Trump Visits Arlington National Cemetery
President Trump made an unscheduled visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, where volunteers led by the group Wreaths Across America were placing wreaths on headstones for the holidays. Mr. Trump hadn’t followed the practice of some of his predecessors of visiting the cemetery in Arlington, Va., on Veterans Day last month, a decision he later said he regretted. Days earlier, he had skipped a visit to one of two cemeteries in France where American soldiers who fought in the two world wars are laid to rest. The White...
Source:Wall Street Journal
December 15, 2018 22:07 UTC
'Aquaman' Sails Toward Huge $250 Million Global Box Office
Warner Bros.' blockbuster Aquaman continues to unite audiences across the seven seas this weekend, as its record-breaking run in China fuels an overall international box office cume expected to hit $250+/- million this weekend. Friday's $27 million international sales included $15 million from the markets outside of China, and brought the running worldwide cume to $179 million. Today, Aquaman looks on track to add $20-25 million in China and an additional $15-20 million in other foreign markets, raising the global tally to $215-225 million on Saturday. Even if China's box office reps a big 30+% of total foreign box office, a $250 million finish in the Middle Kingdom puts Aquaman on course for a massive $800+ million international cume. Box office figures and tallies based on data via Box Office Mojo , Rentrak, and TheNumbers.
Source:Forbes
December 15, 2018 22:07 UTC
After Skipping Events Honoring Fallen Soldiers, Trump Visits Arlington Cemetery
WASHINGTON — President Trump walked on the muddy, rain-drenched grounds of Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, finding himself in an unusual position for a voluble man: a solitary figure, as he attended a ceremony to lay wreaths for the fallen. It was a studied contrast, and an implicit atonement, to his decisions last month to forgo a ceremony in France and the traditional visit to Arlington on Veterans Day. The president, holding a black umbrella, made his way on Saturday among the headstones of the military veterans who are buried at Arlington. He chatted with a guide as he viewed some of the thousands of wreaths that had been laid for an event called Wreaths Across America. Aides cited rain, saying that the weather could have caused difficulty for the president’s helicopter.
Source:New York Times
December 15, 2018 22:06 UTC
In the move toward personal mobility devices, D.C.’s poorest are left behind — again
While popular downtown, the devices are nearly impossible to find east of the Anacostia River. She’s seen the scooters downtown and elsewhere, but no where near her home or where she shops in Anacostia. And it wasn’t until a year ago that the District’s subsidized Capital Bikeshare program deployed a sizable fleet of bikes east of the river. Some residents say it’s a blessing that the scooters and dockless bikes haven’t taken over their sidewalks. Companies say they are doing their part by building partnerships in underserved communities and offering reduced rates.
Source:Washington Post
December 15, 2018 21:56 UTC
COP24 climate talks end in agreement on 'rulebook'
This rulebook is supposed to put into motion the Paris Agreement on climate change, a landmark 2015 accord that the US Trump administration has promised to abandon. After fraught and much-delayed talks at the COP24 climate change conference here in Polish coal country, more than 190 countries agreed to the rules. Ministers also did not agree to emphatically embrace the latest climate science, which stunned some attendees. The talks were supposed to end Friday but were delayed repeatedly over disagreements about the basics of climate science and some aspects of how the rulebook would function, technically. Diplomats convene at the end of each year for negotiations that are part of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Source:CNN
December 15, 2018 21:45 UTC
A Disney Channel actor arrived to meet a 13-year-old for sex, police say. It was a sting.
The 48-year old, who played a grandfather on the Disney Channel series “Andi Mack,” had used a dating app to meet a minor and sent explicit photos, authorities said. “He arranged to meet up with what he thought was a 13-year old,” Detective Greg Wilking, a spokesman for the Salt Lake City Police Department, said Saturday. Westmoreland was being held at the Salt Lake County Jail on $30,000 bond as of Saturday afternoon, according to jail records. He was fired from the network Friday, Disney Channel spokeswoman Patti McTeague said in a statement. That also happens with her friends; the show became the first Disney Channel program to feature a gay character coming out, Variety reported.
Source:Washington Post
December 15, 2018 21:45 UTC
Georgetown basketball falls to SMU with what Ewing calls ‘a total breakdown’ on defense
The Georgetown Hoyas had plenty of reason to be riled up for Saturday afternoon’s game at Capital One Arena. The Hoyas’ defense let them down, and their clunky offense failed to make up the difference in an 81-73 loss, their first defeat of the season at home. “Couldn’t stop anybody,” said Coach Patrick Ewing, the lone Georgetown representative to address members of the media after the loss. So it was just, to me, a total breakdown.”Jessie Govan led the Hoyas with 17 points to go with seven rebounds. Given its poor defense, Georgetown never had control, even when it went on runs.
Source:Washington Post
December 15, 2018 21:45 UTC
Florida veteran dies after genitals become gangrenous; family blames nursing home: report
An 84-year-old Army veteran in Jacksonville, Florida, died after he reportedly developed a gangrene infection in his genitals. Now his family members allege the nursing home where the veteran lived ignored his condition until it was too late. In February 2017, Spratling was rushed to a local emergency room and was informed that his genitals had become gangrenous. Staffers at the nursing home reportedly told state investigators they “could smell [his ] infection from the door to his room,” the newspaper reported, citing reports. Consulate Health Care did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment on Saturday.
