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Talks to end Los Angeles teachers strike enter third day

Negotiators for 30,000 striking Los Angeles teachers and America's second-largest school district returned to the bargaining table on Saturday for a third day of contract talks mediated by the mayor, as educators took a weekend break from picket lines. Teachers staging the first strike against the Los Angeles Unified District in 30 years were pressing demands for higher pay, smaller class sizes and expanded support staff. School district Superintendent Austin Beutner said on Friday he was determined to clinch a deal in time for teachers to return to the job on Tuesday, avoiding a second week of disrupted classes for nearly 500,000 students.

Winter storm to hit U.S. northeast with up to two feet of snow

The Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings or advisories for a swath of the eastern United States that is home to 100 million people, said meteorologist Rich Otto of the U.S. Weather Prediction Center.

Women protest in hundreds of U.S. cities for third straight year

Women's March, a national nonprofit organization that evolved from the initial Washington march, again hosted its main event in Washington, with hundreds of "sister" marches in other cities. "There is definitely huge, huge focus on the 2020 elections," said March On's Natalie Sanchez, an organizer of the 2017 Boston Women's March who is also with March Forward Massachusetts, which organized Saturday's march there. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who launched her bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination this week, addressed the women's march in Des Moines, Iowa, the state that holds the first nominating contest and acts as a proving ground for White House hopefuls.

Trump travels to Delaware base to honor four Americans killed in Syria

Trump, locked in a battle with congressional Democrats that has led to a nearly month-long partial government shutdown, announced his trip via a pre-dawn tweet, saying he was going "to be with the families of 4 very special people who lost their lives in service to our Country!" Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House prior to departure that he planned to meet the families, a duty which he said "might be the toughest thing I have to do as president." He was greeted by military staff at Dover Air Force Base after a short flight from Joint Base Andrews, but did not speak to reporters before entering his motorcade. Flanked by military officials, Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan filed up a ramp leading onto a military transport aircraft, where a prayer was given to honor the memory of Scott Wirtz, a civilian Department of Defense employee from St. Louis.

Lack of school nurses puts Los Angeles students at risk, striking teachers say

The episode, which followed years of tight budgets that left little money for medical staff, highlights the potential impact of a lack of nurses throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District, one of the key reasons Escobedo and her colleagues are on strike. In L.A., as in many districts across the United States, the school nurse is the first and sometimes only point of entry for many families into a complicated and expensive health-care system. Like most schools in the more than 1,200-campus district, Lockwood Elementary, where Escobedo teaches, has a nurse just once a week.

Winter storm disturbs travel as it rolls toward U.S. Midwest, Northeast

A major winter storm was expected to clobber a large swath of the northern United States with heavy snow, gusty winds and frigid temperatures making travel difficult and dangerous starting on Friday and through the weekend, forecasters said. The storm system will dump 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) of snow in the Plains and Midwest on Friday night and Saturday and as it moves east at least a foot of snow in parts of the Northeast on Saturday and Sunday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said in several advisories. The system was expected to also bring freezing rain, wind gusts of 35 miles (56 km) per hour and quickly dropping temperatures that will to dip into the teens and even below zero Fahrenheit in several areas, the service said.

Striking Los Angeles teachers rally near City Hall as talks resume

Tens of thousands of striking Los Angeles teachers were joined by parents and students in a rally near City Hall on Friday, as contract talks mediated by the mayor resumed behind closed doors after a marathon negotiating session the day before. Some 30,000 teachers walked off the job on Monday in their first strike against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in 30 years, demanding higher pay, smaller classes and more support staff. LAUSD officials have argued that the teachers' demands would place too great a strain on the district's budget if they were fully met.

Ex-Chicago policeman sentenced to nearly seven years in black teen's death

After a jury convicted Van Dyke, 40, of second-degree murder last fall, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Vincent Gaughan sentenced him to 81 months in prison and said he would have to serve at least two years before he was eligible for parole. Van Dyke could have received up to 20 years in prison for second-degree murder and up to 30 years for each of 16 counts of aggravated battery - one count for each shot he fired at 17-year-old McDonald, who was carrying a knife. During sentencing, Van Dyke sat expressionless, unshaven and wearing a yellow-orange jail uniform.

