USA

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, said she was disturbed to hear Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell say there would be “total coordination” between the White House and the Senate over the upcoming presidential impeachment trial.

“And in fairness, when I heard that I was disturbed,” Murkowski told KTUU Tuesday before saying there should be distance between the White House and the Senate in how the trial is conducted.

SPRINGFIELD, Va. (AP) — Inside a hotel ballroom near the nation’s capital, a U.S. Army officer with battlefield experience told 120 state and local election officials that they may have more in common with the military strategists than they might think.

These government officials are on the front lines of a different kind of high-stakes battlefield — one in which they are helping to defend American democracy by ensuring free and fair elections.

“Everyone in this room is part of a bigger effort, and it’s only together are we going to get through this,” the officer said.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore could wrap up 2019 with its highest per-capita homicide rate on record as killings of adults and minors alike for drugs, retribution, money or no clear reason continue to add up and city officials appear unable to stop the violence.

BOSTON (AP) — In the throes of the Cold War, the Soviet Union was planning to test a massive nuclear bomb in the Arctic Circle.

But in a letter to then-President John F. Kennedy, a young Michigan girl was most concerned about the North Pole’s most famous resident.

“Please stop the Russians from bombing the North Pole,” 8-year-old Michelle Rochon, of Marine City, pleaded, according to news reports at the time. “Because they will kill Santa Claus.”

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — State Attorney General Dana Nessel has suspended a nearly two-year-long criminal investigation into Michigan State University’s handling of complaints against now-imprisoned serial sexual abuser Larry Nassar, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The probe, which began under Nessel’s predecessor, has resulted in charges against three former school officials. One was convicted. Two others, including former president Lou Anna Simon, were ordered to trial. Their cases will continue to be prosecuted.

DENVER (AP) — The purpose of recent nighttime drone flights over northeast Colorado has remained a mystery to authorities who are trying to learn the identities of the operators.

The drones have flown over Phillips and Yuma counties for the last week, the Denver Post reported Monday.

The Phillips County Sheriff’s Office cannot explain where the drones are coming from or who is flying them.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be planning to give him “a nice present” such as a “beautiful vase” for Christmas rather than a missile launch.

The president was asked what he will do if North Korea does conduct a long-range missile test.

The North has threatened to take unspecified action if sanctions are not eased by the end of the year, and speculation has centered on the possibility of a new missile test, possibly of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg cut ties with a contractor that used prisoners to make calls for his presidential campaign, he said in a statement Tuesday.

The former New York mayor said that his campaign was unaware of the arrangement until a reporter sought comment. Earlier Tuesday, online news site The Intercept reported that Bloomberg’s campaign contracted a New Jersey-based call center company that, in at least one instance, used Oklahoma inmates to make calls on behalf of the billionaire’s campaign.

24 December 2019; AFP: Former US national security adviser John Bolton on Monday sharply criticized President Donald Trump's North Korea policy, warning that the Asian country posed an "imminent" threat.

(Reuters) - Beleaguered Boeing Co (BA.N) is putting its future in the hands of an industrial veteran who has led several companies in crisis, began his career at engine maker General Electric Co (GE.N) and has already spent a decade on the board of the world’s largest planemaker.

Newly appointed Chief Executive David Calhoun, 62, was made Boeing’s chairman two months ago, in the midst of the crisis that has rocked the company since two fatal crashes led to the grounding of its 737 MAX. It was not his first experience of navigating corporate upheaval.