| Trump’s troop withdrawal caps failed US policy in Syria, experts say Posted: 20 Dec 2018 06:37 AM PST  Syria's brutal dictator remains in power. A deadly civil war continues unresolved. Russia and Iran's influence has grown. And ISIS remains a threat.
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| Alabama police department blames crimes on rejection of God Posted: 20 Dec 2018 11:43 AM PST ![Alabama police department blames crimes on rejection of God]( "Alabama police department blames crimes on rejection of God") OPP, Ala. (AP) — A rural Alabama police department that used social media to scold community members for rejecting God came under fire from a group that opposes mixing government and religious faith.
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| Pentagon chief Mattis quits in disagreement with Trump policies Posted: 20 Dec 2018 03:29 PM PST  Mattis announced plans to resign after a face-to-face meeting with Trump in which they aired their differences, a senior White House official said. "Because you have a right to a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position," Mattis said in his resignation letter, released by the Pentagon. Trump announced on Wednesday that U.S. troops in Syria would be withdrawn, a decision that upended American policy in the region.
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| In-Depth Photos of the 2019 Volvo XC60 T6 R-Design Posted: 20 Dec 2018 12:24 PM PST |
| Moody photo from Mars shows a giant crater loaded with ice Posted: 20 Dec 2018 08:38 AM PST  Flying over the frigid northern reaches of Mars, the orbiting Mars Express satellite captured images of the 50-mile wide Korolev crater filled with ice. Korolev is an especially alluring sight, not just because it's a well-preserved impact crater but because it's loaded with ice over a mile deep year round. Launched 15 years ago by the European Space Agency (ESA), Mars Express often focuses on glaciers and ice in the Martian polar regions. The Korolev crater's ice is resistant to melting during the warmer summer seasons because the massive plain of ice creates a "cold trap," ESA explains. When air travels above the crater, it cools and sinks over the ice, building a sort of cool "shield" over the ice. The Mars Orbiter looking down upon the Korolev crater.Image: esaSo even as the seasons change, Korolev remains brimming with ice. Most Martian craters, even in cooler regions, don't remain full year-round. As Mars Express zips over the desert planet, it takes photos of different strips of land, and then transmits the pictures back to Earth. ESA scientists then combine the images together to build a coherent picture of different Martian landforms, dried-up lakes, and masses of frozen water. These Korolev images above are composites of five different photos, each taken during a separate orbit across Mars. SEE ALSO: Scientists spot the farthest known object in our solar system, and it's pink Korolev is named for a giant in space history: rocket scientist Sergei Korolev. Korolev headed the Soviet space program and famously beat the Americans into space. The Soviets, under Korolev's leadership, sent both the first human and satellite into space. "He's a key figure in space history — though he died much too early," space historian Robert Pearlman said. Mars Express continues to actively scour the red Martian terrain and transmit truly brilliant extraterrestrial images back to Earth. WATCH: NASA announces its servers were hacked
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| American Airlines employees allege new uniforms are 'toxic,' caused health problems Posted: 21 Dec 2018 06:50 AM PST ![American Airlines employees allege new uniforms are 'toxic,' caused health problems]( "American Airlines employees allege new uniforms are 'toxic,' caused health problems") Thousands of American Airlines employees claim they experienced symptoms following the introduction of new uniforms, according to an unsealed lawsuit.
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| Britain removes word 'unlikely' from no-deal Brexit guidance Posted: 20 Dec 2018 07:14 AM PST ![Britain removes word 'unlikely' from no-deal Brexit guidance]( "Britain removes word 'unlikely' from no-deal Brexit guidance") The British government has removed the word "unlikely" from its official Brexit guidance telling companies and citizens how to prepare for a disorderly exit where the UK leaves the European Union without a deal. Theresa May's government has issued a string of technical notices in recent months with advice on what needs to be done before the country leaves the world's largest trading bloc on March 29. The notices had originally referred to the "unlikely" chance that Britain leaves the EU without a deal.
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| Congress Holds Key to Rusal’s Fate as U.S. Moves to Lift Sanctions Posted: 20 Dec 2018 12:30 PM PST  Congress has a month to decide whether to intervene to block the agreement announced Wednesday by the Treasury Department. Under the deal, Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska will remain under U.S. sanctions and his property will remain blocked, but the Treasury department will remove financial restrictions on Rusal, En+ Group Plc and EuroSibEnergo JSC.
