- NewsAssociated Press
Virginia gun rights activists vow to fight new restrictions
Those who attended the rally said such gun-control measures would do little to reduce mass shootings and other crimes, but instead would punish responsible gun owners. "Hands off our guns, hands off our rights, and hands off our guns," said Bob Good, a member of the Campbell County Board of Supervisors. Good said he hoped the rally would send a message to Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam and state lawmakers to stop them from passing laws with “unconstitutional gun restrictions.
- 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.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
‘No More Survivors Expected’ Among Dozens of Tourists Caught in New Zealand Volcano
At least five people have died and more than 20 are still unaccounted for after the White Island/Whakaari volcano off the coast of New Zealand erupted without warning Monday as tourists hiked around the rim and walked inside the crater. Authorities say an estimated 30 to 38 of those on the island when the volcano erupted were on an adventure excursion from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that was docked on North Island about 30 miles away. In a statement just after midnight local time, police officials said they feared the worst for those still on the island.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Barr warned Trump for months that Rudy Giuliani was becoming a liability, but the president ignored him because he loves Giuliani's fiery media appearances
AP Photo/Seth Wenig Attorney General William Barr has reportedly warned President Donald Trump that his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is becoming a liability, sources told The Washington Post. Giuliani's role in seeking announcements from Ukraine about two criminal investigations that Democrats allege would have benefitted the president politically is one of the chief focuses of the House impeachment probe. Giuliani has denied any claims of wrongdoing in either his work in his efforts to secure the Ukraine investigations, claiming he was simply acting in defense of his client, Trump.
- HealthINSIDER
A formerly vegan influencer followed the meat-only carnivore diet for 30 days and her fans are not happy
YouTube/Alyse Parker A formerly vegan influencer followed the carnivore diet for 30 days and documented her experience on YouTube. Alyse Parker, from Connecticut, was vegan for nearly five years before reintroducing animal products to her diet in early 2019. But she recently went one step further and ate only meat, fish, eggs, and some dairy for a month, which she says gave her "mental clarity."
- CelebrityThe New York Times
Katie Hill: It's Not Over After All
On Nov. 6, 2018, I was elected to Congress; at 31, I was one of the youngest women ever elected to the House of Representatives. One year later, I was sitting on a train to New York to meet with my lawyers about suing The Daily Mail for cyber exploitation — and I was no longer a member of Congress. It was the first time I had spoken publicly since my relationship with a campaign staffer was exposed, since naked photos of me — taken without my knowledge and distributed without my consent — had been posted online, since wild accusations from my estranged husband about a supposed affair with a congressional staffer (which I have repeatedly denied), since I had resigned my hard-fought seat in Congress.
- WorldThe National Interest
Remember When Russian Diesel Submarines Chased Down A British Nuclear Sub?
Key Point: We'll probably never know what happened. Russian diesel subs chased a British nuclear sub off the Syrian coast, according to British media. The incident reportedly involved one or two Russian Kilo-class diesel-powered submarines, which have been dubbed the "Black Hole" by Western navies because they are remarkably quiet.
- WorldUSA TODAY
'It was beautiful': Acupuncturists help migrants stranded at Mexico border deal with stress
For months, Carlos Lopez's mind has been endlessly spinning with the fears and anxiety of leaving his home country of Honduras, traveling 1,700 miles with his 13-year-old son to this Mexican border town and the day-to-day survival of living in a squalid tent city. “All the bad thoughts went away,” Lopez, 41, said, as he emerged from his 45-minute-long acupuncture session. Lopez is one of a growing number of migrants stuck on the border under President Donald Trump's Migration Protection Protocols policy – which sends migrants to Mexican border towns to await their immigration court hearing in the U.S. To help the migrants pass the time and deal with stress, teams of volunteers led by Acupuncturists Without Borders, or AWB, a nonprofit that treats people in disaster zones and refugee camps and trains other acupuncturists around the world, are providing Lopez and others with free acupuncture treatment at border towns in Mexico.
- LifestylePopular Mechanics
The 25 Best Tower Defense Games
Build those structures. Keep them from harm. Collect that loot.
- WorldAssociated Press
Finland's new young female prime minister breaks the mold
Finland's next government is breaking the mold in multiple ways. Sanna Marin, the 34-year-old transport minister, was tapped over the weekend by the ruling Social Democratic Party to be Finland's new prime minister. When she takes the reins of the country, most likely on Tuesday, she will become the world's youngest sitting head of government.
