- PoliticsHuffPost
Jake Tapper Shuts Down Susan Collins' Attempt To Spin Trump Hush Money Payments
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) thinks more information is needed before she can speak definitively on President Donald Trump’s mounting legal troubles. On CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, host Jake Tapper asked Collins what she thought of allegations that Trump personally directed his former lawyer Michael Cohen to distribute hush money payments to two women to help protect his bid for the presidency. “We need to wait until we have the entire picture,” Collins responded.
WorldReutersMore than 40 injured in explosion in Japan's Sapporo: Kyodo
More than 40 people were injured in an explosion on Sunday at a bar in Sapporo in northern Japan, Kyodo news agency reported. Kyodo said one person was in critical condition. Eyewitnesses reported smelling gas in the area following the explosion, which Kyodo said happened at 8.30 p.m. (1130 GMT).
NewsAssociated PressTrucker saves dogs thrown from vehicle on New York highway
New York State Police on Saturday asked for the public's help in finding the suspect or suspects in the incident Wednesday morning on Interstate 81 near Whitney Point, about 16 miles (26 kilometers) north of Binghamton. So far, they said, they have no leads. "These animals have been through a lot, and people need to understand that this is not OK," said Amberly Ondria, shelter manager for the Broome County Humane Society.
WorldAFPYemenis fear collapse of UN-backed ceasefire accord
Residents of Yemen's flashpoint port of Hodeida and other cities fear a UN-brokered ceasefire could collapse at any moment, saying that after four years of conflict any accord is deeply fragile. On Friday morning, a day after the breakthrough agreement was penned in Sweden by representatives of the Yemeni government and the Huthi Shiite rebels, many held their breath. The Red Sea port of Hodeida, a main frontline between rebels and loyalist forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition and a key conduit of aid, had woken to calm after weeks of confrontation.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Top Democrat Schiff Adds Call for Probe of Trump, Deutsche Bank Links
The incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee joined Democratic colleagues in questioning ties between Deutsche Bank AG and President Donald Trump’s real estate business. Representative Adam Schiff of California said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that any type of compromise needs to be investigated. That could add his panel’s scrutiny to that of Representative Maxine Waters, who’s in line to be chair of the House Financial Services Committee and has also focused on the bank’s connections to Trump.
- NewsAccuWeather
Snow, rain and wind in late-week storm to impact holiday travel
As students embark on winter break, last-minute shoppers head to the stores and holiday travel ramps up across the country later this week, a major storm could lead to widespread travel headaches in the eastern U.S. The potential exists for a storm system to track from the Gulf Coast through the Northeast at the end of the week, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Maura Kelly. This storm is expected to soak the southeastern U.S. Thursday into Friday before heading northward, bringing rounds of heavy rain to the Northeast and some wintry weather to the Midwest late this week and into the weekend.
- BusinessThe National Interest
Introducing the Army's New Lethal Sniper Rifle
Task and Purpose, Jared Keller Security, Here's all we know. Despite a brief period of ambiguity wrought by budget-jousting among lawmakers in Congress, the Army’s new and improved sniper rifle is alive and well. Heckler & Koch showed off its M110A1 7.62mm semi-automatic sniper rifle, selected for the Army’s Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS) program on the floor of the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference and exposition in Washington this week, a first up-close-and-personal look at the lightweight rifle.
NewsAssociated PressBaylor ties pervade rape case that sparked uproar
The Texas judge who approved a plea deal allowing a former Baylor University student accused of rape to avoid jail time holds three degrees from Baylor. The prosecutor who agreed to the plea agreement graduated from Baylor law school. Local leaders say those connections to the world's largest Baptist university cast doubt on the handling of the criminal case against ex-Phi Delta Theta president Jacob Walter Anderson, who was accused of repeatedly raping a woman outside a 2016 fraternity party.
- WorldReuters
Any decision on Brexit deal will happen in New Year - British trade minister
British trade minister Liam Fox said on Sunday talks with the European Union to secure "assurances" for parliament on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal will take time, with a decision expected in the New Year. quot;The prime minister is giving an update tomorrow, she will be talking to the cabinet on Tuesday, it is very clear that the EU understand what the problem is. And it's a question now, without unpicking the whole of the withdrawal agreement, can we find a mechanism of operating the backstop in a way that actually removes those anxieties," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr show.
- U.S.KABC – Los Angeles
Student loans totaling $150M to be forgiven by US Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education plans to cancel about $150 million in student loan debt, which means about 15,000 borrowers will be forgiven.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
Every Photo from Our Drive of the Audi e-tron GT Concept
Developed alongside the Porsche Taycan, Audi's sleek electric coupe is still a long way from reality. From Car and Driver
- PoliticsHuffPost
Twitter Users Shred Trump For 'Celebrating' The Weekly Standard's Closure
Twitter users have castigated President Donald Trump after he rejoiced at the forthcoming closure of The Weekly Standard. “The pathetic and dishonest Weekly Standard, run by failed prognosticator Bill Kristol (who, like many others, never had a clue), is flat broke and out of business,” Trump tweeted Saturday. The pathetic and dishonest Weekly Standard, run by failed prognosticator Bill Kristol (who, like many others, never had a clue), is flat broke and out of business.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Fierce clashes in Hodeidah lead to delay of ceasefire
Fierce clashes broke out in Yemen’s crucial port city of Hodeidah on Sunday, leading UN and Yemeni officials to delay the "official" start of the hard-fought ceasefire agreed last week. Residents reported skirmishes on the outskirts of town with missiles and automatic gunfire heard near the city's eastern 7th July suburb. Unconfirmed television reports said that the Saudi-led coalition had launched two airstrikes on Ras Isa, a port north of Hodeidah.
