Trump takes his ‘scam’ message to the heartland

The outcome of the impeachment investigation in Washington is all but certain. White House officials in recent weeks have participated in nearly 700 television and radio interviews, many in communities big and small across the U.S., according to a White House official familiar with the effort. The Republican National Committee alone has spent $2 million on its “Stop the Madness” campaign, targeting vulnerable House Democrats through ads and events in local districts.

Massachusetts man arrested after son, 5, allegedly takes heroin to school and brags it makes him feel like Spider-Man

A father in Massachusetts is facing criminal charges after his 5-year-old son allegedly brought heroin to school and said tasting it made him feel like Spider-Man. Benny Garcia's son took a bag of heroin to kindergarten on Thursday, prosecutors said, and put some of the powder in his mouth. The boy told a teacher he got it from his living room, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported, and said eating the powder turns him into the superhero whose image was stamped on the plastic bag.

French interior minister blames protest violence on 'thugs'

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner blamed "thugs" and "bullies" on Sunday for the violence that hit demonstrations the previous day marking marked the first anniversary of the anti-government "yellow vest" protests. "Yesterday, what we saw were few (legitimate) demonstrators but thugs, bullies and morons," Castaner told Europe 1 radio when asked about the violence in Paris on Saturday. Demonstrators torched cars and pelted police with stones and bottles and police fired tear gas and water cannon during the rallies to mark a year since the birth of the anti-government yellow vest movement.

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  Fires Burn in Paris on First Anniversary of Yellow Vest Protests

  Storyful
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  France’s yellow vests stage new protests for anniversary

  Associated Press

Nuclear missile bunker: yours for less than $400k

One local newspaper described the sales listing, with calculated understatement, as a “mid-century fixer-upper”: an underground bunker built to withstand a nuclear attack, and to house the fire power to retaliate. The decommissioned nuclear silo in southern Arizona was once home to the Titan II, the largest intercontinental ballistic missile deployed by the US Air Force. The silo's owner, Rick Ellis, told the Arizona Daily Star newspaper that he was selling the property because he's “bored”.

Elizabeth Warren takes risk with ad blasting billionaires

Elizabeth Warren, one of the leading Democratic presidential candidates, has stepped up her assault on billionaires -- a rallying cry popular with her base, but one that could stymie her efforts to garner wider support among US voters. The 70-year-old US senator from Massachusetts on Thursday unveiled a new ad in an appearance on CNBC, a business news network that often criticizes her, in which she takes on the ultra-rich. The one-minute campaign ad shows clips of several leading businessmen criticizing her plans for a wealth tax and predicting economic ruin if she is elected to succeed Donald Trump, a billionaire himself.

Elephant dies in captivity after killing villagers

An elephant named after Osama bin Laden, the late al-Qaida leader, has died in captivity after he was captured following a massive hunt in northeastern India, officials said Sunday.

Lebanon’s Protests Divide Hezbollah. Will It Strike Back?

BEIRUT—He has fought Israel since the 1990s and killed many fighters in Syria's civil war, but the increasing difficulty of working-class life in Lebanon and a popular revolt against the country's leaders has forced Abu Hussein to reevaluate his decades-long service to Hezbollah. Backed by Iran, it is more powerful than Lebanon's military and holds a political veto on state policies. The Trump White House has made Hezbollah a prime target in its “Maximum Pressure” campaign against Iran, which seeks to squeeze the Islamic Republic economically until it signs a new, Trump-approved deal covering not only nukes, but ending Iran's support for militias like Hezbollah.

Back in 2017, Russian Nuclear Submarines Fired Torpedoes at Each Other

Key point: Russia still maintains a powerful submarine fleet. Back in May of 2017, the Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine Obninsk fired a torpedo against one of Moscow's newest nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, Yuri Dolgoruky. The massive Project 955 Borei missile boat in turn launched a torpedo back at Obninsk, a smaller Project 671RTMK Schuka-class vessel more commonly known as a Victor III in NATO parlance.

Michael Bloomberg issues first apology for 'stop and frisk' policy ahead of presidential bid

Michael Bloomberg has apologised for his endorsement of the stop and frisk policy utilised by police under his tenure as Mayor of New York. Mr Bloomberg has spoken negatively of the initiative for the first time, ahead of a potential bid for the presidency. Now Mr Bloomberg has said he considers it to be a blight on his record – despite defending its use earlier this year as having brought down the crime rate in the city.

