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A principal, Sonhando Estick, of East Village school  has been slammed by media after ostracizing another staff member for asking about recognizing Black History Month, but looked other what when a different teacher made a joke to the classroom about the ¨Muslim ban¨. The 34 year old teacher is seeking $5M from the city .

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The principal of an East Village school slammed a staffer for asking about recognition of Black History Month - but looked the other way when a teacher cracked a joke about a classroom "Muslim ban," a lawsuit charges.

A Tompkins Square Middle School teacher, filing anonymously as John Doe, says in his Manhattan Federal Court discrimination suit that Principal Sonhando Estwick put his career at risk by failing to address racial issues at his school.

The 34-year-old teacher, who is black and has 10 years of experience, seeks $5 million from the city.

Doe says his relationship with Estwick soured in 2012 when he asked during a meeting whether the school would be celebrating Black History Month.

Estwick, who is also black, replied the school doesn't celebrate the month because it celebrates diversity year-round, according to court papers.

Later that day, Estwick allegedly pulled Doe aside and said "Way to call out the entire school!" He told Doe "his radical views are not welcome at the school" and that he was "an affirmative action hire," papers say.

Doe - whose salary is $82,995 - was formally reprimanded in 2015 for unprofessional conduct and in 2017 for failure to follow a directive.

Estwick has a clean disciplinary record and is paid $152,359.

The teacher charges that Estwick began retaliating against him after he won an arbitration proceeding against the principal.

In October 2016, a parent complained to Estwick that a teacher cracked a joke about a Muslim student who dresses conservatively, the suit says.

The teacher, who is white, joked about the classroom needing a Muslim ban - but replaced the word "Muslim" with the student's name, the suit says.

(Google)

Complaints were filed with the Department of Education's investigative arm - but the teacher remained in the classroom, the suit says.

Doe cites the episode as evidence he wasn't afforded the same leniency. Estwick unfairly ordered Doe to spend five months out of the classroom performing administrative tasks last year, the teacher charges.

Doe's "reputation has been tarnished beyond repair and his future as a teaching professional irreparably compromised," the suit says.

Doe and Estwick didn't respond to requests for comment. Both men remain employed at their school.

City Education Department spokesman Doug Cohen said the city is investigating some of the claims in the suit.

"There is no place for discrimination of any kind in our schools and we are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming learning environment for all students and staff," Cohen said. "We are treating this with the utmost seriousness and are reviewing the lawsuit."

The city has no formal policy requiring schools to celebrate Black History Month, which occurs in February.

But African-American history is included in social studies teaching material that guides instruction at all district run schools.

The suit was filed as a John Doe case to protect a vulnerable student.
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Teacher says East Village principal neglected racial issues

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The principal of an East Village school slammed a staffer for asking about recognition of Black History Month - but looked the other way when a teacher cracked a joke about a classroom "Muslim ban," a lawsuit charges.

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Military: Russian spy ship moving toward US - CNN Video

US military officials are tracking a sophisticated Russian spy ship that appears to be moving toward the US.

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Military: Russian spy ship moving toward US - CNN Video

US military officials are tracking a sophisticated Russian spy ship that appears to be moving toward the US.

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US military officials are tracking a Russian spy ship that seems to be moving toward the US

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military: russian spy ship moving toward us - cnn video

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Military: Russian spy ship moving toward US - CNN Video

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US military officials are tracking a sophisticated Russian spy ship that appears to be moving toward the US. CNN's Brian Todd reports.

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Military: Russian spy ship moving toward US - CNN Video

US military officials are tracking a sophisticated Russian spy ship that appears to be moving toward the US.

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US government shutting down temporarily

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Barring some dramatic change in the dynamic in the next 12 hours or so, that's where things are headed.

Quite a way for the President to spend the one year anniversary of his inauguration.

What comes next: At some point there will be a Senate cloture vote -- a 60-vote threshold that both sides know will fail. But there hasn't been an agreement on when yet. If there's no agreement, it likely wouldn't take place until early Saturday morning.

After that: TBD, but expect Republicans to continue offering the spending bill -- and several other difficult political votes, for the near future.

What really comes next: The blame game. That's the focus right now -- tag the other side for everything reaching this point -- as no solution to avert a government shutdown appears within sight.

The wild card

It's the President. Plain and simple.

GOP leaders have been in touch with Trump repeatedly, aides tell CNN. He knows where they stand, how they plan to proceed and is aligned with that strategy. But those same aides acknowledge they have no idea long that actually lasts.

"We all know anything can happen at any time on Twitter," one House Republican aide told CNN. "But for now we're all in the same place."

Here's all you need to know about where things stand

The Senate floor, late Thursday night, made clear everything you need to know about this moment. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked for a vote majority-threshold vote on the House-passed short-term funding bill he knew wouldn't get taken up, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer objected.

The New York Democrat asked for a vote on the 60-vote cloture motion he knew would fail, McConnell objected.

They could barely agree on when to actually adjourn.

They couldn't even agree on what time the next vote will be -- a vote that both sides already know will fail.

There are now more partisan hashtags flying around than actual solutions being presented that would get each party's leadership into a room to negotiate.

