TRUMP PICKS BILLIONAIRE FOR ARMY POST
palm beach, fla.» President-elect Donald Trump on Monday tapped another billionaire businessman for an administration job, naming Army veteran and fellow New Yorker Vincent Viola to be his secretary of the Army.
Viola is a West Point graduate who joins a list of former military men chosen for the Cabinet. Trump’s picks for defense secretary, homeland security secretary, national security adviser and deputy national security adviser are retired military.
U.N. approves Aleppo monitors as evacuations from city proceed. The
leaders of Russia and Iran, military allies of Syria’s president, talked Monday about joining forces to reach a quick political settlement in Syria, as the country’s largest city, Aleppo, was poised to return to full government control.
Syrian state TV said it expected the evacuation of thousands of civilians and fighters from the last opposition footholds in Aleppo to be completed by early Tuesday.
As more people left the city, the U.N. Security council approved a compromise French-Russian resolution urging the immediate deployment of U.N. monitors to watch over the evacuation and “the well-being of civilians” remaining in the city.
Scots threaten to quit U.K. if forced out of EU.
Scotland will hold a new referendum on separation from the U.K. unless it can stay in the European Union single market, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will warn this week, adding to the pressure on Theresa May as the U.K. premier draws up plans for Brexit.
Voters in Scotland chose to stay in the EU in June’s referendum.
Judge who sentenced former Stanford swimmer to six months cleared of misconduct
B san francisco» A judge was cleared of misconduct Monday for sentencing a former Stanford University swimmer to six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on campus, a punishment decried as too lenient by critics across the country. There was no evidence that Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky displayed bias in his treatment of Brock Turner, according to the California Commission on Judicial Performance.
Alcohol poisoning death toll in Russian city rises to 49 B
irkutsk, russia» The death toll from alcohol poisoning in a Siberian city has risen to at least 49 on Monday after the victims consumed a counterfeit lotion containing deadly methanol. The sale of lotions and tinctures containing alcohol has risen in recent years as Russia has plunged into recession under the impact of Western sanctions and a slide in oil prices. Poisonings caused by cheap surrogate alcohol are a regular occurrence, but the Irkutsk case was unprecedented in its scale.
Poker pro, friend must repay $10.1 million to casino in cheating case
B atlantic city, n.j.» Poker pro Phil Ivey and a companion must return more than $10 million they won from an Atlantic City casino while playing cards that were arranged in a certain way to give the players an edge.