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Sydney will set off its iconic New Year's Eve fireworks after being granted an exemption to a total fire ban Monday, with other Australian cities canceling their celebrations due to a worsening wildfire risk. Pressure had built for Sydney's spectacle to be scrapped before the New South Wales Rural Fire Service approved the event on Monday. The popular celebrations are expected to attract around a million people to Sydney's famous harbor front and generate 130 million Australian dollars ($91 million) for the state's economy. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2ZyX1Df

The world celebrated the New Year on Wednesday with fireworks displays from Sydney to London, although celebrations were clouded by deadly wildfires in Australia, protests in Hong Kong and India and new nuclear tensions with North Korea. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2QABwOb via IFTTT

The United States is immediately deploying about 750 soldiers to the Middle East in response to the violent protests at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2Qe9dWQ via IFTTT

Iran denied it was behind violent protests at the U.S. embassy in Iraq on Tuesday and warned against any retaliation, after President Donald Trump blamed Tehran for an attack on the mission and said it would be held responsible. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2MIeILq via IFTTT

The Scottish star helped the UK music industry towards a fifth consecutive year of growth. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/359zIB7 via IFTTT

Smokers and ex-smokers who have quit report being in more pain than people who have never smoked. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/36fX8G6 via IFTTT

New research suggests most people still want to book package holidays despite what happened after the collapse of Thomas Cook. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2rIc40I via IFTTT

By BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/36oXN8x

By BY DAVE MONTGOMERY, ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS AND RICK ROJAS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/37mK6XF

By BY CAROL ROSENBERG AND WENDY MACNAUGHTON from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2uaRjvL

By BY CORAL DAVENPORT AND LISA FRIEDMAN from NYT Climate https://ift.tt/356WYj6

CBN News has learned a massive sold-out event is happening New Year's Day at East Rutherford, New Jersey's MetLife Stadium where the reading of the entire Jewish Talmud will be concluded after 7 and 1/3 years. from CBNNews.com https://ift.tt/2ua9txB

After a leader in the Trump administration came under fire for seemingly trying to turn the latest violent anti-Semitic attack in New York into an anti-immigrant parable, the target of his smear responded Tuesday, calling his comments “a disgrace.”Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, claimed in a Monday morning tweet that 38-year-old Grafton Thomas, a U.S. citizen who allegedly stabbed five people at a Hanukkah party over the weekend, was the “son of an illegal alien who got amnesty under the 1986 amnesty law for illegal immigrants.” “Apparently, American values did not take hold among this entire family, at least this one violent, and apparently bigoted, son,” Cuccinelli wrote.Thomas’ attorney, Michael Sussman, said Tuesday that Cuccinelli’s remarks “are a disgrace and akin to blaming the parents of a mentally ill child for conceiving him or her” and that “such comments have no place in a rational debate about national immigration policy, a...

CNN and the Des Moines Register will co-host the seventh Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines three weeks before the Iowa caucuses. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/39pIsq3

Like Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson before him, President Trump does not have the same constitutional protection afforded to criminal defendants. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2tjBZMz

At a Hasidic synagogue in Brooklyn, police, state troopers and civilian volunteers stand guard as Orthodox Jews mark the end of Hanukkah under heightened security following a spate of attacks. New York, home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel, had long been a place where Jews felt safe. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2QbLned

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has accused the Trump administration of dragging its feet in nuclear negotiations and warned that his country will soon show a new strategic weapon to the world as its bolsters its nuclear deterrent in face of “gangster-like” U.S. sanctions and pressure. The North’s state media said Wednesday that Kim made the comments during a four-day ruling party conference held through Tuesday in the capital Pyongyang, where he declared that the North will never give up its security for economic benefits in the face of what he described as increasing U.S. hostility and nuclear threats. Kim’s comments came after a monthslong standoff between Washington and Pyongyang over disagreements involving disarmament steps and the removal of sanctions imposed on the North. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2tf6JOV

Donald Trump accused Iran of orchestrating the attack on the US embassy in Baghdad as he said he expected Iraq to “use its forces” to intervene. "Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat," he wrote on Twitter. "The US Embassy in Iraq is, & has been for hours, SAFE! Many of our great Warfighters, together with the most lethal military equipment in the world, was immediately rushed to the site," Mr Trump  intensified pressure on the Iraqi authorities who had been powerless to prevent hundreds of demonstrators breaching the outer wall of the embassy compound in the heavily fortified green zone. He pressed the case for action in a call to  Iraq's caretaker  Prime Minister Adel Abd al-Mahd, urging him to protect US personnel and property. Chanting "death to America", the protesters set fire to a sentry box, pulled security camer...

