Le'Veon Bell responds on social media after Jets coach Adam Gase's puzzling quote - CBS Sports

1. Le'Veon Bell responds on social media after Jets coach Adam Gase's puzzling quote  CBS Sports
2. Jets' Le'Veon Bell looking forward to 2020 after 'different season'  ESPN
3. Adam Gase doesn’t answer when asked if he wants Le’Veon Bell back  NBCSports.com
4. 5 Players Jets should bring back in 2020  New York Daily News
5. Jets coach Adam Gase on Le'Veon Bell: “You can ask Joe tomorrow”  SNY
6. View full coverage on Google News

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Cuomo Calls Hanukkah Stabbing Attack ‘Domestic Terrorism’

(Bloomberg) -- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called a multiple stabbing during Hanukkah celebrations on Saturday night “an act of domestic terrorism,” and President Donald Trump urged the nation to unite against antisemitism. The attack, which Cuomo said was one of about 13 antisemitic incidents in the past few weeks, took place in Monsey, a suburban hamlet in Rockland County, north of New York City.“I believe the situation has gotten so bad, frankly, that we need to increase our legal enforcement,” Cuomo said Sunday during a televised press briefing.A man reportedly entered the home of a Hasidic rabbi during Hanukkah celebrations Saturday evening and stabbed people gathered there with a large knife, injuring five people. Five CountsThe Ramapo Police Department said in a statement Sunday that 37-year-old Grafton Thomas had been arraigned on five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. Thomas was transported to Rockland County Jail, according to the police department.Earlier, Cuomo said on CNN that attacks like the one in Monsey should be “punished as if it is an act of terrorism.” He said New York state would take the lead, and that he would outline those plans in his State of the State address in January.Cuomo said in an interview on Fox News that he would also increase the police presence.Adding OfficersNew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he’ll add additional police officers in certain New York neighborhoods with large Jewish populations, like Brooklyn’s Crown Heights and Williamsburg. On Sunday in an interview with Fox News, the mayor said that the country was experiencing a “crisis of antisemitism.” “We have seen enough in New York,” Cuomo said on CNN‘s “State of the Union.” “This is violence spurred by hate. It is mass violence and I consider this an act of domestic terrorism.”The Anti-Defamation League has identified 10 anti-Semitic incidents in New York and New Jersey since the eight-day Hanukkah festival began Dec. 22.On Dec. 23, a 65-year-old Orthodox man was punched in the face in Manhattan by someone screaming anti-Semitic slurs, according to the league. Later an Orthodox man was chased by a group yelling anti-Semitic slurs in Brooklyn. The attacks have continued, culminating in the stabbing Saturday night.“At this point we are in an epidemic in New York City, of all places,” Oren Segal, director of the ADL’s Center on Extremism, said on CNN. “There’s a lot of fear and anxiety.”Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon that the attack was “horrific. We must all come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of antisemitism.” On Twitter, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders said he was “outraged by this knife attack in Monsey. We must confront this surge of antisemitic violence, prioritize the fight against bigotry, and bring people together -- instead of dividing people up.”Other 2020 White House hopefuls weighed in. Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter that she was “heartsick” and “bigotry has no place in our society.” Former Vice President Joe Biden said the county needs to “fight these flames of hatred.”Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said on CNN that it was right to get “evil” people off the street, but that he’d want to see the law Cuomo is proposing before supporting such a measure on a national level.“America is a big, wide-open, pluralistic country. I don’t think any of us want to live in a police state,” Kennedy said. “Freedom has risk.” (Updates with Trump tweet from first paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Newcomer in San Francisco at enewcomer@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Steve GeimannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Cyprus court finds British woman guilty of false rape claim

A court in Cyprus on Monday found a British woman guilty of falsely claiming she was gang-raped by a group of Israeli tourists in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa. "The statements you have given were false," the judge told the defendant in remarks translated by the court interpreter. The Israelis, aged 15 to 18, were released without charge the same month after the woman was arrested on suspicion of making a false statement.

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19-year-old found guilty of lying about being gang-raped

A British teenager has been found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus. The woman, 19, was convicted of a single count of public mischief at Famagusta District Court in Paralimni, Cyprus, on Monday.

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Put away phones at mealtimes and talk to each other, says pope

Pope Francis on Sunday urged people to talk to each other at mealtimes instead of using their mobile phones, citing Jesus, Mary and Joseph as an example for families to follow. "I ask myself if you, in your family, know how to communicate or are you like those kids at mealtables where everyone is chatting on their mobile phone ... where there is silence like at a Mass but they don't communicate," the pope said. "We have to get back to communicating in our families," Francis said in his unscripted remarks.

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GOP Senator: ‘There Are No Rules’ for Senate Impeachment Trial