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| Pope Francis calls predator priests 'vicious wolves' and urges them to turn themselves in Posted: 21 Dec 2018 04:31 AM PST  Catholic priests who sexually abuse children are "vicious wolves" who should turn themselves into the authorities, Pope Francis said on Friday. His remarks came at the end of a year in which he was accused of mishandling an abuse scandal in Chile and in which the Vatican's third most senior figure, economy minister Cardinal George Pell of Australia, was put on trial in Melbourne for sexually abusing boys. Any priest who abused a child was "a vicious wolf ready to devour innocent souls", the Pope said in his annual address to the Curia, the Vatican's governing body. Survivors of clerical abuse have long accused the Pope of coming out with strong rhetoric to condemn the rape of children but of failing to take concrete steps to address the scandal. In his address, the Pope acknowledged that the Catholic Church had hugely underestimated the phenomenon and failed to punish predatory priests and the bishops who cover up for them, often by moving them from parish to parish rather than reporting them to the police. Pope Francis made the remarks in an address to the Curia at the Vatican Credit: Filippo Monteforte/AP "It is undeniable that some in the past, out of irresponsibility, disbelief, lack of training, inexperience, or spiritual and human short-sightedness, treated many cases without the seriousness and promptness that was due," he said. All that would change, he pledged, speaking two months before a landmark Vatican summit which will be convened in February to address the issue. He promised to make "past mistakes opportunities for eliminating this scourge". "To those who abuse minors I would say this: convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice," the leader of the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics said. "Let it be clear that, faced with these abominations, the Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whoever has committed such crimes. "The Church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case," he said. "This must never happen again." Victims' groups are deeply sceptical that the conference in February, which will see bishops from around the world gather in Rome, will produce tangible results. But the Pope appears to recognise the enormous damage that has been done to the Catholic Church's moral authority by years of abuse revelations from around the world, from Ireland to the US, Australia, Germany and Latin America. Just this week, the attorney general of the state of Illinois accused Catholic dioceses of failing to release the names of at least 500 clergy accused of sexually abusing children. And the Pope accepted the resignation of an auxiliary bishop in Los Angeles, Monsignor Alexander Salazar, following an allegation of sexual misconduct with a child in the 1990s. A protest placard in Dublin ahead of the Pope's visit to Ireland in August Credit: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters Francis went out of his way to thank journalists for uncovering abuse scandals. "I would like to give heartfelt thanks to those media professionals who were honest and objective and sought to unmask these predators and to make their victims' voices heard," he told the Curia. He also launched an attack on his enemies within the Church who have attacked his papacy, either openly or anonymously through leaks. He likened them to Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus for "thirty pieces of silver". The Pope has come under sustained attack from conservatives within the Church who are bitterly opposed to the openness he has shown to formerly shunned groups, including homosexuals and remarried divorcees wanting to take communion. He said there are, within the Church hierarchy, "those who hide behind good intentions in order to stab their brothers and sisters in the back and to sow weeds, division and bewilderment."
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| A look at US involvement in Syria's civil war Posted: 19 Dec 2018 09:08 PM PST ![A look at US involvement in Syria's civil war]( "A look at US involvement in Syria's civil war") WASHINGTON (AP) — A look at U.S. involvement in Syria:
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| Charging of Chinese hackers signals aggressive new cyber strategy here to stay Posted: 20 Dec 2018 09:35 AM PST  The Justice Department indicted two Chinese nationals allegedly involved in an international hacking scheme that targeted "dozens of companies in the United States and around the world," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced Thursday.
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| Hawaiian Airlines to add no-frills basic economy tickets in 2019 Posted: 20 Dec 2018 02:27 PM PST ![Hawaiian Airlines to add no-frills basic economy tickets in 2019]( "Hawaiian Airlines to add no-frills basic economy tickets in 2019") The airline said the no frills fares will debut in the second half of 2019. JetBlue has already announced plans for a basic economy fare in 2019.
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| Private jet crash in Atlanta kills all aboard: officials Posted: 20 Dec 2018 11:32 AM PST ![Private jet crash in Atlanta kills all aboard: officials]( "Private jet crash in Atlanta kills all aboard: officials") The Cessna Citation 560 aircraft went down shortly after noon EST (1700 GMT) about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Fulton County Airport-Brown Field on the west side of Atlanta, from which it had just taken off, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said by email. The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department said none of the plane's occupants survived.
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| US Senate approves bill to avert government shutdown Posted: 19 Dec 2018 07:55 PM PST  The US Senate on Wednesday night approved an emergency short-term spending bill that averts a looming government shutdown, but excludes funds that President Donald Trump sought for a US-Mexico border wall. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the measure will fund normal government operations at current levels through February 8 -- bringing Washington a step closer to avoiding a potentially crippling closure of some federal offices over next week's coming Christmas holiday. The bill will need to pass the House of Representatives and be signed by Trump before midnight Friday, when funding is set to expire for key agencies like the Department of Homeland Security.
