Mail.com

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Migration is the “Trojan wooden horse” of terrorism and the current lull in the migrant flow is only temporary, Hungary’s prime minister said Tuesday Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an early supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, has ordered the reinforcement of fences on Hungary’s southern borders to keep out migrants. Orban says the migrants, many of whom are Muslims, are a threat to Europe’s Christian identity and culture.   Continue reading “Hungary’s leader calls migration ‘Trojan horse’ of terrorism”

Mail.com

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — North Korea closed its borders Tuesday to Malaysians who want to leave the country, spurring Malaysia to issue a retaliatory order and drawing hundreds of ordinary people into an increasingly bitter diplomatic battle over the killing of an exiled member of North Korea’s ruling family.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak denounced North Korea’s order as a violation of international law, calling it “an abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage.” Police have been ordered to stop North Koreans from leaving Malaysia “until we are assured of the safety and security of all Malaysians in North Korea,” Najib said in a statement.   Continue reading “North Korea, Malaysia ban each other’s citizens from leaving”

RT

New analysis by the Financial Times shows China’s banking system has overtaken the eurozone to become the world’s biggest by assets. The status reflects the country’s increasing global influence and its reliance on growth driven by debt.

According to FT, China’s GDP surpassed the EU’s in 2011 at market exchange rates, but its banking system did not take over the top spot until the end of last year.   Continue reading “China unseats eurozone as world’s largest banking system”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House officials on Monday defended President Donald Trump’s explosive claim that Barack Obama tapped Trump’s telephones during last year’s election, although they won’t say where that information came from and left open the possibility that it isn’t true.

In televised interviews, Kellyanne Conway and Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump firmly believes the allegations he made on Twitter over the weekend. The aides said any ambiguity surrounding the issue is all the more reason for Congress to investigate the matter.   Continue reading “White House aides defend Trump’s wiretapping claim”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is returning a transgender teen’s case to a lower court without reaching a decision, leaving in limbo the issue of transgender rights in school settings. Monday’s action comes after the Trump administration pulled back federal guidance advising schools to let students use the bathroom of their chosen gender, not biological birth.

The justices said in a brief order that they have opted not to decide whether federal anti-discrimination law gives high school senior Gavin Grimm the right to use the boys’ bathroom in his Virginia school.   Continue reading “Supreme Court scraps case on transgender bathroom rights”

Mail.com

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), with three of them landing in waters that Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal.   Continue reading “Seoul: North Korea fires 4 ballistic missiles into ocean”

RT

An American man who claims to be a descendant of the last king of Wales has vowed to return to Britain and overthrow Prince Charles as heir to the throne.

Allan Verno Evans, 55, placed an ad in The Times of London on Tuesday claiming he is the rightful heir to the throne and will launch a bid for his “royal historical estate” in just 30 days.   Continue reading “American claims to be rightful heir to the throne, plans to overthrow Prince Charles”

Mail.com

CHICAGO (AP) — The televised moment moved a nation: A grief-stricken widow clasping her hands and looking skyward, tears streaming down her face as the nation’s lawmakers and president delivered a deafening standing ovation in honor of her fallen husband.

President Donald Trump’s tribute to Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens during Tuesday’s congressional address was seen by many as touching. But others regarded it as a calculated attempt to deflect criticism of his decision to approve a failed military operation and to turn around his administration’s shaky start with a gesture that sought to unify a deeply divided country.   Continue reading “Was Trump tribute to fallen Navy SEAL fitting or calculated?”

Mail.com

BEIJING (AP) — Lawyer Cheng Hai has an itemized list of compensation demands from Beijing authorities over the city’s smog: 65 yuan ($9) for having to buy face masks, 100 yuan ($15) for seeing a doctor for a sore throat and 9,999 yuan ($1,500) for emotional distress.

Fed up with what they consider halfhearted efforts to fight air pollution, Cheng and like-minded lawyers are putting China’s legal system to the test by suing the governments of the capital and its surrounding regions.   Continue reading “Lawyers sue Chinese authorities for not getting rid of smog”

Mail.com

BRANDON, Miss. (AP) — A trail of mayhem that began last week in a suburban Mississippi apartment ended Wednesday morning when a stolen SUV chased by police flipped in a fiery crash in a rural Kansas field.

In between, authorities suspect 28-year-old Alex Deaton killed two people, shot three others and stole four vehicles. “He’s led us on quite the chase the last few days and I think everybody here is happy he’s in custody,” Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Marshall Fisher said at a news conference Wednesday.   Continue reading “Mississippi suspect’s mayhem-fueled run ends in fiery crash”

RT

Syrian government forces and their allies have liberated the Palmyra citadel located on a hill overlooking the town from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants, sources tell RT.

