After Sondland bombshell, Democrats look to expand Trump probe to Pompeo, others

A senior Democratic aide said Democratic leaders are tightly focused on Trump, because of the clarity of his constitutional violations, and said veering off to investigating people like Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence could become a distraction. But the aide did not rule out looking at additional figures in the Ukraine scandal after Trump is impeached — the aide noted that Pelosi has not yet announced whether the House will vote on impeachment, although it is widely expected. Eliot Engel, the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee — one of the three chairs running the original impeachment inquiry — said that Sondland's testimony had made Democrats reassess how to proceed.

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  Donald Trump criticises impeachment witness for failing to hang his photo while ambassador

  The Telegraph
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  Hill, Holmes impeachment hearing: Experts beat crackpots on Trump, Russia and Ukraine

  USA TODAY Opinion

Exclusive: Acting Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf makes unannounced visit to privately funded border wall

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf made an unpublicized visit Wednesday to the site of a privately constructed border wall during his first official trip to the southern border, Yahoo News has confirmed. The stop at the half-mile stretch of crowdfunded steel bollard fencing, which was built without permits this spring on private land in Sunland Park, N.M., was not mentioned in a media advisory sent by the DHS press office ahead of Wolf's trip to El Paso, Texas, where he was slated to “participate in an operational tour of DHS facilities on the southwest border, meet with local DHS leadership, survey new border wall construction, and meet with state, local and community officials.

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.

A man in India dressed up as a pilot and used his disguise to skip lines and get free upgrades, police say

The police arrested a man at a Delhi airport Monday who they say dressed up as a pilot and tried to use his status to get preferential treatment like free upgrades. Officers say Rajan Mahbubani tried to pass himself off as a Lufthansa pilot while getting on an AirAsia flight from Delhi to Kolkata. The police said Mahbubani had also previously impersonated an army colonel.

Woman accused of encouraging boyfriend to kill himself releases last text message they sent

A 21-year-old woman accused of encouraging her boyfriend to kill himself has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges after publicly releasing the last text messages the pair sent to each other before his death. Ms You and her 22-year-old boyfriend Alexander Urtula exchanged more than 75,000 texts in the last two months of their relationship, prosecutors said, before he killed himself on 20 May — the day of his graduation from Boston College. Prosecutors described their relationship as toxic and abusive, and that Ms You would isolate Mr Urtula from his friends and constantly tell him to “go die” and “kill yourself”.

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  A Boston College Student Faces Charges For Texting Her Boyfriend Before His Suicide

  Refinery29
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  Inyoung You Is Charged In Her Boyfriend's Death by Suicide. Will Their Texts Exonerate Her?

  Elle

Google's Tour Builder Is a Great Way to Make Your Friends Hate You

Now you can create virtual tours of your annoying vacations. From Popular Mechanics

Daughter's 911 call for pizza was actually a domestic violence report. The dispatcher knew

When dispatcher Tim Teneyck answered the 911 call, he was confused by the caller's request: a pizza order. The incident led to a domestic violence arrest, and authorities in Oregon, Ohio, praised Teneyck for his quick thinking, which helped a woman and her mother who needed a discreet way to call for police assistance. "This dispatcher did a great job," Oregon Police Chief Michael Navarre said.

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  Why This Woman Pretended to Order Pizza When Calling 911 on Mom's Alleged Abuser

  Inside Edition CBS
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  Ohio Authorities Arrest Man For Domestic Violence After Victim's Daughter Calls 911 to 'Order Pizza'

  People

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg files paperwork to run for U.S. president

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg filed paperwork on Thursday with the Federal Election Commission to run for U.S. president as a Democrat, the latest sign that the former New York City Mayor is joining the crowded nominating contest. The filing allows Bloomberg to raise money in a bid for the White House, but an aide said on Thursday that no final decision on whether he will run has been made. Bloomberg, 77, has signaled that he plans a late-entry in the Democratic primary, suggesting he feels the field of nearly 20 candidates is vulnerable.

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  Michael Bloomberg Is One Step Closer to Entering the 2020 Presidential Race

  Vogue
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  Bloomberg files paperwork to run for president, but isn't entering the race yet

  CBS News Videos

Federal Judge Rules Covington Student’s $275M Libel Lawsuit against NBC May Proceed

Federal judge William Bertelsman on Thursday allowed Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann's $275 million libel lawsuit against NBCUniversal to move forward, rejecting the media company's attempt to have the suit dismissed in full even as he threw out parts of it. Sandmann, 16, sued NBC and other major news outlets in the aftermath of their coverage of a controversial interaction he and several of his classmates had with Native American activist Nathan Phillips near the Lincoln Memorial on January 18. Viral video of the incident showed Sandmann and Phillips standing face to face as Phillips loudly beat on a drum and Sandmann smirked from time to time.

Military: 2 airmen killed in crash at Oklahoma base during 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.

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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

Booker and Harris warn Dems: Electability doesn't just mean appealing to white voters

In poll after poll, it's what Democrats say they prize above all else: a nominee who can defeat Donald Trump. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, argued for the first time on the national stage that electability actually goes the other way, too, and that defining it solely as “white working-class appeal” could doom the Democratic Party next November. “The issue has to be, how are we going to win?” Harris said.

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  All The Key Moments From The November Democratic Debate (Spoiler: Women Won)

  Refinery29
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  Cory Booker’s Birth Chart Explains Why He’s So Passionate About Climate Change

  Cosmopolitan

‘Give that dog a license.’ Black lab seen on video doing donuts in Florida cul-de-sac

Neighbors were baffled Thursday when a Florida dog leapt from behind the wheel of a car that had been driving in circles for nearly an hour, media outlets report. “I thought they should give that dog a license to drive,” neighbor Anna Sabol told WPTV. The black Labrador evidently kicked it in reverse when his owner stepped out of the small grey sedan and left it running in a Port St. Lucie neighborhood, according to WPTV.

