PoliticsYahoo NewsTrump backers, including Flynn, edge toward a call to 'suspend' Constitution to head off Biden taking office
Even as prominent Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, began to grudgingly acknowledge that Joe Biden will be the next president, a noisy grassroots movement devoted to keeping Donald Trump in office seemed to be edging closer to advocating seizing power in what would amount to a coup d'état. The day after a group run by a local Ohio tea party leader took out a full-page ad in the Washington Times calling on Trump to declare martial law and have the military oversee a redo of the presidential election using only paper ballots — a call echoed in a tweet by Gen. Michael Flynn — a raucous “Stop the Steal” rally in suburban Atlanta urged Trump supporters to descend on the statehouse on Thursd...
U.S.Associated PressFeds: Militia leader pointed rifle at officers in Kentucky
The leader of a pro-gun group that stages armed protests against police violence has been charged with pointing a rifle at federal officers while in Kentucky for a demonstration. John F. Johnson, who calls himself “Grandmaster Jay,” is facing a federal charge of assaulting task force officers. A complaint filed in federal court in Louisville said Johnson pointed a rifle, which had a flashlight mounted to it, at officers who were on a roof in downtown Louisville on Sept. 4.
LifestyleBBCTiger mauls volunteer at Carole Baskin's Big Cat Rescue
A tiger "nearly tore" off the arm of a volunteer at a big cat sanctuary in Florida that featured in the Netflix series Tiger King. Candy Crouser, 69, a volunteer at Big Cat Rescue - the animal refuge made famous by Tiger King character Carole Baskin - was injured on Thursday. In a statement, the sanctuary said Ms Crouser was hurt after Kimba, a male tiger rescued from Guatemala, bit her.
U.S.Associated PressWind fans wildfire in California canyons, residents flee
Powerful gusts pushed flames from a wildfire through Southern California canyons on Thursday, one of several blazes that burned near homes and forced residents to flee amid elevated fire risk for most of the region that prompted utilities to cut off power to hundreds of thousands. The biggest blaze began Wednesday as a house fire in Orange County's Silverado Canyon, where gusts topped 70 mph (113 kph). When crews arrived it was a fully engulfed house and the winds were extremely strong and they pushed flames into the vegetation,” said Colleen Windsor, a spokeswoman for the county's Fire Authority.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastProject Veritas’ New CNN Bombshell: Jeff Zucker Thinks Rudy Giuliani Is ‘Crazy’
Earlier this week, Project Veritas released the first of what it promised would be many shocking revelations from CNN's internal editorial meetings, which founder James O'Keefe appears to have infiltrated and recorded over the course of several weeks. First, the right-wing group tried to make hay out of the fact that one high-level CNN staffer considered Fox News host Tucker Carlson to be racist—while simultaneously misidentifying the staffer in question. CNN President Jeff Zucker thinks Rudy Giuliani is “crazy.”
PoliticsThe Week6 Republican heavyweights told Politico they're pumped for Trump 2024. 6 were less effusive.
Several Republican lawmakers are showing enthusiasm for a potential 2024 run from President Trump, Politico reports. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) went so far as to say he would support Trump's candidacy if he chooses to run, while Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said he "should run and would have the support" of the Republican Party. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), both of whom have had their names floated as potential presidential candidates, also indicated to Politico that they'd back Trump's effort to return to the White House, as did Sens.
- U.S.Associated Press
Drug bust yields 1,700 pounds of marijuana worth $15M
Connecticut police arrested two men and seized an estimated $15 million in marijuana after discovering a storage facility was being used illegally as a hub for pot distribution in the Northeast, authorities said Thursday. West Haven police said local officers and agents with the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration found 1,700 pounds (770 kilograms) of marijuana on Wednesday when they stopped a U-Haul truck while investigating what they called an international marijuana trafficking operation. “The investigation revealed that individuals were utilizing a storage facility in West Haven as a hub to distribute large quantities of marijuana throughout the tri-state area,” West Haven police said in a statement, referring to the area that includes Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden facing growing pressure over secretary of defense pick
President-elect Joe Biden is facing escalating pressure from competing factions within his own party as he finalizes his choice for secretary of defense. Black leaders have encouraged the incoming president to select an African American to diversify what has so far been a largely white prospective Cabinet, while others are pushing him to appoint a woman to lead the Department of Defense for the first time. At the same time, a growing collection of progressive groups is opposing the leading female contender, Michèle Flournoy, citing concerns about her record and private-sector associations.
