Today’s top stories.
Jeff Bezos and wife to divorce after 25 years of marriage
The world’s richest couple is splitting up.
Scripted Trump does little to convince skeptics on border wall
President Donald Trump delivered his scripted response to the deepening Washington stalemate over his border wall on Tuesday night. But when he’s free to tweet and with cameras rolling during a Wednesday morning appearance, America could find out what he really thinks.
Fact-checking Trump’s immigration speech
In his first formal address to the nation from the Oval Office, President Donald Trump painted a picture of a national threat and humanitarian crisis occurring along the US-Mexico border, saying his signature border wall would provide a solution.
World’s most powerful passport for 2019 revealed
(CNN) – The country with the world’s most powerful passport in 2019 is … Japan. Again. That’s the view of the Henley Passport Index, which periodically measures the access each country’s travel document affords. Japan retains its top spot as the world’s most travel-friendly passport thanks to the document’s access to 190 countries.
Kim Jong Un departs Beijing after meetings with Xi Jinping
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departed Beijing Wednesday by train, marking an end to his surprise visit to the Chinese capital that comes as Washington and Pyongyang are trying to hammer out the details of a second summit.
#shoegate: Australian PM gets two left feet in Photoshop blunder
What should have been a heartwarming photo of the Australian Prime Minister posing with his wife and kids has brought out the best in Aussie banter, thanks to one minor problem: the image showed the PM, Scott Morrison, with two left feet.
Lonely George, the last snail of its kind, has died
Formally known as Achatinella apexfulva, the 14-year-old Hawaiian tree snail was the last of its kind on the planet.
Family attorney says district attorney looking into R. Kelly allegations
R. Kelly could be facing an investigation in Georgia after the airing of a Lifetime documentary series that chronicled allegations of abuse, predatory behavior and pedophilia against the singer.
Ransom sought for magnate’s missing wife
The wife of a Norwegian multi-millionaire businessman has been missing for months after being abducted, police have now confirmed. Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen, 68, disappeared from her home near Oslo on 31 October. The investigation has been continuing since then, police said, but was given “a low profile” because “very serious threats have been made”.
Contact lost with fighter jet in France
A French Mirage 2000-D fighter jet has disappeared from radar in a mountainous region of eastern France, prompting fears it may have crashed. French officials said the plane vanished from radar at around 11:00 local time (10:00 GMT) on Wednesday. It had taken off from the Nancy-Ochey air base shortly beforehand with two crew on board.
78,000 x 550? This boy knows the answer
Sibahle Zwane is only 10, but his maths skills have made him an internet sensation in South Africa.
‘My mum killed my dad but I want her freed’
Sally Challen was jailed for the murder of her husband in 2011 but her solicitors believe a new law, recognising psychological manipulation as a form of domestic abuse, could be a defence in an appeal hearing next month. Her son David explains why he’s backing the appeal and hopes to see his mother freed.
CES: ‘Award-winning’ sex toy banned
A sex toy designed for women has been banned from the technology show CES. Lorna DiCarlo said it had been invited to display its robotic Ose vibrator at CES, after winning an innovation award. CES organiser the Consumer Technology Association, which granted the award, said it had included the device by mistake and could withdraw any immoral or obscene entry at any time.
Fact-Checking Trump’s Misleading And Outright False Claims From His Border Address
President Donald Trump addressed the nation live from the Oval Office on Tuesday night in an attempt to drum up support for his border wall. But the 10-minute address, carried on every major television network in America, was rife with double-speak, cherry-picked statistics and outright falsehoods.
Harvey Weinstein’s Criminal Trial Scheduled To Begin In May
Harvey Weinstein ‘s lawyer says the disgraced Hollywood mogul’s sexual assault trial in New York is scheduled for May 6, but court officials say that’s tentative and unofficial. Lawyer Benjamin Brafman mentioned the date in a court filing Monday in a civil case against Weinstein.
Kevin Hart Says He’s Done Apologizing For Past Homophobic Jokes: ‘I’m Over That’
Kevin Hart on Wednesday said he’s done addressing his past anti-LGBTQ comments and stated definitively that he will not host the Academy Awards ceremony this year. The 39-year-old comedian’s past homophobic jokes and tweets were drawn back into the spotlight last month after he was named this year’s Oscars emcee.
Trump’s Televised Address Gets Deeply Unsettling ‘Sex Tape Audio’ Edit
You won’t be able to unsee these edited versions of President Donald Trump’s Tuesday night Oval Office address. Multiple people on Twitter appear to have had the same idea of stripping words from the televised footage to show only Trump’s breathing and sniffing. And the resulting clips, below, are ― well, a bit unsettling.
Trump Gets Highly Inappropriate With Ivanka In ‘Family Guy’ Teaser
A cartoon version of President Donald Trump makes an inappropriate comment to his daughter, Ivanka Trump, in a new ” Family Guy ” teaser shared online. Voice actor Josh Robert Thompson posted the clip from the Fox animated comedy’s upcoming special episode featuring the Trumps to Twitter on Tuesday: NOT FAKE NEWS!
All The Hot Movies For Winter
Two words: Jordan Peele. At the risk of putting too much pressure on Peele, who has the tall order of living up to his boundary-pushing phenomenon “Get Out,” winter’s event movie is “Us,” the director’s horror follow-up about a beach vacation gone very wrong.
Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind will be health, says Tim Cook
Apple’s smartphone business may not be going as well as the company would like it to, but Apple has a plan on how to mitigate this. According to CEO Tim Cook, who appeared on CNBC’s Mad Money on Monday, the company will announce new services this year. Cook refused to go into details.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos announces he and wife MacKenzie are getting a divorce
Jeff Bezos, billionaire and founder/CEO of Amazon, is about to be a bachelor. On Wednesday morning, Bezos announced he and his wife MacKenzie are getting a divorce via a joint statement shared on Twitter. “We want to make people aware of a development in our lives,” the statement began.
IBM just unveiled a ‘quantum computing system’ for commercial use
The quantum computing train keeps on rolling. A year after IBM showed off a 50-qubit quantum computer prototype at CES, the company has returned to the annual electronics show in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a grand announcement. Namely, that it now has a “quantum computing system” ready for commercial use.
News helicopter catches out people playing ‘Mario Kart’ on stadium’s big screen
It must be neat having access to a huge stadium screen. Like these people, handing out red shells while playing what appears to be Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the screen at Kauffman Stadium, home of baseball team the Kansas City Royals.
Samsung smartphone owners can’t delete pre-installed Facebook app, report says
There’s a problem with those calls to Delete Facebook: some people physically can’t. Some Samsung smartphone owners have found that they’re unable to remove the pre-loaded Facebook app from their phones, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
