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.

• 
  Impeachment hearings: Ambassador Sondland says Giuliani was pushing for Ukraine quid pro quo

  KTRK – Houston
• 
  Trump impeachment inquiry: five takeaways from Sondland's testimony

  The Guardian

Bolivia in crisis after ‘coup’ against president

Bolivian President Evo Morales, who had led the country for 14 years, resigned last week amid heated protests and pressure to leave from the country's military. Morales was a transformational figure in the often tumultuous history of the poor South American nation. The son of llama herders, he first rose to prominence as an advocate for coca leaf farmers before being elected as president in 2006 on a far-left socialist platform of redistributing wealth, fighting poverty and empowering the country's indigenous population.

• 
  Morales calls for international help to stop Bolivia 'genocide'

  AFP
• 
  Bolivian interim leader proposes new elections as toll rises

  Associated Press

US woman could be forced to register as a sex offender after appearing topless in front of step-children

An American woman could be forced to register as a sex offender after appearing topless in front of her step-children in her own home. Tilli Buchanan, from Utah, was charged with three counts of misdemeanour lewdness involving a child after appearing topless along with the children's father in their home last year. Ms Buchanan's lawyers are contesting the charge, arguing it is unfair to treat men and women differently for baring her chest.

• 
  Mother charged after step-children saw her topless inside their house

  WPVI – Philadelphia
• 
  Utah woman fights charge after stepkids see her topless

  Yahoo News Video

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

Military: 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.

• 
  Jet accident at Oklahoma base kills 2

  ABC News Videos
• The Latest: 2 airmen died while landing at Oklahoma base

  Associated Press

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.

• 
  UPDATE 3-Democratic debate highlights: Experience and race at forefront as healthcare talk fades

  Reuters
• 
  Democratic debate winners and losers appeal to communities of color

  USA TODAY

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."

Colorado District Closes All 46 Schools to Stop Spread of 'Extremely Contagious Virus'

The Mesa County Valley School District 51, which serves more than 22,000 students, plans to keep schools closed on Thursday and Friday and reopen after Thanksgiving, according to a statement from the school district. More than 3,400 students were absent this week, Emily Shockley, spokesperson for the school district tells TIME. Health officials said the main symptoms of the outbreak appear to be vomiting and diarrhea, with some individuals reporting a fever—but the effects appear to be short-lived with the illness hitting quickly and patients recovering quickly.

• 
  Mystery illness shuts down 46 schools in Colorado

  ABC News Videos
• 
  Colorado's Mesa County Valley School District 51 is closing all its schools amid 'unprecedented' illness outbreak

  USA TODAY

'Can I actually say something?': Hill responds after GOP congressman failed to ask question

During former top national security adviser Fiona Hill's testimony, Hill said "All of us who came here ... felt we had a moral obligation to do so. We came as fact witnesses."

• 
  'Fierce, focused and fearless': Fiona Hill emerges as a principled voice in impeachment inquiry

  USA TODAY
• 
  Fiona Hill and David Holmes gave powerful testimony about how everything was about to 'blow up' with Trump and Ukraine. Here are the biggest takeaways from their impeachment-inquiry hearing.

  Business Insider

Former Trump adviser blasts 'false narrative' of Ukraine election interference

A former top national security adviser to President Trump told Republicans in the House impeachment inquiry Thursday morning to stop advancing a “fictional narrative” that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections rather than Russia. Based on questions and statements I have heard, some of you on this committee appear to believe that Russia and its security services did not conduct a campaign against our country — and that perhaps, somehow, for some reason, Ukraine did.

• 
  House Intelligence Committee readies for fifth day of public impeachment hearings

  FOX News Videos
• 
  Impeachment Hearings: Adam Schiff Gets Standing Ovation From Gallery For Closing Statement

  Deadline

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.