Mueller's office disputes Buzzfeed story on Michael Cohen

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office issued a statement late on Friday taking issue with a report in Buzzfeed that President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen said Trump told him to lie to Congress. “BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the Special Counsel’s Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s Congressional testimony are not accurate,” Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller office, said in the statement.

Judge sentences ex-Chicago policeman to nearly seven years jail

A judge on Friday sentenced white former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke to nearly seven years in prison after a landmark verdict last fall found him guilty of murder in the 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Vincent Gaughan sentenced Van Dyke to 81 months in prison and said he would have to serve at least two years before he was eligible for parole. Van Dyke, 40, appearing unshaven and wearing a yellow-orange jail uniform in court, faced up to 20 years in prison for his second-degree murder conviction and up to 30 years for each of 16 counts of aggravated battery - one count for each shot he fired at McDonald, who was carrying a knife.

Striking Los Angeles teachers rally near City Hall as talks resume

Tens of thousands of striking Los Angeles teachers rallied near City Hall on Friday, joined by parents and students as contract talks the mayor called "productive" resumed behind closed doors after a marathon negotiating session the day before. Some 30,000 teachers walked off the job on Monday in their first strike against the Los Angeles Unified School District in 30 years, demanding higher pay, smaller classes and more support staff. "We are willing to go as long as it takes and work as hard as we need to to get a fair contract," union bargaining chair Arlene Inouye told supporters at City Hall, adding that talks were expected to last through the three-day holiday weekend.

Gladys Knight defends decision to sing U.S. anthem at Super Bowl

Singer Gladys Knight has defended her decision to perform the U.S. national anthem after receiving criticism from supporters of former quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who used the pre-game tradition to protest racial injustice. Knight, a 74-year-old native of Atlanta, where the game will be played, agreed to sing "the Star Spangled Banner." Her decision was blasted on social media by supporters of the "take a knee" stance championed by NFL players who kneel during the anthem to protest racial injustice. U.S. President Donald Trump and other conservatives have called the players unpatriotic.

Winter storm disturbs travel as it rolls toward U.S. Midwest, Northeast

A major winter storm was expected to clobber a large swath of the northern United States with heavy snow, gusty winds and frigid temperatures making travel difficult and dangerous starting on Friday and through the weekend, forecasters said. The storm system will dump 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) of snow in the Plains and Midwest on Friday night and Saturday and as it moves east at least a foot of snow in parts of the Northeast on Saturday and Sunday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said in several advisories. The system was expected to also bring freezing rain, wind gusts of 35 miles (56 km) per hour and quickly dropping temperatures that will to dip into the teens and even below zero Fahrenheit in several areas, the service said.

Obama donor imprisoned for $292 million bank fraud seeks early release

An Iranian-American businessman who gave money to Democrats including former President Barack Obama should be released early from his 12-year prison term for a $292 million bank fraud and moved to home confinement, his lawyers said on Friday. Lawyers for Hassan Nemazee, 68, who has spent nearly 8-1/2 years in prison, said he qualified for early release under a prison reform law signed by President Donald Trump last month. Nemazee's lawyers said their client has been a model prisoner, has a job and housing lined up for after his release, and "embodies the very paradigm" of the type of person Congress intended for home confinement.

Trump tells anti-abortion marchers he will support them

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump spoke in a prerecorded video to thousands of anti-abortion activists in Washington on Friday for the 46th March for Life, vowing to veto any legislation that "weakens the protection of human life."

$11 toothpaste: Immigrants pay big for basics at private ICE lock-ups

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Detained in a California lockup with hundreds of other immigrants seeking asylum, Duglas Cruz faced a choice. Or he could labor in the prison's kitchen to earn money to buy extra food at the commissary. Cruz went to work.

PayPal offers up to $500 credit for U.S. federal employees affected by shutdown

PayPal Holdings Inc said on Friday it will offer $25 million in interest-free credit to its users who work with the U.S. federal government and are impacted by the shutdown. Employees who use PayPal Credit will be able to avail an advance of up to $500 each, without having to pay any interest, and the program will last until the government reopens and employees receive their first paycheck, the company said on its website http://bit.ly/2Cs7xAY. The partial shutdown, which hit the four-week mark on Friday, is the longest in U.S. history.

