Top News Stories for Today – Feb 22, 2019
Top News Stories for Today – Feb 22, 2019
200 US troops to remain Syria
About 200 US troops will remain in Syria after the US withdraws from the country, the White House announced Thursday. Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a brief statement that a “small peacekeeping group” would stay in Syria “for a period of time.” She gave no other details. There are currently about 2,000 American troops in Syria, supporting Kurdish forces fighting the last of the Islamic State forces.
President Donald Trump, anticipating the total defeat of IS in Syria, made a surprise announcement in December that all US forces would be out of Syria by the end of April. In doing so, he confounded many of America’s European allies and angered some of his own allies in Washington. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump’s closest friends on Capitol Hill, called it the “dumbest” idea he’d ever heard, media reports said. VOA News
News election ordered in N Carolina
The North Carolina Board of Elections on Thursday ordered a new election in the 9th Congressional District after allegations of illegal activity in the handling of mail-in ballots. The five-member board’s unanimous action came after several days of hearings into Republican ballot-collecting practices in the 2018 general election.
Their decision was made after the GOP candidate, Mark Harris, surprisingly suggested Thursday that there should be a new election because the public had lost confidence in the results. On Election Day Harris had narrowly topped Democrat Dan McCready in unofficial results. Harris made his declaration one day after his son, John Harris, testified that he warned his father of the possible illegal tactics political operative McCrae Dowless used in an absentee ballot operation. NBC News
Roger Stone prohibited publicly commenting
Roger Stone, former adviser to President Trump and longtime Republican operative, appeared in federal court on Thursday to explain why his “conditions of release should not be modified or revoked in light of the posts on his Instagram account,” per a demand by US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson.
Stone, who is facing charges of witness tampering, obstruction, and making false statements, posted a photo of Jackson on Instagram that suggested he wouldn’t receive a fair trial, and that featured a crosshairs next to the judge. Testifying on Thursday, Stone called the post “an egregious, stupid error,” and apologized for his “lack of judgment.” Jackson issued a full gag order on Stone’s case, telling him he is barred from publicly commenting on the matter, “period.” The Week
Father of ISIS woman sues Trump Administration
The father of an American-born woman who defected to the Islamic State terrorist group filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Trump administration because he wants his daughter to be allowed to return to the United States. The Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America (CLCMA) filed the complaint on behalf of Ahmed Ali Muthana, the father of Hoda Muthana and grandfather of her young son.
CLCMA said in a statement that the suit is “seeking declaratory relief recognizing (Hoda Muthana’s) citizenship, and injunctive relief requiring the United States to make good faith efforts to return her and her young son to the United States.” The civil suit was filed, the statement said, “not to defend her from criminal prosecution, but instead seeking recognition of her United States citizenship, which prior to her departure was not in dispute and the citizenship of her young son.” Earlier Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo contended that the woman is not a US citizen and should not be allowed to return home from Syria because her father was a Yemeni diplomat. President Donald Trump said he ordered Pompeo to not let Muthana return to the US, even though her lawyer says she is willing to face US prosecution that she willingly went to Syria and used social media to praise the killings of Westerners. VOA
Honda’s Mini Electric ute Concept Would Make a Great Daily Companion
Venezuela closes border with Brazil
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro has closed the border with Brazil amid a row over humanitarian aid. The embattled leader said he could also shut the key border with Colombia to stop the opposition bringing in relief. He denies any crisis and calls the aid delivery plans a US-orchestrated show. His ally Russia has accused the US of trying to arm Venezuela’s opposition.
Rival concerts will be held on both sides of a bridge linking Venezuela and Colombia later on Friday.
On the Colombian side, an event will be held to raise money for Venezuela. At the same time, Maduro’s government will hold its own concert, just 300m (980ft) away. Opposition leader Juan Guaidó and his allies hope to collect food and medicine being gathered in neighboring Brazil and Colombia on Saturday, in defiance of President Maduro. Head of the National Assembly, Guaidó declared himself interim leader during anti-government protests last month and is recognized by dozens of countries, including the US and most Latin American nations. BBC