President Donald Trump has canceled plans for a scheduled Christmas vacation in Florida, because of the partial government shutdown that officially began Dec. 22, the White House announced on the same day.
Press secretary Sarah Sanders said First Lady Melania Trump, who had left for Florida, will return to Washington. The president was planning to spend 16 days at the Mar-a-Lago club with his family. He said earlier that he would remain in the nation’s capital if Congress couldn’t reach a solution.
“Due to the shutdown, President Trump will remain in Washington, D.C., and the first lady will return from Florida so they can spend Christmas together,” Sanders said in a statement.
US Judge Orders North Korea to Pay $500 Million in Otto Warmbier’s Death
A federal judge ordered North Korea to pay more than $500 million on Monday in a wrongful death suit filed by the parents of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died shortly after being released from that country.U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington ruled that North Korea should pay damages to Fred and Cindy Warmbier, the parents of the University of Virginia student.
Indonesia Tsunami Death Toll Rises as Scientists Look For Answers
What was once a vibrant and tourist-packed area has turned grim. Large chunks of metal, concrete slabs, overturned cars, and splintered wood litter the streets as rescue workers continue searching for survivors and victims after a tsunami devastated towns along the Indonesian coastlines without warning.Indonesia’s latest tsunami, which hit the country during the evening of Dec. 22, has claimed the lives of at least 373 people, with more than 1,400 injured. A disaster agency spokesperson from BNBP said in a statement that 128 people are still missing from the affected areas along the coastlines of western Java and southern Sumatra islands.
As hundreds of military personnel and volunteers scan the debris-strewn streets, scientists continue looking for answers as to what caused the country’s second deadly tsunami this year.
Italy’s Mount Etna Erupts, Authorities Close Airport
A massive steam plume spewed on Monday (December 24) as Mount Etna erupted, covering in black smoke and ash the skies over Sicily’s Catania and causing the closure of Catania airport on Sicily’s eastern coast.According to Italy’s official Ansa news agency, a new fracture has opened up on the base of the southeastern crater of Etna, where an explosive activity is ongoing.
