenced by the 2017 suicide of an 8-year-old boy who was reportedly bullied.
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| Palestinians attack car of Greek Patriarch in protest against land deals Posted: 06 Jan 2018 06:45 AM PST ![Palestinians attack car of Greek Patriarch in protest against land deals]( "Palestinians attack car of Greek Patriarch in protest against land deals") Palestinian Christians on Saturday pummeled the car of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem during a visit to the occupied West Bank in protest against the church's decision to sell land to Jewish groups. The Greek Orthodox church is one of the biggest private landowners in the Holy Land and in recent years has stirred controversy both among Israelis and Palestinians by trying to sell prime assets to private investors. Hundreds of Palestinians blocked Patriarch Theophilos III's convoy as he drove to a church in Bethlehem to attend an Orthodox Christmas mass.
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| Climate Change Has Quadrupled Ocean 'Dead Zones,' Researchers Warn Posted: 05 Jan 2018 09:03 PM PST  The size of oxygen-starved ocean "dead zones," where plants and animals struggle to survive, has increased fourfold around the world, according to a new scientific analysis.
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| Turkey to reopen iconic 'Iron Church' after revamp Posted: 06 Jan 2018 11:45 PM PST ![Turkey to reopen iconic 'Iron Church' after revamp]( "Turkey to reopen iconic 'Iron Church' after revamp") The leaders of Turkey and Bulgaria are Sunday due to reopen the Bulgarian St Stephen's Church in Istanbul after seven years of restoration, in a gesture of harmony in an often turbulent relationship between the two neighbours. The Bulgarian Orthodox church in Balat, a historic Istanbul neighbourhood on the shores of the Golden Horn traditionally home to Christians and Jews, was built in 1898 after its original wooden structure was destroyed in a fire. For President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who hosts Bulgaria's conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, the ceremony will be a riposte to charges that Turkey's Islamic-rooted government does not do enough to protect the rights of Christian minorities and their heritage.
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| Brad Pitt Bids Six Figures To Watch 'Game Of Thrones' With Emilia Clarke Posted: 07 Jan 2018 01:51 PM PST  On Saturday in LA, actor Brad Pitt offered up over a hundred grand for the chance to watch an episode of "Game Of Thrones" with Daenerys Targaryen herself, Emilia Clarke.
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| Norwegian Cruise Line sailed right through the nightmarish winter storm Posted: 06 Jan 2018 09:07 AM PST  As a powerful 'bomb cyclone' ravaged the U.S. East Coast with snow and high winds this week, a Norwegian Cruise Line ship sailed right into its path, giving thousands of passengers a fearsome experience they aren't likely to forget. SEE ALSO: Incredible photos from space show off the historic East Coast 'bomb cyclone' Passengers on the Norwegian Breakaway cruise were treated to monstrous waves, winds, rain, and flooding for multiple days as the ship made its way to New York City, navigating right into the storm that made headlines all week, passengers told CBS New York Friday. The videos that passengers shared are harrowing. #BOMBCYLONE at sea aboard the #NCLbreakaway pic.twitter.com/o2T4s7iv5M — Christina Mendez (@christinamendez) January 4, 2018 Some were more in awe of the boat-rocking waves than afraid of them. Even if passengers steered clear of the deck and windows on the cruise, the onslaught of rain caused flooding, and one passenger shared a video showing running water on the carpeted floor and more leaking through the ceiling. Passengers who spoke to CBS New York shared stories of people crying and throwing up, and general panic. "When you're on a boat in the middle of the ocean and water is pouring down the stairs, you're thinking 'this is not going to end well,'" passenger Karoline Ross told CBS New York. "This was the worst moment of my life." "I'm completely traumatized," passenger Emma Franzese told CBS New York. "I'll never go on any type of boat again in my life after this." After the tumultuous trip, Norwegian Cruise Line apologized to guests in two statements, saying the ship "encountered stronger than forecasted weather conditions." Though as meteorologists were quick to note on social media, the storm was well-forecast, and the ship should not have been in that location. Oh look, another cruise ship with a death wish sailing into a massive talked about for days storm, then saying 'that storm wasn't forecast...duno where it came from' https://t.co/seGtXVr1xB — Eric Fisher (@ericfisher) January 6, 2018 WATCH: This NYC store is an environmentalist's wonderland
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| Battle looms for rebel-held Syrian province after IS defeat Posted: 07 Jan 2018 12:27 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government forces and allied militiamen are advancing on the largest remaining rebel-held territory in the country's north, forcing thousands of civilians to flee toward the border with Turkey in freezing winter temperatures.
