| Obama makes a plea to Virginians and signals a way forward for Democrats Posted: 19 Oct 2017 06:41 PM PDT  Former President Barack Obama makes an impassioned return to the campaign trail in New Jersey and Virginia.
|
| Sonoma Sheriff Battles With ICE Over Misinformation On California Wildfires Posted: 19 Oct 2017 04:31 PM PDT  As firefighters in Northern California battle ongoing wildfires, the Sonoma County sheriff is facing a different battle: fighting misinformation about the fires.
|
| Pilots Perform Risky Honor Lap Stunt, Alarming Travelers in Terminal Posted: 18 Oct 2017 09:00 PM PDT  In a farewell stunt, pilots of an Air Berlin passenger jet taking off from Miami buzzed the tower, in a move seen in the movie "Top Gun."
|
| George W. Bush: 'Bigotry seems emboldened' in Trump era Posted: 19 Oct 2017 10:24 AM PDT  "We've seen our discourse degraded by casual cruelty," former President George W. Bush said in a rare public speech. "We've seen nationalism distorted into nativism."
|
| Orionid Meteor Shower 2017: What it is, when it's happening and where to watch it Posted: 19 Oct 2017 11:36 AM PDT  In several days, stargazers will witness the peak of one of the year's best shooting star displays in the United States.
|
| 3 White Extremists Charged With Attempted Homicide Following Richard Spencer Speech Posted: 20 Oct 2017 01:59 PM PDT  Three white extremists were arrested and charged with attempted homicide after they got into an argument and fired on a group of people protesting white nationalist Richard Spencer's speech in Gainesville, Florida, police said Friday.
|
| Alabama inmate defiant before his execution for killing cop Posted: 20 Oct 2017 12:56 PM PDT  ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — The convicted killer of a police officer used his final moments before being put to death to curse at the state of Alabama, raising his middle fingers in defiance at the start of a lethal injection his lawyers described as inhumanely painful.
|
| Sadness down under as final Holden marks end of Australian car industry Posted: 20 Oct 2017 08:19 AM PDT  Shortly after midday today, a red Commodore marked the end of 69 years of Holden manufacture in Australia – and to countless enthusiasts, it was an occasion as sad as it was once virtually unthinkable. There is a select group of cars that transformed their respective nations' concept of mass motoring and the original 48-215 'FX' certainly ranks alongside the Mini, 2CV or Fiat 600 in this regard. This was mass-market transport made in Australia, for Australia. Holden's first involvement with the motor industry was as a coachbuilder and in 1924, it became the exclusive supplier of car bodies to General Motors. Seven years later it became a part of the GM empire and as early as 1936 the division's MD Laurence Hartnett was planning a 'wholly Australian car' in place of the locally-built Chevrolets, Pontiacs and Vauxhalls. Towards the end of the Second World War, the government was keen to promote a locally-designed car and General Motors already had the basis of a suitable model in the form of a Chevrolet project that had been rejected as too compact for US motorists. A small group of prototypes were extensively tested and on the 29th November 1948 Ben Chifley, the then Prime Minister, unveiled the new 48-215. It was not a vehicle that represented a major technological advance and its list of standard fittings was low even by the standards of the day; no sidelights, carpet, door armrest, heater or even direction indicators of any form, one sun visor and a solitary tail lamp. Nor was the new Holden especially cheap as a price of £A675 represented nearly two years wages for the average worker but this did not deter 18,000 people from paying a deposit without having seen a 48-215 in the metal. Such was the demand that the company was soon obliged to issue a booklet entitled Holden Owners Give Reasons Why Holden is Worth Waiting For. Motoring picture of the day And perhaps the major reason for the impact of the FX on the post-war motorist was that it offered the ideal combination of advantages in a car that was launched at precisely the right moment. The brochures promised an engine designed for local conditions the 2.1-litre six-cylinder unit was capable of "80 miles per hour and 30 miles per gallon" with a smoothness not found in such rivals as the four-cylinder Austin A70 Hampshire. It was also flexible enough to propel the Holden from a crawl to cruising speed with the steering column-mounted lever in third gear. Holden intended that the FX would appeal to rural motorists and urban drivers alike, with suspension that could cope with the country's many unsurfaced roads, and for the Sydney or Melbourne suburbanite, the 'Aerobilt' body was smart and offered room for a quintet