Profs make impeachment case; Democrats say they’re all in
Three leading legal scholars testified Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s attempts to have Ukraine investigate Democratic rivals are grounds for impeachment, bolstering the Democrats’ case as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made sure they’re prepared for that momentous next step.
Brazilian slum residents protest after 9 die in police raid
Hundreds of people in Sao Paulo’s Paraisopolis slums have taken to the streets to protest against local police three days after nine young people died in a stampede during a police operation at a funk music party.
Huawei asks court to throw out US telecom funds ban
Chinese tech giant Huawei is asking a U.S. federal court to throw out a rule that bars rural phone carriers from using government money to purchase its equipment on security grounds.
Samoa’s capital deserted as teams battle measles epidemic
Samoa’s main streets were eerily quiet on Thursday as the government stepped up efforts to curb a measles epidemic that has killed 62 people.
Gabrielle Union, NBC meet over ‘America’s Got Talent’ firing
Gabrielle Union and NBC both said Wednesday that they have had a “productive” first conversation on her firing from “America’s Got Talent” and her allegations that she was removed over her complaints about racism and other troubling on-set behavior.
Minnesota judge finds ‘Miracle on Ice’ star is mentally ill
A Minnesota judge on Wednesday ordered that a former member of the “Miracle on Ice” U.S. Olympic hockey team should be committed to a secure treatment facility, saying the hockey star is mentally ill and dangerous.
‘Tis the season: Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lights up
One of the brightest signs of the holiday season has come to light. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was officially turned on Wednesday night, at an event featuring celebrities including Idina Menzel, Lea Michele and Ne-Yo among the performers.
Across Capitol Hill, impeachment saga shifts
A different chairman. A committee twice the size. A shift from evidence to law.
3 charged over Australia’s largest crystal meth seizure
Three people have been charged with drug offenses over Australia’s largest seizure of methamphetamine, which had been smuggled to Melbourne from Bangkok in stereo speakers.
Military: Sailor shoots 3 at Pearl Harbor, takes own life
A U.S. sailor shot and wounded three civilian Department of Defense employees at the Pearl Harbor shipyard Wednesday before taking their own life, the military said.
Chanel celebrates its artisans in glimmering Paris show
Chanel brought its itinerant off-season fashion show the “arts and crafts,” with its swath of VIPs including Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard, back to home ground in Paris on Wednesday to mark its first collection since Karl Lagerfeld died earlier this year.
Iran leader calls for ‘Islamic mercy’ after bloody crackdown
Iran’s supreme leader called Wednesday for those detained in recent gasoline price protests to be treated with “Islamic mercy” even after authorities acknowledged government forces shot and killed demonstrators nationwide in unrest that reportedly killed over 200 people.
Trump calls Trudeau ‘two-faced’ as palace gossip goes viral
NATO leaders professed unity on Wednesday at a summit near London — but a spat over off-the-cuff chit chat at a royal reception rattled their show of solidarity.
French trains stop as mass strike begins over pensions
French trains rolled to a halt Wednesday evening, kicking off massive nationwide strikes and protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to overhaul the retirement system, seen as an untouchable symbol of the French way of life.
Florida Republican: ‘We should hang’ treasonous Democrats
Local and national GOP leaders distanced themselves Wednesday from a Florida congressional candidate who sent a fundraising letter stating that “anti-American radical Democrats” should be hung for treason.
Impeachment takeaways: History lessons, partisan feuds
The next phase of the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump moved to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday with public hearings featuring professors of law who discussed the constitutional origins of Congress’ impeachment power.
US Navy seizes suspected Iranian missile parts set for Yemen
A Navy warship has seized a “significant cache” of suspected Iranian guided missile parts headed to rebels in Yemen, U.S. officials said Wednesday, marking the first time that such sophisticated components have been taken en route to the war there.
College students take aim at 19th Century editor’s statue
Some Georgia State University students are demanding that Atlanta’s mayor remove a prominent downtown statue of a 19th Century newspaper editor who called for maintaining white supremacy in the South.
Kid Rock’s Detroit eatery closing after his anti-Oprah rant
A Kid Rock-owned restaurant in Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena will close once its licensing agreement expires this spring, the singer and arena operator announced separately Wednesday.
Judge dismisses lawsuit in John Dillinger exhumation case
A nephew of 1930s gangster John Dillinger needs a cemetery’s permission to exhume the notorious criminal’s Indianapolis gravesite to prove whether he’s actually buried there, a judge ruled Wednesday in dismissing the nephew’s lawsuit against the cemetery.