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Oscar snub: Accountants will never work awards show again

Cheryl Boone Isaacs said Brian Cullinan, the PwC representative responsible for handing over the errant envelope that led to ‘‘La La Land’’ mistakenly being announced as best picture rather than ‘‘Moonlight,’’ was distracted backstage. He tweeted (and later deleted) a photo of Emma Stone with her new Oscar minutes before giving presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway the wrong envelope for best picture. Advertisement

biggest blunder in the 89-year history of the Academy Awards

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Britain could have lived with a German victory in the first world war, and should have stayed out of the conflict in 1914, according to the historian Niall Ferguson, who described the intervention as "the biggest error in modern history".

Britain could indeed have lived with a German victory. What's more, it would have been in Britain's interests to stay out in 1914,

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The right has all the advantages, just as the devil has all the best tunes. Conservatism appeals to our selfishness and fear, our desire and self-interest; they neatly nurture and then harvest the inherent and incubating individualism. I imagine that neurologically the pathway travelled by a fearful or selfish impulse is more expedient and well travelled than the route of the altruistic pang. In simple terms of circuitry I suspect it is easier to connect these selfish inclinations.

This natural, neurological tendency has been overstimulated and acculturated. Materialism and individualism do in moderation make sense.

World War I, which began 100 years ago, has moved from memory to history

In Europe’s first total war, called the Great War until the second one came along, seven million civilians also died.

World War I also began a tradition of memorializing ordinary soldiers by name and burying them alongside their officers

At least eight people were killed and more than 80 injured in two attacks in Burkina Faso's capital, one of them targeting the French embassy, security officials said

Sawadogo confirmed there were two coordinated attacks: one against the French embassy, the other against the national army headquarters, and said assailants used a "vehicle packed with explosives" against the latter.

The UN Security Council issued a statement condemning "in the strongest terms the barbaric and cowardly terrorist attacks" in Ouagadougou.

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's demand that new tariffs be slapped on steel and aluminum imports has spooked markets, prompted his chief economist's resignation, rattled major US allies and widened a rift with establishment Republicans.

"A strong steel and aluminum industry are vital to our national security -- absolutely vital. Steel is steel, you don't have steel you don't have a country," Trump said Thursday, adding that foreign imports and dumping have led to "shuttered plants and mills" and the laying off of "millions of workers," overstating the job losses in those industries, which his own adviser put at under 100,000.

Coming on the same day that 11 US allies -- but not the US -- sign a landmark Asia-Pacific trade agreement, the move on tariffs only underscores Trump's embrace of the protectionist policies he believes helped him win the presidency.

(CNN)Two Republican House chairmen are calling for the Justice Department to appoint a new special counsel to investigate possible Obama administration abuses of surveillance law, ratcheting up the pressure on Attorney General Jeff Sessions coming from congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump.

Goodlatte and Gowdy told reporters a new special counsel was needed because crimes may have been committed and the scope was too broad for the Justice Department inspector general.

But the letter from Goodlatte and Gowdy will escalate the pressure on Sessions to appoint a second special counsel alongside Robert Mueller, who is tasked with investigating the 2016 election and Russia -- and has taken a wide mandate to his probe that's led to numerous charges against senior officials in the Trump orbit.

Washington (CNN)The Supreme Court said on Monday that it will stay out of the dispute concerning the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for now, meaning participants will still be able to renew their status.

The move will also lessen pressure on Congress to act on a permanent solution for DACA and its roughly 700,000 participants -- undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children.

Originally, President Donald Trump had terminated DACA but allowed a six-month grace period for anyone with status expiring in that window to renew. After that date, March 5, any DACA recipient whose status expired would no longer be able to receive protections.

Washington (CNN)A majority of Americans blame Congress and President Donald Trump for not doing more to prevent mass shootings, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds. The survey -- conducted in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead -- also finds that significantly more Americans believe mass shootings in the United States are due more to mental health issues than inadequate gun laws.

Among those polled, 57% said mass shootings in the United States were more of a reflection of problems identifying and treating people with mental health problems, while 28% blamed "inadequate gun laws." Nine percent blamed both equally. Across party lines, 77% of individuals polled said the Parkland shooting could have been prevented by more effective health screening treatment.

