| Thousands sign petition to remove judge who sentenced blind child rapist to probation Posted: 07 Feb 2018 06:59 AM PST  A petition to remove an Oklahoma judge who sentenced a convicted child rapist to 15 years of probation is gaining serious momentum online.
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| North Korea Holds Massive Military Parade Ahead Of 2018 Winter Olympics Posted: 08 Feb 2018 01:05 AM PST  North Korea staged a large military parade on Thursday, just one day before the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
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| Mexico authorities catch animal traffickers trying to mail a tiger cub Posted: 08 Feb 2018 09:53 AM PST  Mexican authorities have found a tiger cub in a plastic container, due to be express mailed to another address. The Office for Environmental Protection on Wednesday found the Bengal cub when a sniffer dog looking for contraband detected it in the plastic container, sedated. The cub was found in the package filled with newspaper clippings, in the western state of Jalisco, due to be shipped to an address in the central state of Queretaro.
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| DHS cybersecurity head: 'No doubt' Russians penetrated voter registration systems Posted: 07 Feb 2018 07:45 AM PST  In an exclusive interview with NBC News' Cynthia McFadden, Jeanette Manfra, the head of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security, says that 21 states were targeted during the 2016 election.
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| Trump touted conspiratorial ambassador nominee's 'marketing' skills Posted: 07 Feb 2018 08:40 AM PST  President Trump's administration sold Leandro Rizzuto Jr. as highly qualified for his ambassadorship to Barbados.
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| Canada police find remains of six people in serial killer probe Posted: 08 Feb 2018 12:05 PM PST  Canadian police said Thursday they have so far uncovered the remains of six people at a home in Toronto linked to an alleged serial killer. Bruce McArthur, 66, was arrested last month for two murders and was later charged with three additional homicides after skeletal remains were found hidden in planters at a Toronto property the suspect, a landscaper, used for storage. "I can now confirm we have recovered the remains of at least six individuals over the last week and a half," lead investigator Sergeant Hank Idsinga said.
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| Hillary Clinton urges people to vote in midterm elections: 'We are in the midst of a war on truth, facts and reason' Posted: 07 Feb 2018 12:08 PM PST  Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said she is "committed" to urging American voters to participate in 2018 midterm elections to "get the sexism out of politics."
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| Zara Is Selling This Lungi Look-Alike For $90, And Brown Twitter Is Cackling Posted: 08 Feb 2018 03:30 PM PST  Centuries after Asian dads figured out the simple pleasure that wearing lungis can bring, it seems the Spanish fashion retailer Zara wants in on the style.
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| Tillerson Says Russia Is Already Trying To Meddle In 2018 Midterms Posted: 07 Feb 2018 01:06 PM PST  Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Russia is already trying to meddle in the 2018 midterm elections and the U.S. isn't prepared to counter the threat.
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| SpaceX rocket now on a trajectory toward asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter Posted: 06 Feb 2018 09:00 PM PST  At mission control, 6,000 workers cheered the launch Tuesday.
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| EPA's Pruitt Suggests Global Warming May Not Be A 'Bad Thing' For Humans Posted: 07 Feb 2018 08:37 PM PST  Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, alluded earlier this week that global warming may be beneficial to humans, once again questioning the world's leading scientists who have declared the phenomenon one of the greatest known threats to humanity.