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| Explainer: How drones caused travel chaos at Britain's Gatwick airport Posted: 21 Dec 2018 02:34 AM PST  By midday on Thursday, Gatwick was describing the "ongoing drone activity around the airfield" as "what appears to be a deliberate attempt" to disrupt flights. In the afternoon, the army was drafted in to Gatwick to deploy "specialist equipment", the Ministry of Defence said. On Friday morning, Gatwick reopened for a limited number of flights, though warned there would be continued disruption.
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| Report: Distributors, DEA failed to abate US opioid crisis Posted: 20 Dec 2018 05:01 PM PST ![Report: Distributors, DEA failed to abate US opioid crisis]( "Report: Distributors, DEA failed to abate US opioid crisis") CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A congressional report on prescription pill dumping in West Virginia blames U.S. prescription drug distributors and the Drug Enforcement Administration for not doing enough to help mitigate the nation's opioid addiction and overdose crisis.
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| Mueller to Save Trump for Later as Prosecutor Readies Next Steps Posted: 20 Dec 2018 01:00 AM PST  Mueller is planning to continue building out his case brick-by-brick in a set of legal filings, as he offers his most detailed narrative yet of Russia's election interference. Mueller is also looking into whether the president sought to obstruct justice. "Real-life cases, especially complex ones like this, rarely have one piece of irrefutable smoking-gun evidence," said Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor.
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| The 5 Best Robotic Vacuums of 2018 Posted: 20 Dec 2018 10:47 AM PST |
| Illinois AG finds 500 more Catholic clergy accused of abuse Posted: 20 Dec 2018 11:24 AM PST  CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Wednesday issued a blistering report about clergy sexual abuse, saying that Catholic dioceses in Illinois has not released the names of at least 500 clergy accused of sexually abusing children.
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| Believers of Conversion Therapy Upset with Expected Ban in Denver Posted: 19 Dec 2018 06:29 PM PST  A city council committee advanced a proposed ban on conversion therapy for minors on Wednesday.
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| Russia's Putin hails Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria Posted: 20 Dec 2018 06:46 AM PST  Putin said Trump was right to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria because they weren't 'needed'
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| Government shutdown: History suggests stock market can weather storm Posted: 21 Dec 2018 09:40 AM PST  Add a possible government shutdown to list of worries weighing on Dow Jones industrial average. History, however, says stocks can weather shutdown.
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| Israeli gunfire kills three Gazans during border protest: medics Posted: 21 Dec 2018 11:22 AM PST  Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinians, including a teenager, in the Gaza Strip during the latest of weekly protests along the border with Israel on Friday, Palestinian health officials said. About 8,000 Palestinians gathered near the border fence, the Israeli military said. Most kept their distance, while some burned tires and tried to throw an explosive device into Israel, though it did not land across the border, the military said.
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| How a Government Shutdown Could Affect You Posted: 21 Dec 2018 12:43 PM PST  If Congress and President Donald Trump are unable come together on a stopgap spending measure by a midnight deadline tonight, the federal government could be forced to partially shut down—the thi...
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| Brand-Name Companies, No-Name Workers: How ‘Ghosts’ at Contractors Keep ICE at Bay Posted: 21 Dec 2018 01:00 AM PST  As an undocumented immigrant, she'd learned long ago to accept all kinds of oddities and indignities at work. Lopez wasn't working directly for Target, but for a company called Diversified Maintenance Systems LLC that has had contracts to clean Target Corp. stores across the country since 2003. Amid the searing debate over President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, Diversified and other contractors have provided a way for some of America's biggest employers—including Target and Walmart Inc.—to effectively benefit from cheap, undocumented labor without fear of meaningful penalties.
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| Roadside weed decorated for Christmas sprouts holiday cheer Posted: 20 Dec 2018 07:39 AM PST  TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A few weeks ago it was just another overgrown street corner weed. Now it's decked out with Christmas lights and ornaments and sprouting holiday goodwill.
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| Mom Arrested For Leaving Her Kids Found Home Alone Watching the Movie Home Alone Posted: 20 Dec 2018 11:09 AM PST  When life imitates art a little too much
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| Hagerty unearths the ultimate classic car barn find Posted: 20 Dec 2018 08:41 AM PST  There are barn finds, and then there's this. Down an unmarked, unpaved road in America lurks a collection of classic vehicles the likes of which you've never seen before
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| See Every Photo of this Special Edition McLaren P1 GTR Posted: 20 Dec 2018 08:34 AM PST |
| FDA warns about teething necklaces, bracelets after death of 18-month-old Posted: 21 Dec 2018 06:13 AM PST  The FDA is warning parents and caregivers against the use of teething necklaces and bracelets after an 18-month-old was strangled by a necklace.
