- PoliticsYahoo News
House Democrats ponder expanding impeachment probe after Sondland 'game changer' testimony
Ambassador Gordon Sondland's explosive testimony Wednesday that “everyone was in the loop” on President Trump's efforts to secure an investigation of a political rival prompted rank-and-file Democrats to discuss whether it was time to expand their probe. Sondland testified in minute detail — down to the names of staffers and code words used internally to identify officials like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — how Vice President Mike Pence, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, former national security advisor John Bolton and others knew the intimate details of Trump's plans. “Was there a quid pro quo?” Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, testified.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Gabbard and Harris clash over visions for the Democratic Party
At the Democratic debate in Atlanta on Wednesday, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and Sen. Kamala Harris of California clashed over their differing visions for the party, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. Gabbard had criticized Hillary Clinton as the “personification of the left that has sickened the Democratic Party” after the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee suggested in an interview last month that she believed Republicans were “grooming” Gabbard to be a spoiler as a third-party candidate. Clinton, who did not mention Gabbard by name, further suggested that the Hawaii Democrat is “the favorite of the Russians.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Russia 'ruined' Ukrainian naval vessels before handing them back, says Ukrainian navy
Three Ukrainian navy boats seized by Russia a year ago were vandalised before being handed back to Ukraine, the country's navy said. The fast gunboats Nikopol and Berdyansk and the tugboat Tany Kapu were welcomed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and onlookers waving national flags arrived in Ochakiv, a Ukrainian naval port on the Black Sea on Wednesday evening. But Ukraine's navy said the vessels had been stripped bare and left so badly damaged that they had to be towed home by tug.
- NewsAssociated Press
Woman fights charges after stepkids see her topless at home
A Utah woman charged with a crime after her stepchildren saw her topless in her own home is fighting the case that could force her to register as a sex offender, pointing to a court ruling that overturned a topless ban in Colorado and helped fuel a movement. Tilli Buchanan's attorneys argue that Utah's law on lewdness involving a child is unfair because it treats men and women differently for baring their chests. Prosecutors counter that nudity is commonly understood to include women's breasts in American society and that courts have upheld laws based on morality.
BusinessYahoo News VideoAmerican Airlines admits a midair accident that knocked out 2 flight crew was not caused by spilled soap
American Airlines admitted Tuesday the powerful fumes that knocked two flight attendants unconscious and forced a flight to make an emergency landing were not caused by spilled soap, as the airline had previously claimed.
- PoliticsThe Week
Cory Booker goes after Biden on marijuana — and lands Biden in a string of gaffes
A few days ago, Biden set himself apart from the rest of the top 2020 Democrats by calling marijuana a "gateway drug" and saying "legalization is a mistake." Booker brought that comment up in Wednesday's Democratic primary debate, saying while he has "a lot of respect" for Biden, when he heard that remark, he "thought you might have been high when you said it." After his well-timed zing, Booker explained why he had a problem with Biden's remark.
- NewsReuters
Manila-bound Philippine Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Los Angeles
A Philippine Airlines' flight bound for Manila suffered an apparent engine failure on Thursday shortly after takeoff from Los Angeles and made an emergency landing, authorities said. All 347 passengers and 18 crew aboard flight 113, a Boeing Co 777 widebody, are safe, an airline spokeswoman said. Pilots of flight 113 declared an emergency and reported a possible engine failure on the 777, Los Angeles International Airport said.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Fiona Hill put out fire in her hair with her hands before finishing test, Trump impeachment inquiry hears
British-born Fiona Hill was asked about the incident while giving evidence to members of the House Intelligence Committee after it was raised by Democrat Jackie Speier. Referring to a profile of Dr Hill in the New York Times, Ms Speier said: "I want to verify this story: I understand that when you were 11 years old there was a schoolboy who set your pigtails on fire. "And you were taking a test, turned around and with your hands snuffed out the fire and then proceeded to finish your test.
