- NewsYahoo News Photo Staff
Meet the lawyer at the center of the Trump universe
When President Trump last month issued his latest intervention by tweet in a war crimes case involving a Navy SEAL, it capped what had already been an extraordinary exercise of executive powers in military justice. This wasn't the first time Trump moved to protect Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, who was accused of murdering an Iraqi teenager allegedly affiliated with ISIS, and ultimately found guilty of a lesser charge that involved posing with the boy's corpse. Trump previously required the military to move Gallagher to less restrictive confinement, rescinded awards given to the prosecutors for their work on the case, and restored Gallagher's rank after the military court reduced it.
- NewsReuters
Boston's trauma to be dissected as marathon bomber appeals death sentence
This city's deepest wound - the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings that killed three and injured hundreds more - will be re-examined Thursday when lawyers for bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev seek to have his death sentence lifted because the jury pool was too traumatized to render a fair verdict. The then-19-year old Tsarnaev and his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan sparked five days of panic in Boston that began April 15, 2013, when they detonated a pair of homemade pressure cooker bombs at the race's packed finish line. The pair eluded capture for days, punctuated by a gunbattle with police in Watertown that killed Tamerlan and led to a daylong lockdown of Boston and most of its suburbs while heavily armed officers and troops conducted a house-to-house search for Dzhokhar.
- WorldAssociated Press
Syria's Assad: OPCW faked a report on attack near Damascus
Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview aired Monday that the global chemical weapons watchdog has faked and falsified a report over an attack near the capital Damascus last year "just because the Americans wanted them to do so." Assad's comments to Italy's Rai News 24 came after the director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons expressed confidence in the report into the deadly attack in Syria. OPCW's chief Fernando Arias supported the report issued in March by a fact-finding mission from the watchdog that found "reasonable grounds" that chlorine was used in a deadly attack on the eastern Damascus suburb of Douma.
- 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
Think America Is Safe? A Nuclear ICBM Could Destroy Us In Half An Hour
When the documentary was first released in 2007, and then updated in 2016, the idea of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile being able to reach the entire United States remained a fearful yet still unrealized possibility. Now that North Korea has signaled its intention to continue developing long-range ballistic missiles capable of threatening the U.S. with nuclear warheads, it is all the more important for the Trump administration's Ballistic Missile Defense Review to fund comprehensive missile defense.
- NewsThe Guardian
'An outright lie': Ohio lawmaker shown to be linked to group pushing rightwing Christian bills
An Ohio legislator who said he had “no knowledge” of a rightwing Christian bill mill called Project Blitz is, in fact, the co-chair of the state branch of an organization behind the campaign. The Ohio state representative Timothy Ginter sponsored a bill called the Student Religious Liberties Act. The Guardian revealed the bill was nearly identical to one promoted by Project Blitz, a state legislative project guided by three Christian right organizations, including the Congressional Prayer Caucus (CPC), WallBuilders and the ProFamily Legislators Conference.
- NewsThe Independent
Passenger stung by scorpion which fell out of her trousers during United Airlines flight
A woman was stung by a scorpion which climbed up her trouser leg during a United Airlines flight. The passenger was attacked by the eight-legged arachnid while travelling from San Francisco to Atlanta. She told the TMZ website she started to feel a stinging sensation on her leg after the plane took off on Thursday morning.
CelebrityUSA TODAYElizabeth Smart's dad, Ed, in first interview since coming out as gay: 'There is no cure'
Seventeen years after his daughter Elizabeth's high-profile kidnapping and rescue, Ed Smart spoke Monday of his struggle to come out as a gay man. There is no cure. This is absolutely not a choice," Smart said, sobbing in an interview with Gayle King on "CBS This Morning."
- BusinessBusiness Insider
One of the world's largest basic-income trials, a 2-year program in Finland, was a major flop. But experts say the test was flawed.