of adult passengers: 'you don't climb in or scrabble out – you step in with ease and dignity. A great boon for elderly people and women." There was also a sense of robustness that was lacking in some of its competitors. Clive James once observed of the Standard Vanguard that it was a toss-up whether the 'chromium trim would rust through before the exhaust pipe fell onto the road'. Above all, this was 'Australia's Own Car', which automatically set it apart from any other car that bore an American or British marque and ten years later, the Lion and Stone badge adorned 40 percent of new models. The name of Holden had now entered the lexicon of a nation's popular culture and the idea that in 2013 the company's chief would state that 'building cars in this country is just not sustainable' would have been inconceivable. The moment when that last Commodore leaves the production line is not only the closing of a chapter in GM's history – in many respects it is the end of a country's automotive dream, one that began nearly 70 years ago.
|
| A liberal is a conservative whose house just flooded Posted: 20 Oct 2017 02:00 AM PDT  Some Trump voters, after their towns were flooded by Hurricane Harvey, are beginning to reconsider their conviction that climate change has no scientific basis.
|
| Video undermines White House attack on Rep. Wilson over condolence calls Posted: 20 Oct 2017 12:27 PM PDT  On Thursday, White House chief of staff John Kelly criticized Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., for saying President Trump had been insensitive to the widow of a slain soldier killed in Niger when he told her that her husband "knew what he signed up for." Kelly went on to claim that at a 2015 FBI building dedication in Miami, the congresswoman boasted about securing funding for the building. But video of the 2015 dedication has surfaced, and it doesn't support Kelly's claim.
|
| In emotional interview, Gold Star parents say of Trump: 'It's not about a call or a letter' Posted: 19 Oct 2017 09:14 AM PDT  The parents of a United States Army specialist killed in Syria in May said Thursday they hadn't received any acknowledgment from President Trump, despite his claim to have called "virtually" all families of fallen U.S. soldiers.
|
| A SoCal Brunch Spot Was Caught Using Popeyes Chicken In Its Dishes Posted: 19 Oct 2017 02:38 PM PDT  One trendy restaurant is bringing a whole new meaning to the term "sourced locally."
|
| Read Barack Obama's Dramatic Breakup Letters Posted: 19 Oct 2017 09:42 AM PDT  His messages to Alexandra McNear are high-brow and also a little much.
|
| Man's fingertip torn off as wild boar rampage puts German town under siege Posted: 20 Oct 2017 05:52 AM PDT  Two aggressive wild boars attacked and injured several people in the small German town of Heide on Friday morning, tearing through the town centre in a rampage which lasted for hours. Four people were injured, and one man's fingertip was torn off, according to police reports. Others suffered leg injuries, as they were hit by the fully-grown animals in the northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. The boars tore through the streets and ran through the market square, before making their way into a local bank branch, according to police, who issued a warning at around 9am urging people to avoid the town centre and to stay in their houses or in shops. One eyewitness saw a woman lying on the ground, screaming, after her trousers had been torn, according to German radio station NDR 1 Welle Nord. Another said they were "completely bewildered" and that the boars had come "out of nowhere". After a large-scale operation, during which police and hunters chased the boar with stun rifles, one was killed by huntsman Uwe Ingwersen at 11am - two hours after the animals were first spotted - with a targeted head shot. The second ran away from the centre and police say it is now outside the city area. Terror in Ditmarschen���� pic.twitter.com/mheLOKa5RK— Daggi (@danishkeks) October 20, 2017 Customers in the bank, which was invaded by the boars, were evacuated through open windows using ladders, according to police reports. Several cars were also damaged. Wild boar still roam the forests of Germany and are seen as a menace by much of German society. Marcus Börner, press officer at the Country Hunting Association, told the Schleswig-Holstein newspaper that it is highly stressful for boars, which have spread extensively in the state in recent decades, to be caught between walls and among so many people, causing them to become aggressive. Earlier this year, a herd of wild boars attacked several people, injuring three, near Berlin's Tegel airport. Local media reported that it took authorities 18 shots to down one 200-kilogram boar, while the rest of the herd escaped.
