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The 10 Best Black Friday Smart Home Deals: Amazon Echo Dot, Fire TV, Google Home Mini, Ring, Nest, Blinq, Roomba, Instant Pot - IGN IGN
Battle of the smart screens: Lenovo and Amazon's latest compared Yahoo News
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London Bridge: Video shows public confront London Bridge attacker

November 30, 2019

Footage shows members of the public using a fire extinguisher and a tusk to confront Usman Khan.

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Nadler asks Trump if he 'intends to participate' in impeachment hearings

November 30, 2019

Judiciary committee chairman said on Friday he looks forward to ‘prompt response’ while president is at his Florida golf clubNadler wrote earlier this week: ‘At base, the president has a choice to make: he can take this opportunity to be represented in the impeachment hearings, or he can stop complaining about the process.’ Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesHouse judiciary committee chairman Jerry Nadler wrote to Donald Trump on Friday, asking if the president “intends to participate” in impeachment inquiry hearings due to begin next week.“I look forward to your prompt response,” he wrote.The president spent Friday at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, having returned from a surprise Thanksgiving visit to troops in Afghanistan.He did not immediately comment or tweet. Trump has said he would like to testify in the impeachment inquiry, as senior aides from the acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to former national security adviser John Bolton have not.Such refusals have stoked a standoff between the Democrats who control the House of Representatives and the White House over the proper exercise of constitutional powers and authorities.A judge this week ruled that “presidents are not kings”, meaning Don McGahn, the former White House counsel, must testify in the impeachment hearings despite claims that he had “absolute immunity” as a top presidential adviser.Nadler greeted that ruling as showing the White House stance had “no basis in law”. Nonetheless, the justice department immediately moved to appeal.Nadler wrote to Trump earlier this week, offering him the chance to participate.“At base,” he wrote, “the president has a choice to make: he can take this opportunity to be represented in the impeachment hearings, or he can stop complaining about the process.”The impeachment inquiry concerns efforts by Trump to have Ukraine investigate Joe Biden, a political rival and former vice-president, and a baseless conspiracy theory about supposed Ukrainian interference in the 2016 US election, rather than Russian.Trump and Republicans deny the president abused his power but Mulvaney has admitted nearly $400m of military aid was held up in an effort to force Ukraine to comply and a succession of witnesses at hearings held by the House intelligence committee painted a damning picture of attempts to make Trump’s wishes reality.Public opinion remains split on the issue, with about 50% of respondents in recent polls saying they favour Trump’s impeachment and removal. Trump has claimed, falsely, that support for the process is plummeting.“I hope that he chooses to participate in the inquiry,” Nadler wrote earlier this week, “directly or through counsel, as other presidents have done before him.”In his letter on Friday, Nadler quoted Adam Schiff, the chair of the House intelligence committee who has said his panel’s report will be submitted to Congress “soon after the Thanksgiving recess”.“That report,” Nadler wrote, “will describe, among other things, ‘a months-long effort in which President Trump again sought foreign interference in our elections for his personal and political benefit at the expense of our national interest’ and ‘an unprecedented campaign of obstruction in an effort to prevent the committee from obtaining documentary evidence and testimony’.”Nadler also underlined his own committee’s investigation of alleged obstruction by Trump detailed in the special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian election interference and links between Trump and Moscow.The judiciary committee will decide if a formal impeachment vote will be held and, if so, what articles of impeachment will be presented.If such a vote passes, as would be expected as the Democrats hold the House, Trump would be sent to the Senate for trial, probably in January. As Republicans hold that chamber and no significant cracks have appeared in GOP support, Trump would expect to avoid conviction and removal.Nadler asked Trump for notice of “whether your counsel intends to participate … no later than 5pm on [Friday] 6 December 2019”. The first judiciary committee hearing is scheduled for Wednesday 4 December.

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Ilhan Omar's Republican opponent was banned from Twitter after suggesting the congresswoman should be tried for treason and hanged

November 30, 2019

The Republican campaign promoted a wild conspiracy theory that Omar had illegally shared sensitive government information with Qatar and Iran.

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Why Shouldn't the 'Whistleblower' Testify?

November 30, 2019

The American people need to know as much as possible about what the president is accused of.

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Chicago officer investigated for body-slamming man to ground

November 30, 2019

A Chicago police officer is being investigated for body-slamming a man who spat on his face, authorities said Friday. The officer approached the man for drinking alcohol at a bus stop, police said. “While a single video does not depict the entirety of the interactions between the police and the individual, this particular video is very disturbing,” Lightfoot said.

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Europe becomes cocaine exporter as countries overflow with drug

