An outside group founded by top political aides to Sen. Joni Ernst has worked closely with the Iowa Republican to raise money and boost her reelection prospects, a degree of overlap that potentially violates the law, documents obtained by The Associated Press show. Iowa Values, a political nonprofit that is supposed to be run independently, was co-founded in 2017 by Ernst’s longtime consultant, Jon Kohan. It shares a fundraiser, Claire Holloway Avella, with the Ernst campaign. And a condo owned by a former aide — who was recently hired to lead the group — was used as Iowa Values’ address at a time when he worked for her. Political nonprofits are often referred to as “dark money” groups because they can raise unlimited sums and are not required to reveal their donors. But they must take steps to keep their activities separate from the candidates they support. Additionally, while such tax-exempt groups can do political work, they can’t make it their primary purpose. The documents reviewed by the AP, including emails and a strategy memo, not only make clear that the group’s aim is securing an Ernst win in 2020, but they also show Ernst and her campaign worked in …

Authorities say an active shooter is dead after opening fire on multiple people Friday at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. Escambia Sheriff’s spokeswoman Amber Southard tells The Associated Press that the shooter is dead. News outlets are reporting that 10 people have been taken to area hospitals. Pensacola Police spokesman Mike Wood has confirmed that law enforcement responded to the active shooter. Base spokesman Jason Bortz said both gates are closed and the base is on lockdown.     …

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is promising to invest $150 billion to bring high-speed internet to “every household in America” while breaking up and better regulating monopolies he says currently limit access to drive up their profits.                     The Vermont senator on Friday unveiled a plan providing that funding in infrastructure grants and technical assistance to states and municipalities through Green New Deal climate-change fighting initiatives, allowing them to build what he called “publicly owned and democratically controlled, co-operative or open access broadband networks.”                     Sanders also wants to set aside $7.5 billion to increase high-speed broadband in Native American communities nationwide and increase funding for the Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Native Affairs and Policy.                     Citing FCC data, Sanders said that in rural areas, about 30% of Americans lack access to broadband internet access.                     The senator also says that, as president, he’d require all internet service providers to offer a “Basic Internet Plan” providing “quality broadband speeds at an affordable price.” He also vowed to break up internet service provider and cable monopolies, prohibit service advisers from providing content and wipe out “anticompetitive” mergers.                     “It is outrageous that across the country …

The recent film release, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” by Marielle Heller, is based on the Esquire magazine article, “Can you say..Hero?” that award-winning journalist Tom Junod wrote in 1998 about Fred Rogers. Rogers is an American TV personality who spoke to children and advocated empathy, understanding and reconciliation. The newly released films shows how two polar opposites, an empathic Mister Rogers and a cynical writer, become friends. Some have said the movie makes them “want to be better people.” Conversely, Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” a billion-dollar box office hit, offers a dark portrait of Batman’s nemesis, thriving on rancor, revenge and social chaos. VOA’s Penelope Poulou looks at the two films’ contrasting messages …

New clashes between government security forces and the Taliban in northern Afghanistan are said to have killed around 20 combatants on both sides. The predawn fighting in Kunduz province erupted after insurgents assaulted several Afghan police outposts in the volatile Imam Sahib district. A provincial police spokesman, Inamuddin Rahmani, told VOA the clashes left at least nine police personnel, including a local commander, dead and several others injured. He said 11 assailants were also killed. For its part the Taliban claimed in a statement that the raid killed 14 among the government forces and overran the security posts. It did not give insurgent casualties. It was not possible to verify either claim from independent sources in a province that has been the site of intense fighting for years. The Taliban twice captured, though briefly, the provincial capital, also known as Kunduz. The latest fighting comes as the United States is preparing to relaunch its peace negotiations with the Taliban, possibly next week, nearly three months after President Donald Trump abruptly halted the process. FILE – U.S. chief negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad speaks during a news conference at Serena Hotel in Kabul , Afghanistan. U.S. chief negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, is currently visiting …

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Andrew Griffin formed the alternative rock band “Better Than Ezra in 1988.” As a songwriter, Griffin stands out as a five-time BMI Pop Award winner and ARIAA Award-winner with multiple number ones, including Sugarland’s “Stuck Like Glue” and Howie Day’s “Collide.” In October, he released his first solo album, “Anywhere You Go.” …

