- NewsYahoo NewsObama’s ‘favorite general’ wins pardon in leak probe
Retired Marine Gen. James Cartwright. President Obama gave a full pardon Tuesday to retired Gen. James “Hoss” Cartwright, who was convicted of lying to the FBI during an investigation into a leak about American efforts to sabotage the Iranian nuclear program. The pardon followed an intense lobbying campaign on behalf of Cartwright that included expressions of support, relayed by Cartwright’s lawyer, from former President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, according to sources familiar with the effort.
NewsAssociated PressAuthorities: Trooper was shot by driver he sought to helpThe man who shot and severely beat an Arizona state trooper last week was a former member of the Mexican federal police who was in the country illegally, authorities said. Leonard Pennelas-Escobar opened fire on Trooper Edward Andersson early Thursday after the officer had stopped on the interstate and set up flares in a bid to get motorists to slow down. Pennelas-Escobar said something unrecognizable in Spanish before shooting the trooper, and then he started landing blows with his fists and beating the trooper's head on the ground, Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead said Monday.
- PoliticsMashableThe internet roasts a photo of Donald Trump writing his inauguration speech
When times get tough, at least you can still meme. President-elect Donald Trump is slated to deliver his inauguration address on Friday, so he teased his Twitter followers with a little behind-the-scenes photo of himself writing a speech at his Mar-a-
WorldAFPDeadly quake nightmare returns to haunt ItalyItaly was hit by four earthquakes in four hours Wednesday, killing one and bringing terror to snowbound mountain areas still recovering from last year's series of deadly tremors. The quakes, all measuring more than five magnitude, struck close to Amatrice, the mountain town devastated by an August earthquake that left nearly 300 people dead. The body of one victim was found under the debris of a building in the town of Castel Castagna, in the province of Teramo, local authorities said in a statement.
WorldReutersBrazil prisoners clash with police where 26 inmates were butcheredBy Pedro Fonseca RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian police used rubber bullets and tear gas on Tuesday to break up a renewed clash between drug gangs in a prison where 26 inmates were butchered by rivals in recent days. Major Eduardo Franco, spokesman for police in the state of Rio Grande do Norte where the Alcaçuz prison is located, said authorities managed to keep the rival gangs apart and so far prevent another massacre. Brazil has been hit by a wave of deadly gang clashes in prisons in the north and northeast regions of the country since Jan. 1.
- NewsInside EditionTeen Abducted 18 Years Ago Says She Will Have '2 Moms,' but Still Loves Accused Kidnapper
“I love her,” 18-year-old Alexis Manigo told Inside Edition. Manigo said she had a “fantastic” and “normal” life while living with Williams, who she believed to be her mother. While she is learning about her biological family, Manigo says she will still recognize Williams as her mother.
- SciencePopular MechanicsSpaceX Launches Its First Rocket Since Their Florida Explosion
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Saturday and placed a constellation of satellites in orbit, marking the company's first launch since a fireball engulfed a similar rocket on a Florida launch pad more than four months ago. The two-stage rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:54 a.m. carrying a payload for Iridium Communications Inc., which is replacing its entire global network with 70 next-generation satellites. The satellites were deployed about an hour after launch.
- HealthChristian Science MonitorStudy: US abortions now at lowest rate since Roe v. Wade
The number of abortions performed in the United States has fallen to the lowest rate since 1974, the year after the Supreme Court legalized the practice in the historic 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, according to a new study. The report comes from the Guttmacher Institute, which researches sexual and reproductive health-related policy. The total number of abortions performed in 2014 hovered around 926,000, showing a gradual, yet consistent, downward trend over the past two decades.
NewsAssociated PressForeclosed mall once valued at $190M is auctioned for $100A Pennsylvania mall that was foreclosed on after its owners failed to repay $143 million has been auctioned off for $100. Wells Fargo Bank was owed the money from a 2006 loan and submitted the winning bid for the 1.1 million-square-foot Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills on Wednesday.
- U.S.ABC News VideosNext Chapter: Obamas' Planned Move to Kalorama Surprises Longtime Resident
President would have chosen in neighborhood. Where the houses are so close to one another that I suppose the Secret Service knows hadn't take care of that. All wired soon to be presidents have lived here Woodrow Wilson and Terry in 1920 line.
- WorldYahoo News Photo StaffPhotos of the day — January 17, 2017
Impoverished Indian children watch a performance as part of advocacy against child labor in Allahabad, India; women loyal to the Houthi movement parade to show support to the movement in Sanaa, Yemen; and dogs are blessed by a priest outside San Anton
- WorldYahoo NewsWhite House admits Obama won’t close Guantánamo
President Obama will fail to keep one of his most high-profile promises — closing the detention facility for suspected terrorists at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba — the White House acknowledged on Tuesday. “At this point, I don’t anticipate that we will succeed in that goal of closing the prison, but it’s not for a lack of trying,” press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his final media briefing. “The only reason it didn’t happen is because of the politics that members of Congress of both parties, frankly, played with this issue,” Earnest said with just two full days left in Obama’s term.
WorldAFPIsrael army gets new ballistic missile interceptorsThe Israeli army on Wednesday received new ballistic missile interceptors that significantly upgrade the Jewish state's aerial defence systems in the face of "emerging threats", the defence ministry said. The Arrow 3 interceptor, designed to shoot down missiles above the atmosphere, was handed to air force bases in Israel after successful testing by Israel and the United States at the end of 2015. A defence ministry statement said Israel and the US were dedicated to the continued development and enhancement of ballistic missile defence systems as "threats continue to grow and new emerging threats surface".