- NewsThe Independent
Man wearing reindeer slippers tips woman out of wheelchair on train as he tries to steal it
A man has been arrested after a would-be thief tipped a woman out of her wheelchair on a train and attempted to steal it. CCTV footage of the incident shows a man dressed in a red jacket and reindeer slippers, who lept out of his seat and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair as the train approached a station. The woman sitting in the chair can be seen desperately grabbing onto the railings inside the carriage as the attacker attempts to steer her out of the open doors.
WorldYahoo News Video'Old man' Trump is 'bluffing,' says North Korea: KCNA news agency
North Korea on Monday accused President Trump of “bluffing” and called him “an old man bereft of patience” as Pyongyang ramps up pressure on Washington over stalled nuclear talks.
- NewsReuters
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Arizona opioid case against Purdue, Sackler family
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a novel case by Arizona seeking to recover billions of dollars that the state has said that members of the Sackler family - owners of Purdue Pharma LP - funneled out of the OxyContin maker before the company filed for bankruptcy in September. The justices declined to take the rare step of allowing Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich to pursue a case directly with the Supreme Court on the role the drugmaker played in the U.S. opioid epidemic that has killed tens of thousands of Americans annually in recent years. The lawsuit accused eight Sackler family members of funneling $4 billion out of Purdue from 2008 to 2016 despite being aware that the company faced massive potential liabilities over its marketing of opioid medications.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Mysterious automated calls, vanished relatives, and sinister Facebook comments: How China intimidates Uighurs who don't even live in the country
OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images China is waging a widespread, coordinated mass crackdown on its Uighur Muslim minority. Though the brutal campaign is most active in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, the Uighurs' homeland, many Uighurs abroad say they have also been targeted by Chinese agents. Members of the Uighur diaspora described receiving mysterious automated calls, eerie Facebook comments, and being threatened by Mandarin Chinese speakers in real life.
WorldAFPNo more survivors on New Zealand island after volcano eruption
New Zealand police have said no more survivors were expected to be rescued from an island volcano that erupted suddenly on Monday, suggesting as many as two dozen people could have died. Police said some 50 people were visiting White Island when it exploded in the early afternoon -- hurling ash and rock high into the air. Some 23 people made it off the island, five of whom have since died, the rest were being treated for injuries, including severe burns.
- 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.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
‘Toxic’ Mueller Impeachment Article Threatens to Split Dems
Even though over half of the Democratic caucus was publicly supportive of impeachment before the Ukraine story emerged, the moderate and purple-district lawmakers who won them the majority dismissed a Mueller-based impeachment drive as political suicide. Now, Democratic leadership and lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee—the panel that led House Democrats' charge on all things Mueller—are weighing whether to weave that thread into articles of impeachment. Few on Capitol Hill predict this will be a fight that tears the party apart, but strong views on the subject abide, and lawmakers on both ends of the debate are anxiously bracing for a decision that amounts to something like a final j...
- PoliticsBloomberg
Rick Gates Seeks to Avoid Jail at Sentencing for Conspiracy
Former Trump campaign official Rick Gates asked a judge to spare him from prison, put him on probation and order him to do community service for his crimes of conspiracy and lying to federal investigators. In a court filing Monday, Gates said he has accepted responsibility “in every way possible. He's scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington on Dec. 17.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- BusinessUSA TODAY Opinion
Rejecting Michael Bloomberg just because he's worth billions of dollars makes no sense
If the rich are indeed "different from you and me," as F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, it would certainly not be in a good way by the standards of the Democratic Party's progressive wing. One candidate for the party's 2020 presidential nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is hawking "Billionaires should not exist" bumper stickers. Another, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, is selling $25 coffee mugs bearing the words "Billionaire tears," in a nod to the ultrarich angst over her plan to tax wealth.
WorldAFPSweden to prosecute ex-China envoy over Gui meetings
Sweden's former envoy to Beijing is to go on trial for overstepping her duties by trying to negotiate the release of a Chinese-Swedish dissident held in China, prosecutors in Stockholm said Monday. Anna Lindstedt is accused of brokering an unauthorised meeting during her time as ambassador to get publisher Gui Minhai freed, a statement from the prosecutor's office said. Gui Minhai, a Chinese-born Swedish citizen known for publishing gossipy titles about Chinese political leaders out of a Hong Kong book shop, disappeared while vacationing in Thailand in 2015 before resurfacing in mainland China.
- WorldThe National Interest
It Looks Like a B-2 Bomber: Here Comes Russia's Okhotnik Stealth Drone
Key point: Russia is exhibiting a variety of advanced, air-worthy platforms. The Russian air force's first stealth fighter has flown in close formation with its first armed, stealth drone, possibly indicating that the two types might fly and fight together in the future. The Okhotnik unmanned aerial vehicle made its first joint flight with an Su-57 manned fighter, the Russian defense ministry announced on Sept. 27, 2019.
