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.

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  Private border wall construction continues despite court order

  The Guardian
• Judge's order fails to halt privately funded border wall construction

  Fox Business

Indian 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.

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley Says South Carolinians Saw the Confederate Flag as 'Service' Before Dylan Roof 'Hijacked' It

Former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley told conservative commentator Glenn Beck Friday that white supremacist Dylan Roof “hijacked” the Confederate flag, which she said South Carolinians saw as representing “service and sacrifice and heritage. Haley was speaking about the 2015 mass shooting at a church in Charleston, S.C., in which Roof murdered nine Black churchgoers in in the name of white supremacy. Photographs emerged of Roof posing with the Confederate flag.

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  Haley: Killer 'hijacked' Confederate flag meaning for some

  Associated Press
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  Nikki Haley: Confederate flag was 'hijacked' after Charleston church shooting

  USA TODAY

Democrats Must Not Have an All-White Debate—and the White Candidates Should Say So

But that should be up to the voters, and not the DNC by means of their debate inclusion practices. Those candidates can, however strike a blow for diversity. They should band together and threaten to boycott the December Democratic debate unless the DNC and media partners agree to not exclude candidates who have shown measurable public support before the voting begins.

New Jersey journalist re-arrested in Nigeria after brief glimpse of freedom

The New Jersey resident imprisoned in his home country of Nigeria since August was re-arrested in a courtroom Friday by Nigerian state police, after briefly being freed from state custody Thursday. Omoyele Sowore, who lives in Haworth, had been scheduled to stand trial Friday on charges stemming from his Aug. 3 arrest while he was organizing a peaceful pro-democracy protest in the city of Lagos. "My 10-year old has on his Christmas list one of things he wants is for his dad to be home for Christmas," said Opeyemi Sowore, speaking at an impromptu news conference at the Newark office of Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.

The Pensacola Navy base shooter reportedly used a loophole to buy his gun legally

The Saudi national who fatally shot three people at a Florida Navy base on Friday bought his gun legally even though people designated as "nonimmigrant aliens" are not typically allowed to do so, NBC News reported. But the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says there are exceptions for those with a valid hunting license or permit, and those from "a friendly foreign government entering the United States on official law enforcement business." NBC News cited sources that said the shooter had a license and bought his weapon from a dealer in Pensacola.

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  6 Saudi nationals taken into custody after Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting

  FOX News Videos
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  New details emerge in Pensacola naval base shooting as investigation ramps up

  ABC News Videos

Flu season arrives early, driven by an unexpected virus

The winter flu season is off to its earliest start in more than 15 years. An early wave of illness in the South has begun to spread more broadly, and there's a chance flu season could peak much earlier than normal, health officials say.

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  Flu season has come early this year

  CBS News
• 
  There's a lot of buzz on a new drug to treat the flu

  ABC News Videos

Body of slain doctor returns home to Japan from Afghanistan

The body of a Japanese doctor killed in a roadside shooting in Afghanistan arrived back home Sunday, with government officials on hand to lead a brief ceremony of mourning at Tokyo's Narita International Airport. Tetsu Nakamura was killed last week, along with five Afghans who had been traveling with him. Keisuke Suzuki, Japan's state minister of foreign affairs, joined other officials in bowing their heads in prayer after laying flowers by the coffin, draped in white, in a solemn ceremony in honor of Nakamura at the airport.

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.

American soldiers banned from Italian main street after vicious brawl

Around 2,000 US Army soldiers have been banned from one of the main streets in the Italian city of Vicenza after a  brawl between soldiers and locals. The temporary ban, which affects members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade stationed in the city, involves the quaint via  Contra' Pescherie Vecchie, where two young Vicenza men say they were surrounded and beaten by several soldiers after a verbal exchange just outside a popular watering hole for off duty combat paratroopers. City authorities are studying CCTV images to identify the culprits of the latest violent episode, which prompted Mayor Francesco Rucco to request special restrictive measures from the base commander.

5-Year-Old Carried a Toddler Through Minus 31-Degree Weather After Left Alone in Alaska Home

A 5-year-old carried a toddler about half a mile in frigid Alaska weather this week, after the pair were left at home by themselves, according to the Alaska State Troopers. After the power went out at the house, the 5-year-old “became scared,” picked up the 18-month-old child and walked to a neighbor's house in the Village of Venetie, according to the State of Alaska Department of Public Safety. The village, which is in northeastern Alaska, is south of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

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  Abandoned 5-Year-Old Carries Toddler in Extreme Cold After Adult Allegedly Left Them in Home

  People
• Deserted 5-year-old takes toddler to neighbor in bitter cold

  Associated Press

Chuck Todd Laces Into Ted Cruz for Saying Ukraine Meddled in 2016 Election

A week after Meet the Press host Chuck Todd accused Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) of pushing Russian propaganda on Ukraine, the NBC News anchor forcefully confronted GOP Sen. Ted Cruz over the Texas lawmaker's belief that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election. With the House of Representatives heading towards an impeachment vote, Cruz argued on Sunday that Democrats haven't yet proven that the president violated any laws, insisting that Trump was just concerned about “investigating corruption” when he pressured Ukraine to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden.

