- NewsYahoo News
FBI warned six months ago about loophole Pensacola shooter used to obtain a gun
WASHINGTON — More than six months before the Dec. 6 shooting at a naval base in Pensacola, Fla., where a Saudi gunman used a weapon obtained using a hunting license exemption, the FBI issued a report warning about precisely this loophole. The FBI warning, dated May 22 and titled “Federal Hunting License Exception Could Be Exploited by Extremists or Criminal Actors Seeking to Obtain Firearms for Violent Attacks,” was sent from the bureau's Office of Private Sector, according to a copy reviewed by Yahoo News.
- WorldThe National Interest
Why Can't Russia Replace Its Old Submarines Fast Enough?
In March 2017, Russia's new Yasen-class nuclear attack submarine Kazan launched at the northern port city of Severodvinsk. The Russian navy — already badly depleted since the collapse of the Soviet Union — can't quickly replace most of its existing nuclear submarine fleet, which is approaching the end of its collective lifespan. The outcome will likely mean a shrinking of the Russian nuclear submarine force in the years ahead.
- NewsCBS News
Kentucky governor to restore voting rights to 100,000 convicted felons
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear vowed during his inaugural address Tuesday to restore voting rights to more than 100,000 people convicted of felonies. "My faith teaches me to treat others with dignity and respect. My faith also teaches forgiveness," Beshear, a Democrat, said during his speech from the steps of the Kentucky capital in Frankfort.
PoliticsYahoo News VideoHouse passes defense bill, parental leave for federal workers
The House on Wednesday passed its annual defense policy measure, which combined a $738 billion Pentagon price tag with legislation to provide federal employees with 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
- WorldThe Guardian
Nude portrait of Emiliano Zapata in high heels sparks fury in Mexico
A new portrait of Emiliano Zapata has caused a firestorm of outrage for its portrayal of the Mexican revolutionary hero striking a seductive pose – clad only in a pink sombrero and high heels. Furious campesinos stormed one of the country's most renowned art museums on Thursday to demand the removal of the painting, part of a new exhibition titled Zapata after Zapata that seeks to present alternative views of the Mexican revolution. The small painting by Fabián Cháirez depicts a naked Zapata, astride a white horse.
NewsAFPNine-year-old Belgian prodigy drops out of university
A nine-year-old Belgian boy who was due to graduate in electrical engineering has dropped out of his Dutch university due to a dispute over the end date of his degree, his father said Tuesday. Young prodigy Laurent Simons hit the headlines worldwide when it emerged he was on course to receive his degree from the Eindhoven University of Technology in December and become one of the world's youngest graduates. But his father Alexander told AFP he had now quit because the university wanted to delay his degree until next year, while insisting his son now had new plans.
- NewsAssociated Press
Oink oink, cha-ching: $3 million found in barrels of pork
Barrels of raw pork shoulder were riding fat in a tractor trailer pulled over by North Carolina deputies. Approximately $3 million in cash was recovered from the barrels Saturday, the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post Tuesday. The driver of the tractor trailer was accused of failing to maintain his lane and impeding the flow of traffic on Interstate 85.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Greta Thunberg, who was just named Time's 2019 person of the year, says she's 'tired of selfies' and meetings with politicians
Leon Neal/Getty Images Activist Greta Thunberg, who is 16 years old, has become the face of the youth climate movement. On Wednesday, Time magazine named Thunberg the 2019 person of the year. In a video from Time, Thunberg said she tries to say no to meetings with politicians, since they consist of little more than "small talk" and "taking selfies."
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Trump signs executive order on anti-Semitism that critics say attacks free speech
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday designed to cut off aid to colleges that tolerate anti-Semitism, though some critics called it an effort to stifle free speech and criticism of Israel. "This is our message to universities: If you want to accept the tremendous amount of federal dollars that you get every year, you must reject anti-Semitism," Trump said during a Hanukkah reception at the White House where he signed the executive order. The order basically aims to extend the scope of the section in the Civil Rights Act that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin.
- NewsReuters
UPDATE 1-Texas executes inmate convicted of killing prison supervisor
Texas on Wednesday executed an inmate convicted of killing a prison boot factory supervisor because he was upset he had to work as a janitor. Travis Runnels, 46, was put to death by lethal injection at the state's death chamber in Huntsville for the 2003 murder of 40-year-old Stanley Wiley, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement. Runnels' death was the final execution scheduled in the United States for 2019, bringing the total to 22 this year, according to the Catholic Mobilizing Network, which opposes the death penalty.
- WorldThe National Interest
Deadliest Weapon After a Nuclear Bomb: Meet Russia's TOS-1 MLRS 'Buratino'
Key point: Buratino is a unique Russian self-propelled multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS) that has seen action in global hotspots like Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iraq and Syria. The TOS-1 Buratino is a unique Russian self-propelled multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS) that has seen action in global hotspots like Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iraq and Syria. Like the enormous 240-millimeter 2S4 self-propelled mortar, the TOS-1's specialty is obliterating heavily fortified positions.
- HealthINSIDER
A woman caught her boyfriend cheating when his Fitbit activity spiked at 4 a.m.
Last week, a woman tweeted that she once caught a boyfriend cheating when his Fitbit recorded a 4 a.m. spike in physical activity. Sex can indeed raise your heart rate, burn calories, and show up on fitness tracking devicees, according to an exercise science expert. NFL Reporter Jane Slater went viral last week after sharing her story of fitness gift-giving gone wrong.
