| Mueller witness bragged about access to Clintons secured with illegal campaign cash, says Justice Department Posted: 05 Dec 2019 11:38 AM PST  An emissary for two Arab princes boasted to unnamed officials of a Middle Eastern government about his direct access to Hillary and Bill Clinton while funneling more than $3.5 million in illegal campaign contributions to the 2016 Clinton campaign and Democratic fundraising committees, according to a federal indictment.
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| Report: Officer recorded kissing Chicago chief reassigned Posted: 05 Dec 2019 01:50 PM PST  A female officer who was reportedly caught on video kissing then-Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson at a popular restaurant in October was transferred weeks later from his personal security detail to another role on the police force, a department spokesman said. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed to WBEZ that the officer, who was appointed to Johnson's security detail in 2016, was reassigned in early November to the technical services bureau. Johnson's attorney, Thomas Needham, didn't respond to questions about a relationship or the officer's transfer, the radio station reported.
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| California congressman Duncan Hunter announces resignation after corruption plea Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:39 PM PST  Hunter's announcement that he would step down came days after the leading California lawmaker, a former U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, entered his guilty plea in federal court in San Diego. "Shortly after the Holidays I will resign from Congress," Hunter, 42, said in a written statement released by his communications director.
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| The wife of disgraced Papa John's founder John Schnatter has filed for divorce Posted: 06 Dec 2019 07:33 AM PST  The filing came a little more than a week after John Schnatter's viral interview in which he said he had eaten 40 pizzas in 30 days.
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| Weather whiplash to bring warmup, heavy rain and flood threat followed by Arctic blast to Northeast Posted: 05 Dec 2019 09:25 AM PST  As the holidays approach and many may find themselves dreaming of a white Christmas, Mother Nature has a different idea up her sleeves. The weather pattern will soon be reversed in the northeastern United States, allowing wintry landscapes to transform into a sloppy, muddy mess instead.Forecasters are closely watching a storm system that is expected to take shape and track toward the Great Lakes early next week -- and it will be the player that will help to flip the weather conditions in the East. As wintry weather and yet another snowstorm are predicted for portions of the Midwest, surging warm and moist air will race out ahead of the system.Temperatures are expected to rebound to the 30s over the northern tier to near 50 F in parts of Virginia as a southerly breeze develops on Sunday.On Monday, temperatures are forecast to surge into the 40s across the northern tier and the 50s and 60s across part of the mid-Atlantic region. The warm air combined with rain will dissolve the deep snow over part of the Northeast, potentially leading to flooding issues for some communities. Recent storms have buried parts of New York state and central and northern New England under as much as 1-3 feet of snow in the last couple of weeks. A car makes its way through a snowy landscape in Highland Falls, N.J., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. The last of the snow is falling over parts of New Jersey after leaving behind power outages in the northwest part of the state. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) That snowcover contains a significant amount of locked-up moisture, called the snow-water equivalent.Within the existing snow on the ground, there is between 1 and 5 inches of water as of Thursday, Dec. 5.Many areas, including those places where deep snow is on the ground, may stay well above freezing Sunday night, which can allow the snow to soften up. This image was taken from the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. (NOAA) Some of the deep snow may harmlessly melt from Sunday to early Monday before the storm and its soaking rain arrives, but there is a risk that surging temperatures, moist air and drenching rain may cause a rapid meltdown of the existing snowcover from later Monday into Tuesday.Instead of releasing the 1-5 inches of water by itself, another 1-2 inches of water may be added in depending on the intensity of the rainfall that occurs. "Since the ground is not frozen, some of the melting snow and rain will be absorbed by the soil and should avoid disastrous stream and river flooding," Dale Mohler, AccuWeather senior meteorologist, said.However, some quick rises on small streams are likely with minor flooding possible in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding during heavy rain or spring thaw events. Some of the rivers may surge to bank full as well."Even if only part of the snow melts and only a light amount of rain falls, piles of snow along streets and highways that are blocking storm drains can lead to urban flooding," Brett Anderson, AccuWeather senior meteorologist, said.Anderson said that property owners should make sure that runoff has easy access to storm drains ahead of the system's arrival to reduce the risk of flooding as a