- PoliticsYahoo News
New Fox News poll on impeachment contradicts its most loyal viewer — President Trump
A new Fox News poll on voter support for impeachment contradicted President Trump, who recently boasted major support in favor of “No Impeachment. Amid last week's historic House Judiciary Committee vote to advance two articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, the president tweeted, “Poll numbers have gone through the roof in favor of No Impeachment, especially with swing States and Independents in swing States. People have figured out that the Democrats have no case, it is a total Hoax.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Italian city evacuated as World War Two-era British bomb is defused
Italian authorities ordered the biggest peacetime evacuation in the country since World War Two on Sunday to defuse a massive unexploded British bomb that was partially damaged when discovered in the southern city of Brindisi. The historic evacuation displaced some 53,000 residents —more than half — of the coastal city on the Adriatic, due to the high risk that the 440-pound ordnance containing 40 kilograms of dynamite could explode. The bomb is believed to have been dropped on the city in a 1941 air raid, during the period of World War Two when Italy was still allied with Germany and Royal Air Force bombers based in Malta were targeting Naples, Brindisi and Bari in order to disrupt Axis shipping lanes.
- NewsAssociated Press
Inmate's suicide shows need for reforms, advocates say
The final two months of Cachin Anderson's life in New York's prison system were filled with warnings he was a man in crisis. Prisoner advocates say Anderson's death and others illustrate how New York's prison system fails to ensure the safety of inmates who might hurt themselves if left alone in a cell. New York state prison inmates in solitary confinement or long-term “keeplock” units, in which inmates are isolated, were over five times more likely to kill themselves than prisoners in general confinement, according to a report from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
- U.S.Yahoo News Video
5 Italian men sentenced to jail for rape of tourist in popular holiday resort
Five Italian men have been jailed for the gang rape of a British tourist in the popular resort of Meta di Sorrento, south of Naples.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Biden, Sanders Top Democratic Field in New Poll: Campaign Update
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders lead the field of Democratic presidential candidates, followed by Elizabeth Warren, according to a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Monday.The poll of Democratic and Democratic-leaning independents shows Biden with 24% support and Sanders at 22%, within the margin of error of 5.4 percentage points. Warren had 17%, and Pete Buttigieg had 13%. Andrew Yang came in fifth with 5%, while Michael Bloomberg, Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker registered 4%.
- WorldThe National Interest
Death by Tank: The Battle of the Bulge Was a Sherman vs. Tiger Tank Slug Fest
In terms of armor, the difference was daunting, with German tanks frequently outgunning and outmaneuvering the ubiquitous American medium Shermans and the British Army's Churchills, Valentines, and Cromwells. The third-ranking German tank was at least the equal of the Allies' best tanks, and the formidable Tiger, mounting a high-velocity 88mm cannon, was superior to all armor in the European Theater of Operations. The most powerful tank of World War II, a single 67-ton Tiger II could hold up a dozen Sherman tanks, and often did.
- BusinessReuters
China's factory, retail sectors shine as trade tensions thaw
Growth in China's industrial and retail sectors beat expectations in November, as government support propped up demand in the world's second-largest economy and amid easing trade hostilities with Washington. The set of upbeat figures released on Monday follow firm signs of progress in Sino-U.S. trade negotiations over the weekend after the world's two largest economies announced a "phase one" trade deal that would nearly double U.S. exports to China. However, growth in infrastructure and the property sector, both key growth drivers, remained lacklustre in November, underlining key challenges for Beijing in its efforts to stabilise economic performance next year.
- WorldThe Telegraph
British Museum to display 'world's first single-use cup' fashioned by Minoans 3500 years ago
The world's first single-use cup is to be displayed by the British Museum, as the curator says it is "not invention of modern consumerist society". A 3,500-year-old vessel, which once contained wine, was made by the Minoans, one of the first advanced civilisations in Europe. It will go on display later this month as part of a new exhibition called "Rubbish And Us" at the British Museum.
WorldAFPDecades on, Soviet bombs still killing people in Afghanistan
Gholam Mahaiuddin sighs softly as he thinks of his 14-year-old son, who was killed in the spring by a bomb dropped last century in the hills of Bamiyan province in central Afghanistan. "We knew the mountain was dangerous," said Mahaiuddin, who found his son's remains after he didn't come home one day. Forty years after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan -- and three decades since the conflict ended -- the war's legacy continues to claim lives across the country.
