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Monday is MLK day

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Monday is MLK day.

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Obama says his final speech.

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His voice at moments catching with emotion, Obama recounted a presidency that saw setbacks as well as successes. Admitting candidly that political discourse has soured under his watch, Obama demanded that Americans renew efforts at reconciliation.

"It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy," the President said. "To embrace the joyous task we've been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours."

Obama also stressed solidarity despite a presidency sometimes at odds with Congress.

"Democracy does not require uniformity," Obama said. "Our founders quarreled and compromised, and expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity -- the idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one."

In a concession that, for now, his brand of progressive politics is stalled in Washington, Obama admitted "for every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back."

He implored his backers to be vigilant in protecting basic American values he warned could come under siege.

"Democracy can buckle when we give in to fear," he said. "So just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are."

And he warned against turning inward, telling Democrats that only by involving themselves in a real political discourse could they hope to renew the hopeful vision he brought to the White House eight years ago.

"After eight years as your President, I still believe that," he went on. "And it's not just my belief. It's the beating heart of our American idea -- our bold experiment in self-government."

Obama's speech is the capstone of a months-long farewell tour, manifested in extended magazine interviews, lengthy television sit-downs, and the White House's own efforts to document the President's waning administration. Through it all, Obama has sought to highlight the achievements of his presidency using statistics showing the country better off now than eight years ago.

As he spoke before a rowdy crowd of supporters, Obama was interrupted often with screams of "I Love you Obama." When a protester holding a "Pardon All of Us" sign, chants of "four more years" drowned out the shouts.

Obama sought to corral his crowd, listing the accomplishments of the last eight years ranging from health care to marriage equality, all while insisting that his work isn't finished.

He recognized his successor Donald Trump, saying he was committed to a peaceful transition of power. But he warned that going forward Democrats shouldn't fall in line with their commander-in-chief.

Obama, who has addressed race with varying degrees of force during his time in office, used his farewell to insist Americans work harder to understand each other's struggles. After presiding over eight years that saw race relations enter a fraught new era, Obama demanded that differences be identified and reconciled.

"Brown kids will represent a larger share of America's workforce" in the years ahead, Obama proclaimed, calling for better rules that will help the children of immigrants succeed.

He warned that "laws alone won't be enough" in resolving persistent differences between Americans.

"Hearts must change," he said.

He called on African-Americans and minorities to view with empathy "the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like he's got all the advantages, but who's seen his world upended by economic, cultural, and technological change."

And he urged whites to regard the protests of minorities as a fight "not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment our Founders promised."

"Regardless of the station we occupy, we have to try harder," Obama said. "To start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own."

Capitalize on goodwill

In coming to Chicago, Obama hoped to capitalize on a well of goodwill that's expanded in the final year of his tenure. He discarded the staid Oval Office or East Room for his last formal set of remarks, choosing instead the city where his political rise began and where he declared victory in 2008 and 2012.

Inside a vast convention hall packed with more than 20,000 of his most ardent supporters and former staffers, the mood was wistful. Ahead of his address, aides described the normally unsentimental commander in chief as nostalgic.

Over the past several weeks, Obama has offered a rational view of Trump's election and rarely let on to any apprehension about his future as an ex-president. First lady Michelle Obama has articulated a more candid view in a scaled-back version of her own farewell. She sat for an hour-long interview with Oprah Winfrey, frankly admitting that Democrats were now "feeling what not having hope feels like."

And she became emotional during her final set of formal remarks at the White House Friday, her voice quaking and eyes welling with tears as she told a crowd of educators: "I hope I made you proud."

During his speech Tuesday, Obama voice quaked when describing his wife's service.

"You took on a role you didn't ask for and made it your own with grace and grit and style and good humor," he said. "You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody."

Planning for months

The President had been planning his speech for months, aides said, formulating the broad themes while on vacation over the holidays in Hawaii and developing drafts starting last week.

He told aides months ago that he preferred to deliver his farewell address in his hometown, a first for a departing President. George W. Bush, unpopular and facing a financial crisis, delivered his final prime-time address in the White House East Room to a crowd of 200 supporters and aides.

Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter all used the Oval Office -- a setting Obama has long spurned for formal remarks. George H.W. Bush traveled outside of Washington to West Point for a departing address after failing to secure a second term, though he didn't actually bill it as a farewell.

The tradition extends back to George Washington, who issued warnings against unchecked power and partisan entrenchment in a written address to the nation in 1796.

Like major addresses in the past, Obama wrote his speech himself, dictating passages to his chief speechwriter Cody Keenan who puts the President's words into print. Obama returned the drafts with heavy annotations, writing his changes in a tightly compressed scrawl on the margins.

The President and Keenan went through at least four drafts of the farewell speech, an official told CNN Tuesday. The broad themes of the speech came together while the President was in Hawaii and he started reading a first draft on the long flight home last Sunday.

Aside from Keenan, several familiar names from the past were involved in the drafting, including former speechwriter Jon Favreau and former senior adviser David Axelrod.

When he returns to Washington in the early morning hours of Wednesday, it will be Obama's 1,293rd -- and final -- flight aboard Air Force One. He'll use the presidential aircraft on Inauguration Day to depart Washington. But with only a former president aboard, it's known simply as a "Special Air Mission."

