PoliticsBusiness InsiderA 20-year-old campaign staffer for Sen. Kelly Loeffler died in a car crash before Pence held a campaign event in Georgia
A 20-year-old campaign staffer for Sen. Kelly Loeffler was killed in a three-vehicle crash in Georgia on Friday morning. Harrison Deal was also a former intern for GOP Sen. David Perdue and a close family friend of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. The accident came ahead of a campaign event that featured Vice President Mike Pence, who described Deal as "a truly wonderful young man."
U.S.ReutersU.S. ends exchange programs with China, calling them 'propaganda'
The U.S. State Department said on Friday it has ended five cultural exchange programs with China, calling them "soft power propaganda tools." The Department said on its website it had "terminated" the Policymakers Educational China Trip Program, the U.S.-China Friendship Program, the U.S.-China Leadership Exchange Program, the U.S.-China Transpacific Exchange Program and the Hong Kong Educational and Cultural Program. It said that the programs had been set up under the auspices of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act - a 1961 law signed by President John F. Kennedy and aimed at boosting academic and cultural exchanges with foreign countries.
WorldThe TelegraphBrexit: How trade deal talks went from optimism to the brink
Michel Barnier is accustomed to being universally praised on his regular tours of the EU's capitals to preach the gospel against Brexit. On Tuesday, he was in the unfamiliar position of coming under friendly fire for the first time in three years as the EU's chief negotiator. It was an uncomfortable moment for Mr Barnier, who was headquartered at the Hotel Conrad in Westminster and is enmeshed in intensive Brexit negotiations with his UK counterpart David Frost.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Surveillance tape breeds false fraud claims in Georgia
Surveillance footage of ballot processing on election night in Atlanta is fueling a false social media narrative of “suitcases filled with ballots” hidden under a cloth-covered table and tallied without supervision, even as top state officials confirm election workers followed standard procedure. The video showed regular ballot containers on wheels — not suitcases — and both a state investigator and an independent monitor observed counting until it was done for the night, finding no evidence of improper ballots, state and county officials said on Friday.
- WorldReuters
Britain's MoD in talks to control steelmaker for nuclear submarines -Sky News
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had enlisted Deloitte to advise it on the talks with privately-owned Sheffield Forgemasters, Sky News said, citing steel industry sources. An outright takeover of Sheffield Forgemasters, which traces its history back to a small blacksmith's forge in the 1750s, was only one of a number of options being considered, and that any agreement was likely to be several months away, Sky News said.
WorldThe TelegraphCaving to Brussels on fish and level playing field risks leaving UK a 'permanent client state', Boris Johnson warned
Caving to Brussels on fish and the level playing field to secure a post-Brexit trade deal risks turning Britain into a permanent “client state”, senior Conservative MPs have warned Boris Johnson. With the UK on the cusp of reaching an agreement with the European Union, a group of “die-hard” backbenches have urged the Prime Minister not break his promises to Leave voters in last year's election. It comes amid fears that Mr Johnson could be forced to grant a flurry of last-minute concessions after intensive lobbying from French president Emmanual Macron to secure more preferable terms on fishing, state subsidies and non-regression clauses.
- U.S.Associated Press
Appeals court rules for Trump taking military money for wall
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that a lower court was wrong to bar the Trump administration from taking $3.6 billion from military construction projects for a border wall. A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that El Paso County and the nonprofit Border Network for Human Rights did not have the standing to challenge President Donald Trump's redirecting funds from more than 100 military construction projects, including a $20 million road project at a base located in the city. The appeals court found that neither the county nor the Border Network proved it was directly harmed by Trump's move.
WorldBBCWhat has brought India's farmers to the streets?
Just like the big fish eat small fish, big businesses will eat us up now, says Rakesh Vyas, a farmer camping outside India's capital, Delhi. Tens of thousands of farmers like Mr Vyas from the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana are now in a grinding standoff with Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, demanding the repeal of three market-friendly laws. Taken together, the contentious reforms will loosen rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm produce - rules that have protected India's farmers from an unfettered free market for decades.
ScienceThe TelegraphTurkey offers bounty for capture of poisonous toadfish wreaking havoc in Mediterranean
Turkish fishermen have been called upon to rid the country's waters of poisonous toadfish, with a bounty on offer for each tail they bring ashore. The silver-cheeked toadfish, which can be fatal if eaten by humans, are an “invasive species” that poses a major threat to other fish in the Mediterranean and Aegean sea, according to Turkish officials. It marks a reversal in fortunes for Turkey's fishermen, who would usually toss away toadfish in disgust but can now cut off the tail and hand it to the authorities for a five lira (50p) bounty.
