Palm Desert

DHS Secretary Blames Migrant Family For Child's Harrowing Death

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Friday blamed

AP FACT CHECK: Trump falsely claims Flynn didn't lie to FBI

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is skimming over the facts when it comes to former national security adviser Michael Flynn's guilty plea for lying in the Russia investigation.

Man who sexually assaulted woman on flight while she slept is jailed for nine years

Prabhu Ramamoorthy, 34, was also sitting next to his wife on the overnight flight in January. Ramamoorthy had molested the victim while unbuttoning her blouse and unzipping her trousers as she slept. US attorney Matthew Schneider said: “Everyone has the right to be secure and safe when they travel on aeroplanes.

Yemen's warring parties agree to ceasefire in Hodeidah and U.N. role

At the close of a week of talks in Sweden, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a framework for political negotiations would be discussed at the next round of talks at the end of January between the Iranian-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Western nations, some of which supply arms and intelligence to the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015, had pressed the two sides to agree confidence-building steps to pave the way for a wider truce and a political process to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people. The conflict has pushed Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, to the verge of famine.

Police departments nationwide sent scrambling by flood of emailed bomb threats

Although no explosive devices were found, New York, San Francisco, Oklahoma City are among the cities forced to check out the threats.

Chinese tech workers told not to travel to US 'unless it's essential' after Huawei exec arrested

Technology researchers in China have been ordered to not travel to the US unless it is absolutely necessary, amid rising tensions between the two countries. Staff working in sensitive tech sectors were given the warning following the arrest of a Chinese tech executive in Canada, a source told the South China Morning Post. The warning comes after a similar order from US tech giant Cisco to some of its employees, which asked them the to any non-essential travel to China.

Former Canadian Envoy Is Now at Center of Feud With China

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

Brazil take first step in program to join nuclear-powered sub club

President Michel Temer and his right-wing successor, President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, both pressed the button that lowered into the sea the 1,700-ton submarine named Riachuelo at a Rio de Janeiro naval base. Temer's wife, Marcela, had christened the vessel, by smashing a champagne bottle against its hull. The submarines being built by the Brazilian Navy in partnership with France's defense company Naval Group, formerly known as DCNS, are a modified version of the Scorpene class diesel-powered submarine.

NY sues Walmart, Target for selling toys with high lead levels

New York state authorities on Thursday announced a lawsuit against retail giants Walmart and Target for selling Chinese-made toys that had up to 10 times the legal limit of lead. The lawsuit seeks up to $6,000 in penalties for each of the thousands of Cra-Z-Jewelz jewelry kits the retailers and importer LaRose Industries sold from 2015 to 2016 before they were recalled. Authorities also are asking the three companies to take steps to prevent dangerous toys from reaching store shelves.

Pope-appointed missionary travels US to do good

Father Jim Sichko had a calling and it wasn't just to God. It was to, well, everybody. Pope Francis named the Kentucky-based priest to a newly created fleet of Papal Missionaries, ministers who travel the world offering acts of mercy. (Dec. 14)

As sentencing looms, Flynn is upbeat, has adoring fans

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Days away from being sentenced in the Russia probe, former national security adviser Michael Flynn is not exactly hiding his face in shame.

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

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

Australia recognises west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

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

Former Baylor fraternity president accused of rape is banned from graduation, University of Texas campus

Jacob Anderson, accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old student, has been banned from University of Texas at Dallas, but will receive a degree.

In farewell speeches, senators bemoan downfall of the 'world's greatest deliberative body'

In their farewell addresses on the Senate floor, senators call out the hyperpartisan atmosphere that has taken hold of the U.S. Capitol.

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

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

Apple unveils plan for $1 bn campus in Texas, US expansion

Apple unveiled plans Thursday for a $1 billion campus in Texas that will create jobs for the tech giant outside Silicon Valley, a move made without the fanfare of the recent Amazon headquarters bidding war. Currently, Apple employs some 6,200 in the Texas capital, the largest cluster outside its headquarters in Cupertino, California. In January, Apple said it would invest $30 billion in the US over the next five years and create 20,000 new jobs, using some of the overseas profits repatriated at a tax rate lowered under a law passed by Congress last year.

3 found alive inside West Virginia coal mine

CLEAR CREEK, W.Va. (AP) — Three people missing since last weekend were found alive Wednesday in an underground coal mine in West Virginia, authorities said.

The Latest: Italian journalist among the dead in Strasbourg

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — The Latest on France attack aftermath and death of suspect (all times local):

Scott Walker Signs Wisconsin GOP's Massive Power Grab Into Law

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed legislation Friday that strips power

Our 2018 Range Rover Velar Is Exhibiting Electronic Bugs at 22,000 Miles

Midway through its long-term test, electronic gremlins continue to mar our experience with the otherwise classy crossover.