November 30, 2019

European countries have become so saturated with cocaine that the region has now become a hub for exporting the drug to markets such as Australia, Turkey and Russia, according to new data. Record levels of production of the drug in South America and new smuggling routes opening up into the continent means that Europe is now a transit area for the export of cocaine. The phenomenon is outlined in a new Europol analysis of the drug market, and comes after Spain seized a submarine carrying cocaine from Colombia in a European first this week. New trafficking routes are also being developed through war-torn west African states. Les Fiander, one of the authors of the 2019 Drugs Market Report, said there were a number of reasons why South American production has soared in recent years. “Organised crime groups have been able to expand their production, because authorities in source countries are not able to use anymore pesticides to fight it." Spanish officials seized the submarine earlier this week Credit: LALO R. VILLAR/AFP He added that the ongoing peace process in Colombia is another factor, as the vacuum left by the Farc has been rapidly filled by coca farmers looking to make quick money. According to the report, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain remain main entry points and distribution hubs for cocaine in the EU. Smuggling operations are becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect. The European Union’s law enforcement agency’s 2019 Drugs Market Report, shows that the value of the drugs trade in Europe is roughly €30 billion. Cannabis, accounting for 39% of the total market, is the most consumed illicit drug followed by cocaine at 31%. It is estimated that four million European citizens used cocaine this year. Last week's submarine was carrying three tonnes of cocaine valued at €100 million when it was detained off the north-west coast of Spain. The submarine had travelled from South America and it is believed the cocaine was destined for the British market. West and North Africa appears to be emerging as a more significant transit point for both air and maritime shipments of cocaine destined for the European and possibly other markets. The report found that heroin production, mainly in Afghanistan, is also on the rise and consequently there is likely to be a much greater availability of the drug in Europe over the coming years. The use of heroin and other opioids still accounts for the largest share of drug-related harms. The retail value of the heroin market in 2017 was estimated to be at least €7.4 billion. The report also highlighted how the illicit drug industry in Europe is increasingly contaminating river water, drinking water and wastewater. The adverse effects of leaking acidic chemicals are now more widespread and no longer an issue limited to local governments, the report found. Compounding the problem is the array of chemical substances that can be used to produce synthetic drugs, meaning that the amount abandoned and dumped often varies greatly.

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White House 'can't find any record' of Trump's Sondland call

November 30, 2019

The White House reportedly has no record of a phone call President Trump claims exonerates him in the scandal that is threatening to bring down his presidency.

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Taliban says it has the 'same stance' on negotiations after Trump talks cease-fire | TheHill - The Hill

November 30, 2019

Taliban says it has the 'same stance' on negotiations after Trump talks cease-fire | TheHill The Hill
Questions arise after Trump says peace negotiations with Taliban to resume ABC News
Inside President Trump's secret trip to Afghanistan Fox News
Talking to the Taliban | Sheneman Opinion NJ.com
POLITICO Playbook: Confusion in Afghanistan Politico
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Could Barry Odom land at Virginia Tech? - 247Sports

November 30, 2019

Could Barry Odom land at Virginia Tech? 247Sports
Mizzou great Howard Richards on Barry Odom firing KSDK News
Mizzou fires Barry Odom as coach after 4 seasons at alma mater ESPN
BenFred: Sterk puts spotlight on himself by saying Mizzou can do better than Odom STLtoday.com
Mizzou athletic director: Releasing Odom not an easy decision 41 Action News
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Officials give Dallas Cowboys warning, not penalty, for contacting sliding Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen - newyorkupstate.com

November 30, 2019

Officials give Dallas Cowboys warning, not penalty, for contacting sliding Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen newyorkupstate.com
Buffalo Bills DE Jerry Hughes to Cowboys fans during Thanksgiving rout: I see why you don’t pay Dak! Blogging The Boys
How much has Jim Kelly's guidance helped Josh Allen? Buffalo News
Tony Romo Ripped for Excusing Dallas Cowboys' Thanksgiving Game Performance Against the Bills PopCulture.com
Josh Allen’s Coming Out Party Buffalo Rising
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Tens of thousands rally in Europe, Asia before UN climate summit

November 30, 2019

Tens of thousands of protesters, primarily in Europe and Asia, hit the streets on Friday to make a fresh call for action against global warming, hoping to raise pressure on world leaders days before a UN climate summit. Carrying signs that read "One planet, one fight" and "The sea is rising, so must we", thousands flocked to Berlin's Brandenburg Gate for the latest "Fridays for Future" protest inspired by 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg. In total, about 630,000 people demonstrated across more than 500 cities in Germany, the Fridays for Future movement said.

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2 victims are dead and a suspect was killed by police in a London terror incident. Here's how the attack unfolded.

November 30, 2019

Police said they were called to London Bridge just before 2 p.m. local time on Friday afternoon for reports of a stabbing.

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Peru Opposition Leader Keiko Fujimori Walks Free from Lima Jail

November 30, 2019

(Bloomberg) -- Opposition leader Keiko Fujimori walked free from a Lima prison Friday night after Peru’s highest court annulled her 18-month preventive jail sentence for obstructing a money-laundering probe.Speaking to reporters outside the jail, Fujimori said the Constitutional Court had corrected a process that was arbitrary and “full of abuses,” and said she’ll keep cooperating with the investigation.“I’m going to take time to reconnect with my family, recuperate, and later on we’ll decide what I’ll do in the second stage of my life,” Fujimori said, according to video broadcast by the Canal N network.The 44-year-old daughter of former autocrat Alberto Fujimori was jailed 13 months ago on allegations she sought to use her party’s congressional majority and contacts in the judiciary to derail a money-laundering probe against her. Prosecutors allege she received $1 million in campaign donations from Brazilian builder Odebrecht SA, though haven’t formally charged her. She denies any wrongdoing.In the court’s Nov. 25 ruling, three justices said prosecutors didn’t provide sufficient evidence directly linking Fujimori to the payments from Odebrecht. A fourth said she no longer posed a threat to the investigation after Congress was dissolved in September.Prosecutors investigating Fujimori and other politicians accused the court of thwarting Peru’s fight against corruption by releasing Fujimori. “The decision is surprising, incongruous and anti-technical, and suspiciously, it has political overtones,” prosecutor Jose Domingo Perez said Friday. He’s asked the judiciary to contest the ruling, La Republica newspaper reported.The Constitutional Court annulled a preventive jail sentence against former president Ollanta Humala and his wife Nadine Heredia last year.Voters will elect a new Congress on Jan. 26 and analysts don’t expect any political party to win a majority.To contact the reporter on this story: John Quigley in Lima at jquigley8@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Steve GeimannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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2 victims were killed and police fatally shot a man wearing a hoax explosive vest in a terrorist attack at London Bridge

November 30, 2019

London Metropolitan Police closed London Bridge and London Bridge Station is also closed. City of London police shot the man, who died at the scene.