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) claimed on Sunday’s broadcast of State of the Union that there are no “substantive rules” when it comes to holding an impeachment trial and that the Constitution doesn’t provide much guidance to the Senate.CNN anchor Jake Tapper noted that Kennedy had previously said his objective in President Donald Trump’s impeachment is to be fair to both sides. He asked the lawmaker about Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) saying she was “disturbed” that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would coordinate with the White House on impeachment.“Were you also bothered when Majority Leader McConnell said there would be no daylight between him and the White House?” Tapper asked.“I think Senator McConnell is entitled to his opinion and his approach. So is Senator Murkowski,” Kennedy stated, adding that if you look at specific case law on impeachment, “the rule is there is no substantive rules.”“It is not a criminal trial,” he continued. “The Senate is not really a jury. It is both jury and judge. The chief justice is not the judge, he’s the presiding officer. There are no standards of proof. There are no rules of evidence.”The guidelines provided by Article 1, Section 3 of the Constitution say that the Senate has the “sole Power to try all Impeachments,” the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will preside over the trial, and a president will only be removed from office if two-thirds of the Senate convicts.Kennedy went on to say that every member of the Senate is entitled to approach impeachment any way they want until a majority of the chamber votes on passing new rules, reiterating that he wants it “to be fair to both sides.”“I thought that the House proceedings were unnecessarily unfair and when the American people walk away from the Senate trial, if we ever have one, I don’t want them saying: ‘Well, we were just run over by the same truck twice. It was unfair in the house and it was unfair in the Senate,’” the Louisiana senator said. “I want people to think that it was a level playing field.”Asked whether his idea of fairness would be for both House impeachment managers and the president’s team to call the witnesses they deem worthy, Kennedy said they first need to decide whether Senate will hear evidence during the trial.“But, look, there are no rules here,” he asserted. “For example, what is an impeachable offense? I think the precedent shows that not all impeachable offenses are crimes. But it also shows that not all crimes are impeachable offenses.”Kennedy, meanwhile, concluded by saying it would be proper for Trump to continue blocking key White House witnesses from testifying if called by Congress.“I fully expect the president to do two things,” he said. “Claim executive privilege, which is his right. And number two, demand his own list of witnesses.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Saudi Arabia Sentences Man to Death for Theater Stabbings: TV

(Bloomberg) -- A Saudi Arabian court sentenced a Yemeni man to death for stabbing three performers at a theater show in the capital last month in an attack ordered by al-Qaeda, state-run TV reported.Another defendant was jailed for 12 1/2 years, Al Ekhbariya channel reported, citing the criminal court. The attack, in which three people were injured, was ordered by al-Qaeda in neighboring Yemen, the broadcaster said. It didn’t specify where it got the information.The mid-November attack in Riyadh came as the conservative kingdom undergoes a drastic overhaul of its social norms spearheaded by its young crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Saudis have been granted freedoms that include the loosening of rules on women’s attire and travel as well as the mixing of genders in conjunction with a plan to wean the economy off oil.The court rulings were preliminary and both defendants can file appeals.\--With assistance from Sarah Algethami.To contact the reporter on this story: Reema Alothman in Riyadh at ralothman1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Donna Abu-Nasr at dabunasr@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Bruce StanleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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US hits pro-Iran group with deadly strikes in Iraq, Syria

The US has carried out air strikes against a pro-Iran militant group in Iraq, killing 19 fighters, two days after a rocket attack that killed an American civilian contractor. The Pentagon said on Sunday it targeted weapons caches or command and control facilities linked to Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) in Western Iraq, as well as Eastern Syria, in response to a barrage of 30 or more rockets fired on Friday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "we will not stand for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take actions that put American men and women in jeopardy".

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Ukraine holds big prisoner swap with pro-Russian separatists

KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east completed a large-scale prisoner swap on Sunday after bussing scores of detainees in the five-year conflict to an exchange point in the breakaway Donbass region. The swap should help build confidence between the two sides, who are wrangling over how to implement a peace deal after the loss of more than 13,000 lives, but major disagreements remain and full normalization is far off. Ukraine said 76 pro-government detainees were handed over, while separatists said they took 120 of their prisoners during the swap at a checkpoint near the industrial town of Horlivka.

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Greta Thunberg: 'I wouldn't have wasted my time' speaking to Trump

* Swedish activist and president attended UN climate summit * ‘He’s not listening to experts … why would he listen to me?’Greta Thunberg has said she wouldn’t have wasted her time talking to Donald Trump about climate change at the UN climate change summit in New York earlier this year – the same event she was pictured glaring at the one of the world’s leading climate-change deniers.The Swedish climate activist made the comment during an interview on BBC Radio 4 on Monday morning, where she had been invited to guest-edit the programme.Thunberg, 16, was asked what she would have said to the leader who pulled the US – one of the world’s leading carbon emitters – out of the Paris climate accord, and who has taken radical steps to undo decades-old US pollution standards.She said: “Honestly, I don’t think I would have said anything. Because obviously he’s not listening to scientists and experts, so why would he listen to me?”She added: “So I probably wouldn’t have said anything, I wouldn’t have wasted my time.”Thunberg’s comments came several weeks after Trump attacked her for being named Time magazine’s person of the year.“So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” Trump tweeted at the time.She has also been attacked by Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.“It is staggering, the amount of coverage the press gives that brat,” Bolsonaro said at the time.Invited to respond to her critics, Thunberg told the program “those attacks are just funny because they obviously don’t mean anything”.She said: “I guess of course it means something – they are terrified of young people bringing change which they don’t want – but that is just proof that we are actually doing something and that they see us as some kind of threat.”

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Australian Jews decry Israeli health minister's appointment

Australia's Jewish community has slammed an Israeli government decision to promote to the post of health minister a legislator who is suspected of aiding an alleged sexual abuser wanted in Australia. The Israeli government on Sunday appointed Yaacov Litzman as health minister, sparking a litany of condemnations from Australia's staunchly pro-Israel Jewish community. In an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jeremy Leibler, the president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, called the decision "a slap in the face to the Australian Jewish community, the Australian people," as well as to the survivors of the alleged abuse.

