Does Anyone Know What to Make of Obama’s Sanctions?

The president’s move to punish Russia has scrambled partisan lines. By David A. Graham.
Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/the-disparate-reactions-to-obamas-sanctions/511910/?source=Snapzu

7,000 people homeless in Ireland including 2,549 children in emergency accomodation

An "unprecedented" 7,000 people are now homeless in Ireland, with one family losing their home every day last month and a shocking 2,549 children now living in emergency accommodation, writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith and Joyce Fegan. The Department of Housing confirmed the situation yesterday amid opposition party claims Government is trying to "bury bad news" during the New Year's Eve celebrations.
Read more: http://feeds.breakingnews.ie/~r/bnireland/~3/dJHHvZrpKqo/7000-people-homeless-in-ireland-including-2549-children-in-emergency-accomodation-770498.html?source=Snapzu

Huge fire ripped through Titanic before it struck iceberg, fresh evidence suggests

The sinking of the largest ship ever built, the Titanic, may owe as much to a enormous fire onboard as it did to a gigantic iceberg, it has been claimed. The doomed vessel, which measured more than 880ft long and 100ft tall, went down with the loss of more than 1500 lives on April 15, 1912 during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/31/huge-fire-ripped-titanic-struck-iceberg-fresh-evidence-suggests/?source=Snapzu

David Fahrenthold tells the behind-the-scenes story of his year covering Trump

“Arnold and Tim, if you’d come up, we’re going to give you a nice, beautiful check,” Donald Trump said. He held up an oversize check, the kind they give to people who win golf tournaments. It was for $100,000. In the top-left corner the check said: “The Donald J. Trump Foundation.” Along the bottom, it had the slogan of Trump’s presidential campaign: “Make America Great Again.” This was in February. The beginning of it.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/david-fahrenthold-tells-the-behind-the-scenes-story-of-his-year-covering-trump/2016/12/27/299047c4-b510-11e6-b8df-600bd9d38a02_story.html?source=Snapzu

Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher to be buried together

Debbie Reynolds' son said Friday his mother and sister, actress Carrie Fisher, will have a joint funeral and will be buried together. Todd Fisher said the actresses will be interred at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills, the final resting place of numerous celebrities, including Lucille Ball, Dick Van Patten, Liberace, Florence Henderson, David Carradine and Bette Davis.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ce020c758af343e3bfc546e56b2d232a/debbie-reynolds-and-carrie-fisher-be-buried-together?source=Snapzu

Something About This Russia Story Stinks

Nearly a decade and a half after the Iraq-WMD faceplant, the American press is again asked to co-sign a dubious intelligence assessment. By Matt Taibbi.
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/something-about-this-russia-story-stinks-w458439?source=Snapzu

Russia Hysteria Infects WashPost Again

False Story About Hacking U.S. Electric Grid. By Glenn Greenwald.
Read more: https://theintercept.com/2016/12/31/russia-hysteria-infects-washpost-again-false-story-about-hacking-u-s-electric-grid/?source=Snapzu

The neo-Nazi murder trial revealing Germany’s darkest secrets

The only known survivor of a far-right group accused of a series of racist killings is now on trial. But the case has put the nation itself in the dock. By Thomas Meaney and Saskia Schäfer. (Dec. 15, 2016)
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/15/neo-nazi-murders-revealing-germanys-darkest-secrets?CMP=fb_gu?source=Snapzu

The train companies pocket millions in compensation for delays

Here’s a shocking fact for those of you who (like me) shivered on freezing platforms when their train was cancelled or delayed over the so-called festive period. The train operating companies can actually make a nice little profit out of your distress, so they have almost no incentive to improve the service.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2016/dec/31/train-companies-pocket-millions-delays?source=Snapzu

The Year in Housing: The Middle Class Can’t Afford to Live in Cities Anymore

Cities are increasingly populated by lower-income people in subsidized housing and high income people prepared to pay $3,500 a month for a one-bedroom.
Read more: https://www.wired.com/2016/12/year-housing-middle-class-cant-afford-live-cities-anymore/?source=Snapzu

Kids Ages 4, 5 and 6 Allegedly Locked in Room for Months and May Have Eaten Paint to Survive: Prosecutors

Prosecutors say three young children in rural Pennsylvania are lucky to be alive after police recently rescued them from a locked room in their home where they’d allegedly been kept for three months — wasting away — with no heat and little food. “The door to the room was locked from the outside and the paint on the wall was peeled off at the height of the kids,” Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico tells PEOPLE. “We theorize they’d been peeling it off in order to eat it.”
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/young-kids-allegedly-kept-locked-165142078.html?source=Snapzu

Where Does Alzheimer's Treatment Go From Here?