- BusinessBloomberg
Obama Warns Technology Has Created a More Splintered World
Former U.S. President Barack Obama warned that technology is creating a more splintered world, fueling the disparities among wealthy and poorer nations, and people within countries. The rise of extreme inequality both within nations and between nations that is being turbocharged by globalization and technology” is one of the biggest risks for young people, Obama said Thursday at Salesforce.com Inc. s annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Trump signs continuing resolution to hold off a government shutdown -- for now
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed a short-term spending bill on Thursday that will avoid another government shutdown, at least for now. The measure will fund the government at current levels through Dec. 20, buying lawmakers a few more weeks to agree on long-term spending but backing difficult decisions up against the Christmas holiday and, potentially, an impeachment vote. Budget talks have hit an impasse over Trump's demand for billions in funding to build a wall along the nation's southern border.
NewsAFPDozens of dogs tested in French search for woman's forest killers
French police investigating the death of a pregnant woman mauled to death by dogs while walking in the woods have carried out DNA tests on 67 dogs to try identify those that attacked her, investigators said Thursday. Elisa Pilarski, 29, was found dead on Saturday in Retz forest about 90 kilometres (55 miles) northeast of Paris. A deer hunt with hounds was underway in the forest where Pilarski, a dog lover, was walking her own American Staffordshire terrier.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Benjamin Netanyahu charged over series of corruption scandals amid Israel election chaos
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and bribery relating to a series of corruption scandals. Allegations against Mr Netanyahu include suspicions that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of champagne and cigars from billionaire friends, offered to trade favors with a newspaper publisher, and used his influence to help a wealthy telecom magnate in exchange for favorable coverage on a popular news site. The case marks the first time in Israeli history that a sitting prime minister has been charged with a crime, plunging the country into unchartered legal and constitutional waters.
NewsAssociated PressMilitary: 2 airmen killed in crash during Oklahoma training
Two airmen were killed Thursday in an accident involving two jets during the landing phase of a training exercise at a U.S. Air Force base in northwestern Oklahoma, a military official said. The crash occurred shortly after 9 a.m. at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of Oklahoma City. Two airmen aboard one of the T-38 Talons were killed, Col. Corey Simmons, commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing, said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
- WorldBusiness Insider
American Airlines admitted a mid-air accident that knocked out 2 flight crew and forced an emergency landing was not caused by spilled soap
Flickr/Oliver Holzbauer American Airlines admitted Tuesday that whatever knocked out two flight attendants and forced an emergency landing in October was not spilled soap, as the airline had previously claimed. On October 21, American Airlines flight 729 was flying from London Heathrow to Philadelphia, but was forced to land in Dublin, Ireland, when two staff members passed out. American Airlines said at the time that the incident was caused by "an odor caused by a spilled cleaning solution in the galley."
- NewsCBS News
Nearly ¾ of transgender people slain since 2017 killed with guns
Nearly three-fourths of transgender and gender non-conforming Americans slain in the last three years were killed with a firearm, according to data published this month by the gun violence prevention advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety. The data sheds grim new light on the role of guns in what's been called an epidemic of violence against transgender Americans, as advocates honor the victims with nationwide vigils Wednesday during the Transgender Day of Remembrance. The data is available for the first time publicly via EveryStat for Gun Safety, the group's database detailing gun deaths in America.