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China sentences 3 researchers involved in creating 1st gene-edited babies

A court in Shenzhen, China, sentenced a Chinese scientist and two researchers Monday for creating the world's first genetically edited babies last year, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. The lead scientist, He Jiankui, was handed three years in prison and a fine of 3 million yuan ($430,000) on charges of falsifying ethical review documents, practicing medicine without a license, and other infractions. The two researchers who helped He got lesser sentences: Zhang Renli was handed two years in prison and a 1 million yuan fine, and Qin Jinzhou received 18 months in jail, but with a two-year reprieve, and a 500,000 yuan fine."The three accused did not have the proper certification to practice medicine, and in seeking fame and wealth, deliberately violated national regulations in scientific research and medical treatment," Xinhua reported, citing the court's ruling. "They've crossed the bottom line of ethics in scientific research and medical ethics." The news agency said He and his team edited the genes of three children born to two women.He shocked the medical and scientific world in November 2018 when he announced that he had used the CRISPR gene-editing technology to genetically modify the embryos of infant twin girls to disable a gene that allows the AIDS virus to enter a cell. He disappeared soon after making his announcement, apparently detained by Chinese authorities. It's not clear if the experiment worked on the two unidentified girls He discussed publicly, but the experiment was widely condemned by medical ethicists and researchers around the world.More stories from theweek.com The best headlines of 2019 Giants, Browns fire head coaches on otherwise quiet 'Black Monday' Republicans are still trying to steal your health insurance

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Nicaragua releases dozens of political prisoners

Nicaraguan authorities on Monday released more than 30 political prisoners held following a deadly crackdown on 2018 protests in the Central American country, a human rights body said. Among those released was Belgian-born student leader Amaya Coppens, her family and a local rights organization said. Coppens was arrested in mid-November for being part of a group of volunteers trying to deliver water to hunger-striking mothers of political prisoners.

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Duterte Renews Attacks on TV Network, Urges Owners to Sell

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continued his attacks on a local television network he’s accused in the past of bias, and urged owners of ABS-CBN Corp. to sell before its franchise expires in March.In a televised speech delivered in the local language at Davao City on Monday, Duterte suggested the media firm’s franchise renewal is uncertain. He had earlier threatened to block the network’s bid to extend the franchise for 25 years.“Your contract is expiring. I’m not sure what will happen if you renew,” he said. “If I were you, I would just sell.”Duterte has accused ABS-CBN as well as privately-owned Philippine Daily Inquirer of unfair reporting, allegations that the media companies have denied. The president’s criticisms of ABS-CBN pushed its share price to a decade low earlier this month. The stock ended 2019 with a 21% loss compared with the local benchmark index’s 4.7% gain for the year.Duterte also resumed his criticism of water utilities for alleged corruption, threatening to arrest and jail the owners of Manila Water Co. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. He reiterated a plan for a military takeover of the operations.Manila Water of Ayala Corp. and Maynilad owners Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and DMCI Holdings Inc. are among the worst-performing Philippine stocks this year, plunging since early December when Duterte started his censure.“For those of you asking where are the big fish in my fight against corruption, I’ll deliver them: Ayala and Pangilinan,” he said. “If they do something wrong, I’ll really jail them,” Duterte said, referring to the family of Jaime Augusto Zobel, which owns Manila Water and Manuel Pangilinan, who chairs Metro Pacific.The two tycoons didn’t immediately respond to requests for comments.Manila Water plunged 63% this year despite a rebound in the final week of trading ending Dec. 27. Metro Pacific was down 25%, while DMCI tumbled 48%.To contact the reporters on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.net;Clarissa Batino in Manila at cbatino@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Nagarajan at samnagarajan@bloomberg.net, ;Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Clarissa BatinoFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Turkey evacuates wounded after deadly Mogadishu blast

A Turkish military cargo plane landed in the Somali capital on Sunday to evacuate people badly wounded in a devastating truck bombing that killed at least 90 people including two Turkish nationals. The plane also brought emergency medical staff and supplies, the Turkish embassy said in a tweet, adding these had been taken to a Turkish-run hospital in Mogadishu. Somali Information Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir Mareye told state media that 10 Somalis who were badly wounded in Saturday's blast would be evacuated to Turkey.

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Swiss Embassy worker detained in Sri Lanka gets bail

A Sri Lankan Court on Monday granted bail to a Swiss Embassy employee who was detained pending charges that she made statements to create disaffection toward the government and fabricated evidence. Before her arrest, the employee, a Sri Lankan national, had reportedly said she was abducted, held for hours, sexually assaulted and threatened by captors who demanded that she disclose embassy-related information. Sri Lankan authorities have said they investigated her complaint but found no evidence to file charges against anyone.

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Trump's latest call with Putin raises more questions than it answers - CNN

1. Trump's latest call with Putin raises more questions than it answers  CNN
2. Kremlin posts readout of Trump-Putin call  Fox News
3. Russian court jails 2 terrorism suspects arrested on US tip  Washington Post
4. Putin's next aggression | TheHill  The Hill
5. Vladimir Putin weighs future options as he marks 20 years in power  cleveland.com
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GOP Senator Ted Cruz Says It's 'Certainly Possible' That 'a Couple' Republicans Will Vote to Remove Trump - Newsweek

GOP Senator Ted Cruz Says It's 'Certainly Possible' That 'a Couple' Republicans Will Vote to Remove Trump  NewsweekView full coverage on Google News

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Acts of anti-Semitism are on the rise in New York and elsewhere, leaving Jewish community rattled - The Washington Post

1. Acts of anti-Semitism are on the rise in New York and elsewhere, leaving Jewish community rattled  The Washington Post
2. 'Worst Mayor in NYC': Giuliani and de Blasio trade punches in online spat about anti-Semitic attacks  Washington Examiner
3. Anti-Semitic attacks show a society at risk of falling apart  CNN
4. Monsey stabbing: NYC mayor vows action on anti-Semitism 'crisis'  BBC News
5. View full coverage on Google News

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Amid Turkey deployment bid, France, Egypt urge restraint in Libya - Al Jazeera English

1. Amid Turkey deployment bid, France, Egypt urge restraint in Libya  Al Jazeera English
2. Libya conflict: Turkey troop deployment bill sent to MPs  BBC News
3. Turkey may send allied Syrian fighters to Libya: sources  Reuters
4. Libya is at risk for becoming the site of a multinational war  The Washington Post
5. Libya's battlefields, saturated with fighters, getting more  Los Angeles Times
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Ryan Seacrest Prepares for BTS Mania Ahead of New Year’s Eve Times Square Celebration - Variety