U.S. names three killed in Syria blast claimed by Islamic State

Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician Shannon Kent, 35, identified as being from upstate New York, and Scott Wirtz, a civilian Department of Defense employee from St. Louis, died during the Wednesday attack in Manbij, Syria, the Department of Defense said in a statement. The Pentagon did not identify the fourth person killed, a contractor working for a private company.

On Day 28, no sign of end to U.S. partial government shutdown

The Democratic-led House of Representatives has left town for a three-day weekend, returning late on Tuesday. The Senate was expected to reconvene on Friday, but its exact plans were unsettled. The Republican-controlled Senate, toeing Trump's line on the wall, has not acted on any of several shutdown-ending bills approved in recent days by the House, all lacking wall funding.

Ex-mistress of 'El Chapo' says she was 'traumatized' by tunnel escape

Testifying for the prosecution in federal court in Brooklyn, Lucero Sanchez Lopez, a onetime local lawmaker in Guzman's home state of Sinaloa, also gave an emotional account of her relationship with Guzman, saying she at times feared for her safety. "I didn't want for him to mistrust me because I thought he could also hurt me," Lucero Sanchez Lopez, 29, testified. Sometimes I loved him and sometimes I didn't." She said once, while the two were eating dinner in 2012, Guzman told her that anyone who betrayed him would die.

Ex-mistress of 'El Chapo' says she was 'traumatized' by tunnel escape

Testifying for the prosecution in federal court in Brooklyn, Lucero Sanchez Lopez, a onetime local lawmaker in Guzman's home state of Sinaloa, also gave an emotional account of her relationship with Guzman, saying she at times feared for her safety. "I didn't want for him to mistrust me because I thought he could also hurt me," Lucero Sanchez Lopez, 29, testified. Sometimes I loved him and sometimes I didn't." She said once, while the two were eating dinner in 2012, Guzman told her that anyone who betrayed him would die.

Judge acquits Chicago policemen in conspiracy trial

A judge on Thursday found three Chicago policemen not guilty of conspiring to protect white fellow police officer Jason Van Dyke after he fatally shot a black teenager in 2014 in an incident that helped fuel the "Black Lives Matter" movement. A jury convicted Van Dyke in October of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery in the shooting of Laquan McDonald, 17. Judge Domenica Stephenson of the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County also found David March, Joseph Walsh and Thomas Gaffney not guilty of official misconduct and obstruction of justice.

Talks resume as Los Angeles teachers' strike enters fourth day

Negotiators for striking Los Angeles teachers and America's second-largest school district returned to the bargaining table on Thursday for the first time since talks collapsed last week, as a walkout by some 30,000 educators entered its fourth day. "They are resolute on reaching an agreement," the union's president, Alex Caputo-Pearl, said at a news conference, referring to the union's bargaining team ahead of Thursday's talks. School District Superintendent Austin Beutner has said the demands, if fully met, would place too great a strain on the district's budget.

Judge blocks Republican-backed Wisconsin early-voting law

The early-voting bill was part of a package of laws that the Republican-controlled legislature passed during a rare all-night lame-duck session in December, which included measures aimed at curbing the powers of incoming Democratic Governor Tony Evers. The effort drew criticism from Democrats that Republicans were effectively ignoring the will of the voters after Evers' victory in November's midterm election ended eight years of total Republican control of the state capitol. The state's largest cities, Milwaukee and Madison, offered six weeks of early voting last year, while smaller municipalities with fewer resources provided shorter windows.

U.S. separated 'thousands' more immigrant children than known: watchdog

The Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the agency had identified many more children in addition to the 2,737 included as part of a class action lawsuit challenging family separations brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) last year. The administration of President Donald Trump implemented a 'zero tolerance' policy to criminally prosecute and jail all illegal border crossers even those traveling with their children, leading to a wave of separations last year.

Teachers' strike tests Los Angeles mayor's White House hopes

The move may help Garcetti, who is considering a presidential run but has not officially declared his intentions, raise his national profile. Strategists said it also could tie his reputation to the outcome, with a quick deal giving him a boost while drawn-out scenes of the union's 30,000 teachers, about a third of whom are Latino, on picket lines could harm his standing with key Democratic constituencies. "Before the strike, I had this in the column of things that would be really hard on his presidential campaign," said Raphael Sonenshein, the executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University in Los Angeles.

