| President 'Individual-1' Trump Hasn't A Clue, But Twitter Wits Aim to School Him Posted: 07 Dec 2018 10:14 PM PST  President Donald Trump apparently doesn't have an inkling that he is
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| In Gaza protests, Israeli troops aim for the legs Posted: 09 Dec 2018 12:34 PM PST  GAZA CITY, Gaza (AP) — Israeli forces deployed along the volatile border with the Gaza Strip have fired live rounds at rock-throwing Palestinian protesters ever since demonstrations against Israel's long-running blockade of Gaza began in March.
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| Jacline Mouraud: Founder of Yellow Vest movement denounces extremists hijacking her tax protest Posted: 08 Dec 2018 08:38 AM PST  The founder of the "yellow vest" revolt said it had become a dangerous "dog without a leash" prey to extremists and anarchists, and urged moderate protesters to open dialogue with the French government. Jacline Mouraud, a 51-year old composer and hypnotherapist from Brittany, is credited with sparking the movement after six million people viewed her Facebook diatribe against environmental duties on petrol and diesel last month. "What are you doing with the money apart from buying new dishes at the Élysée Palace and building yourself swimming pools?" she asked President Emmanuel Macron in her viral video. But she said the movement had now been hijacked by an increasingly violent fringe of "extremists and anarchists". Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Ms Mouraud, said: "This movement has broken free of everyone, you can't reason with people any more. Some don't even remember what demands we made at the start. "It's as if we had kept the dog on a leash and today the leash has snapped." A firefighter stands next to a car set on fire during a protest of Yellow vest Credit: ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images Before the violence of the past two weeks, she said the revolt was a "spontaneous movement of the people" that could not be manipulated. Now, however, it was, she said, not just "beyond the reach of the government, political parties, unions" but "the people from the movement themselves". She added: "We're witnessing a tsunami. The wave is still in the air and we'll just have to wait for it to crash down again." Facebook, she said, had initially "helped bring people together and get organised". But it also now had a "very negative side," she added. Experts said that Facebook's decentralised nature is ideal for "gilets jaunes", particularly as it changed its algorithms earlier this year to lower the visibility of content published on pages run by large media outlets. "It prioritised content being shared by groups, individual profiles, and local information. This change in the algorithm has boosted the emergence of this movement," Tristan Mendes France, who teaches digital culture at Paris-Diderot University, said. Hundreds of social media accounts linked to Russia have sought to amplify the street protests that have rocked France, according to analysis by New Knowledge, a cybersecurity company. Facebook's new algorithm for ordering the posts that users see has also given raised the profile of extremists, conspiracy theorists and proponents of fake news. Ms Mouraud and other "spokespeople" have received death threats. Those behind them "don't want a resolution of the conflict", she said. A protestor wearing a "yellow vest" (Gilet jaune) throws a cobble at police forces Credit: THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images She was among a "yellow vest" delegation that met the prime minister, Edouard Philippe, on Friday night. They listed demands ranging from tax justice and proportional representative in legislative elections and raising low pensions. The prime minister has called for three months of talks between the gilets jaunes and local and national officials. She added: "Today, I have no idea how this will pan out. What's for sure is if we don't get organised, it will have no future. We'll have done all that for nothing."
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| Plundered 'Gypsy Girl' mosaics back in Turkey after decades in U.S Posted: 08 Dec 2018 06:22 AM PST  Missing fragments from one of Turkey's most striking ancient treasures, the haunting, wide-eyed "Gypsy Girl" mosaic, have returned home more than half a century after they were plundered and smuggled to the United States. On Saturday, the returned pieces went on display alongside the nearly 2,000-year-old mosaic of the girl, whose piercing gaze and dishevelled hair have become a symbol of Turkey's southeastern city of Gaziantep. Turkish archaeologists discovered the mosaic 20 years ago during an excavation of the old city of Zeugma, founded by one of Alexander the Great's generals, near the modern city of Gaziantep.