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| Trump Says He's 'Like, Really Smart' After His Mental Stability Is Questioned in New Book Posted: 06 Jan 2018 07:53 AM PST  On Saturday, President Donald Trump responded to questions about his mental capacity and fitness by calling himself "like, really smart" and saying that he is "a very stable genius"
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| Planes collide at Toronto's Pearson Airport; passengers safe Posted: 06 Jan 2018 05:43 AM PST ![Planes collide at Toronto's Pearson Airport; passengers safe]( "Planes collide at Toronto's Pearson Airport; passengers safe") Dozens of passengers were evacuated from an aircraft at Toronto's Pearson Airport late on Friday after a plane under tow struck an arriving jet that was waiting to park, sparking a small fire, the airport authority said. Fire and emergency services responded to the collision between the two planes from Sunwing Airlines and Westjet Airlines , which happened at 6:19 p.m. (2319 GMT), the Greater Toronto Airport Authority said in a statement.
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| Just off Israeli highway, 500,000-year-old site found Posted: 06 Jan 2018 04:23 PM PST ![Just off Israeli highway, 500,000-year-old site found]( "Just off Israeli highway, 500,000-year-old site found") Israeli archaeologists announced Sunday they have uncovered a rare site dating back some half a million years -- just next to a modern highway and only several metres underground. Archaeologists envision the site at Jaljulia, northeast of Tel Aviv, as a sort of "paradise" for prehistoric hunter-gatherers, with a stream, vegetation and an abundance of animals. "It's hard to believe that between Jaljulia and highway 6, five metres below the surface, an ancient landscape some half of a million years old has been so amazingly preserved," Ran Barkai, head of Tel Aviv University's archaeology department, which participated in the dig, said in a statement.
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| Rob Bishop Continues His Taxpayer-Funded Feud With Patagonia Posted: 06 Jan 2018 09:39 AM PST  WASHINGTON — For the second time in as many months, the House Committee on Natural Resources has taken a public swing at Patagonia.
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| Pope baptizes 34 cooing, crying babies in Sistine Chapel Posted: 07 Jan 2018 03:04 AM PST  VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday baptized 34 cooing and crying babies in the splendor of the Sistine Chapel, and encouraged their parents to make sure the "language of love" is spoken at home.
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| Saudi fighter jet crashes, Yemen rebels claim downing it Posted: 07 Jan 2018 09:47 AM PST ![Saudi fighter jet crashes, Yemen rebels claim downing it]( "Saudi fighter jet crashes, Yemen rebels claim downing it") RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia's Royal Air Force said two of its pilots whose fighter jet crashed during an operation in Yemen on Sunday have been rescued.
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| New-born baby found dead on plane in Indonesia Posted: 07 Jan 2018 05:30 AM PST  Indonesian police Sunday detained the suspected mother of a new-born baby who was found dead in a aircraft toilet at Jakarta's international Airport. Hani, a 37-year-old migrant worker from Cianjur in West Java, was held soon after arriving from Bangkok at Soekarno-Hatta airport around 1:00 am, said airport police chief Ahmad Yusef. Police suspect that Hani, who had worked as a domestic helper in Abu Dhabi for four years, secretly gave birth during an Etihad flight from there to Jakarta on Saturday.
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| Marijuana Industry Not Freaking Out Over Threat Of Federal Crackdown Posted: 05 Jan 2018 08:11 PM PST  WASHINGTON ― The marijuana industry and its advocates collectively held their breath this week following the release of new Justice Department guidance that gave federal prosecutors the go-ahead to aggressively pursue state-legal marijuana operations.
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| Readers write: Mosaic nation, intriguing tour, possibilities for every area Posted: 06 Jan 2018 03:00 AM PST ![Readers write: Mosaic nation, intriguing tour, possibilities for every area]( "Readers write: Mosaic nation, intriguing tour, possibilities for every area") Regarding the Nov. 27 cover story, "Heartland strong": I loved this article because it shows the mosaic substance of our nation. Recommended: Could you pass a US citizenship test? Regarding the Nov. 20 cover story, "A billionaire's war on poverty": This article was so full of wonderful details of George Kaiser's support for his community of Tulsa, Okla., that I found myself applying these ideas here in St. Louis, Ferguson, and other nearby suburbs of Missouri.