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  Bloomberg admits he was wrong, apologizes for 'stop and frisk' - NY Times

  Reuters
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  Bloomberg sorry for 'stop and frisk' as he mulls presidential bid

  AFP

2020 hopeful Harris focuses on black women in South Carolina

Kamala Harris is framing an upcoming campaign swing through early voting South Carolina around the voting demographic most sought after in the state's Democratic primary: black women. On Saturday, Harris' campaign is teaming up with black female organizers and volunteers to canvass and hold a “woman to woman” phone bank for the California senator in South Carolina, officials said. They're working with Higher Heights, the country's largest online political organization aimed at electing black women, which endorsed Harris this month and provided significant support during the 2018 midterms to candidates who helped usher in the most diverse Congress in history.

Trump hosts White House screening of 'Joker'

A supervillain was inside the White House Saturday night. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz reported that President Trump hosted a showing of “Joker,” which tells the origin story of Batman's archnemesis. “Joker,” which was released in theaters in October, stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a disturbed young comedian who descends into a world of crime.

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  'Joker' becomes first R-rated movie to pass $1 billion

  Yahoo Movies UK
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  Trump holds White House screening of 'Joker'

  Yahoo News Video

Chile police stopped rescue workers helping dying protester: human rights watchdog

Chile's independent human rights watchdog said on Saturday it would file a formal complaint for murder against police officers who allegedly prevented paramedics from attending a heart attack victim amid a protest Friday. Security forces firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons made it impossible for rescue workers to properly treat the victim, Chile's publicly-funded National Institute for Human Rights said. Twenty-nine year old Abel Acuna died shortly after at a nearby Santiago hospital.

Leading Muslim groups to challenge India holy site court ruling

Two leading Muslim groups said Sunday they will file petitions in India's top court challenging its decision to award Hindus control of a bitterly disputed holy site that has sparked deadly inter-religious violence. The Supreme Court ruled on November 9 that the holy site in Ayodhya, where Hindu mobs destroyed a 460-year-old mosque in 1992, must be managed by a trust to oversee the construction of a Hindu temple. A separate piece of land in Ayodhya would be given over to a Muslim group to build a "prominent" new mosque.

Little Impact on Korea’s Economy From Japan Trade Spat: Citi

Japan's trade curbs on South Korea have so far been a case of “the bark was worse than the bite,” with only limited fallout for South Korea's economy, according to Citigroup Inc. Japan's tighter scrutiny of exports of three key materials used in the chip industry and Tokyo's removal of its neighbor from a list of trusted trading partners have had little impact on South Korea's imports of industrial and capital goods, Citigroup economists Marie Kim and Jeeho Yoon wrote in a report Friday. The moves have, however, spurred South Korean efforts to reduce economic reliance on Japan, the analysts wrote.

Conservative Group Fires Michelle Malkin Over Support for Holocaust Denier

A conservative group cut ties with right-wing columnist Michelle Malkin on Sunday over her support for an anti-Semitic internet personality, ramping up a growing conservative civil war centered on college campuses. Malkin's firing from Young America's Foundation, whose speakers bureau had booked Malkin for speeches across the country for the past 17 years, marks the latest battle between supporters of Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and more establishment conservative figures. Michelle Malkin in no longer part of YAF's campus lecture program,” a YAF spokesman said in an email to The Daily Beast.

China's H-20 Stealth Bomber: The One Weapon America Won't Be Able to Beat?

If the H-20 does have the range and passable stealth characteristics attributed to it, it could alter the strategic calculus between the United States and China by exposing U.S. bases and fleets across the Pacific to surprise air attacks. Only three countries have both the imperative and the resources to develop huge strategic bombers that can strike targets across the globe: the United States, Russia and China. Strategic bombers make sense for China because Beijing perceives dominance of the western half of the Pacific Ocean as essential for its security due to its history of maritime invasion, and the challenge posed by the United States in particular.

Three family murder-suicides within ten days shock Turkey as the country faces record unemployment

The deaths of three separate families within ten days have shocked Turkey as the country struggles with mass unemployment and a financial crisis. On Friday, authorities confirmed that a family of three had been found dead in their home in the central Istanbul district of Bakırköy, poisoned by cyanide. Earlier in the month, police discovered the bodies of a family of four, including a nine year-old daughter and a five year-old son, in their home in the southern city of Antalya.