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Kamala Harris' campaign manager is under fire, receives blame for decline

November 30, 2019

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) isn't bouncing back after a precipitous decline in the Democratic presidential race -- and fingers are starting to point at her campaign manager.Juan Rodriguez has drawn the ire of both camapaign staffers and outside observers, The New York Times reports. "This is my third presidential campaign and I have never seen an organization treat its staff so poorly," state operations director Kelly Mehlenbacher wrote in a resignation letter obtained by the Times.Mehlenbacher clarified she still supported Harris as a candidate, but did not have confidence in the campaign's leadership. She specifically cited the campaign's decision to move people from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland, and then "lay them off with no notice" and "without thoughtful consideration of the personal consequences to them."Harris and other senior staff members were reportedly blindsided and angered by the extent of the layoffs, and some aides reportedly found out about them from junior aides and the press rather than Rodriguez himself.One of Harris' congressional supporters, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), said she told the senator she needs to make a change. "The weakness is at the top, and it's clearly Juan," she said. "He needs to take responsibility -- that's where the buck stops."More stories from theweek.com God's gift to America? 5 scathingly funny cartoons about the Trump-ified GOP Democrats are running into Trump's economic buzzsaw

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Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 vs. Fitbit Versa 2: Which should you buy? - Android Central

November 30, 2019

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 vs. Fitbit Versa 2: Which should you buy? Android Central
Samsung ‘Cyber Monday’ 2019: Live Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10, 4K HDTV Deals Forbes
Save big on this Galaxy Note 10 Plus-Galaxy Buds bundle Tom's Guide
Just Buy a Galaxy Watch Active 2 Droid Life
Samsung Galaxy Buds are the cheapest they’ve ever been following Black Friday Digital Trends
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WSU Cougars News: The joy and despair of Black Friday - CougCenter

November 30, 2019

WSU Cougars News: The joy and despair of Black Friday CougCenter
Mike Leach goes off on reporter after Washington State's 7th straight loss to Washington Yahoo Sports
Huskies down Cougars 31-13 at home in 112th Apple Cup Pac-12 Networks
Washington State rewind: Max Borghi says Cougars hung their heads early on in 31-13 Apple Cup loss The Spokesman-Review
The Apple Cup: 5 keys for the Cougs vs. Dawgs 247Sports
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The First Time Congress Tried to Impeach a President Was a Disaster

November 30, 2019

It didn't go as planned...

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Pelosi to attend climate summit amid withdrawal from climate deal

November 30, 2019

The U.S. began the formal withdrawal process from the Paris Climate Agreement earlier this month.

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Lebanese rally against Iraq's crackdown on protesters

November 30, 2019

Dozens of people in protest-swept Lebanon staged a candlelit vigil outside Iraq's embassy on Saturday to denounce the excessive use of force against demonstrators there. Participants at the Beirut observance raised pictures of Iraqi protesters who have been killed in an unprecedented anti-government movement. Some raised the Lebanese flag, while one woman wrapped the Iraqi tricolour around her shoulders.

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Ilhan Omar GOP challenger banned from Twitter after saying she should be "tried for treason and hanged”

November 30, 2019

Danielle Stella campaign account also tweeted a picture of a stick figure being hanged with a link to a blog post about her comments.

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‘Hero’ Who Ended Terror Rampage Was Convicted Killer

