| Elections Since Trump Suggest Democratic Base Energized for 2018 Posted: 28 May 2018 01:07 PM PDT  Maddow talks with Kornacki about Democratic special election victories since the 2016 election, as well as significant shifts toward Democrats where Republicans managed to hold onto office, suggesting Democrats are energized for the midterm elections
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| Hero teacher speaks publicly for first time since Friday’s shooting Posted: 28 May 2018 08:52 AM PDT  "I want to make it clear that my actions on that day, in my mind, were the only acceptable actions I could have done given the circumstances, " Science teacher Jason Seamen said on Monday, three days after being shot three times protecting his students.
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| Besides lava and ash, Hawaii volcano is pumping out 'vog' Posted: 28 May 2018 12:04 AM PDT  HONOLULU (AP) — Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island has had it all over the past three weeks: molten rock shooting toward the sky, lava oozing from the ground and ash clouds rising miles into the air.
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| Kremlin says it is Roman Abramovich's right to take Israeli citizenship Posted: 29 May 2018 03:51 AM PDT  The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich had every right to take Israeli citizenship, saying his choice to acquire another passport was no big deal. Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea soccer club who has found himself without a visa to Britain, took Israeli citizenship on Monday and will move to Tel Aviv where he has bought a property, the Israeli news website Ynet said. Abramovich, 51 has traditionally enjoyed good relations with the Kremlin and served as a regional governor in a remote Russian region from 2000-2008.
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| Father of child in 'Spiderman' rescue was reportedly off playing 'Pokémon Go' Posted: 29 May 2018 07:42 AM PDT  The story of a dramatic rescue of a child that was dangling from a Paris balcony took a depressing turn on Tuesday when it was revealed that the child's father was off playing Pokémon Go at the time of the incident . SEE ALSO: Real-life 'Spider-Man' who climbed building to save child to meet with French president The child was rescued by 22-year-old Mamoudou Gassama, an undocumented Malian migrant. In the now-famous feat, Gassama scaled several stories, earning him the "Spiderman" nickname, to save the child. But it turns out the child's father is now in very hot water over what he was doing at the time of the rescue. French prosecutor Francois Molins told a CNN affiliate that the father had gone grocery shopping, leaving the child alone and then proceeded to play Pokémon Go after leaving the shop. (The child's mother was away on a trip visiting family at the time.) The father has been charged with "failure to meet parental obligations" and could face up to two years in prison if found guilty at trial, which is currently scheduled for September. According to Molins, the father is "devastated" by what's transpired. Gassama, for his part, met with French President Emanuel Macron who said he would make Gassama a full French citizen. Avec M. GASSAMA qui a sauvé samedi la vie d'un enfant en escaladant 4 étages à mains nues. Je lui ai annoncé qu'en reconnaissance de cet acte héroïque il allait être régularisé dans les plus brefs délais, et que la brigade des sapeurs-pompiers de Paris était prête à l'accueillir. Je l'ai également invité à déposer une demande de naturalisation. Car la France est une volonté, et M. GASSAMA a démontré avec engagement qu'il l'avait ! - With Mr Gassama who saved a child's life on Saturday by climbing 4 floors with his bare hands. I told him that in recognition of his heroic act he would have his papers in order as quickly as possible and that the Paris fire brigade would be keen to welcome him to their ranks. I also invited him to submit a naturalization request because France is built on desire and Mr Gassama's commitment clearly showed that he has that desire! A post shared by Emmanuel Macron (@emmanuelmacron) on May 28, 2018 at 2:15am PDT In an Instagram post showing him meeting Gassama on Monday, Macron said: The family of the child also showered praise on Gassama, the child's grandmother calling the rescuer a "hero." WATCH: Presidents Trump and Macron dug a tree and somehow that became a meme. The Internet is unpredictable.
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| Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian Pose in Sexy Bikinis for 'Low-Key' Memorial Day Weekend Posted: 29 May 2018 09:51 AM PDT  Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian spent their Memorial Day at the pool, showing off their summer-ready figures in sultry bikinis.
