Accused Russian Agent Maria Butina Reaches Plea Deal With Federal Prosecutors: Reports

Maria Butina, a Russian gun-rights activist accused of working as an agent for the Kremlin in the U.S., has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors, according to several media reports Monday. Butina, 30, was arrested in July and charged with illegally acting as an agent of the Russian Federation. U.S. authorities charged that she had used her close ties to the National Rifle Association and conservative operatives to wage a covert influence campaign and even tried to broker a secret meeting between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the 2016 presidential campaign.

‘Yellow Jacket’ protests paralyze Paris and threaten Macron’s government

Protesters known as the “Yellow Jackets” display their national flag as they march on the Champs-Elysées in Paris on Dec. 8, 2018. PARIS — The City of Light was a ghost town Saturday. “I’ve never seen Paris like this before,” said my translator, Anne Millereau, on an eerily deserted street one block from the Champs Élysées and not far from the Arc de Triomphe, where apartment buildings were darkened and not even a dog-walker could be seen on the sidewalk.

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  'Yellow vest' protests: Macron to address nation as crisis roils France

  The Telegraph
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  French govt bristles as foreign leaders seize on 'yellow vest' crisis

  AFP

Neon sea creatures light up ocean with vibrant colors

In what looked like a scene from Avatar.(Photo: Simon Pierce/Caters News) Incredible neon sea creatures have been captured lighting up the ocean with their vibrant colors – in what looked like a scene from Avatar. Photographer Simon Pierce, 39, took the

33 Funny Tweets About Christmas Tree Struggles, From Exhausted Parents

The holiday season can be a trying time. Parents in particular face the stress of sending out picture-perfect holiday cards, attending school concerts, taking a halfway decent Santa photo, remembering to move that damn Elf on the Shelf, getting all the

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  The surprising reason a primary school principal banned candy canes

  Yahoo7 News
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  The 15 best Christmas cracker jokes of 2018, including gags about Trump, Theresa May and Meghan Markle

  The Independent

Volkswagen restores cancer worker's 350,000-mile Beetle

Kathleen Brooks purchased her first Volkswagen Beetle in December of 1966. Collecting a red 1967 model from Riverside, California, the Bug was affectionately dubbed ‘Annie’ by all those who sailed in her. A true enthusiast, Kathleen used Annie as daily transportation for 51 years, racking up an impressive 350,000 miles – enough the circle the globe no less than 14 times.

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  Dr. Phil’s Surprise Family Connection Found With MyHeritage DNA

  Dr Phil
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  How do you optimize for Google Discover?

  Search Engine Land

No-deal Brexit more likely amid 'confused' situation in London, France says

A costly British exit from the European Union without a negotiated deal is increasingly likely, France's European affairs minister said on Monday, after British Prime Minister Theresa May postponed a vote on a deal in the face of defeat. "We must not lose sight of the fact that despite the latest developments, a rejection of the withdrawal agreement is more and more likely," Nathalie Loiseau told lawmakers. "The risk of a no-deal exit would also be an exit that would be undoubtedly extremely costly for the United Kingdom but which would be damaging for the EU too." "Some are drawing up other scenarios and the confusion in London remains particularly strong," she added.

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  Expecting Huge Defeat, Theresa May Has Delayed a Crucial Brexit Vote

  Time
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  May Gambles Running Down Brexit Clock Will Focus Political Minds

  Bloomberg

From Tijuana to Calais, Migrant Camps Have a Serious Design Problem

To hear some U.S. government leaders talk about the migrant caravan that has traveled from Central America—mainly Honduras—up through Mexico and is now at the U.S. border at Tijuana, you'd think Americans from San Bernardino to Boston are at risk of being pillaged. As the approximately 7,000 migrants—who primarily left their homes in search of employment and to evade violence—traveled through parts of Mexico, they were greeted with humanitarian aid. Landing in Mexico City in mid-October, for example, they were offered shelter and medical care, and were allowed to board trains and buses that would help shuttle them to the next stop.

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  Border Patrol makes 32 arrests at border demonstration

  FOX News Videos
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  Dozens Arrested as Faith Leaders Hold `Love Knows No Borders` Protest at Border Wall

  KSWB - San Diego

The Best Green Monday 2018 Deals We've Seen So Far

Regret missing out on some of those Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals last month? Lucky for you, there’s still a way you can save — perhaps even more than on Cyber Weekend — when you shop today, on Green Monday.Green Monday is on the second Monday of

• Best Green Monday deals: GoPro HERO7, Kindle Paperwhite, MacBook Pro, Dyson, Bose, KitchenAid

  Mashable
• Best Green Monday 2018 laptop and tablet deals: MacBooks, iPads, Chromebooks, Amazon Fire Tablets

  Mashable

Anti-Semitic Flyers Found In Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Neighborhood: Police

Police are investigating anti-Semitic pamphlets found in Pittsburgh, including the Squirrel Hill neighborhood where a gunman killed 11 people and injured six others at a synagogue in October. “Such hate-filled material will not be tolerated in Pittsburgh ― not by residents, City officials nor Law Enforcement,” the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police said in a statement Sunday. Photos circulated online Sunday, the eighth night of Hanukkah, purporting to show the pamphlets in question.

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  Man accused of plotting large-scale attack at Ohio synagogue

  Associated Press
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  FBI Announces Arrests Of 2 People Allegedly Plotting Separate Terror Attacks In Ohio

  HuffPost

SCOTUS deals blow to two states' attempts to cut Planned Parenthood funding

The Supreme Court is avoiding a high-profile case by rejecting appeals from two states that want to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood.

