- WorldThe National Interest
Yes, China's New Submarine-Launched Nuclear Missiles Could Destroy America
China has tested a new submarine-launched missile that can hit the United States. The first flight test of the JL-3 missile was conducted in November from Bohai Bay in the Yellow Sea, according to the South China Morning Post, citing an unnamed source. “The new missile has a flight range of about 9,000 kilometers (5,600 miles), which is less than the 12,000-kilometer (7,500-mile) range of the American Trident II and Russian Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs),” the Post reported.
- PoliticsThe Guardian
Republicans are turning impeachment into a carnival – and it could cost them
The votes on impeachment in the House and removal in the Senate will almost certainly break along uniform party lines, making it easier for Republicans to portray the process as driven entirely by partisanship. Republican voters outraged by impeachment may be more motivated to vote in 2020, while some independents may be so turned off by the whole spectacle that they either vote for Trump or don't vote at all. In the longer term, however, the Republican approach to impeachment will probably prove counterproductive.
- NewsReuters
Feds view New Jersey kosher grocery rampage as domestic terrorism, FBI will lead probe
The FBI will now oversee the investigation of this week's deadly attack on a New Jersey kosher grocery store, which officials are treating as an act of domestic terrorism, federal and state law enforcement officials said on Thursday. Six people, including the man and woman who carried out the attack, three civilians and a police officer died in a series of events that ended in a police shootout on Tuesday in Jersey City, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City. "The evidence points toward acts of hate," state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told a news conference.
- EntertainmentArchitectural Digest
The Real Locations That Inspired 13 Famous Paintings
From Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhône to Pablo Picasso's Au Lapin Agile Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- WorldAssociated Press
Christmas cards collected for jailed Hong Kong protesters
Protesters in Hong Kong wrote hundreds of Christmas cards on Thursday for people jailed in the city's pro-democracy movement, promising they won't be forgotten as they face spending the festive season behind bars. “Please know that u are not alone,” said one of the cards, a sentiment expressed by many. The cards are destined for those who have been denied bail.
- WorldTime
How an Obscure Part of the Paris Climate Agreement Could Cut Twice as Many Carbon Emissions — Or Become a 'Massive Loophole' for Polluters
The idea is that, under Article 6 of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, if one country pays for carbon emissions to be reduced in a second country, the first country can count those reductions towards its own national targets. If done right, analysts at the Environmental Defence Fund (EDF) say this international emissions trading could almost double global emissions reductions between 2020 and 2035. It could also cut the financial cost of meeting current Paris Agreement emissions pledges, which aim to keep global average temperature rise well below 2 degrees over pre-industrial era, by 59% to 79%.
WorldAFPChile confirms finding human remains, debris, from missing plane
Chile confirmed Thursday that human remains and debris found by search ships are from a military plane reported missing with 38 people aboard, and that hopes of finding survivors had all but gone. "The condition of the plane wreckage that was found makes it practically impossible that there are survivors from this air accident," Air Force chief Arturo Merino told a news conference in the southern port of Punta Arenas. Merino, flanked by Defense Minister Alberto Espina and other officials, confirmed reports that remains recovered from the sea were "most likely to be body parts of those traveling on the C-130."
- WorldBloomberg
Bolivia’s Ex-President Morales Seeks Refugee Status in Argentina
Bolivia's former president Evo Morales has landed in Buenos Aires, with the purpose of seeking refugee status in Argentina, according to comments by foreign minister Felipe Sola on local TV. Morales' arrival follows a month-long stay in Mexico and several days in Cuba. In mid-November Argentina's then president-elect, Alberto Fernandez, said that the former Bolivian leader could seek asylum in the country after he became president on Dec. 10.
