House Democrats ponder expanding impeachment probe after Sondland 'game changer' testimony

Ambassador Gordon Sondland's explosive testimony Wednesday that “everyone was in the loop” on President Trump's efforts to secure an investigation of a political rival prompted rank-and-file Democrats to discuss whether it was time to expand their probe. Sondland testified in minute detail — down to the names of staffers and code words used internally to identify officials like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — how Vice President Mike Pence, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, former national security advisor John Bolton and others knew the intimate details of Trump's plans. “Was there a quid pro quo?” Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, testified.

• 
  Gordon Sondland makes splash as unlikely star witness in Trump impeachment inquiry

  USA TODAY
• 
  Democrats React to Trump Impeachment Hearings During Presidential Debate

  Meredith Videos

Gay Saudi journalists detained in Australia after asylum bid

Two gay Saudi journalists who sought asylum in Australia after being threatened at home over their relationship have been held for weeks at an immigration detention centre, their lawyer said Wednesday. The couple arrived in Australia in mid-October on tourist visas but was singled out by airport customs officials -- then taken into detention -- when they admitted plans to seek asylum, lawyer Alison Battisson told AFP. "Australia being very well known for being... a safe place for LGBTI people, they were incredibly surprised and distressed," she said.

Lawyer for NSC Adviser Vindman Sends Letter to Fox Demanding Retraction of ‘Espionage’ Allegation

The segment above is from the Oct. 28 episode of The Ingraham Angle A lawyer for Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman sent a letter to Fox News on Wednesday demanding the network either retract or issue a correction for a segment of the The Ingraham Angle, in which guest John Yoo, a former top lawyer in the Bush administration, seemed to suggest that Vindman might be guilty of espionage. Vindman, who listened to the July 25 phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that forms part of the impeachment probe, testified in House hearings on Tuesday regarding the matter.

• 
  Have you seen this man?

  USA TODAY
• 
  Lt. Col. Vindman Claps Back At Republicans During Impeachment Testimony

  CBSTV Videos

In rare move, N. Carolina county removes Confederate statue

A North Carolina county removed a Confederate statue from a historic courthouse early Wednesday, joining the handful of places around the state where such monuments have come down in recent years despite a law protecting them. Preparations began Tuesday night to carefully dismantle the statue of a soldier outside the historic Chatham County courthouse, where it had stood since 1907, and continued for hours overnight, said county spokeswoman Kara Lusk Dudley. The removal comes months after Winston-Salem officials removed a Confederate statue from land there that had passed into private hands.

10 Things We Want to Leave Behind in the 2010s

Imagine the next decade without Facebook, robocalls, and exploding phones. We feel better already. From Popular Mechanics

Chinese bishop 'on the run' after refusing to join state-sanctioned church

A Catholic bishop in China is believed to be on the run from state security after refusing to bring his church under a government-sanctioned religious association. Guo Xijin, 61, has fled the custody of state agents and has gone into hiding, reported Catholic Asia News, a website, and cannot be immediately reached for comment. Mr Guo is part of a group of bishops that many religious and human rights experts feared would be persecuted after the Vatican inked a deal with Beijing last year on the ordaining bishops.

Rep. Ilhan Omar Asks Judge for 'Compassion' When Sentencing Man Who Threatened Her Life

Punishing the defendant with a lengthy prison sentence or a burdensome financial fine would not rehabilitate him. It would not repair the harm he has caused,” Omar wrote in the letter. It would only increase his anger and resentment.

• 
  Man pleads guilty to threatening to kill Rep. Ilhan Omar

  Yahoo News Video
• 
  Ilhan Omar pleads for compassion for man who threatened her life

  The Guardian

Russia's TU-22M3 Backfire Bomber Has A New Supersonic Missile (And The Navy Is Worried)

Russia's much-feared Tupolev Tu-22M3 Backfire is getting a new upgrade and is adding a new long-range supersonic missile called the Kh-32. The upgrade will allow the massive jet to once again hit allied targets across the North Atlantic region just as the Backfire once did during the Cold War. The bomber and its new weapon will be delivered to the Russian Aerospace Forces in October.