Aides in both parties are past even trying to act like there's a pathway to avoid a shutdown. They've chosen, for the moment, the path of bludgeoning one another instead.

Here's the reality: Senior GOP aides in both chambers say Senate Republican leaders have no plan to move off their insistence that the House-passed bill is the only way forward -- and they are queuing up a series of painful political votes for in-cycle Democrats.

Democrats didn't go into a shutdown posture to come away empty-handed and want at least new negotiations on the leadership level before they even consider any off-ramp.

When the Senate reconvenes on Friday, there will be 13 hours until a shutdown. As one senior Republican aide put it Thursday night: "This is going to get worse before it gets better."

So, how does this all end: Often, in stand offs like this, there are clear solutions that are hanging out there top advisers in both parties will acknowledge are the end game, it's just that one or both parties just need to go through the process (or, to put it bluntly, punch themselves out) before getting there.

Republicans

To make this abundantly clear: Speaker Paul Ryan and McConnell are completely aligned that the House-passed bill is their final offer.

Something addressing the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is not even remotely possible in their minds at this point, multiple aides say.

On the other side, Democrats -- joined by several Republicans -- say they just finally hit their limit. There's zero trust with the White House and, more importantly, GOP leaders that the DACA issue will be addressed with more time. There's a keen awareness how complicated and divisive the issue is inside the Republican conference and how many times immigration as an issue has withered away in the past.

There's tremendous pressure from the Democratic base, yes, but that's not all this is -- there's extreme frustration on the Democratic side with the process, with their role in the minority and with the last 12 months.

If DACA would be addressed, Democratic aides say, a whole host of major items would unlock -- a two-year budget deal, disaster relief bill, CHIP extension (which, of course, is also in the Republican short-term spending bill.)

What matters

Whether or not leaders from both sides come out of their respective messaging trenches and start meeting. Most aides (and lawmakers) are predicting it will take a day or two of fighting before they reach that point. But that will be the key that something is starting to shake lose. What that will be, of course, is anybody's guess.

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Hours away from shutdown, here's what to watch

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Barring some dramatic change in the dynamic in the next 12 hours or so, that's where things are headed. Quite a way for the President to spend the one year anniversary of his inauguration. What comes next: At some point there will be a Senate cloture vote -- a 60-vote threshold that both sides know will fail.

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US military officials are tracking a sophisticated Russian spy ship that appears to be moving toward the US.

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military: russian spy ship moving toward us - cnn video

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Military: Russian spy ship moving toward US - CNN Video

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US military officials are tracking a sophisticated Russian spy ship that appears to be moving toward the US. CNN's Brian Todd reports.

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A new study shows that people who consumed at least four cups of coffee daily had a 64% lower risk of early death compared to those who never or rarely drink coffee. Coffee has also been shown to reduce the risk of many diseases, including type 2 diabetes, liver disease, colorectal cancer, Alzheimer's and skin cancer, too.

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The latest research shows many health benefits of coffee, but limits of consumption are prudent for those pregnant or with heart conditions.

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Congress hurtled toward a government shutdown Friday as democrats in the Senate offered no sign of supporting a short-term bill to keep the government open, unless it includes protection for illegal immigrants brought to the country as children.

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Congress hurtled toward a government shutdown Friday as Democrats in the Senate offered no sign of supporting a short-term bill to keep the government open, unless it includes protection for illegal immigrants brought to the country as children.

The Republican-dominated House of Representatives passed a one-month bill Thursday night by a vote of 230-197 largely along party lines, with 11 Republicans voting no and six Democrats voting yes.

With a midnight deadline looming, the bill now moves to the Senate where the Republicans hold only a slender majority, making prospects for passage grim. To break a Democratic filibuster, the bill will need 60 votes. Republicans have a 51-49 majority in the Senate.

Complicating matters for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is that he will not even have all 51 votes from Republicans. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is convalescing after surgery, while Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. have all indicated that they will not vote for the measure, meaning that McConnell will need to win 13 Democrats to get to 60. So far, only Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is the only Democrat who has indicated that he will vote for the resolution.

Senate Democrats have said that Democrats want any spending bill to include a fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program -- an Obama-era executive order that granted protected status to some illegal immigrants brought to the country as children. President Trump repealed the order in September, and gave Congress a deadline of March to come up with a legislative fix.

"Unless we pass the #DreamAct, I won't support another short-term funding bill," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., tweeted Thursday. "Our Dreamers have waited far too long for a chance to be a part of this country's future."

Republicans had hoped to back Democrats into a corner by attaching a six-year extension of funding for the popular Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to the bill. But Democrats have so far refused to budge.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said Thursday that it was time for Congress to come up with a long-term solution to the spending problem.

"We can't keep kicking the can down the road," Schumer said. "In another month, we'll be right back here, at this moment, with the same web of problems at our feet, in no better position to solve them."

Republicans put the blame firmly on Democrats' positioning on DACA as the reason for the looming shutdown.

"Democratic senators' fixation on illegal immigration has already blocked us from making progress on long-term spending talks," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "That same fixation has them threatening to filibuster funding for the government."

'What they're simply trying to do is hold the government hostage, our military, kids health, over something completely unrelated.'
- Rep. Paul Ryan

"What they're simply trying to do is hold the government hostage, our military, kids' health, over something completely unrelated," House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said on Fox News Friday.