The failure of an experimental drug that targets clumps of protein inside the brains of Alzheimer's patients called into question one of the leading theories about the cause of the dementia.
Read more: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/12/29/506592761/where-does-alzheimer-s-treatment-go-from-here?source=Snapzu

High Demand, Low Supply: Colorado River Water Crisis Hits Across The West

The Colorado River is like a giant bank account for seven different states. Now it's running short. For decades, the river has fed growing cities from Denver to Los Angeles. A lot of the produce in supermarkets across the country was grown with Colorado River water. But with climate change, and severe drought, the river is reaching a crisis point, and communities at each end of it are reacting very differently.
Read more: http://www.npr.org/2016/12/30/507569514/high-demand-low-supply-colorado-river-water-crisis-hits-across-the-west?source=Snapzu

Brazil policeman confesses to killing Greek ambassador: TV report

A Rio de Janeiro policeman confessed to murdering Greece's ambassador to Brazil in what investigators on Friday called a "cowardly act" carried out at the direction of the diplomat's Brazilian wife with whom the officer was romantically involved. Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis, 59, was missing since Monday night. Françoise, his Brazilian wife and the mother of their 10-year-old daughter, reported him missing to police on Wednesday.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-greece-diplomacy-idUSKBN14J1BL?il=0?source=Snapzu

How Obama Failed Black Americans

The country’s first black president never pursued policies bold enough to close the racial wealth gap. By William A. Darity, Jr.
Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/how-barack-obama-failed-black-americans/511358/?source=Snapzu

Canada Takes Next Step Toward National Marijuana Legalization

Even as voters in more U.S. states approved legalized recreational marijuana this November – and 28 states have legalized medical marijuana – the federal government still lists marijuana as an illegal drug. However, just north of the border, Canadian leaders have started moving in the opposite direction. Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada and leader of the Liberal Party, created a committee in the summer of 2016 to look into the issues surrounding making marijuana legal for recreational use across the entire country.
Read more: http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Canada-Takes-Next-Step-Toward-National-Marijuana-10824971.php?source=Snapzu

Donald Trump is technology's befuddled (but dangerous) grandfather

Technology? Bah humbug: “I think we ought to get on with our lives,” said Donald Trump on Wednesday, summing up his take on the complex problem of apparently Russian phishing attacks on multiple Democratic party groups during the 2016 election. As the White House’s current resident prepared to impose sanctions on Russia for hacking, Trump said: “I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly. The whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what’s going on.”
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/30/donald-trump-technology-computers-cyber-hacks-surveillance?source=Snapzu

Californians Not Liable For Saving Animals Trapped In Hot Cars

A new law in 2017 could help save animals trapped in hot unattended vehicles. Californians won’t have to worry about being sued or arrested for breaking into a hot unattended car to rescue an animal under a new law taking effect in 2017. It takes just 10 minutes on an 80 degree day for temperatures inside a car to reach 120 degrees. Most people say if they saw a distressed animal trapped inside a parked car on a hot day they would take action to save it.
Read more: http://www.capradio.org/articles/2016/12/30/californians-not-liable-for-saving-animals-trapped-in-hot-cars/#.WGafKvPszeE.twitter?source=Snapzu

You're not imagining it: 2016 actually IS longer. Here's why

With the New Year just around the corner, it might feel to some like 2016 is dragging a bit -- and in fact, we'd like to remind you that 2016 will, in fact, be just a tick longer than usual. And by 'tick', we mean that literally. A single 'leap second' will be added to the world's clocks at 23:59:59 p.m. UTC on December 31 (or about 6:59:59 p.m. EST), according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, which announced the change earlier this year.
Read more: https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/2016-will-be-one-leap-second-longer-heres-why/69879/?source=Snapzu

Body found in burnt-out car in Rio 'believed to be Greek ambassador'

