- PoliticsYahoo News
New Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that Democrats have so far failed to seal the deal on impeachment
As House Democrats draft articles of impeachment against President Trump and prepare for a floor vote before Christmas, a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that a majority of registered voters buy their central argument for impeachment: that Trump put his own interests above the national interest when he pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. Yet the poll also shows that Democrats have failed to translate that belief into broader support for impeachment, and that Americans remain too polarized and uncertain about key details to back Trump's removal from office in the kind of numbers that could create real momentum as the process heads toward a Senate trial.
- NewsYahoo News
Nikki Haley claims Dylann Roof 'hijacked' the 'heritage' of the Confederate flag in church massacre
Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that white supremacist Dylann Roof “hijacked” the Confederate flag by carrying out a mass killing of African-Americans in a Charleston, S.C., church in 2015. Haley was governor of South Carolina at the time. “Here is this guy who comes out with this manifesto, holding the Confederate flag, and had just hijacked everything that people thought of,” Haley said in an interview with host Glenn Beck published Friday on his website, the Blaze.
WorldAFPIndian border officials on lookout for fugitive cosmic guru
Indian border officials and embassies have issued an alert for a fugitive guru accused of rape, the government said, days after the holy man announced the creation of his own "cosmic" country. Swami Nithyananda -- one of many self-styled Indian "godmen" with thousands of followers and a chequered past -- is wanted by police for alleged rape, sexual abuse, and abduction of children. Earlier this week, he announced online that he has created his own new country -- reportedly off Ecuador's coast -- complete with cabinet, golden passports, and even a department of homeland security.
- NewsBusiness Insider
The Pensacola Navy base shooter reportedly used a loophole to buy his gun legally
The Saudi national who fatally shot three people at a Florida Navy base on Friday bought his gun legally even though people designated as "nonimmigrant aliens" are not typically allowed to do so, NBC News reported. But the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says there are exceptions for those with a valid hunting license or permit, and those from "a friendly foreign government entering the United States on official law enforcement business." NBC News cited sources that said the shooter had a license and bought his weapon from a dealer in Pensacola.
- PoliticsReuters
California congressman Duncan Hunter announces resignation after corruption plea
U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter will resign from Congress following his guilty plea to a federal charge of conspiring to misuse campaign funds, he said on Friday. Hunter's announcement that he would step down came days after the leading California lawmaker, a former U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, entered his guilty plea in federal court in San Diego. "Shortly after the Holidays I will resign from Congress," Hunter, 42, said in a written statement released by his communications director.
- 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.
- WorldThe National Interest
Could Mexico's Version of the Marine Corps Crush the Cartels?
Compared to their counterparts in the United States, the United States Navy and Marine Corps, the Mexican Navy is small— around sixty-six thousand. The Mexican Naval Infantry, their Marine Corps, is even smaller— numbering only about eighteen thousand. In contrast to the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy, the Mexican Navy's main missions have typically been coastal protection, which in the United States would fall to the U.S. Coast Guard.
- NewsThe Telegraph
American soldiers banned from Italian main street after vicious brawl
Around 2,000 US Army soldiers have been banned from one of the main streets in the Italian city of Vicenza after a brawl between soldiers and locals. The temporary ban, which affects members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade stationed in the city, involves the quaint via Contra' Pescherie Vecchie, where two young Vicenza men say they were surrounded and beaten by several soldiers after a verbal exchange just outside a popular watering hole for off duty combat paratroopers. City authorities are studying CCTV images to identify the culprits of the latest violent episode, which prompted Mayor Francesco Rucco to request special restrictive measures from the base commander.
- WorldAssociated Press
Body of slain doctor returns home to Japan from Afghanistan
The body of a Japanese doctor killed in a roadside shooting in Afghanistan arrived back home Sunday, with government officials on hand to lead a brief ceremony of mourning at Tokyo's Narita International Airport. Tetsu Nakamura was killed last week, along with five Afghans who had been traveling with him. Keisuke Suzuki, Japan's state minister of foreign affairs, joined other officials in bowing their heads in prayer after laying flowers by the coffin, draped in white, in a solemn ceremony in honor of Nakamura at the airport.
- NewsYahoo News
Judge blocks Trump's favorite construction company from building private border wall
A federal judge in McAllen, Texas, has temporarily blocked a plan for a construction firm favored by President Trump to build a privately-funded segment of border wall along the banks of the Rio Grande River. The same firm, Fisher Industries, recently won a $400 million federal contract to construct 31 miles of barrier along the border near Yuma, Ariz. President Trump has urged the Army Corps of Engineers to hire the North Dakota–based firm, whose head is a major Republican donor and a frequent guest on Fox News. U.S. District Judge Randy Crane issued the temporary restraining order against Fisher Sand and Gravel and its subsidiary, Fisher Industries, Thursday afternoon in response to an emergency request from the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Democrats Must Not Have an All-White Debate—and the White Candidates Should Say So
But that should be up to the voters, and not the DNC by means of their debate inclusion practices. Those candidates can, however strike a blow for diversity. They should band together and threaten to boycott the December Democratic debate unless the DNC and media partners agree to not exclude candidates who have shown measurable public support before the voting begins.
BusinessYahoo News VideoAOC calls out Trump after news that Amazon plans to hire 1,500 employees in New York City
Following reports that Amazon plans to open a new office in New York City, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that the Trump administration "should focus more on cutting public assistance to billionaires instead of poor families."
- WorldBusiness Insider
A Uighur Dutch woman admitted to leaking secret Chinese cables on Muslim oppression. She's going public to stop China's death threats.