President Trump has repeatedly urged Congress to keep the government open, warning that a shutdown will harm the U.S. military. On Friday morning he seemed resigned to a shutdown, and blamed Democrats for prioritizing "illegal immigration and weak borders."

The White House announced that Trump will not travel to Florida, as previously scheduled, until the continuing resolution is signed.

A senior Senate source appeared to agree with Trump's gloomy outlook, telling Fox News to "expect a shutdown over the weekend," perhaps lasting two to three days.

Should Congress miss the Friday night deadline, it is far from clear if the government would actually shut down immediately. Fox News is told that the Trump administration will not "weaponize" the shutdown, closing various monuments, national parks, to make a "show" of the shutdown like critics say the Obama administration did in 2013 when the government shut down.

There seemed to be some wiggle room appearing from Schumer late Thursday, tweeting that he would support a "clean" continuing resolution for a few days, giving lawmakers some breathing room to do a broader deal on CHIP, DACA and military funding.

Fox News' Chad Pergram, John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Adam Shaw is a Politics Reporter and occasional Opinion writer for FoxNews.com. He can be reached here or on Twitter: @AdamShawNY.

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Government shutdown looms as Democrats stand firm on DACA demands

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Congress hurtled toward a government shutdown Friday as Democrats in the Senate offered no sign of supporting a short-term bill to keep the government open, unless it includes protection for illegal immigrants brought to the country as children.

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US military officials are tracking a sophisticated Russian spy ship that appears to be moving toward the US.

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military: russian spy ship moving toward us - cnn video

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Military: Russian spy ship moving toward US - CNN Video

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US military officials are tracking a sophisticated Russian spy ship that appears to be moving toward the US. CNN's Brian Todd reports.

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Two Australian swimmers were found in trouble by a drone. The drone had been going on a training session when the distress call came in. Quickly reacting to the situation the drone dropped a rescue pod. The swimmers were able to grab a hold of the pod and swim safely to shore.

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watch a drone save two swimmers in australia - cnn video

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Watch a drone save two swimmers in Australia - CNN Video

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Two swimmers were in serious trouble off the coast of Australia, until a drone came to their rescue.

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A woman in New York collected 20,000 diapers for kids in need of them from a Facebook post.

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With a stroller and a Facebook post, a New York City mom was able to collect 20,000 diapers to donate to families in need.

Audrey Symes, a consultant and mom to a then 2-year-old, was looking for a way to volunteer in her free time. So she called the Good Plus Foundation and asked them if she could help out, perhaps by updating spreadsheets.

But what they really needed, Symes told ABC News, was diapers.

"I had never heard of this need," Symes said. "My daughter was till in diapers. I couldn't stop thinking about it."

So she posted to a popular Facebook group called UES Mommas, which has about 30,000 members. "I was hoping to get 500 diapers with that post," she said. "I got about 1,200."

Symes collected the diapers by walking around the neighborhood and picking them up from moms or in building package rooms. She was inspired.

"There are so many reasons why you might have leftover diapers," she said. "The child moves to a different size or you decide to potty train. If I had one message I want to get out it's that you can donate open packages of diapers."

For people who want to donate but don't live close enough to get their diapers to Symes, the National Diaper Bank Network can help.

"By focusing on diaper need, the National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN) works to meet the basic needs of all children and families living in the United States," Joanne Goldblum, CEO of NDBN told ABC News. "Our mission is to raise awareness of diaper need, strengthen community-based diaper banks, and generate donations of dollars and diapers, so that all babies remain clean, dry and healthy."

The issue of not having diapers, she said, extends well beyond the obvious.

"Most child care centers require parents to provide the diapers their children use, many parents do not use child care when they do not have clean diapers so they either miss work or school, or use less optimum child care for the day," Goldblum said.

In a survey taken by the organization of families in diaper need taken this past summer, 57 percent said that they missed work or school because of a lack of diapers that month.

Goldblum shared with ABC News the story of how a lack of diapers was truly affecting one family's quality of life.

"They didn't have a lot, but they worked hard to make ends meet. So when the husband, who served in the Army reserves, got deployed overseas, their plans and financial stability were interrupted. He made significantly less [money] during this time. The wife quit school and got a part time job, but the cost of daycare for their 8-month-old and transportation still made it difficult to pay their bills.

"Sometimes, she had to call out of work because she had to choose between buying gas or diapers. She learned about her local diaper bank from another military spouse and began getting help with diapers and baby essentials. Getting help with the diapers and wipes had a tremendous impact on this family's ability to provide the basic necessities and work towards a better future and she didn't have to choose between buying diapers or gas."

The organization collects more than 250,000 diapers a month.

There are hundreds of diaper banks around the nation, and people can find their local diaper bank on the organization's website. They also can donate directly to NDBN on that website.

Since that first Facebook post in June of 2016, Symes has continued collecting in her neighborhood, to the tune of 20,000 diapers so far. She collects the majority of them as she did in that very first round: walking her stroller from building to building.

"It's my passion," she said. "I want to prevent a child from a rash or enable a mom to work."