1. Ryan Seacrest Prepares for BTS Mania Ahead of New Year’s Eve Times Square Celebration  Variety
2. New Year’s Eve 2020: How to Watch, Who’s Performing, Ball Drop  Rolling Stone
3. Usher Interview on Ella Mai Collaboration, New Album & More  Billboard
4. BTS Arrives at JFK in Unique Travel Outfits Ahead of New Year’s Eve Performance  Footwear News
5. Where to watch New Year's Eve countdown on TV  Chicago Tribune
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2019 Orange Bowl odds: Florida vs. Virginia picks, predictions from top expert who's 5-1 on Gators games - CBS Sports

1. 2019 Orange Bowl odds: Florida vs. Virginia picks, predictions from top expert who's 5-1 on Gators games  CBS Sports
2. Florida vs Virginia college football picks and Orange Bowl predictions  Covers.com
3. Florida vs. Virginia: Orange Bowl time, TV channel, preview, prediction  NCAA.com
4. Live Updates: No. 9 Florida vs. No. 24 Virginia  247Sports
5. Virginia vs. Florida: How to watch, schedule, live stream info, game time, TV channel  CBSSports.com
6. View full coverage on Google News

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Steve Tisch pushing for more say in Giants' football decisions - New York Post

1. Steve Tisch pushing for more say in Giants' football decisions  New York Post
2. Giants fire coach Pat Shurmur, keep GM Dave Gettleman  ESPN
3. Giants co-owner Steve Tisch denies friction with John Mara, but says he will become ‘more involved’ in day-to-  New York Daily News
4. New York Giants needed to move on from Pat Shurmur | Pro Football Talk | NBC Sports  NBC Sports
5. New York Giants Defense Must Return to the 4-3  Last Word on Pro Football
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Cloud gaming is the future of game monetization, not gameplay - TechCrunch

Cloud gaming is the future of game monetization, not gameplay  TechCrunch

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NFL playoff picture as Week 17 unfolds: Patriots fumble first-round bye to Chiefs, Titans complete AFC field - USA TODAY

1. NFL playoff picture as Week 17 unfolds: Patriots fumble first-round bye to Chiefs, Titans complete AFC field  USA TODAY
2. 2019 NFL Week 17 live - Playoff scenarios, schedule, scores, highlights, draft order and more  ESPN
3. What They're Saying: 49ers, Seahawks Break Down Week 17 Showdown  49ers.com
4. Week 17 Preview & Game Picks Show  NFL
5. Week 17 NFL fashion files - The best entrances, outfits and cleats  ESPN
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Week 17 non-Eagles Sunday rooting guide - PhillyVoice.com

Week 17 non-Eagles Sunday rooting guide  PhillyVoice.comView full coverage on Google News

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Navy Seal Edward Gallagher described by his own unit as 'evil', 'toxic' and 'perfectly OK with killing anybody'

The navy SEAL whose demotion after being convicted of posing next to the corpse of a captured Islamic State prisoner was overturned by Donald Trump has been described as “toxic” and “evil” by members of his own unit. Explosive testimony obtained by the New York Times has reignited the controversy over Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, one of three US servicemen facing war crimes allegations who were pardoned by the American president. The Gallagher case polarised American public opinion with Fox News taking up his case as well as the US president. Mr Trump’s intervention angered the Pentagon with senior figures fearing it would undermine military discipline. The row culminated in the sacking of the US Navy Secretary, Richard Spencer. Gallagher, 40, had been accused of war crimes following the fatal stabbing of a captured ISIS fighter and the shooting of two civilians in Iraq in 2017. At a court-martial in July he was acquitted of six out of seven charges, including murder and attempted murder after a key witness changed his testimony. Corey Scott, who had been granted immunity, took responsibility for the wounded prisoner’s death, telling the hearing he blocked the man’s breathing tube as an act of mercy rather than allow him to be tortured by the Iraqi security forces. A military jury in San Diego did convict Gallagher of posing next to the prisoner’s body and demoted him one rank and stripped him of the prestigious Trident Insignia. Mr Trump described the soldier as one of America's 'great fighters' and invited him to Mar-a-Lago Credit: LEAH MILLER/REUTERS The punishment was overruled by Donald Trump who ordered that Gallagher’s insignia should be restored and that he should be allowed to retire with his rank intact. Earlier this month Mr Trump invited Gallagher and his wife to Mar-a-Lago and described him at a recent rally as one of America’s “great fighters”. However, the footage of evidence presented to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), obtained by the New York Times and broadcast on “The Weekly” paints a very different picture of Gallagher, who was the leader of Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7. Members of the team told investigators that they spent much of their time trying to protect civilians from Gallagher. Special Operator Craig Miller described Mr Gallagher as "freaking evil", while another member of the team said he was ”toxic” describing the incident as "the most disgraceful thing I've ever seen in my life." Corey Scott, whose testimony was pivotal in the court-martial, told investigators “You could tell he was perfectly OK with killing anybody that was moving.”  In a statement, Gallagher voiced his “surprise and disgust” at the testimony which he described as “blatant lies”. He added: "I felt sorry for them that they thought it necessary to smear my name, but they never realised what the consequences of their lies would be.  “As upset as I was, the videos also gave me confidence because I knew that their lies would never hold up under real questioning and the jury would see through it.  “Their lies and NCIS's refusal to ask hard questions or corroborate their stories strengthened my resolve to go to trial and clear my name." Gallagher’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told the New York Times the videos were full of inconsistencies and falsehoods which “a clear road map to the acquittal.”

