| Disney World Guest Mercilessly Heckles Animatronic Donald Trump Posted: 29 Dec 2017 11:51 AM PST  A guest at Disney World got very, er, animated while attending the Hall of Presidents attraction on Wednesday.
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| Trapped In The Bronx Fire, Grandmother With Baby Makes A Final Phone Call Posted: 29 Dec 2017 09:04 PM PST  On Thursday night, Christine Batiz, 26, received a devastating call.
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| Obama: Here are some inspiring 2017 stories Posted: 29 Dec 2017 09:34 AM PST  For the New Year, former President Barack Obama shared three uplifting news stories from 2017, encouraging Americans to look beyond the negativity that has seemed to dominate the news this year.
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| 2 Dead, 1 Injured In Shooting At California Law Firm Posted: 30 Dec 2017 06:18 AM PST  A shooter opened fire at a southern California law firm Friday, killing one man and injuring another before fatally turning the gun on himself, police said.
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| 2018 ISIS fight to rely more on general forces Posted: 29 Dec 2017 01:09 AM PST  Secretary of Defense James Mattis previewed what's next in the fight against ISIS, telling reporters that the U.S. will rely less on special forces and more on general forces, especially in Africa. NBC's Hans Nichols reports.
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| Gainesville 'Hot Cop' Resigns Amid Investigation Over Alleged Anti-Semitic Comments Posted: 29 Dec 2017 07:10 AM PST  Investigators were also looking into allegations Michael Hamill had consensual sex while on the job.
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| Australia expected to ease visa restrictions on foreign pilots as planes left grounded Posted: 28 Dec 2017 08:05 PM PST ![Australia expected to ease visa restrictions on foreign pilots as planes left grounded]( "Australia expected to ease visa restrictions on foreign pilots as planes left grounded") The Australian government is expected to relax restrictions on visas for foreign pilots as a national shortage sees planes grounded and flights canceled, aviation officials said on Friday. Australia earlier this year removed pilots from a list of eligible professions allowed to work in the country as so-called skilled migrants amid a crackdown to promote "Australia-first". With a global shortage of pilots, Australia's international carriers have lost staff to competitors, forcing them to recruit from domestic carriers, who are in turn employing trained pilots from smaller regional airlines.
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| Trump talks China, North Korea in impromptu interview Posted: 29 Dec 2017 08:04 AM PST  Speaking with the New York Times, the president acknowledged he's "been soft" on China on trade, and decried the Russia investigation, but said he thinks Robert Mueller is "going to be fair."
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| Trump Just Used Normal Winter Weather To Undermine The Science Behind Climate Change Posted: 28 Dec 2017 06:07 PM PST  President Donald Trump used forecasts for what could be record-breaking cold weather over New Year's Eve to push a widely disproven talking point denying climate change.
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| 16 December Wedding Pics With Plenty Of Love To Keep You Warm Posted: 29 Dec 2017 01:03 PM PST  Big congratulations to all the wonderful couples who tied the knot last month!
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| 'Make America Gay Again.' Mike Pence Gets Trolled With Rainbow Banner Posted: 30 Dec 2017 12:41 PM PST  The banner was put up by his temporary neighbors while in Colorado for vacation
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| Gardening games: from 'Yonder: The Cloud Chronicles' to 'Flower Design' Posted: 29 Dec 2017 02:44 AM PST |
| LA Man Arrested For 'Swatting' Call That Led To Innocent Kansas Man's Death Posted: 30 Dec 2017 09:53 AM PST  Authorities arrested a 25-year-old man in California for a "swatting" prank emergency call that led to the death of an innocent 28-year-old Kansas man who was shot by police responders on Thursday evening as he stood on his front doorstep.
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| Nikki Haley seemingly tricked by Russian pranksters into commenting on fictional country 'Binomo' Posted: 29 Dec 2017 07:30 AM PST ![Nikki Haley seemingly tricked by Russian pranksters into commenting on fictional country 'Binomo']( "Nikki Haley seemingly tricked by Russian pranksters into commenting on fictional country 'Binomo'") A pair of Russian comedians appear to have successfully tricked the US' Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, into commenting on a fictional Asian country. The two comedians Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, known as Vovan and Lexus, posted a 22 minute audio clip of their conversation with the ambassador where they get her to comment on the situation in Binomo – a fictional country in the South China Sea. Posing as the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, they spoke to Ms Haley in the days after Poland was one of 35 countries to abstain on a UN vote to reject Donald Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as "null and void".