precaution."Even in some of the major cities along the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia and New York City where there is no appreciable snow on the ground, enough rain can fall to cause travel delays and ponding on roads that drain poorly," Dave Bowers, AccuWeather forecaster, said.Ski resorts in the region that have gotten off to their earliest start in recent years will take a hit from the storm. Those seeking ideal ski conditions are encouraged to hit the slopes into Sunday, before the rainstorm arrives.Along with bringing a swath of heavy snow to part of the Upper Midwest, next week's storm is predicted to unleash Arctic air in its wake later Tuesday and Wednesday. Remaining areas of slush and standing water can freeze as temperatures plummet across the northeastern U.S. There is a chance that the cold air may catch up with the back end of the rain and cause a period of snow at the tail end of the storm at midweek.Since the storm will be weak rather than strong, it's possible that a secondary storm may develop along the push of frigid air, according to AccuWeather Chief Broadcast Meteorologist Bernie Rayno."I am pretty convinced that a storm is going to form along this boundary [between warmer air in place and colder air surging] into the Carolinas Tuesday night. Then, the question becomes does the storm goes out to sea and the cold front blasts out to sea? Or, does the storm have enough energy because of all of the energy associated with the jet stream that the storm strengthens? And, if it does, it won't go out to sea. It will come up the coast. If the storm does strengthen, you've got to worry about a snowstorm," Rayno said.The I-95 corridor of the mid-Atlantic and eastern New England could face snow if the latter and stronger scenario unfolds. If a weaker secondary storm develops, then it will likely push out to sea. If a secondary storm forms and it strengthens enough, it may bring snow to the Northeast. No indications are currently pointing to a big snowstorm developing and rather it could be more of a nuisance snowfall, according to Rayno.However, this type of weather pattern has yielded major snowstorms in the past, and meteorologists will have to keep a watchful eye on how all of the weather players come together, Rayno added.AccuWeather meteorologists are also tracking the potential for yet another significant storm toward the middle of the month, warning that it could be disruptive to the eastern U.S. Download the free AccuWeather app to check the forecast in your area. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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| A woman got the incurable condition 'cobalt lung' after vaping marijuana for just 6 months Posted: 05 Dec 2019 10:02 AM PST  She's the first known vaping-related case. Steroids can help with symptoms like chronic coughing, but lung scarring is permanent.
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| History Book Nightmare: Russia Could Have Nuked Away America's Submarine Fleet Posted: 05 Dec 2019 09:30 PM PST  By cutting off communications.
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| Hillary Clinton says Trump ‘shocked into silence’ by her offer of help after he won presidency Posted: 05 Dec 2019 03:54 AM PST  In her debut appearance on popular radio program The Howard Stern Show, Hillary Clinton said she stunned Donald Trump into silence when she offered to help him in his presidency.Ms Clinton has been on a promotional tour for a book she wrote with her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, called 'The Book of Gutsy Women' and sat down with Mr Stern on Wednesday.
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| Germany's Merkel voices 'shame' during 1st Auschwitz visit Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:31 AM PST  German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced a feeling of "deep shame" during her first-ever visit on Friday to the hallowed grounds of the former Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Adolf Hitler's regime murdered more than a million people. Merkel noted that her visit comes amid rising anti-Semitism and historical revisionism and vowed that Germany would not tolerate anti-Semitism.
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| St. Louis Woman Looked Up ‘What to Do if Your Husband Is Upset You Are Pregnant’ Before Her Murder: Warrants Posted: 05 Dec 2019 11:58 AM PST  Before she went missing last month, a St. Louis woman looked up "what to do if you husband is upset you are pregnant" on her phone, according to search warrants.Beau Rothwell, 28, reported the disappearance of his six-weeks-pregnant wife, Jennifer Rothwell, on Nov. 12, after she failed to show up for work at a chemical engineering firm. Two days later, authorities charged him with second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection with his 28-year-old wife's slaying. Rothwell is currently being held without bond after authorities on Nov. 19 located his wife's body—which was found after he gave up information on her location, police said.In the newly released search warrants obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, investigators say Beau Rothwell called authorities at 9:44 p.m. on Nov. 12 to report his wife of four years missing. He initially told investigators they had spent the night before watching cooking television shows together, and he had last seen her leaving for work the next morning.Charred Body Found in NYC Storage Unit Is 'Very