Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Russian Tatars feel threatened as Putin pursues nationalist agenda

 

at 2/17/20 5:18pm

Russia's parliament approves legislation ending the rights of the 85 regions, republic and territories to mandate compulsory regional language lessons.

— As leaders spar over homelessness in Austin, California becomes a punching bag

 

at 2/17/20 3:37pm

'No SF in TX,' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, tweeted. He has feuded over homelessness with Steve Adler, Austin's Democratic mayor.

— Coronavirus fears rise after Cambodia welcomes stranded cruise ship

 

at 2/17/20 12:08pm

Governments were scrambling to trace passengers after an 83-year-old American woman who traveled on the Westerdam cruise liner was infected.

— Amid coronavirus threat, study abroad programs in China canceled

 

at 2/17/20 7:00am

Students, faculty and program staff across the U.S. have scrambled to find study alternatives at the last minute amid the coronavirus outbreak.

— From toys to Teslas, China's coronavirus disrupts flow of global business

 

at 2/17/20 7:00am

The deadly coronavirus outbreak is hurting scores of companies in California and nationwide that depend on Chinese production and consumer spending.

— Truman and Coolidge go up, Jefferson and Jackson go down. How history remembers presidents

 

at 2/17/20 4:00am

On Presidents Day, it's worth noting that the way we remember our chief executives says more about the present than the past.

— The mood in Pete Buttigieg's South Bend: 'Hopeful, energetic — and tense'

 

at 2/16/20 6:00am

After decades of malaise, South Bend went through big changes during Pete Buttigieg's tenure as mayor. But there is fear that the gains have been uneven and that its fragile progress could slip away.

— Utah trial featuring a prominent member of polygamist sect and an L.A. businessman has wide implications

 

at 2/16/20 5:00am

A prominent member of a secretive Utah polygamist sect and a Los Angeles businessman reputed to be a gangster allegedly teamed up on a $470-million fraud scheme.

— 'He was my big, strong brother': Inside one Iowa family's anguish amid a rise in farmer suicides

 

at 2/16/20 4:00am

Troy Sand's suicide devastated his large, close-knit family and shattered this tiny community of fewer than 1,200 people in northwestern Iowa. His death also represented a growing manifestation of despair in rural America – the number of farmers taking their own lives.

— Candy sent into outer space to satisfy astronauts' cravings

 

at 2/15/20 4:46pm

A cargo ship rocketed toward the International Space Station on Saturday, carrying candy and cheese to satisfy the astronauts' cravings.

— Mississippi braces for potentially historic flooding

 

at 2/15/20 4:18pm

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declares a state of emergency as forecasters say the Pearl River in Jackson will crest at levels not seen in decades.

— How a seven-day truce could start Afghanistan on an uncertain road to peace

 

at 2/15/20 12:24pm

If a U.S.-Taliban deal holds, tougher talks between militants and Afghan officials would follow, potentially reshaping the country.

— Op-Ed: Is this the time the Afghanistan war ends?

 

at 2/15/20 11:06am

A door is opening that may lead to the end of a 20-year war. We must have the courage to walk through, says former White House official Richard A. Clarke.

— In Mexico, a grisly killing inflames debate about femicide

 

at 2/14/20 9:59pm

In Mexico, as in other Latin American nations, feminists, human rights advocates and others have long argued that the murder of women has not been a law enforcement priority.

— U.S. announces a brief truce with the Taliban in Afghanistan, as a prelude to possible negotiations

 

at 2/14/20 4:19pm

The administration announced a weeklong truce with the Taliban in Afghanistan, a possible step toward Trump's goal of ending America's longest war.

— He helped put out fires in the Amazon. Months later, he was arrested for arson

 

at 2/14/20 2:30pm

Lawyers for four volunteer firefighters say their arrests are part of a crackdown on critics of the Brazilian government's policies in the Amazon.

— 'With the war came the drugs.' At Kabul's Mother Camp, heroin addicts find help

 

at 2/14/20 4:00am

The woman who runs the Mother Camp heroin rehab clinic in Afghanistan defies a male-dominated in the war-broken land

— Amy Klobuchar's mission in Nevada: 'I have to get people to know me'

 

at 2/14/20 12:51am

Fresh off a surprise New Hampshire showing, Amy Klobuchar campaigns in Nevada.

— Trump seeks to divert more Pentagon money to border wall construction

 

at 2/13/20 5:10pm

Lawmakers immediately criticized President Trump's proposal, for a second year, to take defense funds to pay for the border wall he once promised Mexico would finance.

— Harvey Weinstein is 'an innocent man,' defense says at closing argument of New York trial

 

at 2/13/20 3:35pm

In a scathing closing argument, Harvey Weinstein's attorney attacked prosecutors before pleading with the jury to acquit the mogul of sexual assault.

— Venezuela traslada a ejecutivos petroleros a una cárcel más estricta después de que Trump recibiera al líder de la oposición

 

at 2/13/20 2:14pm

Seis ejecutivos de Citgo, con sede en Houston, han estado detenidos en prisiones venezolanas durante más de dos años sin ser juzgados.

As of 2/18/20 6:04am. Last new 2/17/20 6:19pm.