On an upswing, the Pete Buttigieg show rolls through New Hampshire

Earlier this week, Pete Buttigieg traveled more than 100 miles through the Granite State on a bus emblazoned with his name and packed with over a dozen journalists. It's a spectacle that hasn't been seen in recent presidential races, but it's part of a freewheeling strategy that has helped bring Buttigieg from relative obscurity to the top of the Democratic primary field. As the bus headed toward Buttigieg's third event of the day in Rochester, N.H., on Monday, news broke that a Quinnipiac University poll was showing the South Bend, Ind., mayor in third place in the state, just 1 percentage point behind Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

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  Black South Carolinians Say Buttigieg Campaign Misleadingly Touted Their Support

  HuffPost
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  Can Pete Buttigieg win the presidency?

  Yahoo News 360

NATO ally expels undercover Russian spy 

WASHINGTON — On Oct. 30, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry delivered a rare warning to a Russian diplomat stationed in Sofia, the capital: Leave the country within 24 hours. The expelled diplomat, Vladimir Anatolyevich Rusyaev is affiliated with the Russian military intelligence service, or the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly known as the GRU, according to a Western intelligence source. The intelligence source provided Yahoo News with a document describing Rusyaev's career history, including a current photograph.

Michael Bloomberg issues first apology for 'stop and frisk' policy ahead of presidential bid

Michael Bloomberg has apologised for his endorsement of the stop and frisk policy utilised by police under his tenure as Mayor of New York. Mr Bloomberg has spoken negatively of the initiative for the first time, ahead of a potential bid for the presidency. Now Mr Bloomberg has said he considers it to be a blight on his record – despite defending its use earlier this year as having brought down the crime rate in the city.

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  Bloomberg admits he was wrong, apologizes for 'stop and frisk' - NY Times

  Reuters
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  Bloomberg sorry for 'stop and frisk' as he mulls presidential bid

  AFP

French interior minister blames protest violence on 'thugs'

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner blamed "thugs" and "bullies" on Sunday for the violence that hit demonstrations the previous day marking marked the first anniversary of the anti-government "yellow vest" protests. "Yesterday, what we saw were few (legitimate) demonstrators but thugs, bullies and morons," Castaner told Europe 1 radio when asked about the violence in Paris on Saturday. Demonstrators torched cars and pelted police with stones and bottles and police fired tear gas and water cannon during the rallies to mark a year since the birth of the anti-government yellow vest movement.

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  Fires Burn in Paris on First Anniversary of Yellow Vest Protests

  Storyful
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  France’s yellow vests stage new protests for anniversary

  Associated Press

Racist, anti-Semitic incidents prompt Syracuse to halt fraternity activities; Alpha Chi Rho suspended

Syracuse University suspended one fraternity and halted social activities at all the school's fraternities for the rest of the semester after a series of racist and anti-Semitic incidents that have prompted days of protests, the school president announced Sunday. "Last night, one of our African American students reported being subjected to a verbal racial epithet from a group of students and visitors to our campus," Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a statement. Syverud's action was the latest in a series of crackdowns on fraternities across the nation and comes less than a week after San Diego State University suspended all Interfraternity Council-affiliated organizations following the death of a freshman who had attended a fraternity event.

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  Syracuse University suspends fraternity's activities after alleged racist incidents

  ABC News
• Syracuse suspends fraternity after report of racial slur

  Associated Press

China urges US to “stop flexing muscles” in South China Sea

China on Monday urged the U.S. military to “stop flexing muscles” in the disputed South China Sea, a point of persistent friction in a relationship both sides said was generally improving. A spokesman for the Chinese ministry of defense, Col. Wu Qian, told reporters in Bangkok that the South China Sea was among numerous issues discussed earlier in the day when U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper held his first face-to-face meeting with the Chinese defense minister, Gen. Wei Fenghe. The South China Sea for years has been a major point of contention between Beijing and Washington.

• UPDATE 1-China says aircraft carrier on way to S.China Sea after Taiwan passage

  Reuters
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  Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea

  Associated Press

Nuclear missile bunker: yours for less than $400k

One local newspaper described the sales listing, with calculated understatement, as a “mid-century fixer-upper”: an underground bunker built to withstand a nuclear attack, and to house the fire power to retaliate. The decommissioned nuclear silo in southern Arizona was once home to the Titan II, the largest intercontinental ballistic missile deployed by the US Air Force. The silo's owner, Rick Ellis, told the Arizona Daily Star newspaper that he was selling the property because he's “bored”.