- PoliticsThe Week
Impeachment is rigged. The Founders knew it.
The odd thing, though, is that the Constitution's crafters foresaw this exact problem with the impeachment process they created — and decided to let it linger. Impeachments "will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community, and to divide it into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused," Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 65. "In many cases it will connect itself with the pre-existing factions, and will enlist all their animosities, partialities, influence, and interest on one side or on the other; and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demo...
- CelebrityINSIDER
Greta Thunberg clapped back at Deutsche Bahn after it appeared to accuse her of staging a picture of her sitting on the floor of an 'overcrowded' train
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin Greta Thunberg clapped back at the German rail company Deutsche Bahn after it accused her of staging a picture of her sitting on the floor of one of its trains. Deutsche Bahn appeared to suggest the photo was staged, saying Thunberg was treated to "friendly" and "competent" first-class service on its trains. Thunberg responded in her typical no-nonsense fashion, saying she had in fact sat on the floor on two different trains before getting a seat after the train reached the German city of Göttingen.
- NewsAssociated Press
Guatemalan man sought in massacre faces immigration charge
A Guatemalan man wanted for his role in a massacre of indigenous Guatemalans in the 1980s is being sentenced for illegal reentry into the U.S. Francisco Cuxum Alvarado is slated to be sentenced Friday in Boston federal court after pleading guilty to the charge in September. Cuxum Alvarado, 64, was found in Waltham, Massachusetts, in April after he previously entered the country illegally in 2004 and was ordered to leave. According to prosecutors, Cuxum Alvarado admitted he was a member of a civil militia that helped government forces remove Maya Achi people from the Rio Negro area in Guatemala and is suspected of involvement in a massacre in his home country.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Five things you should know about guns lost by G4S, the largest security company in the world
The company is licensed as a federal firearms dealer, even though it's not in the business of selling guns. A USA TODAY/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation found that G4S employees lose their company guns more than once a week, on average. Some of those guns are turning up in violent crimes, a problem G4S has been aware of for years but has been unable to rectify.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Joe Biden gets boost in polls ahead of next Democratic primary debate
Joe Biden remains a clear frontrunner in the Democratic presidential primaries, after the former vice president received a welcome boost ahead of the party's sixth primary debate. Mr Biden has meanwhile regained his lead against Mr Buttigieg and Ms Warren in Iowa, surpassing the 37-year-old mayor — who was previously the top contender in the state — by a point in the latest Emerson College poll released last week. While he appears to be the frontrunner in virtually all national polls conducted in December, he could face declining support in key states like South Carolina, where Bernie Sanders has gained momentum in recent weeks and is now in second place, as The Hill noted on Sunday.
- WorldBloomberg
Zambia Wants U.S. Ambassador Out for Defending Gay Couple
“We have complained officially to the American government, and we are waiting for their response because we don't want such people in our midst,” Lungu said Sunday in comments broadcast on state-owned ZNBC TV. U.S. Ambassador Daniel Foote said last month that he was “personally horrified” after the high court sentenced the two men and called on the government to reconsider laws that punish minority groups. The move was particularly disturbing as “government officials can steal millions of public dollars without prosecution,” Foote said.
- NewsThe National Interest
Is Congress Set to Open U.S. Banks to Drug Cartels?
Last month, the House of Representatives passed a bill known as the SAFE Banking Act, a seemingly innocuous bill offering the nascent, state-legal marijuana industry access to banks. Interestingly, many House Republicans who claim to oppose marijuana legalization voted in support of the bill. Whatever their excuse may be, some House Republicans were hoodwinked in supporting this policy, and drug traffickers and cartel bosses naturally rejoiced.
- WorldReuters
Philippine court dismisses case seeking $3.9 billion of Marcos wealth
A Philippine court threw out a high-profile, 32-year-old forfeiture case on Monday involving the family of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, citing insufficient evidence to order the return of $3.9 billion of allegedly ill-gotten wealth. The country's anti-graft court decided in favor of the Marcoses for the fourth time since August, with judges ruling that photocopied documents could not be used as evidence, so the case would not proceed. It has been referred to widely as the "mother" of cases in a three-decade effort by a special presidential panel to recover an estimated $10 billion allegedly siphoned off by Marcos and a family that had lived lavishly during his 20 years in power, 14 of which were ruled under martial law.
