| Judge Who Ruled Against Obamacare Halts Order Pending Appeal Posted: 30 Dec 2018 03:57 PM PST  "Because many everyday Americans would otherwise face great uncertainty during the pendency of appeal, the court finds that the Dec. 14, 2018, order declaring the individual mandate unconstitutional and inseverable should be stayed," U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor said in a filing Sunday in federal court in Fort Worth. O'Connor had agreed with a coalition of Republican states led by Texas that the ACA, the signature health-care overhaul by President Barack Obama, needed to be eviscerated after Congress in 2017 zeroed out a key provision -- the tax penalty for not complying with the requirement to buy insurance.
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| 'Hold fast, alongside our allies': Read Jim Mattis' farewell letter as he leaves Pentagon Posted: 31 Dec 2018 03:02 PM PST  "Our Department is proven to be at its best when the times are most difficult," he wrote. "So keep faith in our country and hold fast."
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| French defence minister in Jordan to visit troops fighting IS Posted: 31 Dec 2018 10:30 AM PST  France's defence minister arrived in Jordan on Monday to visit troops battling the Islamic State group, showing Paris's determination to continue the fight after a shock US decision to withdraw from Syria. After a stopover in Amman, where Florence Parly is set to meet with Jordanian Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz, she is expected to visit the H5 airbase from which French fighter jets take off for sorties against the jihadists. The minister's last-minute trip to Jordan comes on the heels of US President Donald Trump's surprise decision in mid-December to pull out all 2,000 American troops stationed in Syria, saying "we've won" against IS.
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| Lion kills young worker at North Carolina wildlife sanctuary Posted: 30 Dec 2018 04:45 PM PST  A lion at a North Carolina private wildlife sanctuary fatally mauled a 22-year-old worker on Sunday before being shot and killed.
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| Mysterious deep space world Ultima Thule already looks weird — and we've only had a glimpse Posted: 31 Dec 2018 01:17 PM PST  Ultima Thule — an uncharted world over 4 billion miles away — is coming into view. On Monday, planetary scientists released a fuzzy image of Ultima Thule, snapped the day prior by the New Horizons exploration spacecraft from some 1.2 million miles away. Previously, New Horizons swooped by Pluto in 2015, capturing the icy, mountainous world in unprecedented detail. Increasingly rich, detailed images of Ultima will start arriving on January 2, but already the deep space object looks elongated, not round, said New Horizons deputy project scientist John Spencer from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the Maryland headquarters of the New Horizons program. The program is a collaborative effort between NASA, the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where scientists navigate and control the spacecraft. "It's the first glimpse of what's going to get rapidly better from here on — it's our first taste," Spencer said. Ultima Thule as an elongated blob.Image: JHuAPL/NasaWhether Ultima's surface is heavily cratered and if it has a rich surface geology — like that of Pluto — remains to be seen. "Anything is possible out there in this very unknown region," he said. Ultima lies 1 billion miles beyond Pluto, in a ring of icy worlds known as the Kuiper Belt. Planetary scientists believe the objects out there have been frozen in time for some 4 billion years — preserving what happened during our solar system's early formation, long ago. SEE ALSO: How NASA recorded the eerie Martian wind, without a microphone "The Kuiper Belt is just a scientific wonderland," Alan Sterns, principal investigator of the New Horizons mission, said on Sunday. "We've never, in the history of spaceflight, gone to a target that we know less about," Stern added. Already, Ultima has proven mysterious. As New Horizons travels closer to the object, the pattern of light reflecting off of Ultima, or its light curve, is inconsistent. With most other objects, these light patterns repeat as the objects spin. An artist's conception of what Ultima Thule might look like.Image: nasa"It's really a puzzle," said Stern in a statement last week. But much of Ultima's mystery will diminish in the next few days. Just 33 minutes into the new year local time, New Horizon's will swoop some 2,200 miles above Ultima, capturing detailed snapshots of the uncharted world. But because Ultima is so far away, these rich images won't be immediately available. The data will be transmitted back to Earth, and on January 2 the first detailed snapshots will emerge of this elongated, though still largely mysterious, object. Ultima will soon become the most distant world humanity has ever visited. WATCH: Ever wonder how the universe might end?
