- Bloomberg
Trump Holds Off on Labeling Mexican Drug Cartels as Terrorists
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he’s holding off -- at least for now -- on a proposal to classify Mexican narcotics cartels as terrorist organizations, adding that he’s doing so as a favor to Mexico’s president.“All necessary work has been completed to declare Mexican Cartels terrorist organizations
- Associated Press
Supreme Court keeps federal executions on hold
The Supreme Court on Friday blocked the Trump administration from restarting federal executions next week after a 16-year break. The justices denied the administration's plea to undo a lower court ruling in favor of inmates who have been given execution dates. Two more inmates had been given execution
- Associated Press
Esper sees no immediate need to send more US troops to Gulf
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday the Trump administration is keeping a close eye on unrest in Iran and Iraq, but he sees no immediate need to send any substantial number of additional U.S. forces to the region. “Right now we believe we have sufficient capability in the theater to deter what
- Bloomberg
Trump Energy Adviser Leaving White House After Ukraine Subpoena
(Bloomberg) -- An international energy adviser to President Donald Trump, who was sought by congressional Democrats as part of their impeachment inquiry, is leaving the White House, according to three people familiar with the matter.Wells Griffith, who has been serving as a senior director for international
- The Telegraph
Senior UK diplomat quits, says she will not 'peddle half-truths' over Brexit
A senior British diplomat in Washington has resigned, saying she did not want to "peddle half-truths" over Brexit for a government she did not trust, CNN reported on Friday. Britons head to the polls on Dec. 12 for an election which will decide the fate of Britain's exit from the European
- Bloomberg
Boris Johnson Is Heading for a Majority, Labour and Tory Officials Say
(Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson is heading for a clear victory in next week’s U.K. general election, according to senior officials in both his ruling Conservatives and the main opposition Labour Party.Speaking on condition of anonymity, five senior figures drawn from the two biggest parties said Johnson
- Associated Press
'All roads lead to Putin': Impeachment ties Ukraine, Russia
House Democrats are bringing the impeachment focus back to Russia as they draft formal charges against President Donald Trump. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is connecting the dots — “all roads lead to Putin," she says — and making the argument that Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine was not an isolated
Merkel voices 'deep shame' on first visit to Auschwitz
Angela Merkel visited the former Auschwitz Nazi death camp on Friday for the first time as chancellor and said admitting Nazi crimes was a key part of Germany's identity that could combat growing anti-Semitism.
AFPWarning Iran, US slaps sanctions on Iraqi paramilitary leaders
The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on three Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary leaders over a deadly crackdown on protests in the country, as it warned Tehran to stay out of its neighbor's affairs. The move comes as President Donald Trump's administration, which considers Iran an arch-enemy
- Bloomberg
Johnson Edges Snap Poll After Final Leaders Debate: U.K. Votes
(Bloomberg) -- A snap YouGov poll found that Boris Johnson narrowly beat Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn by 52% to 48% as the leaders went head-to-head in the final debate before the Dec. 12 election. The Conservatives still enjoy a healthy lead in national opinion polls.Ahead of the debate, the premier
- Refinery29
The Cat Is Back: Shop Baby Phat’s New Collection
Nostalgia never looked so good. Back in March, on International Women’s Day, Kimora Lee Simmons announced that she personally purchased her streetwear label Baby Phat with plans to relaunch come summer. After a teaser collection with Forever21, now, the cat is officially back: Baby Phat’s first drop
- The Telegraph
Gunmen in cars kill at least 15 and injure scores more in Baghdad protests
Gunmen in cars opened fire on Friday in Baghdad's Khilani Square leaving at least 15 people dead and 60 wounded, Iraqi security and medical officials said. At least two of the dead were policemen. Protesters fearing for their lives ran from the plaza to nearby Tahrir Square and mosques to take cover
- Yahoo News
Nikki Haley claims Dylann Roof 'hijacked' the 'heritage' of the Confederate flag in church massacre
Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that white supremacist Dylann Roof “hijacked” the Confederate flag by carrying out a mass killing of African-Americans in a Charleston, S.C., church in 2015.
