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| White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has been interviewed by Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation team, CNN reports. Kelly responded to questions from special counsel investigators after White House lawyers initially objected to Mueller’s request to do the interview earlier this summer, according to CNN. Kelly is expected to leave his position in the coming days, as he is reportedly no longer on speaking terms with President Donald Trump. The questions for Kelly centered on an incident that occurred following the publication of a New York Times reportthat said the president had tried to fire Mueller, CNN reports. Trump was reportedly angry at former White House counsel Don McGahn’s refusal to publicly deny the reporting. The special counsel wanted Kelly to try to corroborate McGahn’s version of events, CNN reported. Kelly didn’t join the White House until July 2017. A majority of Mueller’s other interviews have been with people associated with the Trump campaign or who served early on in the administration. |
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| Ammon Bundy, the former anti-government militia leader, shut down his social-media accounts this week after receiving harsh backlash for a video he posted denouncing President Trump’s rhetoric against the migrant caravan. Bundy toldBuzzFeed Newshe ultimately decided to step away from the militia groups that made up his fanbase after witnessing their unflinching opposition to the caravan and their “dangerous and blinding” support of Trump. “I expected to get a decent amount of pushback, but I also believed that I could explain to them why I’d taken those positions and why,” he told BuzzFeed News. “... people were not really listening to the principles of things... this last video kind of confirmed that.” Bundy became well-known in libertarian circles for his family’s high-profile legal battles with the federal government over land rights. |
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| Beautifully crafted knives make great gifts, but most of the time they cost an arm and a leg. Damasukasu steelmakers are known for their craftsmanship, and you can get a beautiful, sleek set of your own (or gift them to a deserving friend) for under $60 when you use the code TDB15OFF at check out. This limited-edition set includes a 7-inch Nakiri vegetable knife, an 8.5-inch slicing knife, and a 5-inch utility knife. These knives not only have a 100 (!) year guarantee and took over 120 hours to craft by hand. This is one knife set you're gonna want to show off to anyone that enjoys cooking, or just likes seeing great steelwork. Scouted is internet shopping with a pulse. Follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations and exclusive content. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales. |
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| President Trump told reporters Friday that he will nominate William Barr to be the next attorney general and Heather Nauert for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. If confirmed, Barr—who said last November that the Department of Justice should have investigated Hillary Clinton—will succeed ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions and take over for Acting AG Matt Whittaker. Barr previously served as attorney general under George H.W. Bush. Nauert, a former Fox News personality, would replace Nikki Haley. Before departing for Missouri, Trump said that Nauert is “very talented, very smart, very quick and I think she’s going to be respected by all.” He added that Barr is “a terrific man” and “one of the most respected jurists in the country,” adding that he was his “first choice from Day One.” Trump also said that he would announce another nomination tomorrow at the Army/Navy football game, hinting that “it will have to do with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and succession,” before giving reporters a thumbs up and departing for his plane. View this cheat in a browser to see this video. |
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| Sheriff’s Sergeant Ron Helus, a man hailed as a hero for running straight into the Nov 8. shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill to take down gunman Ian Long, was in fact killed by friendly fire in the chaos of the massacre, according to Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub. Helus was reportedly shot six times, including one round of friendly fire that struck him in a vital organ and killed him, Ayub said during a Friday press conference. The other shots came from the gunman, who was later identified as 28-year-old Ian Long. Long also died that night of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound, along with 11 other innocent victims. “Ron was a hardworking, dedicated sheriff’s sergeant. He was totally committed, he gave his all and tonight, as I told his wife, he died a hero; he went into save lives, to save other people,” former sheriff Geoff Dean said in the aftermath of the shooting. “There’s just no way to describe this. It saddens us all and it tears at our hearts.” |
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| Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos left federal prison Friday after he was sentenced to only 12 days for lying to federal investigators about his conversations with Russia-linked individuals during the 2016 presidential campaign. CNN reports that Papadopoulos left a federal prison in Wisconsin at about 10 a.m. ET. He will now be supervised for 12 months, and must serve 200 hours of community service and pay $9,500. In the August 17 sentencing memo, Mueller wrote that Papadopoulos “knew the questions he was asked by the FBI were important, and he knew his answers were false at the time he gave them. His lies negatively affected the FBI’s Russia investigation, and prevented the FBI from effectively identifying and confronting witnesses in a timely fashion.” |
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| A 13-year-old autistic boy died in late November after he was physically restrained by school officials, according to a Friday report from BuzzFeed News. On November 28, the student became violent, requiring staff at Guiding Hands School to restrain him to “prevent the injury of staff and students,” the El Dorado County sheriff said. The Fresno Bee reports that the boy was held in a prone restraint—which means he was restrained face-down—for almost an hour. That type of restraint has been banned in some other states, and it’s considered a “hazardous and potentially lethal restraint position” by the group Disability Rights California. A teacher tried performing CPR, and the boy was rushed to the hospital but did not survive. The sheriff added that while an investigation continues, “there appears to be no evidence of foul play or criminal intent.” The state, however, suspended the school’s certification while it conducts its own investigation. This will prevent the school, which is designed to help children with severe disabilities, from accepting more students. A spokesperson for the school decried the boy’s death. “After the incident, an emergency ensued and staff immediately alerted paramedics. We have since been informed, the student has passed away,” she said. “We are devastated by this loss and remain committed to the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff.” This is not the first time the school has faced criticism for restraining students, the Bee notes. In 2004, one mother sued after school officials allegedly forcefully restrained her daughter, who had broken her arm earlier in the day, and forced her to clean up after herself when she vomited while being held down. |
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| The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced Friday that its members and some non-member countries—namely Russia—will drastically cut oil production in 2019 despite pressure from President Donald Trump. The decision comes at the end of a marathon round of negotiations in which Saudi Arabia—the largest exporter of petroleum—insisted on Russia joining in on meetings. The cut is intended to end a global oil supply glut that has lowered oil prices across the board. The United States recently became a net oil exporter, and President Trump has been pushing U.S. ally Saudi Arabia not to drive prices upward. OPEC, along with Russia and its allies, will curb oil output by a collective 1.2 million barrels a day for six months beginning in January. The OPEC announcement caused oil prices to spike Friday morning. |
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