Finance news

• Trump says trade deal with China to be signed 'very shortly'

  21-12-2019 23:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United States and China would "very shortly" sign their so-called Phase One trade pact."We just achieved a breakthrough on the trade deal and we will be signing it very shortly," Trump said at a Turning Point USA event in Florida.The Phase One deal was announced earlier this month as part of a bid to end the months-long tit-for-tat trade war between the world's two largest economies, which has roiled markets and hit global growth.
  
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• Australian firefighters access badly burned towns; PM defends climate policies

  21-12-2019 23:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Firefighters battling wildfires in Australia made the most of cooler weather on Sunday to access badly burned towns and contain blazes before the expected return of hotter conditions at the end of the week.The reprieve came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended both his government's climate change policies and his decision to go on holiday to Hawaii last week.The leader of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, said "catastrophic" fire conditions on Saturday in parts of the prime minister's ho
  
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• Trump slams 'unfair' Pelosi delay, rallies conservatives

  21-12-2019 23:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President Donald Trump complained Saturday about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's delayed transmission of the articles of impeachment to the Senate, which may delay a trial in the GOP-controlled chamber.“It's so unfair," Trump said, days after he was impeached by the House, as he spoke at a conservative student conference organized by the group Turning Point USA.Pelosi has refused so far to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate, in part to provide more leverage to Democrats in that ch
  
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• Legion of Christ finds 33 priests, 71 seminarian sex abusers

  21-12-2019 23:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Legion of Christ religious order, which was discredited by its pedophile founder and the cult-like practices he imposed, says an internal investigation has identified 33 priests and 71 seminarians who sexually abused minors over the past eight decades.A third of the priestly abusers were themselves victims of the Legion's late founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel, while others were victims of his victims — a multi-generational chain of abuse that confirms Maciel's toxic influence spread th
  
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• Boeing crew capsule returning to Earth after aborted flight

  21-12-2019 23:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Boeing aimed to bring its Starliner crew capsule back to Earth on Sunday to end its first test flight, a mission cut short by an improperly set clock on the spacecraft.The Starliner — carrying no astronauts, only a test dummy — was supposed to spend the coming week at the International Space Station, part of a critical dress rehearsal for a flight with a real crew next year.The station docking was scrapped, and Boeing and NASA decided to bring the spacecraft home as soon as possible.
  
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• Police investigate after 14 horses fatally shot in Kentucky

  21-12-2019 23:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Law enforcement authorities are investigating the shooting deaths of 14 horses, hunted while grazing in eastern Kentucky. Three of the mares were pregnant, and other killed animals included young colts and fillies, according to authorities.
  
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• Queen and three princes carry on the Christmas pudding tradition in aid of lonely veterans

  21-12-2019 23:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  For many families it is an essential preparation for the festive season, the stirring and mixing of the Christmas pudding before it is put away for maturing. It was no different for The Queen and her offspring, who were last week photographed mixing four special Christmas puddings in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace. The puddings were prepared by the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George as centre pieces of a special initiative by the Royal British Legion to help tackle lone
  
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• Berlin Christmas market that was attacked in 2016 evacuated

  21-12-2019 22:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Police on Saturday evacuated a Christmas market in Berlin that was targeted in a deadly attack three years ago in what turned out to be a false alarm involving an apparent case of mistaken identity.Berlin police tweeted on Saturday evening that they were evacuating the market on the Breitscheidplatz square in the center of the capital because of indications of a suspicious object.An Islamic extremist from Tunisia, Anis Amri, drove a stolen truck into the Christmas market on Dec. 19, 2016, killin
  
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• Eastern Libyan forces seize ship with a Turkish crew: spokesman

  21-12-2019 22:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Eastern Libyan forces seized a Grenada-flagged ship with aTurkish crew on Saturday off the Libyan coast, a spokesman said, amid rising tensions with Turkey, which supports the rival andinternationally recognized Libyan government in Tripoli.Turkey's parliament on Saturday approved a security and military cooperation deal signed with Tripoli government last month, state media reported, an agreement that could pave the way for military help from Ankara.A National Libyan Army forces naval combat ve
  
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• DNA test frees Texas man from life sentence - and leads to confession of a new murder suspect

  21-12-2019 21:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Lydell Grant, who was serving a life sentence, has been freed after a new DNA test of a murder victim's fingernail pointed to a different suspect.
  
