- PoliticsYahoo NewsChuck Schumer trolls Mitch McConnell with copy of his own letter
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer threw Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s own words back in his face, tussling over President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks. Schumer announced on Monday that he is sending McConnell a copy of a letter the Republican wrote in 2009 outlining “standards” for President Obama’s Cabinet nominees. In a speech on the Senate floor and a tweet in which he shared a handwritten version of the letter with McConnell’s signature crossed out, Schumer suggested he is trying to show his requests are “reasonable.” Confirmation hearings are set to begin on Tuesday, but some of Trump’s nominees have not completed ethics reviews.
- NewsInside EditionMan Cleared of Drug Charge After Cops Mistake Kitty Litter for Meth
A Texas man has been cleared of drug possession charges after authorities say they mistook kitty litter in his car for methamphetamine. Ross Lebeau was arrested last month, fingerprinted and had his mugshot taken after cops say he admitted to having marijuana in his car during a traffic stop.
WorldAFPIran mourns 'sheikh of moderation' RafsanjaniIran began three days of mourning Monday after the death of ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a pillar of the Islamic revolution who became a leading counterweight to hardliners. Tributes poured in for the moderate cleric, including from President Hassan Rouhani, who was reportedly at Rafsanjani's bedside before he died of a heart attack aged 82. "Islam lost a valuable treasure, Iran an outstanding general, the Islamic revolution a courageous flag-bearer and the Islamic system a rare sage," Rouhani said.
NewsAssociated PressFans mourn death of California's famous 'drive-thru' sequoiaJoyce Brown was 12 when her parents first took her to visit the "drive-thru tree," a giant sequoia in California famous for a car-sized hole carved into the base of its trunk. "It's kind of like someone in the family has died," said Brown, a 65-year-old retired middle school teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area who spends about a third of the year at her family's cabin in Arnold, about 4 miles from where the now-fallen tree lies dead in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. In May 2015, she and her husband showed off the tree to John and Lesley Ripper, a Michigan couple the Browns befriended on an African safari.
- U.S.Yahoo News Photo Staff‘No Safe Place’: Targeted by the Taliban, America’s Afghan allies struggle to make a new life in U.S.
Last month, President Obama signed his last federal defense budget for 2017, which included a provision to extend a program that provides Special Immigrant Visas to Afghan nationals who provided assistance to U.S. troops and now face retaliation from the Taliban. Last summer, spearheaded by photojournalist Renée C. Byer, the Sacramento Bee published a powerful series documenting the dismal living conditions of Afghan SIV holders in Sacramento, who've escaped the Taliban only to come face-to-face with a threadbare resettlement system that's left them desperate, disillusioned, and in some cases, suicidal in the States.
- BusinessRoad & TrackCONFIRMED! The New Ford Bronco Is Coming for 2020
At the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ford announced the thing everybody has been anticipating: The Ford Bronco returns as a midsize 4x4 for 2020. Ford's Joe Hinrichs did reveal that the upcoming 2020 Bronco would be built in the U.S., at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant. Notably, the 2019 Ford Ranger was also announced today, also slated to be built at the Michigan Assembly Plant.
- LifestyleConsumer ReportsHow to Save at Costco | Shopping Tips - Consumer Reports News
If you’re a Costco member, you probably know a thing or two about saving a buck. It also pays to choose only the best products from Consumer Reports’ tests of Costco products large and small, including condiments, detergents, mattresses, and more. For starters, it’s always good to check the Costco website for discounts. “Our job is to provide great products and services at great savings to members, but we also want to wow you,” says Richard Galanti, Costco’s chief financial officer.
TechnologyAFPPentagon successfully tests micro-drone swarmThe Pentagon may soon be unleashing a 21st-century version of locusts on its adversaries after officials on Monday said it had successfully tested a swarm of 103 micro-drones. The important step in the development of new autonomous weapon systems was made possible by improvements in artificial intelligence, holding open the possibility that groups of small robots could act together under human direction. The test of the world's largest micro-drone swarm in California in October included 103 Perdix micro-drones measuring around six inches (16 centimeters) launched from three F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets, the Pentagon said in a statement.