“Pro-government forces are now in control of several strategic mountains that are overlooking the ancient city of Palmyra. They also have under their control the famous citadel,” RT’s Lizzie Phelan reports, citing sources that are in direct contact with the army command center on the Palmyra front.   Continue reading “Syrian Army retakes Palmyra citadel from ISIS – sources to RT”

Mail.com

OTTAWA, Ill. (AP) — The Latest on severe weather affecting a large swath of the central U.S. (all times local): 9:05 a.m. Authorities say a tornado that killed a man near Perryville, Missouri, destroyed more than 100 homes in the area.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Justin Wheatley said Wednesday that the man was killed when the tornado blew his vehicle off of Interstate 55 on Tuesday night. A second person in the vehicle wasn’t harmed.   Continue reading “The Latest: Storm destroys more than 100 homes in Missouri”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge said Tuesday that he’ll decide within a week whether to temporarily halt construction of the final section of the Dakota Access pipeline over claims that it violates the religious rights of two Indian tribes.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg told lawyers at a hearing that he wants to issue a ruling before oil begins flowing in the pipeline, which could be weeks away. Boasberg is considering a request by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes to order the Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw permission to lay pipe under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The pipeline has prompted months of protests and hundreds of arrests.  Continue reading “No immediate ruling made on Dakota Access pipeline work”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s new immigration order will remove Iraq from the list of countries whose citizens face a temporary U.S. travel ban, U.S. officials say, citing the latest draft in circulation. Trump is expected to sign the executive order in the coming days.

Four officials told The Associated Press that the decision followed pressure from the Pentagon and State Department, which had urged the White House to reconsider Iraq’s inclusion on the list given its key role in fighting the Islamic State group.   Continue reading “Officials: New Trump travel ban removes Iraq from list”

RT

Chicken may sound like a healthier fast food option, but customers who make that choice at Subway might be in for a surprise. DNA tests have found their chicken was actually half soy, and now the company is saying that isn’t the way a sandwich should be.

Sub isn’t supposed to stand for substitute in the name Subway, but Trent University and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) recently revealed that, on average, Subway’s chicken fillets contained just 53.6 percent chicken DNA and even worse, their chicken strips had only 42.8 percent chicken DNA.   Continue reading “Subway ‘concerned’ DNA tests show its chicken is more than 50% soy”

Mail.com

Jewish centers and schools across the nation coped with another wave of bomb threats Monday as officials in Philadelphia made plans to repair and restore hundreds of vandalized headstones at a Jewish cemetery.

Jewish Community Centers and day schools in at least a dozen states received threats, according to the JCC Association of North America. No bombs were found. All 21 buildings — 13 community centers and eight schools — were cleared by Monday afternoon and had resumed normal operations, the association said.   Continue reading “Jewish centers cope with bomb threats; graves vandalized”

Mail.com

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean special prosecutors said they would indict Samsung’s de facto chief Tuesday on bribery, embezzlement and other charges linked to a political scandal that has toppled President Park Geun-hye.

The planned indictment of Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong is a huge hit for the largest and most successful of the big businesses that dominate the South Korean economy. It also signals the still roiling state of South Korea’s political and economic circles after weeks of massive demonstrations that led to Park’s impeachment.   Continue reading “South Korean prosecutors to indict Samsung’s de facto chief”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local): 6:45 a.m. President Donald Trump says he believes President Barack Obama is behind some of the protests against Republican lawmakers across the country.

In an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” that aired Tuesday, Trump responded to a question about the protests, saying, “I think that President Obama is behind it, because his people are certainly behind it.”   Continue reading “Trump says Obama behind some political protests”

Shane Snow

Albert Einstein is famously quoted: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting something to change.”

This is not, of course, the actual definition of insanity. It also turns out Einstein never said this. It actually comes from an Alcoholics Anonymous pamphlet from the 1980s.   Continue reading “Donald Trump and The Definition of Insanity”

RT

Marc Faber, known as ‘Dr. Doom’ for his pessimistic views of equity markets, has warned investors that US stocks are vulnerable to a seismic selloff, which could start any moment.

The Swiss investor doesn’t expect the rally’s disruption to be evoked by any catalyst, as the markets are overbought and sentiment is way too bullish for the so-called Trump rally to continue.   Continue reading “Dr. Doom warns of stock market selloff ‘avalanche’”