- PoliticsYahoo News
GOP lawmaker says 'out-of-the-box strategy' could give Trump an 'advantage' in impeachment hearings
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Sunday said it would play to the “president's advantage” to have his top administration officials, in an “out-of-the-box strategy,” testify in the upcoming impeachment hearings. “As it relates to the other members of the executive branch, the president has to make decisions not only for him but for the presidency,” he continued.
- PoliticsNational Review
Biden Says Son Hunter Will Not Engage in Foreign Business if He Wins in 2020
Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden said his son Hunter will not be engaged in any foreign business if the former vice president is elected in 2020. Hunter Biden raised eyebrows when it came to light that he held a lucrative position on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while his father was fighting corruption in Ukraine as vice president. The set-up prompted Trump to ask Ukraine to investigate the Bidens while temporarily withholding U.S. military aid, an alleged quid pro quo that became the basis for the impeachment inquiry against Trump.
- WorldReuters
Factory owner, manager arrested after Indian capital's deadliest fire in 20 years
Police in New Delhi have arrested the owner and manager of a factory where 43 people died in the Indian capital's deadliest fire in 20 years, a spokesman said on Monday. The blaze started early on Sunday morning when more than a hundred workers were sleeping in the four-storey building located in a residential part of Delhi. "We have arrested the owner and a manager of the factory where the fire broke out, and initiated an investigation which is going to be completed soon," Delhi police spokesman Mandeep Singh Randhawa said.
- WorldINSIDER
Webcam live feed showed tourists inside New Zealand volcano right before it erupted and killed at least 5
A webcam photograph from the New Zealand geological hazards agency GeoNet showed a group of people inside the crater of a volcano moments before it erupted. The eruption occurred at Whakaari, also known as White Island, which is located about 50 kilometers, or 30 miles, from the east coast of the country's North Island. The New Zealand police confirmed in a press conference at 6 p.m. on Monday local time that at least five people were dead and many more were injured in the eruption.
- WorldAssociated Press
Pope names Manila Cardinal Tagle to major Vatican post
Pope Francis has named Manila Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle to a major Vatican post, in a move that could boost the Asian prelate's chances of perhaps someday becoming pontiff himself. The Vatican announced Sunday that Tagle, 62, will head the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples. The appointment of Tagle as prefect of that office highlights the attention that Francis is giving to the church in the developing world.
- HealthUSA TODAY
'It was beautiful': Acupuncturists help migrants stranded at Mexico border deal with stress
For months, Carlos Lopez's mind has been endlessly spinning with the fears and anxiety of leaving his home country of Honduras, traveling 1,700 miles with his 13-year-old son to this Mexican border town and the day-to-day survival of living in a squalid tent city. “All the bad thoughts went away,” Lopez, 41, said, as he emerged from his 45-minute-long acupuncture session. Lopez is one of a growing number of migrants stuck on the border under President Donald Trump's Migration Protection Protocols policy – which sends migrants to Mexican border towns to await their immigration court hearing in the U.S. To help the migrants pass the time and deal with stress, teams of volunteers led by Acupuncturists Without Borders, or AWB, a nonprofit that treats people in disaster zones and refugee camps and trains other acupuncturists around the world, are providing Lopez and others with free acupuncture treatment at border towns in Mexico.
- WorldBusiness Insider
China claims all Uighur Muslims have happily 'graduated' from its oppressive prison camp system, despite widespread reports that at least 1 million are detained
China has imprisoned at least 1 million Uighur Muslims in prison-like detention camps in the western Xinjiang region, according to numerous activists and researchers. Shohrat Zakir, the governor of Xinjiang, claimed without evidence on Monday that everyone in the camps, which China euphemistically calls "vocational training centers" is now out. Zakir said everyone had now "graduated" from the facilities, where reports of psychological and physical torture are common.
- LifestylePopular Mechanics
The 25 Best Tower Defense Games
Build those structures. Keep them from harm. Collect that loot.
