world news: 2018-12-09

Saturday 15 December 2018

U.S. federal judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional

A judge agreed with a coalition of states that a change in tax law eliminating a penalty for not having health insurance invalidates the entire law.

Homeland Security Secretary says family are to blame for child’s death under Border Patrol custody

Days after a seven-year-old Guatemalan girl died after complications from a septic shock she experienced while in Border Patrol custody, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the child’s family was to blame for her death. “This is just a very sad example of the dangers of this journey,” Ms Nielsen said on Fox News. FOX & FRIENDS: What do you know about the 7-year-old girl who died in Border Patrol custody?@SecNielsen: "This is just a very sad example of the dangers of this journey.

EU's Tusk says no more Brexit negotiations

By Gabriela Baczynska and Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Council President Donald Tusk said on Friday he had no mandate to reopen Brexit negotiations with Britain, while the head of the bloc's executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, said he "admired" Prime Minister Theresa May. Tusk and Juncker were speaking at a news conference after two days of talks at an EU summit that were dominated by the issue of Brexit and saw the other 27 national leaders of the bloc offer May only vague assurances over their Brexit deal. "I have no mandate to organize any further negotiations. ...

Jared Kushner Calls U.S. Criminal Justice System The 'Best In The World.' It's Not.

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, made a rare television

Donald Trump criticises 'crazed' Mika Brzezinski over homophobic comment about Mike Pompeo

President Donald Trump has criticised American TV host Mika Brzezinski over her use of a homophobic slur, claiming a conservative would be banned from the airwaves for using the remark. The MSNBC co-host of weekday morning show ‘Morning Joe’ called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a “butt-boy” on air over an interview Mr Pompeo gave to Fox News where he said reports of a CIA assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was linked to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi were “inaccurate”. The CIA has reportedly assessed with “high confidence” that the crown prince was involved in the order to kill Mr Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

1984 Bertone Ramarro Corvette: The concept we forgot

Named after a green lizard, this Chevrolet Corvette C4 with sliding doors was born in Italy and looks futuristic to this day

Alaska Airlines to give priority boarding to people in ugly sweaters

Alaska Airlines will let passengers wearing ugly sweaters board early on Friday, Dec. 21 in honor of National Ugly Holiday Sweater Day.

China Says Canada's Huawei Arrest Has ‘Aroused Public Anger’

“The Canadian government at the request of the U.S. side wrongly detained the Chinese citizen,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said. The decision to arrest Meng earlier this month to aid a U.S. extradition effort has made Canada the focus of China’s ire, even as President Donald Trump’s trade war sits at the center of the dispute.

Trump says Cohen did low-level work for him, mostly PR: Fox

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he made a mistake hiring longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen years ago and that his one-time fixer did "low-level work" for him, mostly in public relations. Cohen was sentenced to prison on Wednesday on charges that included hush money payments to women before the 2016 presidential election. "In retrospect, I made a mistake, because of what he did was all unrelated to me, except for the two campaign finance charges that are not criminal and shouldn't have been on there," Trump said in an interview with Fox News. ...

UK's Hunt says version of PM May's deal can get through parliament

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Saturday that the British parliament could back Prime Minister Theresa May's deal if lawmakers received assurances from the European Union, but warned that a no deal Brexit was still on the table.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2EniVAM

Trump Ordered Payments to Women Knowing It Was Wrong, Cohen Says

The interview marked Cohen’s first since being sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to breaking campaign-finance laws by arranging the payments, as well as lying to Congress and banks. “Of course,” Cohen said when asked if Trump knew it was wrong to make the payments, adding that the purpose was to help Trump and his campaign. Trump said Thursday he never directed Cohen to break the law and said that, as a lawyer, Cohen should know what’s legal and what’s not.

Bush Judge in Northern Texas Was Go-To Guy to Gut Obamacare

Reed O’Connor, appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush, ruled against Barack Obama’s signature health-care law three times, dealing the most serious blow Friday when he declared the entire law unconstitutional and cast uncertainty on insurance coverage for millions of Americans. While the ruling is sure to be appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, it’s a remarkable victory for conservatives who fared poorly in other court challenges to the Affordable Care Act and were further frustrated in 2017 when a Republican-led Congress and President Donald Trump couldn’t muster the votes to abolish Obamacare.

