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U.S. Imposes Penalties on Russia
The Obama administration's decision to impose a new round of sanctions against Russia could restrict Donald Trump's efforts to repair U.S. relations with Moscow and puts the president-elect on a collision course with Republican lawmakers. The White House on Thursday rolled out a set of economic sanctions and other penalties intended to squeeze Russian leaders for interfering in the 2016 election. Obama's move to punish the Russian government puts Trump in a tough position of having to decide whether to undermine retaliatory sanctions or abandon his calls for better relations with Moscow. Meanwhile on Long Island, 49-room mansion on a 14-acre compound, purchased by the Soviet Union in 1954, is being shut down by the U.S. government. The White House said Russia had been notified that Russia would be denied access to both that compound and another one in Maryland starting noon on Friday.
Times Square Fortified for New Year’s
assive 20-ton sanitation trucks, weighted with an extra 15 tons of sand, will surround the iconic New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, officials said Thursday, describing a security measure meant to stop deadly truck-driving attacks into crowds like those in Germany and France. The placement of the 65 trucks, along with 100 patrol cars, at intersections surrounding Times Square is a new element to an already heavily policed event that will include 7,000 officers, specially armed counterterrorism units and bomb-sniffing dogs. More than 1 million people are expected to attend the annual ball drop countdown in Manhattan, and officials said they didn't know of any terror threats. Here are street closures and subway changes to know about.
Iconic Carnegie Deli Closes After 79 Years
Local
After 79 years of serving up heaps of cured meat to tourists, theater patrons and workaday New Yorkers, the Carnegie Delicatessen will slice its last ridiculously oversized sandwich on Friday. It closes for good at midnight. Fans lined up all week for a last bite at the restaurant, which got a star turn in Woody Allen's 1984 film "Broadway Danny Rose" and remained a stop until the end for out-of-towners looking for the classic New York deli experience. The Carnegie, its walls now lined with photos of celebrities who have eaten there, opened in 1937, drawing its name from Carnegie Hall just a block up 7th Avenue.
Spike in Ambush Shootings of Police
This year was particularly deadly for police officers in the United States, with 21 deadly ambush shootings marking the highest number in more than two decades, according to a law enforcement advocacy group that tracks fatal shootings of officers. Those shootings, including the five officers gunned down in Dallas in July, are a 163 percent increase from 2015, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund's annual fatalities report, released Thursday.
Car Leaves Path of Destruction
Authorities on Long Island say a man drove through yards and a home before crashing into a deck, ripping off his clothes and fleeing police. Officers arrived at a home in Suffolk County around 11:30 p.m. to find a collapsed pool and a flooded home with the man’s blue car sticking out of it, according to police.
World's Biggest Dog
Guinness World Records says it has found the biggest dog in the world. He's a Great Dane named Freddy and he lives in Britain. See him tower over his owner.
