WorldReutersYemen's warring parties agree to ceasefire in Hodeidah and U.N. role
At the close of a week of talks in Sweden, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a framework for political negotiations would be discussed at the next round of talks at the end of January between the Iranian-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Western nations, some of which supply arms and intelligence to the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015, had pressed the two sides to agree confidence-building steps to pave the way for a wider truce and a political process to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people. The conflict has pushed Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, to the verge of famine.
- NewsAssociated Press
Georgia officer killed after traffic stop; suspect dead
A Georgia police officer and a suspect died Thursday night after a traffic stop led to a foot chase and shooting just east of Atlanta, authorities said. DeKalb County police Chief James Conroy said at a news conference that the unidentified officer and suspect died at an Atlanta hospital from injuries sustained during the Thursday evening shooting, according to news outlets. "Tonight, a DeKalb County Police officer died in the line of duty serving its citizens of DeKalb County," Conroy said.
PoliticsUSA TODAYPresident Donald Trump names Mick Mulvaney as acting White House chief of staff
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump announced Friday that Mick Mulvaney, the administration's top budget official, will serve as acting White House chief of staff – taking over a daunting task of managing a president who doesn't like to be managed. Mulvaney, 51, director of the Office of Management and Budget, will take over the high-profile and difficult job from John Kelly, who is expected to leave by the end of the year. "Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration," Trump said in a tweet Friday, ending days of speculation about who would fill the position.
- WorldThe Independent
Chinese tech workers told not to travel to US 'unless it's essential' after Huawei exec arrested
Technology researchers in China have been ordered to not travel to the US unless it is absolutely necessary, amid rising tensions between the two countries. Staff working in sensitive tech sectors were given the warning following the arrest of a Chinese tech executive in Canada, a source told the South China Morning Post. Workers at a research agency were also told to remove any sensitive data from laptops, mobile phones and other devices if travel to the US was essential.
BusinessAFP Relax NewsPorsche presents EV ‘FastCharge' solution
The automaker Porsche has presented a prototype charging station in Germany with an output of up to 450kW. Increasing the available charge capacity to up to 450kW considerably reduces the charging time, in turn increasing the number of vehicles able to use the technology in a given space of time. Two such charging stations are currently available to use, free of charge, as part of the test phase.
- WorldBloomberg
Former Canadian Envoy Is Now at Center of Feud With China
The former Canadian diplomat who has written about some of the touchiest geopolitical issues in the world, including China’s expanding military footprint in Africa and the North Korea nuclear crisis, is now at the center of a stand-off between two global super-powers. Kovrig was detained by China’s spy agency during a visit to Beijing on Monday, just nine days after Canadian authorities, acting on a U.S. request, arrested a top Huawei Technologies Co. executive in Vancouver. The Chinese government confirmed Kovrig has been detained, according to a Canadian government official briefing reporters Wednesday evening in Ottawa.
- PoliticsHuffPost
Jared Kushner Calls U.S. Criminal Justice System The 'Best In The World.' It's Not.
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, made a rare television appearance on Fox News this week, where he spoke about the need to reform a criminal justice system that he characterized as “the best in the world. The problem with that statement is, of course, that the U.S. criminal justice system is not the best in the world. Not even close to it, really.
LifestyleAFPNY sues Walmart, Target for selling toys with high lead levels
New York state authorities on Thursday announced a lawsuit against retail giants Walmart and Target for selling Chinese-made toys that had up to 10 times the legal limit of lead. The lawsuit seeks up to $6,000 in penalties for each of the thousands of Cra-Z-Jewelz jewelry kits the retailers and importer LaRose Industries sold from 2015 to 2016 before they were recalled. Authorities also are asking the three companies to take steps to prevent dangerous toys from reaching store shelves.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
AD and LIFEWTR Celebrate the Opening of The Haas Brothers: Ferngully at The Bass Museum of Art in Miami
The artists' first solo museum exhibition premiered during Miami Art Week.
WorldReutersBrazil take first step in program to join nuclear-powered sub club
Brazil on Friday launched the first of five attack submarines built with French technology in a 35 billion-real ($8.9 billion) program planned to end in 2029 with delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine. President Michel Temer and his right-wing successor, President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, both pressed the button that lowered into the sea the 1,700-ton submarine named Riachuelo at a Rio de Janeiro naval base. Temer's wife, Marcela, had christened the vessel, by smashing a champagne bottle against its hull.
WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: Palestinian president condemns West Bank attack
Abbas' office issued a statement on Thursday, shortly after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israelis near a West Bank settlement, accusing Israel of creating a "climate" conducive to violence through its frequent military operations in Palestinian cities. Abbas also accused Israel of incitement against him. His statement says that "the absence of the horizon of peace is what led to this series of violence, which we condemn and reject, and for which both sides pay a price."
NewsUSA TODAYFormer Baylor fraternity president accused of rape is banned from graduation, University of Texas campus
A former Baylor University fraternity president accused of rape who will serve no jail time has been banned from the University of Texas at Dallas' campus and graduation activities. Jacob Anderson, 24, accepted a deal to plead no contest to a charge of unlawful restraint earlier this week. According to an arrest warrant, Anderson led a 19-year-old woman behind a house in 2016 where he repeatedly sexually assaulted her until she blacked out.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Yes, he really said that. What Trump gets about his presidency that critics don't.