NewsAFPPearl Harbor veteran interred on sunken ship
With speeches and salutes, veterans and officials on Saturday commemorated the 78th anniversary of the 1941 sneak attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, which brought a previously reluctant United States into World War II. A ceremony in Hawaii honoring survivors was attended by US Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and Washington's ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris. It was held within sight of the sunken USS Arizona, which was bombed in the opening moments of the attack that killed more than 2,400 Americans.
- PoliticsThe Independent
TV crew laugh at Ted Cruz in live interview after he endorses Trump's baseless conspiracy theory
Ted Cruz was laughed at by a TV crew during a live interview after he endorsed Donald Trump's baseless conspiracy theory about Ukraine. The Texas senator, who challenged Mr Trump to be the Republican nominee in 2016, was mocked for saying he believed there was “considerable evidence” that Ukraine meddled in the most recent presidential election. The US intelligence community has concluded that Russia, not Ukraine, interfered in the 2016 election and senior officials have said it is a “fictional narrative” to suggest Ukraine was involved.
- WorldBloomberg
Ramaphosa Faces Party Bid to Oust Him Over Reforms, Citizen Says
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's opponents within the ruling party are plotting to oust him over reforms that they say are failing to benefit the poor, the Citizen reported, citing people it didn't identify. A campaign being led by African National Congress Secretary-General Ace Magashule aims to discredit him over economic policies that his opponents argue are supplanting the party's pro-poor stance, the Johannesburg-based newspaper said. The anti-Ramaphosa faction wants Deputy President David Mabuza to become president, deputized by either Magashule or Water Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, the newspaper said.
- NewsReuters
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Arizona opioid case against Purdue, Sackler family
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a novel case by Arizona seeking to recover billions of dollars that the state has said that members of the Sackler family - owners of Purdue Pharma LP - funneled out of the OxyContin maker before the company filed for bankruptcy in September. The justices declined to take the rare step of allowing Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich to pursue a case directly with the Supreme Court on the role the drugmaker played in the U.S. opioid epidemic that has killed tens of thousands of Americans annually in recent years. The lawsuit accused eight Sackler family members of funneling $4 billion out of Purdue from 2008 to 2016 despite being aware that the company faced massive potential liabilities over its marketing of opioid medications.
- CelebrityCBS News
Ed Smart, father of Elizabeth Smart: "There is no cure" for being gay
I mean, I literally called my bishop up one morning, and I said, 'You know, I feel like I've stabbed Lois in the heart,'" Smart told King in his first network television interview about his sexuality. "And I went to my other church leader, and I said to him, 'So am I gay? Am I gay?
- WorldAssociated Press
Lebanese-born donor of Hitler items welcomed in Israel
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday welcomed a Lebanese-born Swiss real estate mogul who purchased Nazi memorabilia at a German auction and is donating the items to Israel. Chatila, a Lebanese Christian who has lived in Switzerland for decades, paid some 600,000 euros ($660,000) for the items at the Munich auction last month, intending to destroy them after reading of Jewish groups' objections to the sale. Among the items he bought were Adolf Hitler's top hat, a silver-plated edition of Hitler's “Mein Kampf” and a typewriter used by the dictator's secretary.
- NewsThe Guardian
'An outright lie': Ohio lawmaker shown to be linked to group pushing rightwing Christian bills
An Ohio legislator who said he had “no knowledge” of a rightwing Christian bill mill called Project Blitz is, in fact, the co-chair of the state branch of an organization behind the campaign. The Ohio state representative Timothy Ginter sponsored a bill called the Student Religious Liberties Act. The Guardian revealed the bill was nearly identical to one promoted by Project Blitz, a state legislative project guided by three Christian right organizations, including the Congressional Prayer Caucus (CPC), WallBuilders and the ProFamily Legislators Conference.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoSaudi who killed 3 sailors was infuriated by ‘Pornstache’ nickname
The Saudi air force trainee who killed three sailors at a U.S. Navy base last week reportedly made an official complaint about being called “Pornstache” by one of his instructors.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Mysterious automated calls, vanished relatives, and sinister Facebook comments: How China intimidates Uighurs who don't even live in the country
China is waging a widespread, coordinated mass crackdown on its Uighur Muslim minority. Though the brutal campaign is most active in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, the Uighurs' homeland, many Uighurs abroad say they have also been targeted by Chinese agents. Members of the Uighur diaspora described receiving mysterious automated calls, eerie Facebook comments, and being threatened by Mandarin Chinese speakers in real life.
