- PoliticsYahoo News
A dozen senators, not Trump, will decide who testifies in Senate impeachment trial
To hear President Trump tell it, he will be ordering up witnesses to appear before the Senate in an impeachment trial as if they were hors d'oeuvres on the bar menu at the Trump Hotel. If you are going to impeach me, do it now, fast, so we can have a fair trial in the Senate,” Trump tweeted Thursday, speaking to House Democrats. We will have Schiff, the Bidens, Pelosi and many more testify, and will reveal, for the first time, how corrupt our system really is.
- NewsYahoo News
Nikki Haley claims Dylann Roof 'hijacked' the 'heritage' of the Confederate flag in church massacre
Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that white supremacist Dylann Roof “hijacked” the Confederate flag by carrying out a mass killing of African-Americans in a Charleston, S.C., church in 2015. Haley was governor of South Carolina at the time. “Here is this guy who comes out with this manifesto, holding the Confederate flag, and had just hijacked everything that people thought of,” Haley said in an interview with host Glenn Beck published Friday on his website, the Blaze.
WorldAFPIndian border officials on lookout for fugitive cosmic guru
Indian border officials and embassies have issued an alert for a fugitive guru accused of rape, the government said, days after the holy man announced the creation of his own "cosmic" country. Swami Nithyananda -- one of many self-styled Indian "godmen" with thousands of followers and a chequered past -- is wanted by police for alleged rape, sexual abuse, and abduction of children. Earlier this week, he announced online that he has created his own new country -- reportedly off Ecuador's coast -- complete with cabinet, golden passports, and even a department of homeland security.
- PoliticsReuters
California congressman Duncan Hunter announces resignation after corruption plea
U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter will resign from Congress following his guilty plea to a federal charge of conspiring to misuse campaign funds, he said on Friday. Hunter's announcement that he would step down came days after the leading California lawmaker, a former U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, entered his guilty plea in federal court in San Diego. "Shortly after the Holidays I will resign from Congress," Hunter, 42, said in a written statement released by his communications director.
BusinessYahoo News VideoAOC calls out Trump after news that Amazon plans to hire 1,500 employees in New York City
Following reports that Amazon plans to open a new office in New York City, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that the Trump administration "should focus more on cutting public assistance to billionaires instead of poor families."
- PoliticsThe Week
Michael Bloomberg on the all-white Democratic debate: 'Don't complain to me that you're not in the race'
Michael Bloomberg doesn't see anything wrong with being another white man in the increasingly less diverse 2020 field. As Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) recently pointed out after Bloomberg's entry to and Sen. Kamala Harris' (D-Calif.) departure from the 2020 presidential race, there are now "more billionaires than black people" running for president. In the interview aired Friday, Gayle King asked Bloomberg if it was a "problem" that the December Democratic primary debate might not have any people of color on the stage.
- NewsUSA TODAY
3 Guard members killed in Minnesota Black Hawk crash identified
The Minnesota National Guard identified Saturday morning the three people who died Thursday in a Black Hawk helicopter crash southwest of St. Cloud. Killed were Chief Warrant Officer 2 James A. Rogers Jr., age 28; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Charles P. Nord, 30; and Sgt. Kort M. Plantenberg, 28, the Guard announced in a series of tweets and in a press release. All three soldiers were assigned to Company C, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, based in St. Cloud, which is where the flight began.
- CelebrityBusiness Insider
Former Rep. Katie Hill says the wave of harassment she faced after alleged revenge porn leak left her contemplating suicide
She also admitted to having had a relationship with one of her campaign staffers, though she denied a separate allegation of having a relationship with her legislative director. "In the days leading up to my resignation, my life was just like everyone's worst nightmare," Hill wrote. Hill said she struggled with suicidal thoughts, but is now motivated to advocate for victims of cyber exploitation, also known as "revenge porn."
- WorldThe National Interest
Could Mexico's Version of the Marine Corps Crush the Cartels?
Compared to their counterparts in the United States, the United States Navy and Marine Corps, the Mexican Navy is small— around sixty-six thousand. The Mexican Naval Infantry, their Marine Corps, is even smaller— numbering only about eighteen thousand. In contrast to the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy, the Mexican Navy's main missions have typically been coastal protection, which in the United States would fall to the U.S. Coast Guard.