Likely' Missing Mom, Police SayPolice later found her car parked with her cell phone inside about a mile from their home just outside Creve Coeur."She has not been seen or in contact with anyone since leaving her home. Jennifer has no history of leaving and is normally in contact with family members and friends on a daily basis," St. Louis County police said at the time of her disappearance.When authorities tried to search their home, Rothwell did not let police enter and barred them from looking at his car and cell phone. He also refused to give police a DNA sample, and immediately requested an attorney.As they searched the perimeter of the couple's home, investigators found various cleaning supplies, including rubber gloves and paper towels in a trash can, the warrants state. St. Louis County police told The Daily Beast in a statement video surveillance also shows Rothwell purchasing the supplies with a gift card and cash at Dierbergs grocery store on Nov. 11. "This purchase was oddly at a time during a major snow event involving dangerous driving conditions, and was also contradictory to Beau Rothwell's statement that he was home with his wife all night," the warrant states.Husband of Missing Connecticut Mom Jennifer Dulos Takes Stand in Civil Lawsuit Brought by Mother-in-LawOn Nov. 13, after obtaining a search warrant for the couple's home, detectives found "empty cleaning bottles, wet carpet soaked with bleach, large areas of blood in carpeting and underlying pad," police said. "DNA from the victim's mother and father was analyzed and is consistent with the blood found in the carpet," the warrant states. Detectives also described the home as having an "overwhelming" smell of bleach and other cleaners, adding that the drywall in the basement appeared to be damaged and contained samples of human hair. In the attached garage, investigators found a 2015 GMC Canyon pick-up truck that also smelled of bleach. The night, Rothwell was arrested on suspicion of murder. On Nov. 18, authorities found Jennifer in a wooded area during a six-hour search near Troy, Missouri. According to the Post-Dispatch, detectives found the 28-year-old naked and partially covered in branches and brush after her husband allegedly gave up information about her location. The medical examiner's office has not yet determined her official cause of death. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| 19 unforgettable images from the Pearl Harbor attack 78 years ago Posted: 05 Dec 2019 02:03 PM PST  December 7, 1941 began as a perfect Sunday morning. These photos show the attack by Imperial Japan that changed history.
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| Support for Elizabeth Warren drops to lowest since August in White House race: Reuters/Ipsos poll Posted: 05 Dec 2019 03:40 PM PST  Support for U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren dropped nationally to its lowest level in four months, and nearly one in three potential Democratic primary voters say they do not know which candidate to pick with the first nominating contests less than two months away, according to a Reuters/Ipsos public opinion poll. The poll, conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, found the level of indecision has jumped among of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents after an already wide slate of candidates underwent a considerable amount of recent turnover ahead of the November 2020 election. U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California quit the race this week, and two new candidates, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, jumped in the race late last month.
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| Six months of sacrifice: Hong Kong's protesters take stock Posted: 05 Dec 2019 07:45 PM PST  With Beijing taking a hard line, it has since broadened into a call to halt authoritarian China's attempts to erode freedoms in the city. Raymond Yeung, a liberal studies teacher at the elite Diocesan Girls' School, joined the movement early and was there on June 12 when a massive protest descended into violence. Protesters broke into the forecourt of the city's legislative building, throwing objects including metal bars at police.
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| Bombs Away! The Powerful B-52 Bomber Is Getting Even More Deadly Posted: 05 Dec 2019 02:00 PM PST  Time for an upgrade.
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| Trump says the EPA is looking 'very strongly' at 'sinks and showers and other elements of bathrooms' because people are flushing their toilets 10 to 15 times Posted: 06 Dec 2019 01:59 PM PST  The New York Times reported in December 2017 that Trump "has an odd affinity for showing off bathrooms, including one he renovated near the Oval Office."
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| Germany: 'No understanding' for Russia outrage on expulsions Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:59 AM PST  German Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff is urging Russia to support the investigation of a killing prosecutors say appears to have ordered by Russian or Chechen authorities, and says he has "no understanding" for outraged reactions from Moscow. Germany expelled two Russian diplomats on Wednesday over the brazen killing of a Georgian man on the streets of Berlin in August. German federal prosecutors said evidence suggested the slaying was ordered either by Moscow or authorities in Russia's republic of Chechnya.
