Yahoo! News - Latest News & Headlines

---

• Christmas wildfire claims more than 100 homes in Australia
• Chicago police officer shoots, kills man and woman
• Donald Trump: Relying on, trying to control free coverage
• Stormy weather expected in U.S. for post-holiday travel
• In final year, Obama seeks to stave off lame-duck status
• California wildfire burns over 1,000 acres, forces evacuations
• Recovery under way after storms kill 15 in South
• A Boxing Day explainer
• For U.N. chief, 1st-of-its-kind climate deal caps a very long quest
• China: Journalist facing expulsion a 'flagrant champion' of terrorism
• Tornado causes damage, injures three in Birmingham, Alabama
• Air strike kills Syria rebel chief ahead of peace talks
• Top Syrian rebel leader killed in air strike in Damascus suburb
• Four dead in Christmas morning mobile home fire in California
• Eastern U.S. sees warm Christmas, winter storm looms for Plains
• Churches offer refuge for Central Americans facing U.S. deportation
• Arson suspected at Bill Clinton's birthplace

Christmas wildfire claims more than 100 homes in Australia Posted: 26 Dec 2015 01:31 PM PST A bushfire which flared on Christmas Day has destroyed more than 100 homes in southern Australia, officials said Saturday, as they warned the losses could have been worse. The blaze hit two towns southwest of Melbourne, Wye River and Separation Creek, where many of the 116 houses lost were believed to be holiday homes. As about 500 firefighters worked to battle the blaze, aerial shots showed buildings razed to the ground in the tree-filled coastal area along the Great Ocean Road tourist drive.

Chicago police officer shoots, kills man and woman Posted: 26 Dec 2015 10:35 AM PST A Chicago police officer shot and killed a black man and a black woman early on Saturday morning following a report of a domestic disturbance, officials said. The police department of the nation's third-largest city is under a federal civil rights investigation for its use of deadly force, among other issues. A recently released video of the shooting death of a black teenager by a white officer in 2014 has led to multiple protests including one on Christmas Eve in Chicago's most prestigious shopping district.

Donald Trump: Relying on, trying to control free coverage Posted: 26 Dec 2015 09:48 AM PST NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nobody understands the power of the media on public perception quite like Donald Trump. The former reality television star and tabloid king, who has relied on free news coverage and social media to power his presidential campaign, is uniquely obsessed with how the news media portray his events.

Stormy weather expected in U.S. for post-holiday travel Posted: 26 Dec 2015 08:14 AM PST (Reuters) - U.S. post-holiday travelers can expect a mix of stormy weather this weekend, with blizzard conditions in New Mexico and western Texas, while flooding rain hits the southern plains from south Texas through Indiana, forecasters said on Saturday. The wet and snowy conditions come after a Christmas Day of unseasonable warmth on the East Coast, with record high temperatures set or tied in several cities including New York, while a tornado hit Alabama late on Friday afternoon, damaging several homes. "It's going to be a pretty active weekend as far as winter weather," said Evan Duffey, meteorologist for AccuWeather.

In final year, Obama seeks to stave off lame-duck status Posted: 26 Dec 2015 07:57 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — In June, during one of the best stretches of his presidency, Barack Obama strode through a West Wing hallway exclaiming, "Offense! Stay on offense!"

California wildfire burns over 1,000 acres, forces evacuations Posted: 26 Dec 2015 07:42 AM PST (Reuters) - A wildfire in Southern California burned over 1,000 acres of land, forced the closure of parts of two major highways and led to evacuations on Saturday, fire officials said. More than 500 firefighters were at the scene or en route to battle the blaze in the Solimar Beach area of Ventura County, and parts of the 101 and Pacific Coast highways have been closed, according to the county fire department's Facebook page. Ventura is about 65 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Recovery under way after storms kill 15 in South Posted: 26 Dec 2015 05:52 AM PST More severe weather, airport delays, and flooded roads are expected across the central United States.