November 30, 2019

Simon Dawson/ReutersLONDON—A frenzied knife attack by a known terrorist who was let out of prison early on parole was halted by a posse of Londoners that included a convicted killer on day release.The first deadly terror attack in Britain for two years spilled out of a Cambridge University event on rehabilitating ex-cons. A university spokesman told The Daily Beast that the terrorist Usman Khan had been invited to the event, but could not confirm reports that he had addressed the symposium, which included former prisoners and prison staff.A more detailed account of the attack emerged Saturday as the Islamic State claimed that one of its attackers carried out the stabbing, the group’s Amaq news agency reported. The announcement didn’t provide any evidence for the claim.Khan, 28, was wearing a tracking device on his ankle and a hoax suicide belt around his waist when he walked up the grand staircase inside the historic Fishmongers’ Hall, pulled out two knives, and threatened to blow up the building.He was run out of the event by attendees grabbing makeshift weapons to confront the killer, who had already inflicted fatal injuries on two people and wounded several more. One man picked up a fire extinguisher, another pulled the unicorn-like tusk of a narwhal off the wall and gave chase.Khan fled onto London Bridge with the avenging conference guests in hot pursuit. The man with the antique whale cudgel was identified by The Times as a Polish chef called Luckasz, who suffered lacerations in the attack. “Being stabbed didn’t stop him giving him a beating,” a colleague who did not want to be named told the paper.Some of the others who turned on the killer reportedly were ex-cons attending the event.They sprayed him in the face with the fire extinguisher and managed to force him to the ground even though he was flailing at them with knives that were taped to his wrists. Several people held him down while police cars raced to the scene.A man named James Ford grabbed one of the terrorist’s knives and carried it to safety, staggering south across the bridge away from the melee and warning clueless pedestrians to back away from a potential explosion.As cell-phone footage spread across social media and onto global news networks, the man was labelled a hero. Some of those watching the video, however, were appalled by what they saw.Angela Cox, 65, received a phone call from police liaison officers telling her to switch on the TV. She thought the man who had disarmed the terrorist was still in prison.Ford had been convicted of the brutal murder of her niece in 2004. He approached the 21-year-old, who was said to have the mental age of a 15-year-old, in an area of woodland and slit her throat. The judge at the time said: “What you did was an act of wickedness. You clearly have an interest in the macabre and also an obsession with death including murder by throat cutting.”He was out of prison on day release on Friday, reportedly to attend the University of Cambridge Criminology department’s “Learning Together” event, although a spokesman was unable to confirm.> — “He murdered a disabled girl. He is not a hero.”“He murdered a disabled girl. He is not a hero,” said Cox. “They let him out without even telling us. It was a hell of a shock.”The authorities will also have to explain why Khan was allowed out of prison to murder at least two people—one man and one woman who have not yet been named. In 2012, he was convicted of plotting to carry out terror attacks in London and set up a terror training camp on land owned by his family in Pakistan.The judge said Khan, who was just 19 at the time, was one of the ringleaders of a small British terror network that followed the teachings of U.S.-born Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki. The eight men, who had been tracked for months by MI5, were convicted on terror offenses including a plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange—they also had a target list that included the U.S. Embassy and the home address of Boris Johnson, who is now prime minister.Five of them were given conventional jail sentences, but the judge said Khan and two of his colleagues were so dangerous that they should be locked up indefinitely under Imprisonment for Public Protection legislation.“They were about the long term business of establishing and operating a terrorist military training facility in Pakistan, on land owned by the family of Usman Khan to which British recruits, whom they would recruit, would go to receive training,” the judge said. “Furthermore it was envisaged by them all that ultimately they, and the other recruits may return to the UK as trained and experienced terrorists available to perform terrorist attacks in this country.”His ruling that they should remain in custody until they were no longer deemed a threat was quashed by the court of appeal in 2013. Britain’s head of counterterror policing Neil Basu said late on Friday night that Khan was released last year. The Times reported that he had agreed to wear an electronic monitoring device and live under restrictions including a curfew at his home in Staffordshire in the West Midlands.He would likely have told the officials monitoring his movements that he was traveling down to London to take part in the rehabilitation event “celebrating five years of Learning Together.”Khan had just taken part in a workshop on storytelling and creative writing when he revealed his true motivation for taking part in the event on the banks of the River Thames.Professor Anthony Glees, the director of the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham, who contributed to the parliamentary Homeland Security Group, said it was clear that the authorities and the academics who wanted to help had failed to identify the true scale of the threat from this man.“That is a deep irony, the do-gooder culture in universities actually gave him the opportunity; how daft was that?” he said to The Daily Beast. “Once a jihadist always a jihadist.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Friday 29 November 2019

Marcus Smart, Celtics ready to move on, 'tired of hearing' about ex-teammate Kyrie Irving - ESPN

November 29, 2019

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California snow-bound highway reopens but storm snarls Thanksgiving travel

November 29, 2019

Interstate 5 through the Grapevine area, a mountain pass, was shut down in both directions early on Thursday morning and the California Highway Patrol said on Twitter it was working to clear stuck vehicles as snow kept falling. The highway, a major artery connecting Southern California to the rest of the state, was reopened later in the day, although more snow and rain were still forecast. The winter storm was expected to bring heavy snow in the mountains and high winds across much of the Western United States before moving toward the Great Plains late on Friday, the National Weather Service said.

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2 cruise passengers dead, 5 injured after Belize tour bus crash

November 29, 2019

Two Carnival Cruise Line passengers died in a bus crash while on an independent tour in Belize on Wednesday.

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Trump to decide if he wants lawyers at impeachment hearings

November 29, 2019

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee asked President Donald Trump on Friday to say whether he’ll send his attorneys to participate in impeachment proceedings before the panel. Rep. Jerrold Nadler also is asking Republicans on his committee which witnesses they plan to ask permission to subpoena. The letters from the New York Democrat came as the House impeachment probe enters a new phase with a hearing next week on whether Trump’s actions might constitute impeachable offenses.

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The Latest: 4 more anti-government Iraqi protesters killed

November 29, 2019

Iraqi officials say four protesters were killed amid ongoing violence in Baghdad and southern Iraq, hours after Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi announced his intention to resign. Security and hospital officials say one protester was killed and 18 wounded Friday by security forces who fired live rounds and tear gas to repel them on Baghdad’s historic Rasheed Street, near the strategic Ahrar Bridge. Officials say three protesters were shot dead by security forces in the southern city of Nasiriyah, bringing the total killed there to six on Friday.

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Donald Trump Sees Another Opportunity to Teach Cuba a Lesson

November 29, 2019

Is Trump using "health attacks" on US diplomats in Havana as an excuse to punish Cuba?

