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2017年12月31日星期日
Australia fireworks mishap sends spectators fleeing
People across the world welcomed 2018 with massive fireworks displays and all-night celebrations.
Unfortunately, a fireworks show at Terrigal Beach in New South Wales, Australia, didn't proceed as planned.
An apparent malfunction a few minutes after the show began sent thousands of spectators running for safety, the BBC reported.
A barge from which the fireworks were launched apparently caught fire after an explosion, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
"It was an absolute chaos," Twitter user Anooshe Mushtaq wrote.
"The boat shooting the fireworks goes on fire and started shootings randomly. Lucky I escaped as soon as I saw the boat on fire."
Two pyrotechnicians had to be treated for minor injuries, but no other people were hurt, the report said.
Australia and New Zealand were among the first nations to welcome the new year, with a grand show of fireworks exploding over the iconic Sydney Opera House and people watching from boats in the nearby harbor.
In Asia, hundreds of engaged couples partook in a mass wedding ceremony in Indonesia on New Year's Eve aimed at helping the poor who are unable to afford a wedding.
South Korean Buddhists lit candles during the celebrations at Jogyesa temple. The mood for reveling were less joyous in the north, where hours after the fireworks in Pyongyang, North Korea, the country's leader announced the capabilities of a nuclear strike, adding that his threats were now a "reality."
People in North Korea watch New Year's Day fireworks in Pyongyang. (Associated Press)
Turkey, in addition to festivities across the nation, used the celebration to pay tribute to the victims of last year's New Year's Day mass shooting, when 39 were killed outside a nightclub.
In continental Europe, hundreds of thousands of revelers watched fireworks displays above the Quadriga at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and over the Arc de Triomphe as part of the New Year celebrations on the Champs Elysees, in Paris.
Britain's Bing Ben boomed at midnight – for only the second time since August because of renovation work – while at least 100,000 Londoners swamped the city's center to celebrate and watch a 12-minute fireworks show.
Fireworks surround London's Big Ben, which is undergoing renovation work. (Associated Press)
The 10,000-fireworks show was accompanied by a women-only soundtrack as a tribute to the 100th anniversary of women being granted the vote in the country.
Despite increased security, including armed police and security barriers, there were fewer police officers present during the celebration.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Costa Rica plane crash victims include New York family, reports say
Five of the Costa Rica crash victims were identified as the Steinberg family from Scarsdale, N.Y.
A family of five Americans vacationing in Costa Rica was among the victims of a New Year's Eve plane crash that killed all 12 people on board, investigators and local media have revealed.
The small plane carrying 10 American tourists and two local crew members crashed and burst into flames in a wooded area in in Guanacaste, northwest Costa Rica, the government reported Sunday.
Five of the victims were identified as Americans Bruce, Irene, Matthew, William and Zachary Steinberg, Diario Las Americas reported. Media reports said the family was from Scarsdale, N.Y.
Other victims were identified by Costa Rica Hoy as Thibault Astruc, Amanda Geissler, Charles Palmer, Leslie Weiss, Sherry Wuu and pilots Emma Ramos and Juan Manuel Retana.
The Central American nation's Public Safety Ministry posted photographs and video of the crash site showing burning wreckage. All that was left of the plane was a charred, smoldering mass of fiery debris.
The plane had taken off from a local runway and was heading to the Juan Santamaria International Airport.
The Costa Rica Star reported that the Nature Air aircraft had problems shortly after takeoff, crashed in the mountains and immediately caught fire, according to witnesses.
Witnesses said the plane burst into flames after crashing. (Costa Rican Public Safety Ministry)
Rescue teams could not arrive at the scene quickly because it was in a remote area. Officers in the area confirmed that nobody survived the crash.
Retana, one of the pilots, was a cousin of Costa Rica's former President Laura Chinchilla, Diario Las Americas added.
Nature Air did not respond to phone and email messages.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A New Year's Eve to remem-brrrr in New York
New Year's Eve revelers at Times Square in New York City dressed appropriately. From left are Elena Bardunniotis, Dominic Manshadi and Sarah Thompson, of Long Beach, Calif. (Associated Press)
A temperature of 10 degrees Fahrenheit as the ball dropped made the welcoming of 2018 the second-coldest New Year's Eve on record in the Big Apple.
The glittering crystal ball dropped with a burst of confetti and dazzling fireworks as revelers said goodbye to 2017.
With much of the East Coast experiencing a recent snap of frigid, Arctic weather, the traditional celebration was less crowded than in past years. Some of the metal pens, usually packed with people, were only half-full.
Some revelers, bundled up in hats, gloves, face masks and numerous layers of clothing, jogged to keep warm, others bounced and danced. Some stood and shivered.
But those who showed up were there to watch the traditional drop of a Waterford Crystal ball down a pole atop 1 Times Square.
This year, the ball was 12 feet in diameter, weighed 11,875 pounds and was covered with 2,688 triangles that changed colors like a kaleidoscope, illuminated by 32,256 LED lights. When the first ball drop happened in 1907, it was made of iron and wood and adorned with 100 25-watt light bulbs.
The first celebration in the area was in 1904, the year the city's first subway line started running.
Taking no chances
After two terrorist attacks and a rampaging SUV driver who plowed into a crowd on the very spot where the party takes place, police were taking no chances.
Security was tighter than ever before. Garages in the area were sealed off. Detectives were stationed at area hotels working with security officials to prevent sniper attacks.
Thousands of uniformed officers lined the streets. Concrete blocks and sanitation trucks blocked vehicles from entering the secure area where spectators gathered. Partygoers passed through one of a dozen checkpoints where they were screened and then screened again as they made their way to the main event.
At 48th Street and Seventh Avenue, Chris Garcia, his girlfriend, Zayra Velazquez, and her brother Edgar Valdez stood rigidly, having waited in the cold for almost six hours. Valdez said he felt "pretty safe" at the event.
"They checked us pretty good," he said. "Police checked what we had, and another scanned us with metal detectors."
The police department estimates that it costs $7.5 million to protect the event.
Chilly past
The frostiest ball drop on record was 1 degree Fahrenheit, in 1907. In 1962 it was just 11 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and in 1939 and 2008 it was 18 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remle Scott and her boyfriend, Brad Whittaker, of San Diego, arrived shortly after 9 a.m., saying they were trying to keep a positive attitude as temperatures hovered in the teens. Each was wearing several layers of clothing.
"Our toes are frozen, so we're just dealing with it by dancing," Scott said.
Some wore red scarfs that read "Happy New Year" and others donned yellow and purple hats as a pizza deliveryman sold pies to the hungry crowd.
In a prime viewing spot near 42nd Street, Alexander Ebrahim grinned as he looked around at the flashing lights of Times Square.
"I always saw it on TV, so I thought why not come out and see it in person," the Orange County, California, resident said. "It's an experience you can never forget."
Michael Waller made a snap decision on Saturday evening to drive straight from Columbus, Ohio. He made it to Times Square at 8 a.m. and waited all day in front of the ball.
"I didn't want to stay home for this, by myself," he said.
Just minutes after midnight, partygoers started to drain from the area as if a giant tub stopper has been pulled up.
And immediately the cleanup began, led by a small army of city employees -- including more than 200 sanitation workers.
Crews removed more than 44 tons of debris last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
This Week: Fed minutes, Walgreens results, Nonfarm payrolls
A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:
BETWEEN THE LINES
The Federal Reserve releases minutes from the recent two-day meeting of its policymakers on Wednesday. At the meeting last month, the panel agreed to raise the central bank's key interest rate for the third time in 2017. The Fed also signaled three additional hikes in 2018. The moves represent a vote of confidence that the U.S. economy remains on solid footing 8-and-a-half years after the end of the Great Recession.
HEALTHY GAINS?
Wall Street expects Walgreens Boots Alliance's latest quarterly results improved from a year earlier.
Financial analysts predict the nation's largest drugstore chain will report Thursday that its earnings and revenue increased in the September-November period. Beyond earnings, investors will be listening for updates on Walgreens' integration of stores it acquired from rival Rite Aid.
ALL ABOUT JOBS
The U.S. job market is benefiting from an unlikely source: other countries.