|
| Gainesville Mayor On Richard Spencer: 'There's No Question That He Is A Terrorist Leader' Posted: 19 Oct 2017 10:04 AM PDT  President Donald Trump says some white supremacist protesters are "very fine people."
|
| SitRep: U.S. Warships on Alert; Taliban Rip Through Afghan Forces Posted: 19 Oct 2017 04:54 AM PDT  SitRep: U.S. warships ready near Korea; Deadly new Taliban offensive
|
| Man Admits to Drowning 6-Year-Old Nephew Who Had Autism: Police Posted: 19 Oct 2017 11:09 AM PDT  Little Dayvid Pakko was drowned in a bathtub, then hidden in a dumpster, police said.
|
| Fire destroys landmark hotel in Myanmar's largest city, kills one Posted: 18 Oct 2017 11:10 PM PDT  One person was killed on Thursday in a massive fire that destroyed one of Yangon's best-known hotels, sending dark smoke billowing over the center of Myanmar's largest city and triggering an hours-long battle to put out the flames. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which broke out around 3:20 a.m. at the teak-and-stone Kandawgyi Palace Hotel overlooking a picturesque inner-city lake, authorities told Reuters. An unidentified body was found in a guest room and two people were injured, said Htay Lwin, a spokesman of hotel owner Htoo Group.
|
| Bernie Sanders Cancels Appearance At Women's Convention To Go To Puerto Rico Posted: 20 Oct 2017 07:41 AM PDT  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced on Thursday afternoon he will not be attending and speaking at the Women's Convention in Detroit, Mich.
|
| Trump demands to know: Who paid for the 'Trump dossier'? Posted: 19 Oct 2017 07:15 AM PDT  President Trump is wondering who paid for the controversial dossier that made salacious but unverified claims about his ties to Russia a day after executives from a firm that helped produce it refused to answer questions from the House Intelligence Committee.
|
| The Funniest Tweets From Parents This Week Posted: 20 Oct 2017 06:52 AM PDT  Kids may say the darndest things, but parents tweet about them in the funniest ways.
|
| Mars Has a Mysterious "Tail," According to New Find From NASA Spacecraft Posted: 19 Oct 2017 02:53 PM PDT  So wonderfully weird.
|
| Barack Obama Returns to the Political Arena For the First Time Since Leaving the White House Posted: 19 Oct 2017 02:15 AM PDT  This is the first time the former president is stepping back into the political spotlight since leaving the White House
|
| A few militants fight on in Philippine city ripped to shreds Posted: 19 Oct 2017 06:12 AM PDT  MARAWI, Philippines (AP) — Smoke wafted from the smoldering carcasses of buildings and houses, with the dome of a mosque blasted out with holes, as Philippine troops battled Thursday to defeat a final stand by the last dozens of pro-Islamic State group militants in a southern city.
|
| Bride Plans First Look Photo Shoot After Grandma's Cancer Diagnosis Posted: 19 Oct 2017 03:04 PM PDT  Bride-to-be Brittany Marr received some devastating news last December: her grandma Ellen Haynes had been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer that had spread to her bones.