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Iraqi PM offers resignation after security forces carry out 'bloodbath' killing of protesters

November 29, 2019

Iraq’s embattled prime minister offered his resignation on Friday, following the bloodiest day in weeks of unrest. Adel Abdel Mahdi, who took up the post of premier last year, said he would submit to the parliament a formal letter requesting my resignation to "preserve the blood" of Iraqis. Demonstrators greed the news with cheers, throwing rice and dancing to music in Baghdad's Tahrir (Liberation) Square. “Long live the revolution, long live the heroes. Thank you to the people,” one protester said over a loudspeaker. Mr Mahdi’s decision came hours after Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's top Shia Muslim cleric, gave a sermon urging lawmakers to reconsider their support for the government, in a major boost to Iraqi demonstrators who have taken to the streets against a ruling class. "It's our first victory, and we're hoping for many more," shouted one demonstrator. "It's also a victory for the martyrs who fell," he said. An Iraqi anti-government protester waves a national flag close to a concrete barricade amidst clashes with security forces along the capital Baghdad's Rasheed street Credit: AFP Mr Mahdi’s resignation was one of the protesters’ demands, but it is unlikely to see them leave the streets after the crackdown by security forces. More than 45 were reported dead in just a 24-hour period between Wednesday and Thursday night, in an unprecedented level of violence against protesters by the government. Some 26 people were killed in the southern city of Nasiriyah after security forces tried to clear one of the main bridges into the city, 12 were killed in the holy city of Najaf and four in the capital, Baghdad. The demonstrations are the largest the country has seen in decades, but also the deadliest, with nearly 400 people killed and more than 15,000 wounded since they began last month. Iraq's "enemies and their apparatuses are trying to sow chaos and infighting to return the country to the age of dictatorship ... everyone must work together to thwart that opportunity," Mr Sistani said. The government "appears to have been unable to deal with the events of the past two months" and "parliament, from which the current government emerged, must reconsider its choices and do what's in the interest of Iraq," he said, urging them to stop killing protesters. Iraqi protesters carry the Iraqi national flag and shout slogans shortly after the resignation of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel-Mahdi Credit: REX The unrest in Iraq's south was unleashed after protesters stormed the Iranian consulate in Najaf late on Wednesday, accusing the neighbouring country of propping up Iraq's government. Tehran demanded Iraq take decisive action against the protesters, saying it was "disgusted" by developments. In response, Mr Mahdi, who has received Iran's support, ordered military chiefs to deploy in several provinces to "impose security and restore order" - but chaos reigned instead. Men in civilian clothes opened fire at demonstrators and tribal fighters deployed in the streets in their defence. "We had blocked off the roads and bridges over the past four days and security forces moved in on us to try to open up the bridges. They opened fire leading to a bloodbath," said Hussein, a 32-year-old lawyer from Nasiriyah. "What's happening in Nasiriya is unbelievable. Nothing justifies this use of violence against us. We, the people, are extremely angry. Our blood is boiling. Our brothers were killed unjustifiably. Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's Middle East research director, also used the word "bloodbath" to describe the crackdown in Nasiriyah and accused security forces of "appalling violence against largely peaceful protesters".

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Port Neches explosion: 60,000 evacuated from homes after Texas chemical plant blast

November 29, 2019

A series of explosions at a chemical plant forced some 60,000 people to be evacuated from the area surrounding Port Neches in Texas.The first blast occurred at 1am on Wednesday, injuring three workers who are now in hospital. TPC Group, which operates the plant, confirmed all other employees have been accounted for.

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Hotpot vs bread: the culinary symbols of Hong Kong's political divide

November 29, 2019

A humble loaf of bread has become a new symbol for Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters who have embraced a slew of colourful and sometimes surreal memes as they push the Beijing-backed government for reforms. Activists have begun bringing loaves of "Life Bread" -- a local brand beloved by Hong Kongers -- to demonstrations, or leaving them next to protest walls after a video of a police officer taunting protesters went viral. The footage was shot last week during a siege by police of Polytechnic University where a tense stand-off unfolded between riot officers and hundreds of activists who barricaded themselves inside.

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Snow to hit 2,000-mile stretch from Nevada to New England as weekend travelers head home

November 29, 2019

Black Friday blizzards and snow expected from Nevada to the Upper Midwest and into New England. Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms are headed south.

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Airlines are joining in on Black Friday with major flight sales — here's how you can save

November 29, 2019

Delta, American Airlines, Southwest, Emirates, and more have posted Black Friday and Cyber Monday flight deals. We expect more sales, too.

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Massive black hole that "should not even exist" discovered

November 29, 2019

A black hole with a mass of about 70 times that of the sun is lurking across our galaxy.

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Trump's antics leaving Republicans 'disgusted and exhausted', says former GOP congressman

November 29, 2019

A former Republican congressman said he would “probably vote to impeach” Donald Trump if he were still serving in the US House of Representatives while suggesting the president's scandals are “infuriating" current GOP House members.Charlie Dent, a frequent critic of Mr Trump who resigned from Congress last year, said he has heard from several of his former Republican colleagues who are “absolutely disgusted and exhausted by the president’s behaviour”.

