February, 2019

Olympic organizers in Paris formally submitted breakdancing as a new competition they want to introduce to the games when they come to the City of Lights in summer 2024.

The International Olympic Committee has the final say, but won't consider it — or any other proposed new games — until after the 2020 Tokyo games are completed. The mere proposal making it this far is a major triumph for breakdance advocates.

My name is Valkyrie Weather, born Kyle Cohen, the oldest child and trans daughter of film producer/director Rob Cohen (The fast and the Furious, xXx, and The Hurricane Heist among many others). When I was very young, Rob used my body for his own sexual gratification. My mother witnessed one of the assaults when I was between two and two and a half years old, and has since confirmed what she saw. This fact has cost me more than I could ever convey here. Rob has also raped at least one other woman, in her sleep. I know this because he would occasionally tell the story as an anecdote. Presumably in an effort to turn me into the straight son that he wanted me to be, Rob took me to see sex workers and establishments in Thailand and The Czech Republic starting when I was as young as 13/14 years old. Through therapy and support from loved ones, I no longer feel that I owe this man any loyalty. And thanks to the #metoo movement, I have found the will to speak out. While Rob will in all likelihood escape criminal justice, I demand that my story be heard. I am not seeking financial restitution, nor do I have a career to promote. My greatest hope is that others who have been hurt by Rob Cohen feel that they are able to come forward as well.

On the second day of Francis’ extraordinary gathering of Catholic leaders, the focus of debate shifted to how church leaders must acknowledge that decades of their own cover-up, secrecy and fear of scandal had only worsened the crisis.
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Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich told the 190 bishops and religious superiors that new legal procedures were needed to both report and investigate superiors when they are accused of misconduct or negligence in handling abuse cases.

The numbers: The number of people who applied for jobless benefits in mid-February fell sharply and returned near post-recession lows, suggesting the U.S. labor market is still going strong and keeping the economy on firm footing.
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Big picture: The U.S. is still adding new jobs at a rapid clip to keep the unemployment rate near the lowest level in decades. A tight labor market is also forcing companies to pay workers more.

January saw a surprising surge of 22,000 more apprehensions of illegal immigrants at southwest border crossings over January 2018, prompting a key predictor to suggest that border officers will make over 600,000 apprehensions this year.

The year-over-year increase was 84 percent, from 25,975 in January 2018 to 47,893 last January, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Rohlfing says he did not use his PayPal account to receive donations, receive payments, or otherwise conduct business as a reporter, but simply used it to expedite payments and increase security on various websites. Still, PayPal said in its email to Rohlfing notifying him of his account’s termination that the decision was based on his “activities” and relating to his “usage of PayPal services.”

The email also instructed him to remove all mention of PayPal as a payment processor from his website, even though Rohlfing has no website.

North Carolina’s elections board Thursday ordered a new election in the nation’s last undecided congressional race after the Republican candidate conceded his lead was tainted by evidence of ballot-tampering by political operatives working for him.
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The Democrat in the race, Dan McCready, hailed the board decision as “a great step forward for democracy in North Carolina.”

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 34, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 28, are charged in a single-count indictment that was unsealed last week in Washington.

Prosecutors allege the two brothers conspired to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the U.S. from Mexico and elsewhere in the world from 2008 to 2018. They are both believed to be living in Mexico and remain fugitives.

🚨 EVERYONE RT THIS 👇👇 🚨 https://t.co/TEw29FVHHm

— Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) February 21, 2019

The police's Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Prevention Unit (Amla Unit) raided the home of former Goldman Sachs managing director Roger Ng on Tuesday. News portal Malaysiakini reported that the unit seized three cars and cash, based on information given to them by an unnamed source.
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On November 1, 2018 Ng was detained after a warrant of arrest was issued against him by the US government and was later indicted by the US Department of Justice.

... Articles appeared in at least four newspapers and on innumerable websites... A college-age girl walked into one of the cafes screaming, variously, that the baristas were in danger, and that working for Ristretto somehow posed a threat to the community. Employees who had previously been secure in their jobs became jittery and quit. One of Din’s managers suggested that he sell the company and that I offer a public apology before it was too late.

The mob did not seem to notice (or mind) that Camila’s email had created precisely the kind of “demoralizing and hostile environment for employees” it was ostensibly intended to prevent. Young staff now worried that maybe the next crazed college girl would do more than scream; that they’d lose their jobs (and health insurance) if Ristretto were forced to close...

One Lone State state school district is arming guards with AR-15s, using facial recognition technology to control who comes inside buildings and even tracking students with chip technology -- all in a bid to become the safest school system in the nation.

The extraordinary measures are the brainchild of a former Secret Service agent who drew from his experience to come up with an ambitious security plan.
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Some of the measures have already been implemented. Students and staff wear radio frequency identification cards, capable of tracking their whereabouts in school. They’ve lined glass doors with intrusion filming, making them impact resistant.

United States President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to impose tariffs on European automobiles if he does not reach an agreement with the European Union (EU) to reform the bilateral trade relationship.
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"We are trying to reach an agreement. It is very difficult to reach an agreement with them, with the EU. If we do not reach an agreement, we will do the tariffs," Trump told reporters at the beginning of his meeting with Kurz.

Federal prosecutors, under former Miami U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, broke the law when they concealed a plea agreement from more than 30 underage victims who had been sexually abused by wealthy New York hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

While the decision marks a victory for crime victims, the federal judge, Kenneth A. Marra, stopped short of overturning Epstein’s plea deal, or issuing an order resolving the case. He instead gave federal prosecutors 15 days to confer with Epstein’s victims and their attorneys to come up with a settlement. The victims did not seek money or damages as part of the suit.

A new study has found that transplanting the bone marrow of young laboratory mice into old mice prevented cognitive decline in the old mice, preserving their memory and learning abilities. The findings support an emerging model that attributes cognitive decline, in part, to aging of blood cells, which are produced in bone marrow.
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In the study, published in the journal Communications Biology, 18-month-old laboratory mice received bone marrow transplants from either 4-month-old mice or mice their own age. Six months later, both transplanted groups underwent standard laboratory tests of activity level and learning, plus spatial and working memory. Mice that received young bone marrow outperformed mice that received old bone marrow. They also outperformed a control group of old mice that did not get transplants.

Port Richey, Florida, Mayor Dale Massad is charged with attempted murder after shooting at a Pasco County SWAT team Thursday morning.

“I used to be up in the DC area. They had Marion Barry up there. This is Port Richey’s version. An individual that you wouldn’t believe should be in office and this is what happened," said Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco. “He shot at our members. He’s lucky he’s not dead.”

Now, Massad has been charged with attempted murder.

Putin specifically threatened deployment of hypersonic missiles on ships and submarines which could enter US territorial waters without detection if American intermediate-range missiles move into Europe.

On Wednesday afternoon, agents working at the Falfurrias Checkpoint referred a vehicle to the secondary inspection area after a Border Patrol K-9 alerted. During the inspection, agents located over 45 pounds of methamphetamine, worth an estimated $1.4M, inside the vehicle. Agents arrested the driver and turned the case over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Throughout the day, agents working in the Rio Grande Valley Sector seized over 740 pounds of marijuana worth nearly $600K.