The global economy has strengthened, with Europe, Japan and many developing nations growing in tandem for the first time in a decade. That's helped drive up hiring in the U.S. In November, U.S. employers added 228,000 jobs. Did the trend continue in December? Find out Friday, when the Labor Department serves up its latest monthly hiring data.
Nonfarm payrolls, monthly change, seasonally adjusted:
July 138,000
Aug. 208,000
Sept. 38,000
Oct. 244,000
Nov. 228,000
Dec. (est.) 189,000
Source: FactSet
Mexico: Latest murder highlights blurred lines in journalism
ACAYUCAN, Mexico – For some, Gumaro Perez was an experienced reporter who got on well with locals and earned the nickname "the red man" for his coverage of bloody crimes in Veracruz, one of Mexico's deadliest states for journalists and civilians alike.
In the eyes of prosecutors, Perez was an alleged drug cartel operative who met a grisly end when he was shot dead Dec. 19 while attending a Christmas party at his 6-year-old son's school in Acayucan, purportedly by gunmen from a rival gang.
Either way the brazen daylight killing underscored the blurred-lines nature of how journalism is practiced in much of Mexico, especially in the countryside and in areas where organized crime gangs hold sway over corrupt authorities, terrorize local populations and are largely free to harass and murder reporters with impunity.
Reporting in such places often entails writing or uploading photographs to a rudimentary website or Facebook page, or working part-time for a small local media outlet where meager salaries aren't enough to cover expenses. Holding down a second job is essential. Some moonlight as cabbies or run small businesses. Others may work for a local government. And some, it's widely believed — though it is said to be a small minority — go on the payroll of a cartel or a corrupt government.
In a country where at least 10 journalists have been killed this year in what observers are calling a crisis for freedom of expression, the risk is especially high for those who operate without editors, company directors or colleagues who could go to bat for them or steer them to institutions that would protect them.
"It certainly does make them more vulnerable," said Jan-Albert Hootsen, Mexico representative for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. He cited in particular the decapitation-murder nearly three years ago of Moises Sanchez, another Veracruz reporter, for motives the CPJ has confirmed were related to his work.
Sanchez "had his own little newspaper which he didn't actually make any money with, so he doubled as a taxi driver and he financed that little newspaper with the money that he made as a taxi driver," Hootsen said. "So he didn't have any institutional backing. So when he started getting death threats, at that point there's really nobody to back him up."
Perez, 34, got his start as a journalist as a young man working for Diario de Acayucan, the local newspaper in the city of the same name. Set in the steamy lowlands of southern Veracruz, near the Gulf of Mexico, the oil-rich region is a hotly contested drug trafficking corridor that today is said to be disputed by the Zetas and Jalisco New Generation cartels.
"Back then he was a hard-working boy," said the newspaper's deputy director, Cecilio Perez, no relation, who later lost track of him.
Over the years, Gumaro Perez contributed stories to several local media outlets and helped found the news website La Voz del Sur.
He also began working as a driver, personal assistant and photographer for Acayucan's mayor, although he was not on the government's payroll and it's not clear how he was being paid, said Jorge Morales of the official State Commission for Attention and Protection of Journalists in Veracruz.
Mayor Marco Antonio Martinez did not respond to multiple requests to be interviewed for this article.
According to several local journalists interviewed by The Associated Press, Perez also apparently had a different job: Keeping a close watch on what they were publishing about the Zetas and trying to influence their coverage or coerce their silence through intimidation.
Two reporters in Acayucan told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity due to concerns for their safety, that they and others had received threatening calls from Perez. In one, Perez allegedly warned a reporter to "take down" a story or else he would pass their number on "to you know who, so they will get in touch with you." Perhaps innocuous elsewhere, words like "get in touch with you" carry life-or-death weight in communities where the gangs are dominant.
The reporters did not complain to authorities. "If Gumaro were still alive, I would not even be telling you," one said.
"The journalists of Acayucan lived in terror and in constant anguish due to this guy," said Ignacio Carvajal, a veteran reporter who covers that region of Veracruz, adding that the same pattern plays out repeatedly across a state marked by drug politics. "This is not an isolated case."
Prosecutors said just 24 hours after the killing that Perez was linked to a cartel. They have presented no evidence, saying only that the allegation was based on data from his cellphone and visits to a jailed gang leader.
Family members denied he was a criminal.
"For me and my family, my brother is a very decent person who walks with his head held high and was admired by many," Maribel Perez, his sister, said at his wake.
Journalist Fidel Perez, who is also not related to Gumaro Perez, said he had known the slain reporter for nearly 10 years and he showed no sign of being flush with narco-cash. He called the narco-allegations by prosecutors "very hasty, very risky."
Early investigations have turned up no evidence that Perez was killed due to his journalistic work. The last time he is known to have published was several months ago.
Virgilio Reyes, director of the Golfo Pacifico website, said Perez's most recent work involved crime stories in September and October, after which Perez stopped contributing because his work with the mayor kept him too busy.
In a number of other cases, authorities have quickly and publicly sought to decouple the murders of journalists from their work, leading to mistrust of the official version and a sense that authorities are engaged in victim-smearing.
So as much as Carvajal believes Perez may have been crooked, he said that prosecutors' linking him to drug traffickers smells of an attempt to lessen the political fallout and have the murder fade from the spotlight without a proper investigation.
"Regardless of whether they are good or bad journalists, what remains at the end of the day is impunity," Carvajal said.
Hootson warned that in the absence of proper investigations, "isolated cases could be used to criminalize and create an even more hostile environment" for a profession that is already under fire.
The 2010-2016 administration of Veracruz Gov. Javier Duarte, now imprisoned on charges of corruption and money laundering, had been considered a low point for the state in terms of journalist killings.
But despite the election last year of a new governor from a different party, things have only gotten worse, with Perez's murder bringing the 2017 tally of journalists slain in the state to three. That comes amid a national surge in violence to highs not seen since the peak of Mexico's war on drugs.
The beginning of Veracruz's broader wave of violence dates back more than 10 years to when the hyper-violent Zetas cartel infiltrated politics and security forces in the state, fracturing the rule of law, Morales said. The increased criminality of today is the "metastasis" of that cancer, he said.
In the days following Perez's killing, Acayucan appeared calm and police patrolled among the low-slung homes. Many residents were unwilling to speak about the slaying or the fear they feel every day. But those who dared said that beneath the quiet veneer, things are boiling.
"Since early this year, it is too much," said Lilia Dominguez, who lives across the street from the school where the shooting happened. "They're killing here, they're killing there ..."
One of the reporters who alleged that Perez threatened him said he has no reason to believe that he will be any safer now. The gangs are still powerful and he doesn't know whom to trust.
"His death leaves only fear," the journalist said.
___
Associated Press writer Peter Orsi in Mexico City contributed to this report.
Costa Rica seeks cause of crash that killed 10 US citizens
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Costa Rican investigators are working into what caused a charter aircraft carrying 10 U.S. citizens and two local crewmembers to crash in a wooded area in the country's northwest soon after takeover, killing everyone on board.
Officials said Sunday evening that they were still seeking to establish the names of the Americans who died when the plane went down at midday in Guanacaste. They said Nature Air had provided a passenger list, but the names on it had not been confirmed.
A family in the suburbs of New York City said five of the dead Americans were relatives on vacation. They identified them as Bruce and Irene Steinberg and their sons Matthew, William and Zachary, all of Scarsdale.
"We are in utter shock and disbelief right now," Bruce Steinberg's sister, Tamara Steinberg Jacobson, wrote on Facebook. She also confirmed the deaths in an interview with NBC News.
Rabbi Jonathan Blake of the Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale said in a statement posted on the Temple's Facebook page and sent in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the Steinbergs were involved in philanthropy and local Jewish groups. "This tragedy hits our community very hard," Blake wrote.
At a news conference, Enio Cubillo, director of Costa Rica Civil Aviation, said the Nature Air charter flight crashed shortly after taking off just after noon Sunday from Punta Islita on a planned flight to the capital of San Jose. He said investigators were looking into possible causes.
Cubillo identified the pilot as Juan Manuel Retana and described him as very experienced. Former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla said via Twitter that Retana was her cousin.
The same plane had arrived in Punta Islita on Sunday morning from San Jose and was delayed in landing by strong winds, Cubillo said.
Nature Air did not respond to phone and email messages.