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• Poll: majority approve of Trump's impeachment and removal from office

  21-12-2019 21:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Forty-one percent said it would make them more likely to vote for their senator, and 36% said it would make them less likely to do so.
  
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• The billionaire owner of the glitzy wine cave that Pete Buttigieg fundraised at says 'it's just not fair' to be seen as a symbol of excess

  21-12-2019 21:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Elizabeth Warren says 'billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president.' The owner of the wine cave finds that sentiment unfair.
  
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• Berlin police give all-clear after closing Christmas market

  21-12-2019 21:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Berlin police gave the all-clear on Saturday after earlier evacuating a Christmas market that was the scene of a fatal attack three years ago to investigate a possible suspicious object, which they did not find.Tunisian Anis Amri ploughed a truck into the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz in 2016, killing 12 people.Amri, who had Islamist militant ties, was later shot dead by Italian police after he fled Germany.
  
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• Record rain, darkness: Seattle braces for floods, mudslides

  21-12-2019 21:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Record rainfall and darkness has hit Seattle as a major storm begins to lift across western Washington on the first day of winter, though the region is still at risk for flooding, mudslides and avalanches.Friday became the wettest day in Seattle in the past 10 years, and the most rain recorded for Dec. 20 since record-keeping at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport began in 1945.The National Weather Service said the airport recorded 3.25 inches (8.25 centimeters) of rain Friday, making it also t
  
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• Trump adviser: Expect more aggressive poll monitoring in 2020

  21-12-2019 20:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  One of President Trump’s top reelection advisers told influential Republicans in Wisconsin that the party has “traditionally” relied on voter suppression to compete in battleground states, according to an audio recording obtained by the Associated Press. The adviser said later that his remarks referred to accusations that Republicans use such tactics.
  
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• Chilean prosecutors probe police after protester run over

  21-12-2019 20:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Chilean prosecutors are investigating an incident in which a 20-year-old protester was allegedly run over by a police vehicle during a protest in the capital on Friday evening.Footage recorded by local television stations showed two police riot vehicles surrounded by a large crowd of protesters in Santiago's Plaza Italia, a central rallying point in recent weeks, before the incident took place.The protest came after more than two months of fierce demonstrations against the government of Presiden
  
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• Chilean policeman in court after protester run over

  21-12-2019 20:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A Chilean policeman appeared in court on Saturday on a charge of grievous bodily harm after a 20-year-old protester was allegedly run over by an armored police vehicle during a protest in the capital on Friday evening.The policeman, whose name has not yet been officially confirmed, was released on bail pending further investigation, the regional prosecutor said in a press statement.The injured man was named by local media as Oscar Ignacio Pérez Cortéz.
  
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• Rev. Billy Graham's Christian magazine wants Donald Trump removed. Can we get an 'Amen!'

  21-12-2019 20:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  In an editorial, Christianity Today called Trump a 'near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.'
  
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• No Christmas Mass at Notre-Dame for first time in two centuries

  21-12-2019 20:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Notre-Dame cathedral will fail to hold a Christmas mass for the first time since 1803, French officials confirmed on Saturday, as workers continue to repair and rebuild the Paris landmark eight months after a devastating fire. The cathedral's press office said midnight mass would still be celebrated on Christmas Eve by rector Patrick Chauvet but it would be held at the nearby church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois. Notre-Dame, part of a UNESCO world heritage site on the banks of the River Seine, wa
  
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• American Airlines begins offering non-binary gender options during booking process

  21-12-2019 20:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  American Airlines has quietly rolled out non-binary gender options during the booking process, where people can designate "U" or "X" for their gender.
  
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• NASA, Boeing investigating why Starliner spacecraft missed orbit

  21-12-2019 20:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Boeing'sCST-100 Starliner astronaut capsule was successfully launched from Florida on Friday, but an automated timer error prevented the spacecraft from attaining the correct orbit for it to rendezvous and dock with the space station.
  
