Ocasio-Cortez: Trump was 'clearly engaged in extortion and bribery'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who began calling for President Trump to be impeached earlier this year, believes we have now reached “the point of no return” where it is inarguably clear that he has committed criminal acts. Ocasio-Cortez discussed the issue with Yahoo News on Capitol Hill on Tuesday as the third day of public hearings was being conducted in the Democrats' ongoing impeachment inquiry. “We're kind of knee-deep here in impeachment inquiry and so at this point, I think we're beyond the question as to whether Trump has committed a crime or whether he's violated the Constitution,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

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  CNN Political Analyst: ‘There’s a Hectoring Quality’ With Elizabeth Warren

  The Daily Beast
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  Collins on impeachment hearings: Democrats' hopes and dreams deflated

  FOX News Videos

Obama aides deny they left behind nasty notes when they departed White House — in 2017

Alumni of the Obama administration reacted with disbelief and outrage to a claim from White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham that incoming Trump administration officials found insulting notes left behind for them in their offices. “We came into the White House, I'll tell you something,” said Grisham during a local radio interview Tuesday morning, as reported by CNN's Abby Phillip. In the nearly three years since the presidential transition, no Trump administration officials have mentioned the notes or produced any photos that would support Grisham's charge.

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  Trump spokeswoman says Obama aides left mean notes in White House

  AFP
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  'This is another bald faced lie': Ex-Obama officials blast Grisham's claim they left 'you will fail' notes

  USA TODAY

Police: White teen girl aimed to attack black Georgia church

A white 16-year-old girl is accused of plotting to attack a mostly black church in a north Georgia city, where police say she planned to kill worshippers because of their race. Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church has a predominantly black congregation, Gainesville Police Chief Jay Parrish said in a statement Tuesday. “Our investigation indicated the church was targeted by the juvenile based on the racial demographic of the church members,” he said.

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  Teenage girl accused of plotting to attack black church

  ABC News Videos
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  16-Year-Old Girl Accused of Planning Attack on Black Church in Georgia

  Meredith Videos

Gay Saudi journalists detained in Australia after asylum bid

Two gay Saudi journalists who sought asylum in Australia after being threatened at home over their relationship have been held for weeks at an immigration detention centre, their lawyer said Wednesday. The couple arrived in Australia in mid-October on tourist visas but was singled out by airport customs officials -- then taken into detention -- when they admitted plans to seek asylum, lawyer Alison Battisson told AFP. "Australia being very well known for being... a safe place for LGBTI people, they were incredibly surprised and distressed," she said.

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.

Russia's TU-22M3 Backfire Bomber Has A New Supersonic Missile (And The Navy Is Worried)

Russia's much-feared Tupolev Tu-22M3 Backfire is getting a new upgrade and is adding a new long-range supersonic missile called the Kh-32. The upgrade will allow the massive jet to once again hit allied targets across the North Atlantic region just as the Backfire once did during the Cold War. The bomber and its new weapon will be delivered to the Russian Aerospace Forces in October.

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  China's H-6 Bombers Just Got Even Deadlier Against America's Navy

  The National Interest
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  Navy Killer: Is This China’s Dangerous New Anti-Ship Missile?

  The National Interest

India Army to Cut Sniper Rifle Orders by About 70%

The Indian Army plans to buy just 1,800 state-of-the-art sniper rifles and 2.7 million rounds of ammunition -- less than a third of its total requirement -- driven by budgetary constraints and the need to speed up deliveries, people with knowledge of the matter said. The military pruned its original requirement of 5,720 sniper rifles and 10 million rounds of ammunition, which would have cost $140 million, to prioritize spending and advance the purchase of more modern equipment, they said, asking not to be identified as the information isn't public. Indian Army spokesman Aman Anand said he had no comment to offer on the change in procurement plans.

FBI seeks interview with CIA whistleblower

The FBI recently sought to question the CIA whistleblower who filed a complaint over President Trump's July 25 Ukraine call — a move that came after a vigorous internal debate within the bureau over how to respond to some of the issues raised by the complaint's allegations and whether they needed to be more thoroughly investigated, according to sources familiar with the matter. An FBI agent in the Washington field office in October reached out to one of the lawyers representing the whistleblower and asked to question the CIA analyst who triggered the congressional inquiry into the president's conduct, one of the sources said. It is unclear what the intended scope of the interview would be or whether the whistleblower's lawyers will agree to it.

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  Officials to Give Firsthand Accounts of Trump's Ukraine Call at Impeachment Hearings: Live Updates

  Time
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  A$AP Rocky Turns Up At Trump Impeachment Inquiry

  CBSTV Videos

Half of Indiana's school districts close, thousands of teachers demand better pay on Red for Ed Action Day

More than 15,000 people were expected to flood downtown Indianapolis on Tuesday for what could be the largest Indiana Statehouse rally in more than 20 years. The Red for Ed Action Day, organized by the Indiana State Teachers Association and other labor groups, was expected to include educators from every corner of the state showing up as lawmakers return to kick off the 2020 legislative session. Keith Gambill, ISTA president, said teachers were there to demand bold action from lawmakers.

