(CNN) The House just passed a bill making animal cruelty a federal felony. Now, that's something we can all agree is a smart idea.
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It has been a month since House Democrats launched their impeachment inquiry into President Trump's alleged dealings with Ukraine, and things just keep getting stranger. About two-dozen House Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, barged into a closed-door deposition yesterday in secure House Intelligence Committee spaces. The group claims it was unhappy with the level of transparency of the impeachment process. The unusual uproar occurred just as members of three committees were about to interview Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Laura Cooper, delaying it about five hours. Cooper's testimony ended up bolstering the notion that delivery of aid to Ukraine deviated from the normal process. Others have said Trump demanded Ukraine launch an investigation to help him politically before US aid would be released.
Looming wildfire threats have led California's largest utility to set off another round of intentional power cuts. The latest blackouts started yesterday, leaving about 179,000 people in 17 counties in the dark until at least this afternoon. A raging wildfire has forced the evacuation of hundreds of people in Sonoma County. Scorching temperatures and high winds in the area have increased wildfire fears, and more than 25 million people in the state are under "red flag warnings," which mean a high risk of fire dangers. The planned power outages come only two weeks after planned outages hit nearly a million Californians for several days.
The Trump administration is close to closing a deal with Guatemala that would limit who's eligible for asylum in the US. Under the deal, Guatemala would act as a "safe third country" and commit to offering asylum to migrants who seek it. US law allows migrants to claim asylum once they arrive on US soil, but there's a caveat if migrants travel through countries that are deemed safe under agreements with the US (Canada is also one). The Guatemala deal is part of the administration's efforts to curb the number of asylum-seekers, and under it, those already in the US could be sent to Guatemala instead. Immigrant advocates argue these kinds of deals put migrants in harm's way and betray the US commitment to protecting vulnerable populations.
A homicide investigation has been opened after 39 bodies were found in a truck in Essex, southeast England. A 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland, identified as the truck's driver, has been arrested in connection with the deaths. Authorities believe the truck container came into the UK from Belgium but originated in Northern Ireland. Comments from authorities indicate the victims got into the truck of their own accord, suggesting the tragedy was a trafficking incident. It's not the first time something like this has happened. Four human traffickers were jailed for life this year by a Hungarian court after the bodies of 71 migrants were discovered in a truck in Austria.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was raked over the coals yesterday during testimony on Capitol Hill regarding Facebook's controversial cryptocurrency project, Libra. Zuckerberg admitted the company would have to rethink its involvement in the project if the currency doesn't get US regulatory approval, but the real fireworks had nothing to do with Libra at all. Lawmakers took the opportunity to grill Zuckerberg over Facebook's controversial political ad policies, encryption, censorship, child sex abuse content, data collection and the platform's vulnerability as a tool of election interference. Meantime, almost 50 attorneys general are now investigating Facebook for evidence of anticompetitive practices, and the platform's handling of political content will continue to be under a microscope as the 2020 election creeps ever closer.
Scientists taught rats how to drive little cars, and the results could improve mental health care
Both the scientists and the rats should be so proud.
Parking space sells for $1 million in Hong Kong
In related news, Hong Kong was named the most expensive city in the world from 2018 to 2019.
USWNT star Alex Morgan is having a baby girl
She's gonna have some big cleats to fill.
There's a reason you crave junk food when you haven't gotten enough sleep
Sorry, you'll have to find another excuse for all the times you've hit the drive-thru well-rested.
"For the record, as far as I could tell, aliens have never contacted Earth, or at least they haven't contacted US intelligence."
Edward Snowden, in his recent memoir, "Permanent Record." The former CIA employee and NSA whistleblower appeared on a podcast to talk about his experience searching CIA records to find out if aliens exist.
9,700
The number of premature deaths in the US in 2018 that could be attributed to poor air quality, according to a new study. The study found air quality in the US has gotten worse in recent years, after a long period of slowly improving.
Meet the Halloween Queen
Imagine owning a spooky mansion with more than 35,000 pieces of Halloween-themed artifacts. Sounds awesome, right? (Click here to view.)