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| Video shows police officer punching woman during New Jersey beach arrest Posted: 28 May 2018 09:01 AM PDT  In the now-viral video, an officer repeatedly punches 20-year-old Emily Weinman in the head. New Jersey police say the video fails to show the events that led to that moment.
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| US search firm says to end MH370 hunt in 'coming days' Posted: 29 May 2018 02:15 AM PDT  A private search for Flight MH370 will end in the coming days, an exploration firm said Tuesday, some four years after the plane disappeared in one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries. No sign of it was found in a 120,000-square kilometre (46,000-square mile) Indian Ocean search zone and the Australian-led hunt, the largest in aviation history, was suspended in January last year. After pressure from families, the Malaysian government struck a deal with US exploration firm Ocean Infinity to restart the search in January on condition it would only be paid if the Boeing 777 or its black boxes were found.
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| No Charges For Teacher Who Drowned Raccoons In Front Of Students Posted: 29 May 2018 08:31 AM PDT  A high school teacher in Ocala, Florida, who was caught on camera getting his
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| Hawaii volcanic eruptions cause more destruction Posted: 28 May 2018 08:55 AM PDT  Three weeks after Kilauea first exploded, the situation appears to be getting worse with new explosions destroying more neighborhoods.
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| Teacher Who Stopped Indiana School Shooter: There Was No Other Choice Posted: 28 May 2018 12:08 PM PDT  Presented with the most dangerous decision of his life, Jason Seaman didn't
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| U.S. official says agency did not lose immigrant children Posted: 28 May 2018 07:40 PM PDT  Over 1,500 immigrant children who have entered the United States unaccompanied are not "lost," as Senate testimony by an administration official in April suggested, a U.S. Health and Human Services official said on Monday, as outrage over their treatment triggered a social media storm. Deputy HHS Secretary Eric Hargan issued a statement and fact sheet on Monday night saying the department's Office of Refugee Resettlement attempted to follow up on the 2016 release of unaccompanied children by contacting their families, a step he said was not required of the department. Following recent news reports of children lost in the system after crossing the border illegally, outrage erupted on social media in recent days after reports emerged that HHS over the past three months of 2017 lost track of 1,475 children who crossed into the United States from Mexico by themselves and were placed with sponsors.
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| Dog Kisses Maine Firefighter who Rescued Him From Roof Posted: 28 May 2018 08:32 AM PDT  The cute moment was captured on camera.
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| Florida Cop In Trouble After Wishing Car Accident On Gun Violence Protest Posted: 28 May 2018 07:40 PM PDT  A Florida police officer could face disciplinary action after he said on
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| Starbucks planning to shutter all stores for afternoon bias training Posted: 27 May 2018 09:00 PM PDT  Workers will hear from the rapper Common and others and will break into small discussion groups.
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| Skeleton of Roman beheaded by giant flying rock slab found at Pompeii Posted: 29 May 2018 09:13 AM PDT  The skeleton of a Roman man who was decapitated by a giant slab of rock has been discovered by archeologists in Pompeii. They believe the man, aged in his thirties, was attempting to flee the eruption of Mt Vesuvius when the 300kg rock slammed into him, beheading him and killing him instantly. He had struggled to escape the doomed city because he had an infection in his leg. Archeologists found the rock sticking out of the ground at an angle, with the remains of the man protruding and intact from the chest down. The rock, which they think may have been part of a stone doorway, was hurled into the air by the force of the eruption, which devastated Pompeii in AD79. Archeologists say the man was fleeing the eruption but was impeded by a leg bone infection Credit: Pompeii archeological site The skeleton was uncovered in an area of new excavations, close to a newly-discovered alleyway of houses with balconies. Massimo Osanna, the director general of the archaeological site, called the discovery "dramatic and exceptional". "A formidable stone block (perhaps a door jamb), violently thrown by the volcanic cloud, collided with his upper body, crushing the highest part of the thorax and yet-to-be-identified head, which probably lies under the stone block," archeologists said in a statement. The experts found lesions on his tibia which indicate a serious bone infection. That "could have caused significant walking difficulties, enough to impede the man's escape at the first dramatic signs which preceded the eruption," they said. Earlier this month, archeologists made another unusual discovery – the carbonised remains of a horse which died during the eruption of Vesuvius. The remains of a Roman horse were found earlier this month Credit: Pompeii archeological site The horse was found in the remains of a large Roman villa, which tomb raiders had been excavating illegally in search of artefacts and valuables. By pumping plaster into the space where the horse was found, experts produced an accurate cast of the animal. It was the first time that a cast was made of a horse at Pompeii – the technique has previously been used for the human victims of the cataclysmic eruption. Experts believe the horse was used in military parades and ceremonies. It was found in the remains of a stable attached to the villa.