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| Undocumented Woman Cleared For Liver Transplant After Oregon Hospital Rolls Back 'Archaic' Policy Posted: 08 Feb 2018 05:58 AM PST  She has since been cleared for care
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| US kills more than 100 Assad regime fighters in largest deliberate strike against Syrian government forces Posted: 08 Feb 2018 03:30 AM PST  The US-led coalition killed more than 100 Assad regime fighters in eastern Syria on Wednesday, officials said, in the largest deliberate strike carried out by Western forces against pro-Syrian government troops. The coalition said it struck regime fighters with airstrikes and artillery after they launched an "unprovoked attack" against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Western-backed rebels fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in Syria. "We estimate more than 100 Syrian pro-regime forces were killed while engaging SDF and coalition forces," a US military official said. The strikes took place in the Euphrates River valley in the province of Deir Ezzor, where Isil still holds scraps of territory but is under intense pressure from both Syrian regime forces and the SDF. The US has struck pro-regime forces in eastern Syria several times but Wednesday's attack caused more casualties than any previous deliberate strike. Syrian army fighters are operating against Isil in Deir Ezzor as are the Syrian Democratic Forces Credit: LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images Around 100 Syrian army troops were killed in an accidental strike in Deir Ezzor in September 2016 when US forces mistook them for Isil fighters. The US and the Assad regime have for the most part maintained an uneasy truce in Syria, exchanging hostile words but rarely shooting at each other Wednesday's strike against pro-regime forces illustrates the complex new reality in Syria, where the shared enemy of Isil has largely been defeated and tensions are growing between competing military forces in the country. The US said that around 500 pro-regime troops, backed by tanks and artillery, had launched what appeared to be coordinated attack on an SDF headquarters. "The coalition conducted strikes against attacking forces to repel the act of aggression," a coalition spokesman said. US jets have uneasily shared Syrian airspace with Russian and regime aircraft Credit: AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon The US did not specifically say if the fighters were from the Syrian army or an allied militia or a foreign fighters group like the Lebanese militants Hizbollah. The Syrian regime said the fighters were from a local militia fighting against Isil and accused the US of "a war crime and a crime against humanity". Damascus regularly protests against the US-led intervention in Syria, calling it a violation of Syria's sovereignty, but has been largely powerless to stop it. The US maintains a "deconfliction channel" with Russia, which is allied with the Syrian regime, and the two militaries use the channel to coordinate their movements to avoid to any accidental conflicts. The US said it had been in contact with the Russians throughout the attack on Wednesday and had been reassured that Russian aircraft would not launch strikes against the coalition in support of Syrian regime troops. Further strikes on regime positions are being considered within the US government, a Syrian opposition diplomatic source told the Telegraph, particularly within the National Security Council led by General HR McMaster, and supported by Nikki Haley, the ambassador to the UN. But there is significant divergence within the administration, according to the source, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urging more caution. The French government is said to support such moves, having been frustrated by what it saw as flip-flopping within the Trump administration over their willingness to stand up to Russia in Syria.
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| North Korea's Missile Parade: A Tale of Missing Missiles Posted: 08 Feb 2018 11:16 AM PST  Once the Olympics is over, testing is likely to resume and the long-running crisis between the United States and North Korea will be with us again. North Korea held a large military parade at 10 a.m. local time. In fact, it was not carried live on North Korean state television, but rebroadcast later.
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| Prosecutor: Trump's comments on fatal crash 'ghoulish' Posted: 07 Feb 2018 12:20 PM PST  INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana prosecutor blasted President Donald Trump on Wednesday for politicizing the case of an immigrant illegally living in the U.S. and charged in a drunken crash that killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and another man, saying his and others' comments were "ghoulish and inappropriate."
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| Through multiple teams and sports, Tim Tebow's dog Bronco is always by his side Posted: 07 Feb 2018 02:42 PM PST  The 2010 NFL Draft changed Tim Tebow's life forever, and not just because it was the start of his NFL career.
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| Seattle To Become Latest City To Erase Past Marijuana Convictions Posted: 08 Feb 2018 09:41 AM PST  In an effort to bring "restorative justice" to communities that have been disproportionately affected by drug law enforcement, Seattle's mayor and city attorney said Thursday that the city will move to dismiss marijuana possession convictions that were prosecuted before Washington state voted to legalize the drug.
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| Senator Who Warned Of An Anti-Trump 'Secret Society' Has A New Theory On FBI Texts Posted: 07 Feb 2018 02:53 PM PST  WASHINGTON ― A September 2016 briefing for President Barack Obama mentioned in newly disclosed FBI text messages was about Russian interference in the election and not ― as a Republican senator and Fox News suggested ― the Clinton email investigation that was closed two months before that briefing.
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| The Ones They Left Behind: A Puerto Rican Family Still Torn Apart Months After Maria Posted: 08 Feb 2018 02:47 AM PST  One morning last September, Jeancarlo and Jan Miguel Ruiz Núñez stepped out of their home and found their neighborhood, on the outskirts of the small mountain town of Lares, Puerto Rico, wrecked.
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| Flu shot myths debunked Posted: 07 Feb 2018 07:49 AM PST  Many cite the risk of getting sick as a reason to not get a flu shot, but the truth is that there's no live flu virus in the shot, so it cannot make you sick. Any symptoms means your immune system is kicking in.
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| US-led strikes on Syria pro-regime forces kill 100: US official Posted: 08 Feb 2018 12:17 AM PST  The US-led coalition killed at least 100 regime and allied fighters in retaliation for an attack in eastern Syria, a US official said, in one of the deadliest incidents of its kind. The flare-up lasted into the small hours of Thursday and was sparked by an attack on positions held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir Ezzor province. According to the US Central Command, coalition advisers were also present at the site of the attack late on Tuesday.
