Newz Monkey

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Trump administration said Friday it will look at revving up water deliveries to farmers from California's Central Valley Project, the largest federal water project in the United States, in what environmental groups called a threat to protections for struggling native salmon and other endangered species. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-eyes-increased-pumping-biggest-211431393.html

President Donald Trump reportedly fired the sixteen remaining members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) Wednesday via a letter FedExed from the White House. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-reportedly-fired-entire-hiv-170131055.html

Democratic Republic of Congo's government on Saturday ordered telecommunications providers to cut internet and SMS services across the country ahead of planned anti-government demonstrations. Grassroots Catholic activists have called for marches in major cities on Sunday to demand that President Joseph Kabila commit to not changing the constitution to stand for a third term and release political prisoners. Kabila was required by the constitution to step down in December last year when his mandate expired but an election to replace him has been repeatedly delayed and is now scheduled for December 2018. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/congo-orders-internet-sms-cut-ahead-anti-govt-203721199.html

BERLIN (AP) — Germans have rarely been so divided about the changes taking place in their society, the country's long-time leader Angela Merkel said Sunday, adding in her New Year's address that she is committed to helping tackle the challenges of the future by swiftly forming a new government. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/merkel-sees-germany-split-over-pace-social-change-003334074.html

Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov on Saturday accused the United States of violating a key arms treaty by selling a missile defence system to Japan. "The US is deploying them (missile defence systems) at their military bases in Romania and Poland, that is near our western borders, which goes against the 1987 INF Treaty banning the deployment of such systems on the ground," Ryabkov said in a statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry website. "The fact that such complexes could now appear on Russia's eastern borders creates a situation that we cannot ignore in our military planning," said Ryabkov. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-accuses-us-breaking-treaty-over-defence-system-130339740.html

Following a year of deadly terrorist attacks, security is going to be tighter than ever before. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/high-tech-ways-authorities-keeping-175529978.html

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law Friday a bill toughening sentences for terrorist recruitment as the country deals with the issue of returning jihadists from Syria. Official publication of the law came two days after a bomb attack on a supermarket in Saint Petersburg, Russia's second city, injured 14 people. The new law, which parliament voted through on December 14 and the upper chamber approved on December 26, immediately raises the maximum sentence for terrorist recruitment and finance to life from 10 years. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/putin-toughens-terrorist-recruitment-sentences-175836202.html

Two young children and their mother were among the four family members found killed in an act of “savagery” this week inside their basement apartment in the upstate New York city of Troy from https://www.yahoo.com/news/2-children-among-4-dead-183025293.html

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. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/la-man-arrested-apos-swatting-175332211.html

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. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-environmental-activist-hospitalized-beating-112324708.html

President Donald Trump reportedly fired the sixteen remaining members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) Wednesday via a letter FedExed from the White House. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-reportedly-fired-entire-hiv-170131055.html

A planned demonstration against Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila organised by Catholics has been banned a day before it was to take place in the capital, Kinshasa's governor said Saturday. "The city does not have sufficient numbers of police officers to supervise this march," Governor Andre Kimbuta said. About 150 Catholic churches had planned to protest in Kinshasa to call on the country to implement a compromise deal signed a year ago aimed at bringing about President Joseph Kabila's belated departure and restore stability in the crisis-hit country. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/dr-congo-bans-planned-anti-kabila-march-catholics-172318835.html

Saudi blockade of Yemen taking a toll, Turkey buys Russian military kit from https://www.yahoo.com/news/situation-report-russia-slams-u-124333332.html

Street protests hit Iran for a third day running on Saturday, spreading to the capital Tehran with crowds confronting police and attacking some state buildings, and a social media report said two demonstrators had been shot dead in a provincial town. Saturday's protests, in fact, coincided with state-sponsored rallies staged across the Islamic Republic to mark the final suppression of the 2009 unrest by security forces, with mass pro-government events in Tehran and Mashhad, Iran's second city. Pro-government rallies were held in some 1,200 cities and towns in all, state television reported. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/iran-holds-pro-government-rallies-protests-075125290.html

What's at play in Iranian protests?    CNN Dozens Arrested in Iran's Second City After Protests Over Prices    Bloomberg Iran said protesters should pay a high price if they break the law    Reuters Iran protests: How Trump can strike a fatal blow against a dangerous, tyrannical regime    Fox News Full coverage

Swatting case poses legal challenges for police, prosecutors    CNN Man arrested in LA in fatal 'swatting' hoax in Wichita, Kan., has been accused of making false threats before    Los Angeles Times Police Arrest Man In Fatal 'Swatting' Prank    NPR Man arrested in South LA in connection to Kansas swatting incident that left man dead    KABC-TV Family says son killed by police in 'swatting' was unarmed, didn't play video games    Wichita Eagle Full coverage

We now know the tipping point that prompted the FBI to launch its Trump-Russia investigation    Business Insider Blumenthal: Trump's denial of Russia collusion 'rotten at core'    The Hill Trump's Russia inquiry 'started by Australian tip-off'    BBC News Hillary Clinton: all you need to know | Blasting News    Blasting News How the Russia Inquiry Began: A Campaign Aide, Drinks and Talk of Political Dirt    New York Times Full coverage

