Here are the top stories as we start the new month.
Sarah Sanders: God ‘wanted Donald Trump to become president’
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said she believes God wanted President Donald Trump to win the 2016 election, the Christian Broadcasting Network reported on Wednesday.
Trump chastises intel chiefs after they contradict him on Iran and claims of foreign policy success
President Donald Trump chastised his own intelligence officials Wednesday morning for being soft on Iran a day after they contradicted numerous administration claims of foreign policy success.
Foxconn may drop plans to build flat screens in Wisconsin
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn may drop plans to build flat screen panels at a Wisconsin plant for which it was promised $4 billion in state and local tax dollars.
This cave sheltered some of the first known humans 300,000 years ago
In the foothills of Siberia’s Altai Mountains lies a cave that contains some of the keys to understanding the earliest humans to walk the Earth. Denisova Cave is the only place in the world where fossils have been found that belong to mysterious ancient humans called Denisovans.
Authorities: Filipina domestic worker executed in Saudi Arabia
A Filipina domestic worker has been executed in Saudi Arabia, according to the country’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
A sinkhole turned out to be an underground tunnel to a Florida bank
Public works employees in Florida stumbled upon something they don’t see every day: a small “claustrophobic” tunnel leading to a Chase bank, according to the FBI.
UK study shows e-cigarettes help adult smokers quit, but US experts urge caution
A new study out of the UK shows e-cigarettes worked twice as well as other nicotine replacements in helping adults kick their smoking habit, but experts are concerned the results don’t apply to the United States.
Facebook’s real test: Are you still logging in every day?
Facebook posted $3.6 billion in profit in the last three months of 2016… $4.3 billion in Q4 2017… and $6.9 billion in Q4 2018.
Deadly polar vortex hits swathes of US
Cities are all but shutting down across the US Midwest as the region shivers in a deadly cold snap known as a polar vortex. At least seven people have been killed in several states as a result of the arctic weather.
Venezuela opposition ‘speaking to army’
Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó has held secret meetings with the military to win support for ousting President Nicolás Maduro. Mr Guaidó made the revelation in a New York Times opinion piece. The opposition leader declared himself interim president earlier this month, prompting an escalating power struggle.
Sanders: ‘God wanted Trump as president’
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has told a religious television network that God “wanted Donald Trump to become president”. Ms Sanders made the claim in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), saying it was the reason Mr Trump was in office.
The city with no homeless on its streets
The number of people sleeping rough in the UK has multiplied since 2010. But in Finland’s capital Helsinki rough sleeping has been almost eradicated thanks to a groundbreaking scheme. What can cities in the UK learn from the Finns? Emerging from Helsinki’s grandiose central railway station on a bitterly cold evening, it does not take long before you notice something unusual.
Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail
Japan is in the grip of an elderly crime wave – the proportion of crimes committed by people over the age of 65 has been steadily increasing for 20 years. The BBC’s Ed Butler asks why.
Undocumented Woman Who Worked At Trump Golf Club To Attend State Of The Union
An undocumented worker who used to work at President Donald Trump’s golf club in New Jersey will attend the State of the Union address Tuesday after she was invited by a Democratic congresswoman. Victorina Morales had worked at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, since 2013.
Here’s What Starbucks Is Telling Employees To Say About Howard Schultz
Starbucks is doing what it can to prepare employees for potentially uncomfortable customer encounters as anger grows at former CEO and chairman Howard Schultz, who is considering running for president as an independent centrist candidate. The coffee chain’s “Barista Need-To-Know” update for the week of Jan.
A Former Pastor Of Trump’s Church Says He Never Saw Him There
President Donald Trump gave Bible literacy legislation a shout-out on Monday with a tweet praising states that are “starting to make a turn back” to an unspecified time when public schools apparently relished in Bible study. As The Washington Post’s Mark Chancy noted, there was no such time in American history.
A Song Of Ice And Fire: Chicago Lights Up Train Tracks To Battle Cold
Social media has been entranced and a little concerned over viral images and videos of Chicago train tracks on fire as the city deals with record low temperatures this week. But the videos aren’t as wild as they look. In fact, they’re completely intentional.
Here’s What Is Leaving And Arriving On Netflix In February 2019
Netflix debuts a few Originals this February that appeal to my heart. Sure, Netflix has many Valentine’s Day-themed shows to check out this upcoming month if you love that kind of thing, but I’m personally more excited for “Russian Doll” and “Velvet Buzzsaw” on Feb. 1 and “High Flying Bird” on Feb.
Ben Affleck hands over his cape to a new Batman
Ben Affleck is handing over his cape to a new Batman. According to Deadline, Warner Bros. will release The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves, on June 24, 2021. But Affleck won’t star as the Caped Crusader. Affleck, who has played the Dark Knight in DC Extended Universe films Batman v.
Selling fake followers and likes can land you in trouble with the law
Fake followers, fake likes: they’ve flooded social media in the past few years. While companies have taken action against fraud accounts, in New York, selling bots and fraudulent social media activity now could land you in hot water. In fact, it’s against the law.
UAE used deadly spying tool to snoop on iPhones used by prominent activists and diplomats
The barrage of bad news for the iPhone keeps coming. Reuters has published a semi-worrisome report about how a team of former U.S. intelligence agents working for the UAE used a cyber tool called Karma to spy on iPhones used by “activists, diplomats and rival foreign leaders” simply by “uploading phone numbers or email accounts into an automated targeting system.”
Teen trying to play Fortnite discovered major Apple bug over 10 days ago
Fortnite: 1, Apple: 0
Lawyer sues Apple over FaceTime bug, says it allowed spying on private deposition
That was fast. A few days after the discovery of a particularly nasty bug in Apple’s FaceTime video chat app – one that allowed for a user to listen and even see the person on the other end of the line before they’ve answered the call – Apple is already getting slammed by lawsuits.
Samsung ushers in the era of the 1TB smartphone
Those rumors that Samsung’s Galaxy S10 might come with a 1TB storage option may just be true. Samsung announced on Tuesday that it’s started to mass-produce its 1TB Universal Flash Storage (eUFS), the type that’ll be used in smartphones of the future.
