In Certifiably Happy Norway, a Cranky Traveler Finds Some Bliss (Within Reason)

By BOB MORRIS from NYT Travel http://ift.tt/2lvp1Un

London Tours Meant to Surprise and Entertain

By SHIVANI VORA from NYT Travel http://ift.tt/2CcVFFP

Where Are the American Women in Olympic Figure Skating?

By JERÉ LONGMAN from NYT Sports http://ift.tt/2zPWy0F

Can I Divide My Apartment Into Two?

By RONDA KAYSEN from NYT Real Estate http://ift.tt/2lm0bqY

AP PHOTOS: Editor selections from the past week in Asia

A bride is helped before a mass wedding of over 250 couples in Surat, India. The wedding was hosted by an Indian businessman who has funded nuptials of fatherless brides in the city of Surat for several years. Weddings in India are expensive affairs with the bride's family traditionally expected to pay the groom a large dowry of cash and gifts.

Why Are Mutual Fund Fees So High? This Billionaire Knows

By LANDON THOMAS Jr. from NYT Business Day http://ift.tt/2BVKwVn

Inside the Hollywood Home of Social Media’s Stars. (Don’t Be Shy.)

By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI from NYT Business Day http://ift.tt/2zQ7Y4A

Russian environmental activist hospitalized after beating

A leading Russian environmental activist said on Friday he had been hospitalized after being severely beaten by unknown assailants in the southern city of Krasnodar. Andrei Rudomakha, head of the Environmental Watch on the North Caucasus NGO, told Reuters he and a group of activists were assaulted late on Thursday upon returning from the Black Sea coastal city of Gelendzhik where they were documenting the illegal construction of a mansion for high-ranking officials. The regional branch of the Russian Interior Ministry, in a statement sent to Reuters, said authorities were investigating the attack by what it said were three assailants.

Brazil's top court suspends parts of President Temer's Christmas pardons

By Ricardo Brito and Jake Spring BRASILIA (Reuters) - The head of Brazil's Supreme Court suspended parts of a Christmas decree from President Michel Temer granting pardons to convicted criminals on Thursday, saying Temer's actions needed further examination by the court. Cármen Lúcia ruled largely in favor of a legal challenge by Brazil's top prosecutor, Raquel Dodge, who said on Wednesday that the pardons were unconstitutional and threatened a probe into the country's largest-ever corruption scandal.

Hedge Fund Bets Bilked Kentuckians Out Of Their Pensions, Lawsuit Says

Years of risky hedge fund investments helped plunge Kentucky’s public pension system billions of dollars into the red, making it one of the worst-funded state pension systems in the country.

Putin warns terror suspects can be killed 'on the spot'

On Wednesday evening, a homemade bomb placed in a locker at the supermarket in northwestern Saint Petersburg, Russia's second city and Putin's hometown, went off sowing panic among customers and wounding 14 people including a pregnant woman. "As you know, an act of terror took place in Saint Petersburg yesterday," Putin said on Thursday, speaking at a ceremony to award officers who took part in Russia's Syria campaign.

Trump's vacation: golf, tweets and phone calls

President Donald Trump is spending his winter vacation at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida but he is not taking a break from two of his favorite things -- golf and Twitter. Trump flew to his Florida resort on Air Force One a week ago, and his days since have tended to follow the same routine. Shortly before 9:00 am, the presidential convoy leaves Mar-a-Lago and heads for the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

Turkey says EU funds not being actively used for needs of Syrian refugees

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A substantial portion of the funds promised by the European Union (EU) to help Syrian refugees in Turkey is still not being used actively to meet their needs, Turkey's EU Ministry said on Saturday.

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

Deadly apartment fire in the Bronx kills at least 12

Officials said the blaze was started by a 3.5-year-old boy playing with burners on a stove.

