| By Derek Caney
German authorities don't know who rammed a truck into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people, and they fear the attacker may be at large. They are now looking for a Tunisian man, according to German media outlets. They've arrested and released two people so far. They don't know if the attacker acted alone. We do know that some politicians are blaming the attack on Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door migrant policy. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, although it's worth noting they claim responsibility for many attacks, even when there's no direct connection between the killer and the group.
The FBI acted inappropriately when it announced the revival of its investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email setup days before the Nov. 8 presidential election, her lawyer said, citing search warrant documents made public yesterday. The warrant came after FBI chief James Comey notified Congress that he wanted the agency to review a new batch of emails that were discovered on the computer of Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of one of Clinton’s top aides, Huma Abedin. Weiner was being investigated for sending naughty messages to a 15-year-old. In the end, nothing new was discovered in the emails. The documents released yesterday gave no indication that the FBI had any evidence that the emails involved classified communications. Clinton went on to lose the election, and her camp blames Comey for her defeat.
Digits of the day: 11 percent Nintendo's Super Mario Run set a download record, but gamers (including the offspring of certain newsletter writers) balked at the $9.99 cost of unlocking some of its features. The company's shares have plummeted 11 percent since the game became available last week.
Don't inhale
A burning pile of seized narcotics and alcoholic drinks, in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan Dec. 20, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
Around the country - The U.S. government spent more than a decade preparing responses to malicious hacking by a foreign power. But when Russia began a disinformation campaign over the internet during the U.S. presidential campaign, officials had no clear strategy, current and former White House cyber security advisers said. Far more effort has gone into plotting offensives and preparing for attacks on the power grid, financial institutions and voting machines than fighting online propaganda and disinformation.
- President Barack Obama banned new oil and gas drilling in federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. He used a 1950s-era law called the Outer Continental Shelf Act that allows presidents to limit areas from mineral leasing and drilling. That means Donald Trump's incoming administration would have to go court if it sought to reverse the move, environmental groups said.
- The North Carolina legislature is expected to meet today to consider repealing a law restricting bathrooms access for transgender people. The law set off a firestorm of criticism from the LGBT community and led to a boycott from entertainers, athletes and companies.
Around the world - A series of explosions at a fireworks market killed at least 31 people outside Mexico City. It's the third time in just over a decade that explosions struck the Tultepec market, the best-known purveyors of fireworks in the country.
- Russia threatened unspecified retaliatory measures in response to new sanctions imposed by the United States.
- The euphemism is "smog avoidance." What it means is that many Beijing residents are fleeing the city to escape the oppressive pollution that has disrupted flights, traffic and shipping and has closed factories and schools.
Quote of the day "My husband and I really wanted to go, but our company didn't let us take off work so we had no choice but to wear a mask and go to work coughing." – Jane Wang, an employee at an automotive technology research center.
Around Wall Street - The families of three men killed at an Orlando gay nightclub back in June have sued Twitter, Google and Facebook in federal court, accusing the companies of providing "material support" to the self-radicalized gunman. Similar lawsuits in the past have faced an uphill fight because of the Communications Decency Act, which says that website operators are not liable for content posted by others. Omar Mateen killed 49 people in the Pulse nightclub in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. He had pledged allegiance to Islamic State before the police killed him.
- A union representing Amazon workers at the company's German warehouses called for a strike as part of a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. Germany is Amazon's second-biggest market after the United States, with 11,000 warehouse staffers plus thousands of seasonal workers.
Today's reason to live Ernest Tubb – Thanks A Lot |
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