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• Thousands welcome former C.African leader's return from exile

  21-12-2019 20:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Thousands of well-wishers turned out on Saturday to welcome former Central African Republic president Francois Bozize on his return from exile.Bozize climbed on to the back of a pick-up truck to address members of his KNK party, although most of his speech was drowned by cheers and shouts of support from the crowd, an AFP correspondent said.Bozize faces an international arrest warrant, initiated by the CAR in 2013, for crimes against humanity and incitement to genocide.
  
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• West Africa renames CFA franc but keeps it pegged to euro

  21-12-2019 20:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  West Africa's monetary union has agreed with France to rename its CFA franc the Eco and cut some of the financial links with Paris that have underpinned the region's common currency since its creation soon World War Two.Under the deal, the Eco will remain pegged to the euro but the African countries in the bloc won't have to keep 50% of their reserves in the French Treasury and there will no longer be a French representative on the currency union's board.Critics of the CFA have long seen it as a
  
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• Syria violence spikes as aid groups warn of disaster

  21-12-2019 20:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A surge in violence Saturday left 12 civilians dead in Syria's last major opposition bastion as aid groups warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if cross-border aid stops reaching the region.Heightened regime and Russian bombardment on the northwestern province of Idlib since December 16 has already forced tens of thousands of vulnerable people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.The jihadist-dominated Idlib region hosts some three million people including many displaced by years
  
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• Elizabeth Warren's attack on Buttigieg's wine cave fundraiser 'plays into hands' of GOP, former Obama campaign aide says

  21-12-2019 20:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) went after South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg during Thursday's Democratic debate for attending a fundraiser in Napa Valley, California, that took place in a wine cave. But it wasn't too long ago that alcoholic grape juice played a role in her own fundraisers, The Associated Press reports.AP notes that in June 2018, Warren's supporters gathered at the City Winery Boston for a fundraiser where Melissa Etheridge performed, and those who donated $5,400 per cou
  
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• India protests rage on as death toll rises to 24

  21-12-2019 20:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Thousands of people joined fresh rallies against a contentious citizenship law in India on Saturday, with 24 killed so far in nearly two weeks of widespread unrest.The death toll jumped one day after demonstrations turned violent on Friday in India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, where at least 15 people were killed including an eight-year-old boy who was trampled to death.One protester died Saturday after clashes in Rampur, also in Uttar Pradesh, as police armed with batons used tear gas
  
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• Democrats urged to fix process 'shutting out' candidates of colour from presidential race

  21-12-2019 20:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Democratic Party has been urged to reform the way it selects its presidential candidates, amid claims it is shutting out people of colour.This week at the party’s sixth debate in Los Angeles, entrepreneur Andrew Yang was the only person of colour on the stage. Other candidates of colour, including Cory Booker, Julian Castro and Deval Patrick, are still contesting, but did not qualify for the debate stage.
  
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• Coroner and friends criticise NHS treatment of 24-year-old anorexia victim

  21-12-2019 20:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A coroner has criticised health professionals for failing to give a young woman who died after suffering severe anorexia the support and care she needed. Maria Jakes, 24, died of multiple organ failure in September 2018 after struggling for years with the eating disorder. Coroner Sean Horstead last week concluded that the agencies involved in the Peterborough waitress’s care missed several key opportunities to monitor her illness properly. Mr Horstead said that there had been insufficient
  
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• Key House Dem Raskin urges Pelosi to stand her ground against a 'farce' Senate trial

  21-12-2019 19:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Rep. Jamie Raskin, a key member of the House Judiciary Committee, defends and explains Nancy Pelosi’s decision to delay sending the impeachment articles to the Senate, on Yahoo News’ “Skullduggery” podcast.
  