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  A Veteran Supreme Court Justice Cited a Debunked Planned Parenthood Smear in an Opinion

  Esquire
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  Supreme Court Declines To Hear Planned Parenthood Defunding Case

  Refinery29

Trump on Comey's testimony to Congress: 'All lies!'

President Trump accused former FBI director James Comey on Sunday of lying during his closed-door testimony to Congress. Appearing under subpoena on Friday, Comey spoke to the House Judiciary and Oversight committees about the Justice Department’s handling of investigations into the 2016 presidential election. Released on Saturday, the transcripts show that Comey, who had told reporters the conversation “will bore you,” frequently said he could not remember certain facts or details.

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  James Comey: If Trump Weren't President He'd Be 'In Serious Jeopardy' Over Cohen

  HuffPost
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  Comey: Impeaching Trump Let’s Country Off the Hook

  Meredith Videos

An '(Unintentional) Grinch' Tried To Ban Christmas From The Classroom

Speaking to a spokeswoman for the school district, CNN reports Sinclair had been placed on administrative leave as of last Thursday. “Principal Sinclair was in her first year as an employee at Elkhorn Public Schools,” she said.

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  Seamless For Christmas Trees Now Exists

  House Beautiful
• 11 festive holiday light shows you can watch without leaving the house

  Mashable

GoPro to move U.S.-bound camera production out of China

The company had previously said it was being "very proactive" about the situation regarding tariffs as U.S. and China ramped up its bitter trade war, in which both nations have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other's imports. GoPro said international-bound camera production will remain in China. In the company's earnings call in November, GoPro said it had the option to move U.S.-bound production out of China in the first half of 2019, if necessary.

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  Tech stocks lead Wall Street higher on China-U.S. trade talk progress

  Reuters
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  China’s November Trade Data Reconfirms Slowdown Fears

  Market Realist

The 12 Cars We’re Most Excited to Drive in 2019

It’s not only about about Porsche's first fully electric vehicle—there will be some other major cars you need to keep on your radar

Yemen peace talks in Sweden focus on prisoner swap deal

Yemen's warring parties met Sunday for the fourth day of U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Sweden to try to hammer out details of a prisoner exchange, which could eventually include all prisoners held by both sides in the four-year civil war. Yemen's conflict pits the Iran-backed Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, against the internationally recognized government supported by a U.S.-sponsored Saudi-led coalition. "We are progressing toward implementation, how to swiftly group together the prisoners," said Askar Zouail, from the government delegation.

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  Yemen's warring parties exchange prisoner lists, talks focus on Hodeidah

  Reuters
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  UN pushes 'de-escalation' in key port, besieged city at Yemen talks

  AFP

30 Tweets You'll Find Extra Funny If You're Married

Getting married is easy, but staying married can be hard work. If you and your partner are able to laugh things off, it’ll be easier to stay the course when the road gets bumpy. Whether it’s poking fun at your wife’s ice-cold feet or playfully ribbing

Former beauty queen sent nude pictures to 15-year-old student on Snapchat, police say

A former beauty pageant queen is facing up to 20 years in prison after allegedly sending nude photographs of herself to a 15-year-old boy. Ramsey Bearse, now a teacher at Andrew Jackson Middle School outside Charleston, West Virginia, was arrested and charged with distribution or display of obscene matter to minors after allegedly sending the lewd images to the former student. According to the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, Ms Bearse sent the teenager at least four topless photos using multimedia messaging app Snapchat over a period of three months.

11 Useful Gifts For The Person Who Can't Cook To Save Their Life

Maybe they are a college student who’s never had to cook before, or maybe they’ve been trying to learn, but just can’t seem to get the hang of it. Get them an Instant Pot that can do most of the cooking for them, or signing them up for a meal kit subscription like Blue Apron that will send everything they need to cook a week’s worth of meals right to their door. 3 An instant pot that can do the cooking for them.

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  Why Blue Apron Stock Lost 18% Last Month

  Motley Fool
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  The Best Work Aprons for Taking on Any Project

  Popular Mechanics

Good Samaritan who trains police officers and military personnel blocks suspects in police chase

A man who trains police officers and military personnel says he helped end a chase that caused several crashes.

Marco Rubio: Pardoning Paul Manafort would be a 'terrible mistake'

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said it would be a serious mistake for President Trump to pardon his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. In court documents filed Friday evening, special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of possible Russian interference in the 2016 election accused Paul Manafort of lying to them about his contact with senior officials from the Trump administration while under indictment.

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  The Cost of the Mueller Investigation — See Who Actually Made Money on It

  GOBankingRates
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  Talks of impeachment rises among Democrats in wake of federal court filings

  ABC News Videos

Photos from Our Prototype Drive of the 2020 Volkswagen Passat

A low-effort update fails to wake up the seven-year-old Passat.From Car and Driver

Britain's May will seek further assurances from EU on Brexit backstop

Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday she would do all she could to secure further assurances from the European Union on the so-called backstop arrangement in the Brexit deal that has angered so many across parliament. Announcing that she would delay a vote on her agreement with the EU she looked set to lose, May told lawmakers if they wanted an alternative arrangement with the bloc, they must be honest about the downsides of the other options - a second referendum, continued single market membership and a no deal Brexit. "Does this house want to deliver Brexit?" May said.

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  Pound extends slump to 20-month lows after May delays Brexit deal

  Reuters
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  New Brexit vote will be before Jan. 21: UK PM May's spokesman

  Reuters

I Drove Drunk And It Cost 6 People Their Lives. Here's How My Own Life Changed Forever.

On Nov. 1, 2003, I was involved in a drinking and driving accident. I cost six people their lives ― six good people. I seriously injured two others. I didn’t even think I was drunk, which I know sounds ridiculous, but I was drinking a lot in those days