The Defense Department might propose that the US send conventional ground combat forces into northern Syria for the first time to speed up the fight against ISIS, CNN has learned.
“It’s possible that you may see conventional forces hit the ground in Syria for some period of time,” one defense official told CNN.
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But the official emphasized that any decision is ultimately up to President Donald Trump, who has ordered his defense secretary to come up with a proposal to combat ISIS before the end of the month.
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The move would significantly alter US military operations in Syria if approved and could put troops on the ground within weeks.
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Until now, only small teams made up largely of Special Operations forces have operated in Syria, providing training and assistance to anti-ISIS opposition groups on the ground.
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Conventional units operate in larger numbers and would require a more significant footprint of security protection both on the ground and in the air.
A New York jury, with the conviction Tuesday of a bodega clerk in the 1979 kidnapping and killing of 6-year-old Etan Patz, brought to a close what a prosecutor called one of the city’s “oldest and most painful unsolved crimes.”
The guilty verdict against Pedro Hernandez, 56, in connection with a murder that sparked an era of heightened awareness of crimes against children, marks the end of an agonizing wait of nearly 40 years for Etan’s parents.
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“The Patz family has waited a long time, but we’ve finally have found some measure of justice for our wonderful little boy Etan,” his father, Stanley, said.
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Etan disappeared on May 25, 1979, as he walked to a school bus stop. In the early 1980s, his photo appeared on milk cartons across the country, the first time the method was used to help locate missing children.
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Hernandez, who was convicted after the jury deliberated nine days, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison at sentencing later this month.
Embattled White House national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned Monday night, an abrupt end to a brief tenure.
His departure came just after reports surfaced that the Justice Department warned the Trump administration last month that Flynn misled administration officials regarding his communications with the Russian ambassador to the United States and was potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians.
“I inadvertently briefed the Vice President-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology,” Flynn wrote, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by CNN.
Adele swept the top honors at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, but the night was shared with Beyoncé.
Adele went home with five total awards, including album of the year for “25.”
Beyoncé won two, including best music video for “Formation” and best urban contemporary album for “Lemonade.”
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The two superstars each provided stellar performances.
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Beyoncé, who recently announced she’s expecting twins, reminded everyone why her nickname is Queen Bey with a powerful medley of “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles.” The nine-minute set was a celebration of women and motherhood.
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Adele opened the show with her hit “Hello.” She later performed a slowed arrangement of George Michael’s “Fastlove” in tribute to the singer, who died on Christmas Day.
A pot belly can be a bad thing, even if you’re not considered overweight.
New research suggests normal-weight people who carry their fat at their waistlines may be at higher risk of death over the years than overweight or obese people whose fat is more concentrated on the hips and thighs.
Monday’s study signals the distribution of fat matters whatever the scale says.
“If the waist is larger than your hips, you’re at increased risk for disease,” said Dr. Samuel Klein, an obesity specialist at Washington University School of Medicine at St. Louis, who wasn’t involved in the new research.
It also has implications for advising patients whose body mass index or BMI, the standard measure for weight and height, puts them in the normal range despite a belly bulge.
“We see this with patients every day: ‘My weight is fine. I can eat whatever I want,'” said study senior author Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, preventive cardiology chief at the Mayo Clinic. “These results really challenge that.”
Abdominal fat — the main cause of an apple-shaped figure — has long been considered more worrisome than fat that settles on the hips and below, which marks the so-called pear shape. Risk increases for men if their waist circumference is larger than 40 inches, and 35 inches for women. Still, doctors typically focus more on BMI than waistlines; after all, girth tends to increase as weight does.
Al Jarreau, the jazz-pop musician best known for the hits “Breakin’ Away,” “We’re in This Love Together” and the theme song to the popular 1980’s TV show, “Moonlighting,” died Sunday, according to posts on his verified social media accounts. He was 76.
Jarreau died about 9 a.m. ET in Los Angeles surrounded by his wife, son and a few friends, according to posts on his Facebook page and Twitter account.
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Nicknamed the “Acrobat of Scat” for his innovative vocal stylings, Jarreau was one of the few performers of his day who successfully bridged pop, jazz and R&B. He released more than 20 albums over his storied career, won seven Grammy Awards and remained a tireless performer right up until his death.
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He had only retired from touring last week. A February 8 statement on Jarreau’s Twitter account announced his retirement from touring after being hospitalized in Los Angeles for exhaustion.
A son of Jerry Sandusky, the former Pennsylvania State University football coach convicted of sexually assaulting young boys, was himself arrested on Monday on child sex abuse charges.
The son, Jeffrey S. Sandusky, 41, faces 14 criminal counts in Centre County, Pa., including criminal solicitation, sexual abuse, child pornography and corruption of minors for alleged crimes in 2013 and 2016, court records show. Prosecutors said at least one of his victims — reportedly two teenage girls — was younger than 16 at the time of the abuse.
According to an affidavit posted online by USA Today, investigators found that Mr. Sandusky exchanged sexually charged text messages with one of his victims. The affidavit said that Mr. Sandusky said that what he had done was “not weird” because he studied medicine. Some details of alleged encounters were redacted, though the allegations include statutory sexual assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.
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Jeffrey S. Sandusky, above, supported his father, Jerry, when he was on trial for child sexual abuse.Credit Centre County Correctional Facility, via Associated Press
Researchers believe they may be close to perfecting a method of encouraging teeth to repair themselves, as Stuart McDill reports, making the filling a thing of the past.
Just three weeks in, the Trump administration has tested the limits of executive power, violated the separation of powers and shaken the very roots of the Constitution. A particular theme of President Trump’s first days in office has been contempt for the judicial branch as a check on his authority: He criticized individual judges, preemptively blamed them for all future terrorist attacks and ridiculed the court system as “disgraceful.”
Given the administration’s disdain for the judiciary, any nominee to the Supreme Court, particularly by this president, must be able to demonstrate independence from this president. The bar is always high to achieve a seat on the Supreme Court, but in these unusual times — when there is unprecedented stress on our system of checks and balances — the bar is even higher for Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to demonstrate independence. In order to clear it, he will have to convince 60 of my colleagues that he will not be influenced by politics, parties or the president. The judiciary is the last and most important check on an overreaching president with little respect for the rule of law.
The only way to demonstrate the independence necessary is for Judge Gorsuch to answer specific questions about the judiciary and his judicial philosophy. Of course, a judicial nominee should not prejudge how he or she would rule in a specific case to come before the court, but that does not preclude the nominee from answering basic and specific questions about judicial philosophy or how he would have decided past cases. Doing so would make the nominee no more biased than any of the justices who now sit on the court and issued opinions in those cases.
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Neil Gorsuch with President Trump in the White House in January.Credit Alex Wong/Getty Images
Mexico warned its citizens living in the United States on Friday to “take precautions” and remain in contact with consular officials a day after the deportation of an undocumented mother following a routine visit with US immigration authorities.
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, 35, was deported Thursday after she checked in with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Phoenix a day earlier. The action sparked protests by supporters of Garcia de Rayos and drew praise from proponents of stricter enforcement of immigration laws.
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“The case involving Mrs. Garcia de Rayos illustrates a new reality for the Mexican community living in the United States, facing the most severe implementation of immigration control measures,” Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.
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Mexican consulates “have intensified their work of protecting fellow nationals, foreseeing more severe immigration measures to be implemented by the authorities of this country, and possible violations to constitutional precepts during such operations and problems with due process,” the statement said.
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
Pentagon considering proposing troops in Syria
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Alzheimer’s drug helps teeth repair themselves
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James' World 2 