PoliticsReutersU.S. government ordered to reinstate protections for 'Dreamers'
In a rebuke to President Donald Trump's administration, a judge on Friday ordered the U.S. government to reopen to first-time applicants a program that protects from deportation and grants work permits to hundreds of thousands of immigrants who live in the United States unlawfully after arriving as children. The action by U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn centered on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program created by Trump's Democratic predecessor Barack Obama in 2012. The Supreme Court in June blocked Trump's 2017 bid to end DACA.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Georgia GOP Lt. Gov. is ‘embarrassed’ by misinformation surrounding election integrity in his state
As a pair of critical Senate runoff races approach on Jan. 5, Georgia Republican leaders find themselves in a conundrum, trying to balance indulging President Trump's baseless claims of voter fraud with supporting state GOP election officials. Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican, is frustrated with the misinformation about the election process in his state. I'm actually embarrassed at the amount of misinformation that continues to show up on Twitter feeds and Facebook posts and blogs that takes literally 10 seconds to debunk,” Duncan told Yahoo News.
U.S.Associated PressCalifornia on the brink: Virus rages and closures imminent
Five San Francisco Bay Area counties imposed a new stay-at-home order for their residents that will take effect Sunday. Southern California and a large swath of the central portion of the state could join this weekend. Those two regions have seen their intensive care unit capacity fall below the 15% threshold that under a new state stay-at-home order will trigger new restrictions barring all on-site restaurant dining and close hair and nail salons, movie theaters and many other businesses, as well as museums and playgrounds.
PoliticsThe TelegraphJoe Biden officially secures enough electors to become US president
California certified its presidential election on Friday and appointed 55 electors pledged to vote for Democrat Joe Biden, officially handing him the Electoral College majority needed to win the White House. Secretary of State Alex Padilla's formal approval of Mr Biden's win in the state brought his tally of pledged electors so far to 279, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Although it's been apparent for weeks that Mr Biden won the presidential election, his accrual of more than 270 electors is the first step toward the White House, said Edward B. Foley, a law professor at Ohio State University.
WorldReutersChina, U.S. need to proceed together with 'good will': Chinese envoy
China and the United States need to proceed together with "good will" to improve relations, the Chinese ambassador to Washington said on Saturday, as ties remained fraught between the world's two biggest economic powers. On Friday, a Chinese state media editorial said ties are being shifted to "a dangerous path". "In order to put the relations on the right track, to have real improvement of the relations, both sides have to proceed with good will and good faith," Ambassador Cui Tiankai told the Annual Conference of the Institute for China-America Studies via video link.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderAOC attacked Trump and Republicans on Twitter over rising college costs, arguing that many lawmakers didn't understand students' financial struggles
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Friday attacked Trump and Republicans lawmakers late Friday over rising college costs and a stagnant minimum wage. The congresswoman told conservatives they "sound like folks who speak of the days when Hershey bars were 5¢ at the general store," on Twitter. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez late Friday shot back at President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers, accusing them of being so out of touch with young American workers that they remember when Hershey bars were "5¢ at the general store."
WorldAssociated PressMoscow opens dozens of coronavirus vaccination centers
The city of Moscow opening 70 vaccination facilities where thousands of doctors, teachers and others in high-risk groups had signed up to receive COVID-19 vaccines starting Saturday, a precursor to a sweeping Russia-wide immunization effort. The centers in the capital started giving shots to willing recipients three days after President Vladimir Putin ordered the launch of a “large-scale” COVID-19 immunization campaign even though a Russian-designed vaccine has yet to complete the advanced studies needed to ensure its effectiveness and safety in line with established scientific protocols. The Russian leader said Wednesday that more than 2 million doses of Sputnik V will be available in the next few days, allowing authorities to offer jabs to medical workers and teachers across the country starting late next week.
PoliticsReutersU.S. Appeals Court rejects bid to block Georgia win for Biden
A federal appeals court on Saturday rejected a bid by a conservative lawyer to block President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Georgia and left in place procedures that will make it easier for voters to cast absentee ballots in January when two Senate seats are up for grabs. U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg, who was nominated by Trump, rejected attorney L. Lin Wood's arguments and found in a Nov. 20 opinion that the lawyer had no standing to sue. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta agreed with the lower court, saying Wood had failed "to allege a particularized injury" and the request was moot anyway since Georgia had already certified the election.