In 2017, Finland became the first European country to test a government-backed unconditional basic income, which gave people a regular stipend with no strings attached. Two years after Finland launched a basic-income trial in which nearly 2,000 unemployed residents were given a regular monthly stipend, many of the recipients remained jobless. The people reported that they were happier and healthier overall than other unemployed residents, but the experiment was widely declared a failure.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Chris Wallace: DOJ IG Report ‘Didn’t Find the Things’ Trump and Barr Think It Did
Shortly after the Department of Justice's inspector general reported there was no political bias, and that the FBI had sufficient evidence to launch the Russia probe on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said the real headline should be that the top watchdog “didn't find the things” that President Trump and Attorney General William Barr have long alleged. Minutes following Monday's release of the report, and after other Fox News personalities had already spun the results in a pro-Trump fashion, Wallace explained his view of the findings as “a reporter” and not as a partisan pundit.
- WorldReuters
Russia tells UK court Ukraine should be forced to pay debt despite disputes
LONDON/KIEV (Reuters) - Russia told Britain's Supreme Court on Monday that Ukraine should not be allowed to use geopolitical arguments to dispute billions of dollars in debt, after Kiev argued it had been forced to borrow the money from Moscow. The case, being decided in London because the debt was structured as a $3 billion Eurobond under English law, could see British courts rule on some of the most contentious issues in the Russia-Ukraine feud that has divided Moscow from the West. After his fall, Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and backed separatists in a war that has killed 13,000 people and brought Western sanctions against Moscow.
- NewsThe New York Times
'I Got Tired of Hunting Black and Hispanic People'
At a police station tucked into an end-of-the-line subway terminal in South Brooklyn, the new commander instructed officers to think of white and Asian people as “soft targets” and urged them to instead go after blacks and Latinos for minor offenses like jumping the turnstile, a half-dozen officers said in sworn statements. The commander, Constantin Tsachas, was in charge of more than 100 officers who patrolled a swath of the subway system in Brooklyn, his first major command. Since then, he has been promoted to the second-in-command of policing the subway system throughout Brooklyn.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoSaudi who killed 3 sailors was infuriated by ‘Pornstache’ nickname
The Saudi air force trainee who killed three sailors at a U.S. Navy base last week reportedly made an official complaint about being called “Pornstache” by one of his instructors.
- BusinessBloomberg
Elizabeth Warren Made $1.9 Million as Bankruptcy Lawyer Over 24 Years
Elizabeth Warren on Sunday said she made about $1.9 million working as a bankruptcy lawyer over three decades, a disclosure that comes after requests from the media and Pete Buttigieg for her to release her tax returns. Warren had previously released the names of the clients and cases she took on during her tenure as a professor at Harvard and other law schools, as well as 11 years of tax returns, dating back to 2008. The documents released Sunday cover her compensation between 1985 and 2009, but don't include tax returns.
- WorldThe National Interest
The Russian Navy Has Some Problems
The Russia fleet in 2019 will take delivery of 23 new surface vessels, two new submarines and three new aircraft, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced. As such, 2019 continues the Russian fleet's long-term trend toward fewer and smaller ships. “We have paid and will pay the closest attention to the technical re-equipment of the armed forces, including, of course, the modernization of the Russian navy,” Putin said at a Dec. 3, 2019 meeting of top military and industry officials.
- LifestylePopular Mechanics
The 25 Best Tower Defense Games
Build those structures. Keep them from harm. Collect that loot.
