Ilhan Omar’s Republican opponent banned from Twitter over ‘hanging’ post

Danielle Stella, a pro-Trump Republican candidate for Congress, was banned from Twitter after her account published a violent comment about the Democrat she hopes to unseat next year, Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar.

Stella’s campaign Twitter account, @2020MNCongress, featured at least two posts involving the idea of Omar being hanged, according to the Washington Times, which broke the story of her suspension.

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Donald Trump says Taliban talks back on in surprise Afghanistan visit

  • President makes Thanksgiving visit to airbase near Kabul
  • Confirms talks with extremists have resumed

Donald Trump made an unannounced visit to US troops in Afghanistan on Thursday, his first visit to the country where the US has been at war since late 2001.

Related: Fired navy secretary blasts Trump over 'shocking' handling of Navy seal case

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Thousands evacuated after explosions at Texas chemical plant – video

About 60,000 people within a four-mile radius of the Port Neches chemical plant in Texas were ordered to leave after a series of explosions. Three workers were injured in the initial blast and there was a second, larger explosion followed by a number of smaller explosions later in the day.  Local residents said windows and doors were blown out by the blasts 

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Trump’s EU envoy Gordon Sondland accused of sexual misconduct – live

Sondland, a key figure in the impeachment inquiry, is alleged to have retaliated against three women after they rejected his advances

The US Navy has thrown out plans to review three officers under scrutiny following Donald Trump’s decision to intervene in a related case.

Trump issued a direct order to halt disciplinary measures against a Navy Seal accused of war crimes in Iraq. On Sunday, defense secretary Mark Esper fired the navy secretary Richard Spencer after Spencer resisted pressure to intervene in the case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher.

As part of a sting operation, federal agents enticed foreign-born students, mostly from India, to a Detroit school that marketed graduate programs in technology and computer science. The students paid about $12,000 in tuition and fees per year to attend the university, which was created in 2015.

The students had arrived legally in the U.S. on student visas, but since the University of Farmington was later revealed to be a creation of federal agents, they lost their immigration status after it was shut down in January. The school was located on Northwestern Highway near 13 Mile Road in Farmington Hills and staffed with undercover agents posing as university officials...

Attorneys for the students arrested said they were unfairly trapped by the U.S. government since the Department of Homeland Security had said on its website that the university was legitimate. An accreditation agency that was working with the U.S. on its sting operation also listed the university as legitimate...

No one has filed a lawsuit or claim against the U.S. government for collecting the money or for allegedly entrapping the students.

Attorneys for ICE and the Department of Justice maintain that the students should have known it was not a legitimate university because it did not have classes in a physical location. Some CPT programs have classes combined with work programs at companies.

Related: How the US government created a fake university to snare immigrant students

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Trump plan to label Mexico cartels as terror groups defies logic, experts say

Analysts say designation would be largely cosmetic as the already illegitimate groups are driven by money, not politics

Mexican drug cartel thugs have hanged bodies from bridges, set fire to crowded buildings and tossed hand grenades into crowds.

But Donald Trump’s decision to designate the cartels as foreign terrorist organisations (FTOs) has been questioned by experts, who argue that the move’s main impact would be cosmetic – although it might provide a pretext for possible US military incursions.

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‘We can stop our children being poisoned’: the fight for a lead-free Cleveland

Campaigner Kim Foreman helped drive the creation of historic anti-lead poisoning legislation in the Ohio city earlier this year – and she is not done yet

The city of Flint, Michigan, made headlines around the world in 2014 when improperly treated water from the Flint River began corroding lead pipes and releasing harmful chemicals into the city’s tap water.

But many other cities across the US have faced – and continue to face – serious health risks because of new contaminations of lead, or the legacy of failures to get it out of the environment, with children most affected by exposure.

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The 2020 election has too many candidates – but there’s an easy fix | David Daley

None of the four top Democratic candidates poll consistently above 30% – ranked-choice voting, however, can determine who people actually support

Democrats in Iowa will caucus in early February, barely two months away, and finally cast the first votes of presidential nomination season.

There’s an elite tier of four candidates: former vice-president Joe Biden, South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren. None of them, however, poll consistently above 30% in national surveys. Many Democrats see one or more of them as too old or too inexperienced; too far left or too moderate.

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Buttigieg returns donations from lawyers who represented Brett Kavanaugh

Following Guardian queries, 2020 hopeful says Kavanaugh should never have been placed on supreme court

Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign is returning thousands of dollars in donations from two top Washington lawyers who represented Brett Kavanaugh in his controversial confirmation hearing, saying it will not accept funds from people who helped secure the justice’s seat on the supreme court.

Buttigieg’s campaign received $7,200 from Alexandra Walsh – $3,150 of which had already been returned because it exceeded limits – and attended a fundraiser in July that was co-hosted by the Washington lawyer. Buttigieg also received $2,800 from Beth Wilkinson, Walsh’s law partner, who also represented Kavanaugh.

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Two White House budget officials quit over Ukraine aid concerns, says witness

Mark Sandy said unnamed individuals from budget office resigned in part over Trump’s aid freeze, according to closed-door deposition

A lawyer for the White House’s budget office resigned partly because of concerns over Donald Trump’s freeze on military aid to Ukraine, a longtime career official from the office has testified to Congress behind closed doors.

Mark Sandy of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) told the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry that an individual in the office’s legal division quit in part over issues with the suspension of security assistance to Ukraine, according to a transcript of his deposition released on Tuesday.

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Melania Trump booed at Baltimore youth event – video

Melania Trump has received a frosty reception at a youth event in Baltimore, with attendees booing and audibly talking throughout her speech.