911 Calls Detail Vivid Accounts of Amtrak Train Derailment

"My abdomen hurts really bad. I don't feel good"

Increased police presence in Times Square on New Year’s Eve

In the wake of the recent attempted suicide bombing in New York City and the Las Vegas hotel shooting, the New York Police Department announced new steps to protect people in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

Special Report: Meet the force behind Zimbabwe's 'Crocodile' president

HARARE (Reuters) - His wife is a beauty queen, his troops unseated Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, and his motorcade is fit for a president. General Constantino Chiwenga, head of the armed forces until earlier this month, is on a roll.

from Reuters: World News http://ift.tt/2pZZ1WL

Putin tells Assad Russia will help defend Syrian sovereignty - Kremlin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in a new year's greeting that Russia will continue supporting Syria's efforts to defend its sovereignty, the Kremlin said on Saturday.

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

Russian environmental activist hospitalized after beating

A leading Russian environmental activist said on Friday he had been hospitalized after being severely beaten by unknown assailants in the southern city of Krasnodar. Andrei Rudomakha, head of the Environmental Watch on the North Caucasus NGO, told Reuters he and a group of activists were assaulted late on Thursday upon returning from the Black Sea coastal city of Gelendzhik where they were documenting the illegal construction of a mansion for high-ranking officials. The regional branch of the Russian Interior Ministry, in a statement sent to Reuters, said authorities were investigating the attack by what it said were three assailants.

Trump shakes up diplomacy in first year

From "Rocket Man" to glowing orbs and all the awkward handshakes in between, take a look back at all the ways President Trump shook up global diplomacy in his first year in office.

Apartment building fire in Bronx, N.Y., is deadliest in decades

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says investigators believe a Bronx fire that killed 12 was caused by a child playing with a stove.

Tehran Police Say Women Will No Longer Be Arrested For Violating 'Islamic' Dress Code

Police in Iran’s capital are loosening up restrictions regarding dress code after decades of pushback from women in the country.

Trump's vacation: golf, tweets and phone calls

President Donald Trump is spending his winter vacation at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida but he is not taking a break from two of his favorite things -- golf and Twitter. Trump flew to his Florida resort on Air Force One a week ago, and his days since have tended to follow the same routine. Shortly before 9:00 am, the presidential convoy leaves Mar-a-Lago and heads for the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

Trump reportedly fired his entire HIV/AIDS council by FedEx letter

President Donald Trump reportedly fired the sixteen remaining members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) Wednesday via a letter FedExed from the White House.

Claire’s Pulls Makeup After Mom Finds Asbestos In 6-Year-Old’s Kit

Claire’s, a store that sells accessories and makeup to young girls and teens, has pulled some of its items after it was found that cancer-causing asbestos was present in some of its products.

Deadly apartment fire in the Bronx kills at least 12

Officials said the blaze was started by a 3.5-year-old boy playing with burners on a stove.

Couple and two young children found dead in New York basement with throats slashed in 'possible quadruple homicide'

A couple and two young children have been found dead in a basement in Troy, New York State with their throats slashed. The victims, a same-sex couple aged 36 and 22 were found in a basement alongside the older woman’s 11-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter on 27 December in the Lansingburgh neighbourhood of the city. Police have described the case as a "possible quadruple homicide" and say the family were targeted.

Trump White House's Revolving Door Of Staff Changes Expected To Continue In The New Year

White House officials, led by chief of staff John Kelly, are reportedly plotting a staff shakeup in the new year, as President Donald Trump and his administration continue to weather scandals and defeats, and prepare for what could be tumultuous midterm elections in 2018.

Officials: Deadly NYC fire lit by child playing with stove

NEW YORK (AP) — A preschooler toying with the burners on his mother's stove accidentally sparked New York City's deadliest fire in decades, an inferno that quickly overtook an apartment building and blocked the main escape route, the fire commissioner said Friday.

NY mobster jailed two years after heist acquittal

Two years after he was sensationally acquitted of murder and the 1978 Lufthansa heist, New York mobster Vincent Asaro finally got his comeuppance Thursday, sentenced to eight years for arson. Asaro, 82 -- a capo from the Bonanno organized crime family -- now faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars for ordering an arson attack on a car in 2012. The namesake grandson of late New York mobster John Gotti also pleaded guilty over the arson.