The Latest: Israeli PM vows to 'settle the score' of attacks

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Latest on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (all times local):

Australia recognises west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

Australia has decided to formally recognise west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but won’t move its embassy until there’s a peace settlement between Israel and Palestinians, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Saturday. He said in a speech that Australia will recognise east Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital only after a settlement has been reached on a two-state solution. The Australian Embassy won’t be moved from Tel Aviv until such a time, he said. While the embassy move is delayed, Mr Morrison said his government will establish a defense and trade office in Jerusalem and will also start looking for an appropriate site for the embassy. "The Australian government has decided that Australia now recognizes west Jerusalem, as the seat of the Knesset and many of the institutions of government, is the capital of Israel," Mr Morrison said. He said the decision respects both a commitment to a two-state solution and longstanding respect for relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Mr Morrison had earlier floated the idea that Australia may follow the contentious US move of relocating its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, but it was seen by many Australians as a political stunt. Critics called it a cynical attempt to win votes in a by-election in October for a Sydney seat with a high Jewish population. The consideration had sparked backlash from Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia, threatening a free trade deal which has now been delayed. Opposition leader Bill Shorten said Saturday that the decision to recognize west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital but not move the embassy there was a "humiliating backdown" from the October by-election campaign. "What I’m worried is that Mr. Morrison put his political interest ahead of our national interest," Shorten told reporters.

Chirp perp: Finches found in luggage at NY airport

A man was caught at New York's JFK airport last weekend trying to smuggle dozens of South American finches into the country, a bird that Guyanese immigrants covet for chirping but officials fear could spread disease, officials said on Thursday. About 70 finches were found hidden inside a shipment of hair rollers at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday when a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialist inspected the unidentified male passenger's luggage. The birds may have been destined for sale to Guyanese immigrants for a game that involves betting on how often the finches chirp per minute, said Customs spokesman Anthony Bucci.

6 Sandy Hook Survivors On Healing, Faith And Forgiveness, 6 Years Later

Dec. 14, 2018, marks six years since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary

Turkey will enter Syria's Manbij if U.S. doesn't remove YPG fighters, Erdogan says

Turkish forces will enter the Syrian town of Manbij if the United States does not remove YPG Kurdish fighters, and it will also target Kurdish-controlled areas further east, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. Erdogan said this week that Turkey would launch a new operation within days against the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia which controls swathes of Syria's northern border region, in what will be Turkey's third military campaign in Syria in two years.

President Donald Trump names Mick Mulvaney as acting White House chief of staff

Donald Trump's next top aide will have to manage a president who doesn't like to be managed.

Former Canadian Envoy Is Now at Center of Feud With China

The former Canadian diplomat who has written about some of the touchiest geopolitical issues in the world, including China’s expanding military footprint in Africa and the North Korea nuclear crisis, is now at the center of a stand-off between two global super-powers. Kovrig was detained by China’s spy agency during a visit to Beijing on Monday, just nine days after Canadian authorities, acting on a U.S. request, arrested a top Huawei Technologies Co. executive in Vancouver. The Chinese government confirmed Kovrig has been detained, according to a Canadian government official briefing reporters Wednesday evening in Ottawa.

PHOTOS: French police kill suspect in Strasbourg Christmas market attack

The gunman who killed three people at a Christmas market in Strasbourg was shot dead by French police on Thursday as the Islamic State jihadist group claimed him as one of its “soldiers”.

Jared Kushner Calls U.S. Criminal Justice System The 'Best In The World.' It's Not.

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, made a rare television

Seven-year-old Guatemalan girl dies of dehydration after being arrested by US Border Patrol

A seven-year-old girl who crossed the United States’s southern border died after being taken into the custody of the Border Patrol. The unnamed child started having seizures just eight hours after she was arrested by border agents in New Mexico last Thursday, after entering the country with her father at an illegal crossing. In a statement, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said emergency medics who responded to the seizures decided to fly her to a hospital in El Paso, Texas.

Yemen's warring sides agree on truce in key port city

RIMBO, Sweden (AP) — Yemen's warring sides agreed Thursday to an immediate cease-fire in the strategic port city of Hodeida, where fighting has disrupted vital aid deliveries and left the country on the brink of starvation in the 4-year-old civil war .

Yes, he really said that. What Trump gets about his presidency that critics don't.

When Trump flouts the conventions of the office, he’s winning with his core voters. It doesn’t matter what he’s saying — what matters is that he’s making the rest of us howl in indignation.

President Trump: Michael Cohen case is meant to embarrass me

President Donald Trump reacts to the sentencing of his former personal attorney and his 46 percent job approval rating in an exclusive interview with Harris Faulkner on 'Outnumbered Overtime.'

EU's Tusk says no more Brexit negotiations

On criminal justice reform, policy prevails over politics

The First Step Act is expected to be passed by the Senate soon and then to be signed by President Trump, reversing more than two decades of tough-on-crime policies.

Iran says U.N.-led ceasefire in Yemen's Hodeidah is step toward peace: TV

Iran welcomed on Friday initial agreements reached at talks in Sweden by the opposing sides in Yemen's war, which include the Iran-aligned Houthi group, were a step toward a final peace accord, Iranian state TV reported on Friday. The war in Yemen is seen as a proxy war between Iran and its key regional rival Saudi Arabia. U.N.-backed talks in Sweden ended on Thursday with an agreement between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to cease fighting for the Houthi-held port city of Hodeidah and withdraw their troops.

Qatar foreign minister says Gulf Arab bloc 'has no teeth'

Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said on Saturday that regional alliances need to be reshaped and new governance principles need to be put in place.