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| Gunman kills 11 in attacks on Coptic church, Christian-owned shop in Egypt Posted: 29 Dec 2017 01:54 PM PST ![Gunman kills 11 in attacks on Coptic church, Christian-owned shop in Egypt]( "Gunman kills 11 in attacks on Coptic church, Christian-owned shop in Egypt") A gunman killed at least 11 people on Friday in attacks on a Coptic Orthodox church and a Christian-owned shop near Cairo before he was wounded and arrested, the Egyptian interior ministry and church officials said. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, in a statement carried out by its Amaq news agency, though it provided no evidence for the claim. Police have stepped up security measures around churches ahead of Coptic Christmas celebrations on Jan. 7, deploying officers outside Christian places of worship and setting up metal detectors at some of the bigger churches.
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| Russia Could Soon Sell the S-400 Air Defense System to India: Report Posted: 29 Dec 2017 05:45 PM PST  Russia is on the cusp of signing a deal to sell India its S-400 air and missile defense system, according to a senior Russian official. Recently appearing on Russian television, Vice-Premier Dmitry Rogozin said the two countries were nearing an agreement. "We hope that the S-400 deal will be signed with India soon," Rogozin said, TASS reported.
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| Trump shakes up diplomacy in first year Posted: 29 Dec 2017 12:48 AM PST  From "Rocket Man" to glowing orbs and all the awkward handshakes in between, take a look back at all the ways President Trump shook up global diplomacy in his first year in office.
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| A Zimbabwean Family Has Been Stranded in a Thai Airport for Almost Three Months Posted: 29 Dec 2017 12:15 AM PST  The family were reportedly refusing to travel back to Zimbabwe because of political concerns
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| Nepal bans solo climbers from Everest Posted: 30 Dec 2017 12:04 AM PST  Nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including Mount Everest, in a bid to reduce accidents, an official said Saturday. The cabinet late Thursday endorsed a revision to the Himalayan nation's mountaineering regulations, banning solo climbers from its mountains -- one of a string of measures being flagged ahead of the 2018 spring climbing season. "The changes have barred solo expeditions, which were allowed before," Maheshwor Neupane, secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, told AFP.
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| Russian environmental activist hospitalized after beating Posted: 29 Dec 2017 03:23 AM PST ![Russian environmental activist hospitalized after beating]( "Russian environmental activist hospitalized after beating") A leading Russian environmental activist said on Friday he had been hospitalized after being severely beaten by unknown assailants in the southern city of Krasnodar. Andrei Rudomakha, head of the Environmental Watch on the North Caucasus NGO, told Reuters he and a group of activists were assaulted late on Thursday upon returning from the Black Sea coastal city of Gelendzhik where they were documenting the illegal construction of a mansion for high-ranking officials. The regional branch of the Russian Interior Ministry, in a statement sent to Reuters, said authorities were investigating the attack by what it said were three assailants.
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| Islamic State claims responsibility for Saint Petersburg supermarket bombing Posted: 29 Dec 2017 03:48 PM PST  The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility on Friday for the bomb attack days earlier that tore through a Saint Petersburg supermarket and wounded 14 people. "The attack that targeted a shopping centre in Saint Petersburg the day before yesterday (Wednesday) was carried out by an Islamic State-linked group," IS said in a statement via its propaganda agency Amaq. On Wednesday evening, a homemade bomb placed in a locker at the supermarket in northwestern Saint Petersburg, Russia's second city and President Vladimir Putin's home town, went off sowing panic among customers and wounding 14 people including a pregnant woman. Putin's 2015 decision to intervene in Syria militarily on the side of Bashar al-Assad has made Russia a priority target for the Islamic State group. Officials said a total of 14 people had been wounded in the blast. The bombing came after the FSB security service said earlier this month it had prevented a terror attack on a key Orthodox cathedral in Saint Petersburg with the help of America's CIA, which led Putin to thank US President Donald Trump. FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov has said Russia remains on alert for a possible return of jihadists from Syria ahead of the World Cup and the March presidential polls. Saint Petersburg will host several World Cup matches including a semi-final. Earlier this month Bortnikov said that at least 4,500 Russians had left the country to fight with "terrorists" in the Middle East, North Africa and other regions. Over the past 20 years Russia fought two wars with separatists in Chechnya, leading Islamist militants from the North Caucasus to frequently target Russians through suicide bombings and other attacks.