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obama offers optimism -- and warnings -- in farewell address - cnnpolitics

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Obama offers optimism -- and warnings -- in farewell address

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Popular but politically humbled, President Barack Obama said goodbye to the nation Tuesday night, declaring during his farewell address that he hasn't abandoned his vision of progressive change but warning that it now comes with a new set of caveats.

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Columbia bridge collapse killing 7 and injuring 15

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Colombian risk management authorities said excess weight led to the bridge's collapse Monday.

An eyewitness told local media that some 20 people were on the bridge when the ropes holding up the left side of it snapped. The bridge stood at a height of 10 to 15 meters (32 to 49 feet).

Two days of mourning have been declared for the city.

With Monday a national holiday in Colombia, tourists flocked to the El Carmen preserve. The bridge was privately built and has been privately run since 2004 inside the preserve, according to Villavicencio Mayor Wilmar Barbosa.

In an interview with local radio Blu Blu, Barbosa said the owner of the bridge would charge less than $1 for people to cross it.

Authorities are investigating the accident and said they will hold the responsible parties accountable.

Barbosa added that health personnel is working with the families of the victims and those injured.

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Colombian risk management authorities said excess weight led to the bridge's collapse Monday. An eyewitness told local media that some 20 people were on the bridge when the ropes holding up the left side of it snapped. The bridge stood at a height of 10 to 15 meters (32 to 49 feet).

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Clemson won the championship!!!

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Clemson shocks Alabama to win first national title in 35 years

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And this time, it was a happy ending for Clemson.

The Crimson Tide couldn't hold off two-time Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson, and the second-ranked Tigers upset No. 1 Alabama in a College Football Playoff title game rematch 35-31early Tuesday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

With one second remaining, Watson found sophomore wide receiver Hunter Renfrow for the game-winning score, a 2-yard touchdown pass. It capped a fourth quarter in which the Tigers scored 21 points.

"I knew before I even snapped the ball it was going to be a touchdown," Watson said. "All I had to do was just get the ball to him. I slowed down the moment, everyone made their blocks and did their part, and I did my part, and we pulled it out."

It's Clemson's first national title since the 1981 season and the first time it has beaten a top-ranked team.

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to stomach watching that one any time soon," Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. "That has to be one of the greatest games of all time, just absolutely incredible, to have to take the field and go down the field to win the game, that's what it's made of. That's what I told them when it was over. This is what it's all about right here, boys."

In last year's title game, which Alabama won 45-40, Watson gave the Crimson Tide trouble, completing 30 of 47 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 73 yards.

On Monday night, the Clemson junior quarterback got off to a slow start but heated up as the game went along, finishing with 36-of-56 passing for 420 yards and three touchdowns and had 43 yards rushing with one score. He was named the game's MVP.

Final Clemson game for Watson

Following the win, Watson confirmed this was his final game playing for Clemson (14-1) and that he would enter the upcoming NFL draft.

"It was a tough decision," Watson, who graduated in December, said. "You know, Clemson is a special place. I've enjoyed every single moment since I came in, in January of 2014. Three years kind of flew by. But I think it's my time to go, just kind of end it with a bang, and I felt like Coach Swinney knew my time was up.

"I've enjoyed, like I said, the three years, and I just wanted to sign my name and end it with an exclamation point, and I think I did that. Moments like this I'll never forget. Clemson was the best three years of my life, and credit me as the person I am today. Through my faith, as a citizen, as a football player, as a student, I've learned so much, and it's just been special."

It's also special for Swinney, winning his first title as a head coach. A walk-on wide receiver at Alabama, Swinney was on the 1992 Crimson Tide team that won the national title. He joins Bud Wilkinson as the only person to play on and serve as head coach of a team that won an Associated Press national championship.

Wilkinson played on Minnesota's title-winning team in 1936 and was head coach of Oklahoma teams of 1951, 1955 and 1956 that won titles.

"I can't tell you how humbled I am, blessed and so thankful to be a part of helping get Clemson back on top, this moment, 35 years, and doing something that a lot of people didn't think we could do," Swinney said. "I'm just so thankful for that opportunity, and I'm excited about continuing to help Clemson be the best."

Alabama (14-1), which had the chance to go wire-to-wire as No. 1, lost its first game since September 19, 2015, ending a 26-game win streak.

"I don't think one game defines who you are, you know, as a person, as a competitor, or as a team and certainly not define what this group of young men was able to accomplish this year," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. "It was a hard-fought game out there today, very disappointing to lose a game like that, and I wish there was something else that I could do for the players to help them be more successful in the game."

The loss kept Saban from winning a sixth title, which would have tied him with another Alabama legend: Bear Bryant.

A dramatic comeback

It didn't start well for the Tigers.

Alabama sophomore running back Bo Scarbrough, who rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the Peach Bowl semifinal, continued his dominance in Tampa before leaving with an injury, running for 93 yards and two first-half touchdowns. That gave the Crimson Tide at 14-0 lead.