- WorldForeign Policy MagazineTed Cruz Meets With, Texas Governor Gives Possibly Offensive Gift to, Taiwanese Leader
On Monday, China said it “firmly opposed” Sunday’s meeting between Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Cruz and Tsai reportedly discussed “arms sales, diplomatic exchanges and economic relations,” while Abbott’s conversation was more focused on agriculture and gas trade. Abbott also presented a culturally offensive gift.
- PoliticsInternational Business TimesTrump Getting Rid Of Those in Charge of Securing America's Nukes Before Securing Replacements
President-elect Donald Trump ordered the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration and his deputy to leave their posts on Jan. 20, a Department of Energy official told Gizmodo. Trump’s move leaves the NNSA, the agency that secures U.S. nuclear weapons, without a leader -- and it’s unclear when the officials will be replaced. Trump instructed Under Secretary for Nuclear Security Frank Klotz and his deputy, Madelyn Creedon, whom were both appointed by Obama, to leave their posts, even if it means no one will be in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons.
BusinessReutersU.S. charges Volkswagen executive with fraud over emissions scandalBy Zachary Fagenson and David Shepardson MIAMI/DETROIT (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG suffered a new setback on Monday when an executive was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States over the company's diesel emissions cheating and the automaker was accused of concealing the cheating from regulators. Oliver Schmidt, who was general manager in charge of VW's environmental and engineering office in Michigan, did not enter a plea at an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Miami on Monday and was ordered held pending a hearing on Thursday by U.S. Magistrate Judge William C. Turnoff. Schmidt, who was shackled and wearing a jail uniform, was charged with fraud and conspiracy in not disclosing a cheating device used to rig U.S. diesel emissions tests from 2006 through 2015.
- NewsInside EditionWatch the Terrifying Moment Fort Lauderdale Shooter Opened Fire Inside Airport Terminal
Heart-stopping video of the moment the deranged gunman opened fire at Florida's Fort Lauderdale Airport Friday has emerged. In the footage obtained by TMZ, Esteban Santiago can be seen pulling the 9mm handgun out of his waistband and firing inside Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale Airport. Five people were killed, including a grandmother from Ohio, and 84-year-old Olga Woltering, who was about to embark on a cruise to celebrate her husband's 90th birthday.
WorldAssociated PressEU Commission: 'untenable' situation in Greek refugee campsConditions for refugees on Greek islands and in other camps where they are housed in tents despite severe cold weather are "untenable," the European Commission said Monday. Heavy snowfall has hit large swaths of Greece, including the eastern Aegean islands where thousands of refugees are stranded, with temperatures falling well below freezing. Giorgos Kyritsis, spokesman for the government's crisis committee on migration, told Greece's Skai television that just under 1,000 people remain housed in tents on the islands.
WorldAFP Relax NewsBelarus scraps visas for short-term visitsBelarus on Monday announced it was scrapping visas for short-term visits by citizens of 80 countries in a move that could help open up one of Europe's most tightly-controlled states. Strongman ruler Alexander Lukashenko signed off on a decree to allow visitors from across Europe and the United States to enter Belarus by air for stays of up to five days without a visa. Landlocked Belarus -- once dubbed the last dictatorship in Europe by the US -- is one of the continent's most closed countries and currently only has visa-free travel with neighbouring Russia, other ex-Soviet states and some South American and Middle Eastern nations.
- ScienceLiveScience.comClimate Change Could Trigger Collapse of Major Ocean Current
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a deep-sea system that circulates warm water and helps to regulate Earth's climate, is far less stable than scientists once thought, according to a new study. Under climate-change pressures such as dramatic increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), the AMOC could even collapse entirely, resulting in a much colder Northern Hemisphere and a wetter tropical Atlantic region.
- WorldInternational Business TimesUS-Iranian Relations Intensify On Strait Of Hormuz
The USS Mahan, a U.S. Navy destroyer nicknamed "built to fight," fired three warning shots Sunday toward four Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a politically strategic and often disputed strait between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The incident was spurred after the four Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ships sped toward the Navy warship, seemingly out of nowhere, while failing to respond to U.S. officials repeated requests for them to slow down, Reuters reported Monday morning. The USS Mahan fired its three warning shots toward the Iranian vessels after the four ships came within 900 yards. The Navy was attempting to make contact with the Iranian vessels after they began encroaching on the U.S. warship at an atypical rate, Reuters reported.