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| 18 of the Most Beautiful Bridges in the World Posted: 29 May 2018 06:34 AM PDT |
| President Macron offers citizenship to migrant who saved dangling child Posted: 29 May 2018 09:42 AM PDT  French President Emmanuel Macron granted Mamoudou Gassama citizenship and offered him a job with the Paris emergency services.
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| Missouri governor resigns amid widening investigations Posted: 29 May 2018 05:33 PM PDT  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, a sometimes brash political outsider whose unconventional resume as a Rhodes scholar and Navy SEAL officer made him a rising star in the Republican Party, resigned Tuesday amid a widening investigation that arose from an affair with his former hairdresser.
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| Memorial Day: Arlington National Cemetery rapidly running out of room forcing controversial Pentagon rethink Posted: 28 May 2018 08:20 AM PDT  Arlington National Cemetery, America's most celebrated and hallowed military resting place is rapidly running out of space, forcing a controversial rethink on which veterans should be eligible to be buried there. The Virginia cemetery, founded at the time of the US Civil War, currently contains the remains of 420,000 former servicemen and women, among them assassinated US president John F Kennedy. It is also the location of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the focus of official remembrance events such as those of Memorial Day.
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| Apple said to have chosen OLED for new iPhones; Japan Display shares plunge Posted: 29 May 2018 11:22 AM PDT  TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - Apple Inc has decided to use OLED screens in all three new iPhone models planned for next year, according to South Korea's Electronic Times - a report that sent shares in Japan Display tumbling 10 percent. Japan Display, one of the main suppliers of iPhone liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, has lagged its South Korean rivals in OLED production. By contrast, shares in LG Display Co Ltd surged.
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| GOP Congressman Abandons Re-election Bid Due To Alcoholism Posted: 28 May 2018 07:45 PM PDT  A Virginia congressman announced Monday that he will end his bid for re-
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| A Valedictorian Was Barred From Delivering His High School Graduation Speech. He Spoke by Megaphone Instead Posted: 28 May 2018 10:18 AM PDT  "The young people will win' because we're finished being complacent"
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| Giant, 11-Foot Alligator Captured After It Was Seen Eating Ducks in Florida Lake Posted: 29 May 2018 08:59 AM PDT  The enormous reptile was seen eating ducks in a neighborhood lake.
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| 'Harry Potter' Star Matthew Lewis, AKA Neville Longbottom, Is Married Posted: 29 May 2018 08:07 AM PDT  We now pronounce you wizard husband and wife.