A 24-yard pass from Watson to Renfrow cut the score to 17-14 with 7:10 left in the third quarter. But later in the period Jalen Hurts, who had been quiet for much of this game, stepped up. The freshman quarterback connected with senior tight end O.J. Howard for a 68-yard touchdown to give Alabama a 24-14 lead.

Hurts passed for 131 yards with a touchdown, going 13-of-31.

Then came a frentic fourth quarter. With 4:38 remaining, Clemson regained the lead at 28-24 with a 1-yard touchdown run from junior running back Wayne Gallman. Hurts counterpunched, scoring on a 30-yard run to make it 31-28 with 2:07 left and giving him 63 rushing yards on the night.

That set up the final drive from Watson. In that final quarter, he was 12-of-18 for 130 yards.

"I just smiled right when they scored," Watson said. "I had seen the two minutes and one second on the clock, and I just smiled and I just knew, I just told my guys, 'Hey, let's be legendary, let's go be great.' I told myself they left too much time on the clock. Last year they ran out the time, but this time they left us a little bit too much."

Alabama entered the night leading the country in total defense, rushing defense, scoring defense and defensive touchdowns. But it didn't look like it in the final quarter. Thanks in huge part to Watson, Clemson finished with 511 total yards of offense.

"I knew he was going to come back strong in the second half," Alabama senior defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said of Watson. "They made the adjustments they needed to and we didn't."

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clemson shocks alabama to win national title - cnn

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Clemson shocks Alabama to win national title

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And this time, it was a happy ending for Clemson. The Crimson Tide couldn't hold off two-time Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson, and the second-ranked Tigers upset No. 1 Alabama in a College Football Playoff title game rematch 35-31early Tuesday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

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Texas man dies after shooting himself in the back of a police car while handcuffed

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A Texas man died from his injuries Monday one day after being handcuffed in the back of a police car and managing to pull out a gun from his waistband to shoot himself.

Zachary Khabir Anam, 19, died at University Medical Center-Brackenridge, Austin police said in a statement.

Anam was taken into police custody Sunday at the Barton Creek Square shopping mall at around noon. He had been detained on suspicion of shoplifting and carrying a controlled substance.

Interim police Chief Brian Manley said Anam was handcuffed and placed in the back seat of a patrol for the ride to police headquarters.

During the ride over, Anam managed to reach for his weapon on the right side of his pants. He pointed the weapon at his own head with threats to shoot himself, Manley added.

The police officer who was driving stopped the car and ordered Anam to drop the weapon. The unidentified officer and Anam went back and forth with threats and demands for about six minutes when Anam turned the gun on himself, Manley said. The ordeal was recorded on the dashboard camera.

According to Fox 7 Austin, the entire scene took place in front of a crowded bar.

"The officers were trying to get the people a safe distance away from the scene while actively handling what was happening," Manley said.

An Austin police spokeswoman wouldn't say whether Anam was searched thoroughly for weapons, and Manley added that would be a focus of the internal investigation being conducted Monday.

Even if the suspect had been searched and handcuffed previously by private mall security officers, Austin Police Department policy holds each officer responsible for searching each person taken into custody for weapons.

Anam had run afoul of the law previously. In April 2016, he was arrested on a drug possession charge in Buda, about 15 miles southwest of Austin. That case remained open. At the end of May 2016, Austin police issued a warrant accusing him of engaging in organized criminal activity involving a string of burglaries and auto thefts. The warrant hadn't been served yet.

The officer who had custody of Anam has been on the force for 11 years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click for more from Fox 7 Austin.

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Texas man dies after shooting himself in back of police car while handcuffed

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A Texas man died from his injuries Monday one day after being handcuffed in the back of a police car and managing to pull out a gun from his waistband to shoot himself. Zachary Khabir Anam, 19, died at University Medical Center-Brackenridge, Austin police said in a statement.

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California's 'tunnel tree' toppled in storm - CNN Video

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California, Nevada and other parts of the West were hit by flooding, mudslides and heavy snow.

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A wooden foot bridge inside a Colombian nature preserve has collapsed, killing at least seven people and injuring 15 others in Villavicencio, southeast of Bogota, according to the city's mayor.

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Colombian risk management authorities said excess weight led to the bridge's collapse Monday.

An eyewitness told local media that some 20 people were on the bridge when the ropes holding up the left side of it snapped. The bridge stood at a height of 10 to 15 meters (32 to 49 feet).

Two days of mourning have been declared for the city.

With Monday a national holiday in Colombia, tourists flocked to the El Carmen preserve. The bridge was privately built and has been privately run since 2004 inside the preserve, according to Villavicencio Mayor Wilmar Barbosa.

In an interview with local radio Blu Blu, Barbosa said the owner of the bridge would charge less than $1 for people to cross it.

Authorities are investigating the accident and said they will hold the responsible parties accountable.

Barbosa added that health personnel is working with the families of the victims and those injured.

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Colombian risk management authorities said excess weight led to the bridge's collapse Monday. An eyewitness told local media that some 20 people were on the bridge when the ropes holding up the left side of it snapped. The bridge stood at a height of 10 to 15 meters (32 to 49 feet).