PoliticsReutersIvanka Trump questioned under oath in lawsuit over use of inauguration funds
Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and adviser, was questioned under oath this week as part of a civil lawsuit alleging misuse of nonprofit funds for Donald Trump's inauguration four years ago. District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine's office disclosed in a court filing on Tuesday that the deposition had taken place that day. In a January 2020 lawsuit, Racine claimed Donald Trump's real estate business and other entities misused nonprofit funds to enrich the Trump family.
U.S.Associated PressFatal shooting of Black teen roils liberal town in Oregon
The killing of a young Black man last month by a white man who complained that he was playing loud music has roiled Ashland, Oregon, forcing the liberal college town that is famous for its Shakespeare festival to take a hard look at race relations. The death of Aidan Ellison, 19, added another name to the list of Black men and women whose killings have sparked a nationwide reckoning with racism and fueled a surge in a Black Lives Matter movement. On Nov. 23, Robert Keegan fired a single shot into Ellison's chest after complaining about the music late at night in a motel parking lot.
PoliticsAssociated PressArizona's Kelly is sworn into Senate, narrowing GOP edge
Arizona Democrat and former astronaut Mark Kelly was sworn into the Senate on Wednesday, narrowing Republican control of the chamber and underscoring his state's shift from red to blue. Kelly, 56, defeated GOP Sen. Martha McSally in last month's election, making her one of only three incumbents to lose. If Democrats win both, they will command the 50-50 chamber for the new Congress that begins in early January because Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would cast tie-breaking votes.
PoliticsThe WeekBiden apparently plans to keep Christopher Wray as FBI director, 'unless Trump fired him'
FBI directors are appointed for 10-year terms, largely to insulate them from political pressure, and presidents rarely cut those terms short. President Trump did, firing FBI Director James Comey soon in May 2017 — prompting the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller — and he has come close to firing Comey's successor, Christopher Wray, several times, The New York Times reports. President-elect Joe Biden plans on returning to the regular norms and customs.
LifestyleArchitectural Digest10 Remote Airbnbs As Stunning As They Are Secluded
From a private island to a tiny Vermont tree house Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldAssociated PressAustralian leader seeks conciliation in dispute with China
A diplomatic war of words between Australia and China over a graphic tweet seemed to finally cool on Thursday as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison struck a much more conciliatory tone. Morrison's change in approach came even after he was thwarted in getting his views out directly to Chinese people over the messaging app WeChat, after the Chinese company deleted his post on the grounds it could distort historical events and confuse the public. China has angrily rejected Morrison's complaints, but its foreign ministry on Thursday declined to comment further on the controversy.
WorldAssociated PressBangladesh begins relocating Rohingya refugees to island
Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process, officials said Thursday. The United Nations has also voiced concern that refugees be allowed to make a “free and informed decision” about whether to relocate to the island in the Bay of Bengal. The island's facilities are built to accommodate 100,000 people, just a fraction of the million Rohingya Muslims who have fled waves of violent persecution in their native Myanmar and are currently living in crowded, squalid refugee camps.
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Azerbaijan says 2,783 killed in Karabakh conflict
Azerbaijan said on Thursday (December 3) that at least 2,783 of its soldiers were killed during its recent conflict with ethnic Armenian forces over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan, who until now had not disclosed any of its military losses in the conflict, also revealed that more than 100 of its troops were still missing. The conflict broke out at the end of September and came to a halt on November 10th when a Russian-brokered peace deal ushered in a ceasefire.
PoliticsReutersBiden to carry Georgia after second recount: state election official
Democrat Joe Biden is headed toward victory in Georgia in the 2020 U.S. presidential election after the state's second recount, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said on Wednesday, rejecting false claims of fraud in the race. "It looks like Vice President Biden will be carrying Georgia, and he is our president-elect," Raffensperger, a Republican, said at a news conference after noting that no substantial changes have been seen in a second recount demanded by Republican President Donald Trump's campaign. County election officials have until noon on Friday to finalize their vote counts, said Gabriel Sterling, who manages the Southern state's voting systems and also appeared at the news conference.
