Benjamin Gilman, a New York Congressman for 30 Years, Dies at 94 and other top stories.

• Benjamin Gilman, a New York Congressman for 30 Years, Dies at 94

  

  “Instead of a strong, steady signal on foreign policy coming from the nation’s capital, regrettably the world has heard a series of wavering notes sounded by an uncertain trumpet, leaving our allies concerned and our adversaries confused,” he said in one assessment. Believing that Mr. Clinton was not shaping a sufficiently tough policy on North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons, Mr. Gilman introduced legislation to prevent the president from lifting economic sanctions against that country ..

  >> view original



• Four people killed, dozens injured in vehicle wrecks on icy roadways

  

  Four people were killed and dozens more were injured in vehicle wrecks across the Washington region early Saturday as winter’s first blast of precipitation covered the area in a sheet of ice, crippling roadways and grounding flights at local airports. Though Maryland and Virginia transportation crews pre-treated highways and major roadways to thwart icing, officials said a steady stream of freezing rain fell longer than expected, outlasting the salt and other treatments applied to roads before ..

  >> view original



• In last-shot bid, thousands urge electoral college to block Trump at Monday vote

  

  Pressure on members of the electoral college to select someone other than Donald Trump has grown dramatically — and noisily — in recent weeks, causing some to waver but yielding little evidence that Trump will fall short when electors convene in most state capitals Monday to cast their votes. Carole Joyce of Arizona expected her role as a GOP elector to be pretty simple: She would meet the others in Phoenix and carry out a vote for Trump, who won the most votes in her state and whom she persona..

  >> view original



• 1 dead, 5 hurt after tree falls on wedding party in southern California

  

  Los Angeles County Fire Dept. firefighters work at the scene where a large tree fell on a wedding party in Whittier, Calif., Dec. 17.(Photo: Keith Durflinger, The Whittier Daily News via AP)A joyous wedding party was cut short Saturday afternoon when a large tree in a southern California park fell on attendees, killing one and injuring five others.Officials in Whittier, Calif., said they received multiple 911 calls around 4:30 p.m. PT of a fallen tree in Penn Park. When officers arrived, they fo..

  >> view original



• With an especially busy travel season underway, the polar vortex is back, making the weather a mess

  

  Winter storms have arrived just in time for what is expected to be a busier holiday travel season than last December.On Saturday, snow blanketed a swath of the Rockies, grounding hundreds of flights, while freezing rain created havoc on roads in the mid-Atlantic. Icy conditions contributed to hundreds of auto accidents across the country, and at least nine deaths were reported. In Denver, airlines canceled more 300 flights after nearly 8 inches of snow hit the metro area. “We’re in mop-up mode..

  >> view original



• 3-year-old boy dies in road rage shooting in Arkansas

  

  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. –   A 3-year-old boy being taken on a shopping trip by his grandmother was killed in a road rage shooting on Saturday when a driver opened fire on the grandmother's car because he thought she "wasn't moving fast enough at a stop sign," police said. The boy and his grandmother were at the stop sign in southwest Little Rock on Saturday evening when a driver apparently angry about the delay stepped out of his car and opened fire, police said. The boy was struck by gunfire at leas..

  >> view original



• The Latest: Border Patrol: Agent shoots man during struggle

  

  By Associated Press December 17 at 5:19 PM TUCSON, Ariz. — The Latest on a shooting involving Border Patrol agent (all times local): 1:55 p.m. The U.S. Border Patrol says an agent shot and wounded a man suspected of entering the country illegally when the man fought with the agent and got control of the agent’s baton. According to the Border Patrol, the shooting occurred Friday night near Douglas in southeastern Arizona. The wounded man is being treated for a non-life threatening leg wound. ..

  >> view original

Two women busted for election fraud in Miami-Dade .	Airbnb and New York City settle rental law lawsuit .
Dean's drop-out reshapes DNC chair fight .	As Samsung moves on from Note 7 crisis, SDI battery affiliate struggles .