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| Aby Rosen Unveils Artist Lofts in Foster + Partners–Designed 100 East 53rd Street Posted: 08 Feb 2018 09:09 AM PST |
| Taiwan earthquake: Buildings tilt on sides after at least four killed and scores missing amid rescue operation Posted: 07 Feb 2018 12:57 AM PST  Rescue workers scrambled to search for survivors in buildings left tilting precariously on their foundations in Taiwan, after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake killed at least four people and injured more than 200. Scores more people were trapped and others missing after the tremor shook the city of Hualien on the east coast, while a series of aftershocks were felt throughout the night. At least six tall buildings were left tilting on their sides. The worst-hit and was propped up with cranes as it lent at about 45 degrees. Authorities said they could not verify how many residents were still missing after the quake, which hit the popular tourist port city late on Tuesday. Early on Wednesday, rescue efforts were focused on the Yun Tsui residential building, which also housed a restaurant, shops and a hostel. At least six tall buildings were left tilting on their sides after the 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Credit: REUTERS and PAUL YANG/AFP/Getty The quake left the 12-storey building leaning to one side, its lower floors pancaked. The national fire agency said 143 residents from the building remained missing. But it was not immediately clear if those unaccounted for were trapped inside the building. Rescue and emergency workers block off a street in Hualien where a building was left tilting precariously One local who lives nearby told how he watched the tower block partially collapse. "I saw the first floor sink into the ground," said 35-year-old Lu Chih-son, who saw 20 people rescued from the building. "Then it sunk and tilted further and the fourth floor became the first floor. "My family were unhurt, but a neighbour was injured in their head and is bleeding. We dare not go back home now. There are many aftershocks and we are worried the house is damaged." A firefighter works at a collapsed building in the early hours Credit: Tyrone Siu/Reuters Resident Chen Chih-wei, 80, said he was sleeping in his apartment on the top floor of the building when the quake struck. "My bed turned completely vertical, I was sleeping and suddenly I was standing," he said. He said he managed to crawl his way to a balcony to wait for rescue, adding that the quake was the strongest he had felt in more than five decades of living in Hualien. Smoke rises around a collapsed building amid rescue efforts Credit: TYRONE SIU /Reuters President Tsai Ing-wen visited the site on Wednesday morning, where officials were going room by room looking for anyone trapped inside. "Now is the prime time for our rescue efforts, our first priority is to save people," she said in a Facebook post. Four mobile cranes had been brought in on the back of trucks to help prop up the structure. The worst-hit building was propped up with mobile cranes as it lent on its side Credit: REUTERS Liu Yan-hu, from the Hualien County Architects Association, said it looked like the building's main structure was intact. Five more buildings including a hospital and a hotel were also damaged in the city, where roads were ripped apart and strewn with rubble. The national fire agency said four people had been killed across the city, with 225 others injured. More than 117 people had been rescued from damaged buildings on Wednesday morning. An aerial image shows a residential building leaning on a collapsed first floor Credit: Central News Agency/AP Hualien is one of Taiwan's most popular tourist hubs as it lies on the picturesque east coast rail line and near to the popular Taroko Gorge. Frequent aftershocks left some residents stranded in the open as they feared going back into buildings. Authorities said 830 people were in shelters on Wednesday morning and some 1,900 houses were without power. Large cracks in a street after the powerful earthquake hit Hualien Credit: TYRONE SIU /Reuters The severely damaged Marshal Hotel had also crumpled into the ground as its bottom storeys disappeared. "The lower floors sunk into the ground and I saw panicked tourists being rescued from the hotel," said witness Blue Hsu. Graphic: Taiwan earthquake shake intensity Earthquake is two years after tremor that killed 100 The earthquake hit at just before midnight (3.50pm GMT) around 13 miles (21 kilometres) northeast of Hualien, according to the United States Geological Survey. It followed almost 100 smaller tremors to have hit the area in the last three days and comes exactly two years since a quake of the same magnitude struck the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan, killing more than 100 people. Rescue workers search for victims at a collapsed building in Tainan in February 2016 Credit: Lam Yik Fei /Getty Most of the deaths from the February 2016 earthquake were from the 16-storey Wei-kuan apartment complex, which toppled on its side and buried many residents in the rubble. It was the only high-rise in Tainan to crumble completely in the quake, which came two days before Lunar New Year, when many people were visiting relatives for the biggest celebration of the Chinese calendar. How to | Stay safe in an earthquake The safety of the building was called into question immediately after the disaster, when metal cans and foam were found to have been used as fillers in the concrete and residents said there had been cracks in the structure. Five people were found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment over the disaster, including the developer and two architects, with prosecutors saying they "cut corners" that affected the building's structural integrity. Why Taiwan is regularly hit by big earthquakes Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes. The island's worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6 magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.