• 
  The Transgender Day of Remembrance: So Much Loss, So Much to Keep Fighting For

  The Daily Beast
• 
  Chanel Scurlock among those remembered at 20th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance in Raleigh

  WTVD – Raleigh/Durham

California Supreme Court Rejects Catholic Group’s Challenge to Rule Deeming Voluntary Abortions ‘Medically Necessary’

California's Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a Catholic women's organization's challenge to state health regulators' designation of voluntary abortions as “medically necessary” procedures that must be covered by state health care service plans. The California Department of Managed Health Care in 2014 sent letters to seven health care service plans directing them not to limit or exclude coverage for abortions, including those abortions that are not required to save the life of the mother. Since then, the Missionary Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit have sought legal remedies to the rule, arguing that California flouted the Administrative Procedures Act by neglecting to give the rule a public hearing and comment period.

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.

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."

• 
  10 Mexican Citizens File Suit Against Walmart Over El Paso Shooting

  Footwear News
• 
  Mexicans sue Walmart over El Paso shooting

  AFP

Judge halts all scheduled federal executions

A judge has blocked the scheduled executions of four federal death row inmates, effectively freezing the Trump administration's effort to resume imposing the death penalty in a federal system that saw its last execution more than a decade and a half ago. The order issued Wednesday night by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan halts four executions that U.S. officials planned to carry out starting next month. The only other execution that officials had put on the calendar, also for December, was blocked last month by the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

• 
  U.S. judge stalls Trump administration bid to resume federal executions

  Reuters
• 
  The Latest: US may take federal execution case to high court

  Associated Press

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.

What comes next in the impeachment inquiry hearings

The impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump has officially moved into its public phase, and witnesses in the inquiry are beginning to testify in an open session before Congress. This week's impeachment hearings will kick off on Tuesday with four officials, including Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, top Ukraine expert on National Security Council, and Jennifer Williams, foreign service aide detailed to Vice President Mike Pence, scheduled to testify. The impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump has officially moved into its public phase, and witnesses are beginning to testify in open session before the House Intelligence Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and House Oversight Committee, who are jointly pursuing the inquiry.

• 
  Gordon Sondland’s impeachment testimony on Trump and Ukraine adds up to bribery

  USA TODAY Opinion
• 
  Photos capture Trump’s notes following Sondland testimony

  Yahoo News Video

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.

• 
  Ukraine says Russia returned ships in bad condition

  Reuters
• 
  Three navy ships held by Russia return to Ukraine port

  AFP

Cory Booker is right: Joe Biden must be 'high' to oppose legalizing marijuana

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) smoked former Vice President Joe Biden over marijuana legalization during Wednesday's Democratic presidential debate, and that was great. Biden snapped back at Booker to stake his progressive credentials, saying he's OK letting out of jail anyone with a marijuana conviction and expunging their criminal records.

• 
  Democratic candidates spar over race, economy and foreign policy in latest debate

  ABC News Videos
• 
  All The Key Moments From The November Democratic Debate (Spoiler: Women Won)

  Refinery29

American 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.

Google's Tour Builder Is a Great New Way to Make Your Friends Hate You

Now you can create virtual tours of your annoying vacations. From Popular Mechanics

A Catholic priest condemned a teen's suicide at his own funeral. Now, his mom is suing

A Michigan mother is suing the Archdiocese of Detroit alleging that the priest who spoke at her son's funeral questioned whether her son would go to heaven after dying by suicide, adding to the family's suffering. Linda Hullibarger and her husband, Jeff, said they met with Rev. Don LaCuesta in 2018 to plan funeral services for their 18-year-old son, Maison, a straight-A student and outstanding athlete who died on Dec. 4. According to the complaint filed Thursday in Wayne County, the parents met with LaCuesta well before the funeral to make clear they wanted the priest to deliver a positive and uplifting message that celebrated the life of their son.

The Latest: Israeli PM Netanyahu rejects indictment

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected his indictment on an array of corruption charges, saying the country is witnessing an “attempted coup” against him. Netanyahu was unable to form a government following unprecedented back-to-back elections this year, in part because of his legal woes, and a third vote could be held within months. Israel's attorney general says the indictment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a “heavy-hearted decision” based solely on professional considerations.

• 
  Netanyahu charged with bribery by Israel’s attorney general

  The Independent
• 
  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged with fraud and breach of trust

  CBS News Videos