- NewsYahoo News
Judge blocks Trump's favorite construction company from building private border wall
A federal judge in McAllen, Texas, has temporarily blocked a plan for a construction firm favored by President Trump to build a privately-funded segment of border wall along the banks of the Rio Grande River. The same firm, Fisher Industries, recently won a $400 million federal contract to construct 31 miles of barrier along the border near Yuma, Ariz. President Trump has urged the Army Corps of Engineers to hire the North Dakota–based firm, whose head is a major Republican donor and a frequent guest on Fox News. U.S. District Judge Randy Crane issued the temporary restraining order against Fisher Sand and Gravel and its subsidiary, Fisher Industries, Thursday afternoon in response to an emergency request from the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
- LifestylePopular Mechanics
50 Great Gadget and Gear Gifts for the Holidays
Whether you're looking for new tech, tools, or outdoor gear, this guide has you covered. From Popular Mechanics
- PoliticsAssociated Press
House passes bill to restore key parts of Voting Rights Act
The Democratic-controlled House approved a bill Friday that would restore key sections of the Voting Rights Act that once required officials in all or parts of 15 mostly Southern states to receive federal approval before making changes to the voting process. The bill would amend the 1965 law to impose new obligations on states and local jurisdictions, essentially reversing a 2013 Supreme Court decision that tossed out a "pre-clearance" provision that determined which jurisdictions needed federal oversight of elections. Veteran Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., an icon of the civil rights movement, announced the tally in a sign of the importance Democratic leaders place on the measure.
NewsAFPSaudis distance themselves from US naval base shooter
Saudi Arabia sought to distance itself Saturday from a student who carried out a fatal shooting at an American naval base, as it seeks to repair its image of being an exporter of Islamic extremism. The Saudi military trainee reportedly condemned the US as a "nation of evil" before going on a rampage Friday at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, killing three people and wounding eight. The shooting marks a setback in the kingdom's efforts to shrug off its longstanding reputation for promoting religious extremism after the September 11, 2001 attacks in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Aung San Suu Kyi to fight genocide charges in the Hague
Once feted by the West as a human rights heroine, Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi will travel to the Hague this week to defend her regime over accusations of genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority, in one of the most-high profile international legal cases in a generation. Myanmar rejects the allegations which stem from the military's savage ethnic cleansing campaign in Rakhine state in 2017 that forced 740,000 people to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, where they now live in squalid refugee camps.
- NewsThe Guardian
Pressure builds for Giuliani as associate enters talks over potential plea deal
The talks appear to be in early stages, but the lawyer familiar with the investigation and ex-prosecutors say that pressure mounted on Parnas to cut a deal after prosecutors revealed on Monday that he and his business associate Igor Fruman, who was also indicted for making illegal campaign donations, are “likely” to face additional charges. If Parnas strikes a deal it could put further legal pressure on Giuliani, who is facing a growing number of legal woes including some relating to his international consulting business as part of an investigation of alleged crimes including money laundering, wire fraud, campaign finance violations, making false statements, obstruction of justice, and violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
- BusinessCBS News
Immigration rights groups call on Buttigieg to return donations
Four immigration rights organizations have written to Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg to ask him to return any donations connected to the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, following a New York Times and Pro Publica report about how McKinsey helped Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "accelerate the deportation process." Among the recommendations McKinsey offered were cuts to spending on food and medical care for migrants. The letter, cosigned by Center for Popular Democracy Action, Make the Road Action, Progressive Leadership of Alliance of Nevada Action and United We Dream Action, called on Buttigieg, who worked at the prestigious consulting firm for three years, to return the donations, which total $53,000.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
Tesla changed the release dates for the most and least expensive versions of the Cybertruck by a year
Tesla has changed the production timelines for the most and least expensive trims of its Cybertruck pickup truck. It said production for the three-motor, all-wheel-drive Cybertruck, which starts at $69,900, would begin in 2021, a year earlier than Tesla first announced. The single-motor, rear-wheel-drive Cybertruck, which starts at $39,900, will enter production in late 2022, a year later than its original timeline, Tesla said.