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| Can I roast a marshmallow over lava? Posted: 29 May 2018 10:50 AM PDT  At more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the lava oozing out of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano will easily toast a marshmallow, but that doesn't mean you should go out and start making volcanic s'mores. On Monday, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) explained on Twitter that roasting marshmallows over scorching, molten rock is not a great idea for a multitude of reasons. SEE ALSO: Hawaii's Kilauea volcano could keep erupting for months. Here's why. "Is it safe to roast marshmallows over volcanic vents?," Twitter user Jay Furr asked the USGS Volcanoes account on Monday. "Erm...we're going to have to say no, that's not safe. (Please don't try!)," the USGS said in response. "If the vent is emitting a lot of SO2 [sulfur dioxide] or H2S [hydrogen sulfide], they would taste BAD. And if you add sulfuric acid (in vog [volcanic smog], for example) to sugar, you get a pretty spectacular reaction." Erm...we're going to have to say no, that's not safe. (Please don't try!) If the vent is emitting a lot of SO2 or H2S, they would taste BAD. And if you add sulfuric acid (in vog, for example) to sugar, you get a pretty spectacular reaction. — USGS Volcanoes�� (@USGSVolcanoes) May 29, 2018 Just stepping on or near fresh lava flows is inherently dangerous for a variety of reasons, not least because heated, molten rock might still be present under a thin crust of deceptively-cooled and blackened rock. Kilauea is one of the few places on Earth where people can often view lava flows from a safe distance in marked locations. But entering active lava flow areas, or places where lava has recently flowed, is kind of stupid, at best. As national park service ranger Shyla explains, the hazards include emissions of toxic gases, unexpected explosions, flying debris (which include deadly lava bombs), and collapses of land — notably near the ocean. But even if someone were to venture near freshly laid lava and toasted a marshmallow, the sticky treat would likely be disgusting. Lava flowing down Leilani Avenue on the Big Island on May 27.Image: usgsAs the USGS noted in their tweeted reply, volcanic vents don't just spew lava, they release gases like sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, which make for a nasty coating. Both gases are colorless, but hydrogen sulfide carries an "offensive odor," says the USGS, similar to the smell of a sewer, or farts. If the rotten egg-like smell is present, it's a good idea to leave the area. "Exposure to 500 ppm (parts per million) can cause a human to fall unconscious in 5 minutes and die in an hour or less," said the USGS. And if the nearby vent is emitting sulfur dioxide, it won't be a particularly pleasant experience if you're around, as the gas irritates eyes and respiratory systems. Often, sulfur dioxide emitted from Kilauea creates volcanic smog, or "vog," so the USGS half-joked that a chemical reaction might occur between the sulfur-rich vog and the sugar-rich marshmallows. A fun classroom experiment involves adding sulfuric acid to sugar, which (after stirring) creates a mass of hot, black foam. But, keep those experiments to the classroom, not an active lava field. WATCH: Get lost watching this mesmerizing lava gush and cool
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| Three Israeli soldiers wounded as dozens of mortars fired from Gaza in heaviest barrage since 2014 war Posted: 29 May 2018 10:45 AM PDT  Israel warned it was closer to war in Gaza than it had been in years after Palestinian militants fired dozens of mortars at Israeli towns and Israel's military responded with heavy airstrikes across Gaza. In the most serious exchange of fire between the two sides since the end of the 2014 conflict, Israel's military said waves of missiles were fired out of Gaza into southern Israel. At least three soldiers were wounded. One shell fell into the yard of a kindergarten, spraying the front of the school with shrapnel. Israel accused the militant group Islamic Jihad of doing most of the shelling but said Hamas, the Islamist faction which controls Gaza, also participated in the attack. Israeli jets struck more than 30 Hamas and Islamic Jihad bases across Gaza in response, the military said. No injuries were reported in Gaza from the strikes. Many of the projectiles fired from Gaza were shot down by Israel's Iron Dome missile system Credit: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images The exchange of fire comes after weeks of heightened tensions on the Gaza border, where Israeli forces have killed more than 100 Palestinians during protests. Most the dead were unarmed but some were engaged in bomb and gun attacks on Israeli troops. Although neither Israel nor the Palestinian factions are believed to be looking for a full blown war, the shooting raised concerns about an escalation of violence that could send both sides stumbling into all out conflict. Israel Katz, the Israeli intelligence minister, said the country was closer to war with Hamas than it had been at any point since 2014. "We are the closest to the threshold of war since Operation Protective Edge," he said. "We don't want it, and the other side doesn't either, but we have our red lines." The shelling from Gaza into Israel was widely condemned internationally and Britain said the "indiscriminate attacks" were "completely unacceptable under any circumstances." The IDF will respond with great force to these attacks. Israel will exact a heavy price from anyone who tries to attack it, and we view Hamas as responsible for preventing such attacks against us.— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 29, 2018 The mortar shells and rockets fell in and around Israeli communities near the Gaza border, triggering air raid sirens and sending thousands of Israelis running for bomb shelters. The Israeli military said many of the projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system. Video from the Israeli kindergarten showed the front of the building had been pockmarked by shrapnel from a mortar. The shell struck at around 7am, before any children had arrived at the school. "Seven o'clock is the busiest time of day. This could have ended differently," said Merav Cohen, an Israeli mother who lives near the kindergarten. The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad jointly claimed responsibility for the shelling. "We will not let the enemy impose a new equation involving killing our people for free. The equation we will keep says: shelling for shelling and blood for blood." Three Islamic Jihad fighters were killed by Israeli forces on Saturday Credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Israeli forces killed three Islamic Jihad fighters on Sunday after they tried to plant an explosive near the Gaza border fence, according to Israel's military. The Islamist group had vowed revenge for the killings. Israel has a policy of holding Hamas responsible for any attacks coming out of Gaza, regardless of which group actually did the shooting. "We know that Hamas controls the Gaza strip and is able to control what happens," said Lt Col Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli spokesman. He said Israel was "not looking to escalate the situation" and that the "ball is in Hamas' hands" as to whether the fighting would escalate. The Israeli military said the 107mm mortars fired by Islamic Jihad were supplied by Iran, which has long funded the group as a proxy force against Israel. "There's no doubt that the Iranians are involved, the question is how much and at what volume," Lt Col Conricus said. #Israeli air strikes in central and south #Gaza targeting military positions that belong to islamic Jihad in Gaza , no causalities confirmed by #Palestinian health ministry yet. Photos by journalist Moneeb Saada pic.twitter.com/FOwjp4wUrr— Nasser Atta (@nasseratta5) May 29, 2018 Israeli warplanes struck more 30 targets across Gaza including a U-shaped tunnel, which went from southern Gaza into Egypt and then bent back into Israel, the military said. Ten such tunnels have been destroyed in the last six months, according to Israel. Hamas and other factions have refrained from firing rockets into Israel since February but there has been a spike in shooting in recent days. On Monday night, heavy machine gun fire from Gaza hit a house in the Israeli town of Sderot. Alistair Burt, a Foreign Office minister, was in Gaza on Tuesday and condemned the Palestinian shelling. "Indiscriminate attacks against civilians, especially those that risk killing or injuring children, are completely unacceptable under any circumstances," he said. I condemn the rocket fire from #Gaza into Israel today. Indiscriminate attacks against civilians, especially those that risk killing or injuring children, are completely unacceptable under any circumstances.— Alistair Burt (@AlistairBurtUK) May 29, 2018 He also announced a UK aid package £1.5 million to help hospitals in Gaza treat the wounded 13,000 people wounded during the last two months of protests on the border with Israel. Separately, Palestinian activists attempted to sail a flotilla out of Gaza in defiance of Israel's ten-year blockade of the strip. The Israeli navy intercepted the flotilla and detained 17 Palestinians onboard.
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| Russian journalist shot and killed in Ukrainian capital Posted: 29 May 2018 02:13 PM PDT  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian journalist harshly critical of the Kremlin was shot and killed in the Ukrainian capital Tuesday, and the national police said they are assuming he was targeted because of his work.
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| Guatemalan family mourns accountant daughter shot dead on U.S. border Posted: 27 May 2018 07:10 PM PDT  By Sofia Menchu SAN JUAN OSTUNCALCO, Guatemala (Reuters) - For Claudia Gomez, the 19-year old indigenous Guatemalan who was shot last week by a border patrol officer, the chance for a better life in the United States outweighed worries about a crackdown at the border, her family said on Sunday. Gomez grew up in the village of San Juan Ostuncalco, surrounded by cinder block homes built with dollars sent home by relatives in the United States and a road the community had paved with a collection of remittances. Interviewed at their home, her parents said she had set off despite what they had heard about tougher policies toward illegal immigrants under U.S. President Donald Trump.