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| Third straight rout end worst weak for Dow, Nasdaq since 2008 crisis Posted: 21 Dec 2018 02:24 PM PST  New York (AFP) - Wall Street ended its worst week in a decade with more bruising losses Friday, and with the tech-rich Nasdaq entering a bear market amid worries about trade wars and a possible US government shutdown.
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| House approves bill to avert government shutdown and fund border wall Posted: 20 Dec 2018 06:47 PM PST  Trump refuses to back government funding deal without budget for the border wall; Rep. Jim Jordan weighs in.
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| Ice skating, live reindeer to soothe record U.S. holiday travel rush Posted: 21 Dec 2018 03:04 AM PST  A record one-third of the U.S. population is expected to take to the nation's roads, rails and skies for Christmas and New Year's travel, prompting airports to trot out unusual perks like free ice skating and live reindeer to soothe the stressed crowds. In the heavily populated Northeast, travelers will face heavy rains and high winds on Friday and Saturday, potentially causing further highway congestion and flight delays and cancellations. The American Automobile Association expects 112.5 million Americans, around a third of the U.S. population and about 4 percent more than last year, to travel by car, train and plane from Dec. 22 to Jan. 1.
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| Eric Gomez: My North Korea Prediction for 2019 Posted: 21 Dec 2018 05:35 AM PST  Kim Jong Un's New Year address will be an important stage-setter.
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| Lithuania wraps tree in plastic to protest Christmas consumerism Posted: 20 Dec 2018 08:21 AM PST  Lithuanian artists on Thursday said they have placed a giant plastic bag over a fir tree in the capital Vilnius to warn against consumerism taking over the holiday season. "This is a Christmas tree but we are using it as a piece of art to protest against the negative effects of hyper-consumerism," reads the message printed on the plastic. Adorned with breathing masks, the art installation is located at the Vilnius railway station, which the city has turned into an alternative Christmas market this year.
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| Israeli army says Palestinian killed at West Bank roadblock Posted: 21 Dec 2018 12:01 PM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military on Friday confirmed shooting a Palestinian car passenger dead in the West Bank, while a second Palestinian teenager was killed in a weekly border demonstration in the Gaza Strip.
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| Best Car Safety Performance Posted: 20 Dec 2018 11:00 AM PST  A vehicle with good braking and emergency handling can help you avoid an accident. Typically, smaller, sportier vehicles perform well in these tests and larger trucks are slower to maneuver. Cons...
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| Pros and Cons to Buying Honda Motor Co Ltd (HMC) Stock Posted: 21 Dec 2018 10:40 AM PST ![Pros and Cons to Buying Honda Motor Co Ltd (HMC) Stock]( "Pros and Cons to Buying Honda Motor Co Ltd (HMC) Stock") Honda Motor Co (NYSE: HMC) didn't start out as a car company, but it's sure come a long way from the early days, when it sold motorized bikes back in 1946. Company founder Soichiro Honda did so well in the bike business he decided to expand his company, calling it the Honda Motor Co. when it rolled out in 1948. Thirty-four years later, Honda was doing so well it became the first foreign car maker to build a vehicle in the U.S. (the Honda Accord), and has gone to sell cars, trucks, SUVs, motorcycles, ATVs, boats, mountain bikes and even solar powered cells.
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| Trump Warns of ‘Very Long Shutdown’ Over Wall Funding Dispute Posted: 21 Dec 2018 06:41 AM PST  The threat makes it likely that House Republicans will not be willing to pass a clean bill averting a shutdown and increases the odds that a shutdown would last at least until Jan. 3 when Democrats will take over the House. Trump is scheduled to meet with Senate Republicans at 10:30 a.m. to discuss the funding bill, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. "The Democrats, whose votes we need in the Senate, will probably vote against Border Security and the Wall even though they know it is DESPERATELY NEEDED," Trump said in a Friday morning Twitter post.
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| Don't fall in love on Facebook, jailed Indian warns Posted: 21 Dec 2018 12:51 AM PST  An Indian man released this week after being jailed for six years in Pakistan issued advice on Friday not to follow his example and fall in love on Facebook. Hamid Nehal Ansari illegally entered Pakistan from Afghanistan in 2012 to meet a woman he had fallen for on the social media network. "Do not be emotional about strangers and don't fall in love on social media including Facebook," Ansari told AFP three days after being released and returning to India.
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| Storms halt SpaceX's first U.S. national security space mission Posted: 20 Dec 2018 09:38 AM PST  SpaceX said its Falcon 9 rocket and payload, a roughly $500 million GPS satellite built by Lockheed Martin Corp, were "in good health" and that it was now targeting a Saturday morning launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral. Patrick Burke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said the weather might not clear up until Saturday. A successful launch would be a significant victory for Musk, a billionaire and Tesla Inc chief executive, who spent years trying to break into the lucrative market for military space launches, long dominated by Lockheed and Boeing Co.
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