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| Germany, Turkey pledge to thaw ties that coup crackdown and arrests froze Posted: 06 Jan 2018 05:31 AM PST ![Germany, Turkey pledge to thaw ties that coup crackdown and arrests froze]( "Germany, Turkey pledge to thaw ties that coup crackdown and arrests froze") Germany and Turkey's foreign ministers on Saturday agreed to pull out all the stops to improve ties that have soured due to disputes over Ankara's post-coup crackdown and the arrests of German citizens in Turkey, but they stressed differences remain. Meeting in an ornate imperial palace in central Germany, the pair said they were keen to make amends after falling out as Ankara rounded up suspected supporters of a failed 2016 coup, a comedian mocked Turkey's president and a German-Turkish journalist was detained without charge. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel pointed to historic links between the countries including the role Turkish guest workers played in rebuilding Germany after World War Two, Turkey's hospitality in taking in German refugees during the Nazi era and the 3 million-strong Turkish community here.
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| Math Reveals Your Royal Roots Posted: 06 Jan 2018 11:11 AM PST  But don't go around calling yourself "royal highness" yet.
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| High tech, low tech: Big U.S. cities embrace twin approach to crime Posted: 06 Jan 2018 01:03 PM PST ![High tech, low tech: Big U.S. cities embrace twin approach to crime]( "High tech, low tech: Big U.S. cities embrace twin approach to crime") Gun violence in major U.S. cities fell in 2017 as police used the latest crime-fighting software combined with a revival of old-fashioned community policing to build trust with a skeptical public. Law enforcement officials and criminologists credit that dual approach with helping extend the decades-long reduction in crime in New York City and reducing gun violence in Chicago by 20 percent in 2017. Chicago became a symbol of U.S. gun violence after homicides soared nearly 60 percent in 2016, drawing frequent criticism from Donald Trump during his campaign for the presidency and after he was elected.
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| Ex-Sheriff David Clarke Faces Trial Over Facebook Taunts Against Plane Passenger Posted: 06 Jan 2018 06:00 PM PST  Staunch Donald Trump ally and former Milwaukee County sheriff David Clarke faces trial this month for Facebook taunts against a plane passenger who Clarke thought disrespected him.
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| US senator says no evidence of 'sonic attacks' in Cuba Posted: 06 Jan 2018 10:46 AM PST  HAVANA (AP) — Republican Sen. Jeff Flake says the U.S. has found no evidence that American diplomats in Havana were the victims of attacks with an unknown weapon.
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| Iran parliament holds special meeting on protests Posted: 07 Jan 2018 06:00 AM PST  Iranian lawmakers held a closed-door session on Sunday to discuss the deadly protests that hit the country last week, while more pro-regime rallies were held in several cities. "The security officials confirmed that most of those arrested have been released," Gholamreza Heydari, a reformist lawmaker in Tehran, told parliament's ICANA website. Mohammad Reza Kachouie, another deputy, said most of those detained were unemployed people, "without university degrees".
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| Ranking The Best Shows On Hulu You Can Stream Right Now Posted: 06 Jan 2018 05:59 AM PST  For the weekend of Jan. 6, Streamline recommends Fox show "9-1-1" in the top Hulu spot for the first time.
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| South Korea Has Its Own Massive Artillery That NATO Loves (and North Korea Hates) Posted: 06 Jan 2018 06:04 PM PST  In December 2017, Norway announced it would purchase twenty-four K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers from South Korean firm Hanhwa for $215 million, with an option for up to twenty-four more in the future. The K9 edged out an upgraded M109 howitzer offered by the Swiss firm RUAG and the German Panzerhaubitze 2000, which has a similar main gun and performance profile, but a slightly faster rapid-fire rate compared to the K9. This marks just the latest success of the South Korean howitzer system, which is already serving with Turkey and will soon enter service with three other NATO countries, as well as India and Finland.
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| California pulls ad critics said promoted pot use Posted: 05 Jan 2018 05:49 PM PST  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California officials on Friday pulled an ad aimed at discouraging stoned driving after critics said it glorified and promoted marijuana use.
