- WorldYahoo NewsDefense secretary pick Mattis calls Russia top threat, says Iran deal will be enforced
Defense secretary nominee James Mattis on Thursday ranked Russia and the national debt as top threats to U.S. national security and said that President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran was “imperfect” but must be enforced. “It’s not a deal I would have signed,” the retired Marine general said in a wide-ranging Senate Armed Services Committee hearing focused on his virtually certain confirmation. During a three-hour appearance before lawmakers who rarely challenged him, Mattis repeatedly criticized Russia, promised that President-elect Donald Trump would enforce NATO’s automatic mutual-defense agreement, and said he had no plans to roll back the role of women or LGBTQ Americans in the military.
- 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.
NewsAssociated PressPassing driver kills man attacking Arizona trooper on roadTrooper Edward Andersson, a 27-year veteran of the Department of Public Safety, was shot in the right shoulder and chest in what authorities called an ambush and was in serious but stable condition after surgery at a Goodyear hospital. "My trooper would not be alive without his assistance," DPS Director Frank Milstead said of the driver who stopped. Arizona has a "defense of third person" law that allows someone to use deadly force against another who is threatening or injuring a third person.
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.
BusinessReutersAmazon to add more than 100,000 jobs in U.S. hiring spreeBy Jeffrey Dastin and Emily Stephenson NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc on Thursday said it will create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States, from software development to warehouse work, in its latest move to win over shoppers by investing in faster delivery. The world's largest online retailer will grow its full-time U.S. workforce by more than 50 percent to over 280,000 in the next 18 months, it said in a press release. Amazon is spending heavily on new warehouses so it can stock goods closer to customers and fulfill orders quickly and cheaply.
- 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.
- WorldForeign Policy MagazineIn Asylum Limbo, Europe’s Forgotten Refugees Are Dying of Cold
Refugees and migrants in Europe are dying this winter and governments must do more to help, the U.N. warned on Friday. Cecile Poutilly, a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency UNCHR, said five had died so far in a unusual cold front settling in on southeastern Europe. The EU spent 198 million euro in 2016 on emergency support for Greece to help tens of thousands of refugees and migrants, according to the EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Department.
- 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
TechnologyBGR NewsOur favorite Google Pixel and Pixel XL clear case is on sale right now for $3The Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL are two of the hottest smartphones on the planet right now. Protecting your Pixel or Pixel XL doesn’t have to mean ruining the look or hiding the phones under a bunch of ugly plastic, however.
PoliticsReutersTillerson says China should be barred from South China Sea islandsBy David Brunnstrom and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state has set a course for a potentially serious confrontation with Beijing, saying China should be denied access to islands it has built in the contested South China Sea. In comments expected to enrage Beijing, Rex Tillerson told his confirmation hearing on Wednesday before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee that China's building of islands and putting military assets on those islands was "akin to Russia’s taking Crimea” from Ukraine. Asked whether he supported a more aggressive posture toward China, he said: "We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed.” The former Exxon Mobil Corp chairman and chief executive did not elaborate on what might be done to deny China access to the islands it has built up from South China Sea reefs, equipped with military-length airstrips and fortified with weapons.
- 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.
- 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.
WorldAFPObama eases Sudan sanctions, prompting angerUS President Barack Obama on Friday took the controversial step of easing economic sanctions against Sudan, trying to improve relations with a country whose leader is accused of war crimes and links to terror. Obama informed Congress that he will lift trade and investment sanctions against Khartoum after a six-month probation period, although Sudan will still be designated a state sponsor of terrorism. An end to fighting in Sudan's hotspots -- the Darfur region, as well as in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states -- had been set as a precondition for sanctions being lifted.
- PoliticsABC News VideosObama-Biden Bromance Reduces VP to Tears
Joe Biden was moved to tears when the president surprised him with the Medal of Freedom. As want to dip some folks together to pay tribute to somebody who's not only been by my side. For the duration of this amazing journey and by somebody who has devoted
- NewsAssociated PressMotorist who aided wounded trooper recalls fear, confusion
An Arizona man who helped a wounded state trooper said Friday he was afraid and confused when he saw three bodies and pulled over on a freeway. Authorities say another motorist had just shot and killed a man who wounded Trooper Edward Andersson early Thursday on Interstate 10 west of Phoenix. Brian Schober, a 44-year-old systems engineer, told The Associated Press that he saw the trooper's vehicle parked in a traffic lane marked with flares when he first came upon the nighttime scene.