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| Indian rape victim set ablaze by gang of men on her way to court as outrage grows over violence against women Posted: 05 Dec 2019 10:12 AM PST  A 23-year-old rape victim is in critical condition after being set on fire by a group of men, including two of her alleged rapists, as she made her way to court in northern India on Thursday. It came after thousands took to the streets of several cities on Monday to protest the brutal rape and murder of a 27-year-old vet in Hyderabad and called for the rape cases to be fast-tracked and for rapists to be given tougher punishments. A June 2018 survey of 550 experts on women's issues by the Thomson Reuters Foundation found India was the worst country in the world for sexual violence against women. 32,000 rapes were recorded by the National Crime Records Bureau in 2017 although 99 per cent of attacks are thought to go unreported. India also ranked top for human trafficking for domestic work, forced labour, forced marriage and sexual slavery. The 23-year-old victim was on her way to catch a train to a court hearing in the Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh when the mob doused her in kerosene and set her alight. Activists burn effigies of rapists in Amritsar Credit: NARINDER NANU/AFP via Getty Images Doctors treating the victim at the Civil Hospital in the regional capital of Lucknow said she had suffered 90 per cent burns and would be flown in an air ambulance for further treatment in Delhi. Police documents show the woman had filed a case with police in Unnao, alleging she was raped at gun-point in December, 2018. Her alleged rapist was released suddenly last week after securing bail, a police spokesperson said. It is not the first time that even the Unnao district has made headlines over a rape case. Women have taken to the streets to protest India's appalling record on women's rights Credit: SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images Police opened a murder investigation in July against a lawmaker from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after he allegedly orchestrated a fatal car crash against a minor who had accused him of rape. During Monday's outpouring of anger, one member of parliament suggested that India's rape problem could only be solved by publicly lynching attackers. On Thursday, police in the state of Madhya Pradesh confirmed they had arrested a man on suspicion of raping and murdering a 4-year-old girl on December 1. Local media also reported a teenager was allegedly gang-raped and killed in the state of Bihar on Tuesday.
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| Judge Allows Criminal Trial to Proceed against Pro-Life Investigators Posted: 06 Dec 2019 11:47 AM PST  A San Francisco judge ruled Friday that the criminal trial may move forward against the pro-life investigators who went undercover to record abortion industry executives talking about procuring fetal body parts.Judge Christopher Hite deemed the evidence sufficient to send to trial the case against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt of the Center for Medical Progress, who are charged with nine felony counts, one count of conspiracy and eight counts of illegal taping. Six additional counts were dropped.Daleiden, 30, and Merritt, 64, several years ago surreptitiously recorded executives from Planned Parenthood and other organizations haggling about compensation for the procurement of fetal parts for researchers who request them.The Thomas More Society, representing the two pro-life investigators, announced the decision on Friday in a tweet.> BREAKING NEWS: 6 counts in David Daleiden's criminal case have been thrown out of court and 9 remain. Judge Hite deems the evidence enough to go to trial on 9 counts. More to follow!> > -- Thomas More Society (@ThomasMoreSoc) December 6, 2019Lila Rose, president of the pro-life group Live Action, called the charges against the investigators "unfounded and outrageous" in a statement on Friday's decision, saying they "have nothing to do with violating privacy or video recording laws but everything to do with protecting the powerful and wealthy abortion industry.""The same year David and Sandra published their recordings of Planned Parenthood employees haggling over the price of aborted baby body parts, videos taken by undercover animal rights activists were praised and led to investigations of abuse in the poultry industry," Rose said.Last month, the jury in the separate civil case against Daleiden and Merritt handed Planned Parenthood a win under federal racketeering statutes, awarding the abortion giant over $2.2 million.
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| Bolivian minister seeks Israel help in fighting alleged leftist 'terrorism' Posted: 06 Dec 2019 10:44 AM PST  Bolivia's interim government wants Israel to help local authorities fight "terrorism" in the South American country, the interior minister told Reuters on Friday, alleging plots by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and other leftists to destabilize regional governments. Without providing details, Arturo Murillo said Bolivian police were investigating radical leftists allegedly linked to Maduro and drug-traffickers whom the government say had instigated deadly unrest in the country after former President Evo Morales resigned last month.
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| Andrew Yang puts his universal basic income plan to the test Posted: 06 Dec 2019 12:17 AM PST  The 2020 Democrat's campaign is funding a pilot program that gives 14 people $1,000 a month for a year — no strings attached.
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| Hong Kong police sound alarm over homemade explosives Posted: 06 Dec 2019 12:04 AM PST  Hong Kong's much-maligned police force provided a rare behind-the-scenes look Friday at its bomb disposal squad to show the potentially deadly destructive force of homemade explosives seized during months of protests that have shaken the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. In July, police announced the seizure of about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of TATP, which has been used in militant attacks worldwide. Other recent seizures in Hong Kong involved far smaller amounts, just 1 gram, of TATP, or tri-acetone tri-peroxide.
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| China imposes 'reciprocal' restrictions on US diplomats Posted: 06 Dec 2019 01:19 AM PST  China on Friday said it had taken "reciprocal" measures against US diplomats in the country, ordering them to notify the foreign ministry before meeting with local officials. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China had notified the US embassy of the new measures on Wednesday, which she said were a "countermeasure" to Washington's decision in October to restrict Chinese diplomats. In October, the US ordered Chinese diplomats to notify the State Department in advance of any official meetings with US diplomats, local or municipal officials, and before any visits to colleges or research institutions.
