General news

• The Queen and Prince George bake festive treats

  21-12-2019 23:59 via cnn.com
  
  Every family has their own traditions at Christmas -- and the British royal family is no different.
  
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• 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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• Toronto family recreates Beastie Boys 'Intergalactic' video for holiday card

  21-12-2019 23:56 via cnn.com
  
  Every year, Angela Young's family sends out themed holiday cards to family and friends, but they decided to go out of this world this year.
  
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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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• Here are some tips to ensure you don't set your Christmas tree on fire

  21-12-2019 23:20 via cnn.com
  
  Like a lot of people, you're probably not taking down your Christmas tree for a few months. So now's a good time to learn how to keep it from catching fire and burning your house down.
  
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• White Sands monument re-designated as US national park

  21-12-2019 23:13 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
  
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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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• Firmino scores winner in extra time as Liverpool wins Club World Cup

  21-12-2019 22:40 via cnn.com
  
  Liverpool won the Club World Cup for the first time as Roberto Firmino struck in extra time to finally see off the spirited challenge of South American champion Flamengo.
  
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• 1966 World Cup hero Martin Peters dies, aged 76

  21-12-2019 22:36 via cnn.com
  
  Martin Peters, who scored England's second goal in its 1966 World Cup final win over West Germany, has died, aged 76, following a long battle against Alzheimer's disease.
  
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• Nearly 16,000 pounds of frozen beef patties have been recalled because they may contain plastic

  21-12-2019 22:31 via cnn.com
  
  About 15,739 pounds of frozen beef patties are being recalled because they "may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically small, green, soft plastic," the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said.
  
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• A 78-foot alligator bonfire was just built on a Mississippi River levee

  21-12-2019 22:29 via cnn.com
  
  A group of friends in Louisiana have been following a longstanding tradition of building massive holiday bonfires that are big enough to stop anyone in their tracks. But instead of going tall with their build, they went long with a 78-foot alligator display.
  
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• Macao might be China's 'good kid.' But Hong Kong still has the financial clout

  21-12-2019 22:23 via cnn.com
  
  Chinese President Xi Jinping's praise of Macao this week stands in stark contrast to Beijing's irritation with the political turmoil in neighboring Hong Kong.
  
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• Pompeo rebukes China and Russia for vetoing UN aid to Syria

  21-12-2019 22:19 via cnn.com
  
  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo harshly criticized a veto by Russia and China of a United Nations security council resolution that would allow humanitarian aid to reach Syrian rebels, calling the action "shameful."
  
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• Cuba names its first Prime Minister in 43 years

  21-12-2019 21:57 via cnn.com
  
  Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Saturday named Manuel Marrero Cruz as the country's prime minister, a nonexistent role within Cuban politics for more than four decades.
  
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• Cuba names first Prime Minister in 43 years

  21-12-2019 21:57 via cnn.com
  
  Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Saturday named Manuel Marrero Cruz as the country's prime minister, a nonexistent role within Cuban politics for more than four decades.
  
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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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• Newly released emails offer more details of pause to Ukraine aid

  21-12-2019 21:38 via cnn.com
  
  Shortly after President Donald Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, Trump's political appointees were already tasked with carrying out a freeze on security funding for Ukraine, newly released government documents show.
  
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• A man dressed up as a Christmas tree is walking around New York City

  21-12-2019 21:30 via cnn.com
  
  There's a man dressed as a Christmas tree roaming the streets of the Big Apple.
  
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• Club World Cup: Roberto Firmino extra time winner as Liverpool sees off Flamengo

  21-12-2019 21:28 via cnn.com
  
  Liverpool won the Club World Cup for the first time as Roberto Firmino struck in extra time to finally see off the spirited challenge of South American champion Flamengo.
  
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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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• Man breaks into Jewish dorm in Manhattan, sets fires as students sleep: Police

  21-12-2019 20:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  No one was injured by the fires early Friday at a Yeshiva University dorm in Manhattan. Fire department officials said there was no indication the episode was a hate crime.
  
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• China Wants Its Very Own Nuclear Aircraft Carrier (And Wants Russian Help)

  21-12-2019 20:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Could it happen?
  
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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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• US train derailed, two cars fall into Potomac River

  21-12-2019 20:27 via cnn.com
  
  Two freight cars fell into the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, early Saturday morning when part of a Maryland-bound train derailed, according to a CSX spokesman.
  
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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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• 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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• Martin Peters, hero of England's 1966 World Cup, dies aged 76

  21-12-2019 20:08 via cnn.com
  
  Martin Peters, who scored England's second goal in its 1966 World Cup final win over West Germany, has died aged 76 following a long battle against Alzheimer's disease.
  
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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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• Everton held to goalless draw by Arsenal after Carlo Ancelotti appointment

  21-12-2019 18:57 via cnn.com
  
  With their two new bosses watching from the stands, Everton and Arsenal played out a tepid goalless draw in their English Premier League match at Goodison Park Saturday.
  
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