PoliticsAssociated PressFor 76-year-old Joe Biden, age a factor as he mulls 2020 run
As he considers running for president, Joe Biden is talking with friends and longtime supporters about whether, at 76, he's too old to seek the White House, according to several sources who have spoken with the former Democratic vice president. The discussions suggest Biden is aware that his age may be the biggest hurdle to launching another bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, especially in an era when many in the party yearn for a new generation of leadership. Past and current advisers to Biden have held frequent conversations about options to alleviate concerns about age, including teaming him with a younger running mate.
- NewsThe Independent
Family of seven-year-old Guatemalan girl who died in US custody disputes official story
The family of a seven-year-old Guatemalan girl who died in Border Patrol custody is disputing claims made by US officials who said she had not eaten or consumed water for days. The parents of Jakelin Caal said the girl had been given food and water and appeared to be in good health as she travelled through Mexico with her father, 29-year-old Nery Gilberto Caal Cuz. In a statement released by lawyers, the family also said Jakelin had not spent days in the desert before she was taken into custody, as officials had claimed.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Fierce clashes in Hodeidah lead to delay of ceasefire
Fierce clashes broke out in Yemen’s crucial port city of Hodeidah on Sunday, leading UN and Yemeni officials to delay the "official" start of the hard-fought ceasefire agreed last week. Residents reported skirmishes on the outskirts of town with missiles and automatic gunfire heard near the city's eastern 7th July suburb. Unconfirmed television reports said that the Saudi-led coalition had launched two airstrikes on Ras Isa, a port north of Hodeidah.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Top Democrat Schiff Adds Call for Probe of Trump, Deutsche Bank Links
The incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee joined Democratic colleagues in questioning ties between Deutsche Bank AG and President Donald Trump’s real estate business. Representative Adam Schiff of California said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that any type of compromise needs to be investigated. That could add his panel’s scrutiny to that of Representative Maxine Waters, who’s in line to be chair of the House Financial Services Committee and has also focused on the bank’s connections to Trump.
- NewsAccuWeather
Snow, rain and wind in late-week storm to impact holiday travel
As students embark on winter break, last-minute shoppers head to the stores and holiday travel ramps up across the country later this week, a major storm could lead to widespread travel headaches in the eastern U.S. The potential exists for a storm system to track from the Gulf Coast through the Northeast at the end of the week, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Maura Kelly. This storm is expected to soak the southeastern U.S. Thursday into Friday before heading northward, bringing rounds of heavy rain to the Northeast and some wintry weather to the Midwest late this week and into the weekend.
- PoliticsHuffPost
Obamacare Will 'Likely' Survive Judge's Ruling, Obama Tweets
Barack Obama reminded people that Saturday was the last day to sign up for Obamacare, and declared that a Texas federal judge’s ruling striking down the law making the insurance possible will “likely” not prevail. Saturday is “the deadline to make sure you and the people you love have health insurance in 2019. So head over the HealthCare.gov to get covered!
WorldAFPNetanyahu warns Hamas after deadly West Bank attacks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he had issued a warning to Hamas after recent deadly attacks in the occupied West Bank, including two shootings claimed by the Islamist movement. Netanyahu referred to a controversial Gaza ceasefire in November that ended the worst escalation between Israel and Hamas since a 2014 war. "I conveyed a clear message to Hamas -- we won't accept a situation of a truce in Gaza and terror in Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting, using the biblical name for the West Bank, as is Israel's official policy.
- LifestyleMashable
Shop deals on luggage, packing accessories to travel smarter in the new year
Below, we've rounded up the deets on seven travel and packing tools that just went on sale in the Mashable Shop — and don't forget to enter the code MERRY15 at checkout to score an extra 15% off your purchase. Don't waste another minute of your life trying to determine which nondescript black suitcase on the baggage carousel is yours. SuitFaces' durable covers make your luggage easy to find with all sorts of awesome designs featuring your favorite movie characters, colorful patterns, NBA jerseys, and more.
PoliticsAssociated PressAs sentencing looms, Flynn is upbeat, has adoring fans
The retired three-star general pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI about conversations he had with the then-Russian ambassador to the United States during Trump's White House transition. In a filing this week , his lawyers highlighted Flynn's long and distinguished military service and extensive cooperation with prosecutors in asking that he be sentenced to probation and community service , rather than prison. The special counsel investigating whether Trump's 2016 Republican presidential campaign coordinated with Russia has said Flynn was so helpful that he was entitled to avoid time behind bars , even though sentencing guidelines recommend up to six months in prison .
WorldReutersChina's Xi declares an 'overwhelming victory' over graft: state media
Chinese President Xi Jinping has declared an "overwhelming victory" in his fight against graft within the ruling Chinese Communist Party, while still vowing that the campaign to weed out deep-seated corruption will continue, state media reported. Xi has pledged to wage war on graft until corruption of all kinds has been expunged at all levels of the Communist Party, from high-level "tigers" to low-level "flies". He proclaimed during a twice-a-decade meeting of the top party leadership in October 2017 that his fight against graft had achieved "overwhelming momentum".
- LifestyleCar and Driver
Every Photo from Our Drive of the Audi e-tron GT Concept
Developed alongside the Porsche Taycan, Audi's sleek electric coupe is still a long way from reality. From Car and Driver
- NewsThe Telegraph
Family complains that Catholic priest used teen's funeral to condemn suicide
The parents of a teenage boy who took his own life have condemned a Catholic priest who questioned whether their son would get to heaven while presiding over his funeral. The Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit expressed regret for the comments and said the Rev Don LaCuesta would not preach at funerals "for the foreseeable future". "We wanted him to celebrate how Maison lived, not how he died," his mother, Linda Hullibarger, told The Detroit Free Press.