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| The 16 Most Beautiful Highways for Road Trips Posted: 31 Dec 2018 05:00 AM PST |
| Bangladesh opposition calls for fresh election as Sheikh Hasina wins amid violence and vote-rigging claims Posted: 30 Dec 2018 07:26 PM PST  Bangladesh's main opposition called for a fresh vote on Sunday as the country's prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and her ruling Awami League were declared the winners of an election tainted by violence and vote-rigging allegations. At least 17 people were said to have been killed in election day clashes, while reports flowed in of alleged vote manipulation and people being blocked from entering polling stations by ruling party supporters. As Mrs Hasina's alliance sailed past the 151 seats needed to form a government and headed for a landslide third consecutive term, the country's main opposition leader called for the "farcical" election to be declared void. Kamal Hossain, head of the Jatiya Oikya Front (JOF), the largest opposition alliance, told a press conference in Dhaka that votes had been "rigged on a massive scale across the country". He urged Bangladesh's election commission to dismiss the result and call "fresh elections under a non-partisan caretaker government as soon as possible". Salahuddin Ahmed, a candidate for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the largest single party in the opposition alliance, was stabbed in Dhaka as the election unfolded Credit: Reuters Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed finished delivering the results of the voting early on Monday. Ahmed said the ruling Awami League-led alliance won 288 seats while the JOF, led by former president H.M.Ershad, had 20 seats. An opposition alliance led by Mr Hossain had only seven and others got three out of 300 seats. The poll followed a campaign that had been marred by violence and a crackdown on freedom of speech. Human Rights Watch and other international groups had decried repressive measures which they said had created a climate of fear. Some 600,000 security personnel had been deployed for the election, while authorities ordered the shutdown of high speed internet to prevent the spread of "rumours" that might spark unrest. Vehicles in Dhaka burn after an opposition rally which ended with police using tear gas and batons after the election was announced Credit: AFP On Sunday, polling agents alleged that they had stayed away out of fear. Others claimed they had been beaten up and forced out of voting centres. Rumana Mahmood, a JOF candidate in Sirajganj, 68 miles northwest of Dhaka, claimed that 90 percent of her supporters had been prevented from voting for her. "In most cases they were not allowed to enter the voting centres. Police and the ruling Awami League party cadres blocked them," she alleged to the Telegraph, claiming that supporters of the ruling party had stuffed ballot boxes in favour of the government. Supporters of Bangladesh Awami League march along a street as they take part in a rally ahead of December 30 general election vote Credit: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP One 65-year-old woman in Ms Mahmood's constituency claimed that the police had not allowed her to vote freely. "We were around 20 or 25 women from the same locality. The policemen at the gate of the centre said that he would allow us inside if we voted for the boat (symbol of the Awami League)," she said."In my locality there are hundreds of people who have not been allowed in any voting centre today." Bangladesh has become increasingly authoritarian under Mrs Hasina's rule, moving closer towards a de-facto one-party state while Begum Khaleda Zia, her arch-rival, and leader of the largest opposition party, the Bangladesh National Party, serves a lengthy prison sentence on corruption charges.
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| U.K. Says Work Still Needed on EU Brexit Backstop Reassurances Posted: 31 Dec 2018 04:24 AM PST  May "has been in contact with European counterparts over the break and you can expect more of that to continue this week," her spokeswoman, Alison Donnelly, told reporters in London on Monday. The premier is seeking assurances from the EU on the so-called backstop arrangement for the post-Brexit Irish border. It's a fallback arrangement to ensure the border stays open even if the EU and U.K. can't devise a future trade deal.
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| Russia: 4 die in building collapse; searchers race weather Posted: 31 Dec 2018 02:58 PM PST  MOSCOW (AP) — Hundreds of rescue workers raced bitterly cold weather in Russia's Ural Mountains region Monday as they searched for survivors in the hulking concrete blocks from a partially collapsed apartment building where at least four people died.