Brazilian police suspect a body discovered inside a charred vehicle in Rio de Janeiro is Greece’s ambassador to Brazil who went missing three days ago, it has been reported. A police spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment on the report by TV channel Globo. Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis, 59, was last seen on Monday evening leaving the home of friends of his Brazilian wife in a suburb of Rio’s metropolitan area, police had said earlier on Thursday. A state police official said the ambassador’s wife reported him as missing on Wednesday.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/30/kyriakos-amiridis-body-car-rio-greek-ambassador-brazil?source=Snapzu

Hundreds attend funeral of Polish truck driver killed in Berlin

Polish President Andrzej Duda and hundreds of mourners on Friday attended the funeral of Lukasz Urban, the Polish truck driver who was killed and his vehicle used to crash into a Berlin Christmas market last week. The 37-year-old father of a teenaged boy was among 12 people killed in the attack claimed by Islamic State. Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office said on Thursday Urban had died shortly before the attack and forensic tests were needed...
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-truck-poland-funeral-idUSKBN14J1G9?source=Snapzu

The Guardian’s Summary of Julian Assange’s Interview Went Viral and Was Completely False

Those who want to combat Fake News should stop aggressively spreading it when it suits their agenda. Julian Assange is a deeply polarizing figure. Many admire him and many despise him (into which category one falls in any given year typically depends on one’s feelings about the subject of his most recent publication of leaked documents). But one’s views of Assange are completely irrelevant to this article, which is not about Assange. This article, instead, is about a report published this week by The Guardian that recklessly attributed to Assange comments that he did not make.
Read more: https://theintercept.com/2016/12/29/the-guardians-summary-of-julian-assanges-interview-went-viral-and-was-completely-false/?source=Snapzu

BREAKING: Passenger plane grounded after bomb alert MID-AIR

Police and emergency services rushed to the scene. EnterAir flight B737 from Las Palmas to Warsaw was forced to land in Prague after the incident. Police later confirmed they "neutralised" the suspect and all 160 passengers were safely evacuated.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/574168/passenger-plane-bomb-alert-Prague-Spain-grounded-flight-terror-fears-ISIS?source=Snapzu

White House fails to make case that Russian hackers tampered with election

US issued JAR billed itself as an indictment that would prove Russian involvement. By Dan Goodin.
Read more: http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/12/did-russia-tamper-with-the-2016-election-bitter-debate-likely-to-rage-on/?source=Snapzu

How to Become a Famous Media Scholar: The Case of Marshall McLuhan

Jefferson Pooley on the unlikely career of Marshall McLuhan, and the Luddite message of “The Mechanical Bride.”
Read more: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/become-famous-media-scholar-case-marshall-mcluhan/#!?source=Snapzu

Girl denied a horse is udderly charmed by bareback cow jumping instead

When 11-year-old Hannah Simpson was told she couldn’t have a horse because it was too expensive, she decided to jump on the next best thing instead – a dairy cow. Now 18, Simpson and her seven-year-old Swiss Brown “best friend” Lilac have become a regular sight on their daily rides on the outskirts of the South Island town of Invercargill, in New Zealand’s deep south.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/29/girl-denied-a-horse-is-udderly-charmed-by-bareback-cow-jumping-instead?source=Snapzu

Watch Where You Click: From Today The Government Is Logging All Of Your Internet Activity

Oh! You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout - I'm telling you why: Draconian bulk data collection is coming to Britain. They're making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice, because the government is legally mandating ISPs to log your internet activity from today. They see you when you're sleeping, they know when you're awake, they know if you've been bad or good, so surrender your civil liberties for goodness sake!
Read more: http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2016/12/watch-where-you-click-from-today-the-government-is-logging-all-of-your-internet-activity/?source=Snapzu

On the trail of the Man in the Iron Mask

Trying to discover the identity of the man in the iron mask. By David Coward.
Read more: http://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/unmasked/?source=Snapzu

Nevada’s new gun background check law ends before it begins

A new Nevada law requiring background checks for private party gun sales was deemed unenforceable Wednesday, days before it was to take effect because the FBI refuses to conduct them and the state lacks authority to do so. The opinion issued by the office of Republican Attorney General Adam Laxalt left gun enthusiasts elated and proponents of background checks reeling from the blow of another setback — the second since 2013 when a bill requiring universal screenings was passed by the Legislature but vetoed by Gov. Brian Sandoval.
Read more: http://www.reviewjournal.com/local/nevada/nevada-s-new-gun-background-check-law-ends-it-begins?source=Snapzu