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| If Kevin Hart Were Really Sorry, He’d Prove It. Posted: 08 Dec 2018 12:09 PM PST  Apparently, being Kevin Hart means never having to say you're sorry.
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| Inside the Navy's flyover farewell for President George H.W. Bush Posted: 09 Dec 2018 06:04 AM PST  Navy pilots who participated in the 21 aircraft flyover at George H.W. Bush's funeral in Texas describe what it was like to be part of that historic tribute for the late president.
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| Trump Scorched Over Tweet Bashing Obama For Burning Through 'Chief Of Staffs' Posted: 08 Dec 2018 07:57 PM PST  Twitter followers piled on President Donald Trump after unearthing his 2012
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| Virginia city seeks healing after man's murder conviction Posted: 08 Dec 2018 02:40 PM PST  CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Civil rights activists in this Virginia city say they hope the first-degree-murder conviction of a man who drove into a group of counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in 2017 will help with healing their violence-scarred community.
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| Yellow vests protests are 'a catastrophe for our economy' warns French finance minister Posted: 09 Dec 2018 07:02 AM PST  The French finance minister warned that France's worst street protests in decades were "an economic disaster" as burned out cars and debris were cleared from the streets of Paris and other cities on Sunday. "It's a catastrophe for trade. It's a catastrophe for our economy," said Bruno Le Maire, a conservative serving under Emmanuel Macron, the embattled centrist president who came to power last year promising to modernise France with sweeping pro-business reforms. Mr Le Maire promised that the state and insurance companies would foot the repair bill. Tax payments due at the end of the year will be postponed for retailers whose shops were ransacked only two weeks before Christmas, he said. Dozens of cars were torched in Paris on Saturday as protesters roared "Macron resign". Clashes also broke out in Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse during the fourth consecutive weekend of protests. Tourism has suffered a blow, with Paris hotel bookings over Christmas and New Year, normally a busy period, down by at least 20 per cent. Yellow vest protesters clash with police in Paris, in pictures Emmanuel Grégoire, deputy mayor of Paris, said the damage to property was worse than in the previous weekend's riots. "The protests spread over a much larger area, so many more places were hit," he said. But there was less violence thanks to an increase in police numbers and more efficient tactics. Officers swiftly detained hooligans, arresting more than 1,700, a record for a single day in post-war France. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the foreign minister, rebuked Donald Trump for a provocative tweet in which he appeared to back the protesters and claimed they were chanting his name on the streets of Paris. Telegraph reporters, placed across the city, heard no such chants. "We do not take part in domestic American politics and we want that to be reciprocated," Mr Le Drian said. Thousands of protesters continued blockading petrol stations and barricaded roads across the country on Sunday. Thomas Lebrun, a 62-year-old pensioner demonstrating near Vierzon, in central France, said: "We won't stop until our demands are met. We want action not words." The increasingly unpopular president is expected to make a televised address to the nation on Monday or Tuesday. Under fire for remaining silent for the past week, Mr Macron's approval ratings have plunged to record lows of below 20 per cent. With critics accusing him of being arrogant and remote, he faces an enormous challenge in trying to win back public support amid the most serious unrest since students and workers rioted in May 1968. He has already scrapped increases in "green" taxes on fuel, but the protesters want further concessions such as tax cuts for people on low incomes and tax increases for businesses. Such measures would mark a humiliating U-turn for the president, who has been trying to attract foreign investors and entice banks and finance companies to relocate from London to Paris by offering tax breaks. Benjamin Griveaux, the government spokesman, warned: "All the problems of the 'yellow vests' can't be settled by waving a magic wand." But he added that Mr Macron would make "important announcements". According to French media, he may raise the minimum wage and pensions, and introduce a tax-free bonus for workers on low incomes. The "yellow-vest" movement, which takes its name from the high-visibility jackets worn by demonstrators, began as a protest against fuel tax increases four weeks ago. It has since widened to encompass a range of demands such as 40-per-cent increases in the minimum wage and benefits, and the re-introduction of a wealth tax on high earners, scrapped by Mr Macron as part of a drive to promote investment. French intelligence is investigating claims that the movement, which began on social media, spread with the help of Russian trolls. Hundreds of social media accounts linked to Russia allegedly played a role in spreading disinformation, but officials said no evidence of Russian state involvement had been uncovered so far.
