- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump rips his own FBI director for agreeing with IG report
President Trump on Tuesday lashed out at Christopher Wray after the FBI director — whom he handpicked after firing James Comey — agreed with the conclusions of the Justice Department inspector general report that the FBI's Russia probe was justified and not politically biased. I don't know what report current Director of the FBI Christopher Wray was reading, but it sure wasn't the one given to me,” Trump tweeted. With that kind of attitude, he will never be able to fix the FBI, which is badly broken despite having some of the greatest men & women working there!
- NewsAssociated Press
Corruption allegations long dogged ex-Mexico security chief
Mexico's former security chief was dogged by so many allegations of corruption and wrongdoing for so long that some said it was only a matter of time before he would be arrested. What amazed some was that it took so long, and that Genaro García Luna's arrest this week came on U.S. soil rather than in Mexico. García Luna, 51, who left the security post nearly a decade ago, was charged in federal court in New York with three counts of trafficking cocaine and one count of making false statements.
- 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.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 1-Iran foreign ministry issues travel advisory for citizens not to visit America
Iran warned its citizens, particularly scientists, on Tuesday not to visit America, saying Iranians there were subjected to arbitrary and lengthy detention in inhuman conditions. "Iranian citizens, particularly elites and scientists, are requested to seriously avoid traveling to America, even to take part in scientific conferences and even having an invitation," a travel advisory on the foreign ministry website said. It cited, "America's cruel and one-sided laws toward Iranians, especially Iranian elites, and arbitrary and lengthy detention in completely inhuman conditions" as reasons for the travel advisory.
- WorldThe National Interest
Remember When Russian Diesel Submarines Chased Down A British Nuclear Sub?
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. The British sub did not fire its Tomahawks during last week's strike by American, British and French forces against Syrian chemical weapons sites, leading to speculation that the British boat was driven off by the Russian subs.
- 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.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Pro-Trump Network OAN Tried to Get This Ukrainian Millionaire a Visa Before His Arrest
Before catching the eye of German law enforcement, former Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksandr Onyshchenko drew attention from the conservative TV channel One America News. Before his arrest, though, the Trump-friendly media outlet tried to help him get a visa to travel to the U.S. The effort, which has not been previously reported, was part of a push by OAN to unearth information on Burisma Holdings, the energy company that retained Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President and current Trump rival Joe Biden.
- SciencePopular Mechanics
How Saturn Cracked Open Enceladus's Icy Surface
Scientists have discovered how the four famed fissures on Saturn's moon, Enceladus, formed. The largest of the “tiger stripes” formed due to gravitational pressure exerted on the moon's poles, according to a paper published December 9 in Nature Astronomy. The other three fissures formed soon after, as pressure on nearby ice built up.
- BusinessPopular Mechanics
The Best War Movies on Netflix
For when only a war film will do. From Popular Mechanics
- PoliticsTime
Exclusive: Top Ukraine Official Andriy Yermak Casts Doubt on Key Impeachment Testimony
Listen, I want to tell you straight,” Yermak told TIME in the interview on Dec. 4, the first time he has openly discussed his views on the public impeachment hearings. Of course, now, when I watch these shows on television, my name often comes up, and I see people there whom I recognize, whom I met and know,” he says, referring to the witness testimony. That is their personal opinion, especially the positions they expressed while under oath.
- NewsAssociated Press
Court to hear resentencing bid in Arizona death penalty case
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal Wednesday by an Arizona death row inmate who is seeking a new sentencing trial, arguing the horrific physical abuse that he suffered as a child wasn't fully considered when he was first sentenced. The appeal of James Erin McKinney could affect as many as 15 of Arizona's 104 death row inmates. Attorneys say the Arizona courts used an unconstitutional test in examining the mitigating factors considered during the sentencing trials of the inmates.
- ScienceBusiness Insider
Greenland's ice is melting 7 times faster than it did in the early 90s — suggesting scientists' worst-case predictions may come true
Caspar Haarloev from "Into the Ice" documentary via Reuters The Greenland ice sheet is melting seven times faster than it was in 1992 — an increase that's even greater than scientists expected. According to a new study, Greenland has lost more than 4.2 trillion tons of ice in the last quarter-century, which raised global sea levels 0.4 inches. The melt rate is expected to increase, especially during years like this one, since a heatwave in July caused Greenland's ice sheet to lose 55 billion tons in just five days.
