Donald Trump to be allowed back on Facebook after 2-year ban
Facebook parent Meta says it will restore former President Donald Trump’s personal account in the coming weeks, ending a two-year suspension it imposed in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection. The company said in a blog post Wednesday it is adding “new guardrails” to ensure there are no “repeat offenders” who violate its rules. Trump was suspended on Jan. 7, a day after the deadly 2021 insurrection. Other social media companies also kicked him off their platforms, though he was recently reinstated on Twitter after Elon Musk took over the company. Responding to the news, Trump blasted Facebook’s original decision to suspend his account and praised Truth Social, the site he created after being blocked from Twitter.
Lawyer: Warnings boy had gun ignored before he shot teacher
An attorney says a Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student during class plans to sue the school district. Diane Toscano, a lawyer for the 25-year-old teacher, Abigail Zwerner, said Wednesday that on the day of the shooting, concerned teachers and employees warned administrators three times that the boy had a gun on him and was threatening other students, “but the administration could not be bothered.” The boy shot Zwerner on Jan. 6 as she taught class at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. Later in the day, the school board voted to relieve district superintendent George Parker III of his duties effective Feb. 1 as part of a separation agreement and severance package.
Dems vote to give states more time on new primary calendar
A Democratic National Committee panel has voted to give New Hampshire and Georgia more time to make changes that would allow both to be part of a revamped group of five states leading off the party’s presidential primary starting next year. But even as they voted to extend the deadline until June 3, members of the DNC rules committee complained about New Hampshire’s ongoing feud with the national party over the new calendar. The committee previously voted to replace Iowa in the leadoff spot with South Carolina, and have New Hampshire and Nevada go second, followed by Georgia and Michigan. Its latest vote Wednesday night gives New Hampshire and Georgia extra time to comply with those changes.
Suspect in Half Moon Bay farm killings faces 7 murder counts
A farmworker accused of killing seven people in shootings at two Northern California mushroom farms has been charged with seven counts of murder. Prosecutors filed the charges Wednesday. A court appearance for 66-year-old Chunli Zhao was postponed until Feb. 16. His two attorneys did not immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment. Authorities say he killed four people at a mushroom farm in Half Moon Bay where he worked and three more at a nearby farm where he used to work. The charges include allegations that could result in the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
US, Germany to send advanced tanks to aid Ukraine war effort
Germany and the United States have announced that they will send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine. It’s the first stage of a coordinated effort by the West to provide dozens of the heavy weapons to help Kyiv break combat stalemates as Russia’s invasion enters its 12th month. U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks. The decision reverses months of persistent arguments by Washington that they were too difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain. Germany agreed to send 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from its own stocks. Germany had said the Leopards would not be sent unless the U.S. put its Abrams on the table.
Afghan soldier seeking US asylum freed from immigration hold
An Afghan soldier seeking U.S. asylum who was arrested while trying to cross the Mexico border has been freed and reunited with his brother after spending months in immigration detention. Attorney Zachary Fertitta said Wednesday that Abdul Wasi Safi has been released from custody in Eden, Texas, after a judge dismissed an immigration charge. Wasi Safi fled Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. forces in August 2021, fearing reprisals from the Taliban. He was arrested in September near Eagle Pass, Texas, after crossing the Mexico border. He had hoped to join his brother, Sami-ullah Safi, who lives in Houston. Fertitta says Wasi Safi is receiving medical care at an undisclosed location.
Spain: 1 dead in church machete attacks, terror link probed
Spain’s interior ministry says a machete-wielding man has killed a sexton and injured a priest in attacks at two churches in the city of Algeciras. Authorities are investigating it as a possible act of terrorism. The attacker has been arrested and is in the custody of Spain’s National Police. The ministry said that the assailant wounded a priest inside one church. He then proceeded to to a second church where he attacked a sexton, killing him outside. Spain’s National Court says a judge has opened an investigation into a possible act of terrorism over Wednesday’s attack. Police are investigating the incident, the ministry said, to determine the “nature of the attack.”
By wire sources