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Mom uses stroller to collect 20,000 diapers for families in need

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With a stroller and a Facebook post, a New York City mom was able to collect 20,000 diapers to donate to families in need. Audrey Symes, a consultant and mom to a then 2-year-old, was looking for a way to volunteer in her free time.

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After their landing in 1998, scientists are just now unlocking the secrets of the two 4.5 billion year old meteors. They contain the ingredients for life; water, amino acids, hydrocarbons, and other organic matter.

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The two meteorites, called Monahans and Zag, are the first discovered to contain the ingredients for life: liquid water, amino acids, hydrocarbons and other organic matter.

A chemical-makeup analysis of blue and purple salt and potassium crystals from the meteorites was published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday.

Although it's not exactly proof that life exists beyond Earth, the traces of water in the salt crystals could date to the earliest days of our solar system. The researchers compared it to finding a prehistoric fly preserved in amber.

Before slamming into Earth -- one near a youth basketball game in Texas in March 1998 and another near Morocco in August 1998 -- the meteorites lived in our solar system's asteroid belt for billions of years.

The salt crystals from the two meteorites are similar, and researchers believe that these two objects crossed paths at some point. But the salt crystals were not always part of the meteorites themselves. It's possible that they came from volcanic activity that ejected water or ice, which happens on ocean worlds in our solar system, and attached to the meteorites through impact.

"Our coordinated organic analysis of the salt crystals suggest that the organic matter originated from a water-rich, or previously water-rich parent body -- an ocean world in the early solar system, possibly Ceres," Queenie Chan, study author and postdoctoral research associate at The Open University in the UK, wrote in an email.

Ceres is a brown dwarf planet and the largest object in our asteroid belt. Hebe, a stony asteroid that has been traced as a source of other meteorites that have fallen to Earth, is a potential "parent" of the meteorites.

Technology had to catch up before researchers could even think about the in-depth analysis they wanted to carry out. Chan's adviser at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Michael Zolensky, had the Zag meteorite sample since 1998. The Monahans meteorite was also housed at Johnson Space Center.

They needed a highly sensitive instrument that could analyze the salt crystals for amino acids. Chan meticulously collected the salt crystal samples using instruments that are reminiscent of dental picks. The samples were a fraction of the width of a human hair.

But the persistence paid off. They were able to study the samples using the Advanced Light Source X-ray beamline and microscope at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The instrument can measure traces of specific elements and revealed the organic matter trapped within the crystals.

Chan said her team has saved some of the larger blue salt crystals for future analysis. They hope to discover more liquid water in the salt crystals and investigate the origin of the water itself. There are also other meteorite samples with well-preserved crystals that they want to test.

This also gives researchers a model for what was happening early on in Jupiter's icy moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus, which is covered with ice and has an ocean underneath. Both exhibit the same kind of hydrovolcanic activity that may have caused these salt crystals on the meteorites. And NASA has identified both as targets for further study, given that life could exist within the chemistry that occurs on these ocean worlds.

"Our finding that the meteorites contain a wide diversity of organic compounds is exciting, but what made me jump up and down was that we were able to investigate the soluble -- such as amino acids, the building blocks of life -- and insoluble organic compounds contain within the tiny salt crystals which are only about 2 mm in size each, and which are the hosts to liquid water -- another crucial ingredient for life to occur," Chan said.

"These results pay off the amount of time and effort I spent in the laboratory trying to break the meteorite sample apart to 'hand pick' and collect the stunning blue salt crystals."

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ingredients for life found in meteorites that crashed to earth - cnn

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Ingredients for life found in meteorites that crashed to Earth

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The two meteorites, called Monahans and Zag, are the first discovered to contain the ingredients for life: liquid water, amino acids, hydrocarbons and other organic matter. A chemical-makeup analysis of blue and purple salt and potassium crystals from the meteorites was published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday.

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Cheyenne Antoine finally confessed to the murder of her friend two years ago after police found the belt in a Facebook picture from that night.

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A woman confesses to a killing after police spot murder weapon in her Facebook photo | CNN

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Cheyenne Antoine, 21, confessed this week to killing her friend during an argument in 2015

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Updates on 13 siblings help captive by their parents reveals shocking abuse. The children lacked many life skills and knowledge like what a police officer was o what pills and medication were.

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A mother and daughter fell through the ice of a lake in Alabama. Their dog had run out onto it and fell through, so they ran after it. The mother and daughter were taken to the hospital and treated for hypothermia. The dog did not survive.

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Cheyenne Antoine has confessed to killing her friend Brittney Gargol on March 24, 2015. They posted a photo together before they left that night and later Antoine used the belt she was wearing to strangle Gargol. Years later Antoine confessed to the murder and was convicted of manslaughter. She will spend 7 years in prison.

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A woman confesses to a killing after police spot murder weapon in her Facebook photo | CNN

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Cheyenne Antoine, 21, confessed this week to killing her friend during an argument in 2015

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A woman murders her friend in 2015. Two years later, she was arrested. The murder weapon had been a belt she was seen wearing in the picture of the two of them, the night of the murder.

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A woman confesses to a killing after police spot murder weapon in her Facebook photo | CNN

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Cheyenne Antoine, 21, confessed this week to killing her friend during an argument in 2015

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A short term spending bill was passed in the house. The senate must pass the bill by the midnight deadline or face shutdown.