___
Associated Press writer Colleen Long in New York contributed to this report.
Gunman in deadly Colorado deputy shooting identified as Iraq War vet with grudge against sheriff
Colorado deputy Zackari Parrish, 29, was killed during an 'ambush-style' attack in Denver.
The rifle-toting man who gunned down a Colorado deputy in a New Year's Eve "ambush-style" attack had ranted about the sheriff and a local police officer in recent online posts discovered after the assault.
Matthew Riehl, 37, fired more than 100 rounds as he was holed up in a bedroom in his apartment in Highlands Ranch, before he too was found dead at the scene. The Douglas County Sheriff's office identified Riehl as the gunman Sunday evening.
Three other deputies, a police officer and two civilians were also wounded. The deputies and the officer had gone to the apartment around 5:15 a.m. in response to a disturbance, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said. They had been to the apartment about an hour earlier.
"They all went down, almost within seconds of each other," Spurlock said.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says five deputies were shot at an apartment community in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Fox 31 Denver)
He said the deceased deputy was 29-year-old Zackari Parrish. He had been a deputy for seven months.
"I can't tell you how difficult it is for a leader to sit down with a spouse of an officer who was killed in the line of duty," Spurlock said. "They had many hopes and dreams. He was doing his job and he was doing his job well."
Parrish is survived by his wife and two children and previously worked for two years at the Castle Rock Police Department.
Riehl, who was killed, was an Army veteran who served briefly in Iraq, Fox 31 Denver reported.
He is seen wearing an Iraq combat veteran hat in a Dec. 13 YouTube video in which he called Spurlock a "clown" and a deputy a pimp.
"You know who's going flub big time next election, Spurlock," Riehl said in the video called "Fire Sheriff Spurlock."
He said he was running against Spurlock as a libertarian.
A video posted on Nov. 28 showed a traffic stop by a police officer in the city of Lone Tree — apparently taken inside the officer's car — that Riehl said was done illegally. He claimed the officer clocked the wrong driver, identifying the officer by name in the video and calling him "dirty."
"S---bag, dirtbag, liar," he says as the officer questioned the driver. "He's the boss, huh? He's the Nazi in charge with the stripes on his shoulder and the fake badge."
The wounded officers: Deputies Mike Doyle, 28; Taylor Davis, 30; and Jeffrey Pelle, 32; and Castle Rock police officer Tom O'Donnell, 41, were said to be in stable condition. The civilians had suffered non-life threatening injuries, Spurlock said.
Pelle is the son of Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle, Fox 31 Denver reported.
Authorities had been to Riehl's home earlier in response to a complaint of a "verbal disturbance" involving two men, the sheriff's office said. One of the men told them the suspect "was acting bizarre and might be having a mental breakdown" but the deputies found no evidence of a crime.
When deputies were called back, a man who had left came by to give them a key and granted permission to enter the home, leaving again before shots were fired.
"The suspect was just making a ton of noise and annoying everyone around him," Spurlock said.
Four officers, including Parrish, were shot from a bedroom around 6 a.m., forcing the retreat. A SWAT team entered the apartment at about 7:30 a.m. in an exchange of gunfire that left the gunman dead and another officer injured.
Local media reported gunshots being heard amid a stream of firetrucks and emergency vehicles entering the area.
Steven Silknitter, who lives in the complex, told the Denver Post that he was working elsewhere when he got word of the shooting and called home to speak to his fiance.
"She was pretty scared," Silknitter said. "She kept saying how loud it was."
President Donald Trump tweeted that he has offered his "deepest condolences to the victims of the terrible shooting."
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper also issued a statement saying "our thoughts and prayers" were with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and the family and friends of Deputy Parrish.
"We can only imagine the depth of grief they are experiencing," he said. "We also hope for a speedy recovery for the Douglas County deputies and the Castle Rock police officer injured in the incident, as well as the residents who also were affected.
He added, "The call to protect and serve too often leads to this ultimate sacrifice. We are grateful for the service of Deputy Parrish, his fellow deputies, and that of the Castle Rock police officer. We pray for their and their families' strength and resolve in the days and months ahead."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Oakland Raiders fire coach Jack Del Rio after 6-10 season
Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio was fired on Sunday. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio was fired Sunday after his third year when the impressive turnaround job he engineered for his hometown team collapsed with a disappointing six-win season.
Del Rio said owner Mark Davis told him after the team's season-ending 30-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday that he would not be retained as coach in Oakland.
Del Rio had signed a four-year contract extension last February after Oakland ended a 13-year playoff drought with a 12-win season.
"He told me he loved me and appreciated all that I did, but felt like we weren't going in the right direction," Del Rio said.
Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio on Sunday. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
"He felt he needed a change, and I told him how much I appreciated the opportunity he gave me. I mean that. Very grateful. My childhood team, but it's a results business. I understand that.
"I appreciate the players and coaches and all the hard work, all the effort and energy. I do believe we have established a solid nucleus. Whoever comes in here has a chance to take that nucleus and go to special places, and I'll be pulling for them."
The Raiders followed the successful 2016 up by becoming one of the league's disappointing teams. Oakland went 6-10 for the second biggest one-season drop in wins in franchise history, leading to Del Rio's firing.
Davis said in a statement that he appreciated Del Rio's effort in building the foundation for the future and thanked his family for contributing to the community.
Davis said he will not have any other statement until after a new coach has hired but speculation is already rampant that Jon Gruden will be back for a second stint.
Gruden was traded by the Raiders to Tampa Bay following the 2001 season and beat Oakland for the Super Bowl title the following season. He was fired by the Buccaneers following the 2008 season and has been in the broadcast booth since then. ESPN reported Saturday that the Raiders were interested in bringing Gruden back.
Davis has always been intrigued about a second stint with Gruden but it seemed unlikely the franchise would be in for another change heading into this season. Del Rio had been the ninth coach in Oakland since Gruden left but the only one to get the team to the playoffs.
That wasn't enough to save his job.
"I honor the owner's decision," Del Rio said. "It was a great honor for me to lead this organization and get this opportunity, and I understand it's a results business. We had a great first two years and this year was a big disappointment. Can't disagree with that."
Del Rio, who grew up in the East Bay city of Hayward cheering for the Raiders, took over a three-win team in 2015 and immediately changed the culture and helped Oakland win seven games that season.
The Raiders had a breakthrough season in 2016 with 12 wins, but it ended in disappointment when a broken leg for quarterback Derek Carr in Week 16 cost the Raiders a chance at a division title and led to a first-round playoff loss.
Expectations were high coming into this season with Carr and most of the key offensive pieces back, along with the addition of running back Marshawn Lynch and tight end Jared Cook.
But Del Rio's decision to fire coordinator Bill Musgrave after last season despite a dynamic offense and replace him with quarterbacks coach Todd Downing backfired.
The offense regressed significantly this season as Carr struggled under Downing's tutelage and the defense showed no signs of improvement before firing coordinator Ken Norton Jr. after 10 games.
The Raiders had major drops in scoring (26 to 18.8), yards per game (373.3 to 324.1) and committed twice as many turnovers (14 to 28) this season as Carr took a major step back in his development after signing a $125 million, five-year extension in the offseason.
"We have to take our ownership as players," Carr said. "That's where we're at right now. We're kind of angry we let it get to that. We're upset at ourselves. We understand the business part of it. As players our job is to come back better and hungry."
The defense became the first in NFL history to fail to record on interception in the first 10 games of the season and generated only 14 takeaways all season compared to 30 in 2016.
That all led to the decision to fire Del Rio, whose 187 games as a head coach are the most for anyone without a division title in his career.
Del Rio finished his stint in Oakland with 25-23 regular-season record. The Raiders won just 13 games in the three seasons before he arrived.
"It's tough," cornerback Sean Smith said. "He was a coach that played the game and he was a player's coach, you know what I mean, so you always like those kind of coaches because they relate to you easily.
"Came to work with a smile every day, and definitely enjoyed playing for him, but it just sucks because he's the coach. As a player, we didn't play up to our expectations, and he had to pay the price."
Kim Jong Un claims he has 'nuclear button' on his desk
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the United States should be aware that his country's nuclear forces are now a reality, not a threat.
Kim was speaking in his annual New Year's Day address.