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| ‘The View’ Devolves Into Shouting Match Over Barron Trump Pun Posted: 05 Dec 2019 10:00 AM PST  Despite the lack of Meghan McCain on Thursday's broadcast of The View, things still devolved into a tense and heated back-and-forth when the table discussed the right-wing outrage over impeachment witness Pamela Karlan's wordplay pun involving Barron Trump's name. During Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing, Karlan—a Stanford Law professor—attempted to make a point about the Constitution, noting that President Donald Trump is not a monarch. "So while the president can name his son Barron, he can't make him a baron," Karlan said. After First Lady Melania Trump and other conservatives lashed out at the legal expert, claiming she attacked a minor, Karlan offered an apology.Discussing the backlash to Karlan's play on words, hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar pointed out that the professor was merely making an analogy using Barron's name and was not being "disrespectful or nasty" towards a young child. This immediately prompted conservative co-host Abby Huntsman to fire back."I might be the only one here that sees this as pretty sick and a total low blow and stupid," Huntsman huffed, causing guest host Bari Weiss to ask what was so "sick" about it."Because I think talking about political kids unless they're on the front lines, they're off-limits," the daughter of former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman said. "I'm the only one at the table that has been a political child."Amy Klobuchar Schools Meghan McCain on ImpeachmentAfter claiming that Democrats are constantly giving Republicans "ammunition" with moments like this, Huntsman then took issue with Behar arguing that Trumpworld has no right to act offended over the pun due to Trump's family separation policy at the border."The 'kids in cages' argument, it's brought about every other day on this show and elsewhere because I feel like that's always the defense you go to when you can't defend on the Democratic side," Huntsman stated.Co-host Sunny Hostin, meanwhile, added to the growing chaos on The View set by saying she actually agreed with Huntsman, insisting that it was "ill-advised and quite frankly just dumb" for Karlan to make a "joke" during the hearing."It wasn't a joke, Sunny!" Behar shot back.Moments later, Behar wondered why Huntsman thought it was "wrong" to bring up the plight of migrant children a lot, asking her what her objection is to it."My issue with it, is it's what we teach our kids not to do," Huntsman replied. " I got in trouble for saying this, but Joy said it worse. So you should be in trouble. It doesn't really equate. When they are hitting on Barron, I'm not sure what 'kids in cages' that has to do with that.""It shows the hypocrisy," Behar retorted."What did Barron do?" Huntsman declared, again alleging he was the victim of an attack."It had nothing to do with Barron," Goldberg interjected. "Only his name. It's just his name."Goldberg then ended the contentious segment by claiming there was "no comparison" between a bad pun and the U.S. treatment of migrant children."It is apples and oranges because a bad pun out of the mouth of somebody you can say, don't do the pun again," the Oscar-winner concluded. "Hard to do that with the kid in the cage."'The View' Host Abby Huntsman Defends Kellyanne Conway: 'She's Been Getting Bullied'Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin is working with the Federal Reserve to curtail another repo rate crisis, report says Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:13 AM PST  Mnuchin told the House that he and Fed Chair Jerome Powell met multiple times to discuss liquidity concerns ahead of year-end reserve obligations.
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| Mom, grandmother charged in baby's overdose death Posted: 06 Dec 2019 04:24 AM PST ![Mom, grandmother charged in baby's overdose death]( "Mom, grandmother charged in baby's overdose death") Alexus Lorraine Taylor, 17, and Laurie Ann Taylor, 43, were arrested Thursday on charges including manslaughter and first degree child abuse resulting in the July 27 death of Niyear Taylor, news outlets report. Anne Arundel County police called to their home in Curtis Bay were told the baby was unreponsive and had been wheezing before he fell asleep the night before.
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| India Is About to Start Targeting Citizens Without Proof of Ancestry Posted: 05 Dec 2019 03:09 AM PST  All voting-age Indians may soon be asked to submit government-issued ID to prove citizenship. That may be a challenge for women, religious minorities and members of oppressed castes.