Maragaret Thatcher planned to spray cocaine plants with deadly bugs

Secret plans to sabotage cocaine production abroad by introducing plant-destroying pests were discussed as the Government waged war on drugs, newly released official files reveal. Margaret Thatcher described the idea, which was proposed by Lord Victor Rothschild in July 1989, as a “characteristically brilliant” and “intriguing” way of tackling the growing “crack problem”.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/margaret-thatcher-letters-cocaine-spray-plant-killing-pests-production-war-on-drugs-prime-minister-a7500121.html?source=Snapzu

Thirty things you didn't know about the EU referendum

A review of five of the best EU referendum books offers up some surprising insights into the campaigns and landmark vote. By Andrew Sparrow.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2016/dec/22/thirty-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-eu-referendum?source=Snapzu

Virginia lawmaker proposes bill to declare porn a ‘public health hazard’

A Virginia lawmaker has filed a bill that would declare pornography a public health hazard in Virginia. State Delegate Bob Marshall, (R-Prince William), proposed the bill that says porn leads to social problems, such as hypersexualization of teenagers and normalizes violence and abuse of women and children. The bill does not call for a porn ban, only the need for education, research, and policy change to address the “public health crisis.”
Read more: http://kfor.com/2016/12/30/virginia-lawmaker-proposes-bill-to-declare-porn-a-public-health-hazard/?source=Snapzu

Your App Isn’t Helping The People Of Saudi Arabia

On March 15, 2002, 15 Saudi girls burned to death inside their school in Mecca. They were not trapped by fallen debris, or unaccounted for by firefighters. The mutaween, Saudi Arabia’s religious police, would not allow the girls to leave their burning school because they were not covering their hair or wearing their abayas... By Felix Biederman.
Read more: http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/your-app-isnt-helping-the-people-of-saudi-arabia-1790198445?source=Snapzu

China announces ban on ivory trade by end of 2017

China announces a ban on all ivory trade and processing activities by the end of 2017.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-38470861?source=Snapzu

The NYPD just made turbans part of their official police uniform

Sikh officers in the New York Police Department (NYPD) will now be allowed to wear their turbans while on duty. A navy blue turban with a badge will replace the traditional cap worn by other personnel – but wearers will need approval from senior officers. “We want to make the NYPD as diverse as possible, and I think this is going to go a long way to help us with that,” the NYPD Commissioner, James O’Neill, announced.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/new-york-police-sikh-nypd-officers-turbans-on-duty-facial-hair-beards-allowances-a7500106.html?source=Snapzu

Considering the Ankara Assassination Photos As History Painting

What makes these pictures so different from all of the other pictures of death that we see? By Jerry Saltz.
Read more: http://www.vulture.com/2016/12/those-harrowing-ankara-assassination-photos.html?source=Snapzu

Man Given 3-Year Sentence for Insulting Putin

A Kazakh man was given a three-year sentence in a penal colony after he was found guilty of insulting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Facebook. Sanat Dosov, 46, is believed to have been arrested in August, which is when he stopped posting on Facebook. Kazakh criminal law says one cannot incite “social, national, generic, racial, class, or religious hatred” and is prohibited from insulting “the national honor and dignity of religious feelings of citizens.”
Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/12/29/man-given-3-year-sentence-for-insulting-putin.html?source=Snapzu

Duterte: Obama an intellectual who shouldn't have become president

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday once again took shots at Barack Obama, dismissing the United States President as an "intellectual" who had no business being in politics. Current top breaking Philippine headlines regarding the nation, world, metro manila, regions and exclusive special investigative reports.
Read more: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/594098/news/nation/duterte-obama-an-intellectual-who-shouldn-t-have-become-president?source=Snapzu

“Enough Is Better Than a Feast”: Christmas Dinner in the Time of the Great Depression

The authors Andrew Coe and Jane Ziegelman prepare a meal based on their research into what Americans ate in years of privation. By Talia Lavin.
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/enough-is-better-than-a-feast-christmas-dinner-in-the-time-of-the-great-depression?source=Snapzu

Drowning the World in Oil

Trump’s Carbon-Obsessed Energy Policy and the Planetary Nightmare to Come. By Michael T. Klare.
Read more: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176222/tomgram:_michael_klare%2C_donald_trump%27s_energy_nostalgia_and_the_path_to_hell/?source=Snapzu