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  Dog Puts Car In Reverse And Drives In Circles For An Hour In Florida Cul-De-Sac

  HuffPost
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  A dog in Florida put a car in reverse and drove it in circles for an hour

  AOL.com

Ninth family member dies after Israeli strike: ministry

A Palestinian wounded in an Israeli strike that killed eight members of his family has died, the health ministry in the Hamas-run strip said on Friday. Mohammed Abu Malhous al-Sawarka, 40, succumbed after being wounded in "the massacre in which eight members of a family died when they were targeted in their homes," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement. It said he was the brother of Rasmi Abu Malhous who was killed when his home was hit by an air strike on November 14.

Ex-CIA officer gets 19 years in China spy conspiracy

A former CIA case agent was sentenced to 19 years in prison Friday for an espionage conspiracy in which prosecutors say he received more than $840,000 from China to divulge the names of human sources and his knowledge of spycraft. The sentence imposed on Jerry Chun Shing Lee, 55, was significantly longer than the 10-years sought by defense attorneys. Lee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage, but prosecutors and defense lawyers disagreed about whether there was proof Lee carried out any actual espionage.

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  Former CIA Officer Sentenced to 19 Years in Prison Over Chinese Espionage Contacts

  National Review
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  Ex-CIA agent jailed for 19 years for spying for China

  AFP

How the leader of a notorious Chicago street gang evolved into an ISIS supporter

The leader of a Chicago street gang has been arrested for allegedly trying to provide material support to the Islamic State. Jason Brown, who also reportedly identified as "Abdul Ja'Me," is the leader of the AHK gang in Chicago. According to a federal complaint filed in the Northern District of Illinois, Brown attempted to send $500 in cash, on three separate occasions, to a man he thought was sending the funds to an ISIS soldier in Syria.

'Miss me?' tweets Marianne Williamson after missing another Democratic debate

WASHINGTON – Marianne Williamson had a simple question for America's voters after Wednesday night's Democratic debate: "Miss me?" The Atlanta debate marked the third one in a row where Williamson failed to make the cut to get on the stage after making a bit of a splash with her at-times-unorthodox responses in the first two primary events. Even before Williamson posted her tweet, NBC News correspondent Katy Tur declared on Twitter, "I miss Marianne" about 40 minutes into the debate.

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  'I thought you might have been high': Quips from candidates and other top moments from the November Democratic debate

  USA TODAY
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  Todd Piro gets Georgia voters' reaction to Thursday night's Democratic debate

  FOX News Videos

UPDATE 3-U.S. warships sail in disputed South China Sea, angering China

U.S. Navy warships twice sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea in the past few days, the U.S. military told Reuters on Thursday, at a time of heightened tension between the world's two largest economies. Earlier this week during high-level talks, China called on the U.S. military to stop flexing its muscles in the South China Sea and adding "new uncertainties" over democratic Taiwan, which is claimed by China as a wayward province. The U.S. Navy regularly angers China by conducting what it calls "freedom of navigation" operations by ships close to some of the islands China occupies, asserting freedom of access to international waterways.

• China stocks near 3-month lows amid worries over relations with U.S.

  Reuters
• U.S. warships sail in disputed South China Sea amid tensions

  Reuters

California Supreme Court Rejects Catholic Group’s Challenge to Rule Deeming Voluntary Abortions ‘Medically Necessary’

California's Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a Catholic women's organization's challenge to state health regulators' designation of voluntary abortions as “medically necessary” procedures that must be covered by state health care service plans. The California Department of Managed Health Care in 2014 sent letters to seven health care service plans directing them not to limit or exclude coverage for abortions, including those abortions that are not required to save the life of the mother. Since then, the Missionary Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit have sought legal remedies to the rule, arguing that California flouted the Administrative Procedures Act by neglecting to give the rule a public hearing and comment period.

Jeffrey Epstein was not murdered, it was a 'perfect storm of screw-ups', William Barr says

The death of financier and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in August has been the subject of continued interest and debate. Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York City on August 10, 2019 after being arrested on charges of trafficking of minors. His death was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner's office, but many, including Epstein's own defence lawyers, said that his death looked “far more consistent with assault”.

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  Prison guard implicated in Jeffrey Epstein's death willing to cooperate with feds

  FOX News Videos
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  Tea Time: Breaking Down Prince Andrew's Bombshell Interview on Jeffrey Epstein

  Meredith Videos

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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  Newsmax's Ruddy on Trump: No impeachable crime

  BBC News
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  Why Jay Leno, A$AP Rocky And The Kardashians Got Name Checked During Impeachment Testimony

  Deadline

Putin honours 'hero' pilots for Russian corn field landing

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday bestowed the country's top state honour on two pilots who safely landed a plane carrying more than 230 people in a corn field after a bird strike. At a ceremony in the Kremlin, Putin handed pilot Damir Yusupov and co-pilot Georgy Murzin the Hero of Russia awards, praising the crew's courage and professionalism. "They were able to land the plane literally in an empty field and saved dozens of lives," Putin said.

Yes, America Is Using Stealth Drones to Spy on Iran

But as tensions escalate between the United States and its allies including Saudi Arabia on one hand, and Iran and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on the other hand, it's worth considering what other American aircraft might be in the region. The Pentagon maintains an extensive surveillance system in the Persian Gulf region that includes satellites, drones and ground- and sea-based sensors. Iran's shoot-down of a U.S. Navy Global Hawk drone in June 2019 put a dent in this system.

Iran says 'world war' against it foiled; blames U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel

Iran's Basij militia said unrest sparked by fuel price hikes amounted to a "world war" against Tehran that was thwarted, and blamed the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

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