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Monday is martin Luther king Jr day

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At least a dozen states from California to Minnesota are under some sort of winter weather alert or flood alert as storms that have battered the western part of the country with rain or snow are expected to travel east today, rolling into the Midwest.

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At least a dozen states from California to Minnesota are under some sort of winter weather alert or flood alert as storms that have battered the western part of the country with rain or snow are expected to travel east today, rolling into the Midwest.

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Since Friday afternoon, up to 11.84 inches of rain fell north of San Francisco. Meanwhile, Reno, Nevada, had 2.87 inches of rain so far this month, making it the city's wettest month in 9 years.

Sacramento set a record for daily rainfall on Monday with 1.95 inches, and it isn't likely to let up any time soon. More rain is expected in central California today, as a brand new storm is about to pass through.

The Napa, Russian and Navarro Rivers, located in northern California, are all expected to rise as a result of the storms.

Meanwhile, an avalanche on Interstate-70 early this morning hit a semi truck and closed Vail Pass in Colorado, forcing the Colorado Department of Transportation to close parts of the highway.

Trucks are taking a beating in Colorado in general. Winds were so powerful on Monday that it apparently flipped a semi onto its side.

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Winter Storms That Battered West Move East

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At least a dozen states from California to Minnesota are under some sort of winter weather alert or flood alert as storms that have battered the western part of the country with rain or snow are expected to travel east today, rolling into the Midwest.

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Trump´s Attorney general pick Jeff sessions on 1986 Allegations of racism: Donald Trump’s pick to become the next U.S. attorney general vehemently disputed “amazing” allegations that he harbors racial bias, insisting to a Senate panel today that decades-old accusations suggesting he may support the Ku Klux Klan are absolutely false.

"I abhor the Klan and what it represents, and its hateful ideology," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., told the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is holding confirmation hearings this week to consider Session’s nomination to lead the Justice Department.

He walked into the Senate hearing room this morning to shouting from some protesters dressed in Ku Klux Klan costumes, and others holding signs saying, “Stand Against Xenophobia” and “Love Trumps Hate.” Sessions seemed unfazed, and many in the room cheered as the protesters were removed. At least two other protesters interrupted his opening remarks, one shouting, "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA.”

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Jeff Sessions was on the offense today -- to a certain degree.

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The Republican senator from Alabama, who is Donald Trump's pick to be the next U.S. attorney general, vehemently disputed "amazing" allegations that he harbors racial bias and claimed he understands the struggles of LGBT Americans.

But Sessions also told the Senate Judiciary Committee -- which is holding confirmation hearings this week to consider his nomination to lead the Justice Department -- that remained critical of the H-1B visa program and implied that religion could play an indirect role in whether an individual is accepted into the U.S.

Sessions on Race and Policing

Sessions walked into the Senate hearing room this morning to shouting from protesters dressed in Ku Klux Klan costumes and others holding signs saying, "Stand against xenophobia" and "Love trumps hate."

Sessions seemed unfazed, and many in the room cheered as the protesters were removed. His testimony was interrupted by other protesters several times today. At least two other people interrupted his opening remarks, one shouting, "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA."

Indirectly addressing those protesters, Sessions told the Senate Judiciary Committee, "I abhor the Klan and what it represents and its hateful ideology."

And in his statement to the committee this morning, Sessions touched upon the polarizing issue of policing minority communities. He defendied law enforcement officers who have been "unfairly maligned" in recent years, and he insisted he understands the struggle for justice by "our African-American brothers and sisters."

Still, hours into today's hearing, he faced tough questions over his record on civil rights and his plan for cooling tensions between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve.

Sessions, 70, has faced significant criticism from top Democrats and some civil rights groups over decades-old allegations that he made racist remarks when he was a U.S. attorney in Alabama. Today he dismissed the allegations as outright false or taken out of context.

"I hope my tenure in this body shows you that the caricature of me wasn't accurate," Sessions told senators. "It wasn't accurate then, and it's not accurate now."

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Sessions' 20 years in the Senate mean "we know him well."

"He is a man of honor and integrity, dedicated to the faithful and fair enforcement of the law, who knows well and deeply respects the Department of Justice and its role," Grassley said in his opening remarks, noting that as U.S. attorney in Alabama during the 1980s, Sessions "oversaw the investigation of Klansman Francis Hays for the brutal abduction and murder of a black teenager, Michael Donald."

During what may have been the most uncomfortable moments for Sessions during the first half of the day, Al Franken, D-Minn., pressed Sessions on whether he has "misrepresented" or "inflated" his role in prosecuting civil rights cases and standing up for minorities when U.S. attorney. In particular, Franken took aim at Sessions' claim that he "personally handled" several cases, suggesting the extent of his involvement in those cases may have been just signing charging documents.

Sessions fired back, saying he not only signed the documents but also "provided assistance and guidance" to attorneys working on the cases and "attempted to be as effective as I could be in helping them be successful in these historic cases."

He added that he "had an open door policy with them and cooperated with them on these cases."

Sessions Stakes Position on Same-Sex Marriage

Sessions said in his opening remarks, "I understand the demands for justice and fairness made by the LGBT community."

