- WorldAssociated Press
The Latest: Australia won't retrieve refugees in cease-fire
Australia has ruled out retrieving dozens of Australian women and children from refugee camps during the cease-fire in Syria. About 46 Australian women and children who fled Islamic State-held territory are being held at the al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria. Eight Australian offspring of two slain Islamic State group fighters were removed from Syria in June, Australia's only organized repatriation from the conflict zone.
- WorldReuters
Cartel gunmen terrorize Mexican city, free El Chapo's son
Heavily armed fighters surrounded security forces in a Mexican city on Thursday and made them free one of drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's sons, after his capture triggered gunbattles and a prison break that sent civilians scurrying for cover. Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said a patrol by National Guard militarized police first came under attack from within a house in the city of Culiacan, 1,235 km (770 miles) northwest of Mexico City. After entering the house, they found four men, including Ovidio Guzman, who is accused of drug trafficking in the United States.
- WorldINSIDER
US border patrol says they tried to send UK family back after illegal crossing but Canada wouldn't take them
US border patrol officials say they tried to return a British family who crossed the northern border illegally but Canada refused to take them back. On October 2, seven members of the Connors family were detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents after they accidentally drove on a dirt road from British Columbia into Washington state. "Canada refused to allow their return and two attempts to contact the consulate for the United Kingdom were unsuccessful," a CBP spokesperson told Insider on Tuesday.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoA N.J. school district wants to ban students from attending prom if they have more than $75 in school lunch debt
A school district in New Jersey passed a new policy this week that will allow schools to bar students from attending prom if they have a school lunch debt above $75.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Joe Biden digs at Elizabeth Warren after debate: Polls don't show 'anybody else as a frontrunner'
Former Vice President Joe Biden dodged some of the piling on from other 2020 candidates he has seen in previous Democratic debates, as Sen. Elizabeth Warren took on a lot of that heat on Tuesday. Biden thinks that's a good thing, but questioned Warren's standing as a frontrunner in comments to reporters in Ohio on Wednesday. "Well, it's kind of about time other people get questioned," he said.
- BusinessCar and Driver
View Photos of the 2020 Subaru Crosstrek
The popular crossover gets more safety and tech features, plus selectable driving modes standard on all models. From Car and Driver
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Beto O’Rourke Dunks on ‘Disgraced TV Host’ Bill O’Reilly
Among O'Reilly's insights were that he found the “Trump bashing festival” by the candidates “boring,” he wanted Joe Biden to “fight back” harder and that Elizabeth Warren “wants a wealth tax to pay for free stuff, lots of free stuff. Then came former Rep. Beto O'Rourke's answer to a question about Warren's wealth tax proposal.
- WorldBloomberg
Murder Suspect in Case Behind Hong Kong Protests to Surrender, Paper Says
Chan Tong-kai, a Hong Kong man who has been accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend during a Valentine's Day trip to Taiwan, is ready to return to the island and surrender after his release from jail on a related money-laundering charge, the Sing Tao Daily reported Friday. “The pastor eventually convinced him to agree in principle to surrender himself in Taiwan, although Chan hoped that he would not be sentenced to death by Taiwan authorities,” the newspaper said. Hong Kong's inability to prosecute Chan for a murder committed in Taiwan prompted Chief Executive Carrie Lam to introduce sweeping legislation earlier this year that would've allowed one-time extradition deals with mainland China, as well Taiwan.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Mystery as plane carrying Russian arms smugglers crashes in Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the world's worst aviation safety records, so reports that an aircraft had tumbled into a remote forest last week caused few international ripples. Since then, however, a deepening mystery over the nature of the cargo and the identity of those on board has left the Congolese government facing awkward questions. The passengers were identified as the personal chauffeur of Felix Tshisekedi, Congo's president, and three of his bodyguards.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
The Latest: House committees set more impeachment interviews
The Latest on the testimony by U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland to House committees investigation impeachment (all times local): 1 p.m. Three House committees investigating impeachment have tentatively scheduled at least eight closed-door interviews next week, including one with Bill Taylor, the current top official at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. That's according to a person familiar with the schedule who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing plans.
- NewsReuters
U.S. Supreme Court wrestles over 'D.C. Sniper' life sentence appeal
U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday questioned whether a lower court sufficiently considered that a man convicted in the deadly 2002 "D.C. Sniper" shooting spree in the Washington area was a minor at the time of the crimes when he was sentenced to life in prison. The nine justices heard arguments in an appeal by the state of Virginia objecting to the lower court's decision ordering that Lee Boyd Malvo's sentence of life in prison without parole be thrown out. The most likely contender based on questions he asked during the argument would be Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
- NewsINSIDER
A Dutch family was discovered waiting for the world to end after one of the siblings snuck off to a bar and spilled the story to a bartender
A Dutch family was found living in the basement of their farmhouse on Sunday, waiting for the end of the world. The family was found after the eldest son, Jan, 25, escaped the basement, wet to a local bar, and spilled the story to the bar's owner. The bartender called the police, who found the family living in a farmhouse.
WorldAFPPutin signals Russia's return to Africa with summit
President Vladimir Putin hosts dozens of African leaders next week as Russia seeks to reassert its influence on the continent and beyond. The heads of some 35 African countries are expected for the first Africa-Russia Summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi next Wednesday and Thursday. For Putin, the summit is a chance to revive Soviet-era relationships and build new alliances, bolstering Moscow's global clout in the face of confrontation with the West.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Biden's most loyal supporters are starting to look elsewhere, according to a new Insider poll
Former Vice President Joe Biden has been steadily losing support since he announced his 2020 presidential bid last April. The percentage of Democratic voters who'd be satisfied with a Biden presidency has been on a steady decline, dropping from a high of 71% last February to 56% in October, according to Insider polling. During the same period, support for a Warren presidency among Biden backers has steadily risen from 42% last December to 57% in October.