- NewsThe New York Times
Saudi Family of Pensacola Gunman: 'Even We Don't Know the Truth' of Motive
Not long before a 21-year-old Saudi Royal Air Force trainee shot and killed three American sailors Friday at a naval base in Pensacola, Florida, he called his mother and his brother back home. What was missing was any hint of what was to come: opening fire in a classroom building at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, shooting three fatally and wounding eight more before being killed by a sheriff's deputy. Alshamrani seemed utterly normal in that last conversation, his family insisted in interviews this week in Saudi Arabia.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoOcasio-Cortez: U.S. parental leave 'treats people worse than dogs'
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. has stark opinions on U.S. paid family leave policies, saying 'the market' treats people worse than dogs.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Republican women launch 'Conservative Squad' to take on AOC, progressives in D.C.
Nancy Mace declared her love for grandfathers Thursday morning, but not before the Republican candidate for Congress added a caveat: “I love granddads everywhere,” said Mace, who's running to represent South Carolina's 1st Congressional District in 2020. Mace, a current South Carolina state lawmaker, was one of four women who appeared Thursday morning on "Fox & Friends" to launch the “Conservative Squad,” the Republican response to four young Democratic congresswomen who have become the face of the progressive movement in Washington, D.C. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; gained popularity across the country – especially with young Democrats – shortly after being elected to the House of Representatives in 2018.
- BusinessReuters
U.S. reaches deal in principle on trade with China: source
The United States has reached a "phase-one" trade deal in principle with China, a source briefed on talks between the two nations said on Thursday, saying a statement from the White House was expected soon. Ahead of the meeting, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told senators that announcements were possibly "imminent" on U.S. tariffs, senior Republican Senator John Cornyn told reporters. U.S. negotiators have offered to reduce tariffs on about $375 billion in Chinese goods by 50% across the board, two people familiar with the negotiations said, and suspend tariffs on $160 billion in goods scheduled to go into effect on Sunday.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
A device invented by a 25-year-old is finally catching trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It hauled 60 bags to shore to turn into new products.
The Ocean Cleanup It has been six years since 25-year-old Boyan Slat began developing a system to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a trash-filled vortex in the Pacific Ocean that's more than twice the size of Texas. In 2013, Slat's organization, The Ocean Cleanup, debuted a U-shaped device that passively collects plastic in its fold like a giant arm. At first, the system hit several snags, including a flaw that caused the plastic to spill back into the ocean.
- NewsAssociated Press
Did marathon bomber get fair trial? Court weighs arguments
The Boston Marathon bomber's lawyers urged a federal court to overturn their client's death sentence, arguing Thursday that intense media coverage and signs of juror bias led to an unfair trial. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted of all 30 charges against him, including conspiracy and use of a weapon of mass destruction, didn't attend the hearing. A handful of survivors and their supporters sat silently in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals room to observe the latest chapter in the April 15, 2013 attack, which killed three people and injured more than 260 others.
- WorldTime
Russia Retaliates by Expelling Two German Diplomats Over Berlin Murder Probe
Russia's foreign ministry said Thursday that it has expelled two German diplomats in retaliation for Germany doing the same last week. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that it was making the move “due to the reciprocity principle” and ordered them to leave the country within the next seven days. The German Foreign Ministry expelled two employees of the Russian Embassy in Berlin last Wednesday, after Russian authorities didn't answer requests by Germany to help shed light on a brazen daylight slaying of a Georgian man in Berlin.
- WorldThe National Interest
Meet the Navy's Small Warships That Help to Deter Iran
The U.S. Navy should acquire small, heavily-armed missile corvettes and deploy them like modern versions of World War II torpedo boats. “The U.S. Navy has long identified threats in the littorals and the need to fight within these close waters, but it still struggles with creating a capable fighting force that provides speed, lethality and a deterrent,” Smith wrote. The Navy in the 1970s developed a class of missile-armed hydrofoils, but canceled acquisition of the type after building just six.
- WorldBloomberg
What’s Worse Than World Leaders Laughing at the U.S.?