WorldBBCVenezuela election: 'There's no opposition here, just God'
"We've come here to show our faces, to tell the truth, to walk the streets with you so you can tell us your problems, and we can solve them," hollered candidate Nicolás Maduro Guerra, addressing a crowd of about 500 on the Caribbean coast of La Guaira. For Nicolasito is the president's son and under Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's once oil-rich economy has crumbled. Every day, millions of people in Venezuela struggle to access enough food, annual inflation is above 5,000% and about five million people have fled the country in search of jobs and more stability.
ScienceBusiness InsiderNASA took a photo of China's moon rock-collecting robot on the lunar surface before it rocketed back toward Earth
NASA images have confirmed the landing of China's Chang'e 5 moon robot. China's space agency said the lander collected more than 4 pounds of moon rocks. If successful, it will be the first time a country has brought home moon rocks in more than 40 years.
WorldAssociated PressKuwait votes for parliament amid economic, virus challenges
Kuwait voted Saturday for its National Assembly, the first election since the death of its longtime ruling emir and as the oil-rich nation faces serious economic problems under the coronavirus pandemic. This tiny country's hundreds of thousands of voters selected lawmakers for 50 seats in the parliament, the freest and most-rambunctious assembly in the Gulf Arab countries. However, Kuwait's parliament has tamped down on opposition to its ruling Al Sabah family since the 2011 Arab Spring protests that saw demonstrators storm the chamber.
- LifestyleMiami Herald
Cruises keep getting canceled due to the pandemic. Here’s the latest update
Here are the latest cancellations for each company: Investigation How many coronavirus cases have been linked to cruises? Check out the latest numbers The Miami Herald investigated COVID-19 outbreaks on cruise ships. Explore the findings of the most comprehensive tracking system of coronavirus cases linked to the cruise industry.
ScienceBusiness InsiderWhen the Arecibo telescope collapsed, the world lost a powerful asteroid tracker and alien seeker
The Arecibo Telescope collapsed on Tuesday: Its 900-ton hanging platform crashed into its main dish. In its 57 years of radio astronomy, Arecibo tracked potentially hazardous asteroids, discovered the first exoplanet, and broadcast a message for aliens. The telescope even starred in a James Bond film and the movie "Contact."
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump administration blocked Biden transition team from meeting intelligence agencies, say officials
The Trump administration has blocked Joe Biden's transition team from meeting with officials at US intelligence agencies controlled by the Pentagon, current and former US officials have said. The president-elect's team had asked to meet with senior officials at military intelligence agencies within the Defense Department (DoD), which include the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency, but were not allowed to do so, the Washington Post reported. According to the report, the meetings were requested this week, and appeared to have been turned down, or delayed – although officials have since denied that was the case.
WorldAssociated PressThai king leads thousands to remember late father's birthday
Thousands of yellow-clad supporters greeted Thailand's king on Saturday as he led a birthday commemoration for his revered late father, the latest in a series of public appearances at a time of unprecedented challenge to the monarchy from student-led protesters. King Maha Vajiralongkorn, accompanied by Queen Suthida, waved as he arrived at Bangkok's Sanam Luang ceremonial ground. Supporters of the monarchy held Thai and yellow royal flags to welcome them, with some cheering “Long live the king.”
PoliticsThe TelegraphDonald Trump's niece says 'cruel and traitorous' president deserves to be prosecuted
Donald Trump's niece says her uncle is "criminal, cruel and traitorous" and belongs in prison after he leaves the White House. Mary Trump, a psychologist, author and outspoken critic of her estranged relative, rejects the notion that putting a former president on trial would deepen the nation's political divisions. "It's quite frankly insulting to be told time after time that the American people can handle it and that we just need to move on," Mary Trump told The Associated Press in an interview this week.
“This metastasizing debt crisis has had tremendous social costs. An entire generation has been set back.”
“It is not the government’s job to step in and rescue those who took on more debt than their future incomes would support.”
“Many student-borrowers need relief, but well-off borrowers who are thriving — thanks to their college degrees — do not.”
“It will stimulate the lagging economy. And though not everyone will directly benefit, the country as a whole will improve.”
“Canceling student debt would cost billions of dollars each year and would exacerbate, not lessen, economic inequalities.”