But the top Democrat on the committee, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called Sessions' record "extremely conservative" and emphasized that the next attorney general must enforce the law "equally for all Americans," not advocate for his own beliefs.

She noted that he has taken what she called "deeply concerning" stances, including support for keeping people out of the United States based on their religion, support for "illegal" waterboarding of terrorism suspects and opposition to LGBT rights legislation.

Other critics have also pointed to Sessions' dismay at the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry and his opposition to the Matthew Shepard Act, which expanded the definition of hate crimes to include attacks on people because of their sexual orientation, gender or disability.

Asked during today's hearing whether he believes the issue of same-sex marriage is settled -- now that the Supreme Court has ruled that gay and lesbian couples may marry nationwide -- Sessions said he will "follow that decision." He explained that he opposed the Matthew Shepard Act out of "a concern that it appeared that these cases were being prosecuted effectively in state court" but said that since it has become law and "the Congress has spoken, you can be sure that I will enforce it."

Where Sessions Stands on Clinton

During her opening remarks, Feinstein cited Trump's promise on the campaign trail that his attorney general would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton.

"That's not what an attorney general does," Feinstein said. "The attorney general does not investigate or prosecute at the direction of the president."

Sessions vowed today that as attorney general, he would recuse himself from any matters related to Clinton.

On the campaign trail, he spoke out against Clinton over her use of a private email server as secretary of state, which became the subject of an FBI criminal investigation.

Sessions noted that the presidential campaign was "contentious" and that he made several comments about Clinton's possible criminal culpability.

"I do believe that that could place my objectivity in question ... I think the proper thing would be to recuse myself," he told the other senators.

Pot Talk

With several states legalizing the use of recreational marijuana, such as Washington, Oregon, and California, it was a topic that was bound to come up. Sessions has been critical of states' efforts to legalize marijuana, but he's also a proponent of state's rights.

Asked whether he will have the Department of Justice investigate and prosecute medical marijuana users in states that have deemed it legal, Sessions said, "Well, I won't commit to never enforce federal law ... But absolutely it's a problem of resources for the federal government."

And Sessions added, "One obvious concern is that Congress has made the possession of marijuana in every state an illegal act. If that is not desired any longer, Congress should pass a law to change it. It's not the attorney general's job to decide which laws to enforce. We should enforce the laws as effectively as we are able."

On Trump's Dismissal of Voter Fraud Claims

Sen. Al Franken asked Sessions about what he called "bogus claims of voter fraud" by Trump, particularly a tweet saying he won the popular vote if the millions of people whom he believes allegedly voted illegally were deducted. Sessions said of that Tweet's claim, "I don't know what the president-elect meant or was thinking when he made that comment or what facts he may have had to justify his statement. I would just say that every election needs to be managed closely and we need to ensure that there is integrity in it. And I do believe we regularly have fraudulent activities occur during elections cycles."

What About Waterboarding?

While Trump has spoken highly of the torture tactic, Sessions was less enthusiastic. He said that the current law passed by Congress, "does appear to be clear" in prohibiting waterboarding. So, he said, "I would enforce that law."

Violent Crime 'Cannot Continue'

Much of Sessions' opening remarks today focused on the "heroin epidemic" across America and the jump in violent crime in certain U.S. cities, including a record-setting number of murders and shootings in Chicago last year.

"These trends cannot continue," he said. "It is a fundamental civil right to be safe in your home and your community ... It will be my priority to confront these crises vigorously, effectively and immediately."

Sessions vowed to support state and local law enforcement across the country, calling recent attacks on police in the line of duty "a wake-up call" and recognizing the officers killed in the line of duty in Florida Monday. The alleged murderer of one officer is still the target of an extensive manhunt.

"That is the kind of thing that too often happens," he said, adding that "there is virtually no defense" for assaulting a police officer and that recent criticism of law enforcement is making matters worse.

"In the last several years, law enforcement as a whole has been unfairly maligned and blamed for the actions of a few bad actors and for allegations about police that were not true," he said. "I do believe that we are failing to appreciate police officers who place their lives at risk ... We need to be sure that when we criticize law officers, it is narrowly focused on the right basis for criticism. And to smear whole departments places those officers at greater risk."

'Caricature of Me in 1986 Was Not Correct'

Many Democrats have expressed concern over testimony during Sessions' confirmation hearing for a federal judgeship in 1986, when some accused Sessions of calling a white civil rights lawyer a "disgrace to his race" and dubbing some actions by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People "un-American."

"After four days of hearings and extensive testimony, Sessions' nomination was rejected by a Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee. He was too extreme for Republicans in 1986," Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., wrote in The Boston Globe on Sunday. "Now that he is nominated to be attorney general, we will see if the same person is still too extreme for Republicans."

Leahy, until recently the top Democrat on the committee, said, "Sessions has repeatedly stood in the way of efforts to promote and protect Americans' civil rights."

But Sessions today said, "This caricature of me in 1986 was not correct. I conducted myself honorably and properly at that time," and "I did not harbor the animosities ... that I was accused of. I did not."

Sessions later described how, growing up in the South, he saw discrimination firsthand and had "no doubt" that it hurt many other Southerners.