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• 9 killed in India protests, total deaths rise to 23

  21-12-2019 19:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The death toll during India's nationwide protests against a new citizenship law implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government rose to 23 after nine people died Saturday during clashes between demonstrators and police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.The majority of the dead are "young people," but the police are saying they have only used tear gas and that the deaths and injuries, despite being attributed to bullets, are not the results of police fire. Uttar Pr
  
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• Senate Bound . . . Maybe

  21-12-2019 19:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  This excerpt is from episode 182 of The Editors.Rich: All right, so, Jim Geraghty, we got history. We had a historic vote last night on the floor of the House. Two articles of impeachment charging President Trump with abuse of power and obstruction passed handily, with just a couple Democrats flaking off, two on abuse of power, three on obstruction, and Tulsi Gabbard taking the statesmanlike posture of voting present. What do you make of it?Jim: I’m sorry, I’ve got to stretch th
  
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• Mysterious artist Banksy unveils dark nativity in Bethlehem

  21-12-2019 19:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A manger scene juxtaposed against concrete blocks seemingly pierced by a mortar shell: with Christmas looming, the latest Bethlehem offering by secretive artist Banksy appeared Saturday in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Dubbed the "Scar of Bethlehem", the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph are backlit through damaged concrete, chiseled pockmarks exploding out from a gaping hole in four directions to approximate the Christmas Star.
  
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• Five arrested in Ethiopia for arson attack on mosques: state government

  21-12-2019 19:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Five people suspected of burning down four mosques in Ethiopia's Amhara region were arrested on Saturday, a regional spokesman said, as rising inter-communal and ethnic violence threatens political reforms initiated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed."Five people who are suspected of leading and organizing the attacks have now been arrested," Getnet Yirsaw, the Amhara state spokesman, said in a Facebook post.Yirsaw also said that a church in the town of Motta, 377 km (234 miles) north of the capital A
  
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• The US has decided to stop sending bomb-sniffing dogs to two Middle Eastern countries after many of the animals died

  21-12-2019 19:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Over a dozen US-trained canines have died from mistreatment and lack of care while others are living in unhealthy conditions, a watchdog found.
  
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• Lebanon PM-designate begins tough talks to form government

  21-12-2019 19:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Lebanon's prime minister-designate Saturday launched consultations to form a desperately-needed government for a protest-hit country facing economic collapse, saying political leaders are warming up to a line-up of independent experts.Debt-burdened Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government since former prime minister Saad Hariri resigned on October 29 in the face of nationwide protests.Demonstrators are demanding an overhaul of the political establishment which they deem corrupt an
  
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• Emails show OMB officials thought something was strange about Ukraine aid freeze from the start

  21-12-2019 19:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Less than two hours after President Trump had his infamous July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a White House budget official sent an email to the Pentagon, noting military aid to Ukraine was to be placed on hold, The Center for Public Integrity reports.In the email, which Public Integrity obtained under court order, the official, Michael Duffey, seemed aware that the decision was a little odd. "Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that inf
  
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• Emails show OMB officials knew something was strange about Ukraine aid freeze from the start

  21-12-2019 19:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Less than two hours after President Trump had his infamous July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a White House budget sent an email to the Pentagon, noting military aid to Ukraine was on hold, The Center for Public Integrity reports.In the email, which Public Integrity obtained under court order, the official, Michael Duffey, seemed aware that the decision was a little odd. "Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely held
  
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• Jane Lynch criticized Elizabeth Warren for stoking 'class warfare' and praised 'guileless' Pete Buttigieg

  21-12-2019 18:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  "Billionaires in wine caves have as much right to say who gets to be president as waitresses in diners," the 59-year-old actress wrote on Twitter.
  
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• Ethiopia PM Abiy denounces religious strife after mosque attacks

  21-12-2019 18:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Saturday condemned religious violence following attacks on multiple mosques in the Amhara region, the latest unrest targeting religious institutions.State-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported Saturday a number of mosques had been attacked and that "other properties were destroyed" in Mota town, more than 350 kilometres (217 miles) north of the capital, Addis Ababa."Attempts by extremists to breakdown our rich history of religious tolerance and co
  
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• Texas man to be exonerated after DNA leads to new arrest

  21-12-2019 18:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Authorities said they will begin the process to exonerate a Houston man who was convicted in a 2010 fatal stabbing that investigators now believe was committed by someone else.Lydell Grant, 42, was freed on bond last month after a new analysis of DNA found on the victim's fingernails pointed to his innocence in the killing of 28-year-old Aaron Scheerhoorn.Authorities undertook a new investigation, and the Harris County District Attorney's Office said Friday that Grant has been eliminated as a su
  
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• In leaked audio, a top Trump adviser said the Republican party has 'traditionally' relied on voter suppression

  21-12-2019 18:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The adviser, Justin Clark, later said he was referring to the historic, false accusation that Republicans rely on voter suppression.
  
