
By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/2Als4qM
U.S. forces have underpinned stability in Manbij since Islamic State's defeat here in 2016. Some 30 km (20 miles) from the Turkish border, it occupies a critical spot in the map of the Syrian conflict, near the junction of three separate blocks of territory that form spheres of Russian, Turkish and - for now - U.S. influence. While U.S. forces have yet to leave, the consequences of Trump's decision are already playing out in Manbij.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2GLTewv
via IFTTT
ORCUTT, Calif. (AP) — California authorities are trying to determine why a Central Coast man stabbed and beat his sister, mother and a third person to death in their home.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2BP0SR6
via IFTTT
At least 6 people were injured, according to a Tweet sent out by BWI airport. However, none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2EY9EiE
via IFTTT
Two right-wing Israeli government ministers on Saturday launched a new party aimed at winning over secular voters ahead of snap elections in April. Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said they were quitting the far-right Jewish Home party to found the New Right party. Nationalist Jewish Home -- of which Bennett was the head and Shaked deputy leader -- has been part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition with eight seats in parliament.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2EUtcEM
via IFTTT
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2LFnR5w
via IFTTT
The bill, "would require all sales of dogs and cats authorized by this provision to be in compliance with laws requiring the spaying or neutering of animals, as specified."
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Aku1nm
via IFTTT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The origins of a suspected computer attack that disrupted the Los Angeles Times and Tribune Publishing newspapers remained unclear Sunday after causing delivery delays and being brought to the attention of federal investigators.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2SyWlcN
via IFTTT
A local police force has been criticised for asking the public to vote on which village they should patrol by using a poll on Twitter. Wiltshire Police force has been accused of signposting where criminals should target after announcing on social media that it would send officers to patrol one of three villages. It posted: "Which village would you like us to patrol later today?", giving the options of Aldbourne, Great Bedwyn and Worton. The village Great Bedwyn was picked as the winner. The force wrote: "Great Bedwyn got the vote! Quick pit stop to refuel and we’ll head there!" The Twitter account posted pictures from the village, writing: "As promised, a foot patrol of Great Bedwyn! Had a chat to some residents and bumped into Daisy the dog." Followers of the account were quick to criticise, with Steve Johnson incredulously writing: "Wow a poll to see where to patrol ? What next a lucky dip to see who to arrest!" Which village would you like us to patrol later today?— Wiltshire Police (@wiltshirepolice) December 29, 2018 Another, Matty, wrote: "So the criminals will be hitting Worton and Aldbourne later then." Follower Gary Lawrence asked:"Is this a joke? If it is it’s not very funny @wiltshirepolice If it’s serious you need to think about the message it sends out. What next, a poll on what crimes to investigate or suspects to charge?" The force replied: "Not meant as a joke. We continually patrol rural areas. We are promoting our work and engaging with the communities." Mr Lawrence said in response: "It's commendable but how do people who don't use social media get a say? Who decides which areas go on the poll? What happens in the places that don't win the vote?" Chief constable Kier Pritchard said: "We patrol areas based on intelligence, likely risk and threat and where we can do our level best to reassure the public and prevent crime. This tweet was just part of raising awareness that we have to make choices and involve the public, we can’t be everywhere." Many pointed to budget cuts as a reason for police having to ask the public where to patrol. Cuts to police budgets that have led to a reduction of 20,000 officers since 2010. Dave Thompson, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Finance and Resources, said earlier this year that “budget cuts and a hands-off Government approach to aspects of policing” mean the public’s experience is of a “less visible, less responsive and less proactive” force.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2EScrKp