- NewsReuters
Seller of bullets to Las Vegas gunman pleads guilty to ammo licensing offense
An ammunition dealer who acknowledged selling hundreds of incendiary tracer rounds to the gunman who killed nearly 60 people at a Las Vegas music festival two years ago pleaded guilty on Tuesday to manufacturing bullets without a license. Douglas Haig, 57, of Mesa, Arizona, became the first and only person arrested and charged in connection with the Oct. 1, 2017, massacre, which ended when the gunman, Stephen Paddock, killed himself. Haig told reporters following his arrest last year that none of the surplus military ammunition he sold to Paddock in September 2017 was ever fired during the killing spree, which ranks as the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
20 of the Most Beautiful Bridges in the World
Designed by world-renowned architects such as Zaha Hadid and Santiago Calatrava, these bridges are travel destinations in their own right Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- PoliticsYahoo News
Sondland pressed on why Trump has blocked witnesses: 'I wish I could answer'
During his testimony Wednesday before the House Intelligence Committee, Gordon Sondland was pressed on why so many members of the Trump administration, including the president himself, were refusing to testify in the impeachment inquiry. I wish I could answer,” responded Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. His remark came at the end of an exchange with Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash.
- WorldThe National Interest
Yes, America Is Using Stealth Drones to Spy on Iran
But as tensions escalate between the United States and its allies including Saudi Arabia on one hand, and Iran and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on the other hand, it's worth considering what other American aircraft might be in the region. The Pentagon maintains an extensive surveillance system in the Persian Gulf region that includes satellites, drones and ground- and sea-based sensors. Iran's shoot-down of a U.S. Navy Global Hawk drone in June 2019 put a dent in this system.
WorldAFPPutin attacks 'strange' European plans to reduce gas usage
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday rubbished European calls to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, saying that such ideas could lead to humans living in caves again. Speaking at an investment forum in Moscow, Putin also slammed shale gas production through fracking as dirty and environmentally damaging, saying Russia -- one of the world's top gas producers -- would never use this technology. Asked what he thought of Europe's moves to reduce use of gas, for which it is heavily dependent on Russia, Putin said that "in my view, disdaining such a clean hydrocarbon as gas is absolutely strange".
- NewsUSA TODAY
Police shoot man who was 'extremely irate' on tarmac of Las Vegas airport
A police officer shot and wounded a man before dawn Thursday at McCarran International Airport, according to authorities. Police received a report of a person who had gone through a security door at Terminal 3, but they did not find anyone there, according to police Capt. Nichole Splinter. Police tried to escort the man to a public area, according to authorities, but the man became "extremely irate" and attacked them.
- WorldAssociated Press
Son of former German president stabbed to death in Berlin
The son of former German president Richard von Weizsaecker was stabbed to death while he was giving a lecture at a hospital in Berlin where he worked as a head physician, police said Wednesday. A 57-year-old German man is in custody after he jumped up from the audience at the Schlosspark-Klinik and attacked Fritz von Weizsaecker with a knife on Tuesday evening. Von Weizsaecker died at the scene from a knife wound to the neck despite immediate attention from colleagues, said Martin Steltner, a spokesman for Berlin prosecutors.
PoliticsYahoo News VideoHimes takes exception to key Republican defense of Trump
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) took apart a key Republican defense of President Trump during Wednesday's impeachment inquiry hearing.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Centuries of Christian anti-Semitism led to Holocaust, landmark Church of England report concludes
Centuries of Christian anti-Semitism led to the Holocaust, a landmark Church of England report has concluded. In a foreword to the report, published today, the Archbishop of Canterbury said that Christians cannot challenge and reflect on the past honestly, “until we have felt the cruelty of our history”. The document, which has been three years in the making, was prepared by the Church's Faith and Order Commission and entitled: God's Unfailing World: Theological and practical perspectives on Christian-Jewish relations.
- NewsReuters
Mexicans sue Walmart over Texas shooting that left victims on both sides of border
Ten Mexican citizens have sued Walmart over the shooting at a store in the U.S. border town of El Paso, Texas, that killed eight Mexicans and left eight more injured, saying that Walmart did not do enough to protect its customers, Mexico said on Wednesday. The suspected gunman told police he was targeting "Mexicans" in the August shooting, which killed 22 people in total. Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the lawsuit, which was filed in Texas state court in El Paso County, aimed to hold the retailer accountable "for not taking reasonable and necessary measures to protect its customers."
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