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• White Sands monument re-designated as US national park

  21-12-2019 18:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President Donald Trump's signature on defense legislation enacted by Congress means White Sands National Monument in southern New Mexico is now White Sands National Park.White Sands became the 62nd designated national park Friday with Trump's signing of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which included a provision on the re-designation, park officials said Saturday in a statement.“Our staff are very excited for White Sands to be recognized as a national park and t
  
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• North Korea: U.S. will 'pay dearly' if human rights criticism continues

  21-12-2019 18:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  There were no weapons tests this time, but North Korea once again made some trans-Pacific waves Saturday.Pyongyang's state news agency, KCNA, issued a statement attributed to a foreign ministry spokesman warning the United States in response to Washington's recent decision to join several other states in condemning North Korea's human rights abuses in an annual United Nations General Assembly resolution Wednesday. The KCNA statement said if the U.S. continued to call out North Korea's human righ
  
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• Moscow wonders where winter has gone

  21-12-2019 18:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Winters in Moscow usually look like something out of a picture book: the Russian capital is covered in snow, people go skiing, and temperatures are well below freezing.For the past two weeks, temperatures in Moscow have easily topped four degrees Celsius and are expected to move as high as 7C next week -- compared to the normal average for December of around minus 6C.Russian President Vladimir Putin has always been reluctant to acknowledge the link between human activity and global warming.
  
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• Two robbery suspects fatally shot by vape shop owner -Police

  21-12-2019 18:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Two armed robbery suspects were fatally shot at a vape shop in Fresno, California.And according to police, it was the owner of the store who shot them.Police say three masked men demanded money from the cashier on Friday night.The store owner was reportedly outside at the time, but came in and confronted the suspects as they were leaving.Witness Greg Brown:(SOUNDBITE) (English) WITNESS, GREG BROWN, SAYING:“…Shots kept coming and coming and I seen the suspects running out, the cashie
  
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• Holiday Mystery Solved! Massachusetts Police Department Discovers Therapy Dog Was the Thief Stealing From a Toy Donation Bin

  21-12-2019 18:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  It wasn't the Grinch after all
  
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• Harry Dunn's family hits back at US government and Anne Sacoolas's lawyers

  21-12-2019 18:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Harry Dunn's family has criticised lawyers acting on behalf of the US intelligence officer's wife accused of killing their son after they claimed she had "co-operated fully" with the investigation. The family has led a high-profile campaign for justice after Anne Sacoolas returned to the US after the car she was driving collided with the 19-year-old's motorbike on August 27. Sacoolas, 42, and her family had been based at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire and she sparked public outrage after clai
  
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• Macron says French forces 'neutralise' over 30 jihadists in Mali

  21-12-2019 18:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President Emmanuel Macron said French forces had "neutralised" several dozen jihadists in Mali on Saturday, as he visited West Africa with a pledge to give new force to the battle against Islamist militants in the region.The operation involving teams of commandos and attack helicopters in the flashpoint city of Mopti in central Mali came just weeks after 13 French soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash as they hunted jihadists in the country's north.Macron said in a speech to the French comm
  
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• Illinois wants to get rolling on weed sales, but some say only white men are set to profit

  21-12-2019 18:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Illinois is the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana, but some say it's following a dangerous trend: Dispensary owners are all white
  
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• Man who used narwhal tusk to help subdue extremist identified

  21-12-2019 18:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A mysterious person who used a narwhal tusk to help subdue a knife-wielding extremist on London Bridge last month has been identified as a civil servant in Britain’s Justice Ministry.
  
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