The Latest: Hong Kong police urge students to surrender

The Latest on Hong Kong protests (all times local): 5 p.m. Hong Kong police are calling on protesters barricaded inside the city's Polytechnic University to surrender and face justice, saying they have no other option given the level of violence in recent days. The regional commander of Kowloon West district, Cheuk Hau-yip, told reporters at a daily briefing on Monday that “These rioters, they are also criminals.

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  Protesters Use Catapult to Target Hong Kong Police Amid Clashes on University Campus

  Storyful
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  Hong Kong Court Finds Lam’s Mask Ban Unconstitutional

  Bloomberg

John Oliver Says If You Want to Irritate Donald Trump, Fill Out the 2020 Census

Census data helps determine Congressional representation and used as a basis to distribute federal funds and businesses use census data to decide where to open new branches. Despite that important function, Congress has reportedly underfunded the census and, according to Oliver, the 2020 census is shaping up to be more complicated than usual due to budget shortfalls and active Republican meddling, including attempting to add a citizenship question that alienated many people. If that isn't enough to get people interested in filling out the census survey, Oliver has one more idea sure to appeal to his audience: Filling out the census would probably really irritate Donald Trump.

Stents no better than drugs for many heart patients: U.S. study

Many patients with severe but stable heart disease who routinely undergo invasive procedures to clear and prop open clogged arteries would do as well by just taking medications and making lifestyle changes, U.S. researchers reported on Saturday. The $100 million government-backed study, presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) meeting in Philadelphia, is the largest yet to look at whether procedures to restore normal blood flow in patients with stable heart disease offers an added benefit over more conservative treatment with aspirin, cholesterol-lowering drugs and other measures. At least two prior studies determined that artery-clearing and stenting or bypass surgery in addition to medical treatment does not significantly lower the risk of heart attacks or death compared with non-invasive medical approaches alone.

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  Groundbreaking New Study Sheds Doubt on Many Heart Procedures

  The Daily Beast
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  New study casting doubt on conventional medical treatments of heart disease

  ABC News Videos

Officer in Louisiana won't face charges in 94 mph fatal crash

A Louisiana police officer who crashed a speeding car while off duty in 2017 will face no criminal charges in the death of a child.

Myanmar artists given second jail term for insulting military

A group of Myanmar satirists on Monday racked up a second prison sentence for a performance that criticised the military, a decision the artists said showed the judges were "puppets" of the military. The group of seven, known as the Peacock Generation, were arrested after performing "Thangyat", a Myanmar art similar to slam poetry, in April. Wearing military uniforms, they mocked the army through their fusion of poetry, comedy and music.

Racist, anti-Semitic incidents prompt Syracuse to halt fraternity activities; Alpha Chi Rho suspended

Syracuse University suspended one fraternity and halted social activities at all the school's fraternities for the rest of the semester after a series of racist and anti-Semitic incidents that have prompted days of protests, the school president announced Sunday. "Last night, one of our African American students reported being subjected to a verbal racial epithet from a group of students and visitors to our campus," Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a statement. Syverud's action was the latest in a series of crackdowns on fraternities across the nation and comes less than a week after San Diego State University suspended all Interfraternity Council-affiliated organizations following the death of a freshman who had attended a fraternity event.

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  Syracuse University suspends fraternity's activities after alleged racist incidents

  ABC News
• Syracuse suspends fraternity after report of racial slur

  Associated Press

This Decision Could Be Bigger Than Impeachment

Overlooked as the nation was riveted by the opening days of the televised impeachment proceedings was an appeals court decision that started a clock ticking for the Supreme Court to finally pick a side in what Attorney General Bill Barr has called a “scorched earth, no-holds-barred war” between Congress and a president who has categorically refused to cooperate with its investigations into his misconduct. Unless the Supreme Court acts, Trump's taxes—which he has fought furiously to keep hidden since beginning his campaign for the presidency— will be turned over to Congress as soon as Wednesday. Thus, the nation will soon begin to learn whether the Supreme Court's conservative majority is, as Trump himself hopes, composed of “Trump judges” willing to side with the president in cases where lower courts have shrugged aside the president's weak arguments for stonewalling investigations into his misconduct.