• 
  China's H-6 Bombers Just Got Even Deadlier Against America's Navy

  The National Interest
• 
  Navy Killer: Is This China’s Dangerous New Anti-Ship Missile?

  The National Interest

Ocasio-Cortez: Trump was 'clearly engaged in extortion and bribery'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who began calling for President Trump to be impeached earlier this year, believes we have now reached “the point of no return” where it is inarguably clear that he has committed criminal acts. Ocasio-Cortez discussed the issue with Yahoo News on Capitol Hill on Tuesday as the third day of public hearings was being conducted in the Democrats' ongoing impeachment inquiry. “We're kind of knee-deep here in impeachment inquiry and so at this point, I think we're beyond the question as to whether Trump has committed a crime or whether he's violated the Constitution,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

• 
  Trump Debuts Aggressive Impeachment Response With New Hires

  Bloomberg
• 
  'Mr. Giuliani’s Requests Were a Quid Pro Quo.' Gordon Sondland Testifies in Trump Impeachment Inquiry

  Time

Obama aides deny they left behind nasty notes when they departed White House — in 2017

Alumni of the Obama administration reacted with disbelief and outrage to a claim from White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham that incoming Trump administration officials found insulting notes left behind for them in their offices. “We came into the White House, I'll tell you something,” said Grisham during a local radio interview Tuesday morning, as reported by CNN's Abby Phillip. In the nearly three years since the presidential transition, no Trump administration officials have mentioned the notes or produced any photos that would support Grisham's charge.

• 
  Trump spokeswoman says Obama aides left mean notes in White House

  AFP
• 
  'This is another bald faced lie': Ex-Obama officials blast Grisham's claim they left 'you will fail' notes

  USA TODAY

American Airlines admits a midair accident that knocked out 2 flight crew was not caused by spilled soap

American Airlines admitted Tuesday the powerful fumes that knocked two flight attendants unconscious and forced a flight to make an emergency landing were not caused by spilled soap, as the airline had previously claimed.

Son of former German president stabbed to death in Berlin

The son of former German president Richard von Weizsaecker was stabbed to death while he was giving a lecture at a hospital in Berlin where he worked as a head physician, police said Wednesday. A 57-year-old German man is in custody after he jumped up from the audience at the Schlosspark-Klinik and attacked Fritz von Weizsaecker with a knife on Tuesday evening. Von Weizsaecker died at the scene from a knife wound to the neck despite immediate attention from colleagues, said Martin Steltner, a spokesman for Berlin prosecutors.

India Army to Cut Sniper Rifle Orders by About 70%

The Indian Army plans to buy just 1,800 state-of-the-art sniper rifles and 2.7 million rounds of ammunition -- less than a third of its total requirement -- driven by budgetary constraints and the need to speed up deliveries, people with knowledge of the matter said. The military pruned its original requirement of 5,720 sniper rifles and 10 million rounds of ammunition, which would have cost $140 million, to prioritize spending and advance the purchase of more modern equipment, they said, asking not to be identified as the information isn't public. Indian Army spokesman Aman Anand said he had no comment to offer on the change in procurement plans.

Mexicans sue Walmart over El Paso shooting

Mexico's government said Wednesday it has helped 10 Mexican citizens file lawsuits against Walmart over an August shooting at a store in El Paso, Texas, where a suspected white nationalist killed 22 people. "The objective of these suits, presented in El Paso county, is to hold the company responsible for not taking reasonable and necessary measures to protect its clients from the attack," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Eight Mexicans were killed and eight wounded in the August 3 attack in El Paso, a city on the US-Mexican border where 83 percent of the population is Latino.

Syracuse University has suspended all fraternity activities for the rest of the semester after a black student said a group of students accosted her and called her a racial slur

Elstad Ranch/Flickr Syracuse University's fraternities had their social activities canceled for the rest of the semester after a black student said members of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity called her the N-word. It was the latest in a series of reported racist and anti-Semitic incidents to sweep the upstate New York campus since November 7. Syracuse University has canceled all fraternity social activities for the rest of the semester after a black student reported a racist attack.

