Palm Desert

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.

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.

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.

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.

PHOTOS: French police kill suspect in Strasbourg Christmas market attack

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

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.

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).

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.

EU to Step Up Plans for No-Deal Brexit as Bloc Plays Hardball With May

May had come to Brussels hoping to secure some additional "assurances" on the most controversial part of her Brexit deal -- the so-called Irish border backstop. “Theresa May has led a courageous fight but unfortunately we are not seeing the results," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters.

UNAIDS head to quit post early following scathing report

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the U.N. agency focusing on AIDS said he would leave the job six months early, bowing to apparent pressure just a week after independent experts looking into sexual harassment blasted the "defective leadership" at UNAIDS. At least one major donor reportedly threatened to halt its funding.

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

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.

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)

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

Death of 7-year-old on border raises questions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just 7 years old, Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin was picked up by U.S. authorities with her father and other migrants this month in a remote stretch of New Mexico desert. Some seven hours later, she was put on a bus to the nearest Border Patrol station but soon began vomiting. By the end of the two-hour drive, she had stopped breathing.

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.

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.

Senate votes to end US military support for Saudis in Yemen

The Senate has passed a resolution calling for an end to US military support to the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemen war, and asserting Congress’s right to decide on matters of war and peace. The measure, which passed by 56 votes to 41, marked the first time the Senate had invoked the 1973 War Powers Resolution to seek to curb the power of the president to take the US into an armed conflict. The independent senator Bernie Sanders who had pushed the resolution persistently throughout the year, called it “a historic moment”.

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.

Outgoing Michigan GOP Governor Signs Bills Gutting Minimum Wage Hike, Paid Sick Leave

Outgoing Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) on Friday signed off on legislation

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Deadlines for USPS, UPS, FedEX and Amazon

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.

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.

Amazon's extending free shipping and same-day delivery for last-minute shoppers

The online retail giant has extended its free shipping for all customers with no minimum purchase amount to Dec. 18, and Prime members get even more flexibility to finish their shopping!

Georgia officer killed after traffic stop; suspect dead

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia police officer and a suspect died Thursday night after a traffic stop led to a foot chase and shooting just east of Atlanta, authorities said.

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.

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.

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

Ken Paxton: Tijuana migrants will go through a slow process

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says that the caravan migrants waiting in Tijuana will be going through a slow process, sending a message that they are unable to walk across the border.

Seven-year-old Guatemalan girl dies in US custody: report

Washington (AFP) - A seven-year-old Guatemalan girl died in American custody after being detained by US border police in the state of New Mexico, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.