Source:Fox News
December 15, 2018 21:45 UTC
Thousands of LAUSD teachers march in downtown Los Angeles as union moves closer to calling first strike in nearly 30 years
Around 11 a.m., the marchers, most wearing bright red in support of UTLA, walked down Broadway and through the 3rd Street tunnel up to the Broad Museum to protest the role that they say billionaires such as Eli Broad are playing in the growth of charter schools, most of which are not unionized and pull students from district schools.
Source:Los Angeles Times
December 15, 2018 21:44 UTC
California utility, under scrutiny over massive wildfire, falsified pipeline safety records for years: regulators
One of California’s largest utilities company was accused Friday of falsifying safety documents for the state’s natural gas pipelines for years, even after it was blamed for a 2010 pipeline explosion that killed eight people. An investigation by the California Public Utilities Commission found that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. had allegedly falsified data from 2012 to 2017 because it lacked enough employees to find and mark natural gas pipelines. It’s most notable disaster came in 2010 when a gas pipeline exploded and wiped out an entire neighborhood in suburban San Bruno, resulting in eight deaths. The company has said that it has hired more employees and that it’s improving its pipeline tracking system. It will be able to testify on the findings and provide evidence that there were no safety violations.
Source:Fox News
December 15, 2018 21:33 UTC
Alexandria Council names redeveloped space ‘Waterfront Park,’ avoiding city founder who owned slaves
The Alexandria City Council decided unanimously Saturday to name a refurbished park at the foot of King Street “Waterfront Park,” even though the council admitted it’s a lackluster and unimaginative moniker. “His successful businesses were accomplished on the back of enslaved human beings,” said council member Timothy B. Lovain (D). It will be combined with a park to the south, which already is called Waterfront Park. The first phase of the redeveloped park, slated for completion in early 2019, will include a plaza, promenade and an adaptable modular space. “It’s not the jazziest name, but it serves a purpose,” council member Paul Smedberg (D) responded.
Source:Washington Post
December 15, 2018 21:33 UTC
Health Law Could Be Hard to Knock Down Despite Judge’s Ruling
He and others pointed to the fact that even though Congress erased the tax penalty, it did not touch the rest of the sprawling health act. “Congress amended one provision of a 2,000 page law and did not touch the rest of the law so it is implausible to believe that Congress intended the rest of the law not to exist,” said Abbe R. Gluck, a health law expert at Yale Law School. Judge O’ Connor also cited congressional intent, focusing on language from the 2010 law, which underscored the significance of the individual mandate to the entire act. Nicholas Bagley, a health law expert at the University of Michigan, suggested that Judge O’Connor may not yet be done with the case. If the Fifth Circuit overturns the judge’s ruling and upholds the law, there is a good chance the Supreme Court would decline to even take the case, legal scholars said.
Source:New York Times
December 15, 2018 21:24 UTC
As Va. GOP seeks new course, Corey Stewart says he’s finished with statewide politics
Corey Stewart, the Republican nominee who lost to Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in November, said he will enter no statewide races for now. Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nominations for lieutenant governor in 2013 and governor in 2017. He announced his retirement from state races to party activists and leaders who gathered for a weekend retreat at a Marriott hotel in Norfolk. Stewart was Virginia chairman of President Trump’s campaign for most of 2016. Critics fear he did lasting damage to the state party through campaigns in which he embraced Confederate monuments and associated with white supremacists.
Source:Washington Post
December 15, 2018 21:23 UTC
Trump makes unannounced visit to Arlington National Cemetery
White House aides said it was impossible for the president to visit the cemetery because conditions were too bad for his helicopter to fly. Trump later berated outgoing White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly — who went to the cemetery — and Zach Fuentes, Kelly’s deputy, over the skipped trip. Trump did not visit Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day. He spent much of that day meeting with his lawyers, White House aides later said. “We’ll get great health care for our people, that’s a repeal and replace, handled a little bit differently, but it was a big, big victory by a highly respected judge, highly, highly respected in Texas,” Trump said.
Source:Washington Post
December 15, 2018 21:22 UTC
200 Nations Agree On Global Climate Pact Rules After Weeks Of Talks
KATOWICE, Poland, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Nearly 200 nations overcame political divisions on Saturday to agree on rules for implementing a landmark global climate deal but critics say itis not ambitious enough to prevent the dangerous effects of global warming. Before the talks started, many expected that the deal would not be as robust as is needed. The unity which underpinned the Paris talks has fragmented and U.S. President Donald Trump intends to pull his country - one of the world’s biggestemitters - out of the pact. “The majority of the rulebook for the Paris Agreement has been created, which is something to be thankful for,” said Mohamed Adow, international climate lead at Christian Aid. “The challenges will be with some of the bigger players in terms of stepping up to their responsibilities and what is required to truly operationalise the Paris Agreement,” he added.
Source:Huffington Post
December 15, 2018 21:22 UTC