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will the government shut down tonight? follow live - cnnpolitics

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Meg Wagner, Brian Ries and Veronica Rocha, CNN

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Will the government shut down tonight? Follow live

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The Senate is racing to reach a spending deal to avoid a government shutdown on Friday, ahead of the one-year anniversary of Trump's presidency. Follow here for live updates

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Rajendra Pal, a construction worker in Mumbai, miraculously survives after being impaled by two iron rods, one an inch away from his heart and the other going through his liver after slipping and falling on site. He is "out of danger" after enduring his tedious three-hour-long surgery.

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Two iron rods impaled Mumbai construction worker Rajendra Pal when he slipped and fell onto them at a building site, with one of the rods going straight through his liver.

Somehow, Pal survived.

Once on the scene, emergency crews had to saw the two rods off the pillar they were attached to just to get the 21-year old worker to the hospital.

"The patient was conscious when he was brought to the hospital. Dr Jitendra Sankpal, senior surgeon at GT hospital told India news agency Newslion.

Sankpal said the two iron rods measuring two-and-a-half feet each pierced his abdomen and chest.

"However, the man was lucky as the rods did not puncture his lungs or other vital organs," he said.

The doctor added that "It was a very difficult operation. The first rod that came out though his chest barely missed the patient's heart by one inch.

The surgeon said his patient "is out of danger now" following a three-hour surgery.

Rajendra had arrived in Mumbai from West Bengal just two days before the accident. His cousin Dhan Parmar told Newslion, "He wanted to take up the job. So, we permitted him to come to Mumbai.

"We are scared this has happen only in two days. Luckily, my relative has survived."

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Construction worker impaled by two iron rods, one inches from heart,miraculously survives

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Two iron rods impaled Mumbai construction worker Rajendra Pal when he slipped and fell onto them at a building site, with one of the rods going straight through his liver. Somehow, Pal survived. Once on the scene, emergency crews had to saw the two rods off the pillar they were attached to just to get the 21-year old worker to the hospital.

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Today, the newly-elected prime minister of New Zealand announced that she is expecting her first child.

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New Zealand's newly elected prime minister announced Friday she is expecting her first child.

Jacinda Ardern, 37, who took office in October, will be the second elected world leader to give birth in office in recent world history.

"I am not the first woman to multitask," she told reporters. "I'm not the first woman to work and have a baby. I know these are special circumstances, but there are many women who will have done this well before I have."

Ardern said she and her partner, Clarke Gayford, are expecting their first child in June.

In October she became New Zealand's youngest prime minister since 1856. Soon after, speculation swirled around whether she would start a family after taking over the leadership of her then-opposition Labour Party last year.

On Friday, Ardern took to Twitter to make the announcement, adding that Gayford would become a stay-at-home dad.

"We thought 2017 was a big year! This year we'll join the many parents who wear two hats. I'll be PM & a mum while Clarke will be 'first man of fishing' & stay at home dad," she tweeted.

In an additional statement, Ardern said she had asked Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters on Thursday to act as prime minister for six weeks after the birth.

"I fully intend to be contactable and available throughout the six-week period when needed," she added. "I will make arrangements for appropriate ministers to act in my other portfolios over the six weeks I am away from Parliament."

After the six weeks, she will resume her prime ministerial duties.

"Clarke and I are privileged to be in the position where Clarke can stay home to be our primary caregiver. Knowing that so many parents juggle the care of their new babies, we consider ourselves to be very lucky," she said.

"Clarke and I have always been clear we wanted to be parents but had been told we would need help for that to happen. That's made this news a fantastic surprise," she added.

The couple discovered they were expecting a child on Oct. 13 - two weeks before Ardern was sworn in as national leader.

Within a day of her becoming Labour Party leader last year, Ardern was asked twice by television hosts about her plans for children. One host, Mark Richardson, questioned whether it was acceptable for the country's leader to take maternity leave while in office, and said most employers would want to know the maternity plans of their workers.

Ardern, who has previously talked about the difficulties of juggling political life while also wanting to start a family, said she was happy to answer such questions, but others shouldn't feel compelled.

"For other women, it is totally unacceptable in 2017 to say that women should have to answer that question in the workplace," she responded, while pointing her finger at Richardson. "That is unacceptable."

Ardern will be one of the few elected leaders to hold office while pregnant. The most recent example was Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto, who gave birth in 1990 while she was prime minister.
The Associated Press contributed on this report. Lucia I. Suarez Sang is a Reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow her on Twitter @luciasuarezsang

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New Zealand's newly elected prime minister announces pregnancy: 'I'll be a PM & a mum'

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New Zealand's newly elected prime minister announced Friday she is expecting her first child. Jacinda Ardern, 37, who took office in October, will be the second elected world leader to give birth in office in recent world history. "I am not the first woman to multitask," she told reporters.

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Belichick tight-lipped on Brady injury during press conference

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Sportress of Blogitude 52 mins ago Jason Rowan

Bill Belichick not surprisingly had very little to say about Tom Brady's hand injury while meeting with the media for his Friday press conference.