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Ukraine holds big prisoner swap with pro-Russian separatists

KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east completed a large-scale prisoner swap on Sunday after bussing scores of detainees in the five-year conflict to an exchange point in the breakaway Donbass region. The swap should help build confidence between the two sides, who are wrangling over how to implement a peace deal after the loss of more than 13,000 lives, but major disagreements remain and full normalization is far off. Ukraine said 76 pro-government detainees were handed over, while separatists said they took 120 of their prisoners during the swap at a checkpoint near the industrial town of Horlivka.

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Taliban council agrees to temporary cease-fire in Afghanistan

The Taliban said Sunday they have agreed to a temporary cease-fire nationwide.

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N Korea begins key meeting before year-end deadline for US

North Korea has opened a high-profile political conference to discuss how to overcome “harsh trials and difficulties," state media reported Sunday, days before a year-end deadline set by Pyongyang for Washington to make concessions in nuclear negotiations. The ruling Workers’ Party meeting is a focus of keen attention as some observers predict North Korea might use the conference to announce it would abandon faltering diplomacy with the U.S. and lift its moratorium on major weapons test. The Korean Central News Agency reported that leader Kim Jong Un presided over a plenary meeting of the party's Central Committee convened in Pyongyang on Saturday.

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Iran blasts France for 'interference' over jailed academic

Tehran accused Paris on Sunday of "interference" in the case of an Iranian-French academic held in the Islamic republic, saying she is considered an Iranian national and faces security charges. France said Friday it summoned Iran's ambassador to protest the imprisonment of Fariba Adelkhah and another academic, Roland Marchal of France, saying their detention was "intolerable".

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Turkey evacuates wounded after deadly Mogadishu blast

A Turkish military cargo plane landed in the Somali capital on Sunday to evacuate people badly wounded in a devastating truck bombing that killed at least 90 people including two Turkish nationals. The plane also brought emergency medical staff and supplies, the Turkish embassy said in a tweet, adding these had been taken to a Turkish-run hospital in Mogadishu. Somali Information Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir Mareye told state media that 10 Somalis who were badly wounded in Saturday's blast would be evacuated to Turkey.

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Republican senator says ‘there are virtually no rules’ for impeaching Trump

A Republican senator has said there are “virtually no substantive rules” for impeachment as he avoided criticising Mitch McConnell for pledging to coordinate with Donald Trump in the impending Senate trial.John Kennedy, a senator for Louisiana, was asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper if he was “disturbed” by Mr McConnell’s pledge, as Republican senator Lisa Murkowski said she was earlier this week.

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Thai SEAL dies of blood infection a year after cave rescue

A Thai navy SEAL who was part of the dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave has died of a blood infection contracted during the risky operation, the Royal Thai Navy said. Petty Officer 1st Class Bayroot Pakbara was receiving treatment but his condition worsened after the infection spread into his blood, according to an announcement on the Thai navy SEAL’s Facebook page. Lt. Cmdr. Saman Gunan died while resupplying oxygen tanks on July 6, 2018.

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Hanukkah stabbing that injured five called 'domestic terrorism' by New York governor

A stabbing at the house of a Hasidic rabbi in New York which left five injured has been condemned as “domestic terrorism” by the state’s governor.  Andrew Cuomo said the attack during a gathering to celebrate Hanukkah was evidence of a “cancer” spreading in America as he warned of a surge in “hatred”. Police named the suspect arrested as Grafton E. Thomas, 37. He will face five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary.  The attack happened around 10pm  on Saturday in Monsey, an area with a large population of ultra-Orthodox Jews which is about 35 miles north of the city of New York.  Witnesses described a man bursting into the home of the rabbi, Chaim Rottenberg, where dozens of people had gathered on the seventh night of Hanukkah. The assailant’s face was said to have been partially covered by a scarf and he brandished a large knife. Guests reportedly fought back by throwing tables and chairs.  Police said the stabbings happened at around 10 p.m.  Credit: REUTERS  The exact status of the victims was unclear on Sunday evening but one person was said to have been very seriously wounded. The rabbi’s son was among those injured.  Aron Kohn, 65, who witnessed the attack told The New York Times: “I was praying for my life. He started attacking people right away as soon as he came in the door. We didn’t have time to react at all.” “We saw him pull a knife out of a case. It was about the size of a broomstick.” The attacker later attempted to enter a synagogue next door before fleeing the area. A witness noted the assailant’s license plate number and alerted the police, with a suspect later being arrested in Harlem.  Extra police patrols were organised for three areas of Brooklyn, a New York borough with a large Jewish population, in the wake of the stabbing. In Britain, the chief constable of West Midlands Police said he would provide reassurance to local Jewish communities. Investigators cordoned off the large home on Forshay Road yellow crime scene tape Credit: Seth Harrison/The Journal News via AP Mr Cuomo, who has been New York governor since 2011, said: “It is domestic terrorism. These are people who intend to create mass harm, mass violence, and generate fear based on race, colour, creed. That is the definition of terrorism. “Just because they don't come from another country doesn't mean they are not terrorists. They should be prosecuted as domestic terrorists." "We are not going to let this poison spread. No one else can defeat this county, but this country can defeat itself.” The stabbing is the latest in a string of brutal attacks that have alarmed the Jewish community, leading to renewed concerns about anti-Semitisim in America. Earlier this month a shooting in a Jersey City kosher market saw three people inside the store and a police officer killed. The two attackers also died in a standoff with police.  In October 2018, a gunman killed 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in US history. Mr Coumo, speaking outside the rabbi’s house on Sunday, said: “This is an intolerant time in our country. We see anger, we see hatred exploding." He added: “It is an American cancer on the body politic." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country “unequivocally condemns” the “vicious attack”. He pledged to “cooperate in every way” with the local authorities to help stamp out anti-Semitism.  It is not known how the suspect will plead.  Ivanka Trump, a senior White House adviser and daughter of the US president, issued a call for more political action to tackle anti-Semitism in the wake of the attack. She tweeted: "The increasing frequency of anti-Semitic violence in New York (and around the country) receives far too little local governmental action and national press attention."

