U.S.USA TODAY1 dead, 4 injured after 'randomly shooting' couple drives around Nevada city on Thanksgiving, police say
One person was shot dead and four others injured on Thanksgiving after police in Henderson, Nevada, say a man and woman fired at people while driving in the city. "It is believed that the suspects were driving around the city randomly shooting at citizens with no apparent motive," Henderson police said in a news release. Henderson police officers responding to the Thursday shooting at the 800 block of East Lake Mead Parkway found a 22-year-old man, who had died from an apparent gunshot wound, and a 23-year-old woman, an 18-year-old man, a 53-year-old man and a 41-year-old man, all suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, according to a news release.
- WorldChristian Science Monitor
On Russia’s flank, a small war heralds big changes
This autumn's intense six-week war between Armenia and Azerbaijan offers a stark lesson in the costs of diplomatic failure: An unresolved territorial dispute suddenly erupted in violence that took thousands of lives and left a vastly changed landscape in its wake. Azerbaijan won the war with arms and advice from Turkey, dramatically reversing Armenia's decisive victory a quarter century ago that had been frozen in place since 1994. The nub of the conflict is the Armenian-populated exclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, a Soviet-era autonomous region inside Azerbaijan that declared independence in 1988 as the USSR began to crumble.
PoliticsAssociated PressThe Latest: Graham: Trump should attend Biden's inauguration
The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local): 7:35 p.m. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says he thinks President Donald Trump should attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration because it would be “good for the country. The South Carolina senator said he spoke with the president over the weekend and encouraged him to pursue his legal challenges to the election results.
PoliticsThe WeekThe Electoral College is only getting worse
That means a flip of just 269 votes in one state from one candidate to the other would have changed the result. In 2004, Bush won re-election with a margin of about three million votes, and 286 electoral votes. John Kerry famously could have won if he had just flipped Ohio, where the margin was just 118,601 votes.
WorldThe Daily BeastZimbabweans Can Hardly Believe This But They Regret Replacing Mugabe with Brutal New Leader
In recent months, scores of people have been arrested, some brutalised or killed as Mnangagwa's regime mounts an unprecedented clampdown on pro-democracy campaigners, opposition political party members, journalists, and ordinary citizens daring to voice disquiet over rising corruption, the failing economy and a human rights crisis. In 2018, six people were brutally killed when soldiers opened fire on opposition supporters who were protesting against attempts by the ruling ZANU-PF party to steal a tightly contested general election. And last year, 17 more people were killed when soldiers openly fired shots at citizens protesting over massive fuel price hikes.
- NewsReuters Videos
Kim Jong Un used China's COVID vaccine candidate: analyst
China has provided North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family with an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a U.S. analyst said on Tuesday (1 December). Citing two unidentified Japanese intelligence sources, Harry Kazianis, a North Korea expert at the U.S. think tank Center for the National Interest, said the Kims and several senior North Korean officials had been vaccinated within the last 2-3 weeks. He added that it was unclear which company had supplied its drug candidate to the Kims and whether it had proven to be safe.
U.S.Associated PressCharging the 'Beatles': Inside the case against IS militants
As two Islamic State militants faced a judge in Virginia last month, Diane Foley listened from home through a muffled phone connection and strained to make out the voices of the men prosecutors say kidnapped her son before he was murdered. Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh stand accused of belonging to an IS cell dubbed “the Beatles,” an incongruously lighthearted nickname for British citizens blamed for the jailing, torture and murder of Western hostages in Syria. After geopolitical breakthroughs and stalemates, military actions in Syria and court fights in London, the Justice Department's most significant terrorism prosecution in years was finally underway.