- NewsThe Daily Beast
18-Year-Old College Student Stabbed to Death in Manhattan Park
An 18-year-old college student was repeatedly stabbed by a group of assailants in a Manhattan park on Wednesday night before stumbling away for help, only to collapse before she could find any. The woman, identified as Tessa Majors, a first-year student at Barnard College, was later found collapsed in front of a security booth near Columbia University by a security guard who had been out on patrol. Law enforcement sources cited by the New York Daily News said a group of suspects approached the woman in Morningside Park and tried to rob her before stabbing her in the torso several times.
- EntertainmentArchitectural Digest
The Real Locations That Inspired 13 Famous Paintings
From Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhône to Pablo Picasso's Au Lapin Agile Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- WorldThe Guardian
Outrage after Colombia riot police force young woman into unmarked car
Outrage has erupted in Colombia after a young woman participating in anti-government protests was grabbed by riot police in body armour, forced into an unmarked vehicle and driven away. Video of the incident showed the woman sobbing and screaming “Help! The police have kidnapped me!
WorldAFPDelhi rapist-murderer cites pollution in death row appeal
One of four Indian men on death row over the infamous 2012 Delhi gang-rape and murder appealed against his sentence on Tuesday citing pollution. Akshay Kumar Singh was one of a group of men who gang-raped a 23-year-old woman on a bus in India's capital late at night in December seven years ago. Her case and death -- 12 days later from extensive internal injuries -- sparked national protests and international horror, and became synonymous with India's high rates of sexual violence against women.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
How did South Bend actually do under Mayor Pete Buttigieg? We pulled the numbers to find out.
Still, South Bend's median income in 2017 was much lower than the other 87 cities with 100,000 to 125,000 inhabitants: the average city's median income was $60,211 in 2017. But, Mayor Pete's term has been a fairly unambiguous success on one point: In 2012, according to the ACS data unemployment in South Bend stood at 15.6%. As of 2017, according to the American Community Survey estimates it was down to 9.0%, a 6.6 percentage point decline that was the second-highest of any of the 87 cities in the sample.
- PoliticsThe Week
How Nancy Pelosi could lose the impeachment vote
Impeachment articles against President Trump have been introduced — one for abuse of power and one for obstruction of Congress — and a vote in the House is coming soon. The Democratic majority in the House will vote "yes" on impeachment and the Republican-controlled Senate will decline to convict. Likewise, polling shows the impeachment inquiry has overwhelmingly served to reinforce Americans' previously held opinions about the president.
- NewsAssociated Press
Texas inmate executed for killing prison supervisor in 2003
A Texas inmate was executed by lethal injection Wednesday evening for killing a supervisor at a state prison shoe factory in Amarillo nearly 17 years ago. Travis Runnels, 46, was convicted of slashing the throat of 38-year-old Stanley Wiley on Jan. 29, 2003. Runnels was executed at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
- NewsUSA TODAY
'Whose side are you on?': Houston police chief tears into GOP senators over gun laws after officer killed
WASHINGTON – Houston's police chief sharply criticized the two Republican U.S. senators from his state and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over gun control legislation during an emotional news conference as he prepared to escort the body of a police officer killed in the line of duty to a funeral home. Sgt. Christopher Brewster, 32, was fatally shot Saturday while responding to a domestic violence call. Police Chief Art Acevedo called on the Senate on Monday to renew the Violence Against Women Act, which expired in February.
- NewsThe National Interest
Why the Marines Love Their LAV-25 "Destroyers"
Key point: The LAV-25 has served in many conflicts and proven its usefulness. The LAV-25, the U.S. Marine Corps' main armored reconnaissance vehicle, has its origins in an effort to develop a new, highly mobile strike force for the Middle East. Fast, lightly armored and armed with a Bushmaster chain gun, the LAV acts as the marines' cavalry, scouting ahead of other friendly forces and seeking out the enemy.
- WorldReuters
Brazil's Bolsonaro calls activist Thunberg a 'brat'
Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro called Swedish climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg a "brat" on Tuesday after she criticized mounting violence against indigenous people in which two Amazon tribesmen were shot dead three days ago. "Greta said the Indians died because they were defending the Amazon (forest). How can the media give space to a brat like that," Bolsonaro told reporters, using the Portuguese word "pirralha."
- WorldBloomberg
Qatar Sends Premier to Riyadh Summit in Sign of Diplomatic Thaw
Qatar sent its prime minister to an annual gathering of Gulf Arab monarchs in the Saudi capital Tuesday, signaling progress in ending the 30-month regional rift though not enough for the country's ruler to attend. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani will lead Qatar's delegation at the request of the emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, according to a statement carried by the state-run Qatar News Agency. Speculation that a breakthrough in the unprecedented showdown in the Gulf was imminent swirled after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to take part in a regional soccer tournament in Doha earlier this month.
- WorldThe Telegraph
New Zealand volcano: Hero tour guide skipper who turned his boat around after eruption to save injured tourists
As New Zealand Police announced a criminal investigation into the deaths on White Island and a sixth person died as a result of the volcanic eruption, it emerged that the death toll could have been higher were it not for the efforts of one tour boat captain in helping the rescue mission. Paul Kingi was a skipper on the White Island Tours boat, working alongside his friend Hayden Marshall-Inman, who did not survive the explosion. In a post on his company website, Pursuit Fishing Charters owner Rick Pollock, a 40-year veteran of the industry, said he had worked with Mr Kingi for five years and described him as "an outstanding man" and "amazingly resourceful".
- PoliticsPopular Mechanics
The Space Force Will Become the Sixth Branch of the U.S. Military
A bipartisan defense budget agreement will authorize the creation of the Space Force. The Space Force will be, like the Army or Air Force, a distinct military service under the Pentagon. The service will take over space functions from existing services, wielding them into a single independent branch overseen by a Chief of Space Operations.