U.S. Army vows to fix 'broken' housing at Fort Meade in wake of Reuters report

The garrison commander at Maryland’s Fort Meade made the remarks in meetings with residents this month in response to a Reuters report https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-military-developer in December that detailed the problems, which ranged from mold and rodent infestations to flooding, crumbling roofs and ceiling collapses. Many tenants accused the closely held civilian company that runs most housing at Fort Meade, Rhode Island's Corvias Group, of routinely failing to make repairs. “Based on the Reuters articles, we failed you.

Los Angeles mayor to mediate in talks to settle first teachers' strike in 30 years

Wednesday's announcement of the breakthrough capped the third day of a strike that has disrupted classes for nearly 500,000 students as teachers pressed their demands for higher pay, smaller classes and more support staff. Representatives of the two sides - the Los Angeles Unified School District and the United Teachers Los Angeles - have not met since union leaders rejected the LAUSD's latest contract offer last Friday night, setting the stage for district teachers' first strike in 30 years. Union officials said the mayor, who has voiced support for the teachers' cause, had met with the two parties on Wednesday.

Ex-Michigan governor says he will resign university post in Nassar fallout

Nassar, who was a team doctor for USA Gymnastics, was sentenced to up to 300 years in prison in two different trials last winter after more than 350 women testified that he abused them. Engler said in a letter published by the university the chair of MSU's board of trustees advised him that a majority of the panel had asked that he step down, and that he would abide by their request and resign as of Jan. 23. Board chair Dianne Byrum had called a meeting on Thursday to discuss firing Engler, a three-time former governor of Michigan, after he told the Detroit News that some of Nassar's victims were "enjoying" being in the spotlight.

Los Angeles teachers strike 'bigger than a paycheck'

Instead Castillo, when asked what drove her to walk out of her classroom at Harbor City Elementary School to join the city's first teacher strike in 30 years, talked about the colleague whose job was eliminated while she was on maternity leave, and the classes that keep growing in size. "My husband and I are both Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) teachers and we're both dedicated to this," said Castillo, who wore a plastic poncho and red cap in a rare California rainstorm, a laminated sign around her neck listing the recent cutbacks at Harbor City Elementary. As some 30,000 teachers spent a third day on picket lines at schools across the nation's second-largest school district on Wednesday, a union leader expressed optimism that stalled negotiations could be restarted with help from Mayor Eric Garcetti.

U.S. watchdog faults handling of government lease for Trump D.C. hotel

Amid intensifying scrutiny of possible conflicts of interest involving Trump's businesses, the inspector general of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) found fault with the agency's review of the lease of the Old Post Office Pavilion. The Romanesque Revival landmark on Pennsylvania Avenue, not far from the White House, was leased by the Trump Organization in 2013 for 60 years and now houses a luxury Trump hotel often frequented by government officials.

'Grifters, weaklings, felons': Christie on the Trump White House

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie sees the Trump White House as a rogues' gallery of flawed people sidetracking the work of the U.S. president, according to excerpts of his forthcoming memoir posted on the news site Axios on Wednesday. President Donald Trump employs a "revolving door of deeply flawed individuals — amateurs, grifters, weaklings, convicted and unconvicted felons — who were hustled into jobs they were never suited for, sometimes seemingly without so much as a background check via Google or Wikipedia," Christie, who was a senior adviser to Trump's 2016 campaign, says in his memoir, "Let Me Finish," which is due to be released on Jan. 29. Christie had sought the Republican presidential nomination himself in 2016 before becoming a diligent supporter and surrogate for Trump, but his work with the administration has been limited and he recently withdrew his name from consideration for Trump's chief of staff.

U.S. shutdown taking toll on FDA, USDA inspection roles: experts

Workers in public health laboratories are reporting disruptions in the analysis of DNA from food samples involved in foodborne outbreaks, and have raised concerns about a USDA program that tests agricultural commodities for unsafe levels of pesticides, they said. The shutdown is "putting our nation's food supply at risk," Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat, said at a briefing of the House Congressional Food Safety Caucus on Wednesday. Only about a third of the FDA's regular inspections are being carried out, she said.

Tennessee ex-teacher who took off with student sentenced to 20 years

Tad Cummins, 52, was sentenced in federal court in Nashville by U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger, according to emails from a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. Cummins had faced a sentence of up to life in prison for transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activities and up to 20 years in prison for obstructing investigations, court documents said. Federal prosecutors had requested a sentence of 30 years, according to a court document.