Some Afghan Children Find an Alternative to Jail — for Now

By ROD NORDLAND from NYT World http://ift.tt/2Co5UGF

Donald Trump warns Iran 'world is watching' as he condemns arrest of protesters

Donald Trump condemned the arrest of protesters in Iran, telling Tehran that "the world is watching" as officials reported fresh demonstrations over the country’s struggling economy. Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime’s corruption & its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad. Iranian govt should respect their people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! #IranProtests— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2017 Fifty-two people were arrested in Iran’s second city Mashhad on Thursday, the first day of the protests, which also took place in other areas and spread to the capital Tehran as well as Kermanshah the following day. "There are many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with the regime’s corruption and its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad," the White House added in a statement. "The Iranian government should respect their people’s rights, including their right to express themselves. The world is watching," it said. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly taken aim at Iran, denouncing its government as a "fanatical regime" and accusing it of violating an international agreement aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program, refusing to certify its compliance with the deal. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert also addressed the protests. "The United States strongly condemns the arrest of peaceful protesters. We urge all nations to publicly support the Iranian people and their demands for basic rights and an end to corruption," she said in a statement.

At Least 12 People Have Died After Fire Breaks Out in a Bronx Apartment Building

About 170 firefighters worked to rescue people from the building

Trump Says He Has An 'Absolute Right' To Control The Justice Department

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he believes he holds ultimate authority to direct the Department of Justice as he sees fit, while noting the ongoing inquiry into Russian intervention in the 2016 presidential election has made the country “look very bad.”

Court rules 'Bookkeeper of Auschwitz', 96, must go to jail

Germany's constitutional court has ruled that a 96-year-old German must go to jail over his role in mass murders committed at the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz during World War Two, refusing to overturn a lower court ruling. Oskar Groening, known as the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz" for his job counting cash taken from the camp's victims, was sentenced to four years' jail in 2015, but wrangling over his health and age have delayed the start of his sentence. The constitutional court rejected the argument by Groening's lawyers that imprisonment at his advanced age would violate his right to life, adding that the gravity of his crimes meant there was a particular need for him to be seen to be punished.

Trump Reportedly Terminated All Members Of HIV/AIDS Council Without Explanation

The White House has reportedly fired the members of Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) without explanation.

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert

State Department releases Huma Abedin emails found on Anthony Weiner's laptop

12/29/17 3:26 PM

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Sue Grafton, writer behind Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series, dead at 77

12/29/17 2:42 PM

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Child playing with stove caused fatal Bronx fire, NYC fire chief says

12/29/17 10:33 AM

The BBC in Pidgin? People Like It Well-Well

By KIMIKO de FREYTAS-TAMURA from NYT World http://ift.tt/2zPjVYr

Apartment building fire in Bronx, N.Y., is deadliest in decades

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says investigators believe a Bronx fire that killed 12 was caused by a child playing with a stove.

Russian environmental activist hospitalized after beating

A leading Russian environmental activist said on Friday he had been hospitalized after being severely beaten by unknown assailants in the southern city of Krasnodar. Andrei Rudomakha, head of the Environmental Watch on the North Caucasus NGO, told Reuters he and a group of activists were assaulted late on Thursday upon returning from the Black Sea coastal city of Gelendzhik where they were documenting the illegal construction of a mansion for high-ranking officials. The regional branch of the Russian Interior Ministry, in a statement sent to Reuters, said authorities were investigating the attack by what it said were three assailants.

Trump has spent a third of his presidency so far at Trump-branded properties

Since the president opts to spend working vacations at Trump properties and has not fully separated from his business, government money spent there could ultimately end up in his pocket.

Turkey tightens New Year security, 120 arrested ahead of attack anniversary

By Ezgi Erkoyun ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police have detained 120 people with suspected links to Islamic State (IS) in the countdown to New Year's Eve, state media said on Thursday, part of a tightening of security one year after a gunman killed 39 people in an Istanbul night club. Turkey will also more than double the number of police officers on duty in Istanbul and cancel or ban public celebrations in key districts of its largest city on New Year's Eve for security reasons, officials said. On Dec. 31, 2016, a man with an assault rifle shot dead Turks and visitors from several Arab nations, India and Canada at the exclusive Reina nightclub in Istanbul.