- NewsYahoo NewsMore than $160,000 raised for victim of Chicago attack filmed on Facebook Live
A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $160,000 in just one week for an 18-year-old who was recently held captive and assaulted by four people in Chicago. A widely circulated Facebook Live video — which has since been removed — appeared to show the young man being tied up, beaten, cut, and verbally assaulted with anti-white slurs by a group of young African-American men and women. Last week, police arrested and charged four suspects with hate crimes, as well as counts of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated unlawful restraint, and aggravated battery.
- PoliticsYahoo NewsRex Tillerson hearing serves as forum for Trump concerns
Senators pressed Rex Tillerson Wednesday over his ties to Russia and to Exxon. But their greater concern seemed to be over whether President-elect Donald Trump would actually undermine the former ExxonMobil CEO he nominated to be his secretary of state
NewsAFPAssange agrees to extradition if US releases whistleblowerWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will agree to be extradited to the United States if President Barack Obama grants clemency to the former US soldier Chelsea Manning, jailed for leaking documents, the company said on Thursday. "If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ (US Department of Justice) case," WikiLeaks wrote on Twitter. Assange has been living in the Ecuadoran embassy in London since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations.
- PoliticsYahoo NewsDemocratic lawmakers oppose Jeff Sessions in blistering Senate testimony
Three of Sen. Jeff Sessions’ fellow congressmen took the unusual step of testifying against his nomination to be attorney general Wednesday, arguing in blistering terms that Sessions would roll back civil rights as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. Rep. John Lewis, a Democrat from Georgia and a leader in the civil rights movement, said Sessions’ call for “law and order” sounded similar to what he heard growing up in Alabama from pro-segregation officials who wanted to prevent black people from voting. “I was born in rural Alabama, not very far from where Sen. Sessions was raised,” Lewis said.
- WorldYahoo News Photo StaffStarry nights and empty streets in Syria
The stars fill the night sky over the eerily quiet streets of rebel-held Idlib, Syria, but the calm might not last much longer — now that Syrian government forces have recaptured Aleppo in a crushing offensive, they are likely to turn their attentions
WorldAssociated PressOpposition stalls end of Yellowstone grizzly protectionsA deluge of opposition from dozens of American Indian tribes, conservation groups and some scientists is tying up a decision on lifting protections for more than 700 grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National park. Researchers tallied 106 Yellowstone-area grizzlies killed in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming during the past two years, often by wildlife managers following attacks on livestock and occasionally during run-ins with hunters. Officials in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana have been lobbying heavily to take grizzlies off the threatened species list.
NewsReutersFury, forgiveness at condemned South Carolina church gunman's sentencingWhite supremacist Dylann Roof, condemned to death for a mass shooting at a Charleston, South Carolina, church, heard forgiveness and fury at his sentencing hearing on Wednesday from grieving loved ones of the nine slain black parishioners. Some victims' family members called the 22-year-old Roof evil and deserving of the death penalty for the June 17, 2015, attack at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest African-American congregation in the American South. "I want your soul to burn in hell," said Gayle Jackson, a niece of 87-year-old victim Susie Jackson.
- U.S.ABC News VideosLatest From Gen. Mattis Confirmation Hearing
Uncle live right now to our DC bureau where our teeth global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz joins us Martha thanks so much for making the time. First Russians have known general Mattis for a very long time because I've covered the Pentagon. Perhaps what president elect trump has said in the past it.
- HealthInternational Business TimesSuperbug Killed Nevada Woman
A superbug resistant to every antibiotic available in the U.S. medical arsenal killed a Nevada woman last summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. The woman, who was in her 70s and had a two-year history of hospitalizations in India, was hospitalized in Reno for a carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infection. Investigators identified the specific microbe as Klebsiella pneumoniae, which usually causes urinary tract infections.
BusinessAFPAmazon removes India flag doormats after visa threatAmazon said Thursday it has withdrawn doormats featuring the Indian flag from sale after New Delhi called them "insulting" and threatened to expel the company's foreign workers. Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted late Wednesday that the mats, available only on Amazon's Canadian site, were an "unacceptable" insult to the national flag and demanded an apology. "We have removed the products from the website following the Indian demand," said a company spokeswoman who asked not to be named.
PoliticsInternational Business TimesBritish Intelligence Officer Who Prepped Dossier On Trump RevealedThe British intelligence officer who reportedly prepared a dossier filled with allegations about President-elect Donald Trump now works for a private security-and-investigations firm, according to reports. Christopher Steele, the 52-year-old director of London’s Oribis Business Intelligence Ltd., is reportedly responsible for preparing the 35-page document handed over to U.S. Intelligence agencies and published this week by Buzzfeed, sources close to the issue told Wall Street Journal Wednesday. Steele works with another director at the firm, Christopher Burrows, 58, who would not “confirm or deny” Steele or Orbis’ involvement in the dossier to WSJ.
- NewsMashableSunny Obama rides last week out with a bang, bites visitor on face
As TMZ reports, Sunny, an otherwise adorable female Portuguese water dog, bit an 18-year-old White House guest's face on Monday when the visitor tried to pet the dog. TMZ says Ronny Jackson, the physician to the president, attended to the visitor's small injury, and determined that she would need stitches.
- NewsAssociated PressVoice recorder captured crash of plane over Lake Erie
A cockpit voice recorder recovered from Lake Erie captured the moments before a plane carrying six people crashed into the water nearly two weeks ago, federal investigators said Wednesday. The agency plans a detailed analysis of the recording, said spokesman Eric Weiss. Recovery crews on Wednesday continued to find more pieces of debris near what is believed to be the crash site from the business jet that vanished from radar shortly after taking off from Cleveland's lakefront on Dec. 29.