WorldReutersU.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese firm accused of undermining democracy in Venezuela
The United States imposed sanctions on Monday on Chinese firm China National Electronics Import & Export Corporation (CEIEC), accusing it of supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's efforts to undermine democracy. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement the Chinese company supported the leftist government of Maduro in its "efforts to restrict internet service and conduct digital surveillance and cyber operations against political opponents." "The United States will not hesitate to target anyone helping to suppress the democratic will of the Venezuelan people and others around the world," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump administration rushes to complete Mexico border wall before Biden takes office
The outgoing Trump administration is rushing to complete as much of Trump's infamous Mexico border wall as possible before Joe Biden takes office in January, a new report has said. According to The New York Times, construction on the wall, which stood at around 400 miles as of November 2020, is continuing at breakneck speed ahead of Mr Biden's inauguration in January. Mr Biden has said that his incoming administration does not intend to tear down what has been built of the wall but stipulated that they will not keep building it, or use money from the Pentagon to fund it.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTrump has raised at least $150 million to cover his bogus election challenges — but most of that money will go to financing Trump's future
In the month since Election Day, President Donald Trump's campaign has ratcheted up fundraising, raising more than $150 million, The Washington Post reported on Monday. To put that into context, the amount raised since Election Day is about double the amount that one of Trump's main PACs raised during September, its best month. The Trump campaign sent hundreds of emails in November, asking supporters to donate as the president fought the results of the 2020 election, The Post reported.
WorldAssociated PressAP PHOTOS: Animal attacks taking their toll in Kashmir
Amid the long-raging deadly strife in Indian-controlled Kashmir, another conflict is silently taking its toll on the Himalayan region's residents: the conflict between man and wild animals. According to official data, at least 67 people have been killed and 940 others injured in the past five years in attacks by wild animals in the famed Kashmir Valley, a vast collection of alpine forests, connected wetlands and waterways known as much for its idyllic vistas as for its decades-long armed conflict between Indian troops and rebels. The Himalayan black bear is at the heart of this trouble.
WorldAssociated PressIran's parliament approves bill to stop nuclear inspections
Iran's parliament on Tuesday approved a bill that would suspend U.N. inspections of its nuclear facilities and require the government to boost its uranium enrichment if European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal do not provide relief from oil and banking sanctions. The vote to approve the bill, which would also require approval by the Guardian Council, a constitutional watchdog, was a show of defiance after the killing of a prominent Iranian nuclear scientist last month. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say on all nuclear policies.
PoliticsBBCJoe Biden: President-elect fractures foot while playing with dog
US President-elect Joe Biden has fractured his foot while playing with one of his dogs, his doctor has said. Mr Biden, 78, twisted his ankle on Saturday when he slipped while with Major, one of his two German shepherds. The Democrat visited an orthopaedist in Newark, Delaware, a day later "out of an abundance of caution".
PoliticsBusiness InsiderA pro-Trump nonprofit hit back at the venture-capitalist donor who gave $2.5 million to uncover election fraud then demanded it back
A nonprofit that promised to gather evidence of electoral fraud hit back at claims in a lawsuit from a donor who wants his money back. Fred Eshelman, a venture capitalist, gave $2.5 million to True the Vote to help it pursue claims that President Donald Trump was the victim of fraud in his loss to President-elect Joe Biden. No group — including True the Vote and the Trump campaign — has made an allegation of large-scale voter fraud that holds up in court.
U.S.Associated PressNavy will decommission warship damaged in suspected arson
The Navy said Monday that it will decommission a warship docked off San Diego after suspected arson this summer caused extensive damage, making it too expensive to restore. Fully repairing the USS Bonhomme Richard to warfighting capabilities would cost $2.5 billion to $3 billion and take five to seven years, said Rear Adm. Eric H. Ver Hage of the Navy Regional Maintenance Center. The amphibious assault ship burned for more than four days in July and was the Navy's worst U.S. warship fire outside of combat in recent memory.
WorldAssociated PressNetanyahu rival threatens to end coalition, force election
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chief governing partner on Tuesday said he would vote in favor of a proposal to dissolve their troubled coalition, accusing the Israeli leader of repeatedly breaking his promises and pushing Israel closer to its fourth election in two years. The announcement by Defense Minister Benny Gantz that he would vote in favor of a preliminary no-confidence measure on Wednesday did not immediately cause the government to collapse. Rather, it served as a warning by Gantz, who also holds the title of alternate prime minister, that he has run out of patience with Netanyahu and is ready to break up their alliance if a long-overdue budget isn't passed immediately.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastKremlin-Funded TV Airs Mind-Numbingly Racist Blackface Attack on Obama
The news that former Vice President Joe Biden would become the next president of the United States was met in Russia with grim resignation, bordering on despair. Experts on Russian state television have described Biden's presidency as “Obama's third term” and predicted a slew of new sanctions dreaded by the Kremlin. This anticipation revived the wave of racist attacks against former President Barack Obama, which were commonplace during his administration.