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| Indicting a President Not Settled Law Posted: 07 Feb 2018 12:04 PM PST  Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder talks with Rachel Maddow about whether Donald Trump could be charged with obstruction of justice, and the failure of Jeff Sessions to stand up for DoJ and FBI employees under attack.
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| Black Lives Matter activist shot, killed in New Orleans Posted: 07 Feb 2018 01:14 PM PST  NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A man fatally shot in New Orleans has been identified as a Black Lives Matter activist known for his leap through police tape at a South Carolina demonstration last year as he attempted to seize a Confederate battle flag from a protester.
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| Pennsylvania's Supreme Court Explains Why It Struck Down Congressional Map Favoring GOP Posted: 07 Feb 2018 05:47 PM PST  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court offered a lengthy and long-awaited explanation on Wednesday of its decision to strike down the state's congressional map, saying the districts violated a state constitutional guarantee of "free and equal" elections.
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| Teva warns on 2018 profit, may face migraine drug delays Posted: 08 Feb 2018 12:17 PM PST ![Teva warns on 2018 profit, may face migraine drug delays]( "Teva warns on 2018 profit, may face migraine drug delays") By Tova Cohen and Steven Scheer TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries on Thursday said its 2018 results would be weaker than expected and that it might encounter delays for an important new migraine drug, pushing the drugmaker's shares down more than 9 percent. Israel-based Teva, the world's largest generic drugmaker, is facing price erosion, fierce competition for its blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone and a consolidating customer base, particularly in the United States. It also said that the approval and launch of its migraine drug fremanezumab, one of two drugs the company pegged to help return it to growth in the future, could be delayed by an FDA warning letter received by manufacturer Celltrion, which will supply the drug to Teva.
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| Jimmy Kimmel Spots Something Intriguing About Melania Trump's Twitter Account Posted: 08 Feb 2018 03:04 AM PST  Jimmy Kimmel dissected Melania Trump's Twitter game on Wednesday night, and discovered an intriguing detail.
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| Cornell University Fraternity on Probation for 'Pig Roast' Sex Competition Posted: 07 Feb 2018 02:39 PM PST  The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity is on probation for two years
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| Congressional Leaders Reach Spending Deal, But Passage Is Still In Doubt Posted: 07 Feb 2018 01:38 PM PST  WASHINGTON ― Republicans think they have a bill to avert a government shutdown and significantly raise spending caps ― a bipartisan deal months in the making.
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| Harley-Davidson Reminds Us That Its Bikes are Customizable Posted: 08 Feb 2018 06:08 AM PST  Harley-Davidson Politely Reminds Us Its Bikes are Customizable New video from Harley reminds the motorcycling world that the moco's bikes are, indeed, highly customizable. Harley's stranglehold on the motorcycle industry has become increasingly tenuous over
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| Mercedes apologises to China after quoting Dalai Lama Posted: 07 Feb 2018 09:59 AM PST  Mercedes-Benz has apologised for "hurting the feelings" of the people of China for quoting the Dalai Lama on Instagram. The German auto giant became the latest of several international companies that have backpedalled recently for offending Chinese consumers with advertising or information that clashes with Beijing's official position on Tibet and other Chinese-claimed regions. Mercedes' seemingly benign post to its official Instagram account showed a Benz on a beach before rolling white-capped waves. "Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open," the ad copy ran, citing the Dalai Lama, who is seen by Beijing as a separatist. "Start your week with a fresh perspective on life from the Dalai Lama," the carmaker wrote in the tagline. Mercedes' seemingly benign post to its official Instagram account showed a Benz on a beach before rolling white-capped waves The Zen post immediately drew criticism from Chinese internet users for quoting the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, whom Beijing accuses of being a "wolf in monk's robes" seeking Tibetan independence through "spiritual terrorism". The Dalai Lama has called for granting Tibetans greater autonomy within China, but not independence. While Instagram is blocked in China and inaccessible to most Chinese - and the post was penned in English - Mercedes-Benz quickly deleted the photo after the outcry and issued an apology on China's Twitter-like Weibo social media platform. "Even though we deleted the related information as soon as possible, we know this has hurt the feelings of people of this country," Mercedes said on its verified