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Couple attacked on London bus say thugs asked 'how lesbians have sex' - New York Post

November 29, 2019

Couple attacked on London bus say thugs asked 'how lesbians have sex' New York Post
Police release CCTV of homophobic attack on two women on London bus Guardian News
UK teens plead guilty in 'homophobic incident' against women who refused to kiss on London bus Fox News
Moment boy makes 'scissoring' gesture at lesbian couple before launching attack Metro.co.uk
Lesbian attacked on London night bus punched teens after homophobic taunts went too far, court hears Yahoo News
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NFL Week 13 Picks Against the Spread: Browns beat up on Steelers, Chiefs roll Raiders - CBS Sports

November 29, 2019

NFL Week 13 Picks Against the Spread: Browns beat up on Steelers, Chiefs roll Raiders CBS Sports
2019 NFL playoff picture - AFC, NFC standings, seeds, scenarios and outlook in Week 13 ESPN
NFL playoff picture: See the current playoff seeds, matchups, Wild Card race For The Win
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Mexico bristles at U.S. cartel plan, insists it's doing its part

November 29, 2019

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday that his government was committed to fighting organized crime, seeking to dispel fears that the United States could take matters in its own hands in the fight against drug cartels.

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'Very disturbing': Chicago officer under investigation for body-slamming man to the ground

November 29, 2019

A Chicago police officer is under investigation after body-slamming a man during an arrest on the South Side, an incident captured in a viral video.

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The Latest: 4 more anti-government Iraqi protesters killed

November 29, 2019

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Heavy snow in U.S. West and Midwest could disrupt post-Thanksgiving travel

November 29, 2019

Over a foot of snow is forecast in mountainous parts of Colorado, Utah and Arizona on Friday before the storm system slips toward the upper Midwest, the National Weather Service said. Freezing rain will likely turn to snowy blizzards in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan beginning on Friday night, with more than 18 inches of snowfall possible in some mountainous areas, the service said. More than 4 million Americans were expected to fly and another 49 million expected to drive at least 50 miles or more this week for Thanksgiving, according to the American Automobile Association.

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Gigantic storm to wreak havoc on post-Thanksgiving travel

November 29, 2019

A massive winter storm that has already prompted warnings from Arizona to Wisconsin will be lumbering east in coming days, almost certainly interfering with Thanksgiving return-travel plans for millions, The Washington Post reports. By the time it's finished, the storm, created by the same conditions that caused the "bomb cyclone" in California and Arizona earlier in the week, could pummel an area stretching from the Sierra Nevadas to New England -- where a nor'easter is predicted to begin on Sunday night. "This storm will... produce significant snow and blizzard conditions across the Northern Plains through Saturday before moving to the Great Lakes and Northeast Sunday and Monday," the National Weather Service said in a statement. USA Today reports that Accuweather is forecasting up to three feet of snow in South Dakota's Black Hills region, where "visibility could be so low at times it may be difficult to determine where the road surface actually is." So if you happen to be stuck at a relative's house this weekend: stay inside, avoid discussing politics, and try not to get too sick of that days-old cranberry sauce.More stories from theweek.com Democrats are running into Trump's economic buzzsaw 5 gut-bustingly funny cartoons about politics and Thanksgiving Knives Out does what so many of the best mysteries do: Carve up the rich

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The US fertility rate has dropped for the fourth year in a row, and it might forecast a 'demographic time bomb'

November 29, 2019

Russia, Japan, and Spain are all dealing with their growing elderly populations and declining birthrates. The US could be next.

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Winter storm watches for parts of N.J.; 4 to 8 inches of snow possible; could wreak havoc on holiday travel - NJ.com

November 29, 2019

Winter storm watches for parts of N.J.; 4 to 8 inches of snow possible; could wreak havoc on holiday travel NJ.com
Not again! Powerhouse storm with heavy snow and wind to interfere with Thanksgiving return travel. The Washington Post
7 maps predicting snowfall in Mass. Sunday to Monday Boston.com
Expect a quiet Thanksgiving holiday, but another storm will impact Wisconsin this weekend Channel3000.com - WISC-TV3
Winter storm could make travel hazardous in Upstate NY newyorkupstate.com
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Final day for Help to Buy Isa applications

November 29, 2019

Nearly 260,000 properties have been bought using the Isa, Treasury figures show.

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Thursday 28 November 2019

North Korea test fires two missiles month before deadline for US to respond on talks

November 28, 2019

North Korea fired two "unidentified projectiles" on Thursday, Seoul said, as nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington remain deadlocked. The projectiles were fired eastwards from South Hamgyong province and came down in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. They added that the launch, the latest in a series by Pyongyang, was carried out at 16:59 pm local time - or the early hours on the east coast of the United States, during Thanksgiving, one of the country's biggest annual holidays. It was also one day short of the two-year anniversary of the North's first test of its Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, which analysts say is capable of reaching the entire US mainland. Pyongyang is banned from firing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Thursday's launch was the latest in a series of violations. "North Korea's repeated launches of ballistic missiles are a serious defiance to not only our country but also the international community," he told reporters in Tokyo. Thursday's launch came after Pyongyang fired what it called a "super-large multiple rocket launcher" system last month, and the JCS said the latest devices were presumed to be of a similar type. They flew 380 kilometres (236 miles) and reached a maximum altitude of 97 kilometres, the JCS added. Nuclear negotiations between the US and the North have been at a standstill since the Hanoi summit between Donald Trump, the US president, and Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, broke up in February. Pyongyang has since demanded Washington change its approach by the end of the year. "North Korea is growing anxious as its deadline approaches," said Shin Beom-chul of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "That's why it's carrying out these provocations, which is the typical North Korean playbook to get more concessions from the US."