"I know that was wrong. I know we need to do better. We can never go back," he said.

"I deeply understand the history of civil rights and the horrendous impact that relentless and systemic discrimination and the denial of voting rights has had on our African-American brothers and sisters," he insisted.

He promised that politics will play no role in his Justice Department.

"The Office of the Attorney General of the United States is not a political position, and anyone who holds it must have total fidelity to the laws and the Constitution of the United States," Sessions said today.

Russian Hacking and More Trump-Related FBI Investigations

Asked today whether he believed the U.S. intelligence community's unanimous conclusion that the Russian government was behind a series of cyberattacks aimed at affecting the presidential election, Sessions said, "I have no reason to doubt that, and have no reason to believe otherwise." He said that he is "sure" the FBI's conclusions blaming Russia were "honorably reached" and that "it is appropriate for a nation to retaliate against" government-sponsored hacks.

But he said he knows only "what the media says about" the pre-election attacks, and he indicated he was holding off on a final opinion until he is briefed by the FBI.

Later in the hearing, Sheldon Whitehouse, R-R.I., asked Sessions whether he would allow the Justice Department and FBI to continue investigating Russian connections, even if those probes lead to the Trump campaign or Trump associates. Sessions said, "If there are laws violated and can be prosecuted, you'll have to handle that in an appropriate way."

But, he added, "the problem may turn out to be" that, like the huge hack of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management carried out on behalf of the Chinese government, such matters may be best handled at the political level.

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Sen. Jeff Sessions' Confirmation Hearing: The Key (and Controversial) Moments

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Jeff Sessions was on the offense today -- to a certain degree. Add Donald Trump as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Donald Trump news, video, and analysis from ABC News. The Republican senator from Alabama, who is Donald Trump's pick to be the next U.S.

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Columbia bridge collapsed killing 7 and injuring 15

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Colombian risk management authorities said excess weight led to the bridge's collapse Monday.

An eyewitness told local media that some 20 people were on the bridge when the ropes holding up the left side of it snapped. The bridge stood at a height of 10 to 15 meters (32 to 49 feet).

Two days of mourning have been declared for the city.

With Monday a national holiday in Colombia, tourists flocked to the El Carmen preserve. The bridge was privately built and has been privately run since 2004 inside the preserve, according to Villavicencio Mayor Wilmar Barbosa.

In an interview with local radio Blu Blu, Barbosa said the owner of the bridge would charge less than $1 for people to cross it.

Authorities are investigating the accident and said they will hold the responsible parties accountable.

Barbosa added that health personnel is working with the families of the victims and those injured.

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Colombian risk management authorities said excess weight led to the bridge's collapse Monday. An eyewitness told local media that some 20 people were on the bridge when the ropes holding up the left side of it snapped. The bridge stood at a height of 10 to 15 meters (32 to 49 feet).

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Zachary Khabir Anam, 19, died at University Medical Center-Brackenridge, Austin Texas. Anam was taken into police custody Sunday at the Barton Creek Square shopping mall at around noon. He had been detained on suspicion of shoplifting and carrying a controlled substance. interim police Chief Brian Manley said Anam was handcuffed and placed in the back seat of a patrol for the ride to police headquarters. During the ride over, Anam managed to reach for his weapon on the right side of his pants. He pointed the weapon at his own head with threats to shoot himself

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A Texas man died from his injuries Monday one day after being handcuffed in the back of a police car and managing to pull out a gun from his waistband to shoot himself.

Zachary Khabir Anam, 19, died at University Medical Center-Brackenridge, Austin police said in a statement.

Anam was taken into police custody Sunday at the Barton Creek Square shopping mall at around noon. He had been detained on suspicion of shoplifting and carrying a controlled substance.

Interim police Chief Brian Manley said Anam was handcuffed and placed in the back seat of a patrol for the ride to police headquarters.

During the ride over, Anam managed to reach for his weapon on the right side of his pants. He pointed the weapon at his own head with threats to shoot himself, Manley added.

The police officer who was driving stopped the car and ordered Anam to drop the weapon. The unidentified officer and Anam went back and forth with threats and demands for about six minutes when Anam turned the gun on himself, Manley said. The ordeal was recorded on the dashboard camera.

According to Fox 7 Austin, the entire scene took place in front of a crowded bar.

"The officers were trying to get the people a safe distance away from the scene while actively handling what was happening," Manley said.

An Austin police spokeswoman wouldn't say whether Anam was searched thoroughly for weapons, and Manley added that would be a focus of the internal investigation being conducted Monday.

Even if the suspect had been searched and handcuffed previously by private mall security officers, Austin Police Department policy holds each officer responsible for searching each person taken into custody for weapons.

Anam had run afoul of the law previously. In April 2016, he was arrested on a drug possession charge in Buda, about 15 miles southwest of Austin. That case remained open. At the end of May 2016, Austin police issued a warrant accusing him of engaging in organized criminal activity involving a string of burglaries and auto thefts. The warrant hadn't been served yet.

The officer who had custody of Anam has been on the force for 11 years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click for more from Fox 7 Austin.