Authorities say Barbara Pinkney wouldn't let them in and had to be tased three times before she could be subdued. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2ZC8Vfx

Greta Thunberg says it's "just funny" when she's personally attacked by world leaders like President Trump.The 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist, who earlier this month was named Time's person of the year, spoke with Today on BBC Radio on Monday and was asked about recent attacks on her, such as when Trump lashed out at her in a tweet by claiming she has an anger management problem or when Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called her a "brat.""Those attacks are just funny because they obviously don't mean anything," Thunberg said. "Well, I guess, of course, it means something. It means they are terrified of young people bringing change, which they don't want."Thunberg went on to say that these attacks are "proof that we are actually doing something and that they see us as some kind of threat."This comes after Trump went after Thunberg on Twitter in response to Time's decision to name her person of the ...

"Begin cementing our unity one brick at a time," Archbishop of Canterbury says in new year message. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2Qb675T via IFTTT

Protesters angry about U.S. air strikes on Iraq hurled stones and torched a security post at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, setting off a confrontation with guards and posing a new challenge for U.S. President Donald Trump. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/36fVtQS via IFTTT

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday he hoped North Korea would "choose peace" after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would continue developing nuclear programs and introduce a "new strategic weapon" in the near future. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2SG2o1W via IFTTT

Social media scandals dominate the list of the most-read news stories by the Tech desk this year. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/359u169 via IFTTT

Children found the exits locked as they tried to escape what they thought was a fire in the cinema. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2F5FKYC via IFTTT

The year of treating the untreatable: 2019 breakthroughs that could transform medicine. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/35dMvSS via IFTTT

By BY EDWARD WONG from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2QBrqwz

By BY CHARLIE SAVAGE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2F9n62h

By BY ERIC LIPTON AND MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2ZCv39z

By BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2SIqNUv

By BY AZI PAYBARAH from NYT New York https://ift.tt/36acVGp

By BY PAUL KRUGMAN from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2QcEadO

By BY ALISSA J. RUBIN AND BEN HUBBARD from NYT World https://ift.tt/37ofNjf

The government says it will boost pay by more than four times the rate of inflation. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2SIsGR5 via IFTTT

More than 800 sightings of whales, dolphins and seals have been logged in British waters this year. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2MK4OJ3 via IFTTT

Protests in Hong Kong, Chile and the Middle East all shared an online presence which helped connect the movements. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/37oZNO1 via IFTTT

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) claimed on Sunday’s broadcast of State of the Union that there are no “substantive rules” when it comes to holding an impeachment trial and that the Constitution doesn’t provide much guidance to the Senate.CNN anchor Jake Tapper noted that Kennedy had previously said his objective in President Donald Trump’s impeachment is to be fair to both sides. He asked the lawmaker about Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) saying she was “disturbed” that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would coordinate with the White House on impeachment.“Were you also bothered when Majority Leader McConnell said there would be no daylight between him and the White House?” Tapper asked.“I think Senator McConnell is entitled to his opinion and his approach. So is Senator Murkowski,” Kennedy stated, adding that if you look at specific case law on impeachment, “the rule is there is no substantive rules.”“It is not a criminal trial,” he continued. “The Senate is not really a jury. It is ...

