| In age of Trump, apocalyptic rhetoric becomes mainstream Posted: 22 Feb 2017 03:06 PM PST ![In age of Trump, apocalyptic rhetoric becomes mainstream]( "In age of Trump, apocalyptic rhetoric becomes mainstream") The longer President Trump is in office, the more Cat Deakins worries about the future – for herself and her children. With every executive order and cabinet appointment, she envisions another scenario: an America that rejects immigrants, that succumbs to climate change, that erupts in war. "It's scary to me that [people within the administration] are promoting this idea of, 'We are at war with Islam.' That's the kind of thinking that leads to World War III," says Ms. Deakins, a cinematographer in Los Angeles.
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| Larry Nassar, former USA gymnastic coach, is charged with sexual assault Posted: 22 Feb 2017 02:30 PM PST ![Larry Nassar, former USA gymnastic coach, is charged with sexual assault]( "Larry Nassar, former USA gymnastic coach, is charged with sexual assault") Dr. Nassar, who specialized in treating female gymnasts at Michigan State University and through the USA Gymnastics organization, faces charges in two Michigan counties, including first-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2015 against a victim younger than 13 years old. The high-profile allegations against Nassar, which he has denied, come at a time of renewed national debate over sexual abuse and gymnastics.
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| Erdoğan fans an Islamic nationalism in bid to build Ottoman-style influence Posted: 22 Feb 2017 02:11 PM PST ![Erdoğan fans an Islamic nationalism in bid to build Ottoman-style influence]( "Erdoğan fans an Islamic nationalism in bid to build Ottoman-style influence") They portray themselves as the "average Joes" of Turkish politics: a builder-handyman and his fiancée, a cleaner, who both work for the same small Istanbul company that has been going through tough times.
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| Turkey lifts ban on headscarves in the military Posted: 22 Feb 2017 02:10 PM PST ![Turkey lifts ban on headscarves in the military]( "Turkey lifts ban on headscarves in the military") Turkey will allow female military officers and cadets to wear headscarves with their uniforms, provided that they don't cover the face or have patterns. Other military forces, including the US Army, are also adjusting dress and grooming standards to accommodate religious personnel. In a country where 99 percent of the population is officially Muslim, the Turkish military's decision to allow Islamic headgear might appear to be common sense.
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| Faster play: how pro baseball commissioner hopes to speed up America's pastime Posted: 22 Feb 2017 01:32 PM PST ![Faster play: how pro baseball commissioner hopes to speed up America's pastime]( "Faster play: how pro baseball commissioner hopes to speed up America's pastime") Many of the rule changes the MLB is interested in – including implementing a 20-second pitch clock, and forcing the ball into play more rapidly while also limiting visits to the pitcher's mound made by players, coaches, and managers – are geared towards reducing slow moments between action in Major League Baseball. Mr. Manfred is also contemplating shrinking the size of the strike zone by raising the line to above the knee. The announcement, divisive among fans and critics and panned by players, came just two days after Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), said he saw no need for substantive rule changes in the game of baseball.
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| Trump’s mixed message on immigration: An opening for a deal? Posted: 22 Feb 2017 01:27 PM PST ![Trump's mixed message on immigration: An opening for a deal?]( "Trump's mixed message on immigration: An opening for a deal?") Despite a raw partisanship in American politics right now, a new poll by Morning Consult/Politico finds that both Democratic and Republican voters – about 70 percent – want political leaders to compromise to "get things done." If lawmakers choose to reflect that cooperative spirit among voters, they could start with immigration. Despite President Trump's executive actions on immigration – a travel ban on those from certain countries, an order to build a wall with Mexico, and a wider net to catch those in the country illegally – he has also begun to walk back some of his rhetoric on unauthorized migrants. "There was an almost universal interest in addressing our lauded immigration system," Sen. John Cornyn (R) of Texas told CNN about the White House meeting.
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| Judge stalls Texas efforts to defund Planned Parenthood Posted: 22 Feb 2017 01:18 PM PST ![Judge stalls Texas efforts to defund Planned Parenthood]( "Judge stalls Texas efforts to defund Planned Parenthood") Planned Parenthood will remain eligible for Medicaid funds in Texas until a court rules on the merits of the state's case against the organization, a federal judge has determined. On Tuesday, US District Judge Sam Sparks of Austin granted Planned Parenthood an injunction, temporarily blocking state lawmakers' efforts to terminate around $4 million in Medicaid reimbursements for non-abortion services to the organization. Texas will likely appeal the judge's decision to grant an injunction, according to state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican.