|
| 8-Year-Old’s Big Brother Details the Horrific Abuse He Suffered from Mom’s Boyfriend Before His Death Posted: 19 Oct 2017 06:25 PM PDT  In court on Wednesday, a California teen described the relentless assaults inflicted on his 8-year-old brother for months until, at last, the little boy was dead
|
| Public Enemy's Chuck D: Donald Trump Is 'The Epitome Of A White Supremacist' Posted: 20 Oct 2017 02:27 AM PDT  Chuck D did not hold back with his latest criticism of Donald Trump, calling the president "the epitome of a white supremacist."
|
| Xi Jinping Has Quietly Chosen His Own Successor Posted: 20 Oct 2017 10:34 AM PDT  Meet Chen Miner, the man who has been getting groomed to run China — without anyone in the West seeming to notice.
|
| Harvey Weinstein being investigated by LAPD for alleged rape in 2013 Posted: 19 Oct 2017 02:40 PM PDT  Harvey Weinstein is being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department for an alleged rape that occurred in 2013, police Captain Billy Hayes confirmed on Thursday.
|
| Electric autos get high marks for dependability: Consumer Reports Posted: 19 Oct 2017 03:06 PM PDT  Testing and consumer surveys show electric vehicles are more reliable than internal combustion automobiles, the head of automotive testing for Consumer Reports said Thursday. "Electric cars are very reliable," Jake Fisher said, revealing the latest findings from the magazine's influential auto tests. "Electric vehicles are inherently less complicated than gasoline or hybrid alternatives," he added.
|
| Isil attacks villages south of Kirkuk as Iraqi and Kurdish forces are distracted fighting each other Posted: 19 Oct 2017 05:45 AM PDT  Islamic Stateof Iraq and the Levant (Isil) jihadists attacked villages south of the city of Kirkuk yesterday, exploiting the growing crisis between Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the area. Three villages near the town of Daquq were briefly captured by Isil in a nighttime assault on Wednesday. The region had until recently been controlled by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, but they were driven out earlier this week by Iraqi forces looking to claim zones disputed with the Kurds after they voted last month to secede. Isil had been mostly driven out of the province after an Iraqi army offensive in the major city of Hawija saw more than a thousand of its militants surrender. Isil fighters surrender in Hawija But the current chaotic security situation has given Isil room to manoeuvre. The US and its coalition partners had warned Kurdistan's President Masoud Barzani against holding the referendum, saying that pursuing independence would undermine the war Iraq was still fighting against Isil. Washington has stressed it would like its allies in Iraq to work together against the militant group, and warned it may consider halting its massive train-and-equip program for Iraqi forces if they continued their offensive against the Kurds. "As long as there will be problems between Baghdad and Erbil, Isil extremists benefit from the conflicts," said Kamal Chomani, a nonresident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. "Isil can easily reorganise itself when there is a political and security vacuum, this is the strength of any extremist groups here as the ideology remains the same." He said both Kurdish Peshmerga and Shia militia fighting with the Iraqi army are strong enough to control their areas now, but if conflicts intensified, both get weakened and Isil can easily gain ground. "I believe Baghdad thinks it's more important to move on the Kurds than to deal with remaining pockets of Isil in Iraq," said Michael Pregent, a former US intelligence officer now with the Hudson Institute think-tank, told the Telegraph. "I don't think it cares if Isil pops up here and there as long as it doesn't threaten non-Kurdish areas." Members of Iraqi federal forces enter oil fields in Kirkuk, Iraq Credit: Reuters Iraqi and Kurdish forces have slowly retaken territory from Isil over the past three years. In July, they retook Mosul and effectively shattered its self-declared territorial caliphate. Despite the losses, however continues to carry out attacks in Iraq. Last month, an attack claimed by Isil at a checkpoint and restaurant in southern Iraq left more than 80 killed and 93 wounded. With relations continuing to deteriorate, a Baghdad court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for the vice president of Iraqi Kurdistan on charges of "provocation" against Iraq's armed forces. About | Kirkuk Kosrat Rasul had referred to the Iraqi army and federal police as "occupation forces", the court said. In the statement, Mr Rasul, who is also vice president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the two main Kurdish parties, criticised his own group for not having resisted the entry of Iraqi federal forces into the disputed northern city of Kirkuk on Monday. The judiciary in the Iraqi capital last week also ordered the arrest of three senior Kurdish officials responsible for organising a September 25 independence referendum that went ahead in defiance of Baghdad.
