John Lewis, Congressman and Civil Rights Icon, Has Pancreatic Cancer

By BY EMILY COCHRANE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Q8dTO8

Bill Barr Thinks America Is Going to Hell

By BY KATHERINE STEWART AND CAROLINE FREDRICKSON from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2SBnazG

The Presidential Nominating Process Is Absurd

By BY DAVID LEONHARDT from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2MFgEEt

Wikipedia article of the day for December 30, 2019

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 30, 2019 is The Turn of the Screw (2009 film).
The Turn of the Screw is a British television film based on Henry James's 1898 ghost story of the same name. Commissioned and produced by the BBC, it was first broadcast on 30 December 2009, on BBC One. The novella was adapted for the screen by Sandy Welch, and the film was directed by Tim Fywell. Although generally true to the tone and story of James's work, the film is set in the 1920s instead of the 1840s. The story is told in flashbacks during consultations between the institutionalised Ann, played by Michelle Dockery (pictured), and a psychiatrist, Dr Fisher (Dan Stevens). Ann tells how she was hired by an aristocrat (Mark Umbers) to care for the orphans Miles (Josef Lindsay) and Flora (Eva Sayer) at their home, Bly House. Ann soon begins to see unknown figures around the manor, and seeks an explanation. Though the film generally received a positive response, critics disagreed over whether it retained the novella's much-discussed ambiguity.

McDonald's workers assist woman after she mouths 'help me' in drive-through

A woman was able to escape from a life-threatening situation on Christmas Eve thanks to the quick thinking of McDonald’s employees.

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Japan's public broadcaster incorrectly alerted people that North Korea had fired a missile, feared to be Kim Jong Un's long awaited 'Christmas gift' to the US

A North Korean official warned on December 3 "it is entirely up to the US what Christmas gift it will select" if it didn't seriously engage in talks.

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Elizabeth Warren shakes up campaign style with more candid events, but still shies away from attacks

"I've just tried to change the proportion, so I just get more opportunity to hear what's top of mind for people," Elizabeth Warren told reporters.

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Families of Soldiers Fallen or Wounded in Afghanistan Sue Contractors for Allegedly Paying Protection Money to Taliban

Families of 143 American troops and contractors killed or wounded in Afghanistan have sued U.S. and international contractors involved in Afghan reconstruction projects for allegedly paying protection money to the Taliban.The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court, claims certain contracting companies often paid the Taliban through subcontractors, which allowed the the companies to save money on security personnel. The Taliban then used the money, according to the lawsuit, to fund attacks on other companies that didn't make payments to the insurgent group."The defendants are large corporations that had lucrative businesses in Afghanistan," said Joshua Branson, a lawyer for the case, in a statement to the Wall Street Journal. "Those protection payments, as alleged, redirected attacks away from the defendants’ own interests while financing a terrorist insurgency that killed and injured thousands of Americans, including our clients."It has been widely known for years that money from American defense contractors has found its way to local Afghan warlords in the wake of the U.S. invasion of the country. A 2010 congressional investigation found that funds from Pentagon-backed contractors were fueling a "protection racket" by bribing local officials and possibly Taliban members in exchange for safe passage of goods.No U.S. or international companies have been successfully prosecuted for aiding the Taliban. The current lawsuit is a civil suit, which will enable a conviction if prosecutors can convince a jury of a preponderance of evidence in their favor, as opposed to a criminal suit which requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt.The war in Afghanistan, now 18 years old, came under increased scrutiny after the Washington Post published a trove of documents it dubbed the "Afganistan Papers." The records are from a federal investigation into the war effort and contain reflections of U.S. officials and troops in which they express doubts about the success of the war and the clarity of the military's mission. The officials also indicated the U.S. repeatedly misrepresented progress in the war to the government and the American people.The U.S. has been attempting peace negotiations with the Taliban, but talks have proceeded slowly as insurgents have continued to attack American targets.

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U.S. Denies Seeking 20% Troop Funding Boost From South Korea

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. denied a report that it’s demanding South Korea pay as much as 20% more to host American troops, as funding talks between the two nations continue.The 10%-20% figure referred to in Korean media is “ungrounded speculation,” a Trump administration official said by email. U.S. negotiators will seek a “fair and equitable” outcome at the next round of talks in early January, the official said.Last month, U.S. negotiators walked out of a meeting on troop funding in Seoul after South Korea balked at a $5 billion price tag for hosting U.S. troops -- a fivefold increase. Citing a diplomatic source it didn’t identify, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported earlier this week that the White House had dropped that demand after receiving assurances Seoul would purchase more American weapons. The increase may now be about 10%-20% above the current level of nearly $1 billion, the newspaper said.The deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement, technically expires at the end of this year. But both sides are likely to agree to some sort of temporary extension as they negotiate, allowing for the continued operations of about 28,500 U.S. military personnel on the peninsula.The talks with South Korea could affect other countries that host U.S. troops, as the Trump administration is seeking funding increases from other American allies.To contact the reporter on this story: Kanga Kong in Seoul at kkong50@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Edward Johnson, Tom RedmondFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein Associate, under FBI Investigation

Reuters reports that the FBI has opened an investigation into several associates of late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, including his longtime friend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of being complicit in the financier's underage-sex trafficking ring.Maxwell, 58, is a former girlfriend of the wealthy financier who remained in his circle and is accused by multiple women of helping Epstein find underage girls to have sex with. The British socialite has not been criminally charged, and she has denied all allegations.One of Epstein's accusers, Virginia Giuffre, has alleged in a civil lawsuit that Maxwell lured her to the billionaire financier and forced her to have sex with Epstein as well as British Prince Andrew.The British royal family said any interview with Prince Andrew would be “a matter for the FBI.”Epstein, 66, was found dead by apparent suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in August, shortly after he was arrested and charged with sex trafficking underage girls as young as 14 from 2002 to 2005. His death sparked a Justice Department investigation and came a day after court documents were unsealed detailing the allegations against billionaire. Epstein had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him before his death.“Any co-conspirators should not rest easy,” Attorney General William Barr said in August of the ongoing investigation.Maxwell, the daughter of late British media heavyweight Robert Maxwell, has been spotted in various locations since Epstein's death, including a Los Angeles shopping mall.

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