A Boxing Day explainer Posted: 26 Dec 2015 05:36 AM PST LONDON (AP) — In Britain and other countries like Australia and Canada, the day after Christmas is a secular national holiday known as Boxing Day. Here's a brief look at some theories about how the holiday got its name and how people celebrate it:

For U.N. chief, 1st-of-its-kind climate deal caps a very long quest Posted: 26 Dec 2015 01:35 AM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — When international negotiators reached a first-of-its kind climate change agreement in Paris this month, the United Nations' normally low-key leader, Ban Ki-moon, celebrated onstage, arms raised in victory and more exuberant than many had ever seen him before.

China: Journalist facing expulsion a 'flagrant champion' of terrorism Posted: 26 Dec 2015 01:03 AM PST China confirmed the imminent expulsion of a French journalist in the first such case since 2012, accusing her of "flagrantly championing" terrorist acts in a statement on its foreign ministry's website, released on Saturday. Ursula Gauthier, a Beijing-based correspondent for French news magazine L'Obs, must issue a public apology for an article she wrote last month or China's foreign ministry will not renew her press credentials, officials told Gauthier on Christmas Day.

Tornado causes damage, injures three in Birmingham, Alabama Posted: 25 Dec 2015 11:28 PM PST (Reuters) - A tornado struck Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday, damaging houses, uprooting trees and injuring at least three people in the state's largest city, law enforcement and weather officials said. National Weather Service meteorologist Jody Aaron said the twister was confirmed to have touched down in the southwestern portion of town at about 5 p.m. Central time, (2300 GMT), adding, "There does appear to be some significant damage." Birmingham Police Lieutenant Sean Edwards said at least three people were taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Alabama has been hit with storms and heavy rain since Wednesday, and the Weather Service issued flash flood warnings around the region for Friday.

Air strike kills Syria rebel chief ahead of peace talks Posted: 25 Dec 2015 10:57 PM PST Zahran Alloush's death deals a blow to both the nearly five-year uprising and a fragile peace process.

Top Syrian rebel leader killed in air strike in Damascus suburb Posted: 25 Dec 2015 10:41 PM PST The death of Zahran Alloush is a big blow to rebel control of the rural eastern suburban area of Damascus.

Four dead in Christmas morning mobile home fire in California Posted: 25 Dec 2015 07:46 PM PST Four people, including a 6-month-old baby girl, died on Friday when a fire ripped through a mobile home in California on Christmas morning, officials said. Fire crews responded to 911 calls around 5:45 a.m. local time in the community of Big Bear Lake, a popular ski resort community about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. Kevin Lacy with the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner called the fire a "Christmas tragedy" on his Twitter account.

Eastern U.S. sees warm Christmas, winter storm looms for Plains Posted: 25 Dec 2015 05:58 PM PST Much of the U.S. East Coast basked in unseasonable warmth on Christmas Day with record high temperatures set or tied in several cities, including New York, even as a tornado hit Alabama and a major winter storm loomed for the southern Rockies and Great Plains. The twister in Birmingham, Alabama, late on Friday afternoon damaged several homes, uprooted trees and caused a handful of minor injuries, police and weather officials reported.

Churches offer refuge for Central Americans facing U.S. deportation Posted: 25 Dec 2015 02:12 PM PST By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Leaders of the church-based Sanctuary Movement vowed on Friday to offer their places of worship as refuge for immigrants facing deportation under an Obama administration crackdown on Central American families who entered the United States illegally. The statement came two days after The Washington Post first reported the U.S. government was planning a series of raids to remove hundreds of undocumented families as early as January in the first such large-scale effort targeting the recent flood of border crossers. The Department of Homeland Security preparations to intensify deportations of Central American migrants, confirmed by U.S. government sources, drew immediate fire from Democratic presidential candidates and human rights groups.

Arson suspected at Bill Clinton's birthplace Posted: 25 Dec 2015 01:23 PM PST Arson is suspected in a fire that broke out at former US president Bill Clinton's birthplace early Friday morning, damaging the historical site, police said. "It's pretty logical it was purposely set," J.R. Wilson, the police chief in Hope, Arkansas, told AFP. The blaze ran up an exterior back wall of the white frame house where Clinton spent the first few years of his life, but the damage was minor, Wilson said.

You are subscribed to email updates from Yahoo! News - Latest News & Headlines. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States