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| Afghan 'Messi boy' forced to flee home Posted: 08 Dec 2018 05:01 AM PST  The family of an Afghan boy who gained brief Internet fame after being photographed in a shirt improvised from a plastic bag in the colors of his hero, Argentine soccer idol Lionel Messi, has been forced to flee his home after a Taliban attack. Murtaza Ahmadi, now aged 7, grabbed world headlines two years ago when his brother made him a shirt out of a blue and white plastic bag, with Messi's name and number 10 playing number. "Murtaza became famous around the world and we are not able to walk free and go anywhere.
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| Trevor Noah's 'Daily Show' Pulls Elaborate Twitter Prank On Donald Trump And Fox News Posted: 08 Dec 2018 12:55 AM PST  "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" pretended Friday to have obtained the report
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| Instant Pots are somehow down to $45 today on Amazon Posted: 09 Dec 2018 05:27 AM PST ![Instant Pots are somehow down to $45 today on Amazon]( "Instant Pots are somehow down to $45 today on Amazon") The hottest gift of the holiday season just got even hotter as one of the best-selling Instant Pot cookers on the planet drops down to its lowest price ever. The DUO60 and DUO80 have both been on sale off and on since Black Friday. In fact, the more popular Instant Pot DUO60 model is still on sale right now at a healthy $30 discount. But today our attention turns to the Instant Pot Duo Mini 3 Qt 7-in-1 Multi- Use Programmable Pressure Cooker. Perfect for sides or for entrees for families of two or three people, this model does everything the larger versions can do but it's more compact. It's also somehow on sale today for just $44.96, and there's no way this deal is going to last very long. Here are some highlights from the product page: * All the features of the Instant Pot duo, the bestselling electric pressure cooker in North America now available in a 3 Qt compact format * The perfect companion to your existing Instant Pot, use it for side dishes, vegetables or other accompaniments such as rice * Generous capacity, great for smaller families or where space is at a premium. In a dorm, RV or boat? the Instant Pot duo mini Emits no steam, heat or cooking smells * Features fully automatic pressure cook programs, 3 slow cook heat settings, saute, rice cooking, steamer, yogurt making, delay start and auto keep Warm * 700W power to enable it to reach pressure quickly. All Stainless Steel internal components including lid and inner cooking pot. Lid and cooking pot dishwasher safe * Power supply: 120V - 60Hz * Included Components: Electric Pressure Cooker
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| Why you should buy an Escort Cosworth over a Ford Focus RS Posted: 09 Dec 2018 01:19 AM PST  The recently discontinued MK3 Ford Focus RS is destined to become a future classic, but should you buy an Escort RS Cosworth instead? We find out...
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| UK nerve agent survivor fears poison will soon kill him Posted: 09 Dec 2018 09:11 AM PST ![UK nerve agent survivor fears poison will soon kill him]( "UK nerve agent survivor fears poison will soon kill him") LONDON (AP) — A British man who was exposed to the deadly nerve agent Novichok said he is struggling with his eyesight and mobility, and fears the poison will kill him within a decade.
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| Trump did not know of Huawei arrest during Xi dinner: Kudlow Posted: 09 Dec 2018 09:14 AM PST  President Donald Trump had not been informed about the arrest of Chinese telecom giant Huawei's chief financial officer when he dined with China's Xi Jinping, a top White House official said Sunday. "He did not know and he had no reaction afterwards," White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on "Fox News Sunday," denying reports Trump was "livid" that the arrest took place while he was at dinner with Xi. Meng Wanzhou, 46, was arrested in Vancouver, Canada at the request of US prosecutors on December 1, the same day Trump dined with Xi on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Buenos Aires.