Five world powers trying to save their 2015 nuclear deal with Iran from U.S. efforts to overturn it are grappling with a new setback as they meet with Iranian officials in Vienna Friday. A day before Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia were to hold talks with Iran in the Austrian capital, Moscow said it was suspending its work to reconfigure Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility for civilian medical research. The Trump administration had warned last month that it would revoke a waiver shielding Moscow from U.S. sanctions against the Fordow project starting Dec. 15. TVEL, a unit of Russian state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom, had been working on the Fordow project since 2017. The project had been one of several that Iran agreed to undertake with international companies to modify various Iranian nuclear sites in ways that would ensure their peaceful, civilian uses, rather than military ones. Those projects were part of the 2015 deal in which Iran accepted restrictions on its nuclear activities in return for six world powers giving it relief from international sanctions. The U.S. withdrew from that agreement last year, saying it did not do enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons or engaging …

A nationwide strike about planned pension reforms that has paralyzed most of France enters its second day Friday. Concern that the proposed pension overhaul would force millions of people to work longer or have less lucrative benefits has prompted the strike, bringing much of the country to a halt. Tens of thousands of workers in France walked off the job Thursday as unions staged a nationwide strike against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to reform the country’s pension system. The strike shut down transportation, forced most schools to close, left hospitals understaffed and basic government services unmet. Largely peaceful demonstrations were held in Paris and in more than two dozen cities throughout the country. Protesters hide behind a wooden board and an umbrella during a demonstration against the pension overhauls, in Nantes, Dec. 5, 2019, as part of a national general strike. Violence erupted, however, near Place de la Republique in eastern Paris, where thousands of protesters had gathered. Some protesters set fire to a construction trailer and police responded by firing tear gas, witnesses said. Police also used tear gas against protesters in the northwestern city of Nantes and in the southeastern city of Lyon. Union leaders have promised to …

Uber, as part of a long-anticipated safety report, revealed that more than 3,000 sexual assaults were reported during its U.S. rides in 2018. That figure includes 235 rapes across the company’s 1.3 billion rides last year. The ride-hailing company noted that drivers and riders were both attacked and that some assaults occurred between riders. The Thursday report, which the company hailed as the first of its kind, provides a rare look into the traffic deaths, homicides and reported sexual assaults that took place during billions of rides arranged in the U.S. using Uber’s service. It is part of the company’s effort to be more transparent after years of criticism over its safety record. In 2017, the company counted 2,936 reported sexual assaults, including 229 rapes, during 1 billion U.S. trips. Uber bases its numbers on reports from riders and drivers, meaning the actual numbers could be much higher. Sexual assaults commonly go unreported. “I suspect many people will be surprised at how rare these incidents are; others will understandably think they’re still too common,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi tweeted about the report. “Some people will appreciate how much we’ve done on safety; others will say we have more work to …

China will waive import tariffs for some soybeans and pork shipments from the United States, China’s finance ministry said Friday, citing a decision by the country’s cabinet. The tariff waivers were based on applications by individual firms for U.S. soybeans and pork imports, the ministry said in a statement. It did not specify the quantities involved. China imposed tariffs of 25% on both U.S. soybeans and pork in July 2018 as a countermeasure to tariffs levied by Washington over allegations that China steals and forces the transfer of American intellectual property to Chinese firms. The waiver comes amid negotiations between the United States and China to conclude a “phase one” or interim deal to de-escalate a 17-month trade war between the two countries. Lifting tariffs on each other’s goods is a key part of those talks. China has also been scouring the world for more meat to fill a big shortage of protein after an outbreak of African swine fever devastated its massive hog herd, cutting supplies of pork. …

The largest concentration of black African churches outside of Africa can be found in South London. Each week, about 20,000 people attend one of the mostly Pentecostal churches in the city. Reporter Marthe van der Wolf has more from London.   …

Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, are facing declining enrollments as are many other American universities. But North Carolina A&T, the country’s largest HBCU, has boasted of growth as it continues to welcome international students to its campus. In Greensboro, Esha Sarai has more.   …

Hundreds of thousands of people went on strike in cities across France, causing a shutdown of public transport and drastically reducing teaching and hospital staff Thursday. Public and private sector workers are protesting President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms that include extending minimum retirement age and rewarding employees for each day worked. VOA’S Zlatica Hoke reports. …

Firefighters battled to contain nearly 150 fires burning in New South Wales state Friday as strong winds fanned the flames and again shrouded Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, in hazardous smoke. Bushfires have killed at least four people and destroyed more than 680 homes since the start of November. Fires are still burning in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland states. While nearly 150 blazes were burning across Australia’s east coast, New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said authorities were particularly concerned about eight fires now at emergency levels around Sydney, the state capital where about 5 million people live. A ferry makes its way from Taronga Zoo to Circular Quay, with the Sydney skyline barely visible in the background through smoke haze from bushfires, in Sydney Harbor, Australia, Dec. 5, 2019. “They have the potential or are expected to spread further east, which unfortunately is getting into more populated areas, villages, communities, isolated rural areas, and other farming practices and businesses throughout the region,” Fitzsimmons told reporters in Sydney. Several fires to the northwest of the city had joined together to create one massive blaze, spreading with hot, dry winds, he said. Bushfires are common …

