- NewsYahoo NewsObama calls Facebook Live attack ‘despicable,’ but says he’s optimistic about race relations
In a new interview, President Obama has denounced what he called the “despicable” video on Facebook Live of what appears to be an assault on a mentally challenged white teenager by four young black people in Chicago. Speaking with Chicago’s local CBS affiliate Thursday, the president pointed to the gruesome incident as an example of how technology is helping to draw attention to racial issues that have long existed below the surface. “In part because we see visuals of racial tensions, violence and so forth because of smartphones and the Internet,” Obama told CBS 2’s Jay Levine, in one of five televised interviews he conducted with Chicago news stations.
- PoliticsYahoo NewsTrump: Russian hacking commotion is a ‘political witch hunt’
Donald Trump apparently couldn’t wait until his planned Friday meeting with top U.S. intelligence officials before questioning the evidence and procedures they used to conclude that Russian cyberattacks sought to influence the election. “The Democratic National Committee would not allow the FBI to study or see its computer info after it was supposedly hacked by Russia,” Trump tweeted Thursday night. “So how and why are they so sure about hacking if they never even requested an examination of the computer servers?
- NewsInside EditionUniformed Police Officer Refused Service at Texas Wendy's
A Texas cop says he was refused service at a Wendy's restaurant because he was in uniform. The Fort Worth Police Department patrol supervisor said he entered the location at Trail Lake Drive at about 6 p.m., at which point he said the employees turned their backs and walked away, according to police spokesman Sgt. Marc Povero. @Wendys at Trail Lake and I20 would not serve one of our uniformed officers tonight?
- WorldYahoo News Photo StaffCar bombing in Turkey
Suspected Kurdish militants on Thursday opened fire at police who stopped them at a checkpoint in the western city of Izmir before detonating their explosives-laden vehicle, the province’s governor said. A police officer and a courthouse employee were
WorldReutersNigerian soldiers find Chibok girl kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014Nigerian soldiers have found a schoolgirl who was one of more than 200 pupils kidnapped by Islamist militant group Boko Haram from their school in the northeastern town of Chibok in April 2014, an army spokesman said on Thursday. The troops had found Rakiya Abubkar wandering around near Algarno, a former Boko Haram stronghold, the spokesman said. A total of 276 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram from Chibok in 2014 in one of the most infamous actions of their insurgency.
NewsAssociated PressTilikum, orca that killed trainer, dies at SeaWorld OrlandoTilikum the orca has died after more than two decades at SeaWorld Orlando, where he gained notoriety for killing a trainer in 2010 and was later profiled in a documentary that helped sway popular opinion against keeping killer whales in captivity. In a statement announcing Tilikum's death early Friday, SeaWorld officials said he had serious health issues including a persistent and complicated bacterial lung infection. Tilikum was estimated to be 36 years old.
- BusinessPopular MechanicsToyota's CES Concept Car Is Something Else
Say hello to Toyota's Concept-i, a far-out concept car the automaker unveiled during its press conference at CES 2017. Like all concept cars, this is intended not to hit the road as-is but to demonstrate the carmaker's vision of the future. As Toyota Research Institute head Gill Pratt explained during the demo, that vision involves two things: making the car safer, and changing the way people interact with their vehicles.
WorldAFPHaitian senator-elect in US to face drug trafficking chargesA onetime Haitian coup leader who was recently elected senator has been taken to the United States to face longstanding federal drug trafficking charges, officials said Friday. Guy Philippe, who has been wanted on US drug charges for more than a decade, was arrested Thursday near the capital Port-au-Prince by heavily armed Haitian antinarcotics police and transported to the United States. Philippe "is in Miami to face federal charges here in the Southern District of Florida," said Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Schall.
HealthInternational Business TimesHere's Some Interesting Things To Know About MarijuanaThe year 2016 was a big one for marijuana in the United States. Several states passed new legislation allowing legal use of cannabis in some capacity and states that were already approved for legal pot use saw huge dividends from marijuana sales. In fact, the industry as a whole generated more than $6.7 billion in marijuana sales, according to a Tuesday Forbes report.
- PoliticsABC News VideosObama Daughters' White House Swing Set Donated
The swing set was erected on the White House South Lawn in 2009 for Malia and Sasha Obama.
- PoliticsYahoo NewsPaul Ryan: ‘Russia didn't tell Hillary Clinton not to go to Wisconsin or Michigan’
A day after calling WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a “sycophant for Russia,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said it’s clear Moscow tried to meddle in the U.S. presidential election — but that wasn’t the reason for President-elect Donald Trump’s stunning victory in November. “He won fair and square,” Ryan said during a Thursday press briefing in Washington. Russia didn’t tell Hillary Clinton not to go to Wisconsin or Michigan.
- NewsInside EditionMan Caught on Camera Attempting to Rob Spy Gear Shop: 'Probably Not the Smartest ldea'
Police say an attempted burglar in Florida chose an odd target Wednesday morning: A spy shop that sells, of all things, surveillance equipment. According to the manager of Spy Spot Investigations Spy Store in Deerfield Beach, the would-be burglar was, no shocker here, caught on camera. "One of the employees came into the store at 9 and the door was all cracked," manager Evan Tannenbaum told InsideEdition.com.