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| New for New Year's Eve Times Square: NYPD drone will watch over crowd Posted: 31 Dec 2018 09:30 AM PST  As revelers in New York City's Times Square sway to old acquaintances they don't want to forget, there will be a new one on hand: a tethered drone.
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| Two killed in bombing in troubled south Philippines Posted: 31 Dec 2018 05:57 AM PST  Two people were killed and around 35 others wounded Monday after a bomb went off outside a shopping mall in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato, police said. The explosion prompted officers to search the mall, leading to the discovery of another suspected bomb which they destroyed, said local police spokesman Chief Inspector Rowell Zafra.
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| Cyber-attack hits US newspaper deliveries: report Posted: 30 Dec 2018 01:14 AM PST  A malware attack that appears to have originated outside the US delayed the hardcopy distribution of several major newspapers, according to a report. The LA Times said Saturday that the attack, which was first assumed to have been a server outage, hit a computer network at Tribune Publishing which is connected to the production and printing process of multiple newspapers around the country. As a result, the delivery of the Saturday editions of the LA Times and San Diego Union Tribune were delayed.
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| Syria's Assad authorizes Iraqi forces to strike IS in Syria Posted: 30 Dec 2018 09:15 AM PST  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.
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| We're proud to be in the Fiesta Bowl, but fostering social mobility matters more Posted: 31 Dec 2018 09:43 AM PST  The power of education isn't about picking the student who's already most likely to succeed. It's about identifying talent with grit and spirit.
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| 4-year-old undergoes surgery after swallowing magnets from popular toy Posted: 31 Dec 2018 08:27 AM PST  Mother issues warning to parents after she says her son had to have part of his colon and intestines removed after swallowing 13 tiny magnets from a toy.
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| The Latest: Woman killed by lion recalled as 'quiet, sweet' Posted: 31 Dec 2018 01:26 PM PST  BURLINGTON, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on a fatal attack by a lion on an intern at a wildlife center (all times local):
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| Defective bracket discovered on collapsed jetway bridge at Baltimore-Washington International Airport Posted: 31 Dec 2018 11:01 AM PST  Investigators discovered a defective metal bracket on the jetway that partially at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, injuring six people.
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| Taliban dismiss Afghanistan's peace talks offer Posted: 29 Dec 2018 10:04 PM PST  Representatives from the Taliban, the United States and regional countries met this month in the United Arab Emirates for talks to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan. "We will meet the U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia in January next year and we will start our talks that remained incomplete in Abu Dhabi," a member of the Taliban's decision-making Leadership Council told Reuters. "However, we have made it clear to all the stakeholders that we will not talk to the Afghan government." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also said the leaders of the group would not talk to the Afghan government.
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| Detailed Photos of the 2019 McLaren Senna Supercar Posted: 31 Dec 2018 08:31 AM PST |
| Stephen Miller steps into spotlight amid chaos in 'zombie' White House press shop Posted: 30 Dec 2018 08:24 AM PST  Former officials said White House adviser Stephen Miller's media appearances have been a "disaster" and are a sign of a communications operation in disarray.
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| PG&E could face murder charges in California wildfires, attorney general says Posted: 30 Dec 2018 12:50 PM PST  California's attorney general said it's possible the power utility could face charges up to murder if investigators find reckless operation of power equipment caused any deadly wildfires.
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| Vietnamese relatives of bus blast victims arrive in Egypt Posted: 30 Dec 2018 06:33 AM PST  Relatives of Vietnamese tourists hit by a roadside bomb near Egypt's famed pyramids arrived on Sunday in Cairo, an airport source said. A group of five, which included family members, arrived in the capital two days after a blast hit a tour bus killing three Vietnamese holidaymakers and an Egyptian guide. The attack, which took place in the Giza governorate, wounded 11 other Vietnamese tourists and an Egyptian bus driver, Egypt's public prosecutor said.
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| Why the Range Rover P38a deserves space in your garage Posted: 30 Dec 2018 01:27 PM PST  Forever lampooned as a liability by keyboard warriors and marque snobs alike, the second generation Range Rover (P38a) remains criminally underrated. Stylish and incredibly capable as a 4x4 , here's why you should ignore the horror stories and buy one...