In a wood-paneled hall of the ornate Peace Palace at The Hague, lawyers pressing a case against Myanmar for alleged genocide against its Muslim Rohingya minority will next week ask judges to order immediate action to protect them from further violence. Gambia, a tiny, mainly Muslim West African country, filed a lawsuit in November accusing Myanmar of genocide, the most serious international crime. During three days of hearings starting Dec. 10, it will ask the 16-member panel of U.N. judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to impose “provisional measures” to protect the Rohingya before the case can be heard in full. FILE – Rohingya from Myanmar walk past rice fields after crossing the border into Bangladesh near Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf area, Sept. 1, 2017. Thousands fled More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh since a 2017 military crackdown, which U.N. investigators found in August to have been carried out with “genocidal intent.” Myanmar vehemently denies allegations of genocide. The office of Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace prize laureate, has said she will lead her country’s defense personally. Myanmar’s legal team is expected to argue that genocide did not occur, …

President Donald Trump helped light the National Christmas Tree on Thursday, taking part in a nearly century-old holiday tradition in the nation’s capital.  The 30-foot (9-meter) tree is decorated with 50,000 lights and 450 giant white star ornaments. The National Park Service planted the tree in President’s Park, just south of the White House, in late October.  The previous tree, a Colorado blue spruce from Virginia, was planted in 2012, but it was damaged last year when a man tried to climb it.  It’s the 97th straight year that the sitting president has participated in the lighting ceremony.  This year’s celebration included performances by Jessie James Decker, Spensha Baker, Colton Dixon, the Air Force rock band Max Impact, Chevel Shepherd, the Tucson Boys Chorus, the United States Marine Band and the West Tennessee Youth Chorus.  The first tree lighting took place on Christmas Eve in 1923, when President Calvin Coolidge lit a 48-foot (15-meter) balsam fir in front of 3,000 spectators.  The tree is surrounded by 56 smaller trees featuring ornaments from every state and territory and the District of Columbia.  …

A reception center for minors in Madrid became the focus for clashing views on immigration and social welfare Thursday, a day after police defused a grenade found there.  The row around the center, in the suburb of Hortaleza, crystallized worries about immigration and insecurity that helped the far-right Vox party double its result in last month’s election to become the third-biggest bloc in parliament. Vox repeatedly singled out the center during the campaign, with party leader Santiago Abascal denouncing “criminal foreign youngsters.” Last month, an extreme right-wing group called Hogar Social staged a protest at the gates, demanding the center’s closure to restore “security.” Police have made no arrests and some officials say gang violence may also have been behind the incident — with the device most likely thrown over the walls in a bag, according to Tedax, the Spanish police bomb squad. The grenade contained a minimal explosive charge, and no one was hurt.  Dangerous climate   But government spokeswoman Isabel Celaa said the inflammatory rhetoric from Vox, which staged a visit to the area by party spokeswoman Rocio Monasterio during the campaign, had created a dangerous climate.    “Words are ultimately internalized and intoxicate our consciences,” she told reporters. “We don’t like these words. We believe they incite certain behaviors from citizens which are not desirable …

When it comes to climate change, deciding what facts you can trust and what’s fake news can be a challenge, particularly in an era of sophisticated misinformation campaigns and complex scientific data. But an ally is at hand: ‘Cranky Uncle,’ a gruff cartoon character and denier of climate change facts who, in a new game, helps you master the art of creating global warming disinformation — and makes you better at identifying it in the real world. From the use of fake experts to cherry-picking data, “you learn the techniques and then you’re able to spot them yourself,” said John Cook, an assistant professor at Virginia’s George Mason University and one of the creators of the online game. In one scenario, for instance, Cranky Uncle is falling, unconcerned, from a tall building while a white-coat-clad scientist leans out a window, warning he’ll hit the ground in 12 to 15 seconds. “Get back to me when you have more certainty!” Cranky Uncle demands. Such “impossible expectations” for predictions are one way of trying to undermine scientific data, the game notes, alongside techniques such as logical fallacies. In one of those, Cranky Uncle insists that a boat he’s in can’t be sinking …

Scientists launched genetically modified mice into space December 5 as part of a study to find ways to help maintain the health of astronauts in space They have twice the muscle mass of their “ordinary” counterparts. As VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, the research could provide insight into muscular degeneration in older populations and those with muscle-wasting conditions.   …