He said the country had achieved the historic feat of "completing" its nuclear forces and added that he has a "nuclear button" on his desk.
The customary New Year's address was broadcast Monday morning on North Korean state television.
Hillary Clinton backer paid $500G to fund women accusing Trump of sexual misconduct before Election Day, report says
Image captured Hillary Clinton holdings hands with close friend and Esprit Clothing founder Susie Tompkins Buell. (Associated Press)
One of Hillary Clinton's wealthy pals paid $500,000 in an unsuccessful effort to fund women willing to accuse President Trump of sexual misconduct before the 2016 election, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Susie Tompkins Buell, the founder of Esprit Clothing and a major Clinton campaign donor for many years, gave the money to celebrity lawyer Lisa Bloom who was working with a number of Trump accusers at the time, according to the paper's bombshell report.
Bloom solicited donors by saying she was working with women who might "find the courage to speak out" against Trump if the donors would provide funds for security, relocation and possibly a "safe house," the paper reported.
Former Clinton nemesis turned Clinton operative David Brock also donated $200,000 to the effort through a nonprofit group he founded, the paper reported in an article entitled, "Partisans, Wielding Money, Begin Seeking to Exploit Harassment Claims."
Bloom told the Times that the effort was unproductive. One woman requested $2 million then decided not to come forward. Nor did any other women.
Bloom said she refunded most of the cash, keeping only some funds for out-of-pocket expenses accrued while working to vet and prepare cases.
The lawyer told the paper she did not communicate with Clinton or her campaign "on any of this."
She also maintained that she represented only clients whose stories she had corroborated and disputed the premise that she offered money to coax clients to come forward, the paper reported.
"It doesn't cost anything to publicly air allegations," Bloom said. "Security and relocation are expensive and were sorely needed in a case of this magnitude, in a country filled with so much anger, hate and violence."
The Times article said it learned of Buell and Brock's connection to Bloom from two Democrats familiar with the financial arrangements who also said Bloom's law firm kept the money from Brock's nonprofit group but refunded the $500,000 that Buell contributed.
Brock declined comment, according to the paper.
Clinton campaign representatives said they were unaware of his work with Bloom.
Buell would not comment on the financial arrangement, according to the Times.
Still, she claimed she was frustrated that Trump had escaped the repercussions that have befallen many other powerful men accused of similar misconduct.
The Times article expanded on a report in The Hill two weeks ago that said that worked with campaign donors and tabloid media outlets during the final months of the presidential election to arrange compensation for the alleged Trump victims and a commission for herself, offering to sell their stories.
In one case Bloom reportedly arranged for a donor to pay off one Trump accuser's mortgage and attempted to score a six-figure payout for another woman.
The woman with the mortgage ultimately declined to come forward after being offiered $750,000, The Hill reported.
The paper reported reviewing one email exchange between one woman and Bloom that suggested political action committees supporting Hillary Clinton were solicited, without naming which ones.
Bloom, who is the daughter of famous attorney Gloria Allred and, like her mother, specializes in representing women in sexual harassment cases, worked for four women who were considering accusing Trump. Two went public, and two declined.
Kim says US should know North Korean nuclear force a reality
TOKYO – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the United States should be aware that his country's nuclear forces are now a reality, not a threat.
Kim was speaking in his annual New Year's Day address. He said the country had achieved the historic feat of "completing" its nuclear forces and added that the has a "nuclear button" on his desk.
The customary New Year's address was broadcast Monday morning on North Korean state television.
Trump calls out 'friends,' 'haters,' 'Fake News Media' in New Year's Eve messages
President Trump on Sunday wished a happy new year to the people who elected him to the White House -- and those who kept him in the headlines.
"As our Country rapidly grows stronger and smarter, I want to wish all of my friends, supporters, enemies, haters, and even the very dishonest Fake News Media, a Happy and Healthy New Year. 2018 will be a great year for America!," Trump tweeted.
He followed up more than an hour later: "HAPPY NEW YEAR! We are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and much faster than anyone thought possible!"
Meanwhile, the president had a special gift Saturday for some of his biggest fans, who'd been gathering outside his Mar-a-Lago club with supportive signs. Trump invited the supporters, including children, inside for lunch and photos.
Also Sunday, the president tweeted out a compilation video showing him meeting U.S. service members, visiting flood zones in Texas and signing the GOP-backed tax overhaul package into law, among other things.
Trump thanked some of his supporters by inviting them to lunch and photos at Mar-a-Lago.
The president has called out his critics in holiday tweets before. In November, he posted: "Happy Thanksgiving to all--even the haters and losers!"
Trump on Sunday cited his success in placing a new justice on the Supreme Court, his efforts to cut regulations and his big win on overhauling taxes. He's called for more progress in 2018, including the passage of a massive infrastructure bill, although analysts say it could prove difficult given how the GOP-led Senate will hold a very slim 51-49 majority.
The White House said Trump has been briefed on New Year's Eve security precautions around the country and will continue to monitor those efforts.
The president is spending the holidays in Palm Beach, where his Mar-a-Lago club hosts an annual New Year's Eve bash. At the event last year, hundreds of guests gathered in the club's grand ballroom, including action star Sylvester Stallone and romance novel model Fabio.
Fox News' Serafin Gomez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Inmate behind 2015 prison break had a new escape plan
NEW YORK – A convicted murderer whose prison break captivated the nation says he uncovered a way to escape from another maximum-security facility in New York.
But this time David Sweat said he detailed the plan involving a makeshift tool to corrections officials, asking for extra weekly visits from his girlfriend in exchange.
Sweat and another inmate, Richard Matt, escaped from New York's Clinton Correctional Facility in 2015. They were caught after three weeks. Matt was shot and killed.
In an interview with The New York Times , Sweat said he told corrections officials how he would break out of New York's Five Points Correctional Facility. He says officials transferred him to a different prison about 90 miles (144.83 kilometers) away and didn't grant any perks.
State corrections officials confirmed Sweat provided details on possible "security vulnerabilities."
___
Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com
American family of 5 among 12 killed in Costa Rica plane crash, reports say
An American family of five was killed in a plane crash in Costa Rica New Year's eve.
A family of five Americans vacationing in Costa Rica was among the victims of a New Year's Eve plane crash that killed all 12 people on board, investigators and local media have revealed.
The small plane carrying 10 tourists and two local crew members crashed and burst into flames in a wooded area in in Guanacaste, northwest Costa Rica, the government reported Sunday.
Five of the victims were identified as Americans Bruce, Irene, Matthew, William and Zachary Steinberg, Diario Las Americas reported.
Other victims were identified by Costa Rica Hoy as Thibault Astruc, Amanda Geissler, Charles Palmer, Leslie Weiss, Sherry Wuu and pilots Emma Ramos and Juan Manuel Retana.
The Central American nation's Public Safety Ministry posted photographs and video of the crash site showing burning wreckage of a plane in Guanacaste, northwest Costa Rica. All that was left of the plane was a charred, smoldering mass of fiery debris.
The plane had taken off from a local runway and was heading to the Juan Santamaria International Airport.
The Costa Rica Star reported that the Nature Air aircraft had problems shortly after takeoff, crashed in the mountains and immediately caught fire, according to witnesses.
Witnesses said the plane burst into flames after crashing. (Costa Rican Public Safety Ministry)
Rescue teams could not arrive at the scene quickly because it was in a remote area. Officers in the area confirmed that nobody survived the crash.
Retana, one of the pilots, was a cousin of Costa Rica's former President Laura Chinchilla, Diario Las Americas added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Indianapolis Colts fire coach Chuck Pagano after 4-12 season
Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was fired after his team ended the season with a 4-12 record. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
The Indianapolis Colts fired coach Chuck Pagano on Sunday, less than two hours after they ended a 4-12 season with a 22-13 victory over Houston.
Team owner Jimmy Irsay made the announcement in a statement, wishing Pagano and his wife well in the future.
The move comes after Indy missed the playoffs for the third straight year, the team's longest postseason drought since a seven-season absence from 1988-94.
With Andrew Luck missing the entire 2017 season, Indy never had a chance. The Colts wound up with their first losing season since 2011, their second since 2002, and the first in Pagano's six seasons as coach.
Pagano finished his first head coaching job with a 56-46 record, including a 3-3 mark in the playoffs.
