Former press secretary shares heartbreaking memory of how Obama broke down over Sandy Hook shooting

On the fifth anniversary of the deadly massacre that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School, former President Barack Obama's press secretary took to social media to remember the aftermath of the attack.

Omarosa's exit raises questions about White House diversity

The announcement that the controversial aide was leaving her White House post has brought with it new questions about diversity — or lack of it — in the Trump White House.

6 Parents Of Sandy Hook Shooting Victims On Moving Forward After Unspeakable Loss

Dec. 14, 2012, is a day that represents every parent’s worst nightmare.

Twitter users tell FCC chair Ajit Pai to 'kill himself' after net neutrality vote

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is facing backlash online after the government agency voted  Thursday to repeal landmark Obama-era rules that were designed to ensuring a free and open internet, setting up a court fight over a move that could recast the digital landscape The plan had not been popular leading up to the vote, with at least one poll from the University of Maryland finding more than 80 percent of respondents opposed the proposed repeal of net neutrality rules ahead of the vote.

60 Holiday Jell-O Shots That Will Get Your Holiday Party LIT

FCC repeals net neutrality rules

The FCC has voted to repeal Net Neutrality, Obama-era legislation that safeguarded the internet.

Firefighter Killed Battling Thomas Fire In Southern California, Officials Say

A firefighter was killed battling the monstrous Thomas Fire in Southern California, officials said on Thursday.

Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa says elections must be credible

Zimbabwe's new President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Friday the ruling ZANU-PF party should aim to always hold free and fair elections, a day after saying the polls could be held sooner than expected. The international community will be closely watching the next elections in 2018. Mnangagwa, who became leader of the southern African nation last month after the military and ruling ZANU-PF turned against Robert Mugabe who had ruled the country for 37 years, was addressing a special congress in downtown Harare.

Roy Moore issues fiery video refusing to concede: 'Immorality sweeps over our land'

In 2005, Moore said: “Homosexual conduct should be illegal.” In an interview televised on C-Span, Moore added: “It is immoral. In a speech in February, Moore appeared to suggest that the terrorist attacks of September 11 were the result of divine retribution against the United States and prophesized in the Book of Isaiah.

What School Safety Looks Like 5 Years After Sandy Hook

On the morning of Nov. 14, staff members at Rancho Tehama Elementary School in Corning, California, heard the sound of a single gunshot in the vicinity of the campus.

Man dies after attacking Israeli troops with a knife in deadly clashes over Trump's Jerusalem decision

Israeli troops shot dead four Palestinians and wounded 150 others with live fire on Friday, medical officials said, as protests over US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital entered a second week. Most of the casualties were on the Gaza Strip border, where thousands of Palestinians gathered to hurl rocks at Israeli soldiers beyond the fortified fence. Medics said two protesters, one of them wheelchair-bound, were killed and 150 wounded. In the occupied West Bank, another area where Palestinians are seeking statehood along with adjacent East Jerusalem, medics said two protesters were killed and 10 wounded by Israeli gunfire. One of the dead was a man who Israeli police troopers said was shot after he stabbed a member of their unit. Reuters witnesses said the Palestinian held a knife and wore what looked like a bomb belt. A Palestinian medic who helped evacuate the man for treatment said the belt was fake. Palestinians -- and the wider Arab and Muslim world -- were incensed at Trump's December 6 announcement, which reversed decades of U.S. policy reticence on Jerusalem, a city where both Israel and the Palestinians want sovereignty. Mohammed Aqal, 29, stabbed a border police officer at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank while wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest, before being shot three times by police Credit:  GORAN TOMASEVIC/ REUTERS Israeli border policemen stand away after shooting Aqal Credit:  GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS Aqal later died, according to health authorities Credit:  GORAN TOMASEVIC/ REUTERS Washington's European allies and Russia have also voiced worries about Trump's decision. Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists, which reject coexistence with Israel, called last week for a new Palestinian uprising, but any such mass-mobilisation has yet to be seen in the West Bank or East Jerusalem. There have been almost nightly Gazan rocket launches into Israel, so far without casualties. Israel has responded with air strikes on Hamas facilities, one of which killed two gunmen. The Israeli military said that, on Friday, about 3,500 Palestinians demonstrated near the Gaza border fence. "During the violent riots IDF (Israel Defence Force) soldiers fired selectively towards main instigators," the military said in a statement. Pictures from the scene show Aqal with a knife and what appears to be a suicide belt A military spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the wheelchair-bound protestor, Ibrahim Abu Thuraya. Abu Thuraya, 29, was a regular at such demonstrations. In media interviews, he said he had lost both his legs in a 2008 Israeli missile strike in Gaza. In the West Bank, the Israeli military said that about 2,500 Palestinians took part in riots, rolling flaming tyres and throwing fire bombs and rocks at soldiers and border police. Israel captured East Jerusalem, an area laden with Jewish, Muslim and Christian shrines, from Jordan in the 1967 war and later annexed it in a move not recognised internationally. Palestinians hope that part of the city will be the capital of a future independent state and Palestinian leaders say Trump's move is a serious blow to a moribund peace process. Israel has welcomed Trump's announcement as recognising political reality and biblical Jewish roots in Jerusalem. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to visit Israel, as well as Egypt, next week. (Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Catherine Evans and Hugh Lawson)

