USA

Wilshire Grand Centre skyscraper in Los Angeles set to defy earthquakes

An iconic skyscraper will be one of the tallest in the world when it’s completed in the next few months. But it’s already making headlines not just for its height but also for it’s state-of-the-art earthquake proofing. The 73-storey Wilshire Grand Centre in Los Angeles rises 338 metres towards the sky. The 1.2 billion dollar […]

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Travel and Food, USA

Inauguration quotes by US presidents through the ages

Washington (dpa) – Many of the famous quotes associated with US presidents come from their inaugural addresses. George Washington’s first inaugural speech, 1789: “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the

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USA

Edward Snowden, NSA leaker, can stay in Russia through 2020

Edward Snowden, the former intelligence contractor wanted in the U.S. for leaking national security documents to the press, can remain in Russia through 2020, officials in Moscow said Wednesday. Mr. Snowden’s right to asylum was extended by three years, his Moscow-based attorney and the Kremlin confirmed separately this week, giving the NSA leaker at least

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International, USA

From the archives: In 1999, Eugene Cernan knew we’d make it to Mars

In memory of “the last moonwalker” NASA/Popular Science, July 1999 In 1972, astronaut Eugene Cernan commanded Apollo 17, the last space mission to land men on the moon. They stayed for about three days. On January 16, 2017, Eugene Cernan passed away. Cernan held the title of “the last moonwalker,” which he called “a dubious

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Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, USA

When Jackie Evancho sings at Trump’s inauguration, her transgender sister won’t be present — here’s why

While 18-year-old Jackie Evancho goes on-stage at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, her transgender sister Juliet will be going under the knife. RELATED: Singer performing National Anthem at Trump’s inauguration sees HUGE gains since the announcement According to TMZ, 16-year-old Juliet will be undergoing gender reassignment surgery in Philadelphia on Friday so that she can “finally

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

Sean Spicer Defends Trump’s Cabinet Picks

Incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Thursday morning defended the racial makeup of Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, during his first official briefing on the eve of the president-elect’s Inauguration. Related: Schedule of events for Donald Trump’s Inauguration In a 45-minute briefing that included remarks from Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who has been the

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USA

Puerto Ricans celebrate Oscar López Rivera, who will be freed after 35 years in US prison

Among the 273 people who were pardoned or had their sentences commuted this week by outgoing President Barack Obama was 74-year-old Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar López Rivera. “Oscar,” as he’s known to supporters, was linked to a Puerto Rican nationalist group, the Armed Forces of National Liberation, which carried out bombings and other crimes in

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USA

The man who gruesomely murdered a Virginia family on New Year’s Day 11 years ago is put to death

Death Row inmate Ricky Gray, 39, was put to death Wednesday night by the state of Virginia. Eleven years ago, Gray walked into a family’s home on New Year’s Day and killed two young girls and their parents by slashing their throats and then setting their home ablaze. Gray reportedly showed no emotion as he

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USA

Haughty Palm Beach learns to love Trump, once a scorned outsider

PALM BEACH, Fla. — The genteel people of Palm Beach, home to the old-money fortunes of captains-of-industry scions, once ridiculed even their wealthy Kennedy neighbors — with their Irish Catholicism, Hollywood paparazzi and family scandals — as contemptible nouveau riche. Then came Donald Trump. Immediately branded by the notoriously insular locals as a vulgar arriviste,

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USA

Trump Nominee for U.N. Ambassador Supports Moving U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem

New York, Ramallah- South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley seconded criticism of the United Nations by the new U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and many of their fellow Republicans before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, especially for what she termed its “bias” against Israel. At her Senate confirmation hearing, Haley slammed the Obama administration for allowing “mistreatment”

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Middle East, USA

How this torture survivor from Chad made good on ‘a pact with God’

Souleymane Guengueng tells me his story in the Bronx, where he lives on the 16th floor of a 21-story housing project with his wife and three kids. He’s stylish, wearing a green collared shirt and his signature fedora. “I am a survivor of torture,” he says, sitting on his couch. “I have fought for human

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International, USA

Donald Trump Wants To Eliminate The National Endowment For The Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts, the independent federal agency that promotes and funds art in American communities, will be eliminated if the Trump administration has its way, the Hill reported Thursday. The NEA provides direct grants to art agencies and artists throughout the country. In 2015, the agency awarded grants in every Congressional district,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Senate committee confirms Trump’s Defense Secretary

A Senate committee on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved James N. Mattis, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, according to The Los Angeles Times. Mattis thus became the first of Trump’s Cabinet picks to clear the crucial hurdle. The GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee voted 26-1 in favor of Mattis on Wednesday, according to the

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Middle East, USA