Brady reportedly suffered an injury to his right hand after jamming it during a collision with a teammate during Wednesday's practice. While Brady was present at Thursday's practice sporting a glove on his throwing hand, he reportedly did not practice.

Belichick of course was peppered with questions concerning the nature and extent of Brady's injury heading into Sunday's showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game. What follows is a transcript of a majority of Brady-related questions fielded by Belichick. Of course, Belichick was patently - and predictably - tight-lipped.

Do you have any update on Brady's status for Sunday?"We gave out the injury report yesterday. We'll update it today."Has not having Brady at practice limited your preparation at all for Jacksonville?
"We're going to continue to get ready for Jacksonville all the way through until game time."
Do you have any regrets about trading Jimmy Garoppolo?
"We're getting ready for Jacksonville."
Is it looking like Brady might be a game-time decision?
"Today's Friday."
Given Brady's injury, have you considered signing a third quarterback?
"We're going to get ready for Jacksonville, do the best that we can, make the best decisions we can for the team to do that. So that's what we're going to do."
How much, if at all, does Brady's status complicate the game plan for Sunday?
"I don't know."
What is your level of concern that Brady will be able to perform the functions he needs to at quarterback?
"I don't know. We'll see."
You said after trading Garoppolo that you had one of the NFL's best quarterback situations while he was backing up Brady. What are your thoughts on the current QB situation with Brian Hoyer as the backup?
"Right now, my thoughts are getting ready for Jacksonville. We're going to do the best we can to put the most competitive team out there and play the best and coach the best that we can on Sunday."
How impressed have you been with the toughness Brady has shown throughout his career?
"Very. It's been outstanding."

Here's Belichick's press conference in its entirety.

#Patriots head coach Bill Belichick live press conference: https://t.co/T7ccfzROHI

- New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 19, 2018

Belichick wasn't about to tip his hand about Brady's condition. That's hardly a shocker. All indications point to Brady being a certain lock to play Sunday. How effective he can be with a right hand injury, however, remains to be seen.

Related slideshow: 2018 NFL playoffs (Provided by photo services)

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Belichick tight-lipped on Brady injury during press conference

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Sportress of Blogitude 52 mins ago Jason Rowan Bill Belichick not surprisingly had very little to say about Tom Brady's hand injury while meeting with the media for his Friday press conference. Brady reportedly suffered an injury to his right hand after jamming it during a collision with a teammate during Wednesday's practice.

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Baltimore's Police Commissioner was fired today after his failure to halt the surge in killings that've turn Maryland's largest city into one of the most deadly in the U.S. He was relieved of command by Mayor Catherine Pugh who then said that it is time for new leadership to deal with the murders.

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High-crime Baltimore's top cop was fired Friday after failing to halt the surge in killings that have turned Maryland's largest city into one of the deadliest in the country.

Police Commissioner Kevin Davis was relieved of his command by Mayor Catherine Pugh, who said it was time for new leadership to deal with the murders.

"As I have made clear, reducing violence and restoring the confidence of our citizens in their police officers is my highest priority," said Pugh. "The fact is, we are not achieving the pace of progress that our residents have every right to expect in the weeks since we ended what was nearly a record year for homicides in the City of Baltimore."

Davis had a contract that ran until 2020.

Pugh named Baltimore's No. 2 cop as Davis's successor effective immediately.

Deputy Commissioner Darryl DeSousa, a 30-year veteran of the force, will be made permanent following "appropriate approvals," Pugh said.

DeSousa, 53, said he was honored by the mayor's confidence in him at "this critical time" for the city.

"Baltimore has long been my home and I've spent my career on its streets and in its neighborhoods to address problems and bring about solutions that are meaningful for the people we serve," he said.

Violent crime rates in Baltimore have been notoriously high for decades and the city has recently been dealing with increasing homicides fueled by drugs and other problems, the Associated Press reported.

Baltimore ended 2017 with 343 killings, bringing the annual homicide rate to its highest ever - roughly 56 killings per 100,000 people. Baltimore, which has shrunk over decades, currently has about 615,000 inhabitants.

The city recorded 353 homicides in 1993, the most ever in the city's history when the city had 100,000 more residents.

Maryland enacted one of the nation's toughest gun laws in 2013 but that hasn't stopped Baltimore's criminals from obtaining and using guns, especially lethal weapons with high-capacity magazines.

The murder rate has soared as some critics have accused Baltimore cops of taking a hands-off approach to fighting crime since six officers were charged in connection with the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a black man whose fatal spinal cord injury in police custody triggered massive protests that year and the city's worst riots in decades.

"The conventional wisdom, or widely agreed upon speculation, suggests that the great increase in murders is happening partly because the police have withdrawn from aggressively addressing crime in the city's many poor, crime-ridden neighborhoods," said Donald Norris, professor emeritus of public policy at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Baltimore mayor fires police commissioner after near-record year for murders

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High-crime Baltimore's top cop was fired Friday after failing to halt the surge in killings that have turned Maryland's largest city into one of the deadliest in the country. Police Commissioner Kevin Davis was relieved of his command by Mayor Catherine Pugh, who said it was time for new leadership to deal with the murders.