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| South Africa's parliament to review rules on removing president Posted: 07 Jan 2018 04:35 AM PST ![South Africa's parliament to review rules on removing president]( "South Africa's parliament to review rules on removing president") By Joe Brock JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) - South Africa's parliament said on Sunday it would review its rules relating to removing the country's president, after the constitutional court said on Dec. 29 that lawmakers had previously failed to hold President Jacob Zuma to account. The court ruling has piled pressure on Zuma and his allies as his opponents within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) are pushing for him to be removed as head of state before his term ends in 2019, when national elections will be held. Zuma is in a weakened position after Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected leader of the ANC last month, narrowly beating Zuma's ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
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| How 'wi-fi' connects human brains and explains why people have 'gut feelings' Posted: 06 Jan 2018 01:30 PM PST  Humans brains are interconnected through type of 'wi-fi' which allows us to pick up far more information about other people than we are aware of, a leading professor claims. Prof Digby Tantum, Clinical Professor of Psychotherapy, at the University of Sheffield, believes that language plays only a part of in how humans communicate and that actually the brain is working hard to pick up tiny micro-signals that communicate what a person is thinking. It explains how people often have a 'gut feeling' or intuition about a person or situation even if they cannot logically determine why. And it may be the reason why commuters find it so difficult to maintain eye contact on a busy train. Too many people overloads the brain with too much subliminal information. In addition, it may also explain why laughter is infectious. Prof Digby Tantum Prof Tantum describes the phenomenon as 'The Interbrain' and outlines the theory in a new book of the same name. "We can know directly about other people's emotions and what they are paying attention to," he said. "It is based on the direct connection between our brains and other people's and between their brain and ours. I call this the interbrain. "One of its advantages is that the connection exists in the background. We take it for granted unless it is brought to the surface of our minds. "People with autism have little or no interbrain connection. They are often able to pick up or learn what expressions mean and yet that doesn't seem to solve the problem of that lack of human connection." Prof Tantum believes that the communication between brains may happen as an 'inadvertent leak' and it may be linked to smell. Areas of the brain which have the most activity of neurons are located in the prefrontal cortex, and are linked with smelling. They also are situated where they follow the gaze. Slight changes in a person's chemistry could, for example emit molecules which signal fear, illness or sexual arousal even if they are not saying or doing anything to suggest those states. Brain gain: 10 ways to think yourself younger "The input from the eyes gets carried to the back of the brain for processing but the receptors in the nose contact a thin extrusion of the brain tissue directly," added Prof Tantum. "The area of the brain that is closest to the nose is the orbitofrontal cortex. It might be there because so many of our most basic connections to other people are via smell." Prof Tantum also argues that the interbrain is the reason people are drawn to religions or feel the need to come together in huge crowds at football matches or concerts. "The experience of transcendence is one and this might be the root of spirituality and indeed what many people would consider the meaning of life," he said. "Being in crowd mode may also make us experience what it would be like to transcend out perspective, our time, our place and our capacity, to feel for a moment, like a driving being. It also may explain why some people commit atrocities like murder and terrorism. The book argues that feelings of hate, disgust, rage and contempt effectively switch off the interbrain, making it impossible to see a situation from another person's point of view. However Prof Tantum believes the internet could have a damaging effect on such communication, which has evolved over millions of years, and what probably sets humans apart from other animals "The face looking at you in the video chat is the face of someone seconds before," he said. "Even if you and they have excellent bandwith connection it is their face milliseconds before. "Emotional contagion occurs at the speed of light, not the speed of electronic transmission. Face-to-face visual input is accompanied by sound, by gesture, by the smell of sweat, by the possibility of touch, and by a connect. "So what is lacking in this vast network is an interbrain connection between its human participants."
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| Illegal immigrant acquitted in California death gets prison on gun charge Posted: 05 Jan 2018 05:30 PM PST ![Illegal immigrant acquitted in California death gets prison on gun charge]( "Illegal immigrant acquitted in California death gets prison on gun charge") The 45-year-old Mexican national, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, has been held behind bars since his arrest in the July 2015 shooting death of Kate Steinle, and was fully credited for the three-year sentence, a spokesman for the San Francisco district attorney's office said. The San Francisco Sheriff's Department handed Garcia Zarate over to U.S. Marshals on Friday on warrants stemming from federal gun charged related to the Steinle incident, sheriff's department spokeswoman Nancy Crowley said.
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| 13 youths killed by 'armed elements' in south Senegal Posted: 06 Jan 2018 01:47 PM PST  Thirteen youths were killed on Saturday by "armed elements" in the Casamance region of southern Senegal, an area ravaged by armed conflict for more than three decades, a security source said. The victims were out collecting wood in the Bayotte forest, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the regional capital Ziguinchor, "when they were attacked by an armed band of 15 people," army spokesman Abdou Ndiaye told AFP.
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