Dec 20 Pentagon scrambles to devise Syria exit amid outrage about abrupt pullout By Robert Burns, Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press The Pentagon, roiled first by the surprise withdrawal order from Trump and then the abrupt resignation of Mattis, offered no information about how the withdrawal will happen or how long it will take, apparently because they don't know. Continue reading
Dec 20 Watch 5:18 News Wrap: Stocks tank again amid rising interest rates, potential government shutdown In our news wrap Thursday, Wall Street plunged again amid slumping tech stocks, rising interest rates and fears of an impending government shutdown. The Dow Jones was down 464 points, the Nasdaq dropped 108 and the S&P 500 slid 39. Continue watching
Dec 20 Watch 6:11 DOJ says Chinese hackers compromised sensitive data The Department of Justice has indicted two Chinese hackers for infiltrating U.S. companies and government agencies and stealing vast amounts of sensitive data to help Chinese companies compete with their American counterparts. John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security,… Continue watching
Dec 20 Watch 8:27 Why Iraq's biblical paradise is becoming a salty wasteland By Jane Ferguson In addition to recovering and rebuilding after a brutal war with ISIS, Iraq is facing a dire water shortage. Levels in the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have plummeted, in part because neighboring Turkey built a dam upstream that restricts the… Continue watching
Dec 20 Trump announces Defense Secretary Mattis will retire in February By Zeke Miller, Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press The announcement came a day after Trump surprised U.S. allies and members of Congress by announcing the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Syria, and as he continues to consider shrinking the American deployment in Afghanistan. Continue reading
Dec 20 Drones just shut down a busy UK airport, and there's little to stop them By Kelvin Chan, Associated Press The number of close calls between drones and aircraft has increased dramatically in recent years as the popularity of drones has soared. Continue reading
Dec 20 Yemeni mom overcame travel ban to hold her dying son in U.S. By Julie Watson, Paul Elias, Associated Press After a more than year-long legal battle with the Trump administration for a travel ban waiver, Shaima Swileh arrived Wednesday night to say goodbye to her 2-year-old son Abdullah. Continue reading
Dec 20 Putin claims U.S. actions are raising the threat of nuclear war By Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir said that if the U.S. puts intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia will be forced to take countermeasures. Continue reading
Dec 20 Can Germany revive its stalled transition to clean energy? By Paul Hockenos, Yale Environment 360 Although Germany has been a global leader in moving to decarbonize its massive economy, the country’s ambitious clean-energy transformation is faltering. Continue reading
Dec 20 AP fact check: Trump prematurely declares victory over Islamic State group By Philip Issa, Associated Press President Donald Trump is declaring victory over the Islamic State group in Syria, but the militants remain a deadly force, and U.S. partners warn a premature U.S. withdrawal will allow them to storm back. Here's a look at the president's… Continue reading