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ISIS soldier seen executing prisoner in video believed to be NJ high school graduate

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An Islamic State soldier featured in a propaganda video beheading a Kurdish prisoner is believed to be a New Jersey high school graduate.

Zulfi Hoxha, 25, graduated from Atlantic City High School in 2010 is believed to be the soldier filmed by the terror group, The Atlantic reported.

According to reports, Hoxha's family emigrated from Albania to the United States and have owned a pizzeria in Margate, N.J. for 20 years.

His mother, Ltefaji Hoxha, told NBC Philadelphia her son "attended a mosque where he hated people" and left the U.S. to join ISIS, adding that she was "very upset" with his actions.

She said the last time they spoke with her son was about a year ago.
NEW JERSEY CONFIRMS NATION'S FIRST SIKH ATTORNEY GENERAL
The young man traveled to Syria on April 6, 2015 to an ISIS-controlled area and joined the extremist group with the help of David Daoud Wright, who was convicted in December 2018 for " conspiring with others to provide material support to the Islamic State and kill persons in the United States," The Atlantic reported.

Wright was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison, court documents stated.

According to reports, Hoxha now goes by Abu Hamza al-Amriki and has become a senior commander of the terror group.

Law enforcement officials told The Atlantic that Hoxha was the man seen in videos executing and beheading Kurdish soldiers taken prisoner by the extremist group. The videos showed Hoxha "calling on lone wolf terrorist to carry out attacks on targets in the United States."

"Liberate yourself from hellfire by killing a kafir," Hoxha was heard saying in the video.
NEW JERSEY WOMAN WINS $5M FROM SCRATCH-OFF TICKET SHE ACCIDENTALLY BOUGHT
"If they are right about his identity, Hoxha is the first American Islamic State member known to be beheading individuals in such a video," The Atlantic reported.

Hoxha was first seen in an ISIS propaganda video in Oct. 2015 and in another in May 2017, NJ.com. The man was believed to be one of the small number of Americans to be promoted to an ISIS commanding position. It was not immediately clear why he jumped up the ranks of ISIS leadership so quickly.

Hoxha's whereabouts and status are currently unknown. FBI officials refused to comment if there was an investigation into Hoxha and his alleged ISIS ties.

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ISIS soldier seen executing prisoner in video believed to be NJ high school graduate

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An Islamic State soldier featured in a propaganda video beheading a Kurdish prisoner is believed to be a New Jersey high school graduate.

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-- Prosecutors revealed grisly details in a press conference Thursday about the captive siblings case out of California.
-- The brothers and sisters were subject to repeated beatings, including strangulation, and were punished by being chained up, often for weeks or months at a time, prosecutors said.
-- The victims weren't released from their chains even to go to the bathroom and were only allowed to shower once a year, according to prosecutors.
-- The children were rescued Sunday after a 17-year-old escaped and alerted authorities to what was happening.
-- Prosecutors said the teen plotted the escape for more than two years.

Interested in California Captivity Case?

Add California Captivity Case as an interest to stay up to date on the latest California Captivity Case news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

The California parents accused of starving and shackling their 13 children allegedly forced them to shower only once a year, never took them to a dentist, and strangled and beat them routinely, prosecutors said Thursday.

David Turpin, 57, and Louise Turpin, 49, were arrested on charges of torture and child endangerment after their children were found Sunday at their home. The Riverside County Sheriff's Office described the residence as "dark and foul-smelling."

The Turpins both entered not guilty pleas on all counts Thursday. Their next court date was set for Feb. 23.

The children were rescued Sunday after one of the children -- a 17-year-old girl -- allegedly escaped through a window and called 911. Responding officers said the teen was slightly emaciated and "appeared to be only 10 years old."

"It took great courage for her to do that after all those years, and that's all she knows," Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said of the escape in an interview with ABC News. "She obviously has the personality that she's going to risk herself for others and she did that and she managed to get out. And we're very glad that she did. I don't know how long this would have continued and I don't know what the end result would have been."

Hestrin called the teen the "bright spot" in the tragic story.

"To think she mustered the courage under those circumstances," he said, "maybe it is a testament to the human will and the will to survive."

Hestrin said of the case, "It feels like a bottomless pit. We don't know where the bottom is."

"You've got parents that are torturing their children causing them pain causing them suffering over a prolonged period of time through malnourishment, through physical abuse, through psychological abuse. ... It's horrific," he said. "It's hard to believe that it happens in today's society, but it does."

The "depraved" details were shared in a press conference led by Hestrin on Thursday.

The abuse intensified when the family moved from Texas to California, Hestrin said. The victims reported that the punishments started many years ago with their parents tying them up, first with ropes. When one victim was able to escape the ropes, "these defendants eventually began using chains and padlocks," Hestrin said.

The punishments lasted weeks or months at a time, he said.

The victims weren't released from their chains even to go to the bathroom, Hestrin said. They were also not allowed to shower more than once a year, he said.

If the children washed their hands above the wrist, they were accused of playing in the water and were chained up, Hestrin said. None have ever seen a dentist and they haven't been to a doctor in over four years, he added.

Hestrin said the parents would buy food including pies and "leave it on the counter, let the children look at it, but not eat the food."

