Author: Sunfire

Mail.com

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Park Geun-hye refused to testify Tuesday in the impeachment trial that will decide her future, prompting the prosecutors to question why she has publicly denied the charges of corruption but will not do so before the court.

After Park’s refusal, the Constitutional Court delayed the start of oral arguments and asked her to testify on Thursday, when some of her current and former aides are also scheduled to testify. The court cannot force her to appear but can proceed without her if she refuses twice to appear at the hearings.   Continue reading “SKorean president refuses to testify in impeachment trial”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Heart attacks and broken hips cause much suffering and worry as people grow older. This year, Medicare wants to start changing how it pays for treatment of these life-threatening conditions, to promote quality and contain costs. Beneficiaries and family members may notice a new approach.

Hospitals and doctors in dozens of communities selected for large-scale experiments on this front are already gearing up. The goal is to test the notion that better coordination among clinicians, hospitals, and rehab centers can head off complications, prevent avoidable hospital re-admissions and help patients achieve more stable and enduring recoveries. If results back that up, Medicare can adopt the changes nationwide.   Continue reading “Medicare launches revamp for heart attacks, hip fractures”

Mail.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s capital has emerged as a leading destination for Afghan refugees who were awarded special visas because of their service to coalition forces in the war. But life in the United States for them has proven a constant struggle.

These former translators, engineers and doctors awarded Special Immigrant Visas must start over in bug-infested, low-rent apartments with minimum-wage jobs while dealing with PTSD and other health problems, the Sacramento Bee reported (http://bit.ly/2hBy7yv).   Continue reading “Afghan refugees coming to California struggle with PTSD”

Mail.com

CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois law that takes effect Sunday aims to take advantage of the trusted relationship between hairstylists and their clients to prevent domestic violence. Stylists, barbers, cosmetologists, estheticians, hair braiders and nail technicians in Illinois will receive an hour of mandated abuse-prevention training as part of the licensing process. The law does not require them to report any violence, and it shelters them from any liability.

Instead, the training provides beauty professionals with information about local help and resources they can share with clients. The Illinois measure appears to be the first of its kind in the country, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.   Continue reading “Illinois law enlists hairstylists to prevent domestic abuse”

Mail.com

ATLANTA (AP) — When President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, Republicans will have the opportunity to pull off something they have wanted to do for years — overhaul Medicaid, the program that provides health care to tens of millions of lower-income and disabled Americans.

Any changes to the $500 billion-plus program hold enormous consequences not only for recipients but also for the states, which share in the cost. Trump initially said during the presidential campaign that he would not cut Medicaid, but later expressed support for an idea pushed for years by Republicans in Congress — sending a fixed amount of money each year to the states in the form of block grants. Backers say such a change in the Medicaid formula is one of the best ways to rein in spending, but critics say big cuts would follow.   Continue reading “With Trump’s victory, GOP hopes to overhaul Medicaid”

Mail.com

DETROIT (AP) — A major sinkhole has disrupted the holiday season in Fraser, a suburb of roughly 14,500 people about 15 miles north of downtown Detroit. Roads have been closed and about two dozen homes evacuated after the Christmas Eve sewer collapse. No injuries have been reported but inconveniences are many as crews begin a months-long process of assessing the damage, making repairs and determining the cause.   Continue reading “Sinkhole disrupts holiday season in Detroit suburb”

MSN

Tony Award–winning actor George S. Irving passed away Monday at age 94, Deadline reports. Famous for gruff, crotchety characters, Irving made his debut on Broadway in the chorus of Oklahoma!, and went on to perform in Call Me Mister, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Irene — for which he won a Tony Award and starred opposite Debbie Reynolds. (Coincidentally, that production also featured a 15-year-old Carrie Fisher, who also died this week.)   Continue reading “Tony Winning–Actor George S. Irving Dead at 94”

BCC News

The author of Watership Down, Richard Adams, has died aged 96, his daughter has said.

Juliet Johnson said her father had been “ailing for some time” but “died peacefully” on Christmas Eve.

Watership Down, a children’s classic about a group of rabbits in search of a new home after their warren was destroyed, was first published in 1972.   Continue reading “Watership Down author Richard Adams dies aged 96”

Mail.com

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Following a year of deadly confrontations between police and citizens across the U.S., police in Alaska’s capital city are spearheading a campaign to turn 2017 into a community-wide year of kindness.