Pope hosts meal for 1,500 poor and homeless

Pope Francis on Sunday hosted around 1,500 poor and homeless people for lunch at the Vatican, decrying indifference to poverty as the Catholic Church marked its World Day of the Poor. "My thoughts go to those who... have promoted solidarity initiatives to give concrete hope to the most disadvantaged," Pope Francis told a mass in Saint Peter's Square ahead of the lunch.

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  Catholic devotees in Thailand join choir for visit of Pope Francis

  Reuters
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  A cousin, tribal groups, Buddhists gather for the pope in Thailand

  AFP

There have been more mass shootings than days in 2019

The number of mass shootings across the U.S. thus far in 2019 has outpaced the number of days this year, according to a gun violence research group. This puts 2019 on pace to be the first year since 2016 with an average of more than one mass shooting a day. As of November 17, which is the 321st day of the year, there have been 369 mass shootings in the U.S., according to data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive (GVA), which tracks every mass shooting in the country.

We Can't Overlook Adults In The Vaping Health Epidemic

All adults (16 surveyed so far from the Philadelphia area) said they were vaping to wean themselves off of smoking. One said he had vaped cannabis but no longer did so because of concerns about lung disease, while no others admitted to THC vaping. Other vapers were also worried about lung disease but most were still actively vaping, only two said they had virtually quit vaping.

This Decision Could Be Bigger Than Impeachment

Overlooked as the nation was riveted by the opening days of the televised impeachment proceedings was an appeals court decision that started a clock ticking for the Supreme Court to finally pick a side in what Attorney General Bill Barr has called a “scorched earth, no-holds-barred war” between Congress and a president who has categorically refused to cooperate with its investigations into his misconduct. Unless the Supreme Court acts, Trump's taxes—which he has fought furiously to keep hidden since beginning his campaign for the presidency— will be turned over to Congress as soon as Wednesday. Thus, the nation will soon begin to learn whether the Supreme Court's conservative majority is, as Trump himself hopes, composed of “Trump judges” willing to side with the president in cases where lower courts have shrugged aside the president's weak arguments for stonewalling investigations into his misconduct.

Trump hosts White House screening of 'Joker'

A supervillain was inside the White House Saturday night. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz reported that President Trump hosted a showing of “Joker,” which tells the origin story of Batman's archnemesis. “Joker,” which was released in theaters in October, stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a disturbed young comedian who descends into a world of crime.

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  Trump screened Joker at the White House and liked it, aide says

  The Independent
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  Trump holds White House screening of 'Joker'

  Yahoo News Video

Chile police stopped rescue workers helping dying protester: human rights watchdog

Chile's independent human rights watchdog said on Saturday it would file a formal complaint for murder against police officers who allegedly prevented paramedics from attending a heart attack victim amid a protest Friday. Security forces firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons made it impossible for rescue workers to properly treat the victim, Chile's publicly-funded National Institute for Human Rights said. Twenty-nine year old Abel Acuna died shortly after at a nearby Santiago hospital.

Hong Kong protesters with bows, arrows battle police for control of university, dozens arrested

Hong Kong students armed with bows and arrows and hurling gasoline bombs battled police firing tear gas and blasting water cannons as escalating violence paralyzed the educational system of the beleaguered semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Late Sunday, police used loudspeakers to order the evacuation of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Many protesters stayed behind, some setting fires to block the advance of riot police.

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  Petrol Bombs Rain Down on Police Van as it Approaches Protesters

  Storyful
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  Hong Kong Police Storm University Campus Occupied by Protesters as Courts Overturn Mask Ban

  Time

Elephant dies in captivity after killing villagers

An elephant named after Osama bin Laden, the late al-Qaida leader, has died in captivity after he was captured following a massive hunt in northeastern India, officials said Sunday.

Elizabeth Warren takes risk with ad blasting billionaires

Elizabeth Warren, one of the leading Democratic presidential candidates, has stepped up her assault on billionaires -- a rallying cry popular with her base, but one that could stymie her efforts to garner wider support among US voters. The 70-year-old US senator from Massachusetts on Thursday unveiled a new ad in an appearance on CNBC, a business news network that often criticizes her, in which she takes on the ultra-rich. The one-minute campaign ad shows clips of several leading businessmen criticizing her plans for a wealth tax and predicting economic ruin if she is elected to succeed Donald Trump, a billionaire himself.

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  What do “billionaire tears” taste like?