Return of 2 ill GOP senators crucial next week for tax bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ailing Republican senators John McCain and Thad Cochran missed votes this week, but their presence will be crucial early next week as the GOP tries to pass a sweeping $1.5 trillion tax package in the Senate with a razor-thin majority and all Democrats opposed to the legislation.

Kurz's Austrian conservatives bring far right into government

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's conservative leader Sebastian Kurz has brought the far right Freedom Party (FPO) into government, striking a coalition deal he aims to cement with his own party and Austria's president on Saturday.

from Reuters: World News http://ift.tt/2Cmpj79

Mexico presidential race roiled as leftist front-runner embraces right wing party

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The front-runner in Mexico's 2018 election has embraced a small, socially conservative party in his bid for the presidency, sparking criticism among progressives that could splinter his support in what is expected to be a tight race.

from Reuters: World News http://ift.tt/2jZT8Ud

Former press secretary shares heartbreaking memory of how Obama broke down over Sandy Hook shooting

On the fifth anniversary of the deadly massacre that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School, former President Barack Obama's press secretary took to social media to remember the aftermath of the attack.

Forget Stealth Fighters: This Is the Plane China Needs to Take on America

China is looking to increase its air tanker fleet after its fighter jets, bombers and surveillance aircraft conducted an “island encirclement patrol” of Taiwan earlier this week. As the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) extends exercises in the Western Pacific, refueling will become a problem for its strike aircraft.

Senator: Comey's remarks on Clinton probe heavily edited

WASHINGTON (AP) — A draft statement former FBI Director James Comey prepared in anticipation of concluding the Hillary Clinton email case without criminal charges was heavily edited to change the "tone and substance" of the remarks, a Republican senator said Thursday.

Teen and His Classmates Go Crazy as They Learn He Got Accepted Into Harvard

More than three million people have watched the joyous moment on YouTube.

Trump Says Roy Moore Should Concede Senate Race To Doug Jones

President Donald Trump said Friday that Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore should concede this week’s election to Democrat Doug Jones. “He tried,” Trump, who had endorsed Moore, told reporters outside the White House. Trump says GOP candidate Roy Moore should concede the Alabama special election.

School shooting survivors united by a chain of grief — and hard lessons passed on

School shootings didn’t begin, or end, with Sandy Hook. Yahoo News looks at the aftermath of four of these tragedies and the lives they changed.

Sanders: Tax bill is simply a 'gift' to 1%

Senator Bernie Sanders speaks on the tax plan that the Republicans are expected to pass soon. He feels that the process to pass the bill has been a 'disaster'.

Trump won’t discuss a pardon for Flynn – yet

With a single syllable in comments to reporters Friday morning, the president suggested he may have the last word in the matter of Michael Flynn. Trump also appeared to question the integrity of the FBI, even though he was on his way to a graduation at the bureau’s academy.