Landmark law, the ‘most comprehensive’ in the US, gives Californians an arsenal of tools to protect their data online Last year, California passed a landmark privacy law that gives consumers more control over their data. The legislation gives residents unprecedented rights to control what information companies collect on them and how it is used.The California Consumer Privacy Act will go into action 1 January 2020, giving residents of the state a whole new arsenal of tools to protect their data and personal information online – and saddling businesses with a lot more responsibility.Here is everything you need to know about California’s “groundbreaking” new privacy law. What is the law?The California Consumer Privacy Act, passed in 2018, is the “most comprehensive” privacy legislation to be enacted in the United States to date, according to the American Bar Association.Under the new regulations, California residents will be able to demand companies to disclose what information is collec...

Charles Kupperman filed suit in October after he was subpoenaed by the House Intelligence Committee. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Qe1ZCp

Before signing off for 2019, Hasan Minhaj has turned his eye towards 2020. The host of Netflix’s Patriot Act ended his final episode of the year by sharing some updates from stories he covered earlier in the year, including an interview during which he tried to get Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to accept Islam as his “one true faith.” Two weeks later, his brownface scandal erupted. “Little did I know he had actually converted decades ago,” Minhaj joked.  The biggest problem of 2019, he went on to argue, is that “we’re exposed to all the news, all the time, which makes us feel like we have to care about everything all the time.” It’s called “compassion fatigue” and Minhaj compared it to feeling like you have “50 tabs open in our mental browsers and we’re about to crash.” “You know who really figured out 2019?” he asked, before adding, “You’re not going to like this.” He was talking about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “We’ve shat on Mitch McConnell a...

A British teenager has been found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus. The woman, 19, was convicted of a single count of public mischief at Famagusta District Court in Paralimni, Cyprus, on Monday. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/36hsRac

A masked, machete-wielding man barged into a Hanukkah celebration and stabbed five people at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, on Saturday evening, intensifying fears anti-Semitic violence after a spate of incidents last week. The assailant escaped but the NYPD quickly picked up a suspect. Law-enforcement sources identified him as Grafton Thomas, 37, who has several previous arrests on his record, including one for punching a police horse. He was turned over to the state police, and will face five counts of attempted murder.The terrifying ambush—which took place in Rockland County, a northern suburb that has the highest per capita Jewish population in the U.S.—drew swift condemnation from public officials from Israel to Washington. Gov. Andrew Cuomo called it an “act of domestic terrorism.”According to Ramapo Police Chief Brad Weidel, a man covering his face with a scarf knocked on the door at Rabbi Rottenburg’s shul during the seventh night of Hanukkah just as the rabbi was ligh...

(Bloomberg) -- Democrats seeking to replace Donald Trump in the White House will have some competition for television viewers during their next debate: The incumbent president himself.Trump’s campaign announced Monday that his next rally would be in Milwaukee on Jan. 14. That’s the same day as the Democratic candidates’ seventh debate, in Des Moines, Iowa.Trump’s impeachment could complicate matters. It’s unclear whether the Democratic debate will proceed if the Senate is holding a trial on articles of impeachment the U.S. House passed earlier this month. Three senators -- Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota -- have qualified for the debate so far.The Milwaukee rally would be the second of the new year for the president. He is to hold a rally Jan. 9 in Toledo, Ohio. Trump won both of the Midwestern states in 2016 and his campaign regards them as critical for his re-election next year.A Trump campaign spokesman, Tim Murtaugh, said ...

The U.S. launched strike against Iranian military targets in Syria following a Friday attach in Iraq that killed one American. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2F7q1Iw

Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, who is awaiting trial in Japan on charges of financial misconduct, has arrived in Beirut, a close friend said Monday. It was not clear how Ghosn, who is of Lebanese origins and holds French and Lebanese passports, left Japan where he was under surveillance and is expected to face trial in April 2020. Ricardo Karam, a television host and friend of Ghosn who interviewed him several times, told The Associated Press Ghosn arrived in Lebanon Monday morning.. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/39nqsfU

A tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump that identified an intelligence analyst as the alleged whistleblower who helped spark his impeachment was temporarily blocked at the weekend, with Twitter blaming an outage that affected a number of user accounts. In recent days, Trump shared an unsubstantiated media report and a second post that appeared to name the intelligence community member. It was visible again on Sunday afternoon, although the original account that shared the alleged whistleblower's name had been deleted. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/39xQehI