- CelebrityUSA TODAY
Doing it for the 'gram? Royal Caribbean says no to that, bans guest from ever sailing again
Doing it for the 'gram? Royal Caribbean Cruises doesn't think that's a good idea, particularly when it's dangerous. Earlier this week on the Allure of the Seas a guest was observed recklessly and dangerously posing for a photo by standing on her stateroom balcony railing with the help of her companion," Jonathon Fishman, corporate reputation manager for Royal Caribbean Cruises, told USA TODAY in an email.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
Porsche's 718 Cayman Fits More Cargo Than the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette
The new mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette and the mid-engine Porsche 718 Cayman are direct competitors, but which one has the most cargo space? Both sports cars have both a front and a rear trunk, but the Porsche offers two cubic feet more space. Our testing revealed that while the Porsche could accommodate one extra carry-on suitcase, the Corvette excels at carrying longer items such as a set of golf clubs.
- WorldBloomberg
Hong Kong Activist Renews Call for March After Hammer Attack
Jimmy Sham -- convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, which has organized many of the city's largest peaceful protests -- issued a plea from his hospital bed Thursday for police to allow the march go ahead in the Tsim Tsa Tsui area as planned. Sham was assaulted by four to five men Wednesday while on his way to a meeting in nearby Mong Kok -- the second time he's been attacked since August. “When Jimmy was at his street counter, many of the citizens expressed that they really hope there will be a safe march on Sunday,” the Civil Human Rights Front said in a statement Thursday.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Ancient Cambodian city found using aerial mapping
An ancient settlement, known has the 'lost city' of Cambodia, has been rediscovered by scientists using aerial mapping after remaining hidden in dense jungle for centuries. Mahendraparvata, believed to have been the first capital of the Khmer Empire, a powerful Southeast Asian state that existed during the Angkor period from the 9th to 15th centuries, had long-eluded archeologists, who knew of its existence but were unable to map it out because of the difficult terrain.
- WorldAssociated Press
Gun battles sweep Culiacan after troops locate Chapo's son
An intense gunfight with heavy weapons and burning vehicles blocking roads paralyzed the capital of Mexico's Sinaloa state Thursday after security forces located one of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's sons who is wanted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges. Mexican security secretary Alfonso Durazo said 30 members of the National Guard and army were patrolling in Culiacan when they were fired on from a house. "With the goal of safeguarding the well-being and tranquility of Culiacan society, officials in the security cabinet decided to suspend the actions," said Durazo.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Nunes Tries to Use Steele Dossier to Defend Trump During Closed-Door Hearing
During a closed-door impeachment meeting on Capitol Hill, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) brought up a topic that surprised some attendees: the Steele dossier. Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee that is leading the impeachment probe, said some of the dossier's contents dealt with Ukraine, and that the Clintons paid for it. Some attendees said it seemed oddly divorced from the topic at hand–namely, whether Trump pressured the Ukrainian government to investigate one of his political opponents.
- NewsReuters
Texas pastors seek federal action after police shoot black woman in her home
Black pastors in Fort Worth, Texas on Wednesday called for federal intervention to stamp out what they called systemic racism in their city's police force after a white officer shot dead black resident Atatiana Jefferson in her home. Jefferson's killing on Saturday by a rookie Fort Worth officer was the latest in a string of fatal shootings that has made the city's African American community wary of police, said Pastor Kyev Tatum. He called on Fort Worth to enter a federally-binding "consent decree" to overhaul a police force he said led the nation in police-involved shootings, most of them involving black residents.
- WorldNational Review
Why Mexico Is Cooperating with Us on Immigration
One of the reasons border apprehensions have dropped from their alarming peak in May is that Mexico has been pretty aggressive in stopping third-country nationals from traversing its territory on their way north to make bogus asylum claims so they can be released into the U.S. It's especially curious because in the past, Mexico was not at all eager to help us limit illegal immigration, a pattern we might have expected to intensify with last year's election as president of left-wing populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (commonly known as AMLO, pronounced as a word rather than initials). No doubt President Trump's tariff threats had some effect.
- WorldBusiness Insider
US troops bombed their own anti-ISIS headquarters as Turkey-backed fighters closed in during Trump's hasty retreat
US forces destroyed the headquarters of their anti-ISIS efforts in Syria on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reports. Turkish-backed Syrian forces advanced on the position, despite a US show of force, including F-15 fighters and Apache helicopters. On Friday, Turkish forces fired at a US position in Syria, which some US officials say was deliberate.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Record-smashing bomb cyclone or 'explosive cyclogenesis' wreaks havoc in the Northeast
Gale-force winds downed trees and utility lines and knocked out power to more than 600,000 homes and businesses Thursday as a record-smashing "bomb cyclone" roared across the Northeast. Wind gusts approaching 100 mph were reported in Massachusetts, where more than 200,000 utility customers were in the dark. "It was a wild night with wind gusts up to 90 mph in Provincetown," the National Weather Service's Boston office tweeted.
- NewsThe National Interest
Of All Ulysses S. Grant's Battles, This Was The One He Never Wanted To Relive
“Lee's army is really whipped,” declared Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck on May 26, 1864. A battle with them outside of entrenchments cannot be had.” Thwarted by the Army of Northern Virginia at the North Anna River, Grant was preparing to swing around Robert E. Lee's right flank again and push southeast. Lee then would have no choice but to leave his entrenchments at North Anna and attempt to stop the Federal forces from reaching Richmond, probably along the Chickahominy River.
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