Tennessee girl, 12, charged in deadly shooting of her 16-year-old friend
A 12-year-old girl on Tennessee has been charged as a juvenile with killing another girl in her grandmother's apartment with a stolen gun, the Nashville Metro Police Department said Sunday.
Brentrice Wilson, 16, was pronounced dead at the scene after officers were called to an apartment in Madison around 3:25 a.m. after a report of a shooting.
Police said the 12-year-old snuck out of her apartment without her grandmother's knowledge with Brentrice and several other girls.
The girls then went to a nearby parking lot and began pulling on car door handles, the Tennessean reported.
They found an unlocked vehicle and burglarized it, taking a loaded semi-automatic pistol, the paper reported.
Police said the girl brought the gun back to the apartment and the 12-year-old was handling it and pointing it at the others when it fired, Fox 17 Nashville reported.
The girl has been charged with criminal homicide and the case will be handled in juvenile court, according to police who continue to investigate.
Trump fires back at Rouhani slam amid deadly Iran protests
President Trump fired back Sunday at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who'd broken his silence on rare, widespread and deadly protests breaking out inside the Islamic Republic.
"Iran, the Number One State of Sponsored Terror with numerous violations of Human Rights occurring on an hourly basis, has now closed down the Internet so that peaceful demonstrators cannot communicate. Not good!" Trump tweeted.
It may have been a reference to Rouhani's jab earlier in the day, when he said Trump "has forgotten that he had called Iranian people 'terrorists' a few months ago."
Rouhani also said in his speech Sunday night -- his first since the protests first broke out Thursday -- that people have the right to demonstrate, but those demonstrations should not make the public "feel concerned about their lives and security."
Dec. 30, 2017: The protests have spread to Iranian's capital of Tehran. (Reuters)
Earlier Sunday, Trump tweeted that Iranians were "finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism.
"Looks like they will not take it any longer," Trump wrote. "The USA is watching very closely for human rights violations!"
Rouhani's comments came hours after two protesters were killed at a rally.
The deaths were the first of the demonstrations, which appear to be the largest to strike Iran since the protests that followed the country's disputed 2009 presidential election. Thousands of people have taken to the streets.
"On Saturday evening, there was an illegal protest in Dorud and a number of people took to the streets responding to calls from hostile groups, leading to clashes," said Habibollah Khojastehpour, the deputy governor of the western Lorestan province, according to Sky News. "Unfortunately in these clashes two citizens from Dorud were killed."
Dec. 30, 2017: In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, anti-riot Iranian police prevent university students from joining other protesters in Tehran, Iran. (AP)
Khojastehpour told state television that "no shots were fired by the police and security forces" and "foreign agents" and "enemies of the revolutions" were to blame.
A Revolutionary Guard Telegram channel blamed the deaths on "people armed with hunting and military weapons" who "entered the protests and started shooting randomly toward the crowd and the governor's building," according to Sky News, adding that six people also were wounded.
Videos circulating on social media late Saturday appeared to show fallen protesters in Doroud as gunshots sounded in the background, although the footage could not be independently confirmed.
The killings came as interior minister Abdolrahman Rahmani Fazli warned Iranians about participating in the protests.
"Those who damage public property, disrupt order and break the law must be responsible for their behavior and pay the price," Sky News quoted Fazli as saying early Sunday on state television.
TRUMP REDOUBLES SUPPORT OF IRAN PROTESTS, SAYING THE 'WORLD IS WATCHING'
The CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, which protesters have used to plan and publicize demonstrations, according to the Associated Press, said Sunday that Iran has been "blocking access... for the majority of Iranians." Iranians said the app is now inaccessible by mobile phone networks.
State TV also said Instagram use has been "temporarily limited."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
US closer than ever to 'nuclear war with North Korea,' Mullen says
Adm. Mullen on 'FNS'
Nation's top military officer on Pentagon's plan to manage endgame in Iraq, growing commitment in Afghanistan?
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen on Sunday gave a dire predication about U.S.-North Korea relations, suggesting the countries are closer than ever to a nuclear war with no diplomatic solution.
"We're actually closer, in my view, to a nuclear war with North Korea and in that region than we've ever been," Mullen, a retired Navy admiral, told ABC News' "This Week." "I don't see the opportunities to solve this diplomatically at this particular point."
Relations between the countries certainly have gotten worse -- even threatening -- in recent months, analysts have pointed out, as President Trump and world leaders call for North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un to end his pursuit and testing of a nuclear warhead and inter-continental missiles on which to launch the weapon.
The United Nations Security Council recently imposed more economic sanctions on the rogue nation to curtail such testing. And the Trump administration has sought help from neighboring China, Japan and South Korea to reach a diplomatic solution.
But Trump has also confronted Kim with the threat of U.S. military action and has taken personal jabs, even calling Kim "Little Rocket Man."
In September, Trump, in his first U.N. speech, vowed to "totally destroy" North Korea if it continues to threaten the U.S. and its allies with its actions.
A few weeks later Trump tweeted: "I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man..."
Kim has in turn called Trump "old" and a "mentally deranged U.S. dotard."
Pyongyang called the recent U.N. vote "act of war."
Mullen also suggested Sunday that Trump has created an "incredibly dangerous (international) climate" with North Korea at the "top of the list."
Police: Officer shoots man at a Mississippi Walmart
BYRAM, Miss. – Police say an officer shot a man after receiving call about a shoplifter at a Walmart in western Mississippi.
Byram Police Chief Luke Thompson told WLBT-TV that the incident occurred around 8:55 a.m. Sunday. He says the suspect attempted to flee in a foot chase before he got into his vehicle, rammed a police car and another car in the parking lot.
Thompson says the officer fired several shots, hitting the suspect. The chase ended in front of a residence.
The suspect was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. His condition is unknown.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Byram Police are investigating the incident.
10 killed in fiery crash along Mexico's Pacific coast
ACAPULCO, Mexico – Mexican authorities say five people visiting from the United States were among 10 people killed in a fiery car crash on a coastal highway in southern Mexico.
Guerrero state security spokesman Roberto Alvarez Heredia said Sunday that the crash late Friday also left two U.S. residents hospitalized.
A van carrying the family from Washington state collided with a motorcycle and another car. All of the vehicles caught fire. Two people riding the motorcycle died as well as the driver of the other car.
Seven people inside the van were killed. Alvarez says it is not yet known whether the U.S. victims were American citizens or legal residents.
The van was rented and carrying the family to Acapulco when the crash occurred in the municipality of Tecpan de Galeana.
Cleveland Browns become 2nd team in NFL history to finish season 0-16
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Corey Coleman (19) sits on the field after allowing a pass from quarterback DeShone Kizer to go through his hands for an incompletion during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Associated Press)
The Cleveland Browns have completed the second 0-16 season in NFL history.
Corey Coleman dropped a potential first-down completion on fourth-and-2 in the final 2 minutes against Pittsburgh inside the Steelers' 20-yard line.
Pittsburgh ran out the clock to complete a 28-24 victory.
The Browns joined the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams to go 0-16. Three other teams had winless seasons.
Costa Rica plane crash kills 12, including 10 visitors
The Costa Rican government says that a plane with 10 foreigners and two local crewmembers has crashed in a wooded area. (Costa Rican Public Safety Ministry)
A small plane carrying ten foreign passengers and two local crew members crashed and burst into flames in a wooded area in Costa Rica, killing everyone on board, the government reported Sunday.
The Central American nation's Public Safety Ministry posted photographs and video of the crash site showing burning wreckage of a plane in Guanacaste, northwest Costa Rica. All that was left of the plane was a charred, smoldering mass of fiery debris.
The plane had taken off from a local runway and was heading to the Juan Santamaria International Airport.
The Costa Rica Star reported that the Nature Air aircraft had problems shortly after takeoff, crashed in the mountains and immediately caught fire, according to witnesses.
Witnesses said the plane burst into flames after crashing. (Costa Rican Public Safety Ministry)
Rescue teams could not arrive at the scene quickly because it was in a remote area. Officers in the area confirmed that nobody survived the crash.
The victims were not immediately identified.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Palestinians recall envoy to US for talks on future ties
The Palestinian Foreign Minister says the Palestinian envoy to Washington is being temporarily called back for consultations over the future of relations with the United States.
