Sondland pressed on why Trump has blocked witnesses: 'I wish I could answer'

During his testimony Wednesday before the House Intelligence Committee, Gordon Sondland was pressed on why so many members of the Trump administration, including the president himself, were refusing to testify in the impeachment inquiry. I wish I could answer,” responded Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. His remark came at the end of an exchange with Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash.

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  Joe Biden turns impeachment to his advantage in fifth Democrat debate

  The Telegraph
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  Democrats tackle wealth tax, climate change, impeachment at 5th debate

  Yahoo Finance Video

Bolivia in crisis after ‘coup’ against president

Bolivian President Evo Morales, who had led the country for 14 years, resigned last week amid heated protests and pressure to leave from the country's military. Morales was a transformational figure in the often tumultuous history of the poor South American nation. The son of llama herders, he first rose to prominence as an advocate for coca leaf farmers before being elected as president in 2006 on a far-left socialist platform of redistributing wealth, fighting poverty and empowering the country's indigenous population.

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  Morales calls for international help to stop Bolivia 'genocide'

  AFP
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  Bolivian interim leader proposes new elections as toll rises

  Associated Press

GOP claim that Trump cares about corruption takes a hit at impeachment hearing

In his questioning of David Hale, undersecretary of state for political affairs, Ratcliffe reprised a now familiar defense of the president, that putting a hold on military aid to Ukraine was done out of concern about corruption in the country. The reasons for the hold in summer 2019, during Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia, were not communicated either publicly or within the diplomatic and national security bureaucracy. Citing other recent instances in which congressionally approved U.S. foreign aid had been withheld without explanation, Ratcliffe asked Hale, “So, having no explanation for why aid is being withheld is not uncommon?

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  Read the full opening statement from David Holmes in public impeachment hearing

  USA TODAY
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  Impeachment hearings takeaways: Sondland says 'everyone was in the loop' about Trump's push for Ukraine investigations

  WPVI – Philadelphia

Russia 'ruined' Ukrainian naval vessels before handing them back, says Ukrainian navy

Three Ukrainian navy boats seized by Russia a year ago were vandalised before being handed back to Ukraine, the country's navy said. The fast gunboats Nikopol and Berdyansk and the tugboat Tany Kapu were welcomed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and onlookers waving national flags arrived in Ochakiv, a Ukrainian naval port on the Black Sea on Wednesday evening. But Ukraine's navy said the vessels had been stripped bare and left so badly damaged that they had to be towed home by tug.

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  Ukraine says Russia returned ships in bad condition

  Reuters
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  Three navy ships held by Russia return to Ukraine port

  AFP

Military: 2 airmen killed in crash during Oklahoma training

Two airmen were killed Thursday in an accident involving two jets during the landing phase of a training exercise at a U.S. Air Force base in northwestern Oklahoma, a military official said. The crash occurred shortly after 9 a.m. at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of Oklahoma City. Two airmen aboard one of the T-38 Talons were killed, Col. Corey Simmons, commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing, said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

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  Jet accident at Oklahoma base kills 2

  ABC News Videos
• The Latest: 2 airmen died while landing at Oklahoma base

  Associated Press

American Airlines admits a midair accident that knocked out 2 flight crew was not caused by spilled soap

American Airlines admitted Tuesday the powerful fumes that knocked two flight attendants unconscious and forced a flight to make an emergency landing were not caused by spilled soap, as the airline had previously claimed.

Syracuse Students Flee Campus Rocked by Racist Incidents

SYRACUSE, New York—A string of racist and anti-Semitic incidents at Syracuse University has ratcheted up tensions to the point that more and more students are fleeing campus before the Thanksgiving break. The upstate New York school has been reeling from 11 reports of racist graffiti and harassment in two weeks—which prompted widespread student protests, a tongue-lashing for administrators from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and a $1 million commitment for campus change. In the twilight hours of Monday, the manifesto written by the Christchurch mosque shooter was posted to a Syracuse discussion forum and hours later allegedly AirDropped to students' phones in the university library.