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| Nigeria to cut age limits for political candidates Posted: 29 May 2018 12:06 AM PDT  Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said he would approve a new law to reduce the age limit for political office, raising the prospect of younger candidates at next year's general election. It reduces the minimum age for presidential candidates from 40 to 35, and state governors and senators from 35 to 30. More than half of Nigeria's estimated 180 million people are under 30.
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| Body found of man who disappeared amid Maryland flooding Posted: 29 May 2018 03:04 PM PDT  ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (AP) — Searchers on Tuesday scouring a river alongside an historic Maryland town ripped apart by flash flooding found the body of a man last seen being swept away by the raging waters as it gutted shops and pushed parked cars into swollen tributaries.
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| Real-life 'Spider-Man' who climbed building to save child to meet with French president Posted: 27 May 2018 07:38 PM PDT  It's surely a stunt out of a Hollywood film. A man's dramatic climb up the side of a building to rescue a child in Paris earned him widespread praise, plus a meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron. SEE ALSO: NASA shares the story of how a SpaceX launch completely melted this poor camera 22-year-old Mamoudou Gassama, an undocumented Malian migrant, took less than 40 seconds to scale four floors of an apartment block in the city's 18th arrondissement on Saturday afternoon. Videos of the incident were widely shared on social media, showing Gassama being cheered on by a crowd of onlookers. "I saw all these people shouting, and cars sounding their horns. I climbed up like that and, thank God, I saved the child," Gassama said, according to AFP. "I felt afraid when I saved the child... (when) we went into the living room, I started to shake, I could hardly stand up, I had to sit down." Firefighters arrived later at the scene. A spokesperson for the Parisian fire department told AFP it was fortunate "there was someone who was physically fit and who had the courage to go and get the child." The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, congratulated Gassama for his "act of bravery" on Twitter, and said she had called him personally to "thank him warmly." "He explained to me that he had arrived from Mali a few months ago dreaming of building his life here," Hidalgo added in another tweet. Il m'a expliqué être arrivé du Mali il y a quelques mois en rêvant de construire sa vie ici. Je lui ai répondu que son geste héroïque est un exemple pour tous les citoyens et que la Ville de Paris aura évidemment à coeur de le soutenir dans ses démarches pour s'établir en France. — Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) May 27, 2018 "I told him that his heroic act is an example to all citizens and that the city of Paris will obviously be very keen to support him in his efforts to settle in France." An online petition has been started to help push immigration authorities to receive Gassama's papers. A presidential spokesperson told AFP that Macron will meet Gassama on Monday morning. Authorities say the child's parents were not at home at the time, according to France 24. The child's father has been placed in custody, and will face court on Sunday evening for neglecting his parental responsibilities. WATCH: We hitched a ride on Potlandia, a dispensary touring 'cannabus'
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| Taylor Swift Told To Shower By Cheeky Interviewer And Fans React Posted: 29 May 2018 03:45 AM PDT  A bit of dry British humor on a muggy day did not amuse some Taylor Swift
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| Student seen walking to catch bus to graduation in viral photo given car by radio host Posted: 28 May 2018 01:57 PM PDT  Thousands of messages praising the determination of Corey Patrick came in from across the US after a local bus driver DeJuanna Beasely posted photos of the teenager to Facebook. Patrick, a graduate of Tarrant High School, had been making the same 90-minute journey all the way through his final year after his family - who do not own a car - moved out of the area.
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| Malaysia axes project to build high-speed rail link with Singapore Posted: 28 May 2018 08:37 AM PDT  By Liz Lee and John Geddie KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia is cancelling a project to build a high-speed rail link between its capital, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore, and will talk with its southern neighbor about any compensation Malaysia has to pay, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday. Mahathir, the 92-year-old who triumphed in a general election this month, has made it a priority to cut the national debt and pledged to review big projects agreed by his predecessor that he says are expensive and have no financial benefit. "It is a final decision, but it will take time because we have an agreement with Singapore," Mahathir told a news conference referring to his scrapping of the project, valued by analysts at about $17 billion.
