Happening Today: Rudy Giuliani, Volcano Eruption, Tumors, Bill Cosby

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Giuliani Becomes Aggressive New Face of Trump Legal Team

Rudy Giuliani, once known as "America's Mayor" and hailed for helping unite a wounded city after Sept. 11, has become the aggressive face of President Trump's forceful new legal team. Giuliani, who is bonded with the president by a particular brand of New York bravado, has escalated Trump's attacks on the Department of Justice, pushed for strict limits on special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe and upended White House legal strategy. Giuliani and Trump cut out senior West Wing aides this week as they hashed out plans to combat what they see as an existential threat to the presidency. Giuliani's bold offensive — on display in a series of cable news appearances in which he unleashed broadsides on the very law enforcement officers with whom he once worked — underscored the thoroughness of his transformation from moderate Republican mayor of a liberal city to fiery conservative hero. Giuliani has quickly become the dominant figure on the president's reshuffled legal team as Trump stocks his political inner circle with familiar, TV-ready faces.

Hawaii Volcano Forces 1,500 From Homes as Lava Bubbles Up

Nearly 1,500 residents were ordered to evacuate from their volcano-side homes after Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano erupted, sending molten lava to chew its way through forest land and bubble up on paved streets. Volcano officials couldn't predict how long eruption may last, prompting Hawaii's governor to activate the National Guard to help with evacuations and provide security to about 770 structures left empty when residents sought shelter. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Hawaii County officials said steam and lava poured out of a crack in Leilani Estates, which is near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island. Footage shown on local television showed lava spurting into the sky from a crack in a road. Aerial drone footage showed a line of lava snaking through a forest.

Nobel Literature Prize Will Not Be Awarded This Year

The Nobel Prize in literature will not be awarded this year following sex-abuse allegations and other issues that have affected the public image of the Swedish Academy that selects the winner. The academy said the 2018 prize will be given in 2019. The decision was made at a weekly meeting in Stockholm a day earlier, on the grounds that the academy is in no shape to pick a winner after a string of sex abuse allegations and financial crimes scandals. It will be the first time since 1949 that the prestigious award has been delayed. Last year, Japanese-born British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro won the prize. The internal feud within the Swedish Academy — which only hands out one of the six Nobel prizes — was triggered by an abuse scandal linked to Jean-Claude Arnault, a major cultural figure in Sweden who is also the husband of poet Katarina Frostenson, an academy member.

132-Pound Tumor Removed From Woman's Abdomen

Danbury Hospital removed a 132-pound ovarian tumor from a woman and said she is home and is expected to make a full recovery. The 38-year-old woman was rapidly gaining weight at a rate of about 10 pounds a week and went to her gynecologist for medical attention. A CT scan revealed a large ovarian mass, according to a news release from Western Connecticut Health Network, and the woman’s gynecologist referred her to Western Connecticut Medical Group’s Dr. Vaagn Andikyan, a gynecologic oncologist. The tumor was benign and surgeons, physicians, and medical staff were able to remove what Western Connecticut Health Network said was one of the largest known ovarian tumors. During the five-hour surgery, the team performed the tumor resection and abdominal reconstruction at the same time to reduce the number of surgeries for the patient and improve her outcome, according to the hospital group. They said the team successfully removed the tumor and the patient’s left ovary. During the five-hour surgery, the team performed the tumor resection and abdominal reconstruction at the same time to reduce the number of surgeries for the patient and improve her outcome, according to the hospital group. They said the team successfully removed the tumor and the patient’s left ovary.

Diseases Spread by Mosquito, Tick, Fleas Tripled in U.S., CDC Reports

Diseases spread by mosquito, tick and flea bites have tripled in the United States from 2004 to 2016, federal health officials say in a new report. Between these years, more than 640,000 cases of diseases were reported and nine new germs spread by infected mosquitoes and ticks were discovered or introduced in the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. In recent years, Chikungunya and Zika viruses caused outbreaks in the United States for the very first time. Specifically, cases where diseases were spread due to tick bites have doubled, although mosquito-borne disease epidemics occur more frequently, according to the CDC. A person who gets bitten by one of these insects can end up with a serious disease like dengue, Zika, Lyme or even plague.

Film Academy Expels Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski

The organization that bestows the Academy Awards said it has expelled two prominent members convicted of sexual offenses, Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski, from its membership. It's the first major decision since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences implemented revised standards of conduct for its over 8,400 members following its expulsion of disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein in October. In Polanski's case, the expulsion comes more than 40 years after he was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl he plied with champagne and Quaaludes during a photo shoot, and 15 years after he won a best director Oscar. Polanski's attorney Harland Braun said Thursday the decision "blindsided" the director, who learned of his expulsion from media reports. A spokesman for Cosby did not return a message seeking comment. In its statement, the film academy said its board "continues to encourage ethical standards that require members to uphold the Academy's values of respect for human dignity."