WorldUSA TODAYJared Kushner heads to Middle East amid tensions over Iranian nuclear scientist's killing
President Donald Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner will travel to the Middle East this week amid heightened tensions over the assassination of a top Iranian scientist who had been credited with overseeing Tehran's now moribund covert nuclear program. Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law, will travel to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, a source familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to comment publicly, told USA TODAY. The official said Kushner's trip will be focused on healing a long-standing rift between Qatar and its Persian Gulf neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.
WorldAssociated Press'World’s loneliest elephant' arrives safely in Cambodia
The pachyderm dubbed the “ world's loneliest elephant ” after languishing alone for years in a Pakistani zoo was greeted on his arrival in Cambodia on Monday by chanting Buddhist monks and was then sent on his way to a wildlife sanctuary. Like other travelers during these times, Kaavan needed to be tested for COVID-19 before his flight. Once his large metal crate was safely on board, Kaavan was provided with in-flight snacks — 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of them — for the seven-hour journey.
PoliticsThe TelegraphRepublicans say Biden budget chief has 'zero chance' of confirmation
Republicans indicated they would try to block one of Joe Biden's proposed key economic advisers in what could be the first major confirmation battle of his administration. Mr Biden on Monday nominated Neera Tanden, 50, as the first woman of colour to be director of the Office of Management and Budget. Ms Tanden has for the last decade headed a liberal think tank, and is a former close aide to Hillary Clinton.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderA bipartisan group of senators unveil a compromise $908 billion stimulus plan that omits a 2nd round of stimulus checks
A bipartisan group of senators unveiled a $908 billion stimulus plan that contains federal unemployment benefits but omits another round of $1,200 direct payments for taxpayers. The plan also includes aid for strapped state and local governments. The compromise package represents a concerted effort to break the deadlock on Capitol Hill on another coronavirus relief plan, but its unclear whether it will gain traction.
ScienceAssociated PressChina spacecraft lands on moon to bring rocks back to Earth
A Chinese spacecraft landed on the moon Tuesday to bring back lunar rocks to Earth for the first time since the 1970s, the government announced. The Chang'e 5 probe “successfully landed” at its planned site, state TV and news agencies reported, citing the China National Space Administration. It is the latest venture by a Chinese space program that sent its first astronaut into orbit in 2003, has a spacecraft en route to Mars and aims eventually to land a human on the moon.
U.S.The New York TimesJustice Barrett's Vote Could Tilt the Supreme Court on Gun Rights
Those same four justices are now on high alert for a promising case in which to expand Second Amendment rights, having written repeatedly and emphatically about the court's failure to take gun rights seriously. Barrett seems poised to supply the fifth vote they need. A Second Amendment case decided last week by the federal appeals court in Philadelphia is a promising candidate for Supreme Court review, not least because it presents an issue on which Barrett has already taken a stand.
PoliticsThe WeekThe case for shortening the presidential transition
Like Trump, Adams was turned out of the presidency after serving a single term; voters in the 1800 election instead selected his archrival, Thomas Jefferson. Adams skipped Jefferson's inauguration, and his Federalist Party allies rammed a series of last-minute judicial appointments through the Senate. Jefferson was understandably unhappy with the situation, and upon taking office ordered Secretary of State James Madison not to deliver the commissions that would allow some of the new "midnight judges" to take office.
WorldAssociated PressAzerbaijan fully reclaims lands around Nagorno-Karabakh
Azerbaijan on Tuesday completed reclaiming territory held by Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century after a peace deal ended six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed the restoration of control over the areas as a “historic victory” and a demonstration of his nation's “unbending spirit.” “We all lived with one dream, and now we fulfilled it," Aliyev said in an address to the nation.
“This metastasizing debt crisis has had tremendous social costs. An entire generation has been set back.”
“It is not the government’s job to step in and rescue those who took on more debt than their future incomes would support.”
“Many student-borrowers need relief, but well-off borrowers who are thriving — thanks to their college degrees — do not.”
“It will stimulate the lagging economy. And though not everyone will directly benefit, the country as a whole will improve.”
“Canceling student debt would cost billions of dollars each year and would exacerbate, not lessen, economic inequalities.”