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| UK Supreme Court: lawful to have income test to bring foreign spouses Posted: 22 Feb 2017 12:42 PM PST ![UK Supreme Court: lawful to have income test to bring foreign spouses]( "UK Supreme Court: lawful to have income test to bring foreign spouses") The controversial measure allowing the government to keep spouses hailing from outside a group of mainly European Union nations out of Britain if their British partner does not earn at least 18,600 pounds ($23,000) each year (or more, if the couple has children) was introduced in 2012 as a way to make sure immigrants wouldn't draw on public welfare funds. Recommended: Keep calm and answer on: Take our United Kingdom quiz.
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| Conservatives are 'hopeful but wary' going into annual gathering near D.C Posted: 22 Feb 2017 10:49 AM PST ![Conservatives are 'hopeful but wary' going into annual gathering near D.C]( "Conservatives are 'hopeful but wary' going into annual gathering near D.C") The conference, which kicks off Wednesday just outside Washington, D.C., inadvertently found itself at the center of a scandal this weekend when a 2016 podcast interview with slated speaker Milo Yiannopoulos, in which the controversial former senior editor at Breitbart News appeared to endorse sexual relations between grown men and boys as young as 13, spread across social media. Backlash to the interview led the American Conservative Union (ACU) to disinvite Mr. Yiannopoulos from speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
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| Second Amendment does not cover 'weapons of war,' US appeals court finds Posted: 22 Feb 2017 09:32 AM PST ![Second Amendment does not cover 'weapons of war,' US appeals court finds]( "Second Amendment does not cover 'weapons of war,' US appeals court finds") "Assault weapons" are not covered by the Second Amendment, a federal appeals court has found. On Tuesday, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals voted 10-4 to uphold a Maryland law, which bans 45 kinds of guns and places a 10-round limit on gun magazines. The law – implemented after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 20 students and six teachers in Newtown, Conn. – is intended to protect against gun violence.
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| American Muslims raise money to repair vandalized Jewish cemetery Posted: 22 Feb 2017 07:54 AM PST ![American Muslims raise money to repair vandalized Jewish cemetery]( "American Muslims raise money to repair vandalized Jewish cemetery") Amid a flurry of anti-Semitic incidents in recent weeks, many American Muslims are stepping forward to support the Jewish community. The most recent effort, a fundraising campaign started by Muslim-American activists to help repair a vandalized historic Jewish cemetery, had garnered more than $65,000 donations as of Wednesday morning – more than triple the initial goal. The raised funds, which surpassed the initial goal of $20,000 within three hours, will now also be used towards supporting other vandalized Jewish centers across the country, according to organizers Linda Sarsour and Tarek El-Messidi.
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| Why the Trump administration wants to roll back transgender bathroom guidelines Posted: 22 Feb 2017 07:28 AM PST ![Why the Trump administration wants to roll back transgender bathroom guidelines]( "Why the Trump administration wants to roll back transgender bathroom guidelines") Under guidance issued by the Obama administration last May, transgender students are allowed to access restrooms and participate on athletic teams that match with the gender they identify by, not the sex on their birth certificate. Now, the Trump administration is reportedly working on a new set of guidelines on the use of school bathrooms by transgender students.
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| As world's support ebbs, Myanmar refugees feel pushed back to unsafe homes Posted: 22 Feb 2017 07:23 AM PST ![As world's support ebbs, Myanmar refugees feel pushed back to unsafe homes]( "As world's support ebbs, Myanmar refugees feel pushed back to unsafe homes") Myanmar's harsh military rulers were swept aside more than a year ago in a democratic tsunami. A ceasefire was supposed to put an end to decades of civil war between the government and minority ethnic groups. The 100,000 refugees living in camps along the border with Thailand should be rejoicing, one would think.
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| Expanded immigration enforcement will not lead to 'mass deportations,' says DHS Posted: 22 Feb 2017 07:13 AM PST ![Expanded immigration enforcement will not lead to 'mass deportations,' says DHS]( "Expanded immigration enforcement will not lead to 'mass deportations,' says DHS") As the Trump administration steps up its enforcement of immigration law, officials work to reassure communities that the measures are not intended to produce mass deportations. Over the weekend, media reports disclosed two new memos from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John F. Kelly. Unlike executive orders, the memos do not change law but indicate how strenuously the new administration plans to enforce laws that are already on the books.
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| Why McMaster is only one step toward ending Trump's intel wars Posted: 21 Feb 2017 03:33 PM PST ![Why McMaster is only one step toward ending Trump's intel wars]( "Why McMaster is only one step toward ending Trump's intel wars") Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster in some ways symbolizes the very changes that President Trump needs to make to right its tempestuous relationship with the United States intelligence community. General McMaster, Mr. Trump's pick to be national security adviser, does not hail from an intelligence background. The sense in the intelligence community, experts say, is that the president disparages the purveyors of information he doesn't like.
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