President Trump speaks next to Vice President Mike Pence while meeting with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer at the White House on Dec. 11, 2018. It’s not been a stellar week for President Trump.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The 2020 Toyota Supra Finally Debuts in January and the First One Will Be Auctioned for Charity
UPDATE 12/13/18: Toyota says the first production 2020 Supra will be auctioned off January 19, 2019, at the Barrett-Jackson auctions in Arizona to benefit the American Heart Association and the Bob Woodruff Foundation. Its VIN will be #20201 and it will feature a special paint scheme (teased below) including matte gray exterior paint, matte black wheels, red mirror caps, and a red leather interior featuring a carbon-fiber plaque denoting it as the first 2020 Supra. The new Toyota Supra sports car is almost here-and we mean it this time.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Accused Russian agent Maria Butina pleads guilty to attempting to sway US policy
A Russian woman has admitted to acting as an agent for the Kremlin to get close to the Republican party in an effort to influence US policies. Maria Butina, 30, pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy in a court in Washington on Thursday, admitting to working under the direction of a top Russian official to infiltrate the National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful gun rights group closely aligned with senior Republican politicians. She is the first Russian citizen to be convicted of working to shape US policy in the run up and through the 2016 election campaign, agreeing to co-operate with prosecutors for less prison time.
- U.S.Associated Press Videos
Pope-appointed missionary travels US to do good
Father Jim Sichko had a calling and it wasn't just to God. It was to, well, everybody. Pope Francis named the Kentucky-based priest to a newly created fleet of Papal Missionaries, ministers who travel the world offering acts of mercy.
- NewsThe Independent
Man who sexually assaulted woman on flight while she slept is jailed for nine years
Prabhu Ramamoorthy, 34, was also sitting next to his wife on the overnight flight in January. Ramamoorthy had molested the victim while unbuttoning her blouse and unzipping her trousers as she slept. Prosecutors asked the court for a sentence of nearly 11 years but James Amberg, Ramamoorthy’s defence lawyer, had asked the court for a sentence of less than 10 years.
NewsAFPUS airliner turned back after human heart left on board
A Southwest Airlines flight headed from Seattle to Dallas was turned back mid-flight after it was discovered that a human heart had been left on board, officials said Thursday. The plane had was over eastern Idaho -- around 600 miles (950 kilometers) into the journey -- when staff discovered the "life critical cargo shipment," meant for delivery back in a Seattle hospital after being transported from California. "Once we realized the error we immediately worked to return to Seattle," airline spokesman Dan Landson told AFP.
WorldReutersMacron says he won't place Europe before French grievances
President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday he would never put Europe ahead of the demands of the French people, days after he caved in to a anti-tax revolt by announcing costly measures set to increase the French budget deficit. "No country can move forward if it doesn't listen to the legitimate anger of its people, an anger which is expressed everywhere in Europe," Macron told reporters ahead of an European Union summit in Brussels. The tax breaks and other measures he is offering to appease the yellow vest protesters are likely to push France's budget deficit above the European Commission threshold of three percent of GDP.
WorldAssociated PressChina urges Japan to ensure rights of 2 in shrine protest
China has urged Japan to ensure the legal rights of two Hong Kong residents who staged a protest this week at a Tokyo shrine honoring Japan's war dead, the foreign ministry said Friday. Ministry spokesman Lu Kang did not say whether Beijing considered the protest justified, but urged Japan to take responsibility for its actions during World War II, when it invaded much of East Asia, including parts of China. China urges Japan to properly handle this issue and to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the persons involved," Lu told reporters at a daily briefing.
BusinessUSA TODAYCash deposited in Robinhood's 3% checking and savings isn't insured, SIPC says
Cash deposited in Robinhood's new checking and savings product that was rolled out this week by the fintech investing platform is not insured by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, the nonprofit membership corporation said Friday. Robinhood made headlines on Thursday when it announced that the new products can earn 3 percent, much better than what traditional banks offer on checking and savings accounts. It's also the highest yield among online banks and other fintechs known to provide generous deposit rates.
U.S.FOX News VideosTijuana official: Some caravan migrants breaking into homes
Tijuana delegate Genaro Lopez on the impact the migrant caravan is having on the city.
- PoliticsYahoo News
On criminal justice reform, policy prevails over politics
The First Step Act intends to address the concerns of Lee and Kerik by reforming both the length of prison sentences and conditions under which those sentences are served. Some of the bill’s proposals are intended as specific fixes: It will no longer be permissible to place juvenile prisoners in solitary confinement; female prisoners will have access to free tampons; inmates will have greater access to opioid addiction treatment programs. Prisoners will also be incarcerated no more than 500 miles from their homes.
- NewsHuffPost
Scott Walker Signs Wisconsin GOP's Massive Power Grab Into Law
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed legislation Friday that strips power away from newly elected Democrats and keeps it squarely in the hands of Republicans in the Legislature. Voters largely rejected Wisconsin Republicans in the midterm elections. Both Walker and the GOP attorney general, Brad Schimel, lost their re-election bids.
- NewsAutoClassics
Millennials and Gen X's interest in classic cars increasing
img class="editorial" src="http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/autoclassics_668/949d9b6953594958969ab7639ee45268"/ Data is suggesting that the classic car market is in safe hands in the coming years, as the younger generations are searching classic car values online more than ever before. Hagerty, a classic car valuation and insurance specialist, believes 2018 ‘will be remembered as the year that younger car lovers took their share of the wheel from older generations’ Millennials and Generation Xers, encompassing the 30-53 age bracket, have been using Hagerty's Valuation Tools and classic vehicle insurance quotes more often than the preceding Baby Boomers (post-war) and Pre-Boo...