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AOC Raised More for Reelection Campaign Last Quarter Than All Other House Dems, Including Pelosi

November 28, 2019

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) raised more funds for her reelection campaign than all other Democrats in the House, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to federal elections commission data.Ocasio-Cortez raked in $1.42 million between July 1 and September 30, outstripping Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), who raised $1.26 million over the same period, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), who raised $1.26 million, the New York Post first reported. All three are up for reelection in 2020."This is very rare, unique," political consultant George Arzt told the Post. "I can’t recall anyone raising this much money during the first year in office."Contributions under $200 comprised most of the donations to Ocasio-Cortez, at $1.1 million in total contributions. Several Republican challengers are competing to oust the freshman congresswoman in her district, which comprises parts of Queens and the Bronx, but none of those challengers has so far matched her fundraising abilities.Arzt emphasized that Ocasio-Cortez "is a celebrity who gained attention from people across the country, and many on the left support her."While she outstripped Pelosi in fundraising over the summer, Pelosi has raised more funds than Ocasio-Cortez overall since January. The Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund, which helps other Democrats besides Pelosi, has raised over $11 million since the beginning of the year.The freshman New York congresswoman has already established herself as a fundraising powerhouse. In July, Politico reported that she hasn't been hurt by relying on small donations, instead channeling her star power in the progressive community to solicit contributions."There used to be a single path to fundraising success in DC — cultivating industry lobbyists," Jeff Hauser, the executive director of the Revolving Door Project, told Politico. "That path still exists, but it's not as lucrative as becoming a national icon for aggressively populist performance in office.

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Port Neches explosion: 60,000 evacuated from homes after Texas chemical plant blast

November 28, 2019

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Judge upholds charges that could put Weinstein away for life

November 28, 2019

A New York judge has rejected Harvey Weinstein’s bid to throw out the most serious charges in his sexual assault case, dealing a big blow to the disgraced movie mogul as he sought to limit the scope of his looming trial and any potential punishment. The ruling made public Wednesday clears the way for prosecutors to bolster their case with testimony from actress Anabella Sciorra who says Weinstein raped her in 1993 or 1994. In recent court filings, Weinstein’s lawyers objected to two of the five counts against him — both stemming from a charge called predatory sexual assault, which carries a maximum life sentence and requires prosecutors to show a pattern of misconduct.

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Iran supreme leader says 'very dangerous' plot foiled

November 28, 2019

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said his sanctions-hit country had foiled a "very dangerous" plot after violent demonstrations triggered by a fuel price hike. New York-based Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, accused Tehran of "deliberately covering up" more than 100 deaths and thousands of arrests during the crackdown.

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'Sleepwalking toward climate catastrophe:' World must slash emissions immediately, UN report says

November 28, 2019

The world's nations must make steep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions immediately or risk missing the targets they’ve agreed on, a U.N. report says.

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Texas chemical fire rages for second day, thousands evacuated

November 28, 2019

The fiery blast inside a distillation column at the Port Neches, Texas, TPC Group facility on Wednesday injured three workers, blew locked doors off their hinges and spewed a plume of toxic chemicals for miles (kilometers). The plant manufactures petrochemicals used to make rubber and resins, and the volatile organic compounds in the explosion's smoke can lead to eye, nose and throat irritation, shortness of breath, headaches and nausea, the pollution regulator Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) said. The plant, 90 miles (145 km) east of Houston, has a long history of environmental violations and has been out of compliance with federal clean air laws for years, according to the Texas Tribune and state records; it was also declared a high priority violator by the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Native Americans Have Little to Celebrate on Thanksgiving