The move comes after President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, setting off unrest and prompting the Palestinians to reject Washington as a Mideast peace broker, a role it has held for decades.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki in 2015. (REUTERS/Marco Bello)
Foreign Minister Riad Malki says Sunday that discussions would take place "to set the decisions needed by the Palestinian leadership in the coming period regarding our relations with the US." He says the envoy is expected to return to "his normal work" after the discussions.
Trump's decision upended decades of U.S. foreign policy and countered an international consensus that the fate of Jerusalem should be determined in negotiations.
The Latest: Police: Man with guns didn't plan to use them
HOUSTON – The Latest on a man arrested at a Houston hotel with several guns in his room (all times local):
2:45 p.m.
Houston police say they don't believe an intoxicated man arrested for having several guns in his hotel room intended to use the weapons.
Investigators say security officers called police after the man became belligerent and refused to be leave the bar at downtown Houston's Hyatt Regency Hotel. The hotel's annual New Year's Eve party is one of the city's largest.
Police say responding officers found a rifle, a shotgun and a handgun in the man's room, plus ammunition. He was arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon and trespassing.
Police spokesman Victor Senties says the man later told investigators he'd brought the guns into his room from his truck because he didn't want them to get stolen. He said his truck was parked in the hotel garage.
Senties says investigators don't believe the man intended "to use the weapons or to cause any kind of issue."
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1:30 p.m.
Houston police say an intoxicated man was arrested at a hotel ahead of a New Year's Eve party for unlawfully carrying a weapon and trespassing after officers found several guns and ammunition in his room.
Investigators say security officers called police after the man became belligerent and refused to be subdued early Sunday at the bar at downtown Houston's Hyatt Regency Hotel. The hotel's annual New Year's Eve party is one of the city's largest.
Police Lt. Gordon Macintosh says responding officers found a rifle, shotgun and handgun in his room, plus ammunition.
Police said the man is jailed. His name hasn't been released.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted that the situation was "contained" and authorities aren't aware of any specific threats to the city.
A police spokesman said Sunday afternoon that investigators couldn't speculate about the man's intent.
Congress returns to Trump's infrastructure plan, looming deadlines on spending, immigration
Congress returns next week facing several looming challenges leading with President Trump's call to strike an infrastructure deal promptly, and agreeing to a temporary spending deal to avoid a government shutdown.
Other key issues facing the GOP-controlled Congress include immigration reform and whether to fund Trump's promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.
Trump is scheduled to meet early next week with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to set legislative priorities on Capitol Hill. But few if any major initiatives are likely to pass without Democratic support, especially in the Senate where Republicans now have just a 51-49 majority.
To be sure, Trump has made clear that he wants Congress to pass a trillion-dollar spending bill to fix the country's crumbing roads, bridges, ports and other infrastructure.
Political analysts predicted Trump would try to broker an infrastructure deal at the start of his presidency, considering the idea, which would result in at least some short-term jobs, appeared to have bipartisan support.
However, at least some congressional Republicans seemed unwilling to spend at least $1 trillion on such an initiative. And the situation now appears further complicated by the recently passed, GOP-led tax reform bill that is projected to add roughly $1.5 trillion to the federal debt over the next 10 years.
"Infrastructure is by far the easiest" of Trump's priorities, the president said a couple of weeks ago, after signing into law the tax reform bill. "People want it -- Republicans and Democrats. We're going to have tremendous Democrat support on infrastructure as you know. I could've started with infrastructure -- I actually wanted to save the easy one for the one down the road. So we'll be having that done pretty quickly."
The White House reportedly is working on a roughly 70-page infrastructure proposal to be released in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, agreeing to another temporary spending bill by January 19 to avoid a government shutdown is seen as Congress' most immediate concern.
The media routinely play up the drama of a potential standoff resulting in a shutdown. But that situation has been avoided since 2013, considering how politically disastrous it could be for either party, especially in a midterm election year such as 2018.
Still, a demand by Trump to include border wall funding or Democrats' demanding a fix to the soon-to-expire Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program easily could complicate budget negotiations.
Trump earlier this year shuttered the Obama-era DACA program that protected millions of young illegal immigrants from deportation. The program officially expires in March. Trump also has signaled his desire for a permanent, congressionally-approved fix, as have Capitol Hill Democrats and many Republicans.
However, the related partisan horse trading -- including possible attempts to package the legislation with other initiatives -- could turn into a sticking point.
Trump and other top officials publicly have gone back and forth on whether funding to complete the border wall must be included in any spending or immigration deal.
Marc Short, the White House director of legislative affairs, recently told "Fox News Sunday" that Trump still intends to fulfill his campaign promise to build the wall, as part of an overall national security plan. But Short also suggested the president wouldn't insist on wall funding at the expense of larger U.S. interests, with the potential government shutdown looming.
"It's absolutely something the president has promised," he said. "It's not that it's non-negotiable; It's what American needs. It's in our national security interest to prevent drug cartels, to prevent MS-13 and secure our border."
However, Trump on Friday tweeted: "The Democrats have been told, and fully understand, that there can be no DACA without the desperately needed WALL at the Southern Border … We must protect our Country at all cost!"
Trump, in the tweet, also made clear that he wants immigration reform to include an end to so-called "chain migration," a part of U.S. immigration law that allows illegal immigrants to bring distant relatives into the country, and the United States' visa lottery program as it currently exists.
The system, created by Congress, attempts to diversity the mix of immigrants into the U.S. by establishing a lottery for countries from which few immigrants come.
However, Trump says the system is "ridiculous" because some of the included countries are state sponsors of terrorism.
Trump likely will have to shore up his off-and-on-again relationship with Congress' top two Democrats -- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California -- if he indeed wants to strike any major deals, particularly on immigration reform.
Meanwhile, Ryan and McConnell appear split on whether Congress will attempt so-called entitlement reform, which could include changes to Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare or food stamps.
Ryan has expressed a desire to address the issue, while McConnell appears to think it would hit a dead end in the Senate.
"I think Democrats are not going to be interested," McConnell recently said. "I would not expect to see that on the agenda."
Washington Republicans also appear divided over how to approach special counsel Robert Mueller's Justice Department investigation into whether Trump associates colluded with Russia during the 2016 elections.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., recently blasted the department and the FBI for its "failure to fully produce" documents related to the so-called anti-Trump dossier, which is related to federal probes, while other Republicans suggest such an approach is politically dangerous.
Trump wants the probe to end soon but has dismissed rumors that he will fire Mueller. He told The New York Times several days ago that he thinks Mueller "will be fair."
'Safe zone' for women aims to stop New Year's refugee sex attacks in Berlin
In this Dec. 31, 2016 file photo numerous visitors stand in front of the stage at the Brandenburg Gate where the New Year's Eve party is taking place in Berlin, Germany. (Jens Kalaene/dpa via AP)
New Year's Eve celebrations in Berlin will see a "safe zone" for women for the first time in the city's history.
Organizers of the Brandenburg Gate party are hoping to prevent mob attacks similar to those that occurred in Cologne two years ago.
Hundreds of women were attacked by gangs of men with migrant backgrounds during New Year's Eve celebrations in 2015.
The incident happened after Germany had accepted a record influx of more than one million migrants.
The German capital will this year have a "safety zone" where Red Cross helpers will look after women who feel harassed or threatened.
Additional safety precautions, including a ban on large bags, rucksacks, glass bottles and alcoholic drinks, will also be enforced.
COLD PUTS SOME NEW YEAR'S EVENTS ON ICE
Berlin police have issued advice to women attending the celebrations, encouraging them to seek help if they feel threatened and to avoid carrying a valuable bag.
About 500 security personnel will be at the Brandenburg Gate party, as well as more than 1,000 extra police officers patrolling the city.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to turn out for the celebrations.
Read more from Sky News.
Polish leader focuses on constitution in New Year's address
WARSAW, Poland – Poland's President Andrzej Duda has invited his countrymen to help shape the nation's constitution in 2018, which marks a key national anniversary.
Duda gave his televised New Year's speech as tens of thousands of Poles, dressed against the cold, were flocking to free outdoor concerts in Warsaw and in many other cities to see in the New Year. Sumptuous fireworks shows were planned by local authorities.