Activist Erica Garner, 27, dies after heart attack    CNN Erica Garner, Activist Daughter Of Eric Garner, Dies At 27    BuzzFeed News Erica Garner, activist and daughter of Eric Garner, dead at 27    CBS News Grand jury will not indict officer who killed Eric Garner    Atlanta Journal Constitution Activist Erica Garner dies at 27 after heart attack    NJ.com Full coverage

Mike Pence's Colorado neighbors troll him with a 'Make America Gay Again' banner    Washington Post Mike Pence Was Greeted To His Vacation By Neighbor's 'Make America Gay Again' Banner    BuzzFeed News Pence neighbors in Aspen hang 'Make America Gay Again' banner    Fox News The Danger of President Pence    The New Yorker VP Mike Pence gets message from Aspen neighbors: Make America Gay Again    Aspen Times Full coverage

It's Bizarre, But Let's Be Thankful for Trump    HuffPost The Memo: Trump's NYT interview sets 2018 stage    The Hill Trump's Historic Success Appointing Federal Judges in 2017    Breitbart News Trump Says Russia Inquiry Makes US 'Look Very Bad'    New York Times Excerpts From Trump's Interview With The Times    New York Times Full coverage

Two security guards shot to death at hotel-casino in Las Vegas; suspect in critical condition    Los Angeles Times 2 Las Vegas security guards fatally shot in hotel-casino    ABC News Two Las Vegas casino security officers shot, killed during room check    Las Vegas Sun Full coverage

Two men charged with murder in 'horrific' quadruple homicide case in New York    Washington Post 2 suspects charged in connection with gruesome quadruple homicide    Fox News Quadruple homicide in upstate NY eerily similar to 2014 murders    New York Post Police identify victims of quadruple homicide in Troy    NEWS10 ABC Alert: 2 arrested in killing of Troy family, arraignments Saturday    Albany Times Union (blog) Full coverage

Bronx building tenant who lost four relatives in deadly blaze says mom of fire-starting tot didn't warn neighbors    New York Daily News Police identify remaining 7 victims in deadly Bronx apartment fire    NBCNews.com Soldier home for the holidays died rescuing neighbors from fire    CNN In Fire-Scarred Bronx Neighborhood, a World of New Arrivals, Children and Community    New York Times Full coverage

Powerball winning numbers announced for $384 million jackpot    CBS News No Winner in Powerball Drawing, Jackpot Soars to $440 Million    U.S. News & World Report Powerball Drawn, But No Winner; Jackpot Exceeds $440M, 9th Largest    NBC Southern California Full coverage

Meltdown by Richt, Hurricanes in 34-24 loss to Wisconsin    USA TODAY Wisconsin Forces Miami to Break Character in Orange Bowl Win    Sports Illustrated Here's how the Miami Hurricanes' pass defense went wrong in the Orange Bowl    Miami Herald No. 6 Wisconsin holds off No. 10 Miami in Orange Bowl; Big Ten goes 7-0 in bowls    NBCSports.com Full coverage

South Korea seizes second ship suspected of providing oil to North Korea    Reuters South Korea Said to Seize Ship Suspected of Oil Transfers    Bloomberg Seoul Seizes Panama Vessel For Alleged North Korea Ties: Report    NDTV North Korea vows to press on with nuclear agenda as Russia denies trade violations    The Guardian Full coverage

Fired partner ID'd as gunman in Long Beach law office shooting    CBS News Long Beach shooting: Police ID gunman, victims    OCRegister 2 Dead, 1 Injured In Shooting At California Law Firm    HuffPost Full coverage

UFC 219: Cyborg vs. Holm post-fight results and analysis    Bloody Elbow Cris Cyborg vs. Holly Holm full fight video highlights    MMA Fighting UFC 219 results: Cris Cyborg tested but outstrikes Holly Holm to retain 145-pound title    MMAjunkie While Cyborg vs. Holm is a great matchup, it doesn't solve UFC's long-term women's woes    ESPN Cyborg Retains Featherweight Title at UFC 219, Nurmagomedov Remains Unbeaten    HuffPost Full coverage

Rebels storm Indian paramilitary camp in Kashmir; 7 dead    New York Daily News Top Asian News 9:24 am GMT    Yahoo News UK Militants storm police training centre in occupied Kashmir, two killed    The Express Tribune Full coverage

St. Petersburg supermarket bombing: Russian security arrests suspect    USA TODAY Putin urges US-Russia cooperation in New Year telegram to Trump    New York Daily News St Petersburg supermarket bombing suspect arrested    BBC News The 'colorful' associates in Trump's orbit validate Mueller's Russia inquiry    Kansas City Star Despite Trump's hopes, and critics' fears, US-Russia relations remain sour    CNBC Full coverage

NJ reality star chides Trump for tweet on global warming    NJ.com Delingpole: Trump Trolls Climate Loons; Climate Loons Take Bait    Breitbart News It's Cold Outside. Cue the Trump Global Warming Tweet.    New York Times As with many issues, Trump's rhetoric on climate change is more battering ram than belief    Washington Post Full coverage