Uber driver saves 16-year-old girl from sex trafficking

For Uber driver Keith Avila, Monday's shift in Sacramento, California started out like any other — but ended with him helping save a 16-year-old girl from child sex trafficking. Avila said he picked up two women and the teen and drove them to a Holiday Inn in nearby Elk Grove, California. While in the car, the women openly talked about delivering the girl to a "John" and getting money from him. Once Avila dropped them off at the hotel, he called the police.
Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/uber-driver-saves-16-year-old-girl-sex-trafficking-n701241?source=Snapzu

Serena Williams engaged to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian

Tennis great Serena Williams and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian are engaged. A spokesperson for Ohanian confirmed that he popped the question while the two were vacationing in Rome. Williams first announced the news herself in a Reddit post on its "r/isaidyes" forum. "I came home/A little late/Someone had a bag packed for me/And a carriage awaited" Williams said in her Reddit post, which was written like a poem and had a cartoon of the couple at the top.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/29/entertainment/serena-williams-engaged-alexis-ohanian/index.html?source=Snapzu

US expels 35 Russian diplomats, closes two compounds

In the wake of cyberattacks linked to the US election, 35 Russian diplomats have been expelled from the United States. A Kremlin spokesperson has said Moscow was now considering retaliatory measures. US President Barack Obama announced Thursday that two Russian compounds in Maryland and New York, used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related activities, will be closed. Access to the compounds will be denied to all Russian diplomats as of noon on Friday, "The New York Times" reported.
Read more: http://www.dw.com/p/2V1pB?maca=en-reddit-sharing?source=Snapzu

Trump’s Transition Team Is Stacked With Privatization Enthusiasts

If these officials get their way, America’s schools, roads, prisons, immigrant-detention centers, and critical social-insurance programs will soon fall into private hands. By David Dayen.
Read more: https://www.thenation.com/article/trumps-transition-team-is-stacked-with-privatization-enthusiasts/?source=Snapzu

Privacy Win: Once More EU Court Rejects Data Retention

The highest court in Europe ruled this week that "general and indiscriminate" data retention directives are against European Union law. This is a great victory for our right to privacy. It calls into question many recent surveillance laws passed by European Union member states such as the United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany.
Read more: https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/eu-ruling-data-retention?source=Snapzu

Will We Miss Our Last Chance to Save the World From Climate Change?

Will We Miss Our Last Chance to Save the World From Climate Change? By Jeff Goodell, with James Hansen.
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/will-we-miss-our-last-chance-to-survive-climate-change-w456917?source=Snapzu

After states legalized medical marijuana, traffic deaths fell

Legalization of medical marijuana is not linked with increased traffic fatalities, a new study finds. In some states, in fact, the number of people killed in traffic accidents dropped after medical marijuana laws were enacted. “Instead of seeing an increase in fatalities, we saw a reduction, which was totally unexpected,” said Julian Santaella-Tenorio, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.
Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-marijuana-traffic-death-idUKKBN14H1LQ?source=Snapzu

California Democrats legalize child prostitution

Beginning on Jan. 1, prostitution by minors will be legal in California. Yes, you read that right. SB 1322 bars law enforcement from arresting sex workers who are under the age of 18 for soliciting or engaging in prostitution, or loitering with the intent to do so. So teenage girls (and boys) in California will soon be free to have sex in exchange for money without fear of arrest or prosecution.
Read more: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/california-democrats-legalize-child-prostitution/article/2610540?source=Snapzu

Ban on local plastic bag bans now Michigan law

The bill to ban local governments from banning plastic bags and other disposable containers is now Michigan law, as it was signed by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley on Wednesday afternoon. The bill moves to preempt local governments from putting in place ordinances disallowing or placing fees on disposable containers. That would affect Washtenaw County, which planned to start enforcing a 10-cent charge on paper and plastic grocery bags in 2017.
Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/12/ban_on_local_plastic_bag_bans.html?source=Snapzu

Trump's EPA Pick Rouses Suspicions Over Ties to Koch Brothers

Scott Pruitt is under fire for his supposed ties to a nonprofit controlled by billionaire oil tycoons, Charles and David Koch. By Lorraine Chow.
Read more: http://www.ecowatch.com/pruitt-koch-brothers-2168374155.html?source=Snapzu