In 2018 Poland will celebrate 100 years of regained statehood. Duda is planning a referendum on the new shape of the constitution, saying the current one does not meet present-day requirements.
Facebook, Google could face new tax in Britain for failing to tackle extremism
Tech giants like Google and Facebook, already under fire for not doing enough to combat extremism and fake news, could face new taxes in the United Kingdom if a government official has his way.
Britain may impose new taxes on tech companies unless they do more to fight online extremism by removing material that radicalizes people or helps them to prepare attacks, Conservative Party security minister Ben Wallace said.
Wallace claimed tech firms were happy to sell people's data but not to give it to the government, which is spending vast sums on de-radicalization programs, surveillance and other counter-terrorism measures.
"If they continue to be less than cooperative, we should look at things like tax as a way of incentivizing them or compensating for their inaction," Wallace told the Sunday Times newspaper in an interview.
FACEBOOK, COCAINE, OPIODS: HOW ADDICTIVE IS THE SOCIAL NETWORK?
A man waits for an elevator in front of a logo at Facebook's headquarters in London, Dec. 4, 2017. (Reuters)
The newspaper reported that any demand would take the form of a windfall tax similar to one imposed on privatized utilities in 1997.
Wallace accused the tech giants of putting private profit before public safety.
"We should stop pretending that because they sit on beanbags in T-shirts they are not ruthless profiteers," he said. "They will ruthlessly sell our details to loans and soft-porn companies but not give it to our democratically elected government."
Facebook policy director Simon Milner rejected the criticisms in a statement to Reuters.
"Mr. Wallace is wrong to say that we put profit before safety, especially in the fight against terrorism," he said in an emailed statement. "We've invested millions of pounds in people and technology to identify and remove terrorist content."
YouTube, which is owned by Google, said it was doing more every day to tackle violent extremism.
"Over the course of 2017 we have made significant progress through investing in machine learning technology, recruiting more reviewers, building partnerships with experts and collaboration with other companies," a YouTube spokeswoman said.
Flowers seen in Manchester after a bombing at an Ariana Grande concert took the lives of 22 people and injured 119 others. (AP)
TWITTER SUSPENDS OUTSPOKEN EX-WSU COLLEGE REPUBLICANS HEAD
Britain suffered a series of attacks by Islamic extremists this year that killed a total of 36 people, not including the attackers. Two involved vehicles ramming people on bridges in London, followed by attackers stabbing people. The deadliest, a bombing at a concert in Manchester, killed 22 people and injured 119 others.
"We are more vulnerable than at any point in the last 100 years," said Wallace, citing extremist material on social media and encrypted messaging services.
"Because content is not being taken down as quickly as they could do, we're having to de-radicalize people who have been radicalized. That's costing millions," Wallace said. "They can't get away with that and we should look at all the options, including tax."
However, Facebook said it removed 83 percent of uploaded copies of terrorist content within one hour of its being found.
Facebook, which is being scrutinized by regulators in Germany and France for how it handles privacy and monetizes users' data, has said it would double the number of people working in its safety and security teams to 20,000 by the end of 2018.
Plane with 12 believed aboard crashes in Costa Rica
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – The Costa Rican government says that a plane believed to be carrying 12 people has crashed in a wooded area.
The Public Safety Ministry posted photographs of the crash site showing burning wreckage of the plane in Guanacaste, northwest Costa Rica.
Sunday's statement says the plane belongs to Nature Air and had taken off nearby.
Drunk man found with weapons cache on Houston Hyatt Regency's top floor before New Year's Eve celebration, police say
A Houston man was arrested on multiple charges after police found a stash of guns including an AR-15 in his room early Sunday at the top of the Hyatt Regency ahead of the downtown hotel's massive New Year's Eve celebration, authorities said.
According to Click2Houston, police at the hotel called for backup after they attempted to arrest a man for being intoxicated and trespassing.
When backup arrived, police noticed ammunition in the man's hotel room on the 28th floor, Lt. Gordon Macintosh with Houston police told local media.
The man was arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon and trespassing. When investigators looked into his room further, they located an AR-15, a shotgun, a handgun and lots of ammunition, Macintosh said.
The situation was "contained" and there were no specific threats to Houston, according to a tweet from Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.
A police spokesman said Sunday afternoon that investigators couldn't speculate about the man's intent.
The Hyatt's New Year's Eve celebration for 2,000 people spanning four floors with a 50,000 balloon drop will go on, but security will be tight according to Tom Netting, a manager at the hotel.
"The safety and security of our guests and colleagues is our top priority, and consistent with the hotel's prepared security plans, heightened measures are in place on New Year's Eve," Netting said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. "We are fully cooperating with authorities on an investigation, and further questions should be directed to the Houston Police Department."
Cops tried to tamp down fears of a massive planned attack. "There was not an arsenal," an official familiar with the case told the Chronicle .
One guest in the building at the time told the newspaper the hotel didn't tell him anything about the incident, though the police presence didn't have much impact on the lobby crowds as patrons returned from nearby bars.
"There wasn't a big disruption," 32-year-old Zedshan Zakir, who was leaving a wedding reception when he spotted a man in cuffs on one side of the atrium, told the Chronicle.
The man's white Chevrolet Silverado was located and towed to be searched and examined, authorities said.
Investigators are working to learn why the man had the weapons.
Amid nationwide concerns over recent terrorist attacks, the NYPD has deployed officers at every hotel in Times Square, sealed off a massive section of Midtown Manhattan and plans to check everyone's bag—twice—with bomb-sniffing dogs and metal detectors as 2 million revelers are expected to ring in 2018.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Seaplane crash in Sydney on New Year's Eve kills all 6 on board
Emergency workers carry to shore what is believed to be a body and debris from a seaplane that crashed into the Hawkesbury River, north of Sydney, Australia. (Perry Duffin/AAP Image via AP)
A seaplane crashed into a river in Sydney on Sunday afternoon, killing all six people on board, officials said.
The plane was carrying five passengers and a pilot when it crashed into the Hawkesbury River. Police divers recovered the bodies of all six victims a few hours later, New South Wales police said.
Fishermen guide their boat past a police vessel at the scene where a seaplane crashed into the Hawkesbury River. (Perry Duffin/AAP Image via AP)
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it would investigate the incident.
The aircraft belonged to Sydney Seaplanes, which has been offering passengers the chance to see some of Sydney's most popular sights for 80 years, according to the company's website.
Man found with weapons cache on Houston Hyatt Regency's top floor before New Year's Eve celebration, police say
A Houston man was arrested on multiple charges after police found a stash of guns including an AR-15 in his room early Sunday at the top of the Hyatt Regency ahead of the downtown hotel's massive New Year's Eve celebration, authorities said.
According to Click2Houston, police at the hotel called for backup after they attempted to arrest a man for being intoxicated and trespassing.
When backup arrived, police noticed ammunition in the man's hotel room on the 28th floor, Lt. Gordon Macintosh with Houston police told local media.
The man was arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon and trespassing. When investigators looked into his room further, they located an AR-15, a shotgun, a handgun and lots of ammunition, Macintosh said.
The situation was "contained" and there were no specific threats to Houston, according to a tweet from Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.
A police spokesman said Sunday afternoon that investigators couldn't speculate about the man's intent.
The Hyatt's New Year's Eve celebration for 2,000 people spanning four floors with a 50,000 balloon drop will go on, but security will be tight according to Tom Netting, a manager at the hotel.
"The safety and security of our guests and colleagues is our top priority, and consistent with the hotel's prepared security plans, heightened measures are in place on New Year's Eve," Netting said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. "We are fully cooperating with authorities on an investigation, and further questions should be directed to the Houston Police Department."
Cops tried to tamp down fears of a massive planned attack. "There was not an arsenal," an official familiar with the case told the Chronicle .
One guest in the building at the time told the newspaper the hotel didn't tell him anything about the incident, though the police presence didn't have much impact on the lobby crowds as patrons returned from nearby bars.
"There wasn't a big disruption," 32-year-old Zedshan Zakir, who was leaving a wedding reception when he spotted a man in cuffs on one side of the atrium, told the Chronicle.
The man's white Chevrolet Silverado was located and towed to be searched and examined, authorities said.
Investigators are working to learn why the man had the weapons.