Most Of The California Wildfires Are Under Control, But The Thomas Fire Is Still Raging

More than 10 days after the Thomas Fire sparked in Ventura County, the blaze grew to some 252,200 acres on Friday as more than 8,300 firefighters worked night and day to contain it.

With Rubio a 'no' vote, where does the GOP tax bill stand?

Marco Rubio’s spokesperson confirms the Senator will vote “no” unless certain changes are made to the Republican tax bill. NBC’s Garrett Haake reports on the implications.

Twitter users tell FCC chair Ajit Pai to 'kill himself' after net neutrality vote

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is facing backlash online after the government agency voted  Thursday to repeal landmark Obama-era rules that were designed to ensuring a free and open internet, setting up a court fight over a move that could recast the digital landscape The plan had not been popular leading up to the vote, with at least one poll from the University of Maryland finding more than 80 percent of respondents opposed the proposed repeal of net neutrality rules ahead of the vote.

60 Holiday Jell-O Shots That Will Get Your Holiday Party LIT

Deadly California wildfire continues to grow

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — Calming winds Friday gave firefighters a chance to gain ground against a huge wildfire in coastal mountains northwest of Los Angeles but the blaze continued to surge west, endangering thousands of homes, as forecasts called for a renewal of gusty winds.

US jets intercept Russian planes over Syria and fire warning flares

American F-22 fighter jets have fired warning flares in Syrian airspace after Russian Su-25 jets entered an agreed upon deconfliction area, according to a US official. The official told Reuters that the Russian jets left the area, which was above the Euphrates river, after the two US jets sent the warnings. One official said that the aerial encounter lasted "several minutes", as the Russian jets crossed the de-confliction line several times.

Jamie Oliver Says He'd Do This Disgusting Thing If He Had To Cook For Donald Trump

Jamie Oliver isn’t planning on cooking a meal for President Donald Trump anytime soon.

Pakistan court dismisses graft case against opposition's Imran Khan

Pakistan's Supreme Court dismissed a graft case against cricketer-turned-opposition leader Imran Khan Friday, ensuring he will contest a general election due next year, just months after the same body ousted ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif. This petition has no merits and is dismissed accordingly," chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar said, reading from the judgement to a packed courtroom. Shortly after the judgement Khan held a press conference in Karachi where he told reporters "Pakistan's highest court has exonerated me".

Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Serious About Having Religious Wedding, Church Leader Says

St. George’s Chapel is a stunning, historic place.

Jury convicts woman of murder in teen's starvation death

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Jurors on Thursday convicted an Iowa woman of murder in the starvation death of her 16-year-old daughter, who weighed only 85 pounds when she died.

Ramaphosa, Dlamini-Zuma in tight race to lead South Africa's ruling ANC

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) holds an election this weekend - seen as too close to call - to replace Jacob Zuma as party leader, with the winner also likely to become the next president.

from Reuters: World News http://ift.tt/2yFXmVi

Indian police arrest Christian priest after complaint by Hindu group

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian police arrested a Christian priest and were questioning members of a seminary after a hardline Hindu group accused them of trying to convert villagers to Christianity by distributing Bibles and singing carols, police said on Saturday.

from Reuters: World News http://ift.tt/2j8r00p

"President Trump's Lies: The Definitive List"

The New York Times used a narrow definition of "lie" that discarded many of Trump's falsehoods and still found 103 in 10 months. Under the same rules, Obama had just 18. NYT's David Leonhardt explains why Trump has trouble with the truth.

Firefighter Killed Battling Thomas Fire In Southern California, Officials Say

A firefighter was killed battling the monstrous Thomas Fire in Southern California, officials said on Thursday.

Battle lines drawn for South Africa's ANC on eve of leadership vote

By Alexander Winning and Mfuneko Toyana JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The African National Congress (ANC), South Africa's ruler since the end of apartheid, faces perhaps the most pivotal few days in its recent history when it meets over the weekend to choose a successor to Jacob Zuma as party leader. The ANC's electoral dominance means whoever wins the job is likely to become South Africa's next president. Economic growth in Africa's traditional powerhouse has been lethargic over the last six years and the jobless rate stands near record levels.

Where To Donate To Honor Each Of The 26 Sandy Hook Shooting Victims

Thursday marks the five-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.