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.
NewsAFPSeven-year-old Guatemalan girl dies in US custody: report
A seven-year-old Guatemalan girl died in American custody after being detained by US border police in New Mexico, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. The girl who illegally crossed the border from Mexico along with her father and dozens of others died last week of "dehydration and shock," the newspaper reported, citing US Customs and Border Protection. She had "reportedly had not eaten or consumed water for several days," the CBP told the Post, who said she began having seizures more than eight hours after being detained.
- 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.
- NewsUSA TODAY
'Christmas miracle': 3 suspected thieves rescued after days in West Virginia mine
Three people who disappeared in a closed West Virginia mine last weekend have been rescued and taken to a hospital in what Gov. Jim Justice called a "Christmas miracle." Kayla Williams, 25, Erica Treadway, 31, and Cody Beverly, 21, were found Wednesday inside the Rock House Powellton Mine near Clear Creek, Justice announced. They emerged within hours, and video from the scene showed the group walking toward medical personnel to big applause.
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.
- WorldYahoo News Photo Staff
PHOTOS: French police kill suspect in Strasbourg Christmas market attack
The gunman who killed three people at a Christmas market in Strasbourg was shot dead by French police on Thursday as the Islamic State jihadist group claimed him as one of its “soldiers”. More than 700 French security forces had been hunting for 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt since the bloodshed on Tuesday night — the latest in a string of jihadist attacks to rock France. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said three police tried to question Chekatt after spotting him on the street in the Neudorf area of the northeastern French city where he grew up, but he opened fire.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- NewsHuffPost
Middle School Student Dumps Trump From His Name After Relentless Bullying
A middle school student in Delaware has been allowed to change his surname after enduring relentless bullying from his peers. Joshua Trump, who is not related to President Donald Trump, will now be known at school as Joshua Berto after dropping his mother’s surname for his father’s. The 11-year-old’s parents told ABC affiliate WPVI that the bullying of their son had been relentless and first started when Donald Trump began his presidential campaign.
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.
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."
- 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.
- BusinessAOL.com
Man quits his job with epic rant over the store's PA
A disgruntled employee at a Canadian Walmart decided that he wasn’t going to quit quietly. In a video posted to Facebook on Friday, a 17-year-old worker named Jackson Racicot grabbed the PA mic and told everyone in the store what he really thought about working there. Racicot then dove into individual grievances, starting with his manager who apparently had called him “a waste of time.” He goes on to say that promises had been made and not kept, and details the story of how he was given only benefits of a part-time employee even though he worked full-time.
WorldAFPIran urges West to end 'absurdities' on missiles
Iran on Thursday urged the United States and its allies to stop their "absurd" accusations about Iranian missile tests, a day after Washington urged the UN to adopt punitive measures against Tehran. "US & allies should cease their hypocritical absurdities abt Iran's missiles," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter. It's they who sell $100s of billions in arms to butcher Yemenis," he added, referring to the devastating Saudi-led war backed by the West against Yemen rebels.
- BusinessBloomberg
China's Early Gestures Alone Won't Settle Trade War, Ross Says
China will need to do more than what it’s promised so far to ease trade tensions with the U.S., Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said. Markets have jumped on signs that China may offer some of the concessions that the U.S. is seeking in trade negotiations, such as removing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. autos and considering plans to scale back its strategy for technology domination. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping during a Dec. 1 meeting in Argentina agreed on a 90-day delay in imposing news tariffs while they try and work out a deal.
- 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.
WorldReutersChinese state media urges Canada to defy U.S., free Huawei exec
SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Canada should distance itself from U.S. "hegemonism" and grant unconditional freedom to Meng Wanzhou, a top executive of China's Huawei detained in Vancouver on Washington's request, state-owned tabloid Global Times said in a Thursday editorial. Meng, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, has been accused by U.S. prosecutors of misleading banks about transactions linked to Iran, putting the banks at risk of violating sanctions. The United States needs to make a formal extradition request within 60 days of her arrest, which a Canadian judge will weigh to determine whether the case against Meng is strong enough.
- TechnologyArchitectural Digest
The 6 Best Smartwatches of 2018
From the Samsung Galaxy Watch to Tag Heuer's Connected Modular 41, these smartwatches shouldn't be on your radar—they should be on your wrist
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.
WorldAssociated PressRussian Orthodox church calls on UN for help in Ukraine
The Russian Orthodox Church on Friday called on the United Nations, the leaders of Germany and France, the pope and other spiritual leaders to protect believers in Ukraine in the face of pressure on Moscow-affiliated clerics. Ukraine's Orthodox clerics will gather for a meeting Saturday that is expected to form a new, independent Ukrainian church, and Ukrainian authorities have ramped up pressure on priests to support the move. The Ukrainian church has been part of the Russian Church for centuries, while enjoying broad autonomy, but Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has pushed for the creation of an independent church.
- 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.