Juneau police will kick off the campaign with public potlucks on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to encourage locals to commit daily acts of kindness and to reach out weekly to individuals outside their usual circles.   Continue reading “Police in Alaska capital city launch 2017 kindness campaign”

Mail.com

JERUSALEM (AP) — A senior Israeli Cabinet minister on Wednesday called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s planned Mideast policy speech a “pathetic step,” further heightening tensions between the two close allies as the Obama administration prepares to leave office.

The comments by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan were the latest salvo in a toxic exchange following the U.S.’s refusal to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution last week that called Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem a violation of international law. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed the resolution, and accused the U.S. of colluding with the Palestinians in drawing it up.   Continue reading “Israel Cabinet minister calls Kerry speech ‘pathetic’”

RT

Six inmates at the Cocke County Jail escaped custody after removing a toilet from its bearings and climbing through the hole in the floor, according to local reports. Two escapees have been captured.

Early on December 25, the six inmates exploited rusted bolts holding down a toilet of a county jail cell in downtown Newport, Tennessee, and escaped, according to the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office.    Continue reading “Christmas jail break: Inmates escape Tennessee prison after removing cell toilet”

Mail.com

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid wreaths at various cemeteries and memorials Monday ahead of a visit to the site of the 1941 bombing that plunged the United States into World War II.

Abe landed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and then headed to National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, where he laid a wreath. He stood for a moment of silence at the cemetery near downtown Honolulu, which is known as Punchbowl.   Continue reading “Japanese prime minister lays wreaths at Hawaii cemeteries”

Mail.com

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — While lawyers desperately tried to restore the impeached South Korean president’s powers, politics advanced without her Tuesday as parties and potential candidates postured for elections that could take place in just months.

Dozens of lawmakers split from the conservative ruling party and likely will try to create a party fielding outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as its presidential candidate. Ban’s potential rivals reacted by questioning his presidential credentials and touting their own ideas, including significant policy changes in regard with relations with nuclear-armed North Korea and allies United States and Japan.   Continue reading “South Korean ruling party splits over impeached president”

RT

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles has erected a major hazard on Uber’s road towards autonomous vehicles. Registration for the rideshare company’s self-driving cars was revoked after citizens expressed safety concerns.

Uber’s pilot project to test autonomous cars lasted a single week before being challenged. On Wednesday, the company was forced to pull its self-driving cars off of San Francisco’s streets following several reports of cars taking dangerous and illegal right turns through bicycle lanes.   Continue reading “California DMV brings self-driving Uber pilot to screeching stop”

Mail.com

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — One of President-elect Donald Trump’s sons will stop directly raising money for his namesake foundation, saying he worries the donations could be perceived as buying access to his father.

Eric Trump said Wednesday that it pained him to cease soliciting donations for his organization, which he says has raised more than $15 million for terminally ill children with cancer. The foundation came under scrutiny recently after posting an online auction for coffee with his sister Ivanka.   Continue reading “Amid scrutiny, Eric Trump to stop raising money for charity”

Mail.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Despite being held in custody, looking frail and getting rolled into court in a pink wheelchair, New York real estate heir Robert Durst is considered a danger to witnesses in the murder case against him, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Citing his $100 million worth and allegations that Durst knocked off his best friend, who was a witness in the 1982 disappearance of his wife, Deputy District Attorney John Lewin said he wants to record video of testimony in case witnesses die or are killed before trial.   Continue reading “DA: Durst a danger to witnesses despite being frail, in jail”

Mail.com

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A supposedly bipartisan deal to repeal North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law collapsed when both sides balked and started blaming each other, likely meaning the state will remain a pariah shunned by corporations, entertainers and high-profile sporting events.

After more than nine hours of backroom discussions and sporadic public effort, Republican state legislators quit trying to repeal the law called House Bill 2 and went home Wednesday night. The law omits gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from state anti-discrimination protections, bars local governments from passing broad non-discrimination ordinances covering them, and orders transgender people to use bathrooms and showers that align with their sex at birth.   Continue reading “Deep divide stops effort to repeal North Carolina LGBT law”

RT

The US Navy’s Zumwalt-class destroyer is yet another military project suffering from cost ballooning and performance issues created by a flawed procurement system that encourages such creations, the conservative National Review magazine wrote.

The Zumwalt project, or DDG-1000, was touted as an advanced stealth warship for the 21st century, capable of dominating the world’s maritime zones for decades to come. Of the planned 32 ships, 29 have been canceled due to ever-increasing cost blowouts.  Continue reading “‘Unmitigated disaster’: US Navy’s Zumwalt destroyer project blasted as wasteful & incapable”