Not only is the perception of the U.S. as a top ally fading, according to a new survey of 18 countries from the Pew Research Center, but more people see the U.S. as “posing the greatest threat” to them in the future. Even America's closest neighbors are losing faith in their U.S. alliance. In Canada, the percentage of those who see the U.S. as its top ally has fallen from 54% in 2007 to 46% in 2019; over the same period, the percentage of those who see the U.S. as the top threat has risen from 16% to 20%.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Pro-Trump Network OAN Tried to Get This Ukrainian Millionaire a Visa Before His Arrest
Before catching the eye of German law enforcement, former Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksandr Onyshchenko drew attention from the conservative TV channel One America News. Before his arrest, though, the Trump-friendly media outlet tried to help him get a visa to travel to the U.S. The effort, which has not been previously reported, was part of a push by OAN to unearth information on Burisma Holdings, the energy company that retained Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President and current Trump rival Joe Biden.
- NewsCBS News
Grandfather charged in girl's cruise ship death speaks out
by attorney Michael Winkleman, who represents Chloe's family but not Anello in his criminal case, appeared to show that the time it took for Anello to pick Chloe up and hold her up to a window above the railing before she fell was about six seconds. But CBS News has since learned that video was not in real time. The incident actually lasted more than 30 seconds.
- PoliticsPopular Mechanics
The Space Force Will Become the Sixth Branch of the U.S. Military
A bipartisan defense budget agreement will authorize the creation of the Space Force. The Space Force will be, like the Army or Air Force, a distinct military service under the Pentagon. The service will take over space functions from existing services, wielding them into a single independent branch overseen by a Chief of Space Operations.
- WorldReuters
Ukraine detains five, including pediatric surgeon, for killing journalist in 2016
Ukrainian police have detained five people, including a pediatric surgeon and a rock musician, over the killing of an investigative journalist in a car bomb in July 2016, law enforcement officials said on Thursday. Briefing journalists alongside President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the officials said the motive for killing 44-year-old Pavel Sheremet, a Belarusian, was to destabilize the country but declined to say who might have ordered the murder. The New York City-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomed the detentions.
- WorldBusiness Insider
How 16-year-old Greta Thunberg — Time's 2019 person of the year — became the face of climate activism in just one year
Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old activist from Sweden, has become the face of the youth climate movement. In the summer of 2018, Thunberg started sitting outside the Swedish parliament every Friday. On September 20, 2019, Thunberg led the largest climate strike in history, which included an estimated 4 million people across 161 countries.
- WorldAssociated Press
India's top court rejects pleas for review of temple verdict
India's Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed petitions seeking a review of its recent ruling in favor of the building of a Hindu temple on a disputed site in northern India where a 16th century mosque was torn down by Hindu hard-liners in 1992. The petitioners, representing the Muslim litigants, had said they were aggrieved by the court's decision and sought reconsideration of the verdict. The November ruling was seen as a major victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which has promised to build a Hindu temple at the demolished site as part of its election strategy for decades.
- WorldThe Telegraph
US warnings over spate of Iranian-backed rocket attacks on its bases in Iraq
Attacks on bases hosting US-led coalition forces by Iranian-armed militias are heading towards a red line for the coalition, who would respond with such force that “no one would like the outcome,” a senior US official warned on Wednesday. “We're waiting for full evidence...If past is prologue, I'd say there's a good chance it was Iran that's behind it,” David Schenker, the US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, told reporters last Friday. The rocket attacks come amid US accusations that Iran has capitalised on the continued unrest in Iraq to secretly move short-range ballistic missiles into the country.
ScienceYahoo News VideoNewly discovered Indonesian cave painting could be the world's oldest figurative artwork
An Indonesian cave painting that depicts a prehistoric hunting scene could be the world's oldest figurative artwork, dating back nearly 44,000 years, a discovery that points to an advanced artistic culture, according to new research. Spotted two years ago on the island of Sulawesi, the 13-foot-wide painting features wild animals being chased by half-human hunters wielding what appear to be spears and ropes, said the study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
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