- BusinessAssociated Press
GM lending $40M to startup company buying closed Ohio plant
General Motors has agreed to loan $40 million to a newly formed company that wants to make electric pickup trucks at a massive Ohio assembly plant GM shut down earlier this year. The agreement between the two companies also would allow GM to buy back the plant up until next May, documents filed last week show. Lordstown Motors Corp. announced a month ago that it had bought the the once-bustling factory near Youngstown that made the Chevrolet Cruze up until last March.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Isil 'matchmaker' who lured British teen bride to Syria is deported to France
Turkey has deported to France the “Islamic State matchmaker” who lured a British teen bride to Syria as part of a drive to send foreign fighters back to their countries of origin. Tooba Gondal, 25, is among 11 French nationals that Turkey repatriated early on Monday, according to France's Centre for Analysis of Terrorism, CAT, citing official sources. A French judicial source confirmed that four women and their seven children had arrived in France.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
'S--- just got real': DOJ watchdog uncovers pro-Trump text messages between FBI agents after 2016 election
The Justice Department's watchdog said it uncovered a series of text messages between two FBI agents cheerleading President Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 election. The texts were revealed in the inspector general Michael Horowitz's highly anticipated report on the origins of the FBI's Russia investigation. The report, published Monday, debunked many of Trump's conspiracy theories about anti-Trump bias among top brass at the FBI and the Justice Department.
- NewsReuters
U.S. Supreme Court rejects inmate's bid for sex reassignment surgery
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal by a convicted murderer who filed a civil rights lawsuit because Texas prison officials denied her request to be considered for gender reassignment surgery. The justices let stand a lower court's decision to reject the claim by inmate Vanessa Lynn Gibson that denying the surgery request violated the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Gibson, 41, who is transgender and also goes by the name Scott in court papers, was assigned male at birth and has lived as a female since age 15.
WorldAFPScreams and goodbyes as scores die in devastating India factory fire
At least 43 people were killed Sunday in a devastating fire that ripped through a bag factory in the congested old quarter of the Indian capital New Delhi, with survivors describing the screams of workers trapped inside. The blaze was the worst in Delhi since 59 movie-goers died in a cinema in 1997. The cause of the blaze is not yet known, but the city's poor planning and lax enforcement of building and safety codes have often been blamed for such deadly incidents.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Milo, the cat who went missing at Dulles airport in October, is reunited with owner
When Milo's crate was moved from the tarmac at Dulles International Airport to the international arrivals baggage claim area on Oct. 3, it was damaged, and Milo wasn't in it. On Friday, Milo's owner, Molly McFadden, returned to Facebook to share the good news: "I have been waiting so long to make this post and couldn't be more excited about it - guess who's home for the holidays!!! I am so thankful to the Dulles Airport USDA and all the team that helped look for him."
- BusinessBloomberg
Saudi Arabia Tightens Purse Strings But Aramco Cash Beckons
With output curbs negotiated by OPEC still a drag on the world's biggest crude exporter, Saudi Arabia is expecting its sixth consecutive deficit to widen next year. Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said in an interview that Saudi Arabia would tap both the international and local bond markets in 2020 to help finance a budget shortfall that is expected to reach 6.4% of gross domestic product from 4.7% this year. How Aramco's record initial public offering will affect the biggest Arab economy in 2020 remains among the biggest questions hanging over its annual budget.
- WorldThe National Interest
China's Plan for 6 Aircraft Carriers Just 'Sank'
China reportedly is slowing its plan to acquire two aircraft carriers for each of its regional fleets. Instead of speeding ahead with the development of a six-carrier fleet -- two each for the northern, eastern and southern fleets -- the Chinese navy could stop after acquiring flattop number four. “Plans for a fifth [carrier] have been put on hold for now, according to military insiders,” the Hong Kong South China Morning Post reported.
- BusinessThe Daily Beast
Elizabeth Warren Built the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It Became a Revolving Door.
Nearly half of the senior officials—nine out of the 21—mentioned in that report would go on to work in financial services, or for law or consulting firms with expertise and clientele in the sector, after their tenure at the CFPB. Roberto Gonzalez, for instance, served as the agency's deputy general counsel before becoming a partner at the law firm Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP. He “represents financial institutions and other companies in high-stakes litigation, investigations and advisory matters,” according to the law firm's website, which boasts that he helped “a major U.S. bank in connection with a favorable settlement with the CFPB.