- 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
Marijuana Allegations Brings Call for Probe Into Serb President
A top aide of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic requested an investigation into his boss and his brother in a bid to clear them from opposition-led allegations that they're linked to an illegal marijuana farm. Opposition parties are struggling to make a dent in the dominant position of Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party as the Balkan state heads into general elections next spring. His opponents have led sporadic street rallies over the last year to protest against what they say is an autocratic style of governing that stifles media freedom and opens deals to businessmen allies.
WorldAFPUS tightens sanctions on Myanmar army chief
The United States on Tuesday stiffened sanctions against Myanmar's army chief over the mass killings of Rohingya, as his country defended itself against genocide charges before the top UN court. The United States in July banned military chief Min Aung Hlaing from visiting, but Tuesday's move goes further by freezing any US assets and criminalizing financial transactions with him by anyone in the United States. The Treasury Department imposed the same sanctions on three other senior Myanmar commanders, as well as 14 individuals from other countries, to observe International Human Rights Day.
- NewsThe New York Times
5-Year-Old Carries Baby in Subzero Cold After They Are Abandoned, Police Say
A 5-year-old, wearing just socks and light clothing, carried an 18-month-old through subzero temperatures in the Yukon Flats of Alaska after the power went out at the home where they had been left alone, according to the authorities. The power failure scared the older child, who then carried the baby to a home about half a mile away in Venetie, Alaska, Tuesday, the Alaska State Department of Public Safety said in a statement Friday. The children are expected to make a full recovery, Ken Marsh, a department spokesman, said Sunday.
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.
- WorldThe National Interest
Missile Race: Does America or China Dominate the South China Sea?
Key point: In an actual war, both Washington and Beijing would employ their conventional missile arsenals to sink each other's ships. The Chinese military lobbed anti-ship ballistic missiles into the South China Sea in tests in early July 2019. The missile trials underscored Beijing's increasing militarization of resource-rich waters on which several countries have conflicting claims.
- 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...
- NewsAssociated Press
2 St. Louis police officers fired over Facebook posts
Two of nearly two dozen St. Louis police officers accused this summer by a watchdog group of posting objectionable Facebook messages have been fired. Sgt. Ronald Hasty and Detective Thomas Mabrey are appealing, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Their attorney, Brian Millikan, said the posts were made as private citizens and did not violate any city or police policy.
- WorldUSA TODAY
Newlyweds burned by volcanic eruption on New Zealand honeymoon cruise
A Virginia couple who were on their honeymoon in New Zealand are among those severely injured after a volcano violently erupted Monday. The newlyweds, Lauren and Matt Urey of Richmond, were touring the White Island volcano on the Royal Caribbean cruise Ovation of the Seas, according to WTVR-TV. Lauren's mother, Barbara Barham, told The Washington Post while leaving Virginia to New Zealand that she had no idea what happened until Royal Caribbean called her a little after midnight Eastern time on Monday.
- 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.
- WorldBloomberg
Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Camp Wins Big in Accountant Election
In a vote for seats on the council of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, all six pro-democracy candidates running won against a mix of pro-government and independent opponents. The vote followed a broader citywide election late last month, which saw pro-democracy candidates secure a landslide win. The politicized battle over seats on even an accounting board underscores how the polarization is deepening in Hong Kong amid mounting protests against China's grip on the city.
WorldAFPRussian court sentences 11 for Saint Petersburg bombing
A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced 11 people to terms including life in prison after finding them guilty of a deadly bomb attack on the Saint Petersburg metro in 2017. Abror Azimov, a 29-year-old from Kyrgyzstan, was sentenced by a military court in Russia's second biggest city to life in prison for organising and participating in a terrorist group. The bomb blast in April 2017 killed 15 people in the Saint Petersburg metro and wounded dozens more.
- PoliticsNational Review
Representative Ted Yoho Becomes the 23rd House Republican to Announce Retirement
Representative Ted Yoho of Florida announced Tuesday that he will step down after completing his fourth term, joining the wave of House Republicans who have opted against running for reelection in 2020. Yoho had promised to serve no more than four terms in Congress. I ran on a pledge to serve four terms — eight years and come home,” Yoho said in his announcement.