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| Newtown shooter described 'scorn for humanity' Posted: 09 Dec 2018 11:34 AM PST  HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Documents from the investigation into the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut are shedding light on the gunman's anger, scorn for other people, and deep social isolation in the years leading up to the shooting.
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| Comey Rips Panels For Grilling Him On 'Whole Lotta' Clinton Emails, 'For Heaven's Sakes' Posted: 07 Dec 2018 06:53 PM PST  Former FBI Director James Comey complained Friday that members of the House
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| These are the 5 best holiday deals of the weekend Posted: 09 Dec 2018 09:54 AM PST  You've still got time to get your holiday gifts, and you can still find loads of sales.
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| Iran's Rouhani says sanctions may lead to drugs, refugee, bomb 'deluge' Posted: 08 Dec 2018 06:11 AM PST  Iranian President Hassan Rouhani predicted a "deluge" of drugs, refugees and attacks on the West if U.S. sanctions weaken Iran's ability to contain them. "I warn those who impose sanctions that if Iran's ability to fight drugs and terrorism are affected ... you will not be safe from a deluge of drugs, asylum seekers, bombs and terrorism," Rouhani said in a speech carried live on state television. Separately, Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying that the United States is selling more arms into the Middle East than the region needs, making it a "tinderbox".
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| Porsche CEO Confirms Plan for $6.8 Billion Profit Boost by 2025 Posted: 08 Dec 2018 02:23 AM PST  "On the cost side, it's about reducing complexity in drive variants, more common parts between the different series, less physical prototypes and more digital development," he said. Blume said Porsche's 32,000 employees would remain unaffected by the plans, and that the company plans to hire 1,500 more staff for its electric-powered Taycan model. Last month, Bloomberg reported the profit goal, saying the carmaker aims to increase earnings before interest and taxes by about 750 million euros annually through 2025 by increasing efficiencies, cutting costs and boosting contributions from new business such as digital offerings.
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| Pasta Dinners by the Numbers Posted: 08 Dec 2018 03:00 AM PST  A healthy pasta dinner isn't an oxymoron. A plate of pasta can be a good-for-you option; it all depends on what you top it with. Here's how the nutrition profile of a cup of spaghetti and one-hal...
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| Deputy who died in Thousand Oaks shooting was killed by officer's bullet Posted: 08 Dec 2018 04:49 AM PST  Police in Southern California are grappling with fresh pain one month after 12 people were killed in a mass shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California. In the midst of their rapid response, a mistake was made that cost the life of a police officer. Jamie Yuccas reports.
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| Pearl Harbor survivor and Navy veteran recalls 1941 attack Posted: 07 Dec 2018 07:07 PM PST  HONOLULU (AP) — Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Don Long was alone on an anchored military seaplane in the middle of a bay across the island from Pearl Harbor when Japanese warplanes started striking Hawaii on December 7, 1941, watching from afar as the attack that killed and wounded thousands unfolded.
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| Fox News Contributor: Trump 'Likely To Be Indicted' On Campaign Finance Violations Posted: 09 Dec 2018 01:04 PM PST  Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy has bad news for President Donald Trump:
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| Refugee teens in Austrian schools straddle different worlds Posted: 09 Dec 2018 12:53 AM PST  VIENNA (AP) — Lilas Almalaki didn't know a word of German when she enrolled in an Austrian middle school two months after fleeing her war-torn homeland in 2015, so she relied on the proficient English she learned as a top student in Syria to keep the bullies in place.
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| Social Security notices showing cost-of-living increases available online for retirees Posted: 09 Dec 2018 09:50 AM PST ![Social Security notices showing cost-of-living increases available online for retirees]( "Social Security notices showing cost-of-living increases available online for retirees") The Social Security Administration this week released its cost-of-living adjustment notices online. Paper notices are also being mailed to retirees.