- NewsAccuWeather
Photos: Snow, freezing rain from Storm Deirdre causes disruptions across UK
Storm Deirdre caused travel hazards, power outages and disruptions this weekend across the United Kingdom. Winds have gusted over 70 mph (110 km/h) at Pembrey Sands in southern Wales. "Leeds and Bradford endured an extended period of freezing rain from the midday to the afternoon hours of Saturday," AccuWeather Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said.
PoliticsAssociated PressSign-up deadline is Saturday for ACA health law coverage
Saturday is the last day to sign up for health insurance next year under the Affordable Care Act in most of the country. For 2019, premiums are stable, more plans are available, and millions of uninsured people can still get financial help. People can also sign up through approved community organizations, online insurance sellers, and insurance companies.
- BusinessThe National Interest
Introducing the Army's New Lethal Sniper Rifle
Task and Purpose, Jared Keller Security, Here's all we know. Despite a brief period of ambiguity wrought by budget-jousting among lawmakers in Congress, the Army’s new and improved sniper rifle is alive and well. Heckler & Koch showed off its M110A1 7.62mm semi-automatic sniper rifle, selected for the Army’s Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS) program on the floor of the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference and exposition in Washington this week, a first up-close-and-personal look at the lightweight rifle.
WorldAFPYemenis fear collapse of UN-backed ceasefire accord
Residents of Yemen's flashpoint port of Hodeida and other cities fear a UN-brokered ceasefire could collapse at any moment, saying that after four years of conflict any accord is deeply fragile. On Friday morning, a day after the breakthrough agreement was penned in Sweden by representatives of the Yemeni government and the Huthi Shiite rebels, many held their breath. The Red Sea port of Hodeida, a main frontline between rebels and loyalist forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition and a key conduit of aid, had woken to calm after weeks of confrontation.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Judge gives mom 40 years after 2 kids die in car. People 'take better care of their pets'
A Texas judge showed little sympathy during sentencing for a mom whose two daughters, ages 1 and 2, died after being left in an increasingly hot car overnight. In September, Amanda Hawkins pleaded guilty to two felony counts of abandoning or endangering a child causing imminent danger of death, bodily injury or physical or mental impairment and two counts of injury to a child.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump will sit down with Mueller ‘over my dead body’, says Giuliani, as president calls Cohen ‘a rat’
Donald Trump will sit and talk to special counsel Robert Mueller “over my dead body”, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani has said, in the latest pushback against the investigation into possible collusion between the president’s election campaign and Moscow. As Mr Trump called his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen “a rat” for cooperating with the FBI, Mr Giuliani made clear Mr Mueller would not be offered an interview with the president. Mr Trump recently provided Mr Mueller’s team written answers to a series of questions, but on Friday CNN said the special prosecutor was still interested in an in-person interview.
- WorldReuters
Malaysia's Mahathir says no rights to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli capital
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Sunday criticized Australia's move to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, saying countries had "no rights" to do so. Australia's move follows U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in May, which infuriated Palestinians and the wider Islamic world and upset Western allies. quot;Jerusalem should remain as it is now and not the capital of Israel," Mahathir told Reuters on the sidelines of an event in Bangkok.
- WorldBloomberg
South Africa's ANC Postpones Party Election List Conference
The conference would be rescheduled to Jan. 4-5 from this weekend to accommodate the North West province, which hadn’t submitted its nominations, ANC acting spokesman Dakota Legeote said by phone. The conference had been delayed because of deep divisions within the party and allegations by some members of manipulation of the lists, City Press reported on Sunday. South Africa is due to hold national and provincial elections in 2019, likely in May. The country has a proportional representation system in which lawmakers are chosen according to where they sit on nomination lists.
- WorldHuffPost
Rocco The Cheeky Parrot Keeps Using Amazon's Alexa To Order Snacks
Thankfully the device’s parental lock system prevented the clever boy from actually purchasing any items ― which included strawberries, ice cream and even a kettle. Owner Marion Wischnewski told The Times she took the parrot in after he was removed from a sanctuary operated by the UK’s National Animal Welfare Trust for swearing too much. Rocco, who was taught to curse by a previous owner, is evidently loving his new home, interacting with Alexa up to 40 times a day and mastering countless household sounds.
- NewsAccuWeather
Snow showers, squalls to accompany fresh wave of cold air in northeastern US Monday
Cold air diving into the northeastern United States to start the new week will be accompanied by gusty winds, snow and the threat for slippery travel. "As the mid-Atlantic dries out, the storm will spread snow or a wintry mix from northeastern Pennsylvania to Maine on Sunday night," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said. The greatest risk of a steady, accumulating snowfall will be across central and eastern Maine from late Sunday night into Monday night.
NewsAssociated PressFor sale: Restored home of Salem witch trials refugee
A once-run-down historic home that stands where a woman accused of witchcraft during the 1692 Salem witch trials settled after she was spared the noose is on the market after an extensive renovation project. The home in Framingham, Massachusetts, known as the Peter and Sarah Clayes House, hit the market Thursday with an asking price of $975,000. Annie Murphy, executive director of the Framingham History Center and a member of the trust formed to save the structure that had fallen into disrepair, is confident someone who appreciates history will snap up the property.