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| The Latest: Dad says he's angry travel ban kept family apart Posted: 30 Dec 2018 04:15 AM PST  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on the death of a boy whose Yemeni mother fought the Trump administration travel ban (all times local):
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| Fatah says Hamas arrests members in Gaza ahead of rally Posted: 31 Dec 2018 06:13 AM PST  Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party said Monday that its rival Hamas had carried out widespread arrests of its members in the Gaza Strip ahead of a rally marking the anniversary of the movement's founding. Hamas denied the accusation, with a spokesman for the enclave's interior ministry saying 38 people had been held for questioning over concerns that opposing Fatah factions in Gaza would clash at the rally set for later in the day.
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| Putin Says Russia, Turkey Will Play a ‘Decisive’ Role in Syria Peace Posted: 30 Dec 2018 08:35 AM PST  In a New Year's message to Erdogan published by the Kremlin on Sunday, Putin said that "Moscow and Ankara are making a decisive contribution to the fight against terrorism in Syria, as well as to the promotion of a political settlement in that country."His comment came a day after the Russian and Turkish foreign and defense ministers, as well as the countries' intelligence chiefs, held talks in Moscow on Syria as they move to fill the void left by U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to order a military pullout. "We reached an agreement on how Russian and Turkish military representatives on the ground will continue to coordinate their actions in these new conditions, with the goal of decisively defeating the terrorist threat in Syria," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after the talks.
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| Ceramicists Are Making Lamps and We're Fully On Board Posted: 31 Dec 2018 04:00 AM PST  Here are a few of our faves
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| Police chief admits there isn't Zika in meth after Facebook post goes viral Posted: 31 Dec 2018 05:28 AM PST  The Harahan Police Department never had reason to believe Zika, a mosquito-born virus, was able to contaminate meth.
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| 8th Largest Mega Millions Jackpot in History Up for Grabs on New Year's Day Posted: 30 Dec 2018 01:24 PM PST  The jackpot climbed to $415 million in a drawing set to take place Tuesday
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| Why a Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 was worth waiting 22 years for Posted: 30 Dec 2018 01:36 PM PST  The long wait only made getting this 1992 Skyline GT-R that much sweeter for Mark Hutchinson, after he dreamed of owning one for decades
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| Three ways to rock a smokey eye this New Year's Eve Posted: 31 Dec 2018 03:04 AM PST  Luckily, three of the best beauty vloggers in the business have come up with a trio of glamorous smokey eye looks for a beautiful end to 2018, complete with handy tutorials. Celebrity makeup artist and creative director of Lâncome Lisa Eldridge is putting a sophisticated spin on the party season with her 'Smokey Glam Makeup Look'. Fellow makeup artist to the stars Charlotte Tilbury has come up with a high-voltage party look that focuses on a dewy, glowing complexion and a bright gold metallic smokey eye with a flick of winged eyeliner.
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| Oil posts first year of losses since 2015 Posted: 31 Dec 2018 01:02 PM PST  "OPEC is out there cutting, but the market isn't really pricing that in." Oil prices fell more than a third this quarter, the steepest quarterly decline since the fourth quarter of 2014. Crude oil futures posted modest gains on Monday.
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| Israeli hard-line ministers to form new party ahead of vote Posted: 29 Dec 2018 09:19 PM PST ![Israeli hard-line ministers to form new party ahead of vote]( "Israeli hard-line ministers to form new party ahead of vote") JERUSALEM (AP) — Two senior Israeli Cabinet ministers announced Saturday that they are forming a new party to run in April elections, hoping to present a hard-line alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party.
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| Merkel says Germany must fight for 'our convictions' Posted: 30 Dec 2018 03:08 PM PST  Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said Germany must "stand fast, argue, and fight for our own convictions" and assume greater responsibilities at a time when multilateralism is coming under intense pressure. In her New Year's address to Germans, Merkel said long-held certainties about international cooperation were being put to the test. Global challenges including climate change, immigration and the fight against terrorism could not be solved by countries going it alone, she warned.