via IFTTT
Just three months before the United Kingdom is due to leave the world's largest bloc, the risk of a no-deal Brexit is rising -- the nightmare scenario for many businesses, which are now planning for an economic shock. To ease a potential backlog, the government has awarded three contracts to provide additional freight capacity on routes from English south-coast ports including Poole, Portsmouth and Plymouth.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2RngW69
via IFTTT
Egyptian police killed 40 suspects in a crackdown on Saturday after a roadside bomb hit a tour bus claiming the lives of three Vietnamese holidaymakers and an Egyptian guide. Thirty alleged "terrorists" were killed in separate raids in Giza governorate, home to Egypt's famed pyramids and the scene of Friday's deadly bombing, while 10 others were killed in the restive North Sinai, the interior ministry said without directly linking them to the attack. A security source said the raids took place early Saturday morning, hours after Friday evening's roadside bombing which officials said hit a tour bus in the Al-Haram district near the Giza pyramids killing the three Vietnamese holidaymakers and their Egyptian guide.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2RoYJW6
via IFTTT
A man with a rifle who held off a team of armed police in a 10-hour siege gave himself up after an officer sang a Christmas carol to him. Nathaniel Lewis, 34, allegedly started shooting at the specialised police who rushed to his home in Pennsylvania, US, when a relative reported him acting erratically on Christmas evening. The shots hit a police vehicle, a house and another vehicle, and the Swat (Special Weapons and Tactics) team returned fire.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2LHuNyU
via IFTTT
Britain's trade minister Liam Fox said there is a "50-50" chance that Brexit may be stopped if parliament rejects the government's divorce deal with the European Union next month. "If we were not to vote for that, I'm not sure I would give it (Brexit) much more than 50-50," Fox, a leading supporter of leaving the EU, told the Sunday Times newspaper. With three months left until the United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on March 29, May's Brexit deal is floundering, opening up a range of possibilities from a Brexit without a trade deal to calling Brexit off.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2EY7NKY
via IFTTT
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad authorized Iraqi forces on Sunday to attack the Islamic State group inside Syria without waiting for permission from authorities in Damascus, the state news agency SANA said, as the two allies coordinate their fight against extremists ahead of a planned U.S. withdrawal from Syria.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Amjt6S
via IFTTT
Allied tanks were engineered for mass production and to handle routine battlefield tasks well, rather than being over-engineered to survive the heaviest guns or penetrate the thickest armor.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Rnqqyj
via IFTTT
An Israeli woman walking near ancient ruins noticed a head sticking out of the ground, leading to the uncovering of two Roman-era busts, archaeologists said Sunday. The life-size sculptures, carved in limestone, were found in the northern city of Beit Shean earlier this month, with the Israel Antiquities Authority dating them to the late Roman period, some 1,700 years ago. The well-preserved busts are of men, one of them bearded, sculpted in the Oriental style that was becoming fashionable at the end of the Roman period, according to Eitan Klein, deputy head of the IAA's theft prevention unit.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2QXCpTZ
via IFTTT
A volcano on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali erupted Sunday, belching ash high into the air and over nearby villages as officials warned tourists to keep clear of the area. Mount Agung has been erupting periodically since it rumbled back to life in 2017, when it grounded hundreds of flights and left 120,000 visitors stranded. "Residents near Mount Agung as well as climbers and tourists should not carry out any activity in the danger zone or within four-kilometre radius from the crater," the centre said in a statement.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2LHA8WZ
via IFTTT
If you're visiting any National Parks in the near future, plan ahead! You don't want to show up to find out the attractions are closed...