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Texas man dies after shooting himself in back of police car while handcuffed

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A Texas man died from his injuries Monday one day after being handcuffed in the back of a police car and managing to pull out a gun from his waistband to shoot himself. Zachary Khabir Anam, 19, died at University Medical Center-Brackenridge, Austin police said in a statement.

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The Taliban have attacked the Afghan capitol of Kabul, killing 47 and injuring over 70.

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Monday is Martin Luther King Jr Day

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Sen. Bernie Sanders and a Donald Trump supporter shared a heated moment Monday night during CNN's town hall event as the Democrat was pressed on Obama administration regulations. Jim Jacobs, who said he was a small business owner, told the Vermont senator he was concerned about the effects of what he called a raft of burdensome regulations.

"The devil is in the details. We've got to see what those regulations are," Sanders said, not giving an inch.

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Jim Jacobs, who said he was a small business owner, told the Vermont senator he was concerned about the effects of what he called a raft of burdensome regulations.

"The devil is in the details. We've got to see what those regulations are," Sanders said, not giving an inch.

Sanders said he wouldn't rule out reconsidering some regulations, but added he didn't know which ones the man was citing.

"It's very easy to blame Barack Obama for everything, by the way. Some of those regulations may be state, may be local," the Vermont senator said.

"But some of them, if you're talking about -- you now, you have some folks out there who really want the freedom to pollute our air and pollute our water," he said. "They want to get rid of those regulations. I don't agree. I don't agree. We have got to protect our environment."

Sanders added that while Obama raised taxes on the wealthiest Americans, he would have gone further.

"Obama did raise taxes on the top 1 or 2%, and you know what? I would have gone further. I think the wealthiest people in this country are doing phenomenally well," Sanders said.

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sanders gets heated with trump-supporting small business owner - cnnpolitics

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Sanders gets heated with Trump-supporting small business owner

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Jim Jacobs, who said he was a small business owner, told the Vermont senator he was concerned about the effects of what he called a raft of burdensome regulations. "The devil is in the details. We've got to see what those regulations are," Sanders said, not giving an inch.

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A bridge is Colombia collapsed and killed 7 people.

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Colombian risk management authorities said excess weight led to the bridge's collapse Monday.

An eyewitness told local media that some 20 people were on the bridge when the ropes holding up the left side of it snapped. The bridge stood at a height of 10 to 15 meters (32 to 49 feet).

Two days of mourning have been declared for the city.

With Monday a national holiday in Colombia, tourists flocked to the El Carmen preserve. The bridge was privately built and has been privately run since 2004 inside the preserve, according to Villavicencio Mayor Wilmar Barbosa.

In an interview with local radio Blu Blu, Barbosa said the owner of the bridge would charge less than $1 for people to cross it.

Authorities are investigating the accident and said they will hold the responsible parties accountable.

Barbosa added that health personnel is working with the families of the victims and those injured.

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Colombian risk management authorities said excess weight led to the bridge's collapse Monday. An eyewitness told local media that some 20 people were on the bridge when the ropes holding up the left side of it snapped. The bridge stood at a height of 10 to 15 meters (32 to 49 feet).

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Brett Eldredge finds a snake in his toilet.

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Country star finds slithery surprise in toilet - CNN Video

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Country singer Brett Eldredge posted video of a snake emerging from a toilet while he was on vacation.

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there is at least 21 people dead and 20 injured in 2 car bomb explosions

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(CNN) - Two suicide bombings targeted a van Tuesday carrying administrative staffers of the Afghan parliament in the capital of Kabul, killing at least 31 people and injuring others, officials said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blasts, which officials said happened on a road near the parliament compound and the private American University of Afghanistan in Kabul.

Besides the 31 dead, 45 others were injured, said Saleem Rasooli, head of Kabul hospitals. Video distributed by Reuters showed numerous armed security personnel standing near the scene.

The violence began when a suicide attacker on foot detonated a bomb near the van, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Seddiqi said. The second blast came from a vehicle that exploded when police arrived to help victims, said Ahmad Wali, a Kabul district police chief.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the Taliban were targeting members of the Afghanistan's intelligence agency.

The blasts happened in the late afternoon on Darulaman Road, according to the university.

The university was at least indirectly affected by attacks and kidnappings by Taliban-linked insurgents last year.

In August, two teachers - an American and an Australian - were abducted near the school. Days later, a rescue attempt by US Special Operations forces from SEAL Team 6 failed when the teachers were not found at the targeted location.

Three weeks after the kidnappings, gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed the campus and killed 12 people, including students, security guards and police.

The American University of Afghanistan opened in 2006. It's the only private, nonprofit, coed university in that country and has about 1,700 full- and part-time students. The school is regarded as a symbol of cooperation between Afghanistan and the United States.

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At least 31 killed in blasts outside American University of Afghanistan

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(CNN) -- Two suicide bombings targeted a van Tuesday carrying administrative staffers of the Afghan parliament in the capital of Kabul, killing at least 31 people and injuring others, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blasts, which officials said happened on a road near the parliament compound and the private American University of Afghanistan in Kabul.