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| Battle Over Contested Virginia House Of Delegates Seat Will Drag On Posted: 29 Dec 2017 10:29 AM PST  The dramatic race for a Virginia House of Delegates seat that could decide which party controls the chamber — a race that's come down to a name-drawing — is expected to continue into the new year.
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| Trump Reportedly Terminated All Members Of HIV/AIDS Council Without Explanation Posted: 29 Dec 2017 08:47 AM PST  The White House has reportedly fired the members of Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) without explanation.
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| California set for New Year's buzz with recreational marijuana sales Posted: 29 Dec 2017 05:59 AM PST ![California set for New Year's buzz with recreational marijuana sales]( "California set for New Year's buzz with recreational marijuana sales") California adults not content to ring in the New Year with the traditional fizz of champagne can look forward to celebrating with the buzz of marijuana, purchased for the first time from state-licensed retailers of recreational pot. Dozens of newly authorized marijuana stores are due to open for business across California on Jan. 1, launching yet another chapter in America's drug culture and the largest regulated commercial market for cannabis in the United States - one valued at several billion dollars. Newly permitted retailers will rely on a hodge-podge of marijuana producers in the state's illicit "gray market" to stock their shelves for the next six months, until state-licensed growers can harvest their first crops.
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| Victim and Killer in Law Firm Shooting Were Partners, Police Say Posted: 29 Dec 2017 05:41 PM PST  The shooter and a victim are dead
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| Recy Taylor, who fought for justice after 1944 rape, dies Posted: 28 Dec 2017 08:14 PM PST  ABBEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Recy Taylor, a black Alabama woman whose rape by six white men in 1944 drew national attention, died Thursday. She was 97.
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| Rare public protests spread across Iran amid spiraling inflation Posted: 29 Dec 2017 12:06 PM PST  Iranian police clashed with protesters demonstrating against government corruption on Friday, in a rare public show of discontent in the Islamic republic. About 300 people gathered in the western city of Kermanshah on Friday calling for a "revolution", shouting "where's my paycheck?", "the people are begging, the clerics act like God" and "death to the dictator". It followed a day after similar protests in the northeastern city of Mashhad, where more than 50 were arrested. President Hassan Rouhani's government has been unable to control spiralling prices - the costs of basics such as milk and eggs has doubled in a week. And despite the loosening of international sanctions in 2015, the country has seen little economic growth and few ordinary residents feel they have benefitted. There have been calls on social media for protests up and down the country, despite warnings from the government against illegal gatherings. Protestors attack security forces in Iran (location unknown) #iranprotestspic.twitter.com/aeS8zVyM9X— Wladimir (@vvanwilgenburg) December 29, 2017 The outbreak of unrest reflects growing discontent over rising prices and alleged corruption, as well as concern over the country's costly involvement in regional conflicts such as Syria and Iraq. There were also chants in Mashhad on Thursday of "not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for Iran" and "leave Syria, think about us". Mohsen Nasj Hamadani, deputy security chief in Tehran province, said about 50 people had rallied in a Tehran square and most left after being asked to by police, but a few who refused were "temporarily detained", the ILNA news agency reported. In the central city of Isfahan, a resident said protesters joined a rally held by factory workers demanding back-pay. "The slogans quickly changed from the economy to those against Rouhani and the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei)," the resident said by telephone. Chants in the holy city of Qom tonight, the spiritual center of #Iran: "We don't want an Islamic Republic!" pic.twitter.com/ilawigFGej— Holly Dagres (@hdagres) December 29, 2017 In Qom, a stronghold of the Shi'ite clergy, footage posted on social media showed protesters attacking Ayatollah Khamenei by name. "Seyyed Ali should be ashamed and leave the country alone," they chanted. Police arrested 52 people in Thursday's protests, Fars quoted a judicial official as saying in Mashhad, one of the holiest places in Shi'ite Islam. In social media footage, riot police were seen using water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds. Some social media videos showed demonstrators chanting "Death to Rouhani" and "Death to the dictator". Protests were also held in at least two other northeastern cities. Openly political protests are rare in Iran, where security services are omnipresent. The last unrest of national significance occurred in 2009 when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election as president ignited eight months of street protests. Pro-reform rivals said the vote was rigged. The protests came as Tehran looked to have bowed to internal pressure to relax its strict Islamic dress codes. Morality police in the capital said they will no longer automatically arrest women for failing to women seen without the proper hijab head-covering in public, mandated since the 1979 revolution. For nearly 40 years, women in Iran have been forced to cover their hair and wear long, loose garments. Younger and more liberal-minded women have long pushed the boundaries of the official dress code, wearing loose headscarves that do not fully cover their hair and painting their nails, drawing the ire of conservatives. The announcement signalled an easing of punishments for violating the country's conservative dress code, as called for by the reform-minded Iranians who helped re-elect President Rouhani, a relative moderate, earlier this year.