- ScienceMashableStriking images capture the majestic beauty of seadragons
Researchers in Australia finally caught on camera what they were looking for: a new species of seadragon in its natural habitat. Footage released this week in Marine Biodiversity Records shows the elusive "Ruby Seadragon" in the waters off Australia'
- NewsInternational Business TimesWoman With Black Boyfriend Raises Over 14k On GoFundMe After Lamenting Racist Parents
Allie Dowdle, 18, of Memphis said on the fundraising page that she has been dating her boyfriend, Michael, for about a year, but her parents are having a difficult time accepting him into the family. Dowdle mentioned that she is incapable of getting a job due to a lack of a consistent transportation.
LifestyleAssociated PressCritics upset after Norwegian kids watch reindeer slaughterA preschool in Arctic Norway is facing online criticism for taking 5-year-old children on an outing to view the slaughter and skinning of reindeer at a nearby farm. The criticism erupted on Facebook after the school posted photos of eight children looking at reindeers, a culled animal hanging above a blood pool, a child dragging bloodied skins in the snow and snowsuit-clad children tossing carcass bits into a container. Dag Olav Stoelan, head of the Granstubben Barnehage preschool, says Tuesday's daytrip was designed to teach the children about the indigenous Sami who live in northern Norway and are often involved in reindeer herding.
- NewsReutersEPA denies $1 billion-plus in claims from toxic Colorado mine spill
By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday denied $1.2 billion in claims for economic losses stemming from a 2015 toxic wastewater spill accidentally triggered by the agency at a defunct Colorado mine, that fouled waterways in three states. The EPA said in a statement that it was "not legally able to pay" damage claims over the discharge from the century-old Gold King Mine, located near the town of Silverton in southwestern Colorado. Farmers, ranchers and river-running raft companies, among others, filed the claims seeking compensation for lost business or wages from the spill.
BusinessGreen Car ReportsChina's GAC shows electric car, plug-in hybrid concept, crossover at Detroit Auto ShowChina is now the world's largest new-car market, but no native Chinese manufacturers sell passenger cars in the U.S. GAC appeared this week at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show with three vehicles, including an electric car and a concept plug-in hybrid. The automaker also appeared at the Detroit show in 2013, but this was the first year it—or any other Chinese automaker—has had a booth on the main floor of Detroit's Cobo Center.
- NewsInside EditionMom of 3 Shot Dead After Answering Knock at the Door
A Louisiana mother was shot dead after answering the door to her home this week. Baton Rouge police say Robyn Hale, 27, was shot multiple times after opening her trailer's door at about midnight on Wednesday. Read: Teen Girl Shot Dead in Her Own Bedroom
- PoliticsFOX News VideosJudicial Watch blasts DOJ IG's 'favor' to the Clinton camp
Tom Fitton sounds off on 'political' probe into FBI email case on 'America's News HQ'
- StylePopular MechanicsOutdoor Retailer 2017: The Best New Adventure Gear of the Year
PM is at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Show in Salt Lake City this week, getting our hands on all the gear that outfit your next adventure.From Popular Mechanics
PoliticsAFPUS Congress approves first step for repealing ObamacareThe US House of Representatives on Friday joined the Senate in passing a critical measure that marks the first major step toward repealing outgoing President Barack Obama's landmark but controversial health care reforms. The House's near party-line vote of 227 to 198 approved a budget blueprint which provides Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, with a framework for dismantling the Affordable Care Act. "This resolution essentially fires the starting pistol... for repealing Obamacare," said Representative Bill Johnson, an Ohio Republican.
- WorldAssociated PressAmid supporters, Haiti leader pleads not guilty in drug case
Guy Philippe entered the plea Friday morning at a brief hearing to a three-count cocaine smuggling and money-laundering conspiracy indictment dating to 2005 that carries a maximum life prison sentence if he is convicted. A leader of the 2004 coup that toppled then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Philippe had recently been elected to the Haitian Senate and was days away from being sworn in when he was arrested. Supporters who came to the courthouse Friday said Philippe is innocent and blamed his arrest on political foes.
