TOP STORIES

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Wednesday, December 4

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THE CHARGES: ABUSE OF POWER, OBSTRUCTION President Donald Trump seriously misused the power of his office for personal political gain by seeking foreign intervention in the American election process and obstructed Congress by stonewalling efforts to investigate, a House report released Tuesday concluded in findings that form the basis for possible impeachment. [AP]

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BARR: DON'T RESPECT COPS? YOU MAY NOT BE PROTECTED  During a speech at the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Policing, U.S. Attorney General William Barr said that if some communities don’t begin showing more respect to law enforcement, then they could potentially not be protected by police officers. [HuffPost]

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ALL LEADING DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES NOW WHITE  What started out as the most diverse field of Democratic presidential candidates in history is quickly becoming a glaringly white one. Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.), the only Black woman in the race, announced Tuesday that she’s dropping out. [HuffPost]

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U.S. DIPLOMAT SAYS HE WAS FIRED FOR MENTIONING OBAMA A former U.S. diplomat says he was fired from his job as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in London just for mentioning Barack Obama in a speech. Lewis Lukens spent three decades in the U.S. foreign service but was fired in 2018. [HuffPost]

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GLOBAL CARBON EMISSIONS TO HIT ANOTHER RECORD HIGH Global carbon emissions will hit a record high once again in 2019, despite climate scientists warning louder than ever of impending environmental disaster, according to a study published Wednesday. [HuffPost]

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HOUSE APPROVES BILL DEMANDING UIGHUR SANCTIONS  The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would require the Trump administration to toughen its response to China’s crackdown on its Muslim minority, demanding sanctions on senior Chinese officials and export bans. [Reuters]

WHAT'S BREWING

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TRUMP BLASTS MACRON FOR 'NASTY' COMMENTS President Donald Trump on Tuesday took aim at President Emmanuel Macron over the French leader’s criticism of NATO, and criticized the other members of the military alliance for being too slow to beef up their defense budgets. [AP] 

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NUNES WAS IN CONTACT WITH GIULIANI, PARNAS The House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment report released Tuesday includes call records showing that the committee’s own ranking member, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), was privately in contact with key players in President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine that led to the impeachment inquiry. [HuffPost]

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ANOTHER ROYAL JUST APOLOGIZED FOR TIES TO EPSTEIN “I would never have had anything to do with Epstein if I had been aware of the seriousness of his criminal acts,” Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway said in a statement given to the Norwegian business daily Dagens Næringsliv. “I should have examined Epstein’s past more closely, and I regret that I did not.” [HuffPost]

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THE OFFENSES TRUMP WON'T BE IMPEACHED FOR Scholars are soon expected to offer a historical and legal definition of an impeachable act that clearly covers Trump’s effort to coerce Ukraine to aid his reelection campaign. But they’ll probably also provide ample argument that some of Trump’s other, most egregious acts in office could warrant impeachment on their own. [HuffPost]

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A CHINA CHALLENGE COULD PULL NATO TOGETHER The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is looking more disorganized than ever, but a major Pacific rival could help push them back together. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said this week that the alliance needed to start taking "into account that China is coming closer to us." [CNN]

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HOW MCKINSEY HELPED TRUMP DETAIN AND DEPORT MIGRANTS  Just days after he took office in 2017, President Donald Trump set out to make good on his campaign pledge to halt illegal immigration. In a pair of executive orders, he ordered “all legally available resources” to be shifted to border detention facilities and called for hiring 10,000 new immigration officers. [HuffPost]

BEFORE YOU GO

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• Here's why you keep waking up at the same time every night. 
• Chris Martin's "homophobic" past, and understanding sexuality. 
• Kim Petras has no time for Westboro Baptist Church's transphobia. 
• What to wear on a first date, according to science.
• Ariana Grande was the most-streamed female artist of the 2010s. 
• Trump mingles with royalty, minus Meghan Markle and Harry.
• Costco loyalists share the best holiday foods to buy up.
• Brad Pitt reveals why he went 20 years without crying. 
• Raw photos celebrate the beautiful messiness of postpartum life.
• Dwayne Johnson reveals why he waited to get married again. 
• Please don't buy your boss a gift.
• Shailene Woodley wore an oversize sleeping bag on the red carpet.
• "Black Widow" trailer gives Johansson her superhero close-up.
• The right order to follow when applying skincare products.
• 13 heartfelt wedding gift ideas when you're a broke-ass bridesmaid.

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