The fatal crash last week in Tempe, Ariz., involving an Uber autonomous vehicle is bringing new scrutiny to both the quality of Uber’s technology for avoiding collision and the efficacy of its backup system of so-called safety drivers.

The company said the second operator wasn’t officially responsible for maintaining car safety, but some drivers said the two people in the vehicle relied on each other since an accident or traffic violation could cost them their jobs.

One former Uber driver said he couldn’t imagine driving alone because it was “stressful enough” monitoring the road to ensure the car doesn’t perform in dangerous or unexpected ways. Being additionally responsible for logging unusual activity, which Uber drivers may type into a device in their cars, would only increase that, he said.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen called a 200 percent spike in illegal border crossings in March compared with a year ago "a dangerous story" as she pressed lawmakers Wednesday to provide funding for President Trump's proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Nielsen was questioned by lawmakers on several issues relating to her sprawling agency. On DACA — the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program President Trump allowed to expire that allows qualified immigrants brought here illegally as children to get a work permit and remain in the country — Nielsen said the administration has been reaching out to congressional leaders to restart talks aimed at renewing the program through legislation.

Citing court rulings that have blocked the administration from halting the program, Nielsen said people who are currently registered as part of DACA should not be worried about their status within the immigration system, given court proceedings and the need to negotiate with Congress. Additionally, she said she had taken the step to ensure that those who have an application in to become part of the DACA program will not be an enforcement priority and "will not be deported," provided they have not been convicted of any crimes nor pose a national security threat.

The German government is offering rejected asylum seekers benefits in kind worth up to €1000 if they voluntarily return home. The Federal Ministry of the Interior announced the new program called “Your Country, Your Future, Now!” which will run until February 28, on Saturday. Under it families who agree to leave will be entitled to up to €3000. The funding complements the “Jump-Start Plus” return program, launched last February.

The number of asylum applications has fallen drastically compared to the previous year.

Advertisement US & Canada US & Canada Iran nuclear deal: Trump's high-stakes balancing act

President Donald Trump has extended sanctions relief for Iran one last time, says the White House. What does it mean?The announcement puts a question mark over the future of the nuclear accord signed by Iran and six world powers in 2015.

What are the waivers? For years, economic sanctions were imposed by the US on Iran to try to curb its nuclear programme. These measures cut Iran off from the global financial system.

BERLIN — Germany inched toward installing a new government as Angela Merkel’s conservatives and leaders of the Social Democrats (SPD) reached agreement on the outline of a legislative agenda after marathon talks. After negotiating non-stop for 24 hours to conclude exploratory talks, the parties agreed on a 28-page position paper, laying out their policy priorities for the coming years. The parties devoted the first three pages of the document to Europe but offered little more than platitudes about the importance of further reform and their support for deeper integration. While they signaled a willingness to spend more on Europe and to work together closely with France, the parties offered no specifics on how much Berlin would be willing to spend and on what.

Though the paper is quite specific in some areas, such as the number of refugees Germany is willing to accept per year (220,000), it is vague in others and contains few surprises. “The results include a number of compromises and few substantial reforms,” said Marcel Fratzscher, the head of the Berlin-based DIW economic research institute. “What’s missing is a clear vision and courageous reforms that will prepare Germany for the future.” While Friday’s agreement boosts the chances for a renewal of a “grand coalition” between the center-left and center-right, negotiators face a circuitous path towards a final deal. Before they can proceed to formal talks, the SPD leadership needs to secure the agreement of a special party convention, scheduled for January 21.

In the year since taking office, has he found ways to address the ethical questions that could taint his foreign policy credibility?

That sort of omission of fact and blurring of ethical lines has characterized his approach to handling his business ties and overseas deals. For example, presidents traditionally have put their holdings into professionally managed blind trusts. Trump too created a trust — but he made his revocable, and put his two older sons in charge. And he named himself sole beneficiary of the profits.