WorldAFPChild killed as quake strikes southern Philippines
A powerful earthquake hit the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Sunday, killing a child, injuring dozens and damaging buildings in an area still recovering from a string of deadly quakes in October. Police said a rescue operation had been launched at a heavily damaged market building in Padada near the 6.8 magnitude quake's epicentre, which is about 90 kilometres (55 miles) south of the major city of Davao. A provincial police commander said the number of injured across the hardest hit areas had reached 62, with one confirmed fatality after a child was crushed under a collapsed structure.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Trump slams Fox News for interviewing Comey and Schiff, stating 'only pro Trump Fox shows do well' on the channel
AP Photo/ Evan Vucci President Donald Trump on Saturday ripped into Fox News over planned interviews with former FBI Director James Comey and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff. Comey and Schiff, who are frequently the targets of Trump's ire, are set to be interviewed by Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday." Trump went after Fox News on Twitter, accusing the network of trying to be "politically correct" with the interviews.
- LifestyleThe Telegraph
Pablo Picasso masterpiece up for grabs for the price of a raffle ticket
His family are now calling on the British people to also take a risk and, with their famed love of a flutter, gamble on the chance to win one of the great painter's £1 million works for the cost of a raffle ticket. The Cubist pioneer's descendants hope a Picasso could hang in a UK living room following a new prize draw, which seeks to raise almost £20 million for charity this Christmas. Anyone who can front the cost of a £80 (€100) ticket could win a signed painting donated for the draw, and Picasso's family are counting on the UK show solidarity with the painter, and indulge in a bet.
- NewsAssociated Press
Remains of Marine killed in World War II to be buried in KY
A U.S. Marine who died in the battle for the Pacific Ocean island of Tarawa during World War II is scheduled to be buried Monday in Louisville, Kentucky. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said the remains of Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. John R. Bayens were officially accounted for in September though analysis of dental evidence and other methods.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Indiana University fraternity suspended amid allegations of assault, anti-Semitic and racist slurs
A fraternity at Indiana University in Bloomington is under investigation for allegations of physical assault and anti-Semitic and racial slurs, officials said. Campus police and the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office are reviewing an incident that took place at the fraternity Friday night, according to a statement released Sunday by the university. The announcement comes amid increased scrutiny of college fraternities across the nation and a month after Syracuse University halted all fraternity social activities because of suspected ties to racist and anti-Semitic incidents.
- PoliticsCBS News
9 Dem candidates demand DNC toss out current debate rules
Nine Democratic presidential candidates, including the party's front-runners, are urging the Democratic National Committee to reopen televised debates to a broader pool of contenders to better reflect the historic diversity of the current field. But party officials signaled Saturday that they are unlikely to budge and change the rules used in recent months to determine who makes the stage. In the letter obtained by CBS News, the candidates say that the rules used in recent months to determine who will appear "have unnecessarily and artificially narrowed what started as the strongest and most diverse Democratic field in history before voters have had a chance to be heard."
- PoliticsNational Review
Biden Vows to Ban Standardized Testing in Public Schools If Elected
Former vice president Joe Biden indicated on Saturday that he would ban standardized testing in public schools if he were elected president. Biden's pledge came as a response to a question from an audience member at the MSNBC Public Education Forum. Given that standardized testing is rooted in a history of racism and eugenics,” the audience member asked, “if you are elected president, will you commit to ending the use of standardized testing in public schools?
- WorldThe National Interest
NATO Nightmare: A Russian Invasion of Iceland?
Soviet operations against Iceland could have theoretically covered a wide spectrum of means, ranging from air and missile attacks to troop assaults. Supporting the theory that the USSR could have pulled off a Clancy-style surprise attack, the Soviet Union possessed the exact equipment in Red Storm Rising — reflecting Clancy's attention to all-things hardware — suitable for landing troops in Iceland without the need for a major port. In fact, the Soviets trained to use such repurposed “roll-on/roll-off” vessels like Yulius Fuchik for precisely those kinds of missions.