Amid nationwide concerns over recent terrorist attacks, the NYPD has deployed officers at every hotel in Times Square, sealed off a massive section of Midtown Manhattan and plans to check everyone's bag—twice—with bomb-sniffing dogs and metal detectors as 2 million revelers are expected to ring in 2018.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New Year's Eve: Parties around the world ring in 2018
New Year's Eve: Parties around the world ring in 2018
Revelers around the world ring in 2018, say bye to the old A look at how people around the world are ringing in 2018
http://www.foxnews.com/">Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/
A woman prays in front of lanterns to celebrate the New Year at Jogyesa Buddhist temple in Seoul, South Korea
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
a-woman-prays-in-front-of-lanterns-to-celebrate-the-new-year-at-jogyesa-buddhist-temple-in-seoul,-south-korea
A woman prays in front of lanterns to celebrate the New Year at Jogyesa Buddhist temple in Seoul, South Korea
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
a-woman-prays-in-front-of-lanterns-to-celebrate-the-new-year-at-jogyesa-buddhist-temple-in-seoul,-south-korea
Fireworks explode over Sydney Harbour during New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney
(David Moir/AAP Image via AP)
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Fireworks explode over Sydney Harbour during New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia
(David Moir/AAP Image via AP)
fireworks-explode-over-sydney-harbour-during-new-year's-eve-celebrations-in-sydney,-australia
Evalena Worthington practices her New Year's Eve descent from the top of a sailing vessel's mast in Key West, Florida
(ob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)
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A runner in costume poses for a photo prior to the start of Sao Silvestre race in Sao Paulo, Brazil
(AP Photo/Nelson Antoine)
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Fireworks explode above Singapore's financial district at the stroke of midnight to mark the New Year's celebrations
(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
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Pope Francis celebrates a new year's eve vespers Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican
(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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Spectators gather ahead of the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square in New York
(AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
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Colorado deputy killed, 4 others shot in 'ambush-style' attack outside Denver
A New Year's Eve domestic disturbance call sparked an "ambush-style" attack that left one deputy dead, four others injured and two civilians wounded in an apartment complex just south of Denver.
The suspect had fired off around 100 rounds with a rifle at the Copper Canyon apartment community in Highlands Ranch, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said.
"They all went down, almost within seconds of each other," Spurlock said.
The unnamed suspect, who died during the attack, was known to law enforcement, Spurlock said. He did not reveal exactly how the suspect died.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says five deputies were shot at an apartment community in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Fox 31 Denver)
Spurlock identified the deceased officer as 29-year-old Zackari Parrish, who had been on the force there for seven months.
"I can't tell you how difficult it is for a leader to sit down with a spouse of an officer who was killed in the line of duty," Spurlock said. "They had many hopes and dreams. He was doing his job and he was doing his job well."
Parrish is survived by his wife and two children and previously worked for two years at the Castle Rock Police Department.
The other wounded officers: Deputies Mike Doyle, 28; Taylor Davis, 30; Jeffrey Pelle, 32; and Tom O'Donnell, 31, were said to be in stable condition. The civilians had suffered non-life threatening injuries, Spurlock said.
Pelle is the son of Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle, Fox 31 Denver reported.
Police previously said residents of the area should shelter in place and avoid windows. Multiple law enforcement agencies and a SWAT team responded to the scene.
Local media later reported gunshots being heard amid a stream of firetrucks and emergency vehicles entering the area.
Steven Silknitter, who lives in the complex, told the Denver Postthat he was working elsewhere when he got word of the shooting and called home to speak to his fiance.
"She was pretty scared," Silknitter said. "She kept saying how loud it was."
President Donald Trump tweeted that he has offered his "deepest condolences to the victims of the terrible shooting."
Unruly man with guns arrested at Houston hotel
HOUSTON – Houston police say an intoxicated man was arrested at a hotel ahead of a New Year's Eve party for unlawfully carrying a weapon and trespassing after officers found several guns and ammunition in his room.
Investigators say security officers called police after the man became belligerent and refused to be subdued early Sunday at the bar at downtown Houston's Hyatt Regency Hotel. The hotel's annual New Year's Eve party is one of the city's largest.
Police Lt. Gordon Macintosh says responding officers found a rifle, shotgun and handgun in his room, plus ammunition.
Police said the man is jailed. His name hasn't been released.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted that the situation was "contained" and authorities aren't aware of any specific threats to the city.
A police spokesman said Sunday afternoon that investigators couldn't speculate about the man's intent.
Iranian president Rouhani breaks silence, blasts Trump as protests grow
Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani broke his silence Sunday on the widespread protests in the Islamic Republic while blasting President Donald Trump for his tweets on the unrest.
Rouhani said in a speech Sunday night -- his first since the protests began Thursday -- that people have the right to demonstrate, but those demonstrations should not make the public "feel concerned about their lives and security."
The Iranian president also criticized Trump over his tweets on the protests, saying he "has forgotten that he had called Iranian people `terrorists' a few months ago," the Associated Press reported.
Trump had weighed in earlier in the day, saying Iranians were "finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism.
Dec. 30, 2017: The protests have spread to Iranian's capital of Tehran. (Reuters)
"Looks like they will not take it any longer," Trump said. "The USA is watching very closely for human rights violations!"
Rouhani's comments came hours after two protesters were killed at a rally.
The deaths were the first of the demonstrations, which appear to be the largest to strike Iran since the protests that followed the country's disputed 2009 presidential election.
"On Saturday evening, there was an illegal protest in Dorud and a number of people took to the streets responding to calls from hostile groups, leading to clashes," said Habibollah Khojastehpour, the deputy governor of the western Lorestan province, according to Sky News. "Unfortunately in these clashes two citizens from Dorud were killed."
Khojastehpour told state television that "no shots were fired by the police and security forces" and "foreign agents" and "enemies of the revolutions" were to blame.
Dec. 30, 2017: In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, anti-riot Iranian police prevent university students from joining other protesters in Tehran, Iran. (AP)
A Revolutionary Guards Telegram channel blamed the deaths on "people armed with hunting and military weapons" who "entered the protests and started shooting randomly toward the crowd and the governor's building," according to Sky News, adding that six people also were wounded.
Videos circulating on social media late Saturday appeared to show fallen protesters in Doroud as gunshots sounded in the background, although the footage could not be independently confirmed.
The killings came as interior minister Abdolrahman Rahmani Fazli warned Iranians about participating in the protests.
"Those who damage public property, disrupt order and break the law must be responsible for their behavior and pay the price," Sky News quoted Fazli as saying early Sunday on state television.
TRUMP REDOUBLES SUPPORT OF IRAN PROTESTS, SAYING THE 'WORLD IS WATCHING'
The CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, which protesters have used to plan and publicize demonstrations, according to the Associated Press, said Sunday that Iran has been "blocking access... for the majority of Iranians." Iranians said the app is now inaccessible by mobile phone networks.
State TV also said Instagram use has been "temporarily limited."
Thousands have taken to the streets of cities across Iran, beginning on Thursday in Mashhad, the country's second-largest city and a holy site for Shiite pilgrims.
The protests have also spread to Iran's capital of Tehran, where 200 people were taken into custody Saturday, according to an Iranian news agency report quoting Ali Asghar Nasserbakht, a security deputy governor of Tehran.
Nasserbakht claimed police arrested those who were planning on rioting and destroying public property. He said that around 40 leaders were arrested.
In the city of Arak, some 173 miles south of Tehran, authorities have arrested some 80 protesters, the ILNA news agency reported.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of government supporters also marched in cities to show their support for the regime, Sky News reported.
Iran's economy has improved since its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Iran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the end of some international sanctions. Tehran now sells its oil on the global market and has signed deals to purchase tens of billions of dollars' worth of Western aircraft.
That improvement has not reached the average Iranian, however. Unemployment remains high, and official inflation has crept up to 10 percent again. A recent increase in egg and poultry prices by as much as 40 percent, which a government spokesman has blamed on a cull over avian flu fears, appears to have been the spark for the economic protests.
While the protests have sparked clashes, Iran's hard-line paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and its affiliates have not intervened as they have in other unauthorized demonstrations since the 2009 election.
Some analysts outside of Iran have suggested that may be because the economic protests initially just put pressure on the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate whose administration struck the nuclear deal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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