- CelebrityElle VideosKim Kardashian's Paris Robbery May Have Been an Inside Job
Earlier this week, 17 suspects were arrested in connection with the Paris robbery of Kim Kardashian West. It is now believed that Kim's chauffeur played a role in the robbery.
WorldAFPNorway court reviews Breivik's 'inhumane' prison conditionsA Norway court on Tuesday begins examining the state's appeal against a ruling that it has treated mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik "inhumanely" since he was jailed for killing 77 people in 2011. Last April, a district court in Oslo delivered a humiliating blow when it concluded the 37-year-old rightwing extremist's rights had been violated and he was subjected to "inhumane" and "degrading" treatment in prison. Norway prides itself on having scrupulously respected the rule of law after the country suffered the bloodiest attack on its soil since the end of World War II.
PoliticsAFPRussians claim to have compromising info on Trump: CNNUS spy chiefs told President-elect Donald Trump last week that Russian operatives claim to have "compromising" personal and financial information about him, CNN reported Tuesday. Citing "multiple" unnamed US officials with direct knowledge of the meeting, CNN said the intelligence chiefs presented a two-page synopsis on the potential embarrassment for the incoming president along with their classified briefing on Friday on alleged Russian interference in the presidential election. President Barack Obama was also briefed on the issue on Thursday.
- U.S.ABC News VideosProtesters Escorted Out by Police at Jeff Sessions Confirmation Hearing
Several people were removed after disrupting the attorney general confirmation hearing. Confirmation hearing is literally just around the corner underway right now so right now if we can and have Gary don't win a little that you can see some of these. Protesters you ask pointed out.
BusinessReutersU.S. Supreme Court will not examine tech industry legal shieldThe U.S. Supreme Court on Monday boosted one of the tech industry's go-to defenses in suits to hold websites liable for content posted by others, rebuffing an appeal by women who accused an online ad site of promoting child sex trafficking. The high court let stand a lower court's decision last year to dismiss the lawsuit because the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 law protecting free speech on the internet, shielded Backpage from liability for the content of the ads. Tech companies commonly invoke the Communications Decency Act in defending against similar lawsuits.
- BusinessCar and Driver2018 Toyota Camry: America's Favorite Sedan Is All-New
It’s no stretch whatsoever to imagine that the team creating the 2018 Toyota Camry, just revealed at the 2017 Detroit auto show and bound for dealerships this summer, had to confront some severe performance anxiety. CEO Akio Toyoda has demanded more adventurous, stirring designs across the board as part of his aim to purge the boring cars from Toyota Motor Corporation’s lineup. The 2018 Camry is within an inch of the 2017 model in length and width, but Toyota hasn’t yielded to the crossover crowd by making the new Camry taller or more upright.
TechnologyAFP Relax NewsHighlights of 2017 Consumer Electronics ShowAmazon's virtual assistant Alexa was the surprise star of the show, with dozens of new products and services integrating the voice-accessed machine smarts into appliances, TVs, speakers, lamps, cars and more. Analysts said the gains for Alexa could help unify a fragmented market for connected devices, and bring artificial intelligence to more people, from young to old.
WorldInternational Business Times7.3-Magnitude Quake Hits PhilippinesUPDATE: 3:48 a.m. EST – The 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck under the Celebes Sea off southern Philippines on Tuesday was far too deep to cause any damage and casualties or generate a tsunami, authorities reportedly said. Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said that the quake, which was centered 138 miles southeast of Sulu province, was slightly felt in southern General Santos city. Aftershocks from the earthquake are expected, Solidum reportedly said, adding that quakes with such depths are rare. However, the Philippines often witnesses earthquakes and volcanic activities as it lies in the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” The worst earthquake to hit the region was in 1990 when a magnitude 7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people.
WorldAssociated PressMerkel pledges quick security action after Berlin attackChancellor Angela Merkel promised Monday that Germany's government would tackle security issues raised by the Christmas market truck attack and renewed a pledge to make a "national effort" to ensure that failed asylum seekers return home. The Dec. 19 truck attack in Berlin demanded a swift response that guarantees both security and civil liberties, Merkel said at a conference of civil servants in Cologne. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere last week proposed a security shake-up that would give the federal government more powers and centralize Germany's domestic intelligence agency.