Weibo account on Tuesday. The post "published extremely incorrect information, for this we are sincerely sorry," the company wrote, without naming either Instagram or the Dalai Lama, or explaining what the offending post was about. "We have immediately taken real action to deepen our understanding of Chinese culture and values, including among our colleagues abroad, and in this way regulate our behaviour." China's foreign ministry applauded Mercedes' quick response on Wednesday, with spokesman Geng Shuang telling reporters: "Recognising and correcting one's mistakes is the most basic of ethics." Beijing "welcomes foreign companies to reap the opportunities of China's development but during this process we hope foreign companies can perform the most basic of compliance," Geng said. China's state media was less conciliatory, with the online edition of the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily running an editorial attacking Mercedes after it published an apology. Offending the sensitivities of Beijing has proven a problem for a number of foreign companies tapping the lucrative Chinese market. Earlier this year, a spate of brands came under government criticism for online material that listed Chinese regions such as Tibet and Hong Kong as separate countries. Marriott hotels even had its Chinese website and app blocked for a week by mainland authorities, while Spanish clothing giant Zara and Delta Air Lines were also called out. Trendy Japanese retailer Muji has also faced the wrath of what the foreign ministry called the "new era" of a "more confident and open" China. One of the retailers' in-store catalogues held a store location map which Beijing said omitted islands disputed with Japan. Last summer, British band Placebo was scheduled to perform at the Summer Sonic Festival in Shanghai - until they posted a photo of the Nobel winner on Instagram. The picture resulted "in a lifetime ban by the Ministry of Culture in China," the band said in another post acknowledging they would be unable to perform. "We apologise to all the fans who were hoping to see Placebo perform," it wrote.
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| Cops Identify Hung Phuoc Nguyen as Theft Suspect, Despite Widely Mocked Sketch Posted: 08 Feb 2018 09:39 AM PST  Police shared the drawing on its crime watch page, and while it was initially mocked by some for its simplicity, officials said it did the job.
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| Syria: Air defenses respond to Israeli strike near capital Posted: 07 Feb 2018 01:07 AM PST ![Syria: Air defenses respond to Israeli strike near capital]( "Syria: Air defenses respond to Israeli strike near capital") DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria said Wednesday it has responded to "a new Israeli aggression" after aircraft targeted a military outpost near Damascus, claiming its air defense system destroyed most of the missiles.
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| Senate Republican report alleges FBI bias against Trump Posted: 07 Feb 2018 10:30 AM PST  A new report from Senate Republicans Wednesday alleged the FBI is biased against President Donald Trump, raising pressure on the agency as the White House fights off the mounting Russia collusion investigation. The report by Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee says some 50,000 text messages between two FBI investigators show they and others went easy in a probe of 2016 Democratic presidential election candidate Hillary Clinton, while launching an investigation of the Trump campaign.
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| Apple Inc. (AAPL) Stock May Suffer Until 2019 Posted: 08 Feb 2018 04:16 AM PST ![Apple Inc. (AAPL) Stock May Suffer Until 2019]( "Apple Inc. (AAPL) Stock May Suffer Until 2019") Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) stock is down 8.7 percent in the past month after the iPhone X "supercycle" turned out not to be as super as investors had hoped. While there may still be long-term value in Apple stock, Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall says investors shouldn't be in a hurry to buy. Hall says the weakness in iPhone unit sales that weighed on Apple stock following its fiscal first-quarter earnings report will remain an albatross for Apple stock for at least two more quarters.
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| 24 Gifts 'Black Panther' Fans Will Love To Ring In The Release Posted: 07 Feb 2018 02:42 PM PST  The reviews are in, and it looks as if "Black Panther" is being hailed as one of the best Marvel films yet.
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| There May Be a Hidden Agenda in Hong Kong's Ruling to Spare Joshua Wong From Prison Posted: 07 Feb 2018 01:56 AM PST  Human rights advocates said the court's decision could have a "chilling" effect on pro-democracy cases in the future
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| Nancy Pelosi Sets Record For Longest Continuous Speech In House History Posted: 07 Feb 2018 03:43 PM PST  The Democrat spoke for more than eight hours on the House floor Wednesday, adamant that she would not support any long-term budget deal without a commitment from House Speaker Paul Ryan to allow a chamber vote on protecting young undocumented immigrants.