WorldReutersMerkel's conservatives gain support despite Berlin attack: pollSupport for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc is up despite the Christmas market attack in Berlin that killed 12 people, and most Germans are not worried about terrorism, an opinion poll showed on Friday. Merkel's conservative "Union" alliance of her Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) rose 2 percentage points from a month ago to 37 percent, the survey by pollster Infratest dimap for broadcaster ARD showed. The Berlin attack, in which a rejected asylum-seeker from Tunisia drove a truck into a Christmas market, took place on Dec. 19.
- NewsAssociated PressSisters traveling to see dying father kicked off plane
Two sisters said they were kicked off an Allegiant Air flight after authorities deemed them a threat, and it cost them the chance to see their dying father. Debbie Hartman and Trisha Baker of DeLand, Florida, said they were on the plane Monday in Orlando, waiting to take off for Asheville, North Carolina, to see their father, who was in hospice care. Hartman had a panic attack and Baker accused the flight attendant of not being compassionate, telling her "You're being very rude," Hartman recalled.
TechnologyBGR NewsNew leak shows how terrible Apple’s iPhone could have beenYou might not be completely happy with iOS, but the iPhone’s operating system is probably one of the best and easiest to use in the world. It completely changed the smartphone landscape and directly influenced the trajectory of Android (which was shaping up to be a BlackBerry clone until Google changed it ahead of release to make it more like the iPhone). Images and videos showing the “click wheel” iPod-based OS that at one point competed against iOS internally at Apple were published online Friday morning.
- NewsPopular MechanicsAn Entire Engine Fell Off a B-52 Bomber While In Flight
A heavy bomber on a training flight returned to base with one less engine than it started out with this week. Luckily the 55-year-old, eight engine B-52H Stratofortress was able to land safely at Minot Air Force Base. The Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofan engine fell off the airplane during a training flight yesterday.
BusinessAFPChina takes global lead in clean energyChina's overseas investment in renewable energy projects jumped last year by 60 percent to a record $32 billion (30 billion euros), marking its leadership in the global market for clean energy, a report said Friday. In 2016, China finalised 11 foreign deals worth more than a billion dollars each, and is expected to pick up the pace this year, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). On Thursday, China announced that it would sink at least $361 billion into renewables by 2020, key to the country's transition away from polluting coal power.
- NewsInternational Business TimesMenendez Case Gets An ABC Special
About 27 years have passed since the Menendez brothers killed their parents, but ABC News is reopening and diving into their sordid story this week. The network was set to air "Truth and Lies: The Menendez Brothers," a two-hour documentary special on the infamous case, Thursday at 9 p.m. EST. It was August 1989 when Erik and Lyle Menendez, then aged 18 and 21 years, respectively, ended the lives of their parents, Cuban-American entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife, Kitty.
- NewsInside EditionInmate Who Escaped Using Basketball Hoop Nabbed After Cops Say He Tried Robbing Bank
The former Army reservist who escaped a Rhode Island prison with the help of a basketball hoop over the weekend is back behind bars after nearly a week on the run. James Morales, who escaped Wyatt Correctional Facility on New Year's Eve, was captured in the Boston suburb of Somerville Thursday, according to Massachusetts police. Prior to his capture, police said the 35-year-old was "probably" the suspect who attempted to rob a Bank of America in Cambridge Thursday morning.
- PoliticsYahoo NewsFormer CIA Director James Woolsey cuts ties with Donald Trump’s transition team amid tensions with intelligence community
Former Central Intelligence Agency Director James Woolsey distanced himself from President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team on Thursday evening, a source close to Woolsey told Yahoo News. The move was partially a response to the president-elect’s “attacks” on the intelligence community’s assertion that Russia was behind cyberattacks on Democrats during the election campaign. Woolsey served as a senior adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign, and he continued to make public appearances as a top consultant following the election.
- LifestyleCar and Driver2017 Toyota Camry
C/D Overall Rating The Toyota Camry has much to offer: loads of rear-seat room and trunk space, a trio of efficient, enjoyable powertrains, and enough flavors to suit any palate. Choices run the gamut from bare-basic models to near-luxury levels; a hybrid
ScienceReutersFAA grants SpaceX license to resume rocket launches on MondayBy Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company has been cleared to resume flying following a launch pad explosion four months ago, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday. The decision clears SpaceX to attempt to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 10 Iridium Communications Inc satellites as early as Monday, a day later than originally planned. SpaceX, owned by Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Officer Musk, on Friday declined to comment about what caused the delay.
- U.S.ABC News VideosIn Some Communities, Fentanyl Epidemic Leads to Surge in Crime
ABC News' Pierre Thomas and ex-DEA agent Jack Riley talk about how the fentanyl epidemic is causing a spike in crime across the United States. We were in New Hampshire. Small state. Have beverages typically less than. Twenty gun related homicides a year
- NewsAssociated PressMountain lion kitten killed on Southern California freeway
A mountain lion kitten has been struck and killed on a Southern California freeway — the same road where his mother died last month, it was announced Thursday. The death of the 7-month-old male known as P-52 was announced by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will conduct a necropsy to determine whether P-52 had been healthy, according to the posting.
NewsAFPUS puts bin Laden's son on terror blacklistThe United States added Hamza bin Laden, son and would-be heir of the late global jihadist leader Osama bin Laden, to its terrorist blacklist on Thursday. Hamza, who is in his mid-twenties, has become active as an Al-Qaeda propagandist since his father's death at the hands of US special forces on May 2, 2011. According to letters found in the Navy SEAL raid on Osama's hideout in Pakistan, Hamza wrote to the Saudi-born Al-Qaeda leader asking to be trained to follow him.