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  Thousands of Teachers Pack Indiana Statehouse, Calling for Increased Pay and More School Funding

  Meredith Videos
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  147 Indiana School Districts Cancel Classes as Teachers Protest at State Capitol

  WXIN - Indianapolis

Embattled Illinois prosecutor announces bid for reelection

A prosecutor who came under harsh criticism when her office suddenly dropped charges against actor Jussie Smollett and is now the subject of a court-ordered investigation announced Tuesday she is running for reelection. In her news release saying she's seeking the position again, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx addressed the Smollett case and the furor over the handling of it. “Four years ago, I ran for State's Attorney to change criminal justice in Cook County,” said Foxx, who grew up in Chicago's crime-ridden Cabrini Green housing project.

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  The Talk - Jussie Smollett Countersuit; Eve says, 'Let it go'

  CBSTV Videos
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  Jussie Smollett Fires Back With Lawsuit Against City of Chicago

  TheBlast

Chinese bishop 'on the run' after refusing to join state-sanctioned church

A Catholic bishop in China is believed to be on the run from state security after refusing to bring his church under a government-sanctioned religious association. Guo Xijin, 61, has fled the custody of state agents and has gone into hiding, reported Catholic Asia News, a website, and cannot be immediately reached for comment. Mr Guo is part of a group of bishops that many religious and human rights experts feared would be persecuted after the Vatican inked a deal with Beijing last year on the ordaining bishops.

10 Things We Want to Leave Behind in the 2010s

Imagine the next decade without Facebook, robocalls, and exploding phones. We feel better already. From Popular Mechanics

U.S. considers pulling up to 4,000 troops from South Korea: Chosun Ilbo

The United States is considering a significant cut to its troop numbers in South Korea if Seoul does not contribute more to the cost of the deployment, South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported on Thursday. Washington broke off defense cost talks with South Korea this week after demanding Seoul raise its annual contribution to $5 billion, more than five times what it pays now, in a rare public display of discord in the alliance. Neither side has publicly confirmed the numbers, but U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. military presence in and around South Korea was "$5 billion worth of protection".

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  Does South Korea Still Need U.S. Troops? In Short, Yes

  The National Interest
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  Biegun confident on Korea, Japan troops talks, but no 'free ride'

  Reuters

French court confirms sentence for Picasso's electrician over hoarded art

A French court on Tuesday confirmed the two-year suspended jail terms given to Pablo Picasso's former electrician and his wife, who hoarded 271 of the great painter's works in a garage for four decades. The verdict by the Lyon court is the latest twist in a decade-long legal saga, which took the couple, who claim the works were a gift, all the way to France's top appeals court. Pierre and Danielle Le Guennec were first given two-year suspended terms in 2015 after being convicted of possession of stolen goods over the huge trove of works by Picasso, including nine rare Cubist collages and a work from his famous Blue Period.

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.

Dem lawmaker says it's his 'mission' to have Trump removed from office

WASHINGTON — Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, heard about President Trump's latest angry tweet about him on Tuesday morning, as he was headed to a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. “Like Al Green, she [Nancy Pelosi] wants to change our voting system,” Trump wrote in a tweet that accused Democrats of seeking to impeach him because they believe he will be reelected in 2020. “We absolutely don't want to change the voting system,” Green said of the president's claim.

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  Whistleblower's lawyer calls out 'lying' Republican in Trump impeachment hearing: 'You ignore the facts'

  The Independent
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  'I want nothing. I want nothing': Trump clutches handwritten impeachment defense at briefing

  The Guardian

Syracuse University has suspended all fraternity activities for the rest of the semester after a black student said a group of students accosted her and called her a racial slur

Elstad Ranch/Flickr Syracuse University's fraternities had their social activities canceled for the rest of the semester after a black student said members of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity called her the N-word. It was the latest in a series of reported racist and anti-Semitic incidents to sweep the upstate New York campus since November 7. Syracuse University has canceled all fraternity social activities for the rest of the semester after a black student reported a racist attack.

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  Students Protest a Series of Racist Incidents at Syracuse University. Here's What to Know

  Time
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  White supremacist manifesto reportedly shared at Syracuse University

  KABC – Los Angeles

In rare move, N. Carolina county removes Confederate statue

A North Carolina county removed a Confederate statue from a historic courthouse early Wednesday, joining the handful of places around the state where such monuments have come down in recent years despite a law protecting them. Preparations began Tuesday night to carefully dismantle the statue of a soldier outside the historic Chatham County courthouse, where it had stood since 1907, and continued for hours overnight, said county spokeswoman Kara Lusk Dudley. The removal comes months after Winston-Salem officials removed a Confederate statue from land there that had passed into private hands.

German police arrest Syrian suspected of planning attack

German police on Tuesday arrested a Syrian suspected of planning an Islamist attack, officials said, with public broadcaster ARD reporting that the man was at the top of the federal police's list of dangerous Islamist extremists. Police special forces searched the apartment of the 26-year old suspect in Berlin after he had bought chemicals and other materials needed to build an explosive device, the general prosecutors' office said. The suspect exchanged bomb building know-how through an extremist messenger group with links to the Islamic State group, apparently preparing the construction of a bomb.

Rep. Ilhan Omar Asks Judge for 'Compassion' When Sentencing Man Who Threatened Her Life

Punishing the defendant with a lengthy prison sentence or a burdensome financial fine would not rehabilitate him. It would not repair the harm he has caused,” Omar wrote in the letter. It would only increase his anger and resentment.

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  Man pleads guilty to threatening to kill Rep. Ilhan Omar

  Yahoo News Video
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  Ilhan Omar pleads for compassion for man who threatened her life

  The Guardian

7 Amazing Facts About Jaguars, One of the World's Coolest Cats

The big cats are among the fiercest apex predators in the world. From Popular Mechanics