A Uighur Dutch woman has revealed herself as being involved in the leak of an explosive cache of documents outlining how the Chinese government rounds up, detains, and controls its Muslim minority in the western region of Xinjiang. The 24 pages of internal Communist Party documents, leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), had described brutal security controls in detention camps and the reasons officials cite to detain Uighurs. Asiye Abdulaheb, a 46-year-old Dutch citizen, has now publicly said that she helped spread those documents.
- NewsUSA TODAY
New Jersey journalist re-arrested in Nigeria after brief glimpse of freedom
The New Jersey resident imprisoned in his home country of Nigeria since August was re-arrested in a courtroom Friday by Nigerian state police, after briefly being freed from state custody Thursday. Omoyele Sowore, who lives in Haworth, had been scheduled to stand trial Friday on charges stemming from his Aug. 3 arrest while he was organizing a peaceful pro-democracy protest in the city of Lagos. "My 10-year old has on his Christmas list one of things he wants is for his dad to be home for Christmas," said Opeyemi Sowore, speaking at an impromptu news conference at the Newark office of Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.
- LifestylePopular Mechanics
50 Great Gadget and Gear Gifts for the Holidays
Whether you're looking for new tech, tools, or outdoor gear, this guide has you covered. From Popular Mechanics
NewsAFPSaudis distance themselves from US naval base shooter
Saudi Arabia sought to distance itself Saturday from a student who carried out a fatal shooting at an American naval base, as it seeks to repair its image of being an exporter of Islamic extremism. The Saudi military trainee reportedly condemned the US as a "nation of evil" before going on a rampage Friday at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, killing three people and wounding eight. The shooting marks a setback in the kingdom's efforts to shrug off its longstanding reputation for promoting religious extremism after the September 11, 2001 attacks in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis.
- PoliticsCBS News
Judiciary Committee releases report on grounds for impeachment
The House Judiciary Committee on Saturday released a report explaining the constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment, written by Democratic staff on the Judiciary Committee for the committee's use. "Impeachment is the Constitution's final answer to a President who mistakes himself for a monarch. Aware that power corrupts, our Framers built other guardrails against that error," the report says in its introduction.
- BusinessThe National Interest
Russia's Su-57 Would Be A Game-Changer If It Wasn't So Expensive
Key point: A fancy photo shoot can't reverse an economic slump, nor can it magically conjure hundreds of new stealth fighters. The Russian defense ministry staged an impressive video shoot with four of its Su-57 stealth fighter prototypes. But the dramatic display doesn't make the Su-57 any more relevant.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Biden Says He Would Consider Giving Ambassadorships to Donors
Joe Biden said Friday he would not rule out appointing donors as ambassadors, but wouldn't make decisions about those roles based on someone's financial contributions. Nobody in fact will be appointed by me based on anything they contributed,” he told a group of reporters aboard his “No Malarkey” bus in Decorah, Iowa. But, for example, you have some of the people who are out there that are prepared to in fact, that are fully qualified — head of everything from being the ambassador to NATO to be the ambassador to France or any other country — who may or may not have contributed, but that will not be any basis upon which I in fact would appoint anybody.
- WorldReuters
Lebanon's Hariri reemerges as PM candidate as Khatib withdraws
Lebanon's leading Sunni Muslim politician, Saad al-Hariri, re-emerged as a candidate for prime minister on Sunday when businessman Samir Khatib withdrew his candidacy to lead a government that must tackle an acute economic crisis. Hariri quit as prime minister on Oct. 29, prompted by mass protests against an entire political class blamed for state corruption and steering Lebanon into the worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. Under the country's power sharing system, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Desperate Syrian Kurds who fled Turkish incursion head home to uncertainty
Hundreds of Syrian Kurds have returned home over recent weeks despite fears for their safety, amid complaints that thousands have been 'imprisoned' in refugee camps in Iraq with little access to food, healthcare and work. Over the past month, around 100 people have been voluntarily returning each week from camps in Iraq after fleeing northern Syria at the start of a Turkish offensive in October designed to force out Kurdish forces. With winter setting in and resources dwindling, the numbers are likely to grow.
- NewsBusiness Insider
Top US Marine says young troops should not be blamed for using TikTok, responsibility is with senior leaders
Gen. David Berger, the US Marine Corps commandant, said concerns over a service members' use of Chinese-owned apps like TikTok should be directed against the military's leadership, rather than the individual troops. Foreign-owned apps like TikTok have prompted concern from lawmakers and the military in recent months. SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Gen. David Berger, the US Marine Corps commandant, suggested the concerns surrounding a service members' use of questionable Chinese-owned apps like TikTok should be directed against the military's leadership, rather than the individual troops.
- WorldAssociated Press
Devastating factory fire kills at least 43 in Indian capital
A fire believed to be caused by an electrical short circuit engulfed a building in India's capital on Sunday where handbags and other items were made by workers earning as little as 2 dollars per day, killing at least 43 people. The blaze in New Delhi's Karol Bagh neighborhood, a warren of narrow alleyways with electrical wiring strung helter-skelter, was the second major fire there this year. In February, 17 people were killed in a blaze that started in a six-story building's illegal rooftop kitchen.
WorldYahoo News VideoIn warning to Netanyahu, House endorses 2-state solution
The House on Friday threw its weight behind a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, in a warning to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he mulls annexing the West Bank.
- NewsUSA TODAY
'I felt like I was going to die': A harrowing look into CIA torture from the eyes of a detainee
The drawings show the detainee crouched and handcuffed in a small box; naked and strapped to a table as water pours over his covered face; shackled as an interrogator slams his head into a wall. The graphic self-portraits, drawn in captivity by a Guantanamo Bay detainee, provide a new and harrowing account of the CIA's torture program during a dark chapter in the U.S. war on terror. They were published for the first time this week in a report called “How America Tortures,” by the Seton Hall University School of Law's Center for Policy and Research.