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  Ted Cruz says Ukraine 'blatantly interfered' in 2016 election during testy exchange with Chuck Todd

  USA TODAY
• NBC's Chuck Todd can't figure out why Ted Cruz isn't more skeptical of Trump after their primary battles

  The Week

13 Mythical Creatures, Ranked

Did your favorite make the list? From Popular Mechanics

A Uighur Dutch woman admitted to leaking secret Chinese cables on Muslim oppression. She's going public to stop China's death threats.

A Uighur Dutch woman has revealed herself as being involved in the leak of an explosive cache of documents outlining how the Chinese government rounds up, detains, and controls its Muslim minority in the western region of Xinjiang. The 24 pages of internal Communist Party documents, leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), had described brutal security controls in detention camps and the reasons officials cite to detain Uighurs. Asiye Abdulaheb, a 46-year-old Dutch citizen, has now publicly said that she helped spread those documents.

Indian police investigated over killings of rape suspects

A top Indian rights group on Saturday launched an investigation into the police shooting of four rape-murder suspects after accusations they were gunned down in cold blood to assuage public anger. But in a country where violence against women is rife and an overburdened criminal justice system means attackers often escape punishment, many Indians also celebrated the suspects' deaths. The launch of the investigation by the National Human Rights Commission comes as India also reeled from the death of another woman on Friday, set on fire on her way to a sexual assault court hearing in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

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  Indian woman who alleged gang rape dies after burn attack

  Associated Press
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  India rape victim dies after being ‘burned alive by gang of men’

  The Independent

N. Korea conducts 'important test' at once-dismantled site

North Korea said Sunday that it carried out a “very important test” at its long-range rocket launch site that it reportedly rebuilt after having partially dismantled it at the start of denuclearization talks with the United States last year. The announcement comes amid dimming prospects for a resumption of negotiations, with the North threatening to seek “a new way” if it fails to get major U.S. concessions by year's end. North Korea has said its resumption of nuclear and long-range missile tests depends on the United States.

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  Trump says he still gets along with Kim Jong Un, despite North Korea's criticism

  USA TODAY
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  North Korea's U.N. envoy says denuclearization off negotiating table with United States

  Reuters

He tried to save his wife from their burning home. She died holding his hand

"She fought with the last breath she had," Todd said. Todd was transported to a hospital for his burns and injuries. His mother was also in the home but got out uninjured.

Russia's Su-57 Would Be A Game-Changer If It Wasn't So Expensive

Key point: A fancy photo shoot can't reverse an economic slump, nor can it magically conjure hundreds of new stealth fighters. The Russian defense ministry staged an impressive video shoot with four of its Su-57 stealth fighter prototypes. But the dramatic display doesn't make the Su-57 any more relevant.

Mayor Pete Turns to God to Win Over Black Supporters

As Mayor Pete Buttigieg kickstarts his campaign to win over African-American voters who are skeptical of his spotty track record on issues of concern to black communities—or who are entirely unfamiliar with him at all—the millennial mayor is returning to one of the touchstones of his early campaign: his faith. “It's not for nothing that a lot of my experiences even back home addressing black voters, specifically, is in church,” Buttigieg recently told reporters aboard his campaign bus in New Hampshire, in response to a question about what “clicks” with African-American audiences. In a series of appearances in front of predominantly black audiences across the American South this week, Buttigieg frequently leaned into his Episcopalian faith as a way to connect with black voters who have been, until recently, an afterthought for his campaign.

The acting Navy secretary promises he'll fix the Ford aircraft carrier because he's tired of it being a 'whipping boy for why the Navy can't do anything right'

Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly said this week that fixing the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is now a top priority, Military.com reported. Explaining at an event in DC that the president is very concerned about the Ford, which is over budget, behind schedule, and still experiencing problems with certain key technologies, Modly reportedly said that the Navy needs "to fix that ship and make sure that it works." He said that there is "nothing worse" than having this ship out there in its current condition, as it is able to be used as a "whipping boy for why the Navy can't do anything right."

AOC 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."

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  New Amazon lease for NY space renews debate over failed deal

  Associated Press
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  Amazon Confirms It Is Opening a New Office in Manhattan in 2021

  Footwear News