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| Azerbaijan plants 650,000 trees to celebrate poet - but green activists grumble Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:46 AM PST ![Azerbaijan plants 650,000 trees to celebrate poet - but green activists grumble]( "Azerbaijan plants 650,000 trees to celebrate poet - but green activists grumble") Oil-rich Azerbaijan planted more than half a million trees on Friday to celebrate a 14th century poet, an initiative the government said would help tackle climate change but some environmental activists called "a waste of money". The Azeri ministry of ecology said 650,000 trees were being planted across the country to mark the 650th anniversary of the birth of Seyid Imadeddin Nesimi, whose work touched on the relation between man and nature. Countries from India to Malawi have launched large-scale tree-planting efforts, but scientists have warned that such initiatives are not a panacea against global warming.
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| North Carolina GOP Rep Says He Won’t Seek Reelection After District Redrawing Posted: 06 Dec 2019 09:12 AM PST  Representative George Holding (R., N.C.) announced Friday that he will not seek reelection in 2020 after a North Carolina district reconfiguration put his seat in danger."I should add, candidly, that yes, the newly redrawn Congressional Districts were part of the reason I have decided not to seek reelection," he said in a statement. "But, in addition, this is also a good time for me to step back and reflect on all that I have learned."Holding, a former federal prosecutor who is wrapping up his fourth-term on Capitol Hill, added that he hoped to return to public office at some point in the future.> JUST IN: George Holding (R-NC) announces he's leaving Congress after redrawn map leaves him with a heavily Democratic district. pic.twitter.com/yX3tfxK1Sg> > -- Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 6, 2019Holding's announcement comes after a North Carolina panel of judges confirmed a GOP redrawing of Congressional Districts which likely cedes Holding's Wake-County seat to a Democratic challenge.According to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, Holding's seat has changed from leaning Republican to likely Democrat.Republicans currently hold 10 of 13 congressional seats in North Carolina, but were forced to redesign the map after state judges blocked the existing district layout for the 2020 elections, citing excessive partisan bias. Despite picking up two seats, Democrats remain opposed the new map over allegations it did not do enough to reverse gerrymandering.Holding is the 18th House Republican not to seek reelection, and the second in two days, after Georgia Republican Tom Graves announced Thursday that he would no longer run for office.
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| Thousands of Las Vegas shooting victims will have to split an $800 million settlement. Now, 2 retired judges have to decide which victims deserve the most. Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:50 PM PST  Though $800 million seems like an enormous settlement, some 4,500 people joined the lawsuit against MGM Resorts. Some will need more than others.
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| Banks gave $745 billion to groups planning new coal power plants: NGOs Posted: 05 Dec 2019 08:00 PM PST  Financial institutions have channeled $745 billion over the past three years into companies planning new coal-fired power plants, according to a report by environmental groups, who are urging global banks to stop financing the sector. The report's release comes as world leaders met this week in Madrid for a 12-day UN climate summit, where they are expected to hammer out some of the details of the 2015 Paris agreement.
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| Bloomberg says ending 'nationwide madness' of gun violence drives his presidential bid Posted: 05 Dec 2019 03:41 PM PST  Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg said on Thursday he wants to become president to end "the nationwide madness" of U.S. gun violence, calling it evil and saying he would allow its victims to file lawsuits against gun manufacturers.
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| Vulnerable Democrats in U.S. Congress eager to move beyond impeachment Posted: 06 Dec 2019 11:17 AM PST  Politically vulnerable Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are eager to move quickly on the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump, and focus on other topics such as healthcare costs and repairing infrastructure. Democrats from districts that voted for Republican Trump in the 2016 election face a deluge of Republican advertising attacks over impeachment and voters who are divided on the subject. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday asked the chamber's Judiciary Committee to draft articles of impeachment - formal charges - against Trump over his effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate a potential November 2020 election opponent, former vice president Joe Biden.
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| San Francisco's 24-hour public toilets cost the city nearly $30 per flush. Officials want to add more. Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:12 AM PST  Since 2014, San Francisco has operated a program called "Pit Stop" that delivers mobile public restrooms to neighborhoods with dirty streets.