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  Syracuse University students call for chancellor to resign amid racist incidents

  ABC News
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  Syracuse U. says report of white supremacist manifesto was likely hoax

  WTVD – Raleigh/Durham

Gabbard and Harris clash over visions for the Democratic Party

At the Democratic debate in Atlanta on Wednesday, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and Sen. Kamala Harris of California clashed over their differing visions for the party, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. Gabbard had criticized Hillary Clinton as the “personification of the left that has sickened the Democratic Party” after the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee suggested in an interview last month that she believed Republicans were “grooming” Gabbard to be a spoiler as a third-party candidate. Clinton, who did not mention Gabbard by name, further suggested that the Hawaii Democrat is “the favorite of the Russians.

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  Warren, Sanders among Democrats calling for NBC sexual abuse probe ahead of debate

  Fox Business
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  2020 debate: Tulsi Gabbard prompts a brawl with Kamala Harris over dig at Democratic Party

  USA TODAY

Nearly ¾ of transgender people slain since 2017 killed with guns

Nearly three-fourths of transgender and gender non-conforming Americans slain in the last three years were killed with a firearm, according to data published this month by the gun violence prevention advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety. The data sheds grim new light on the role of guns in what's been called an epidemic of violence against transgender Americans, as advocates honor the victims with nationwide vigils Wednesday during the Transgender Day of Remembrance. The data is available for the first time publicly via EveryStat for Gun Safety, the group's database detailing gun deaths in America.

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  The Transgender Day of Remembrance: So Much Loss, So Much to Keep Fighting For

  The Daily Beast
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  Founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith on the 20th Anniversary of Transgender Day of Remembrance

  Vogue

House Democrats ponder expanding impeachment probe after Sondland 'game changer' testimony

Ambassador Gordon Sondland's explosive testimony Wednesday that “everyone was in the loop” on President Trump's efforts to secure an investigation of a political rival prompted rank-and-file Democrats to discuss whether it was time to expand their probe. Sondland testified in minute detail — down to the names of staffers and code words used internally to identify officials like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — how Vice President Mike Pence, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, former national security advisor John Bolton and others knew the intimate details of Trump's plans. “Was there a quid pro quo?” Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, testified.

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  Gordon Sondland’s Damning—But Delayed—Testimony

  The Atlantic
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  Pentagon official offers evidence Ukrainians were aware of aid hold earlier

  Politico

Obama Warns Technology Has Created a More Splintered World

Former U.S. President Barack Obama warned that technology is creating a more splintered world, fueling the disparities among wealthy and poorer nations, and people within countries. The rise of extreme inequality both within nations and between nations that is being turbocharged by globalization and technology” is one of the biggest risks for young people, Obama said Thursday at Salesforce.com Inc. s annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco.

Mexicans sue Walmart over Texas shooting that left victims on both sides of border

Ten Mexican citizens have sued Walmart over the shooting at a store in the U.S. border town of El Paso, Texas, that killed eight Mexicans and left eight more injured, saying that Walmart did not do enough to protect its customers, Mexico said on Wednesday. The suspected gunman told police he was targeting "Mexicans" in the August shooting, which killed 22 people in total. Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the lawsuit, which was filed in Texas state court in El Paso County, aimed to hold the retailer accountable "for not taking reasonable and necessary measures to protect its customers."

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  10 Mexican Citizens File Suit Against Walmart Over El Paso Shooting

  Footwear News
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  Mexicans sue Walmart over El Paso shooting

  AFP

Son of former German president stabbed to death in Berlin

The son of former German president Richard von Weizsaecker was stabbed to death while he was giving a lecture at a hospital in Berlin where he worked as a head physician, police said Wednesday. A 57-year-old German man is in custody after he jumped up from the audience at the Schlosspark-Klinik and attacked Fritz von Weizsaecker with a knife on Tuesday evening. Von Weizsaecker died at the scene from a knife wound to the neck despite immediate attention from colleagues, said Martin Steltner, a spokesman for Berlin prosecutors.

American Airlines admitted a mid-air accident that knocked out 2 flight crew and forced an emergency landing was not caused by spilled soap

Flickr/Oliver Holzbauer American Airlines admitted Tuesday that whatever knocked out two flight attendants and forced an emergency landing in October was not spilled soap, as the airline had previously claimed. On October 21, American Airlines flight 729 was flying from London Heathrow to Philadelphia, but was forced to land in Dublin, Ireland, when two staff members passed out. American Airlines said at the time that the incident was caused by "an odor caused by a spilled cleaning solution in the galley."