- NewsAssociated PressProsecutor: Orlando gunman's widow knew about the attack
Visibly nervous and bewildered, Noor Salman quietly acknowledged she understood the two felony charges alleging she assisted her husband and obstructed justice. Salman, 30, was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and lived in Fort Pierce, Florida, with her husband Omar Mateen when he attacked the Pulse nightclub on June 12. "She knew he was going to conduct the attack," federal prosecutor Roger Handberg told the judge Tuesday.
NewsReutersDakota Access company files motion to halt environmental studyBy Liz Hampton HOUSTON (Reuters) - Energy Transfer Partners has filed a motion to bar the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from initiating an environmental study for its controversial Dakota Access pipeline crossing at Lake Oahe in North Dakota. Energy Transfer Partners requested on Monday that a U.S. District Court judge for the District of Columbia stop the Corps from initiating the environmental impact statement process until a ruling has been made on whether the company already has necessary approvals for the pipeline crossing.
- WorldPopular MechanicsFailed MH370 Search Reveals the Secrets of the Sea Floor
The deep-sea sonar search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 may not have found the plane but will reveal more about how land beneath the Indian Ocean formed over millions of years and where oil fields could lie. National geoscience agency Geoscience Australia will soon release detailed sonar mapping of 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) of seabed that was searched for the wreckage of the Boeing 777 that vanished with 239 passengers and crew on March 8, 2014. The unique information about plate tectonics would interest geoscientists as well as oil and gas explorers, said Australian National University marine geologist Neville Exon, who has advised Geoscience Australia on the sonar data.
- NewsInside EditionSearch Suspended for Dad and 3-Year-Old Son Swept Out to Sea as Wife Looked On
The Oregon Coast Guard has suspended the search for a father and son who were swept out to sea Sunday while the man's wife reportedly looked on. Authorities spent 22 hours searching by helicopter and foot for 31-year-old Jayson Dean Thomas and his 3-year
NewsAssociated PressTeen abducted as newborn still loves only mom she's knownAn 18-year-old woman abducted as a newborn from a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, says she still loves the only mother she has known. Manigo met with her birth parents, Craig Aiken and Shanara Mobley, last weekend in Walterboro, South Carolina, where she was found earlier this month. "I feel like I do owe them that, to give them a chance, you know, get to know them," Manigo said.
BusinessAFPBuffeted by change, US auto workers resigned to uncertaintyDetroit, the once-thriving capital of the US automobile industry, has seen most of its jobs move overseas, leaving the remaining workers at the "Big Three" auto plants wondering about the future. When Janet Parker, 46, learned she would be hired by Ford, she was sure it meant the start of a worry-free working life. The lack of certainty auto workers have in their future is a persistent burden, and efforts by the once-powerful United Auto Workers labor union to stem the tide have borne little fruit.
- PoliticsForeign Policy MagazineSamantha Power Scolds Trump for Embracing Russia as it ‘Tears Down’ World Order
Outgoing U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power slammed President-elect Donald Trump, Russia, and the burgeoning threat of “authoritarianism and nihilism” in a an unusual 11th hour speech just days before Trump takes office. Without explicitly naming Trump, Power scolded the incoming president for not taking a harder line on Moscow, especially after he was briefed on the scope of apparent Russian meddling during the recent election. Trump repeatedly denigrated U.S. intelligence findings pointing the finger at Russia for election-season hacks meant to boost his chances of winning.
- NewsInternational Business TimesGiant Florida Gator Is Not For Tourists, Nature Preserve Staff Warn
A video of a massive alligator walking through a reserve near Lakeland, Florida, had people speculating earlier this week whether it was a hoax. The video, which was uploaded Sunday to Facebook by Florida resident Kim Joiner, shows the massive reptile appearing out of a nearby bush at the Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County and then casually walking on the reserve's Marsh Rabbit Run. Officials for the county's natural resources division said that while they appreciate the attention the nature reserve has been getting, they are also worried about the safety of visitors and wildlife.
- WorldReutersArab Israeli and policeman killed in suspected car ramming attack in southern Israel
Police in Israel said an Arab Israeli on Wednesday rammed his car into a group of policemen in the southern Negev region, killing one before being shot dead, though a rights activist who was present disputed it was an attack. Police spokeswoman Merav Lapidot said the suspect was a local teacher who "surged towards the forces intending to kill" and that riots erupted after he was shot.
- NewsAssociated PressNorway defends mass murderer Breivik's prison conditions
Norway on Tuesday defended the prison conditions under which mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik is being held. The state attorney presented its closing statement in an appeals trial against a lower court ruling that found that Breivik's isolation in prison violated his human rights. The "state is allowed to defend itself" state attorney Fredrik Sejersted said at the end of a day-long session where he sought to prove that Breivik was being treated in line with democratic principles.
- StyleHarper's Bazaar Videos9 of Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s Best Bromance Moments
From hugs to handshakes and massages, check out the best moments of President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s epic bromance.
NewsAFPAnger at skeletal sun bears in Indonesian zooAnimal rights activists Wednesday demanded the closure of an Indonesian zoo after skeletal sun bears were pictured begging for food from visitors and eating their own dung. The bears at the zoo in the city of Bandung were shown waving their arms in the air inside their enclosure -- with their ribs visible through their fur -- as people hurled food at them. Bandung zoo came under fire last year after the death of a critically endangered Sumatran elephant.