• 
  Students Protest a Series of Racist Incidents at Syracuse University. Here's What to Know

  Time
• 
  White supremacist manifesto reportedly shared at Syracuse University

  KABC – Los Angeles

FBI seeks interview with CIA whistleblower

The FBI recently sought to question the CIA whistleblower who filed a complaint over President Trump's July 25 Ukraine call — a move that came after a vigorous internal debate within the bureau over how to respond to some of the issues raised by the complaint's allegations and whether they needed to be more thoroughly investigated, according to sources familiar with the matter. An FBI agent in the Washington field office in October reached out to one of the lawyers representing the whistleblower and asked to question the CIA analyst who triggered the congressional inquiry into the president's conduct, one of the sources said. It is unclear what the intended scope of the interview would be or whether the whistleblower's lawyers will agree to it.

• 
  Officials to Give Firsthand Accounts of Trump's Ukraine Call at Impeachment Hearings: Live Updates

  Time
• 
  A$AP Rocky Turns Up At Trump Impeachment Inquiry

  CBSTV Videos

Meet What Could be The U.S. Navy's Ultimate Weapon (As in a New Destroyer)

Washington D.C.) The Navy has laid the keel for its first new, Flight III DDG 51 surface warfare destroyer armed with improved weapons, advanced sensors and new radar 35-times more sensitive than most current systems, changing attack and defensive options for the surface fleet. Navy Flight III Destroyers have a host of defining new technologies not included in current ships such as more on-board power to accommodate laser weapons, new engines, improved electronics, fast-upgradeable software and a much more powerful radar. The Flight III Destroyers will be able to see and destroy a much wider range of enemy targets at farther distances.

Isil leaders with 'vast amounts of cash' planning comeback in Turkey, Iraq spy chief claims

Senior Islamic State members with access to “huge” amounts of money are in Turkey and plotting a comeback, an Iraqi spy chief has warned. Lieutenant General Saad al-Allaq, head of Iraq's Military Intelligence, claimed in an interview with CNN that Iraq has given Ankara dossiers on nine alleged leaders of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), including top financiers for the terror group. The general said senior Isil figures known as "emirs" have access to vast reserves of cash and were forming new cells in Turkey.

Seller of bullets to Las Vegas gunman pleads guilty to ammo licensing offense

An ammunition dealer who acknowledged selling hundreds of incendiary tracer rounds to the gunman who killed nearly 60 people at a Las Vegas music festival two years ago pleaded guilty on Tuesday to manufacturing bullets without a license. Douglas Haig, 57, of Mesa, Arizona, became the first and only person arrested and charged in connection with the Oct. 1, 2017, massacre, which ended when the gunman, Stephen Paddock, killed himself. Haig told reporters following his arrest last year that none of the surplus military ammunition he sold to Paddock in September 2017 was ever fired during the killing spree, which ranks as the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

• 
  Obdulia Sanchez pleads not guilty to 6 felony charges in court

  KFSN – Fresno
• 
  Dayton gunman’s friend pleads guilty to firearms counts

  Associated Press

7 Amazing Facts About Jaguars, One of the World's Coolest Cats

The big cats are among the fiercest apex predators in the world. From Popular Mechanics

Kim Foxx Admits Failures in Jussie Smollett Case: ‘I Didn’t Handle It Well. I Own That’

In her reelection video for Cook County State Attorney released Tuesday, Kim Foxx concedes that she mishandled the high-profile prosecution of Empire actor Jussie Smollett. The truth is, I didn't handle it well,” Foxx says in the video. I own that.

• 
  The Talk - Jussie Smollett Countersuit; Eve says, 'Let it go'

  CBSTV Videos
• 
  Jussie Smollett Fires Back With Lawsuit Against City of Chicago

  TheBlast

French court confirms sentence for Picasso's electrician over hoarded art

A French court on Tuesday confirmed the two-year suspended jail terms given to Pablo Picasso's former electrician and his wife, who hoarded 271 of the great painter's works in a garage for four decades. The verdict by the Lyon court is the latest twist in a decade-long legal saga, which took the couple, who claim the works were a gift, all the way to France's top appeals court. Pierre and Danielle Le Guennec were first given two-year suspended terms in 2015 after being convicted of possession of stolen goods over the huge trove of works by Picasso, including nine rare Cubist collages and a work from his famous Blue Period.