New Yorkers brave through the bitter cold as they bundle up for New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square    New York Daily News Cities around the world warily prep for New Year's Eve amid terrorism fears    CBS News Extreme cold to test New Year's revelers; some events iced    ABC News 8 ways to enjoy New Year's Eve military style    Fox News Full coverage

Trump Administration Abandons Bid to Bar Transgender Recruits From US Military    Newsweek DOJ not appealing transgender military ruling, but not abandoning case    Fox News Full coverage

Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov on Saturday accused the United States of violating a key arms treaty by selling a missile defence system to Japan. "The US is deploying them (missile defence systems) at their military bases in Romania and Poland, that is near our western borders, which goes against the 1987 INF Treaty banning the deployment of such systems on the ground," Ryabkov said in a statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry website. "The fact that such complexes could now appear on Russia's eastern borders creates a situation that we cannot ignore in our military planning," said Ryabkov. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-accuses-us-breaking-treaty-over-defence-system-130339740.html

Two young children and their mother were among the four family members found killed in an act of “savagery” this week inside their basement apartment in the upstate New York city of Troy from https://www.yahoo.com/news/2-children-among-4-dead-183025293.html

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia in 2017 laid the groundwork for momentous change next year, defying its conservative reputation for slow, cautious reforms by announcing plans to let women drive, allow movie theaters to return and to issue tourist visas. The kingdom could even get a new king. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/historic-change-saudi-arabia-more-060615290.html

Donald Trump condemned the arrest of protesters in Iran, telling Tehran that "the world is watching" as officials reported fresh demonstrations over the country’s struggling economy. Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime’s corruption & its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad. Iranian govt should respect their people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! #IranProtests— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2017 Fifty-two people were arrested in Iran’s second city Mashhad on Thursday, the first day of the protests, which also took place in other areas and spread to the capital Tehran as well as Kermanshah the following day. "There are many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with the regime’s corruption and its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad," the White House added in a statement. "The Iranian government shoul

A Connecticut court has refused to free three elephants from a zoo after an animal rights group asked it to do so. The court ruled that Minnie, Beulah, and Karen do not qualify as “persons entitled to liberty and equality” under state law. Judge James Bentivegna wrote in the decision that “the petition is wholly frivolous on its face” because it relied on applying “human rights of freedom and equality” to the animals. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/court-refuses-release-elephants-zoo-213100596.html

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. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-environmental-activist-hospitalized-beating-112324708.html

The White House has reportedly fired the members of Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) without explanation. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-reportedly-terminated-members-hiv-164717217.html

Following a year of deadly terrorist attacks, security is going to be tighter than ever before. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/high-tech-ways-authorities-keeping-175529978.html

Cartoonist Hristo Komarnitski and his colleagues had no illusions: launching a satirical journal was always going to be tricky in Bulgaria, new holder of the EU presidency but also ranked as the bloc's worst press freedom violator. As Bulgaria prepares to take the rotating EU helm on January 1, its press industry is mired in "corruption and collusion between media, politicians, and oligarchs," according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Since joining the bloc a decade ago, Bulgaria has tumbled down in the annual RSF press freedom ranking from sharing the 35th place with France in 2006 to 109th out of 180 countries in 2017 -- by far the worst placed EU member state. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/reporters-face-obstacle-run-corruption-hit-bulgaria-014810131.html

Turkish police detained 75 suspected Islamic State members in two operations on Friday, state media and police said, after arresting about 120 such suspects across Turkey a day earlier, tightening security ahead of the New Year. Some 500 police officers took part in simultaneous raids across Ankara, and many of those detained were foreign nationals, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Materials seized in the raids indicated some of the suspects had made preparations for an attack over New Year, it added. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkish-police-detain-29-islamic-state-suspects-ankara-062217237.html

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. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/2-dead-1-injured-shooting-141839758.html

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Trump administration said Friday it will look at revving up water deliveries to farmers from California's Central Valley Project, the largest federal water project in the United States, in what environmental groups called a threat to protections for struggling native salmon and other endangered species. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-eyes-increased-pumping-biggest-211431393.html

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”. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/nikki-haley-seemingly-tricked-russian-153059497.html

Democratic Republic of Congo's government on Saturday ordered telecommunications providers to cut internet and SMS services across the country ahead of planned anti-government demonstrations. Grassroots Catholic activists have called for marches in major cities on Sunday to demand that President Joseph Kabila commit to not changing the constitution to stand for a third term and release political prisoners. Kabila was required by the constitution to step down in December last year when his mandate expired but an election to replace him has been repeatedly delayed and is now scheduled for December 2018. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/congo-orders-internet-sms-cut-ahead-anti-govt-203721199.html

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. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/hours-afghan-blast-confused-families-searched-desperately-news-125014003.html

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. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/la-man-arrested-apos-swatting-175332211.html

Investigators were also looking into allegations Michael Hamill had consensual sex while on the job. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/gainesville-apos-hot-cop-apos-151013116.html

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. from https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-environmental-activist-hospitalized-beating-112324708.html