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| Someone swapped photos of Trump with his animatronic, and plz let my mom know I am dead Posted: 29 Dec 2017 02:55 PM PST  This photoshop says a thousand words, all of which are "help." For Twitter user's @Bornmiserable's latest creation, he swapped photos of the real Trump with his now legendary Disney animatronic figure. The result was just as upsetting as you always imagined it would be. SEE ALSO: Disney's new weapon in the war on Netflix: Hulu @BornMiserable says it's an improvement, which I cannot independently verify as this image has turned me into stone. "I've done several Trump Photoshops and when I saw that animatronic figure, I just thought it would make more sense to put it in place of him — just about as much of a human being as he is," @BornMiserable told Mashable. Image: bornmiserable/twitter Image: bornmiserable/twitter Image: bornmiserable/twitter another, requested by .@Browtweaten: pic.twitter.com/sQ1g5BS2qd — Born Miserable (@bornmiserable) December 29, 2017 When Disney world introduced the Trump animatronic two weeks ago, it was met with fairly universal horror. Critics accused the artist of modeling Trump after a Chucky Doll and/or Hillary Clinton, which is both fair and accurate. Trump robot in the Hall of Presidents looks like a 71-year-old Chucky doll. pic.twitter.com/yLCBmhpNvG — John Cohen (@JohnCohen1) December 19, 2017 Here me out on this. Clearly Disney had Hilary's robot ready to go and then they had to try and make it look like Trump. Don't hate me. This is just a necessary and painful fact we all need to deal with. pic.twitter.com/biSirfwE59 — Shannon O'Neill (@spotastic) December 19, 2017 Frankly, I'd take the animatronic over the real one. Animatronic 2020! WATCH: 2017 was a year of beauty— weird, weird beauty
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| What I Learned From Reading All The Media Safaris Into 'Trump Country' I Could Handle Before Wanting To Die Posted: 29 Dec 2017 11:00 AM PST  This was the year the political media couldn't stop reminding us of the forgotten Americans.
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| China says U.S. should do more to cut its 'enormous' opioid demand Posted: 28 Dec 2017 07:53 PM PST ![China says U.S. should do more to cut its 'enormous' opioid demand]( "China says U.S. should do more to cut its 'enormous' opioid demand") The United States should take action to reduce demand for the drugs fuelling its deadly opioid crisis rather than simply accusing China of being the major source, a top Chinese drug control official said. "The biggest difficulty China faces in opioid control is that such drugs are in enormous demand in the U.S.," Yu Haibin of the China National Narcotics Control Commission said at a news briefing, the China Daily reported on Friday.
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| Keepers Wrangle Ally the Alligator So They Can Save Her Record-Breaking 60 Eggs Posted: 29 Dec 2017 12:50 PM PST  The zoo's general manager Tim Faulkner explained the eggs wouldn't hatch in the Australian heat if they were not moved.
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| Guinea massacre suspects to go before criminal tribunal Posted: 30 Dec 2017 09:24 AM PST  Fourteen suspects held over a 2009 stadium massacre in Guinea which killed 157 people are to go before a criminal tribunal after a legal investigation concluded, the country's justice minister said. "I am happy to announce to you that the judicial investigation into the 2009 Conakry stadium massacre ended on December 29. At least 157 people were killed and 109 women raped by troops during a massive opposition protest in the stadium on September 28, 2009 against the rule of then junta chief Moussa Dadis Camara after his security forces opened fire on the crowd.