"Supposedly homeschooled, the children lacked even basic knowledge of life. Many of the children didn't know what a police officer was," Hestrin said. When a 17-year-old was "asked if there was medication or pills in the home, [the teen] didn't know what medication or pills were."

The parents alleged "sadistic" treatment toward their children was an element of control, he said.

Hestrin added, "The only thing the children were allowed to do in their room or chained up was to write in journals, we now have recovered those journals -- hundreds of them. And we are combing through them."

Hestrin said in an interview with ABC News he thinks the journals will hold "powerful evidence about what was happening from the perspective of the victims."

Hestrin said that at least one of the older victims attended some outside classes. "Louise Turpin would accompany him, wait outside the classroom for him. When he was finished with class, she would take him home," Hestrin said.

The children were not allowed to have toys, although many toys were found in the house in their original packaging, never opened, Hestrin said.

The family would "sleep all day" and be "up all night," typically going to sleep around 4 or 5 a.m., he said.

Authorities gathered the details of the case using physical evidence and interviews, Hestrin told ABC News in an interview Thursday evening.

"This is the beginning," Hestrin said. "We have a lot of evidence to go through, journals to go through, more interviews to do."

The journal will be "significant evidence" in the case, Hestrin said.

"My guess is it's going to be powerful evidence from the perspective of the victims of what was happening in the house," he said.

Hestrin said the 17-year-old worked on a plan to escape for more than two years with her siblings. He said another sibling escaped with her, but that sibling became afraid and returned to the house. He described her escape as a "testament of human will and the will to survive."

When authorities arrived, three victims were discovered chained up, Hestrin said, adding that the Turpins managed to get two victims unchained before deputies entered. He said a 22-year-old old remained chained to the bed when officials came inside.

All the victims except for the toddler are severely malnourished, Hestrin said, adding that the eldest victim -- a 29-year-old woman -- weighs only 82 pounds. He said another child, a 12-year-old, is the weight of an average 7-year-old.

The victims have since been hospitalized for treatment. Doctors told ABC News the siblings were starved for years.

Hestrin added that prosecutors believe all the children were born at hospitals.

Child Protective Services said it is receiving calls from around the world from people who want to help the siblings financially. Because the agency does not want the siblings to be taxed for the money they receive, it is setting up a fund for them to go through the Riverside County Regional Medical Center Foundation. All GoFundMe campaigns that claim they benefit the siblings are fake, CPS said.

The agency also listed the clothes that are needed for the adult patients, which are almost all in children's sizes, a graphic released by Corona Chamber of Commerce showed.

The Turpins have each been charged with 12 counts of torture, 12 counts of false imprisonment, seven counts of abuse of a dependent adult and six counts of child abuse. David Turpin was also charged with one count of a lewd act on a child under the age of 14 by force, fear or duress. They have pleaded not guilty.

Hestrin said that, to him, the torture charges are the most "horrific."

"Causing them pain, causing them suffering over a long period of time," he said.

A lawyer for David Turpin told ABC News, "What we would like the public to know is that our clients are presumed to be innocent and that's a very important presumption." He added, "We're going to provide a vigorous defense."

If convicted, they each face a potential sentence of about 94 years to life in prison.

ABC News' Julia Jacobo and Matt Gutman contributed to this report.

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Horrific new details emerge in case of 13 captive siblings

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Prosecutors revealed grisly details in a press conference Thursday about the captive siblings case out of California. -- The brothers and sisters were subject to repeated beatings, including strangulation, and were punished by being chained up, often for weeks or months at a time, prosecutors said.

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The next apple update will let you choose how well your iPhone performance. The performance level will affect your battery life. The update will come out next month.

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Tim Cook: Next iPhone update will let you disable intentional slowdown

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The company is working on an iOS 11 update that will show the health of your phone battery and allow you to disable a slowdown.

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Dr. Eugene, a courageous doctor decided to kneel and posted a picture of him captioning " I'm an Asian-American doctor and today I #TakeTheKnee to fight white supremacy". This picture gained a ton of attention on twitter with over 50,000 re-tweets. As you all know, with standing up for what you believe is right in a peaceful way there will sadly almost always be backlash from people who claim it is disrespectful to the people who fight for The United States. Background on the gesture of kneeling: Kneeling can mean  a variety of things like mourning, submissiveness, and as a request for protection (The Psychology of taking a knee). So when people kneel it's to represent mourning and the pain we feel when numerous of innocent black and brown etc people endure abusive behavior from police and get their lives taken away. They kneel because we want justice and we want it now, if there is no justice there will be no peace. When people try to speak up in anyway against The United States racial hierarchy it will incite anger in people who benefits from it. That was some back ground knowledge on the gesture of kneeling. Dr. Eugene received a letter of warning from the university medical center about his social use according to buzz feed news. The doctor was placed on paid administrative leave during an investigation in which he was assaulted, then two weeks later he received news that he will be on probation until march of 2018, in the copy of the probation letter it says there was misleading characterizations of his assaults that where shared on social media GU claims that there was no threat to him regarding the assault. Gu says that he think he was put on probation because of a patients mother calling him racist for standing up for what he believed in, the patient mother refused to allow Gu treat her after she had seen his post about taking a knee. She then goes on and posts a Facebook post and said