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| British campaigner Andy Tsege released from prison after four years on death row in Ethiopia Posted: 29 May 2018 12:36 PM PDT  A Briton who spent four years on death row in Ethiopia walked out of prison on Tuesday, freed by the regime that once labelled him a "terrorist". Andargachew Tsege, who fled to Britain in 1974, was greeted by hundreds of supporters who gathered outside his family's home in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, to celebrate the release of one of the government's most outspoken critics. Such scenes in one of Africa's most repressive regimes would have been unthinkable just a few months ago. Mr Andargachew, perhaps unable to grasp the scale of Ethiopia's rapid political thaw, seemed stunned by the reception. "I did not expect this much turn out," he said, suggesting he did not deserve it since "four years in prison is not that much of a sacrifice." Other dissidents had indeed been incarcerated for longer, though few were captured in such dramatic circumstances. While waiting to catch a connecting flight to Eritrea in 2014, Mr Andargachew was seized by armed men in a transit lounge at an airport in Yemen. He was immediately bundled onto a flight to Addis Ababa, with Ethiopia claiming it had merely extradited one of their most wanted men. Britain protested, but Ethiopia stood firm: as one of the leaders of Ginbot 7, a group of Ethiopian exiles who had based themselves in neighbouring Eritrea, Mr Andargachew was a "traitor" and "coup plotter". In the past year, however, Ethiopia's ruling coalition has been forced to yield to domestic pressure after an ethnic and political crisis threatened to tear apart the old political order. In the past three months, the Ethiopian government has pardoned more than 10,000 political prisoners. Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, hailed Mr Andargachew's release and the broader political significance it portended. "Recent moves by the Ethiopian Government send a positive signal that they remain serious about following through with promised reforms to increase political space," Mr Johnson said. The Foreign Secretary also insisted that Mr Andargachew's case had been "a priority" for his department, a claim that will be questioned by those who campaigned for the dissident's release, particularly his UK-based partner, Yemisrach Hailemariam. Mr Johnson was criticised for not raising Mr Andargachew's plight publicly — although he said he did in private — when he visited Addis Ababa last year, a trip in which the Foreign Secretary largely skirted over Ethiopia's human rights record. Mrs Yemisrach extended thanks to Jeremy Corbyn, who is Mr Andargachew's MP, and to Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, for their efforts to win his freedom. But she pointedly excluded Mr Johnson.
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| The Latest: Germany: Rejected asylum-seeker sets self ablaze Posted: 29 May 2018 09:58 AM PDT  NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The Latest on Europe's migrant crisis (all times local):
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| Veterans Group Blasts Trump's Memorial Day Remark As 'Most Inappropriate' Ever Posted: 28 May 2018 05:27 PM PDT  A veterans group has slammed Donald Trump's self-congratulatory tweet Monday
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| Mother of 'nut rage' Korean Air heiress questioned Posted: 27 May 2018 08:30 PM PDT  The scandal engulfing the Korean Air dynasty widened Monday as 69-year-old matriarch Lee Myung-hee faced police questioning over allegations she assaulted employees including household staff and construction workers renovating her home. Lee's two daughters, who held management positions at South Korea's top carrier, became viral sensations for their own temper tantrums which were dubbed the "nut rage" and "water rage" scandals online. "I am sorry for causing trouble," a bespectacled Lee said with her head lowered as she walked past throngs of journalists before entering a Seoul police office.
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| Side Hustle: The Other Stuff That Automakers Make Posted: 29 May 2018 12:00 PM PDT |
| Ebola vaccinations begin in Congo's northwest town of Bikoro Posted: 28 May 2018 01:56 PM PDT  KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Officials began vaccinating health workers and others on Monday in Bikoro, where Congo's current Ebola outbreak was first declared at the beginning of May.
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