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2StsfHw
via IFTTT
(Bloomberg) -- Traditionally, Brazilian presidents offered ministerial positions to politicians in return for their parties’ support in Congress. But with politics-as-usual deeply discredited in the wake of successive corruption scandals, Jair Bolsonaro is trying a different tack. The new government consists of roughly four separate groups, only one of which is explicitly political.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2AxjC7Z
via IFTTT
BERLIN (AP) — A man forced open a locked gate on the security perimeter of Hannover Airport in northern Germany and drove a car onto the airfield Saturday before coming to a halt underneath an airliner and being detained, police said.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Tg6WZN
via IFTTT
Reporters will be the guests of honor at the New Year's Eve party in New York's Times Square on Monday, in what organizers said was a celebration of press freedom after an unusually deadly year for journalists at U.S. news outlets. Two attacks in particular weighed on organizers as they discussed in autumn whom to give the honor of initiating the ceremonial ball drop just before midnight, according to Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance. One was the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for the Washington Post and U.S. resident, inside a Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2VfaLQN
via IFTTT
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump in a New Year letter on Sunday that Moscow was ready for dialogue on a "wide-ranging agenda", the Kremlin said following a series of failed attempts to hold a new summit. At the end of November, the US president abruptly cancelled a planned meeting with Mr Putin on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Argentina, citing tensions about Russian forces opening fire on Ukrainian navy boats and then seizing them. Mr Trump and Mr Putin also failed to hold a full-fledged meeting in Paris on the sidelines of the centenary commemoration of the Armistice. The two leaders held their one and only summit in Helsinki in July. "Vladimir Putin stressed that the (Russia - United States) relations are the most important factor for providing strategic stability and international security," a Kremlin statement said. "He confirmed that Russia is open for dialogue with the USA on the most wide-ranging agenda." Mr Putin also wished "well-being and prosperity to the British people" Credit: TASS / Barcroft Images Moscow has said one of the key issues it wanted to discuss with the United States is Washington's plans to withdraw from a Cold War era nuclear arms pact. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying that now it was up to the United States whether to hold a new meeting in 2019. "The issue should be addressed to Washington. Both our president and his representatives have said that we are ready for the talks when Washington is ready for it," TASS news agency quoted Mr Lavrov as saying in televised remarks. In a separate letter to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Mr Putin pledged continuation of aid to the Syrian government and people in the "fight against terrorism, in defence of state sovereignty and territorial integrity". Credit: TASS / Barcroft Images Mr Putin also sent New Year greetings to other world leaders including Theresa May and Shinzo Abe of Japan, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping. Mr Putin wished "well-being and prosperity to the British people", the Kremlin said. Russia's embassy in London said on Friday Moscow and London had agreed to return some staff to their respective embassies after they expelled dozens of diplomats early this year. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats over accusations the Kremlin was behind a nerve toxin attack in March on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury. Russia, which denies any involvement in the poisoning, sent home the same number of British embassy workers in retaliation.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2BPXBB3
via IFTTT
With only 2500 miles on the clock, this classic BRAT is in great condition and has just changed hands for more than $46,000
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2R2W4C7
via IFTTT
Prior to becoming an aviation safety consultant, and USA TODAY columnist, John Cox flew a wide variety of commercial airplanes.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2So6icU
via IFTTT
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — As Bangladeshis get set to vote in Sunday's parliamentary elections, there are fears that violence and intimidation could keep many away from the polls, including two opposition candidates who said police had barricaded them inside their homes.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Tlqnkd
via IFTTT
Parts of the United States were digging out Saturday from winter storms that media reports said led to at least seven deaths, while warmer regions braced for potential flooding during the New Year's travel period. As storm clouds moved east, they were set to bring heavy rain and probably flooding to the Gulf Coast, and both rain and freezing rain to New England. Flight tracker FlightAware reported more than 129 flight cancellations and 1,006 delays Saturday -- down from more than 500 cancelations and 5,700 delays on Friday -- as the winter storm hit north-central and Midwestern states with up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of snow.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2BKTLsY
via IFTTT
Doubtful that Kremlin planners would commit to a full-scale land invasion, Moscow is likely attempting to use the Sea of Azov as a stepping stone to further develop their interests in the Black Sea
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2SrcVLn
via IFTTT
General Motors has filed for a trademark on the name Envoy, raising speculation that it will resurrect the once popular GMC SUV.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2CIsMQt
via IFTTT
A St. Louis-area man shot to death his girlfriend, her two young children and her mother in the home they all shared, authorities said Saturday. He exchanged gunfire with officers as he fled and was captured several hours later in a convenience store, covered in blood and wounded.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2EYeeyr
via IFTTT
An Indian drug maker tells a BBC undercover team its addictive cocktail drug is “very harmful” but “this is business”. from BBC News https...