WorldBBCIndia farmers: The viral image that defines a protest
A photograph of a paramilitary policeman swinging his baton at an elderly Sikh man has become the defining image of the ongoing farmers' protest in India. The photograph, taken by Ravi Choudhary, a photojournalist with Press Trust of India (PTI), has gone viral on social media. It has also resulted in political wrangling - with opposition politicians using the image to criticise the way the protesters are being treated and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claiming - falsely - that the farmer was not hit.
ScienceAssociated PressNASA: Mystery object is 54-year-old rocket, not asteroid
A mysterious object temporarily orbiting Earth is a 54-year-old rocket, not an asteroid after all, astronomers confirmed Wednesday. Observations by a telescope in Hawaii clinched its identity, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The object was classified as an asteroid after its discovery in September.
PoliticsAssociated PressThe Latest: Biden: Trump inaugural presence important to US
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN'S TRANSITION TO THE WHITE HOUSE: Up soon for President-elect Joe Biden is naming his top health care officials as the coronavirus pandemic rages. He's also facing escalating pressure from competing factions within his own party as he finalizes his choice for secretary of defense. Trump's grievances feed menacing undertow after the election — Trump expected to flex pardon powers on way out door — Ivanka Trump deposed as part of inauguration fund lawsuit — Barr's special counsel move could tie up his successor — In video, Trump recycles unsubstantiated voter fraud claims — Psaki, next White House press secretary, a veteran messenger ...
HealthReutersAstraZeneca U.S. COVID-19 vaccine trial results likely in late-January, says health official
AstraZeneca Plc will likely get results of its U.S. COVID-19 vaccine trial in late-January and could potentially file for an emergency authorization, the chief adviser for the U.S. government's Operation Warp Speed program said on Wednesday. The British drugmaker and Oxford University have already published interim efficacy results from their UK trial in November, but the results have raised questions among scientists. The company said the vaccine could be 90% effective when given as a half dose followed by a full dose, based on a relatively small number of volunteers, while overall effectiveness was around 70%.
WorldAssociated PressMilitants open fire and burn police car in Philippine town
Dozens of militants aligned with the Islamic State group opened fire on a Philippine army detachment and burned a police patrol car in a southern town but withdrew after troops returned fire, officials said Friday. There were no immediate reports of injuries in Thursday night's brief attack by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Datu Piang town. Nevertheless it sparked panic among residents and rekindled fears of a repeat of a 2017 militant siege of southern Marawi city that lasted for five months before being quelled by government forces.
PoliticsThe IndependentI saw Donald Trump’s presidency come crashing down at Four Seasons Total Landscaping
Journalists from around the world who had gathered in Philadelphia, most of whom had spent the last four days transfixed by moving maps on CNN, were eager for stimulation, and perhaps as a side note to see evidence of massive election fraud the president and his lawyers had alleged. I sprang into action immediately, gathered my things, and was heading out of the door towards the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Philadelphia when the next tweet came. Big press conference today in Philadelphia at Four Seasons Total Landscaping — 11:30am!
WorldAssociated PressHundreds of Ethiopian immigrants get warm welcome in Israel
Hundreds of Ethiopian immigrants arrived on Thursday to a festive ceremony at Israel's international airport, as the government took a step toward carrying out its pledge to reunite hundreds of families split between the two countries. Some 300 people landed on the Ethiopian Airlines flight, with many waving flags or stopping to kiss the ground as they streamed off the aircraft onto a red carpet. Many were dressed in traditional Ethiopian robes, and many women held babies in their arms.
U.S.Associated PressPolice guide that calls BLM a terrorist group draws outrage
A prominent law enforcement training group is promoting a lengthy research document riddled with falsehoods and conspiracies that urges local police to treat Black Lives Matter activists as terrorists plotting a violent revolution. The document distributed by the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association contains misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric that could incite officers against protesters and people of color, critics said. It alleges Black Lives Matter and antifa, an umbrella term for leftist militants, are “revolutionary movements whose aims are to overthrow the U.S. government" and claims they are planning “extreme violence.”
“This metastasizing debt crisis has had tremendous social costs. An entire generation has been set back.”
“It is not the government’s job to step in and rescue those who took on more debt than their future incomes would support.”
“Many student-borrowers need relief, but well-off borrowers who are thriving — thanks to their college degrees — do not.”
“It will stimulate the lagging economy. And though not everyone will directly benefit, the country as a whole will improve.”
“Canceling student debt would cost billions of dollars each year and would exacerbate, not lessen, economic inequalities.”