"As the Trump Organization moves forward with some of its major unfinished developments such as those in Indonesia [and] India, they certainly seem to be stretching the spirit of the promise to not undertake any new deals," she says. Kenney says many of these unfinished projects do involve new contracts for infrastructure projects such as sewers and roads.

One of the murkiest issues has to do with the nature and causes of Stalin’s terror and the question of whether Stalin had broken with Lenin’s policies or continued them. Behind this lay the question of the institutionalization of violence in Bolshevik culture and the Soviet state.

the policies of Lenin and the Bolshevik Party did not at first rely on terror. However, the extreme conditions of the civil war from 1917 to 1922, in which some seven million people were killed, together with Lenin’s ruthless economic policies, led to the destitution and desperation of millions of people who found themselves without food, livelihood, shelter or security.

whoever attempts to destroy that unity of the socialist state, whoever seeks the separation of any of its parts or nationalities — that man is an enemy, a sworn enemy of the state and of the peoples of the U.S.S.R. And we will destroy each and every such enemy, even if he was an old Bolshevik; we will destroy all his kin, his family. We will mercilessly destroy anyone who, by his deeds or his thoughts — yes, his thoughts — threatens the unity of the socialist state. To the complete destruction of all enemies, themselves and their kin!”ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story

Trump's strain with Obama marks departure from presidential fraternity

Nearly five months ago, President Donald Trump bid farewell to a grinning Barack Obama, waving as the military helicopter shuttling his predecessor into post-White House life got smaller and smaller.They haven't spoken or seen each other since. For a President who seeks extensive counsel from outside the White House -- in calls to old friends, business executives, and even despotic foreign leaders -- Trump has largely forgone advice or guidance from any of the men who have held his job previously. In the months after Trump and Obama carried out a peaceful hand off of power, the two have failed to develop any sort of working relationship, according to White House advisers and former administration officials.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt says scientists who sit on EPA advisory boards and committees who have also received federal grants for studies could be cut from their roles as soon as next week, citing a lack of objectivity in their research.

Pruitt said having individuals on EPA advisory boards who have received grants from the agency raises red flags.

Jennifer Sass, the Natural Resources Defense Council's health program senior scientist, said Pruitt's goal was to "get rid of scientists who tell us the facts about threats to our environment and health."

Unless you're a MAJOR political junkie, you likely missed that there was a special election to fill an open New Mexico congressional seat on Tuesday night.

And because a Democrat -- state Rep. Melanie Stansbury -- won (and won easily) in a strongly Democratic district (Joe Biden carried it by 23 points in 2020), ho hum. Nothing to see here.

"House Democrats and their allies in the nation's capital also showered their nominee in New Mexico with an infusion of money in the final weeks of the race." .duval-3{width:100%;position: relative; border: 1px solid #979797; border-left: none; border-right: none;padding: 20px 0; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0 0 20px 0; max-width: 660px;} .duval-3 a{color: #1a1a1a; text-decoration: none;font-size: 0;} .duval-3 a:hover { color: #d9d9d9; text-decoration: underline; -moz-text-decoration-color: #d9d9d9; text-decoration-color: #d9d9d9; } .duval-3>a>*{vertical-align: top; display: inline-block;} .duval-3>a>div{display: inline-block; font-size:1.0666667rem;width: 80%; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 2%;} .duval-3>a>img{width: 18%; height: auto;} @media screen and (max-width:640px){ .duval-3>a>*{display:block; margin: auto;} .duval-3>a>div{width: 100%;} .duval-3>a>img{width: 50%;} }

Over the past few weeks, POLITICO has received a number of robocalls from generically named political groups asking for cash in order to help in very Trump-specific missions.

A donation of $100, for example, would help return Trump to Twitter. Or, for a similar amount, a potential donor can “stop Kamala Harris and socialism,” the calls claim. Other calls ask for money to ensure that congressional Democrats don’t dismantle the wall Trump started building along the U.S.-Mexico border.

But the calls aren’t being made by Trump’s Save America political action committee. In fact, it’s not entirely clear who’s behind them. The telemarketers on the line said they were volunteers working for the Campaign to Support Republican Leaders, which is not registered with the Federal Election Commission and doesn’t have any online presence.