  Quartz
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  Elizabeth Warren Comes to Taylor Swift’s Defense

  Rolling Stone

Child abuse victims should have right to sue paedophiles caught with images of them, children charities say

Child abuse victims should be given new rights to sue paedophiles caught viewing or sharing indecent images of them, children charities have said. The Children's Charities' Coalition on Internet Safety (CCCIS) called for the initiative arguing it would act as a deterrent for offenders, who now know they are unlikely to go do jail, as it could mean potentially losing their homes and pensions if caught with abuse material. The CCCIS, which represents charities such as the NSPCC and Barnardo's, said those convicted of indecent images should also face a new automatic surcharge to fund the treatment and therapy costs of victims of abuse.

Why Russian Fighter Jets Are Threatening NATO In The Baltics

Key point: Russia and NATO's military buildup in the Baltics is creating a tense situation. In the most recent illustration of ongoing Russia-NATO military tensions over Baltic airspace, recently released footage shows a Russian Su-27 fighter making a sharp turn into an American F-15C. It is unclear when the video was filmed, with some speculating that it occured during a prior NATO BAP (Baltic Air Policing) mission. When viewed in that light, this incident seems to fall into the trend of what US officials have previously described as “unsafe” Russian interceptions and “aggressive maneuvers” in high-tension airspace.

Conservative Group Fires Michelle Malkin Over Support for Holocaust Denier

A conservative group cut ties with right-wing columnist Michelle Malkin on Sunday over her support for an anti-Semitic internet personality, ramping up a growing conservative civil war centered on college campuses. Malkin's firing from Young America's Foundation, whose speakers bureau had booked Malkin for speeches across the country for the past 17 years, marks the latest battle between supporters of Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and more establishment conservative figures. Michelle Malkin in no longer part of YAF's campus lecture program,” a YAF spokesman said in an email to The Daily Beast.

John Oliver Says If You Want to Irritate Donald Trump, Fill Out the 2020 Census

Census data helps determine Congressional representation and used as a basis to distribute federal funds and businesses use census data to decide where to open new branches. Despite that important function, Congress has reportedly underfunded the census and, according to Oliver, the 2020 census is shaping up to be more complicated than usual due to budget shortfalls and active Republican meddling, including attempting to add a citizenship question that alienated many people. If that isn't enough to get people interested in filling out the census survey, Oliver has one more idea sure to appeal to his audience: Filling out the census would probably really irritate Donald Trump.

Stents no better than drugs for many heart patients: U.S. study

Many patients with severe but stable heart disease who routinely undergo invasive procedures to clear and prop open clogged arteries would do as well by just taking medications and making lifestyle changes, U.S. researchers reported on Saturday. The $100 million government-backed study, presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) meeting in Philadelphia, is the largest yet to look at whether procedures to restore normal blood flow in patients with stable heart disease offers an added benefit over more conservative treatment with aspirin, cholesterol-lowering drugs and other measures. At least two prior studies determined that artery-clearing and stenting or bypass surgery in addition to medical treatment does not significantly lower the risk of heart attacks or death compared with non-invasive medical approaches alone.

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  Groundbreaking New Study Sheds Doubt on Many Heart Procedures

  The Daily Beast
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  New study casting doubt on conventional medical treatments of heart disease

  ABC News Videos

How to watch the Leonids meteor shower

Colorful shooting stars will soon streak across the night sky during one of the most famous annual meteor displays. The Leonids meteor shower is expected to peak Sunday night into Monday morning, November 17-18. The Leonid meteor shower occurs every year when Earth passes through a cloud of debris left behind by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.

The Latest: China says it supports Hong Kong police

China's government says it supports efforts by Hong Kong police to protect the livelihoods and safety of citizens after a weekend of clashes. “It is a handful of criminals exacting violence against regular civilians,” Geng said. Geng also criticized U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who commented on Hong Kong and the U.S.-China trade war during a visit to Houston last Friday.

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  Choreographed clean-up by Chinese soldiers divides Hong Kong opinion

  AFP
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  Hong Kong protests intensify as police dispute storming Polytechnic University amid fires, explosions

  ABC News

Chicago teachers approve 'historic' contract that ended 11-day strike

Teachers officially approved a contract deal Friday following an 11-day strike in the nation's third-largest school district last month. Teachers went on strike Oct. 17 after months of failed negotiations with Chicago Public Schools and the city.The strike idled academics, sports and college prep for about 350,000 students and their families. Members of the union's governing body voted in favor of a tentative agreement with the city on Oct. 30, bringing the strike to an end the next day.