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Louisa May Alcott’s Courageous Career as a Civil War Nurse

The Christmas release of director Greta Gerwig’s new film version of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women presents a fresh opportunity for Alcott’s 19th-century classic to be read as a book that speaks to the present feminist moment. But it will be a shame if the renewed interest in Alcott that Gerwig has sparked does not also lead to a long-overdue appreciation of Alcott’s heroism in the Civil War.In 1862, two weeks before Christmas, Alcott left her home in Concord, Massachusetts, to serve the Union cause by working in a military hospital in Washington, D.C.  In Little Women Alcott made the Civil War the background for her story of the March sisters and their mother, but in 1862 the Civil War became central to Alcott’s life.In the Union Hotel Hospital, a former Georgetown tavern in which she worked, Alcott saw death firsthand, and, like the doctors and nurses in the hospital, became vulnerable to the disease and infection the wounded troops brought with them.Men Will Love ‘Little Women’ Too. I Can’t Believe I Have to Say That.Walt Whitman’s account in Specimen Days of his work at the modern Union hospital in Washington, D.C., is far better known than Alcott’s. When we think of the suffering experienced by the soldiers of the Civil War, the quote most often cited is Whitman’s “the real war will never get in the books.”Alcott’s stories of her Civil War experiences appeared serially in May and June 1863 in the Commonwealth, a Boston anti-slavery newspaper. They are as moving as anything Whitman wrote about the war and were published together in August 1863 under the title Hospital Sketches long before Specimen Days appeared in book form.Alcott began her Civil War nursing service as a novice. On Dec. 16, 1862, the carts she saw drawing up to the hospital to which she had been assigned were not, as she first thought, farmer’s market carts carrying produce. They were carts bearing wounded and dying men from the battle of Fredericksburg, where the Union Army endured one of its worst defeats of the war, suffering 13,000 casualties. There was no time for Alcott to absorb the war gradually or get used to the sight of a veteran “with an arm blown off at the shoulder.”Alcott soon realized her duties were as much psychological as physical: “Having got the bodies of my boys into something like order, the next task was to minister to their minds,” she observed early in Hospital Sketches. The doctors, after doing their best for their patients, had no hesitation in giving Alcott the unwelcome task of telling men who were dying that they would not survive their hospital stay.“I could have sat down on the spot and cried heartily, if I had not learned the wisdom of bottling up one’s tears for leisure moments,” Alcott wrote of an especially painful assignment to deliver the bad news. She did as told. Then she stayed with the soldier to the end.When the soldier died, he was holding Alcott’s hand so tightly that she needed help prying open his grip. Even when her hand got back its color, the white marks of the dead soldier’s fingers remained. “I could not but be glad that through its touch, the presence of human sympathy, perhaps had lightened that hard hour,” Alcott remarked.Over the course of her time in Washington, Alcott became better at learning to deal with the suffering around her, but she never shut her eyes to the wrongs she saw. She was especially sensitive to the racism of the North. “The nurses were willing to be served by the colored people, but seldom thanked them, never praised, and scarcely recognized them in the street,” she noted. In her postscript to Hospital Sketches, she observed that the next hospital she hoped to work in would be one for “colored regiments.”That next assignment never came. As a result of her hospital work, Alcott contracted pneumonia and typhus. At the end of six weeks at the military hospital that she called Hurly-burly House because of its disorganization, Alcott’s father, the famed educator Bronson Alcott, came to Washington to take her home. As her biographer Susan Cheever has written, “She left for the war a vigorous and energetic woman; she returned a true casualty.”Alcott suffered from mercury poisoning that came from the doses of calomel medicine the doctors in Washington prescribed for her, and the physician treating her at her home in Concord added to her difficulties, ordering her head shaved on the grounds the shaving would lower her fever.  Sick as she was, Alcott thought she had no grounds for complaint given the horrors she had witnessed in Washington. As she wrote in her understated conclusion to Hospital Sketches, “I shall never regret the going, though a sharp tussle with typhoid, ten dollars and a wig are all the visible results of the experiment; for one may live and learn much in a month.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Scuffles break out in Paris as pensions protesters, 'yellow vests' march

Protesters marching against the French government's planned pension reform clashed with the police in Paris on Saturday as police fired tear gas to disperse some groups of demonstrators. French trade unions have spearheaded nationwide strikes since early December in an outcry over President Emmanuel Macron's pensions overhaul, disrupting schools, railways and roads, while lending support to regular protests. On Saturday "yellow vests" - an anti-government movement that sprung up a year ago as a backlash against the high cost of living - joined a rally of several thousand people against the pensions shake-up.

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'Impeachment is about Trump’s conduct, not mine': Biden expands on subpoena remarks

"The subpoenas should go to witnesses with testimony to offer to Trump’s shaking down the Ukraine government," former Vice President Joe Biden said.

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Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Rep. John Lewis, longtime congressman and civil rights leader, diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer

12/29/19 3:15 PM

5 Killed In Plane Crash Heading To Louisiana State University Football Playoff Game - NPR

1. 5 Killed In Plane Crash Heading To Louisiana State University Football Playoff Game  NPR
2. Carley McCord among five killed in the Louisiana plane crash  CNN
3. 5 people dead, 4 injured after plane crashes near Louisiana post office  One America News Network
4. Governor John Bel Edwards issues statement on fatal plane crash in Lafayette  KLFY
5. At least 5 killed, 4 injured in Louisiana plane crash  ABC News
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Trump retweets post naming alleged whistleblower - CNBC

Trump retweets post naming alleged whistleblower  CNBCView full coverage on Google News

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It's not too late to book a last-minute New Year's Eve adventure - CNBC