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| Syrian news agency removes report of Damascus air attack Posted: 09 Dec 2018 01:14 PM PST ![Syrian news agency removes report of Damascus air attack]( "Syrian news agency removes report of Damascus air attack") The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) issued a report on Sunday saying Syrian air defences had intercepted enemy targets around Damascus international airport, but later in the day said the attack had not happened. "Our air defences intercepted enemy aerial targets in the vicinity of Damascus international airport in southern Damascus," SANA said in its initial report. Later still, it quoted a source at the Damascus international airport as saying "there was no attack on the airport and the air traffic is normal".
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| Fake and Bad News Is Depressing Market, JPM’s Kolanovic Says Posted: 08 Dec 2018 04:36 PM PST  In the past three weeks, U.S. stocks have lurched between between gains and losses of at least 3 percent, volatility not seen such the global financial crisis a decade ago. "To some extent, we trace the disconnect between negative sentiment and macroeconomic reality to the reinforcing feedback loop of real and fake negative news," the strategists wrote.
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| Uber filed paperwork for IPO: report Posted: 08 Dec 2018 05:07 PM PST  Ride-share company Uber quietly filed paperwork this week for its initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported late Friday. The move comes one day after rival Lyft launched the process to take the company public with a stock offering. The Journal, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, said that Uber could go public as soon as the first quarter, while Lyft is targeting its market debut for March or April 2019.
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| Who is Isha Ambani, and why are Beyoncé and Hillary Clinton in India for her wedding? Posted: 09 Dec 2018 12:38 PM PST ![Who is Isha Ambani, and why are Beyoncé and Hillary Clinton in India for her wedding?]( "Who is Isha Ambani, and why are Beyoncé and Hillary Clinton in India for her wedding?") High-profile celebrities, from Beyonce to Hillary Clinton and Arianna Huffington, were spotted in India for Isha Ambani's pre-wedding festivities.
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| At scene of South Sudan mass rape, 'no one could hear me' Posted: 09 Dec 2018 06:50 AM PST  NHIALDIU, South Sudan (AP) — Wrapping an arm around her stomach, the young woman hung her head and recounted the day in early November when she and a friend were bound, dragged into the bush and raped by four men with guns.
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| Michigan boy raising money for a gravestone for best friend Posted: 07 Dec 2018 05:35 PM PST  DETROIT (AP) — A 12-year-old Michigan boy is working odd jobs to raise money for a special Christmas gift: a gravestone for his best friend.
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| Russia's Su-57 Stealth Fighter Has a New Feature (And It Might Be a Total Waste of Time) Posted: 09 Dec 2018 06:48 AM PST  We take a look.
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| Republicans are undermining democracy state by state Posted: 09 Dec 2018 03:00 AM PST  'They are deliberate efforts to undermine democracy and our faith in it. What Republican legislators just did in Wisconsin – passing bills to strip key powers from the governor-elect, Tony Evers, and other newly elected Democratic officials – is a total betrayal of the people of Wisconsin and our nation's democratic ideals. Michigan is passing a similar set of bills and North Carolina Republicans are accused of paying someone to steal absentee ballots and commit election fraud for a US House candidate.
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| Retirement planning: Improving 401(k) plans for workers who invest Posted: 09 Dec 2018 05:01 AM PST  Workplace 401(k) plans have hold more than $5 trillion and have emerged as financial keystones for millions of people. But they aren't perfect.
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| Mahathir Faces First Major Rally as Protesters Gather in Capital Posted: 08 Dec 2018 03:03 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad faced his biggest rally since taking power in May, as opposition parties led thousands of ethnic Malays in Kuala Lumpur to protest a United Nations convention against racial discrimination.