President Trump: Michael Cohen case is meant to embarrass me

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

On criminal justice reform, policy prevails over politics

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

Israel to approve thousands of unauthorized West Bank settler homes

Israel is to authorize thousands of the settler homes built illegally in the occupied West Bank, some of them decades ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. The move is likely to please pro-settler members of Netanyahu's right-wing coalition while angering Palestinians, who want the West Bank as part of a future state. "Arranging the rights for the homes allows thousands of residents to be provided with infrastructure of public buildings, educational and religious buildings," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

1984 Bertone Ramarro Corvette: The concept we forgot

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

Man rescued in coal mine: Four-day ordeal was 'terrible'

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Their faces covered in black soot, three adults safely rescued after several days in an inactive West Virginia coal mine were mobbed by loved ones in a teary reunion, then they thanked the crews that got them out.

Iran urges West to end 'absurdities' on missiles

Iran on Thursday urged the United States and its allies to stop their "absurd" accusations about Iranian missile tests, a day after Washington urged the UN to adopt punitive measures against Tehran. "US & allies should cease their hypocritical absurdities abt Iran's missiles," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter. Beneath the text, Zarif published a graphic detailing arms exports to Saudi Arabia from 2013 to 2017 using figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The 2020 Toyota Supra Finally Debuts in January and the First One Will Be Auctioned for Charity

The long wait for Toyota's revived sports car is almost over.

Due to fly WOW Air next year? Your trip might be canceled

The struggling budget carrier says holiday flights will not be affected. Flight cuts will begin in January. Affected passengers will be notified.

What Is The Deadline for Christmas Shipping? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Deadlines for USPS, UPS, FedEX and Amazon

Donald Trump Reportedly Cancels This Year's White House Holiday Press Party

President Donald Trump's White House reportedly will not host a holiday party

In an African first, a cannabis expo...without cannabis

What it didn't have, however, was a cannabis plant. The four-day expo, which opened in South Africa's capital Pretoria on Thursday, was a stark illustration of the legal grey area the nascent industry occupies in the continent's most developed economy. In September, the Constitutional Court decriminalised the use and cultivation of cannabis in private space.

Brexit Reversal More Likely After May's Confidence Vote: Goldman

Prime Minister Theresa May enjoyed a Pyrrhic victory last night, surviving an attempt by her own party to oust her. Goldman said the party’s eurosceptic faction “holds much less sway across Parliament at large than its influence within the Conservative Party would suggest.” If the Prime Minister were to lose the vote on her tweaked Brexit deal, any subsequent legislation would likely reflect the preferences of a cross-party coalition of MPs looking for closer institutional ties, rather than those of Tory backbenchers advocating a more speedy EU departure. While Conservative MPs may have shied away from removing May, it doesn’t mean that her Brexit deal will succeed, as the Prime Minister struggles to secure a better withdrawal agreement.

Montana man pleads guilty to killing 2, putting them in acid

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana man pleaded guilty Friday to stabbing two people to death, including a teenage girl, dismembering their bodies and then trying to dissolve them in tubs filled with acid in the basement of a home.

With tech exec arrest, Canada squeezed between China, US

The arrest of a top Chinese tech executive at the request of the US has snared Canada in the middle of a major international dispute involving Beijing and Washington. Ottawa confirmed on Thursday that China had detained two Canadian nationals under what Beijing has said is suspicion of threatening its national security. The resulting crisis is to blame on "a trade war between China and the United States," Fred Bild, a former Canadian diplomat and Asian studies professor at the University of Montreal, told AFP.

First new Mustang Shelby GT500 to be sold by Barrett-Jackson

The buyer gets to pick the color and the options for their special muscle car

Alaska Airlines to give priority boarding to people in ugly sweaters

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

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

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

Brad Ford and The Hudson Company Team Up for a Connecticut Showroom That Emphasizes Craftsmanship

The designer and Hudson Company founder Jamie Hammel bring their shared passion for fine craftsmanship to Ridgefield

Special report: J&J knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder

An examination shows that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s, products sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos.

As Trump Cries ‘No Collusion,’ Other Campaign Probes Close In

A tabloid publisher, American Media Inc., told prosecutors that the president’s lawyer and at least one Trump campaign member helped hatch the plan to buy and bury such stories more than a year before the election -- and federal prosecutors in New York are continuing to investigate. The hush-money case was referred to federal prosecutors in New York by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, who have unearthed a raft of other legal problems while pursuing possible collusion with Russia. The investigation into the suppression of negative news has already resulted in a guilty plea by Trump’s ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen.

Plot Thickens for Carlos Ghosn: Financial Charges Filed in Japan, But Renault Declares He Did Nothing Wrong in France

In Japan, the former Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi chief faces as much as 10 years in prison, while Renault keeps him on as chairman and CEO after finding he did not break French finance laws.

Russian Orthodox church calls on UN for help in Ukraine

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — The Russian Orthodox Church on Friday called on the United Nations, the leaders of Germany and France, the pope and other spiritual leaders to protect believers in Ukraine in the face of pressure on Moscow-affiliated clerics.

The Quick Read on Theresa May's Pyrrhic Victory in a No-Confidence Vote

Not exactly strong and stable leadership in the United Kingdom