The United States military struggled on Thursday to explain its plans for potential increases in U.S. forces in the Middle East amid concerns Iran could carry out further aggressive actions in the region. U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters the United States was considering sending thousands of additional troops to the Middle East to deter Iran, but that no decision had been made and the situation remained fluid. The officials cited intelligence over the past month indicating that Iran had been repositioning forces and weapons. The Pentagon on Wednesday strongly denied a Wall Street Journal report that the United States was considering sending 14,000 additional troops to the region. FILE – Under Secretary of Defense for Policy John Rood speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon, Feb. 2, 2018. Lawmakers on Thursday pressed John Rood, the Pentagon’s No. 3 official, on whether additional troops were being considered for the Middle East. “Based on what we’re seeing with our concerns about the threat picture, it is possible that we would need to adjust our force posture,” Rood said. “We are always considering and in fact, based on the threat situation in the Middle East, are watching …

A court in Kosovo has sentenced a lawmaker who once served as a government minister to two years in jail for denying a massacre by Serb forces in 1999 — which prompted NATO’s intervention to halt the war. Ivan Todosijevic was serving as a minister in the Pristina government in March this year when he described NATO as an aggressor, declared the “Racak massacre was fabricated” and called Albanians “terrorists.” Serbs killed 44 Albanians in the village of Racak in 1999 before NATO went to war to drive Serb forces out of Kosovo, ending a counter-insurgency war in which more than 13,000 people, mainly local Albanians, were killed. Kosovo’s 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority praises NATO for halting the war, a development that paved the way to independence in 2008. In the ruling the judge said Todosijevic’s remarks, during a commemoration of the start of the NATO bombing, “intentionally incited and publicly promoted hatred, division and intolerance among national, racial and ethnic groups living in Kosovo.” Todosijevic’s lawyer said his client, who was subsequently dismissed from his job as a minister because of his comments, would appeal against the verdict. “The verdict is a proof that human rights are being violated …

The U.N. Security Council is set to meet President Donald Trump over lunch Thursday, then travel later this month to part of the U.S. that’s off the beaten path for world diplomats: Kentucky.    It’s the home state of Ambassador Kelly Craft, who announced the plans in brief remarks to reporters Monday as the U.S. began a stint in the council’s rotating presidency. She said the U.S. tenure would focus on how the council could gain “more credibility.”    “We’re speaking to the world, and I think it’s really important, that we owe it as a moral obligation, not only to speak about topics that are relevant but also to have an outcome,” Kraft said, calling for reflection on the council’s work this year and how it might improve.    Tasked with maintaining international peace and security, the council generally sets out for hotspots when it leaves headquarters.    Visits this year have included Iraq and neighboring Kuwait, a council member; Mali, the site of the deadliest U.N. peacekeeping mission; and other countries dealing with or trying to emerge from war, violence, political crises and other strife. The U.S. and South Africa co-led an October trip to South Sudan, where there’s …

John Kerry, the former secretary of state and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, is endorsing Joe Biden for president, buoying the former vice president’s argument that his international experience should be a deciding factor for voters in 2020. The Biden campaign rolled out Kerry’s endorsement as it continues to hammer President Donald Trump as a dangerous and erratic commander in chief and head of state. The campaign hammered the argument Wednesday with an online ad featuring video of other world leaders mocking Trump at a Buckingham Palace reception held alongside a NATO summit. “I’ve never before seen the world more in need of someone who on day one can begin the incredibly hard work of putting back together the world Donald Trump has smashed apart,” Kerry said in a statement. That echoes applause lines Biden uses often as he campaigns. “The next president will inherit a world in disarray,” Biden said Thursday, touting his decades of foreign policy experience as a six-term Delaware senator and two-term vice president. …

The fate of one of Turkey’s largest state banks is increasingly entwined with the future of Turkish-U.S. relations. Halkbank, already on trial in federal court in New York, is now being targeted by Congress.  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Wednesday with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the London NATO summit. Erdogan is believed to have raised the fate of Halkbank.  Ever since Halkbank became the target of judicial investigations into alleged violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran, Erdogan has turned to Trump to try to close down the inquiries. The Turkish lender paid millions to lobbyists and law firms in its effort to prevent the opening of a court case against it.  In October, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York opened a case against the bank. The move reportedly took Erdogan by surprise, describing it as an “ugly decision.” With the opening of the case coinciding with Turkey’s launching of an operation against a Syrian Kurdish militia that is an American ally, Ankara is crying foul.  Hakan Atilla, a former Halkbank executive and new CEO of the Istanbul Stock Exchange, who served time in prison for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, is pictured in Istanbul, Nov. 27, 2019. ‘Political’ case “This Halkbank case would be more political than judicial,” said professor Mesut …