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The iphone turned 10 yesterday

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As a young reporter writing about technology in the mid-nineteen-nineties, I got my hands on a Nokia phone. It was small, gray, and a bit heavy, with the usual twelve-button keypad that was part of every phone interface. From a crowded New York street, I made a call to my mother in India. It was expensive-a few dollars per minute-but the fact of that call was life-changing. I walked back to the office, pondering the possibility of work and communication anywhere, not chained to the phone in our homes or at our desks.

Then, on January 9, 2007, came another advance. The iPhone was announced. When you write about the technology industry, rereading stories from a decade earlier is more than likely to lead to embarrassment, but for the iPhone's ten-year anniversary I made an exception and dug into the archives of Gigaom, the tech blog that I founded, in 2001, to see what I first thought of that little slab of metal and glass without any buttons.

"Apple is making the phone do all things a computer does," I wrote that day, adding, "While I am not suggesting that this replaces our notebooks or desktops for crucial productivity tasks, the iPhone (if it lives up to its hype) is at least going to decrease our dependence on [them]." That, at least, turned out to be right. I am writing these words using the iPhone 7 Plus.

What I didn't see-and could hardly have imagined-was how quickly we would not only adopt smartphones but become entirely dependent on them. According to estimates from the research firm eMarketer, in 2017 there will be 2.3 billion smartphone users worldwide, accounting for about 53.1 per cent of the total number of mobile-phone users-a smartphone tipping point, according to Cathy Boyle, a mobile analyst with eMarketer.

Over the December holidays, I tried but failed to live without my iPhone. With will power, I could tune out social-media apps like Twitter and Facebook, but other daily tasks, like calling a cab or ordering food, were a hassle. I called some of my favorite San Francisco restaurants, and they referred me to services like Postmates and Caviar; they had stopped delivering orders on their own. It seems that I have become accustomed to a certain behavior: tap the screen, open an app, and do something-listen to Spotify, adjust a Nest thermostat, check the number of steps I've walked. Your new DJI Mavic drone needs the iPhone. We can barely find our way anywhere without G.P.S.-enabled maps on our phones. From our cars to our connected devices, the iPhone is a key to everything, for now and for the near future. In a recent survey of a thousand and three Americans by the Boston Consulting Group, a third of the respondents said that they would rather give up sex for a year than lose access to their mobile device. At the recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, although Amazon's Alexa might have attracted the most buzz, the importance of the iPhone and other smartphones was undeniable. Many wearables and devices within the Internet of Things, like a connected hairbrush or adjustable light bulbs, still need to be controlled via app.

Cornerstone technologies (such as the steam engine and the internal-combustion engine), when coupled with the right user experience (the passenger-carrying environment within trains, ships, cars, and planes, for example), can act like time machines. They re-factor how we conceive of distance, place, and time. They blur the near and distant, making everything faster, which then has a behavioral and societal impact. Each cornerstone technology makes the world a bit more convenient, quicker, and a bit more unsettling.

The iPhone-and all smartphones-redefined how we think about time and place. They have sped up our world. Before computers became pocket-size, we had to log on to the network on our laptops (or struggle with Treo or BlackBerry) to get to a Web site. The friction of that process kept certain services, from on-demand grocery delivery to online banking, from evolving in scale and effectiveness. The iPhone and its descendants removed the friction, and now everything is available with only a tap. Those objects have turned us into even more of an instant-gratification society.

I remember waiting for the morning newspaper. Now vital news is a tweet, flowing through the network and making its way to us almost immediately. A decade ago, it was O.K. to call and then wait twenty minutes for a cab. Today, if our Uber is more than two minutes late, we are irritated by the delay. Finding a partner, too, has been reduced to a swipe left or a swipe right. "Everything, now!" is our society's motto.

The iPhone also gave birth to a whole range of new capabilities. Prior to the iPhone, mobile phones had very few chips. The demand for gyrometers, accelerometers, digital cameras, touch capabilities, and other such sensors didn't really exist. After the iPhone, it is hard to find a phone that doesn't have these, as well as others. Stand-alone components have seen their prices decline rapidly, and as a result you see small robots, drones, and many other such devices making it to the market.

The race between Apple and Google (and Qualcomm) has turned today's mobile phones into computing powerhouses, and the chips inside them have made it possible to do difficult tasks on mobile, such as editing videos and playing video games. These unintended consequences of the iPhone are what the former Wired editor and author Chris Anderson calls the "smartphone dividend."

From health care to transportation, the iPhone has touched and changed nearly everything. At the launch of the iPhone, one mobile analyst quipped that the mobile world would be split into two phases-before iPhone and after iPhone. A decade in, we can safely say that assuming only the mobile world would be transformed was thinking too small.

Om Malik is a technology writer, the founder of GigaOm, and a partner at TrueVentures, a venture firm based in Palo Alto, California.
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As a young reporter writing about technology in the mid-nineteen-nineties, I got my hands on a Nokia phone. It was small, gray, and a bit heavy, with the usual twelve-button keypad that was part of every phone interface. From a crowded New York street, I made a call to my mother in India.

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Mr. Kohl- President Obama gives his farewell speech tonight in Chicago. A tradition started by George Washington.

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Mr. Kohl- President Obama gives his farewell speech tonight in Chicago. A tradition started by George Washington.