WorldAFPCar bomb kills 9 people in Syria's Afrin: monitor
A car bomb killed at least nine people including five civilians near a pro-Turkey rebel post in the northern Syrian city of Afrin on Sunday, a British-based war monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was not clear who was behind the blast in the city, which was seized from Kurdish forces earlier this year. The explosion comes after the Turkish president on Wednesday threatened to launch a new offensive against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria.
PoliticsAssociated PressWarren seeks to solidify backing of African Americans
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is seeking to solidify her connection with African-American voters as she prepares to launch a potential presidential campaign amid criticism of her approach to race and identity. The Massachusetts Democrat visited Morgan State University in Baltimore Friday, marking her third trip this year to a historically black college or university. It follows her widely panned October release of a DNA test meant to bolster her claim to Native American heritage.
- WorldBloomberg
South Africa's ANC Postpones Party Election List Conference
The conference would be rescheduled to Jan. 4-5 from this weekend to accommodate the North West province, which hadn’t submitted its nominations, ANC acting spokesman Dakota Legeote said by phone. The conference had been delayed because of deep divisions within the party and allegations by some members of manipulation of the lists, City Press reported on Sunday. South Africa is due to hold national and provincial elections in 2019, likely in May. The country has a proportional representation system in which lawmakers are chosen according to where they sit on nomination lists.
- LifestyleMashable
Find love this Christmas with 15% off eharmony until Dec. 17
Rather than make a potentially ill-judged move on a colleague at the Christmas party or hope for the best by spending time in packed bars this December, you could just sign up with eharmony. When it comes to how much you are paying for a dating service, it's really down to quantity. You can now sign up to eharmony and get 15% off with the code JOIN15.
WorldAFPIraq lays cornerstone to rebuild iconic Mosul mosque
Iraqis on Sunday laid the cornerstone in rebuilding Mosul's Al-Nuri mosque and leaning minaret, national emblems destroyed last year in the ferocious battle against the Islamic State group. The famed 12th century mosque and minaret, dubbed Al-Hadba or "the hunchback," hosted Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's only public appearance as IS chief, when he declared a self-styled "caliphate" after the jihadists swept into Mosul in 2014. The structures were ravaged three years later in the final, most brutal stages of the months-long fight to rid Iraq's second city of IS.
NewsAssociated PressFlorida tale of infidelity and homicide ends with conviction
Jurors found Denise Williams guilty of three counts including first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for her role in a case that has recalled the plot of the Hollywood film classic "Double Indemnity." The 48-year-old Williams was found guilty after testimony by a key witness, the man who shot her husband Mike Williams on a cold December morning on a large lake west of Tallahassee. Denise Williams, who could spend the rest of her life in prison, is to be sentenced at an unspecified date next year. Mike Williams disappeared nearly 18 years ago to the date of his wife's conviction.
- WorldReuters
Malaysia's Mahathir says no rights to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli capital
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Sunday criticized Australia's move to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, saying countries had "no rights" to do so. Australia's move follows U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in May, which infuriated Palestinians and the wider Islamic world and upset Western allies. quot;Jerusalem should remain as it is now and not the capital of Israel," Mahathir told Reuters on the sidelines of an event in Bangkok.
- PoliticsYahoo News
How Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke came undone
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke arrives at the Capitol. On his first day at work, March 2, 2017, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke rode a horse to the department headquarters in downtown Washington, arriving like a conquering king, accompanied by U.S. Park Police escorts, also on horseback. A native Montanan and a former congressman from that state, Zinke was attired in a cowboy hat, jeans and a rodeo windbreaker instead of a Brooks Brothers suit.
WorldReuters VideosAustralia "recognition" move criticized in Israel
Israel indicates displeasure at an Australian decision to recognize West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital - with a confidant of Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting the announcement does not go far enough. Pascale davies reports.
- BusinessHuffPost
Our Plastic Addiction Has Reached A New Crisis Level
In truth, there are few good plastics alternatives that work on a large scale, and the systems of collecting, sorting and recycling plastic need huge investment and reform. What if plastic trash could just disappear? The discovery was a breakthrough: Given the volume of plastic trash we’re dealing with, we need speed and scale to make a dent in the problem.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Inside the threatened Kurdish proto-state that holds the keys to defeating Isil
While a few government buildings and statues of President Assad remain, Qamishli and the surrounding areas are now firmly under the control of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). Mahmoud is a proud supporter of the PYD, but still he declines to give his full name to the Telegraph for fear of reprisal should the regime one day return. Assad has repeatedly promised to retake every inch of Syria, including the third currently in Kurdish hands.
- BusinessBloomberg
Qatar Buys Mexican Oil Stakes From Eni
Qatar Petroleum is buying stakes in three offshore oil blocks in Mexico from Eni SpA, as the Arab country signs another global expansion deal after leaving OPEC. Eni and the government-owned energy company in Qatar, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, will produce about 90,000 barrels of oil a day from the Amoca, Mizton and Tecoalli fields in the Gulf of Mexico by the end of 2021, Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Qatar’s energy minister, said in Doha. The fields hold 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, he said at a press conference with Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi.