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| Kim Wants More Summits With Moon to Tackle Nuclear Issue Posted: 30 Dec 2018 01:23 AM PST  The North Korean leader sent Moon a personal letter of well wishes on Sunday, expressing a willingness to meet often in 2019 to advance peace talks and achieve "denuclearization on the Korean peninsula," Moon spokesman Kim Eui-keum said. Moon thanked him for the letter, tweeting that the North Korean leader "again made clear" that he would act on his agreement with the U.S. and South Korea.
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| New York's Times Square gears up for soggy New Year's Eve Posted: 31 Dec 2018 12:43 PM PST  Hundreds of tourists, some wrapped in raincoats, clustered in a rainy Times Square on Monday afternoon to await the midnight descent of the illuminated ball that has marked the arrival of the new year in New York City for more than a century. Christina Aguilera, New Kids on the Block and Sting were among the musical performers slated to entertain throngs filling the streets ahead of the ball drop, the focal point of New Year's Eve celebrations across the United States. Steady rain was forecast in New York City into the new year.
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| 5 Died After Falling Off Cruises in 2 Months. Advocates Say Cruise Lines Can Do More to Protect Passengers Posted: 31 Dec 2018 01:58 PM PST  The cruise industry says that man overboard incidents rare and caused by poor passenger behavior. But safety advocates disagree.
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| Dry January may encourage festive boozing and mask drinking problems, warns liver specialist Posted: 31 Dec 2018 04:01 PM PST  Dry January may encourage people to drink more in the festive season and prevent problem drinkers facing up to their addiction, a liver consultant has warned. Dr Mark Wright, a consultant in liver medicine at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, said the month-long detox may act as a 'decoy' for permanently cutting down. Around five million Britons now abstain from alcohol during January, as part of the annual campaign which was first organised by Alcohol Concern - now Alcohol Change UK - in 2013. But Dr Wright said more emphasis should be placed on consistent moderate consumption throughout the year – and likened Dry January to "trying to solve all your financial problems by living like a hermit for a month". "The danger is that abstaining for a month can make it seem like people have a grip on their levels of drinking but, in fact, it can be the perfect decoy to justify drinking far too much in the festive season with increased intake for the rest of the year," he said. "What people need to do is be aware of their consumption all year round, aiming to stick at about 14 units per week with three to four dry days. "Giving up alcohol for a dry January as some sort of detox is like maxing out your credit cards all year and thinking you can solve your financial problems by living like a hermit for a month. "It just isn't going to make things better if you then go back to your usual habits in February." Latest figures show 7,697 people died from alcohol-specific causes in the UK during 2017 – the highest number since 2008 – with deaths among women at the highest level since 2001. A report released by the University of Leeds today also found that some people reported negative physical and social effects from taking part in Dry January. Dry January: how to drink less alcohol this month (even if you're not going teetotal) The team looked at comments on Alcohol Concern's Dry January Facebook page and found some people complained that abstaining brought headaches, and did not help them to sleep better or lose weight. Others said their lives were now 'grey and dull' while some even claimed that their friends had stopped talking to them. However the Leeds study found that the vast majority of abstainers felt it was a positive experience, reporting immediate physical, psychological and emotional benefits including improved sleep quality, appearance, energy, weight loss and levels of self-esteem. Report author Dr Henry Yeomans, Associate Professor in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the School of Law, said: "Dry January allows people to learn about themselves and feel as if they are better fulfilling their potential. "Through this sort of self-discovery and self-optimisation, it makes a substantial impact on the lives of a great number of participants." A study released by the University of Sussex last week found that the effects of Dry January were still felt in August, with participants cutting their drinking days from 4.3 to 3.3 a week on average. Dr Wright also said the month was useful in giving people an opportunity to examine their relationship with alcohol. "If anyone is planning a dry January and they only manage a few days, they should consider that they may have more of a problem with booze than they think," he added. "Many people who die from alcohol-related causes would not have considered themselves to have had a drink problem, just that they drank too much on a regular basis."
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| Vatican spokesman, deputy resign suddenly Posted: 31 Dec 2018 08:41 AM PST  The spokesman for the Vatican and his deputy resigned suddenly on Monday, an official statement said. Matthew Larotonda reports
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