November 28, 2019

Bettmann/GettyWhile I have been researching and writing a Wampanoag-centered history of Plymouth Colony and the Thanksgiving holiday, my conversations with Native people have opened my eyes to some profound lessons about their past and present. These teachings have particular resonance this Thanksgiving season as the United States continues to struggle with white nationalism, the importance of distinguishing between truth and lies in democratic debate, and the place of indigenous people in a pluralistic country with a colonial foundation.Native people widely agree that the U.S. has yet to reckon with its history of white violence against their people. Instead, the country uses the myth of the First Thanksgiving to make it appear that Indians consented bloodlessly to colonialism.That myth, reinforced over and over again through grade school Thanksgiving pageants, holiday decorations, and television specials, is the only cameo Indians make in the colonial history curriculum in many American schools. Unfortunately, it is terrible history and even worse civics.The myth tells that supposedly friendly Indians (rarely identified by tribe) voluntarily gifted their country to the Pilgrims in order to lay the foundations for a white, Christian, democratic United States. As for why these Indians were so welcoming in the first place, this myth has nothing to say. It does not address the fact that the Wampanoags had already experienced years of slave raiding by European sailors before the appearance of the Mayflower, and that those contacts had introduced them to a devastating plague that more than halved their population and left them vulnerable to their inter-tribal enemies. Thus, when the Pilgrims arrived, the Wampanoags looked to them for a military alliance despite their wariness of English treachery.Why Thanksgiving Is Better Than ChristmasThe Thanksgiving Myth also evades the fact that the celebrated peace between the Wampanoags and Plymouth was rife with tensions from the start and ultimately degenerated into a bloody war. During the celebrated 50 years of peace following the First Thanksgiving, the Wampanoags complained endlessly about the English encroaching on their land, undermining their political systems, and asserting their jurisdiction over purely Indian affairs.Not coincidentally, there were recurrent war scares during these years as Native leaders reached across tribal lines to make common cause against their common colonial threat. The tension finally broke in King Philip’s War of 1675-76, which led to the deaths of thousands of Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuc, and other indigenous people, and the enslavement of thousands more. The Thanksgiving Myth ignores this consequence of the Pilgrim-Wampanoag alliance, though clashes of this sort were a basic feature of American colonial history.Some American history courses might teach about King Philip’s War, but few have anything to say about how many Wampanoags and other Native New Englanders survived after their military subjugation. Over the following centuries, they endured white society’s reduction of them and their children to indentured servitude and the ongoing occupation of their lands. They also suffered white people denying they were Indians at all based on the intermarriages and cultural adjustments they had made to survive under white domination. In other words, Americans are rarely taught the incredible achievement that American Indians are still here, every bit as much a part of the modern world as everyone else.Indigenous people also widely bemoan that Americans’ lack of historical understanding about the Native American contributes to a marked lack of recognition of their place in the country, a general lack of compassion for their historic struggles, and widespread unawareness about their ongoing fights for sovereignty and cultural self-determination. Indeed, many of them feel invisible to the general public.Worse still, every Thanksgiving season the country reduces historic Indians and their traumas to caricature, as if to say that Native Americans’ only role in the national culture is to concede to colonialism and then go away.Lest we diminish the impact of these messages, consider the experience of a young Wampanoag woman who told me that when she was in kindergarten, the lone Indian in her class, her teacher cast her as Chief Massasoit in a Thanksgiving pageant and had her sing with her classmates “This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land.” Reflecting on the moment as an adult, the cruel irony was not lost on her. As a child, she only knew enough to be embarrassed about it.The Trump era has cast into relief some of the dark consequences of this amnesia and ignorance. It includes the government’s environmental racism and disregard of Native sovereignty evident in the battle over the Keystone Pipeline. It includes the ongoing use of racist stereotypes of indigenous people in sports mascots. It includes President Donald Trump’s derision of Sen. Elizabeth Warren as Pocahontas, which feeds on the widespread assumption that it is ludicrous for someone with a light (or dark) complexion leading a modern life to have Native heritage and want to claim it.Trump’s juvenile trolling of Warren also plays on the widespread ignorance of the American public about the difference between being an enrolled member of an Indian tribe (which Warren is not) and being a descendant of Native people (which Warren is). Such thinking is part of a long American tradition of white people insisting that Indians should disappear, the better to reduce the numbers of them laying claim to the land.The belief that Indians do not matter also contributed to Trump posing a delegation of Navajo leaders visiting the White House in front of a portrait of Andrew Jackson, the proponent of Indian Removal, and then making light on Twitter about the historic massacre of Wounded Knee.Not least of all, the widespread belief that modern Indians cannot be authentic and have no legitimate historic rights has contributed to a recent decision by Trump’s Department of the Interior to revoke a 2007 federal ruling that restored reservation lands to the Mashpee Wampanoags of Cape Cod, descendants of the very people who welcomed the Pilgrims.No wonder, then, that many Native people, including the Wampanoags, charge that their fellow Americans lack sufficient gratitude for what they’ve sacrificed for the country. This feeling of victimhood is especially poignant given that many Native communities still suffer extraordinarily high levels of poverty, with all of its associated ills, while living in the shadow of sometimes garish wealth. Wampanoag people in southeastern New England, for instance, are confronted daily with the sight of outsiders’ extravagant coastal estates, occupied for only six or eight weeks in summer, built atop places where the ancestors are buried and where some of them fished, hunted, and gathered within memory. The image sickens and depresses. And yet there is no escaping it or the sense that other Americans revel in it.In Thanksgiving season, one cannot drive past neighbors’ lawns or go to the store without confronting happy Pilgrim and Indian decorations, or turn on the television, radio, or computer without being bombarded with Pilgrim and Indian themes. Some schools continue to have children, including Native children, perform Thanksgiving pageants. For these reasons and more, the United New England Indians have held a National Day of Mourning in Plymouth every Thanksgiving Day since 1970, which is attended by indigenous people from throughout the hemisphere. They do not see American colonialism as something to celebrate.Part of what I’ve learned through my conversations with Wampanoag people is that achieving some measure of repair and signaling that Americans value their Native countrymen and women requires compassion, gratitude, and a willingness to confront uncomfortable history. Taking these steps might also help us, collectively, to restore basic dignity, intelligence, and humanity to our civic culture. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Lawsuit: Alabama Sheriff 'Big John' Williams shot in parking lot 'without provocation'

November 28, 2019

Suspect William Chase Johnson faces murder charges. He is the son of a Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputy.

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Italy uncovers plot to create new Nazi party

November 28, 2019

Italian police said on Thursday they uncovered a plot to form a new Nazi party and seized a cache of weapons during searches across the country. Police in 16 towns and cities from the Mediterranean island of Sicily to the Alps in northern Italy took part in the investigation, which was launched two years. The probe revealed a "huge and varied array of subjects, residents in different places, united by the same ideological fanaticism and willing to create an openly pro-Nazi, xenophobic and anti-Semitic movement", a police statement said.

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Oldest living American has died at age 114 - CBS News

November 28, 2019

Oldest living American has died at age 114 CBS News
Oldest living American, Alelia Murphy of New York, dies at 114 CNN
Alelia Murphy, the oldest living person in US dies at 114 ABC News
Oldest person in America, Alelia Murphy, dies at age 114 New York Post
Oldest known living American dies at 114 | TheHill The Hill
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Two Americans dead, five injured in Belize bus accident - NBC News

November 28, 2019

Two Americans dead, five injured in Belize bus accident NBC NewsView full coverage on Google News

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