Trump was attempting to discuss her 'Be Best' initiative at the B'More Youth Summit, which aims to raise awareness about the US opioid crisis.

In July, Donald Trump tweeted that Baltimore was a 'rat and rodent infested mess'

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Trump impeachment inquiry: justice department appeals ruling Don McGahn must testify – live news

A court ordered the former press secretary to defy a White House attempt to stop him testifying to Congress saying ‘The president is not a king’

When the FiveThirtyEight polling average on impeachment dipped by a few points last week, Trump’s allies rushed to claim that the slight decline was evidence of the American public turning against the inquiry.

But additional polls appear to have debunked that claim. It seems the recent damning testimony from current and former Trump officials like Gordon Sondland and Fiona Hill has not moved the needle much, with around half of Americans supporting the impeachment of the president.

Finally getting a few more impeachment polls and the notion that the numbers are moving against Democrats isn't looking so hot. +4 spread on supporting impeachment/removal, which is similar to the peak in October.https://t.co/Tj71WyGT4x pic.twitter.com/S7iUHaRdlX

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo has announced he will deliver remarks to the media at 11 a.m. ET. It’s unclear whether Pompeo will also take questions from reporters, who would inevitably ask about the cabinet member’s role in the Ukraine controversy.

pic.twitter.com/Vw2uGpv8GO

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US senator to investigate if foreign spyware used to target Americans

Exclusive: Ron Wyden says hacking claims raise “serious national security issues”

An influential US senator has told the Guardian he is examining the possible hacking of US citizens with technology sold by the NSO Group and other foreign surveillance companies, an issue he said raised “serious national security issues”.

Ron Wyden’s remarks come just weeks after a lawsuit was filed by WhatsApp against NSO, alleging that the Israeli company’s malware was used against 1,400 WhatsApp users in 20 countries over a 14-day period this year.

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Don McGahn: former White House counsel must testify, judge rules – live

Federal judge rules McGahn must testify to House judiciary committee, putting pressure on other Trump officials tied to impeachment inquiry

A federal judge has ruled that former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify before the House Judiciary Committee, a decision that could have major implications for the House’s impeachment probe.

BREAKING: A federal judge on Monday ordered Don McGahn must testify to Congress about his time as the Trump WH's top lawyer, a ruling that will add pressure on other Trump officials tied to the impeachment probe. Decision here: https://t.co/6FeuuCrO5g pic.twitter.com/sQ0PubTxqW

MONEY QUOTE: Jackson indicates that any "current or former" senior WH aide subpoenaed by a House committee must at least appear for testimony -- even if they claim privilege while testifying. pic.twitter.com/7DEYdItZLG

In the response to a freedom of information lawsuit by the Center for Public Integrity, an investigative journalism nonprofit, a federal judge has ordered the release of hundreds of pages of communications between Defense Department officials and others over stalled American aid to Ukraine.

Judge orders release of documents of communications between the Pentagon’s comptroller, DOD and White House OMB over the delay in stalled Ukraine aid. Must turn over 106 pages to Center for Public Integrity by Dec. 12. Another 100 by Dec. 20 in FOIA suit https://t.co/HuVEZOj3OG

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Mystery sounds from storms could help predict tornadoes

Scientists narrow down causes of low-frequency rumbles emitted before twisters form

Mysterious rumbles that herald tornadoes could one day be used to predict when and where they will strike, according to researchers.

Storms emit sounds before tornadoes form, but the signals at less than 20Hz are below the limit for human hearing. What causes these rumbles has also been a conundrum.

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Eighty-two-year-old woman beats up burglar who broke into her home

‘I’m alone and I’m old, but guess what – I’m tough,’ said Willie Murphy, who works out almost every day at the local YMCA

An 82-year-old female body builder beat up a 28-year-old man who tried to break into her home in Rochester, New York.

“I’m alone and I’m old, but guess what – I’m tough,” Willie Murphy, a regular weightlifter, told local news station WHAM.

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Self-confessed liar Sarah Sanders says: ‘I don’t like being called a liar’

  • Trump’s ex-press secretary says: ‘I was attacked for everything’
  • Sanders admitted Comey statement was ‘founded on nothing’

Sarah Sanders, the former White House press secretary who admitted to Robert Mueller that she lied to reporters, told the New York Times: “I don’t like being called a liar.”

Related: Trump impeachment: Republicans dig in as hopes of bipartisan support dashed

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Trump impeachment: Republicans dig in as hopes of bipartisan support dashed

Congressional Republicans dug deep in defense of Donald Trump over the weekend, frustrating Democratic hopes that the impeachment inquiry would build bipartisan support following weeks of testimony laying out how Trump attempted to extract a political “favor” from Ukraine in exchange for official acts.

Related: Trump impeachment: Schiff calls on Bolton to testify and slams Republicans

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Trump impeachment: Schiff calls on Bolton to testify and slams Republicans

House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff blasted former national security adviser John Bolton on Sunday, for failing to appear for testimony in the impeachment inquiry while teasing a forthcoming memoir.

Related: Not just the facts: Republicans' top six impeachment falsehoods

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Stephen Miller: white nationalist and, still, Trump’s immigration guru

The revelation of an email trove in which the White House aide trafficked in far-right ideas provoked outrage but little surprise

The extraordinary email leak came with a sense of inevitability. The senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller promoted white nationalist articles and books in emails to a writer at Breitbart, who after leaving the hard-right website leaked 900 messages to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

It was a discovery that would end the careers of most political figures. But among calls for Miller’s resignation, a common theme emerged: a lack of surprise that the architect of Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda endorsed white supremacist views.

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