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| Consumer Reports' Top Car Stories of 2017 Posted: 29 Dec 2017 10:36 AM PST  As 2017 draws to a close, we took a look back at the most popular Consumer Reports automotive articles of the year. We've highlighted the cars our testers and readers loved, along with the models...
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| Russia calls ongoing strain with US a major disappointment Posted: 29 Dec 2017 09:23 AM PST ![Russia calls ongoing strain with US a major disappointment]( "Russia calls ongoing strain with US a major disappointment") MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin views the continued strain on Russia's relations with the United States as a major disappointment of the year, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said Friday.
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| Iran and Saudi Arabia race to pass gender reforms as Tehran relaxes headscarf arrests Posted: 29 Dec 2017 03:49 AM PST  Women in the Iranian capital will no longer be arrested for failing to wear a headscarf, Tehran police have said, in a move which follows an unexpected raft of gender reforms in Saudi Arabia. Morality police will no longer automatically detain women seen without the proper hijab head-covering in public, a strict Islamic dress code in place since the 1979 revolution. For nearly 40 years, women in Iran have been forced to cover their hair and wear long, loose garments. Younger and more liberal-minded women have long pushed the boundaries of the official dress code, wearing loose headscarves that do not fully cover their hair and painting their nails, drawing the ire of conservatives. The announcement signalled an easing of punishments for violating the country's conservative dress code, as called for by the reform-minded Iranians who helped re-elect President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, earlier this year. But hard-liners opposed to easing such rules still dominate Iran's security forces and judiciary, so it was unclear whether the change would be fully implemented. Younger and more liberal-minded women have long pushed the boundaries of the official dress code, wearing loose headscarves that do not fully cover their hair Credit: Getty "Those who do not observe the Islamic dress code will no longer be taken to detention centers, nor will judicial cases be filed against them," General Hossein Rahimi, Tehran police chief, was quoted as saying by the reformist daily newspaper Al Sharq. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said violators will instead be made to attend classes given by police. It said repeat offenders could still be subject to legal action, and the dress code remains in place outside the capital. Iran's morality police - similar to Saudi Arabia's religious police - typically detain violators and escort them to a police van. Their families are then called to bring the detainee a change of clothes. The violator is then required to sign a form that they will not commit the offence again. Iran's arch foe Saudi Arabia, under similar internal pressure to liberalise, announced in September that it would finally allow women to drive. Saudis watch composer Yanni perform at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Credit: Reuters Activists had been arrested for driving since 1990, when the first driving campaign was launched by women who drove cars in the capital, Riyadh. Shocking the kingdom, one of the most repressive countries for women in the world, the young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced a tranche of liberalising changes. In 2018, women will also be allowed to attend sporting matches in national stadiums, where they were previously banned. Designated "family sections" will ensure women are separate from male-only quarters of the stadiums. The crown prince tested public reaction to the move when he allowed women and families into the capital's main stadium for National Day celebrations this year. And Saudi authorities this week allowed female contestants at an international chess tournament to play without the abaya, a long robe-like dress The ambitious 32-year-old heir to the throne upended decades of royal family protocol, social norms and traditional ways of doing business. He bet instead on a young generation of Saudis hungry for change and a Saudi public fed up with corruption and government bureaucracy.
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| Hours after Afghan blast, confused families searched desperately for news Posted: 29 Dec 2017 09:01 AM PST ![Hours after Afghan blast, confused families searched desperately for news]( "Hours after Afghan blast, confused families searched desperately for news") By James Mackenzie and Abdul Aziz Ibrahimi KABUL (Reuters) - Hours after the explosion that tore through a Shi'ite cultural center in the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday, desperate families were still searching for news, as burned bodies were brought in and wards at the nearby Istiqlal hospital filled up. "Everyone was at the hospital but at first nobody knew where they were, they were lost," said Hasan Jan, whose nephews, Abdul Saboor Maqsoudi, 24, and brother Ali Paiman, 18, were among the dead. "Finally they recognized him because of a ring on his finger and his shirt and belt and his watch." The attack, claimed by Islamic State, was the latest in at least two dozen bombings on Shi'ite targets in the Sunni-majority country over the past two years in a brutal campaign by the movement that has killed and wounded hundreds.
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| Luann de Lesseps Checks Herself into Alcohol Treatment Center After Palm Beach Arrest Posted: 29 Dec 2017 09:22 AM PST  Days after her headline-making arrest, Luann de Lesseps is heading to rehab
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