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| Police Officer Under Investigation After Footage Said to Show Him Groping Dead Woman Posted: 05 Dec 2019 05:17 AM PST  A Los Angeles police officer has been placed under investigation, a police spokesman said Wednesday.Body camera footage was said to show him groping a deceased woman's breasts, according to a person familiar with the case.The unidentified male officer was not working while the case was under investigation, Josh Rubenstein, the department spokesman, said.The officer had been assigned to the Central Division and was responding to an overdose call, he said. Rubenstein declined to provide specific information about the incident, including when it occurred, because it is part of a personnel investigation.Supervisors throughout the jurisdiction conduct random reviews of video on a monthly basis, Rubenstein said.All uniformed officers assigned to patrol the Los Angeles area have cameras, he said, and roughly 7,000 cameras are issued."If this allegation is true, then the behavior exhibited by this officer is not only wrong, but extremely disturbing, and does not align with the values we, as police officers, hold dear and these values include respect and reverence for the deceased," the board of directors for the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the police officers' union, said in a statement on Wednesday. "This behavior has no place in law enforcement."Police departments around the country have increasingly used body cameras after several high-profile shootings. In 2015, about 95% of large police departments started using body cameras or said they would use them in the future, a national survey said.A 2017 study of more than 2,000 Washington, D.C. officers conducted over 18 months showed officers with body cameras used force and prompted civilian complaints at nearly the same rate as officers without the equipment.A Baltimore police officer was suspended and charges against a man were dropped after a body-camera recording appeared to show an officer planting a bag of drugs at the scene of an arrest in January 2017. In that case, the camera retained recordings beginning 30 seconds before it was activated.In November 2018, The New York Times published body-camera recordings of an arrest in Staten Island that raised questions regarding police behavior. In this case, lawyers for the defendant claimed the footage contained possible proof that an officer planted a marijuana cigarette. The officer and the Police Department denied any wrongdoing.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Wyoming oil field explosions, fire severely burn 3 workers Posted: 06 Dec 2019 09:24 AM PST ![Wyoming oil field explosions, fire severely burn 3 workers]( "Wyoming oil field explosions, fire severely burn 3 workers") Explosions and a fire at a Wyoming oil field severely burned three workers. The workers were taken to hospitals in the capital of Cheyenne and across the border in Greeley, Colorado, after the blasts at a compressor station late Thursday, according to Laramie County Fire District No. 4. "Those guys have a long road ahead," Fire Chief Scott Maddison told the Casper Star-Tribune on Friday.
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| Pressure builds for Giuliani as associate enters talks over potential plea deal Posted: 06 Dec 2019 12:30 AM PST  Pressure to cut deal comes after revelations that Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman are 'likely' to face more charges, attorney saysTalks about a potential plea deal are under way between federal prosecutors and an attorney for Lev Parnas, a Rudy Giuliani associate indicted for making illegal campaign donations who helped Trump lawyer Giuliani's search for dirt in Ukraine on Joe Biden, says an attorney familiar with the investigationThe talks appear to be in early stages, but the lawyer familiar with the investigation and ex-prosecutors say that pressure mounted on Parnas to cut a deal after prosecutors revealed on Monday that he and his business associate Igor Fruman, who was also indicted for making illegal campaign donations, are "likely" to face additional charges.If Parnas strikes a deal it could put further legal pressure on Giuliani, who is facing a growing number of legal woes including some relating to his international consulting business as part of an investigation of alleged crimes including money laundering, wire fraud, campaign finance violations, making false statements, obstruction of justice, and violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.Parnas and Fruman, who were both born in the former Soviet Union, pleaded not guilty to illegally funneling contributions from a foreign source and three other counts. But Parnas and his lawyer have begun cooperating with the House impeachment inquiry in response to a subpoena and have turned over video and audio recordings to the House intelligence committee.As detailed in the 300-page report by House intelligence committee Democrats and other documents and reports, Parnas played a Zelig-like role in Ukraine and the US in tandem with Giuliani and several other conservatives to try and boost Trump's political fortunes in 2020.Parnas and Fruman worked with Giuliani to help oust Marie Yovanovitch, a respected US ambassador in Kyiv who was removed this spring, and to pressure the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to announce an inquiry into debunked allegations about former vice-president Joe Biden, a leading candidate in 2020, and his son who had worked for a Ukrainian gas company, in order to lift a secret hold on $391m in badly needed US military aid.Parnas and Fruman were arrested at Dulles airport en route to Vienna in October and charged with a complex conspiracy to funnel $325,000 to a Trump Super Pac from a Russian source using shell companies.But federal prosecutors in New York have since widened their investigation to look at Giuliani, including his business interests in Ukraine, and reportedly issued numerous subpoenas.The lawyer familiar with the investigation, who requested anonymity