These Are The Funniest Newfoundland Snowstorm Tweets
St. John’s is currently in a state of emergency after Newfoundland was hit with a record-breaking snowfall that piled more than 70 centimetres of snow onto some parts of the province and winds that pushed snow into drifts several feet high. Many communities are dealing with power outages, and search and rescue is looking for a man who was reported missing on his way to a friend’s house. But Newfoundlanders on Twitter are still doing their best to find the humour in a bad situation.
Source:Huffington Post
January 18, 2020 23:26 UTC
Phase One U.S. China Trade Goals Are Insurmountable
(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty ... [+] Images) Getty ImagesPresident Trump signed the Phase One trade deal with China last Wednesday. Increases in U.S. exports to China over 2 years U.S. China Phase One Trade DealIncreases in U.S. exports to China over 2 years U.S. CHINA PHASE ONE TRADE DEALIn 2017 the U.S. exported $188 billion in Goods and Services to China. Through November 2019 U.S. Goods exports to China have fallen by 15.9% compared to the first 11 months of 2017. Note that Goods exports to China were $129.8 billion in 2017 and are estimated to be $109.2 billion in 2019. The U.S. will still run a very large deficit with ChinaIn 2017 the U.S. had a $336 billion deficit with China.
Source:Forbes
January 18, 2020 23:26 UTC
Chikaodinaka Nwankpa, former Drexel professor, accused of spending grant money on strippers
(CNN) A former Drexel University professor faces criminal charges after allegedly stealing $185,000 in research grant money and using it at adult entertainment venues and on purchases for iTunes, meals and other expenses. Chikaodinaka Nwankpa, 57, was charged this week with theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception, both felonies, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. It was unclear how the grant money was earmarked to be used. He betrayed Drexel University and tuition-paying students he was paid to educate," District Attorney Larry Krasner said. CNN has tried to contact Nwankpa but has not yet reached him and has not determined whether he has legal representation.
Source:CNN
January 18, 2020 23:26 UTC
Rod Rosenstein says he authorized release of Strzok-Page texts: DOJ
In his declaration, Rosenstein explained he did not see any legitimate reason to withhold the text messages because they were sent on government phones and subject to FBI review. He also said they were being sought by the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate, for oversight reasons. STRZOK CLAIMS ANTI-TRUMP TEXTS PROTECTED BY FIRST AMENDMENT, ADMINISTRATION VIOLATED HIS RIGHTSRosenstein said he released the text messages in their entirety on Dec. 12, 2017, to avoid selective leaking by federal lawmakers, who were set to receive the texts the next day. Page, who eventually resigned from the Bureau, sued the DOJ last month over the release of the text messages, claiming it violated the Federal Privacy Act. "Also, why were the lovers text messages scrubbed after he left Mueller.
Source:Fox News
January 18, 2020 23:26 UTC
Talk to the hand? Amazon reportedly wants you to pay with it.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon shops and other merchants could offer a hand-based payment system. Your credit card or account info would be linked to your palms, so when checking out you'd just put out your hand. You wouldn't have to touch any surface like with Touch ID on Apple iPhones. Amazon Go stores are cashier-less, but to enter you have to swipe an app on a phone. This would eliminate that step, possibly replacing the app with a quick hand scan to enter.
Source:Wall Street Journal
January 18, 2020 23:15 UTC
OnePlus Suddenly Exposes Powerful OnePlus 8 Feature
Earlier this week, OnePlus announced that a number of its smartphones this year will feature a 120 Hz refresh rate. Why would OnePlus confirm a feature months before the expected launch of the handsets? Instead, OnePlus takes steps to confirm a number of key features ahead of a press launch. OnePlus is not the only smartphone manufacturer to take this approach, but it wears this approach proudly on its sleeve. With the announcement of the Fluid Display, the Shenzhen-based success is gearing up for another year of storytelling and smartphone surprises.
Source:Forbes
January 18, 2020 23:15 UTC
Mexican Forces Clash With Migrants at Border With Guatemala
MEXICO CITY—Mexican security forces used plastic shields to push back hundreds of Central American migrants who tried to force their way across a border bridge from Guatemala into Mexico on Saturday. Lines of National Guard officers jostled with migrants, some of whom threw bottles and wielded sticks as they tried to push their way into Mexico. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has vowed to stop migrants from entering the country illegally as they try to reach the U.S....