1. It's not too late to book a last-minute New Year's Eve adventure  CNBC
2. Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks display to go ahead amid bushfire threat  CNN
3. Sydney fireworks: Thousands sign petition to halt 'traumatic' show  BBC News
4. Sydney New Year's fireworks to go ahead despite wildfires  NBCNews.com
5. Australia Confirms Govt. Support For Volunteer Firefighters  TIME
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Putin thanks Trump for tip Russia says foiled attacks - Reuters

Putin thanks Trump for tip Russia says foiled attacks  ReutersView full coverage on Google News

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NYU doctor Joseph Wiesel claims Apple used his patented heartbeat-monitoring tech without permission in lawsuit - USA TODAY

1. NYU doctor Joseph Wiesel claims Apple used his patented heartbeat-monitoring tech without permission in lawsuit  USA TODAY
2. New York doctor sues Apple over irregular heartbeat detection  Engadget
3. Apple is being sued over one of the lifesaving features in the Apple Watch  iMore
4. Heart doctor sues for patent infringement over lifesaving Apple Watch feature  Digital Trends
5. Apple News: Why An NYU Cardiologist Is Suing The Tech Giant For Royalties  International Business Times
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Don Imus leaves behind complicated shock-jock legacy - New York Post

1. Don Imus leaves behind complicated shock-jock legacy  New York Post
2. National/World News DJ Don Imus, made and betrayed by his mouth, dead at 79 Associated  KOAA.com Colorado Springs and Pueblo News
3. Controversial radio legend Don Imus dies at 79  CBS News
4. Don Imus was abrupt, harsh and a one-of-a-kind, fearless talent  New York Post
5. Shock Jock Don Imus Dies At 79 | TODAY  TODAY
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Miles Sanders injury: Eagles running back hurts ankle in Giants game - Bleeding Green Nation

1. Miles Sanders injury: Eagles running back hurts ankle in Giants game  Bleeding Green Nation
2. Carson Wentz Goes DEEP to Josh Perkins!  NFL
3. Eagles’ Zach Ertz has lacerated kidney, in addition to cracked ribs; playoff availability in doubt  The Philadelphia Inquirer
4. Zach Ertz injury: Eagles tight end reportedly suffered lacerated kidney in addition to cracked rib  Bleeding Green Nation
5. Eli Manning likely making his final NY Giants appearance  Fox News
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Ohio State vs. Clemson odds, line: College Football Playoff picks, optimal predictions from model on 8-2 roll - CBS Sports

1. Ohio State vs. Clemson odds, line: College Football Playoff picks, optimal predictions from model on 8-2 roll  CBS Sports
2. Fiesta Bowl Preview: #3 Clemson vs. #2 Ohio State  Shakin The Southland
3. College Football Playoff semifinals: Who will win?  Washington Examiner
4. Briggs: For better or worse, Fiesta Bowl will transform Ohio State  Toledo Blade
5. College football bowl games today: Schedule with predictions, picks, odds, lines for Saturday  CBS Sports
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U.S. Contractor Is Killed in Rocket Attack on an Iraqi Base

(Bloomberg) -- A rocket attack on an Iraqi military base killed an American contractor and wounded several U.S. and Iraqi military personnel, the Defense Department said on Friday evening.Iraqi security forces were “leading the response and investigation” following the Friday night assault on the base in Kirkuk, where coalition forces are based, the Pentagon said in a statement.The names of the contractor and the wounded Americans were not immediately released, and the statement did not provide any further details.Rocket assaults on or near Iraqi installations that host American troops and personnel have occurred since the fall, and Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper, have expressed increasing concern about Iranian involvement.Those attacks occurred as widespread anti-government protests intensified, eventually leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi.Tensions have been rising across the region, with Iran violently putting down its own protests, and Turkey invading Kurdish territory in northern Syria after President Donald Trump announced a pullout of American forces there.Early this month, rockets were fired at two Iraqi air bases where American forces are stationed. Seven rockets struck the perimeter of the Al Asad base, and five projectiles landed inside Balad. At Al Asad, the Iraqi army later found a truck rigged to fire rockets with seven empty tubes and eight unfired projectiles.No one was hurt in those attacks, which were believed to be the work of militants with ties to Iran, according to a U.S. official.On Thursday, Iraqi President Barham Saleh offered to resign as weeks of deadly protests showed no sign of easing. Mahdi remains in office until a successor is found. Protesters rejected one nominee, and Saleh rejected the candidacy of a second.Some 500 people have died in clashes between security forces and protesters since Oct. 1, according to Iraq’s independent High Commission for Human Rights. Iraqis, mostly from the Shiite majority population, are protesting against corruption, poor services, and Iran’s sweeping influence in the country.\--With assistance from Khalid Al-Ansary and Tony Capaccio.To contact the reporter on this story: John Harney in Washington at jharney2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Larry Liebert, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Biden Says He Would Defy Impeachment Subpoena—Then Tries to ‘Clarify’