|
| German prosecutors charge former Majdanek death camp guard Posted: 20 Oct 2017 09:30 AM PDT  BERLIN (AP) — A former guard at the Majdanek death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland has been charged in Germany with being an accessory to murder for allegedly serving there during a period when at least 17,000 Jews were killed, prosecutors said Friday.
|
| 'Unacceptably high' number of Afghans flee military training in U.S.: report Posted: 20 Oct 2017 08:41 AM PDT  By Josh Smith KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan soldiers and police brought to the United States for training go "absent without leave" at far higher rates than those of any other country, potentially imperilling efforts to assist Afghan security forces, a U.S. watchdog said on Friday. Of the 320 foreign military trainees who left while on courses in the United States from 2005 to 2017, 152 - or more than 47 percent - were Afghans, said a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). SIGAR found that the rate of asylum seekers among Afghan military trainees rose in recent years as violence in the Islamist Taliban insurgency spread across Afghanistan and security forces sustained heavy casualties.
|
| Woman heartbroken after discovering her dog wasn’t euthanised for five months after she bid 'final' farewell Posted: 20 Oct 2017 10:12 AM PDT  A woman who thought she had paid for her dog to be euthanized has been surprised to find out that her dog was kept alive for five months after the procedure. New Jersey woman Keri Levy says that she made the difficult decision to put down the miniature pinscher she had owned for 15 years, but was astonished to receive an anonymous tip five months later that her pup was still alive. "It broke my heart in a way like my heart has never been broken," Ms Levy told ABC News.
|
| Meghan Markle reportedly meets Queen Elizabeth for palace tea in her 'private sitting room' Posted: 19 Oct 2017 09:03 AM PDT  Prince Harry's girlfriend (and rumored fiance) Meghan Markle was recently privy to an afternoon most could never even dream of.
|
| 2019 Audi A7: Similarly Slinky Looks, Lots of New Technology Posted: 19 Oct 2017 10:30 AM PDT  Style meets practicality. Again.
|
| 20 Sweet Pumpkins That Are Actually Cakes Posted: 20 Oct 2017 10:33 AM PDT |
| US drone strike kills chief of Pakistani Taliban faction Posted: 19 Oct 2017 09:24 AM PDT  The chief of an offshoot of the Pakistani Taliban has been killed in a US drone strike, a spokesman for the group told AFP Thursday. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, had claimed responsibility for many deadly attacks in the country, including a suicide bombing in a park in Lahore on Easter Sunday last year that killed 75 people including many children. "Chief of our Jamaat-ul-Ahrar Umar Khalid Khorasani, who sustained serious injuries in a recent US drone strike in Afghanistan's Paktia province, succumbed to his injuries Wednesday evening," JuA spokesman Asad Mansoor told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.
|
| Jury convicts ex-Oklahoma police officer in 4th murder trial Posted: 19 Oct 2017 07:23 AM PDT  A white former Oklahoma police officer was convicted of first-degree manslaughter in the off-duty fatal shooting of his daughter's black boyfriend after jurors in three previous trials couldn't decide whether to find him guilty of murder.
|
| Murder-suicide seen in desert deaths of California couple Posted: 20 Oct 2017 03:17 PM PDT  SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — A young couple whose disappearance in the blazing summer heat of Joshua Tree National Park launched an urgent search died in a murder-suicide, Southern California authorities said Friday.
|
| EPA Head Scott Pruitt Says Oil and Coal Companies He Met With Aren't 'Polluters' Posted: 20 Oct 2017 07:24 AM PDT  "I don't spend any time with polluters. I prosecute polluters."
|
