No drugs, alcohol found in driver in Tennessee school bus crash, death toll hits six

 

No drugs or alcohol were found in the system of the man accused of vehicular homicide in the crash of a Tennessee elementary school bus that killed six children and critically injured several more, police said on Wednesday.

Johnthony Walker, 24, was driving the bus full of students home from Chattanooga's Woodmore Elementary School on Monday when it veered off a road, flipped on its side and smashed into a tree and telephone poll, according to a police affidavit.

Officials said five children were killed initially: a kindergartner, a first-grader and three fourth-grade students. Police said on Wednesday evening that a sixth child had died.

Walker was driving on a narrow, winding road at well above the speed limit of 30 miles per hour (48 kph) when he lost control, leaving the bright yellow bus mangled and nearly severed in two, the affidavit said.

Justin Bieber accused of punching fan

Justin Bieber has been caught on video appearing to slug a fan.

TMZ posted the footage of Bieber in Barcelona while on tour Tuesday.

In the video, Bieber is being driven in a car approaching Palau Sant Jordi stadium.

A group of screaming fans are greeting the car containing Bieber when a man sticks his hand in the window and appears to touch the singer.

Bieber's hand can then be seen making contact with the man's face.

watch video

At least 40 killed in east China scaffolding collapse

 

At least 40 people were killed in a scaffolding collapse Thursday morning at a construction site in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangxi, state media reported.

A work platform at a power plant cooling tower being built in the city of Fengcheng came tumbling down at about 7:30 a.m., an official with the local Work Safety Administration said by telephone.

He put the confirmed death toll at 22 but the official Xinhua News Agency said that figure had risen to at least 40 by midday. Xinhua did not cite its source for the information and calls to local government information offices rang unanswered.

Xinhua said an unknown number of others were still trapped in the debris.

Television footage and photographs from the site showed iron pipes and wooden planks strewn across the floor of the massive concrete cooling tower.

China has suffered a series of major industrial accidents over recent months blamed on corruption, disregard for safety and pressure to boost production amid a slowing economy.

Trump to Accept Inauguration Funds From Corporations and Big Donors

 President-elect Donald J. Trump will allow corporations and wealthy individuals to make large donations to fund the activities surrounding his inauguration, complicating his promise to eliminate special interests from influencing his government.

Mr. Trump plans to ban money from registered lobbyists, whom he has purged from his transition team and barred from working for his administration. But the restrictions will be lighter on corporations and individuals — the groups that have traditionally provided a vast majority of funding for the festivities surrounding the transfer of power.

The restrictions, which members of the Presidential Inaugural Committee cautioned have yet to be finalized, represent a continued march back from standards set in 2009, when President-elect Barack Obama banned gifts from lobbyists, political action committees and corporations, and put a cap of $50,000 on individuals.

Science says these 7 tactics will help you win any argument

You don't have to resort to yelling.

Skye Gould/Business Insider

After a highly controversial US election, you're likely to come in contact with someone you don't share the same views with.

It's easy for these calm discussions to turn ugly. If they involve family members, it can make the holidays especially stressful.

These are the most successful tactics to help you get your point across in a courteous and educated way.

Drake Baer contributed to an earlier version of this story.

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Skye Gould/Business Insider

Attacking someone's ideas puts them into fight-or-flight mode. Once they're on edge, there will be no getting through to them.

So if you want to be convincing, practice "extreme agreement": Take your conversational partner's views and advance them to their logical - and perhaps absurd - conclusion.

AKON Worried About Kanye ... KEEPING MY EYE ON 'KARDASHIAN KURSE

Kanye West was bound to end up in a hospital ... IF you buy into the long rumored Kardashian curse supposedly haunting all the men in that family, and Akon might be a believer.

Akon was talking about Kanye's breakdown when our photog jokingly asked him if he puts any stock in the alleged curse. Akon's take is very interesting, complete with African proverbs.

Take a look ... especially if your name is Tyga.

Trump reportedly attended only 2 of his daily intelligence briefings since the election

President-elect Donald Trump reportedly turned away the intelligence officials responsible for getting him up to speed on US national security concerns and world affairs, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday night.

Trump, who has been meeting with domestic and international dignitaries in the two weeks since he won the election, has only received two classified intelligence briefings according to the Post, while Vice President-elect Mike Pence reportedly participated in the meetings almost every day.

Post reporters Greg Miller and Adam Entous wrote that Trump got his first classified briefing days after the election, and a second one on Tuesday, before heading to Florida for Thanksgiving.

The intelligence briefing is a summary of feedback from the 16 US intelligence agencies and a roundup of the CIA's secret international operations.

Sources within Trump's transition team who were cited by the Post suggested that, separate from the daily briefings, Trump deems choosing people for national security positions within his administration a priority.

The report follows concerns from within Washington that the president-elect — who has never held public office before — is unprepared for the gravity of daily Oval Office duties.

Lagos cancels monthly environmental sanitation day

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday terminated the monthly environmental sanitation exercise which hitherto held for three hours on the last Saturday of every month.

The State Government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, said the decision to cancel the monthly exercise followed a resolution arrived at Wednesday’s Executive Council meeting which approved the need for a robust review of the environmental laws and procedures in the state in order to meet the present day challenges and to promote a clean and healthy environment.

The Government noted that considering the present economic situation in the country, it was no longer appropriate to restrict movement of people for three hours in a mega city like Lagos at a time they should be pursuing commercial and entrepreneurial activities.