- WorldThe National Interest
The United States' New 'Ninja Missile' Chops Targets to Bits (We Have Questions)
Designed to minimize civilian casualties, the ninja missile is a specially modified Hellfire—without a warhead. The Hellfire missiles weigh in the 100 to 110 pound range, including a 20-pound warhead and are guided through a millimeter wave radar seeker, or by laser. Years after their development, Hellfire missiles have become the armament of choice in the war on terror, and are often used on Reaper and Predator drones in strikes against militants in crowded, urban environments.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France meet for much-anticipated talks for eastern Ukraine
The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France are meeting on Monday to discuss a peace settlement for Ukraine's war-ravaged east for the first time in more than three years. Monday's summit in Paris is also the first time that Ukraine's new President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whom many in Ukraine hold personally responsible for the hostilities in the east. Mr Zelenskiy was elected in April this year and declared putting an end to the protracted armed conflict in the Donbass region one of his priorities.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Pete Buttigieg asked if taking big money out of politics includes not taking money from billionaires, he responds: 'No'
Pete Buttigieg implied that he would take money off billionaires and closed-door fundraisers during a terse exchange with a student activist, amid growing criticism of the Democratic candidate's fundraising strategy. The 2020 presidential candidate has come under scrutiny for his decision to take money from wealthy donors after a number of Democrats have pledged to take “big money” out of politics. Greg Chung, a student activist from Iowa, challenged Mr Buttigieg about his fundraising at a campaign event over the weekend.
- NewsReuters
U.S. Supreme Court rejects challenge to Berkeley cell phone law
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a free speech challenge brought by a trade group against a regulation issued by the California city of Berkeley that requires cell phone retailers to tell customers of certain radiation risks. The justices left in place a July 2019 decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that refused to block the 2015 regulation that industry group CTIA appealed. CTIA said the regulation violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects free speech rights, because the government, without the necessary justification that supports other types of regulations, is forcing retailers to spread a message they disagree with.
- WorldBloomberg
Plot Emerged to Fix Venezuela Without Maduro or Guaido
People close to both President Nicolas Maduro and his rival Juan Guaido plotted to push both men aside and end the nation's crisis with the rule of a temporary junta, the newspaper reported without citing where it got the information. Guaido, the National Assembly president, has been recognized by more than 50 countries, including the U.S., as Venezuela's leader. The key figure appears to be Humberto Calderon Berti, then the designated ambassador to Colombia who Guaido dismissed last month.
- NewsAssociated Press
North Dakota county may become US's 1st to bar new refugees
Reuben Panchol was forced to leave war-torn Sudan decades ago as a child, embarking on an odyssey that eventually brought him to the American Midwest and left him eternally grateful to the country that took him in. “I am an American citizen, a North Dakotan,” said Panchol, a 38-year-old father of four. If they vote to bar refugees, as expected, Burleigh County — home to about 95,000 people and the capital city of Bismarck — could become the first local government to do so since President Donald Trump issued an executive order making it possible.
WorldAFPScreams and goodbyes as scores die in devastating India factory fire
At least 43 people were killed Sunday in a devastating fire that ripped through a bag factory in the congested old quarter of the Indian capital New Delhi, with survivors describing the screams of workers trapped inside. The blaze was the worst in Delhi since 59 movie-goers died in a cinema in 1997. The cause of the blaze is not yet known, but the city's poor planning and lax enforcement of building and safety codes have often been blamed for such deadly incidents.
- ScienceCBS News
World's oceans are losing oxygen at a dangerous rate, study says
The world's oceans are struggling to breathe, rapidly running out of oxygen at an unprecedented rate. Climate change is dangerously exacerbating the issue, scientists warned in a new study. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released the largest report of its kind — combining the efforts of 67 scientists from 17 countries — at the global climate summit in Madrid on Saturday.