- The Guardian
Nikki Haley claims otherwise innocuous Confederate flag was 'hijacked' by killer
* Critics call Dylann Roof’s acts ‘completely consistent’ with flag * Haley: battle flag represented ‘service and sacrifice and heritage’The former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley faced a storm of criticism on Friday after she said the Confederate battle flag represented “service and sacrifice and
- The Independent
'This is about Russia': Trump impeachment inquiry leaves 'roads to Putin' untravelled
Shortly after her Thursday morning announcement that the process of drafting articles of impeachment against president Donald Trump would commence, House speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Mr Trump’s withholding of military aid to Ukraine was yet another instance of his taking actions that ultimately
AFPIran nuclear deal parties meet as accord nears collapse
The signatories to the Iran nuclear deal stressed their commitment to the faltering accord during crunch talks in Vienna on Friday, as Tehran vowed to continue to breach limits on its nuclear programme. Envoys from Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and Iran took part in the three-hour-long meeting
- Associated Press
Mexicans fleeing violence form new encampment on border
An exodus of migrants fleeing drug cartel violence and corruption in Mexico has mired hundreds of immigrants in ramshackle tent camps across the border from El Paso and brought new chaos to a system of wait lists for asylum seekers to get into the U.S. Migrant tent camps have been growing in size at
AFPGermany's SPD shifts left but gives Merkel coalition 'a chance'
The new, leftist leaders of Germany's Social Democrats offered Angela Merkel's struggling coalition a lifeline at a key congress on Friday but vowed to push for more action on climate protection and public investments. Delegates at the SPD conference in Berlin rejected a motion to immediately
- Associated Press
Officials list pot vape brands reported in US outbreak
Health officials investigating a nationwide outbreak of vaping illnesses have listed, for the first time, the vape brands most commonly linked to hospitalizations. Dank Vapes was the brand used by 56% of the hospitalized patients nationwide. Other product names at the top of the list from CDC were
- Associated Press
Warren, Buttigieg scrap puts Democratic divide on display
Elizabeth Warren has spent weeks absorbing attacks from moderate rivals looking to blunt her surging campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. After a Democratic Party fundraiser in Boston on Thursday night, Warren blasted Pete Buttigieg, who is emerging as a leading moderate candidate in
- The Daily Beast
Nikki Haley Suggests Confederate Flag Meant ‘Sacrifice and Heritage’ Until Dylann Roof ‘Hijacked’ It
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley seemed to suggest on Friday that the Confederate flag did not have racist overtones until Dylann Roof “hijacked” it with his 2015 murder of nine black churchgoers.Speaking to Blaze TV’s Glenn Beck, Haley recounted her decision as South Carolina
- Associated Press
US hits Iran-backed Iraqi militia leaders with sanctions
The Trump administration on Friday slapped sanctions on three Iran-backed Iraqi militia leaders for violent suppression of protests that have wracked the country. The Treasury and the State Department also hit a wealthy Iraqi businessman with sanctions for bribery and corruption. The militia leaders
- Associated Press
UK Brexit envoy quits, slamming politicians' 'half-truths'
Alexandra Hall Hall resigned as the embassy’s Brexit counselor with a letter slamming the British government’s use of “misleading” arguments and reluctance “to address honestly” the challenges and trade-offs involved in the U.K.’s departure from the European Union. The diplomat's resignation letter
- Associated Press
Asylum-seekers who crossed in Arizona returned to Mexico
The U.S. government said Friday it had sent nine Venezuelans — including two families — back to Mexico after they tried to make an asylum claim by driving up to a customs officer instead of lingering south of the border on a list waiting to be called up under a Trump administration policy targeting asylum-seekers
- Associated Press
Slain UPS driver's family questions police response to chase
Relatives of a UPS driver killed after robbery suspects took him hostage on a wild police chase across South Florida questioned Friday why officers had to unleash a torrent of gunfire when the truck got stuck in rush-hour traffic. Both suspects, 41-year-old cousins Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Jerome