According to government, in the last two decades, Lagos has grown exponentially into a mega city with the attendant huge environmental problems associated with managing a population of over twenty million people.

S. Korea, Japan sign intelligence deal despite China criticism

South Korean Defence Minister Han Min-Koo (R) and Japanese Ambassador to Seoul Yasumasa Nagamine sign the General Security of Military Information Agreement in Seoul

South Korean Defence Minister Han Min-Koo (R) and Japanese Ambassador to Seoul Yasumasa Nagamine sign the General Security of Military Information Agreement in Seoul (AFP Photo/)

Japan and South Korea on Wednesday signed an agreement to share defence intelligence about North Korea, despite protests from opposition parties and activists in Seoul and strong criticism from China.

South Korea's defence ministry said the accord was necessary in the face of growing military threats from Pyongyang, which has conducted two nuclear tests and more than 20 missile launches this year.

"It is ready to conduct additional nuclear tests and missile launches at any time," the ministry said in a statement.

"Since we can now utilise Japan's intelligence capability to effectively deal with North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile threats, it will enhance our security interests."

Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement the military agreement would allow the two governments to "share information even more smoothly and swiftly".

Gucci Mane proposed to his longtime girlfriend at a basketball game

Rapper Gucci Mane proposed to his girlfriend Keyshia Kaoir at a basketball game last night with one of the biggest rings we've seen in a while...watch the video after the cut...

Trump flip-flops 6 times in 1-hour New York Times interview

In a lengthy Tuesday interview with the New York Times, Donald Trump repeatedly cast aside some of his provocative past statements.

The president-elect’s phenomenal rise to the White House was characterized in part by his boisterous personality and flair for the theatrical. His off-the-cuff responses to journalist’s questions and impulsive attacks against rivals endeared him to conservative voters who wanted a candidate to “tell it like it is.”

But it could be difficult to make governing compromises with the same level of mud-slinging coming from the Oval Office. Trump struck a far more mellow tone during his interview with the Times. Based on early tweets about the session, by Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Mike Grynbaum, Trump backed off of several extreme policy proposals and harsh insults against political opponents. He even backed off his attacks against the Times earlier in the day.

Here are a few instances of times that Trump drastically changed his tune.

Electoral College

During the 2012 presidential election, Trump called the Electoral College “a disaster for a democracy” and said it had made “a laughingstock out of our nation.”

But after he defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College while losing the popular vote, Trump tweeted that the Electoral College is “actually genius” because it “brings all states, including the smaller ones, into play.”

Twitter accidentally suspends own CEO's account

Last night, Twitter suspended its own chief executive and co-founder, Jack Dorsey' account. He had over 3.5million followers before it was suspended and it fell to about 150 followers after the suspension.

Appeal Court sacks Jimoh Ibrahim as Ondo PDP governorship candidate, reinstates Eyitayo Jegede

Justice Ibrahim Saulawa of the Appeal court in Abuja has ordered the reinstatement of Eyitayo Jegede as the rightful candidate of PDP in this Saturday, November 26th, Ondo state governorship election.

This judgment nullifies the candidature of billionaire businesman, Jimoh Ibrahim, who before now was recognized by INEC as the party's candidate.

Delivering judgment in an appeal filed by Jegede, Justice Saulawa set aside the October 14th ruling by Justice Okon Abang which recognized Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP candidate for the election.

Jimoh belongs to the Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the party while Eyitayo Jegede belongs to the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the party

Justice Ngwuta hid N27m inside bathroom, Hummer SUV, 2 other cars – FG

DESPITE stiff opposition from the Federal Government, the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, yesterday, released Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court on bail to the tune of N100 million
Ngwuta secured bail on a day he was docked on a 16-count criminal charge bordering on money laundering, age falsification and illegal possession of multiple international passports, contrary to Section 10 (1) (a) of the Immigration Act 2015. Trial Justice James Tsoho said he released the accused jurist on bail, in view of his status as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He said there was nothing before the court to show that Ngwuta had in any way breached the administrative bail earlier given to him by the Department of State Services, DSS. This came on a day Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, lamented that corrupt practices were exposing the Judiciary to criticisms and asked judges to align with President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft war. I’m not guilty

  —Ngwuta Justice Ngwuta had shortly after he pleaded not guilty to all the charges, begged the court to grant him bail on self-recognition, pending the hearing and determination of the case against him. Addressing the court through his lead counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN,  the defendant insisted that charges against him were bailable offences. Agabi, a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, predicated the bail request on sections 32, 158 and 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, as well as Section 35 (1) of the 1999 constitution, as amended. Ngwuta’s bail application was supported by a 14-paragraph affidavit that was deposed to by one Enoh Abasi Eboh.

Nearly 100 demonstrators strip down as they march semi-naked to Trump Tower to protest the president-elect

Those walking on Broadway toward Trump Tower got an eye-full on Saturday when about 100 semi-nude protesters marched up the road in Manhattan. 

The demonstration began at Union Square and made it's way north in protest of Trump's proposed policies. 

Before the march began, a makeup artist painted blood and fake wounds on the bodies of the protesters.

Gothamist reports this was in order to represent the 'harm' minorities and marginalized groups could face in the Trump administration.  

One hundred semi-naked protesters marched through Manhattan on Saturday in protest of president-elect Donald Trump 

The demonstration began at Union Square and made it's way north in protest of Trump's proposed policies