- NewsUPROXXThe Warriors Hired And Almost Immediately Fired A Controversial Ex-Police Chief From A Security Position
The Golden State Warriors are renowned for their ability to identify personnel who will help their organization. This goes from the front office to coaches to players, as Golden State’s ability to bring talent on board is second to none (save for the Spurs) in the NBA. It is a strange scenario, one that could have been avoided if the Warriors read up on Suhr’s unsavory tenure as the city’s police chief.
- WorldAssociated PressChina, Russia say united against South Korea missile defense
China has a range of economic, diplomatic and military options to retaliate if the U.S. and South Korea proceed with deployment of an advanced missile defense system, experts said Friday, as Beijing remained vague in its threats against the plan. Such steps could raise the stakes for Washington and Seoul in a controversial deployment that China regards as a major security threat, while complicating matters for South Korea as it faces domestic political divisions and significant public opposition. China's official Xinhua News Agency said Beijing and Moscow agreed to take "further countermeasures" in response to the plan during security talks between the two countries in Moscow on Thursday.
- NewsInside EditionTrooper Who Was 'Ambushed' on Highway Was Likely Saved by Armed Passerby
The bizarre story unfolded Thursday after Trooper Edward Andersson was dispatched to the scene of a 911 call in which a driver said he'd been shot at from the median of Interstate 10. While en route to the area where the call was placed near Tonopah, the 27-year veteran of the Department of Public Safety came upon a car that had overturned, causing a woman to be ejected from the vehicle and killed. While he placed road flares around the scene, Andersson was shot by a suspect who then physically attacked him.
WorldReutersIraqi forces link up in north Mosul, make gains in southeastBy John Davison and Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi forces joined flanks in northern Mosul and drove back Islamic State militants in the southeast on Thursday in a renewed push that has brought them closer to controlling the eastern half of the city. Forces from the elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) took control of 7th Nissan and Sadeeq districts, linking up with army troops that had pushed through al-Hadba neighbourhood, CTS spokesman Sabah al-Numan told Reuters. "The enemy is now located only in front of the troops, not at their sides." Numan said more than 85 percent of eastern Mosul was now under control of pro-government forces, up from nearly 75 percent a week ago.
- NewsLiveScience.com'Tree Man' Has Surgery: What Causes This Rare Condition?
A 27-year-old man in Bangladesh known as the "tree man" recently underwent surgery to remove the extensive, wood-like warts that covered his hands and feet. Over the past year, the man, Abul Bajandar, has undergone 16 surgeries to remove 11 lbs. (5 kilograms) of the unusual growths from his hands and feet, according toAgence France-Presse (AFP). Prior to the surgery, the growths were so extensive that Bajandar could not feed himself or hold his daughter.
NewsAFPTexas carries out first US execution of 2017Texas prison authorities carried out the first US execution of 2017, as controversy continued to swirl around the drugs used to conduct such lethal injections. Christopher Wilkins, 48, was executed at the Texas state penitentiary at Huntsville after the US Supreme Court denied him a last-minute reprieve. Wilkins was convicted of a double murder in 2005, sparked when he said a dealer and his friend sold him a $20 dose of crack cocaine that turned out to be a rock, then laughed at him.
PoliticsThe AtlanticIs Obamacare Just Bad Branding?The Senate began the process of dismantling Obamacare early Thursday morning, passing a budget blueprint that sets the stage for a formal repeal vote, potentially within a few weeks. The step is, for now, procedural, but it signals Republican lawmakers
- NewsMashableMan arrested for meth let off because it was just kitty litter
Ross Lebeau, 24, from Texas was pulled over for a routine traffic stop after he allegedly failed to use a turn signal on Dec. 5. Deputies for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office then searched Lebeau's vehicle, where they discovered a sock filled with what they believed to be methamphetamine in the car's trunk.
- CelebrityCosmopolitan VideosObama Tearfully Thanks His Wife in Emotional Farewell Speech
President Obama took a moment to thank Michelle for her many contributions to the White House and the world beyond it.
- U.S.Yahoo News Photo StaffFuneral for paralyzed detective who forgave shooter
Escorted by police motorcycles and amid the wail of bagpipes, the hearse carrying the body of Detective Steven McDonald arrived Friday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the funeral of the officer known for forgiving a teenage gunman who left him paralyzed. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill joined scores of police officers watched as the hearse pulled up in front of the Manhattan church. McDonald, 59, who suffered a heart attack last week, died at a Long Island hospital on Tuesday.
WorldAssociated PressAbe pledges investments, speedboats to China-friendly ManilaJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday pledged $8.7 billion worth of business opportunities and private investments along with speedboats and other counterterrorism equipment to the Philippines, whose president has boosted ties with China. Following talks with President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila, Abe welcomed the Philippine leader's efforts to improve Manila's ties with Beijing "in light of the arbitral award," referring to the Philippines' victory in an arbitration ruling declaring China's claims to the South China Sea invalid.
- NewsInside EditionMan Wears Sign Supporting Suspected Cop Killer Outside Florida Sheriff's Office: 'God Bless the Shooter'
As Orlando police remain embroiled in a manhunt for a suspect wanted for the murder of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and an officer in Orlando, a man took to the streets to show support for that alleged cop killer, donning a sign celebrating the death of police outside a Florida sheriff’s office. The man, identified in reports as Ian McGuire, 26, was seen outside the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, located about three hours southwest of Orlando, wearing a sign that read: "2 cops dead in Orlando.
