5 people shot to death in small Illinois town Five people are dead and one injured as a result of a shooting in the tiny southern Illinois town of Manchester, the mayor confirmed in a television interview on Wednesday."We got five confirmed fatalities, one wounded and in the hospital, and the shooter's been apprehended," Mayor Ronald Drake said in an interview on the St. More
Six politicians plead not guilty in alleged NYC mayor's race plot New York State Sen. Malcolm Smith and five other politicians pleaded not guilty Tuesday to corruption charges in connection with an alleged plot to buy a line on New York City's mayoral ballot. The allegations revived public concerns about a documented culture of exploitation in Albany that has prompted officials to seek legal recourse to induce change. More
Sinkhole swallows three cars on Chicago's South Side A driver was hospitalized Thursday after a large sinkhole opened up in the middle of the street and swallowed three cars on Chicago's South Side, police said. The injured man was driving when the road buckled and caved in at 9600 South Houston Avenue near the Chicago Skyway, Chicago Police Department spokesman Mike Sullivan told NBCChicago.com. More
Wild weather: Floods, snow, tornadoes hit central USA Middle America was overwhelmed by weather Thursday, with snow in the north, tornadoes in the Plains, and torrential rains that caused floods and transportation woes - and a sinkhole in Chicago. More
“Vice President Kamala Harris has told close allies and family members she is disappointed in President Biden’s recent contention that he would have won the 2024 election, straining relations between the two during their final days in the White House,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Harris has been reluctant to distance herself from Biden or criticize him throughout her vice presidency.
New York Times: “Today, Panama holds special strategic significance for China because of the canal, but Beijing has been working to expand its influence in Latin America, and among developing countries more broadly. It has portrayed itself as an alternative to what it calls American hegemony and bullying, casting itself as a more sympathetic, fellow developing country.”
“And with significant investments in port construction worldwide, China is positioning itself to influence global commerce and monitor international activities.”
Peter Baker: “The long-sought, tortuously negotiated Gaza ceasefire deal announced on Wednesday came about in part through a remarkable collaboration between President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, who temporarily put aside mutual animosity to achieve a mutual goal.”
“The two presidents directed their advisers to work together to push Israel and Hamas over the finish line for an agreement to halt the fighting that has ravaged Gaza and release hostages who have been held there for 15 months.
“Treasury and other law enforcement officials told lawmakers Wednesday that Chinese hackers gained access to more than 3,000 unclassified agency files as part of a cybersecurity breach last year,” Politico reports.
“The Trump transition is attempting to remove US attorneys immediately by replacing them with interim leaders who’d be aligned with the president-elect’s priorities,“ Bloomberg Law reports.
“Transition staffers have been working to identify existing career prosecutors in many of the nation’s 93 law enforcement districts who they’d feel confident would support the president-elect’s law enforcement priorities—including deportations—once elevated as acting US attorneys, said the attorneys.”