since he was not authorized to discuss it, said: "There are some plea negotiations under way with regards to Parnas," and the federal prosecutors in New York's southern district which brought the charges; but he noted that "a proffer by Parnas' attorney [has] not been accepted at this time".Ex-prosecutors say a plea deal would probably require Parnas to offer more information about Giuliani and probably others he had contacts with, including possibly Trump and the Republican congressman Devin Nunes.Ex-prosecutor Paul Rosenzweig said plea deals typically require defendants to provide truthful testimony about other possible defendants which in Parnas's case would include Giuliani. "That prospect has to make Mr Giuliani uncomfortable," he said. "It might also make Representative Nunes and President Trump uncomfortable as well."Similarly, ex-federal prosecutor Michael Zeldin said that having a prosecutor signal more charges as likely against Parnas and Fruman "substantially increases pressure on Parnas to work out a deal".Zeldin added that "additional charges could include such crimes as failure to register as a foreign agent, money laundering and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act." Convictions of these crimes carry substantial prison terms.Parnas's lawyer Joseph Bondy declined to comment on whether plea talks were under way, but Bondy told the Guardian his client wanted to help the House of Representatives in its impeachment inquiry.In a statement, Bondy said that they are producing materials to the House intelligence committee "… and that Mr Parnas remains fully committed to providing relevant and accurate sworn testimony". But Parnas needs to be "granted a level of immunity, such that his statements in the impeachment inquiry cannot be used against him in his federal prosecution".Parnas and Fruman's efforts to help Trump's political fortunes go back at least to April 2018 when the duo were invited as prospective donors to a small Super Pac dinner with Trump at his DC hotel. There, Parnas talked to Trump and warned him that Ambassador Yovanovitch was hostile to his policies, to which Trump replied she should be fired, according to the Washington Post. Their $325,000 check to the Super Pac, America First Action, arrived a few weeks later.In a statement, the Super Pac indicated it has voluntarily cooperated with the federal inquiry, and the $325,000 check was put in a "segregated bank account … until these matters are resolved and a court determines the proper disposition of the funds".
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| Trump Administration Authorizes 'Cyanide Bombs' to Kill Predators Again, Months After Backlash Posted: 05 Dec 2019 02:42 PM PST  The devices have been used to poison thousands of coyotes, foxes and feral dogs to protect wildlife
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| A polyamorous 20-year-old is in a relationship with 4 men while pregnant with her first child. She says it's working. Posted: 06 Dec 2019 12:18 PM PST  20-year-old Florida-native Tory Ojeda is in a polyamorous relationship with four men and is expecting her first child.
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| Purdue president apologizes for calling black scholar ‘rarest creature in America’ Posted: 05 Dec 2019 11:04 AM PST  Two weeks after he told students an African American scholar was the 'rarest phenomenon,' Purdue President Mitch Daniels retracted his statement.
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| Migrants in Bosnia refuse to move from forest camp Posted: 06 Dec 2019 06:31 AM PST  Bowing to international pressure, Bosnian authorities agreed on Friday to dismantle a makeshift refugee camp of freezing snow-covered tents, but some migrants living there have been refusing food in protest at being resettled. The migrants, who are eager to reach the European Union, say they do not want to be rehoused further away from the Croatian border, which lies just 8 km (5 miles) away. Some 800 migrants are stuck in the Vucjak camp, a former landfill area in forests near the northwestern Bosnian town of Bihac.
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| North Korea just called Trump an old imbecile in the latest sign the country is back on a warpath Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:36 AM PST  Kim Jong Un first used the insult "dotard" — referring to someone who's senile and losing it — in 2017, when Trump called him "Little Rocket Man."
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| Philippines floods force 66,000 from homes Posted: 05 Dec 2019 04:29 PM PST  The Philippines' north has been hit by some of its worst flooding in decades, with torrents of muddy runoff forcing 66,000 from their homes and prompting rescues of trapped locals, authorities said Friday. Luzon island, the nation's largest, has been hit by a string of storms that have battered its northern tip while monsoon rains were intensified by the passage of Typhoon Kammuri this week. "This is one of the biggest floods in decades," Rogelio Sending, information officer for Cagayan province in the northeast of Luzon, told AFP.
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| Russia's Very Own A-10 Warthog? Meet Moscow's Su-25 Posted: 04 Dec 2019 09:30 PM PST  Let's have a look.
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| Iowa worker who took bathroom photos may have many victims Posted: 06 Dec 2019 09:17 AM PST  A settlement between the state of Iowa and three of its Department of Revenue workers whose genitals were secretly photographed by a male colleague while they were going to the bathroom won't bring the matter to a close, as files found on the fired employee's work computer show he may have victimized dozens of other men. The State Appeal Board voted Monday to settle the 2017 lawsuit brought by Daniel Wagner, Lloyd Lofton and Joshua Bates for $900,000. The men, who will each pocket $185,290, said coworker Kenneth Kerr stalked them at work and that supervisors failed to act when they complained about it.
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