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| U.S. Olympic swimmer accuses ex-coach of sexual abuse when she was 16 Posted: 08 Feb 2018 12:02 PM PST ![U.S. Olympic swimmer accuses ex-coach of sexual abuse when she was 16]( "U.S. Olympic swimmer accuses ex-coach of sexual abuse when she was 16") Ariana Kukors, who represented the United States in the 2012 Olympic Games, said Sean Hutchison, then a coach for USA Swimming's national team, began "grooming" her for a sexual relationship when she was 13. "I've realized that stories like my own are too important to go unwritten," Kukors, 28, said in a statement on Wednesday.
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| Japan's Princess Mako postpones wedding amid tabloid reports about fiance's 'family dispute' Posted: 08 Feb 2018 06:22 AM PST  Japan's Imperial Household has denied speculation that the postponement of Princess Mako's wedding was due to tabloid reports of a row over money in her fiancé's family. The Emperor's granddaughter was due to marry her college sweetheart Kei Komuro, a 26-year-old paralegal, in a high-profile wedding in November after announcing their engagement last year. However, the nuptials were postponed this week with the Imperial Household Agency citing "a series of important ceremonies next year", in apparent reference to the planned abdication of the Emperor and the handover of power to his son. The abrupt announcement came as something of a surprise in Japan, less than a month before a traditional betrothal ceremony was scheduled to formalise the engagement and pave the way to the wedding. However, a series of weekly magazine reports focusing on Mr Komuro and his family would most likely have created an uncomfortable backdrop to wedding preparations in recent weeks. The reports focus on a row surrounding claims that Mr Komuro's mother – with whom he still lives in Yokohama – allegedly failed to repay her former partner more than 4 million yen (£26,200) which she apparently borrowed to cover her son's university fees. rincess Mako of Akishino is seen after the Imperial Household Agency announces the postponement of the marriage of Princess Mako of Akishino and Kei Komuro Credit: Getty However, Takaharu Kachi, an Imperial Household Agency official, told reporters that the decision to postpone the couple's engagement was not related in any way to tabloid reports. Meanwhile Princess Mako, 26, also issued a statement saying she believed the couple had "rushed things" and apologised for their "immaturity": ""I wish to think about marriage more deeply and concretely and give sufficient time to prepare our marriage and for after the marriage." She added: "It is because of our immaturity and we just regret it. We feel extremely sorry for causing great trouble and further burden to those who have willingly supported us." Princess Mako faces giving up her royal status and becoming a commoner when she marries her fiancé, whom she met while the pair were both studying at the International Christian College in Tokyo. Kei Komuro, fiance of Princess Mako of Akishino is seen after the Imperial Household Agency announces the postponement of the marriage Credit: Getty The recent flurry of tabloid stories relating to Mr Komura's family appeared in several weekly magazines known as shukanshi but were not reported at the time by mainstream national newspapers or broadcasters. The shukanshi tend to report with more freedom – and controversy – than mainstream media in Japan as they operate outside the confines of the "press club system" which strictly regulates membership and access to news within official organisations. Referring to the mainstream press and the recent tabloid scandals, Professor Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University in Tokyo, told the Telegraph: "By British standards, he's been treated rather mildly by the media. The Imperial Household Agency no doubt frowns upon such reporting and everybody knows it. There's some taboo journalism goes on here - everyone knows that they wouldn't want certain things printed, so they don't print it even if there's no explicit instruction not to." He added: "Getting married to a commoner is something of a big deal here. The commoners that they marry tend to be blue blood commoners. This is a common commoner. I imagine in some circles in the Imperial Household Agency and the government, this would not be their top choice. But she has gone with her heart."
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| Kitten placed in freezer, thrown off 2nd-story balcony, police say Posted: 07 Feb 2018 07:19 PM PST  Police arrested a man for animal cruelty after he allegedly placed a kitten in a freezer and threw the feline off a second-story balcony in Fontana.
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| 14 Blueberry Cobblers You Can't Make It Through Summer Without Posted: 07 Feb 2018 11:39 AM PST ![14 Blueberry Cobblers You Can't Make It Through Summer Without]( "14 Blueberry Cobblers You Can't Make It Through Summer Without") It's cobbler season! From Delish
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| The Latest: Iran's Rouhani discusses Syria with Turkish FM Posted: 07 Feb 2018 11:28 AM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the situation in Syria (all times local):
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