Source:Wall Street Journal
January 18, 2020 22:52 UTC
House Democrats And White House File Arguments Ahead Of Impeachment Trial
The dueling statements previewed arguments both sides intend to make once Trump’s impeachment trial begins in earnest on Tuesday. The Trump team similarly offered a taste of the rhetoric expected to be deployed by the president’s defenders in the Senate. A legal brief from the White House laying out the contours of Trump’s defense was due by noon Monday, and White House attorneys and Trump’s outside legal team have been debating just how political the document should be. Starr is a veteran of Washington’s partisan battles after leading the investigation into Clinton’s affair with a White House intern. “I’m not a full-fledged member of the defense team,” he told “The Dan Abrams Show” on SiriusXM.
Source:Huffington Post
January 18, 2020 22:46 UTC
Barry Tuckwell, French Horn Virtuoso, Is Dead at 88
Barry Tuckwell, considered by many to be the finest horn player of his generation, who displayed his skill in concerts all over the world and on dozens of recordings, died on Friday in Melbourne, Australia. The Maryland Symphony Orchestra, of which Mr. Tuckwell was founding music director and conductor, posted news of his death on its website. Mr. Tuckwell, Australian by birth, was a master of the French horn, one of the more difficult instruments in the orchestra to play well, especially as a soloist. People magazine, in a 1979 article about Mr. Tuckwell, called it “some 21 feet of coiled brass, valves, crooks, sockets, slides, keys — in short, booby traps.”Mr. Tuckwell offered an analogy. “Playing the horn,” he told the magazine, “is like driving a very fast car on an oily road.
Source:New York Times
January 18, 2020 22:41 UTC
OBIT INDEX WSJ for Sunday, January 19, 2020
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Source:Wall Street Journal
January 18, 2020 22:41 UTC
'Framers' worst nightmare': House Democrats make their case for removing Trump from office
The House managers made their case directly to the senators who will act as jurors in the impeachment trial. When that happens, everyone has to leave the chamber, including the House managers and the President's defense team, the source said. The Senate goes into closed session during the impeachment trial because senators are jurors and are not allowed to speak during the trial. The seven House impeachment managers, led by House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, are returning to Washington Sunday to prepare for the trial, according to Democratic aides. The House will then have the chance to counter to the President's trial brief by 12 p.m., ET on Tuesday.
Source:CNN
January 18, 2020 22:35 UTC
Biotechnology
Today’s ThemeThe theme for this “Biotechnology” puzzle takes a bit of unraveling, but that’s completely suitable. First of all, you will notice four sets of four bubbles in today’s grid, one in each corner, running diagonally — an unusual configuration. There’s also a scattering of eight entries, running both across and down, that are simply clued with a “—”. In other words, those entries start at the end, the bottom step of those four bubbles running downstairs. Notice how each of them shares a last letter, and that it’s the first circled letter in that corner?
Source:New York Times
January 18, 2020 22:30 UTC
Trump lawyers respond to articles of impeachment: 'Constitutionally invalid'
"The articles of impeachment are constitutionally invalid on their face," the seven-page filing continued. The lawyers contend House Democrats fail to allege any crime or violation of law whatsoever, let alone, high crimes or misdemeanors. The House impeachment managers released their opening trial briefing Saturday evening, and Trump's lawyers will give their response by Monday at noon. But a source close to Trump's legal team rejected the findings and accused the GAO of trying to insert itself into the impeachment "news cycle." The trial will kick off in earnest Tuesday when House impeachment managers will prosecute the case and Trump's lawyers will offer a robust defense over a period of days.
Source:Fox News
January 18, 2020 22:30 UTC
House Democrats say Senate ‘must eliminate the threat’ that the president poses to national security
The White House defense team has until noon Monday to file its legal brief outlining why the president should be acquitted. AD“The evidence overwhelmingly establishes that he is guilty of both,” the managers wrote in the brief. They are defective in their entirety,” the White House said. ADThe Ukraine plot, the House managers argue, was compounded by Trump’s effort to obstruct the congressional probe by defying subpoenas for documents and testimony. In seven instances, the House brief refers to the evidence against Trump as “overwhelming” or “compelling,” arguing that the House has gathered enough proof of the malfeasance the managers allege against Trump.
Source:Washington Post
January 18, 2020 22:26 UTC
Queen Elizabeth Says She's 'Particularly Proud' Of Meghan Markle In New Statement
Queen Elizabeth singled out Meghan Markle in a new statement released Saturday regarding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step back as working members of the royal family. “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family,” the queen said in the new statement. Buckingham Palace said Saturday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will drop their “royal highness” titles and no longer receive public funding as they step back from their royal duties. They will also pay “commercial rent” on their UK home, Frogmore Cottage at Windsor Castle, and pay back the British public the $3.06 million spent on renovations for the home. “It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life,” the queen added in her statement.
Source:Huffington Post
January 18, 2020 22:18 UTC