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| Duchess of Sussex's father releases her handwritten letters and details of first wedding in latest bid to reconcile Posted: 09 Dec 2018 08:38 AM PST  When the Duchess of Sussex's estranged father hoped to resume contact with her after he was caught colluding with the paparazzi, he claims he tried letters, text messages and family interventions to no avail. His next step, it appears, is to release handwritten cards, photographs and extraordinary details of her first wedding to the world via a tabloid newspaper. Thomas Markle, who has not spoken to the pregnant Duchess in months, has produced a dossier of "evidence" he believes will prove their once-close relationship, from aeroplane tickets to a hospital form he says shows he suffered a real heart attack preventing him from walking her down the aisle in May. Mr Markle, who lives in Mexico, has already conducted numerous interviews with tabloids and on television, and has now released handwritten cards sent from his daughter over the years. One included $2,000 from the Duchess, then Meghan Markle, for Mr Markle to put towards a holiday, and another reads: "I love you with all of my heart now and forever." Thomas Markle interviews on GMB earlier this year In lurid claims about her first wedding, to Trevor Engelson in 2011, he alleged guests had been given marijuana, insisting neither he or the bride had used it but that it was considered " no big deal in Jamaica". Ms Markle, he said, had "micro-managed everything". Asked by the Mail on Sunday about recent negative reports about the Duchess, he said: "I don't recognise this person. The Meghan I know was always sweet, kind, generous. She was always demanding but never rude." Saying he had tried text messages, letters and a note via his ex-wife Doria Ragland, he confirmed he is no longer in touch with the Duchess or her new husband. Relaying an alleged conversation with Prince Harry while Mr Markle was in hospital receiving treatment for his heart, he said: "I apologised to Harry on the phone and all he said was, 'If you'd listened to me [about how to deal with the media], none of this would have happened'. Thomas Markle did not attend the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex Credit: PA "There are convicts in prisons who have murdered and committed all kinds of horrible crimes, and their daughters still visit them." The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have never publicly responded to Mr Markle's claims. Kensington Palace declined to comment. The intervention is likely to prove distressing for the Duke and Duchess, who are expecting their first child in the spring. Next year, they will move to Frogmore Cottage, Windsor, and the search will begin for a new Private Secretary before Samantha Cohen, who has been in the role temporarily this year, departs. Ms Cohen, a former Assistant Private Secretary to the Queen, will oversee the recruitment process for a permanent member of staff, but may stay on beyond 2019 if her help is still required, sources said yesterday.
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| After defeat in Iraq, IS fights on in last enclave in Syria Posted: 08 Dec 2018 09:22 AM PST  BAGHDAD (AP) — A year after it was routed from Iraq in a devastating war that left entire neighborhoods and towns in ruins, the Islamic State group is fighting to hang on to its last enclave in eastern Syria, engaging in deadly battles with U.S.-backed forces.
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| MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell: ‘Donald Trump Will Be, Must Be Impeached’ Posted: 08 Dec 2018 01:17 AM PST  MSNBC anchor Lawrence O'Donnell said Friday that President Donald Trump "will
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| China launches probe to explore dark side of Moon - Xinhua Posted: 07 Dec 2018 11:07 PM PST  China on Saturday launched a first probe ever to explore the dark side of the Moon, marking another milestone in its ambitious space programme, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The probe, the Chang'e-4, is expected to make the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon, according to Xinhua. Previous spacecraft have seen the far side of the Moon, but none has landed on it.
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| Suspect accused of randomly pushing man under truck in downtown LA charged with attempted murder Posted: 07 Dec 2018 07:41 PM PST  A suspect accused in a brazen attack caught on video in which a man was pushed under the wheels of a truck in downtown Los Angeles was charged Friday.
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| Holiday gifts 2018: Best investing books for presents Posted: 09 Dec 2018 08:41 AM PST ![Holiday gifts 2018: Best investing books for presents]( "Holiday gifts 2018: Best investing books for presents") Here are Ken Fisher's top picks for people with investment books on their wish list.
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| Congo's Kabila doesn't rule out seeking presidency in future Posted: 09 Dec 2018 08:23 AM PST  KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo's President Joseph Kabila is stepping down after this month's election but he doesn't rule out seeking the post again in the future.
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