- WorldThe National Interest
China Is Building Its Very Own Stealth Bombers: Meet the H-20 and JH-XX
China is developing not one but two new stealth bombers, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency claimed in a January 2019 report. While the People's Liberation Army has not been shy about discussing the H-20 strategic bomber that the Xian Aircraft Industrial Corporation is developing for the PLA Air Force, there are many fewer public references to the other stealth bomber, which apparently carries the designation JH-XX. If the report is accurate and China completes development of the JH-XX, the Chinese air force could become the first air arm in the world to deploy a radar-evading fighter-bomber whose main mission is long-range ground-attack.
- NewsUSA TODAY
'I felt like I was going to die': A harrowing look into CIA torture from the eyes of a detainee
The drawings show the detainee crouched and handcuffed in a small box; naked and strapped to a table as water pours over his covered face; shackled as an interrogator slams his head into a wall. The graphic self-portraits, drawn in captivity by a Guantanamo Bay detainee, provide a new and harrowing account of the CIA's torture program during a dark chapter in the U.S. war on terror. They were published for the first time this week in a report called “How America Tortures,” by the Seton Hall University School of Law's Center for Policy and Research.
- WorldReuters
Official documents shed light on Tokyo's role in 'comfort women': Kyodo
The Imperial Japanese Army asked the government to provide one "comfort woman" for every 70 soldiers, Japan's Kyodo news agency said, citing wartime government documents it had reviewed, shedding a fresh light on Tokyo's involvement in the practice. "Comfort women" is a euphemism for the girls and women - many of them Korean - forced into prostitution at Japanese military brothels. The issue has plagued Japan's ties with South Korea for decades.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Trump complains low-flow toilets are flush with problems
When it comes to toilets, President Donald Trump just wants to let it flow. Trump said Friday that his administration is looking into relaxing water-saving regulations for toilets, sinks and showers, saying consumers end up using even more water by flushing multiple times and trying to get clean with low water streams. People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times as opposed to once.
WorldAFPBelarus crowds rally against closer Russia ties
Roughly 1,000 Belarusians joined an unauthorised demonstration on Saturday against the prospect of a closer union with Russia. Long-time ruler Alexander Lukashenko was meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Russia on Saturday to discuss "key issues in our bilateral relations, including the prospects for deepening integration", according to the Kremlin. Angered by the potential deal, crowds of mostly young Belarusians headed towards the government headquarters in the capital Minsk carrying signs that read "it's not integration, it's an occupation" and "the president is selling our country".
- NewsNational Review
Judge Allows Criminal Trial to Proceed against Pro-Life Investigators
A San Francisco judge ruled Friday that the criminal trial may move forward against the pro-life investigators who went undercover to record abortion industry executives talking about procuring fetal body parts. Judge Christopher Hite deemed the evidence sufficient to send to trial the case against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt of the Center for Medical Progress, who are charged with nine felony counts, one count of conspiracy and eight counts of illegal taping. Daleiden, 30, and Merritt, 64, several years ago surreptitiously recorded executives from Planned Parenthood and other organizations haggling about compensation for the procurement of fetal parts for researchers who request them.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Iran and US complete prisoner swap
An Iranian held in the US and an American held in Iran have been freed, the two sides said on Saturday, in an apparent prisoner swap at a time of heightened tensions. Tehran announced the release of Iranian scientist Massoud Soleimani from the United States shortly before Washington declared American researcher Xiyue Wang was returning home. "Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr. Xiyue Wang will be joining their families shortly," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted.
- NewsThe Guardian
Why Texas’s fossil fuel support will ‘spell disaster’ for climate crisis
In the same month that Greta Thunberg addressed a UN summit and millions of people took part in a global climate strike, lawmakers in America's leading oil- and gas-producing state of Texas made a statement of their own. Texas's Critical Infrastructure Protection Act went into effect on 1 September, stiffening civil and criminal penalties specifically for protesters who interrupt operations or damage oil and gas pipelines and other energy facilities. The new Texas law is emblematic of the unyielding loyalty of conservative lawmakers to the fossil fuel industry in a state stacked with influential climate science deniers or sceptics such as the US senator and former Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz and which named a pipeline tycoon to its parks and wildlife conservation commission.