Joe Biden told a newspaper that he would not comply with a subpoena to testify in President Trump’s impeachment trial—then sought to clarify his remarks on Saturday.“The reason I wouldn’t is because it’s all designed to deal with Trump doing what he’s done his whole life: trying to take the focus off him,” Biden told the Des Moines Register editorial board. “The issue is not what I did.”This is all about a diversion,” Biden added. “And we play his game all the time. He’s done it his whole career.”Biden’s statement of defiance to the Register drew sharp criticism from some quarters, including a former associate White House counsel under President Barack Obama.“Terrible answer @JoeBiden,” Ian Bassin tweeted. “Subpoenas aren’t optional. You know better. You should correct record and commit to complying with any lawful subpoena, reserving the right to contest it in court if you believe it to be unlawful. Let Trump tarnish the rule of law; you should defend it.”Dems Warn Against Calling Bidens to Testify: It ‘Would Be Literally Rolling a Grenade Down’ the SenateOn Saturday, Biden appeared to back off his original comments to some degree in a Twitter thread that suggested he might fight any subpoena in court.“I want to clarify something I said yesterday,” he wrote. “In my 40 years in public life, I have always complied with a lawful order and in my eight years as VP, my office — unlike Donald Trump and Mike Pence — cooperated with legitimate congressional oversight requests.”Stopping short of denying he would defy a subpoena, he went on to say that he was “just not going to pretend that there is any legal basis for Republican subpoenas for my testimony in the impeachment trial. That is the point I was making yesterday and I reiterate: this impeachment is about Trump’s conduct, not mine.”He then tried to shift focus back to the president. “The subpoenas should go to witnesses with testimony to offer to Trump’s shaking down the Ukraine government — they should go to the White House,” he wrote.Bassin then praised Biden for revising his comments:“This is what responsible leadership looks like. He said something imprecise that mattered and fixed it because, unlike Trump and his lawless crew, Biden cares about the Constitution and the rule of law. Will Trump’s team now comply w the law?”The issue of whether Biden has any role to play in impeachment proceedings in the Senate has become a focal point for many Republicans seeking to protect the president. They said Biden and his son Hunter should be forced to answer questions about their activities in Ukraine.The impeachment process kicked off after Trump spoke to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky about investigating the Bidens and then held back military aid. Biden himself has repeatedly said he and Hunter did nothing wrong and that he did not speak to his son about official business involving Burisma, the Ukrainian natural gas company on whose board the younger Biden served. The House of Representatives voted along party lines on Dec. 18 to impeach Trump. The order is expected to be passed to the Senate for a trial in early 2020.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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The lawyer who shaped Boeing's response to the 737 Max crisis announced his retirement just 3 days after CEO Dennis Muilenburg was fired

Boeing's handling of legal elements of the 737 Max crisis has been subject to sharp criticism, including from Congress.

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U.S. Denies Seeking 20% Troop Funding Boost From South Korea

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. denied a report that it’s demanding South Korea pay as much as 20% more to host American troops, as funding talks between the two nations continue.The 10%-20% figure referred to in Korean media is “ungrounded speculation,” a Trump administration official said by email. U.S. negotiators will seek a “fair and equitable” outcome at the next round of talks in early January, the official said.Last month, U.S. negotiators walked out of a meeting on troop funding in Seoul after South Korea balked at a $5 billion price tag for hosting U.S. troops -- a fivefold increase. Citing a diplomatic source it didn’t identify, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported earlier this week that the White House had dropped that demand after receiving assurances Seoul would purchase more American weapons. The increase may now be about 10%-20% above the current level of nearly $1 billion, the newspaper said.The deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement, technically expires at the end of this year. But both sides are likely to agree to some sort of temporary extension as they negotiate, allowing for the continued operations of about 28,500 U.S. military personnel on the peninsula.The talks with South Korea could affect other countries that host U.S. troops, as the Trump administration is seeking funding increases from other American allies.To contact the reporter on this story: Kanga Kong in Seoul at kkong50@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Edward Johnson, Tom RedmondFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Navy Seal Edward Gallagher described by his own unit as 'evil', 'toxic' and 'perfectly OK with killing anybody'

The navy SEAL whose demotion after being convicted of posing next to the corpse of a captured Islamic State prisoner was overturned by Donald Trump has been described as “toxic” and “evil” by members of his own unit. Explosive testimony obtained by the New York Times has reignited the controversy over Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, one of three US servicemen facing war crimes allegations who were pardoned by the American president. The Gallagher case polarised American public opinion with Fox News taking up his case as well as the US president. Mr Trump’s intervention angered the Pentagon with senior figures fearing it would undermine military discipline. The row culminated in the sacking of the US Navy Secretary, Richard Spencer. Gallagher, 40, had been accused of war crimes following the fatal stabbing of a captured ISIS fighter and the shooting of two civilians in Iraq in 2017. At a court-martial in July he was acquitted of six out of seven charges, including murder and attempted murder after a key witness changed his testimony. Corey Scott, who had been granted immunity, took responsibility for the wounded prisoner’s death, telling the hearing he blocked the man’s breathing tube as an act of mercy rather than allow him to be tortured by the Iraqi security forces. A military jury in San Diego did convict Gallagher of posing next to the prisoner’s body and demoted him one rank and stripped him of the prestigious Trident Insignia. Mr Trump described the soldier as one of America's 'great fighters' and invited him to Mar-a-Lago Credit: LEAH MILLER/REUTERS The punishment was overruled by Donald Trump who ordered that Gallagher’s insignia should be restored and that he should be allowed to retire with his rank intact. Earlier this month Mr Trump invited Gallagher and his wife to Mar-a-Lago and described him at a recent rally as one of America’s “great fighters”. However, the footage of evidence presented to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), obtained by the New York Times and broadcast on “The Weekly” paints a very different picture of Gallagher, who was the leader of Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7. Members of the team told investigators that they spent much of their time trying to protect civilians from Gallagher. Special Operator Craig Miller described Mr Gallagher as "freaking evil", while another member of the team said he was ”toxic” describing the incident as "the most disgraceful thing I've ever seen in my life." Corey Scott, whose testimony was pivotal in the court-martial, told investigators “You could tell he was perfectly OK with killing anybody that was moving.”  In a statement, Gallagher voiced his “surprise and disgust” at the testimony which he described as “blatant lies”. He added: "I felt sorry for them that they thought it necessary to smear my name, but they never realised what the consequences of their lies would be.  “As upset as I was, the videos also gave me confidence because I knew that their lies would never hold up under real questioning and the jury would see through it.  “Their lies and NCIS's refusal to ask hard questions or corroborate their stories strengthened my resolve to go to trial and clear my name." Gallagher’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told the New York Times the videos were full of inconsistencies and falsehoods which “a clear road map to the acquittal.”

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