20 of the Most Beautiful Bridges in the World

Designed by world-renowned architects such as Zaha Hadid and Santiago Calatrava, these bridges are travel destinations in their own right Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Colorado's Mesa County Valley School District 51 is closing all its schools amid 'unprecedented' illness outbreak

A Colorado school district dealing with an "unprecedented spread of illness" has closed the doors to every one of its more than 40 schools. Mesa County Valley School District 51, the 14th-largest school district in Colorado, according to the district's website, announced on Wednesday that all of its schools will be closed until after Thanksgiving break is over on Dec. 2. "We have never before had to close all schools in the district due to illness," superintendent Diana Sirko said in a statement on the district's website.

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  Mystery illness shuts down 46 schools in Colorado

  ABC News Videos
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  Colorado District Closes All 46 Schools to Stop Spread of 'Extremely Contagious Virus

  Meredith Videos

Benjamin Netanyahu charged over series of corruption scandals amid Israel election chaos

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and bribery relating to a series of corruption scandals. Allegations against Mr Netanyahu include suspicions that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of champagne and cigars from billionaire friends, offered to trade favors with a newspaper publisher, and used his influence to help a wealthy telecom magnate in exchange for favorable coverage on a popular news site. The case marks the first time in Israeli history that a sitting prime minister has been charged with a crime, plunging the country into unchartered legal and constitutional waters.

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  Netanyahu charged with bribery by Israel’s attorney general

  The Independent
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  A look at the corruption scandals facing Israel's Netanyahu

  Associated Press

Fearful wait for justice a decade after Philippine massacre

A decade after 58 people were killed in the Philippines' worst political massacre, none of the alleged masterminds have been convicted yet, leaving families fearful that justice may never come. Though a verdict is now due next month over the bloodshed that drew international outrage, there is no guarantee of a conviction and the painfully slow-moving trial could still be derailed by corruption or even violence. "We are afraid for the life of the prosecutor or even our judge," said Mary Grace Morales, whose sister and husband were among 32 journalists killed in the attack, making it one of world's deadliest on media workers.

Former Trump adviser blasts 'false narrative' of Ukraine election interference

A former top national security adviser to President Trump told Republicans in the House impeachment inquiry Thursday morning to stop advancing a “fictional narrative” that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections rather than Russia. Based on questions and statements I have heard, some of you on this committee appear to believe that Russia and its security services did not conduct a campaign against our country — and that perhaps, somehow, for some reason, Ukraine did.

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  Fiona Hill Blasts GOP ‘Alternate Narrative’ on Ukraine

  The Daily Beast
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  Fiona Hill’s Testimony Is a Warning for Democrats, Too

  Bloomberg

Meet What Could be The U.S. Navy's Ultimate Weapon (As in a New Destroyer)

Washington D.C.) The Navy has laid the keel for its first new, Flight III DDG 51 surface warfare destroyer armed with improved weapons, advanced sensors and new radar 35-times more sensitive than most current systems, changing attack and defensive options for the surface fleet. Navy Flight III Destroyers have a host of defining new technologies not included in current ships such as more on-board power to accommodate laser weapons, new engines, improved electronics, fast-upgradeable software and a much more powerful radar. The Flight III Destroyers will be able to see and destroy a much wider range of enemy targets at farther distances.

Himes takes exception to key Republican defense of Trump

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) took apart a key Republican defense of President Trump during Wednesday's impeachment inquiry hearing.

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  The GOP warned Ambassador Sondland that he'd be 'smeared' by Democrats in the impeachment hearing before turning around and smearing him themselves

  Business Insider
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  Jim Jordan says facts are on Trump's side after week of public impeachment hearings

  FOX News Videos

Pot stocks soar as U.S. House committee clears bill on federal weed legalization

Shares of marijuana companies rose on Thursday after a U.S. congressional committee passed a legislation to decriminalize cannabis, taking it a step closer to being approved by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. The bill, which was passed 24 to 10 in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, sent shares of Canopy Growth , Aurora Cannabis , Aphria Inc and Tilray Inc up between 8% and 15%. "We think federal legalization would be a big positive for investor sentiment surrounding cannabis equities, which have been battered by oversupply and a steep price decline for the underlying commodity since becoming legal in Canada," said Garrett Nelso...

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  Bill that would decriminalize marijuana at federal level passes House vote

  CBS News Videos
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  In Congressional First, Committee Approves Bill To End Marijuana Ban

  HuffPost