In Other News: Do UFOs really exists?; Trump’s five ‘greatest unintentional accomplishments’

Published 5:23 pm Tuesday, December 19, 2017

President Trump’s five ‘greatest unintentional accomplishments’

As America approaches the end of Donald Trump’s first year as president, one point on which the entire country can agree is that this has been a year like no other in the nation’s history. If the polls are to be believed, most of us see Trump’s presidency so far as a slow-motion calamity. And yet, not every development in the last year has been negative. The Trump presidency has energized the country and given it a new mood of seriousness. It has reminded America about its priorities and caused its people to ponder important questions. Even if he has done so unwittingly, we can thank President Trump for bringing some exciting changes to the country. Here are five of Donald Trump’s greatest unintentional accomplishments. — CNN.com

Two ‘passionate advocates’ of rail travel among the dead in Amtrak derailment

Two devoted rail enthusiasts were among the three people killed in the Amtrak derailment outside Tacoma, Washington, on Monday. Jim Hamre and Zack Willhoite, both “passionate advocates for passenger railroad,” died in the derailment, said Jim Mathews, president of the Rail Passengers Association, an organization that aims to improve and expand rail transit. Hamre was a board member for the association and Wilhoite was a member, the group said in a statement. — NBC News

Do UFOs really exist?

As head of the Pentagon’s Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program Luis Elizondo spent years trying to learn about UFOs. The secret program collected information from members of the military — mostly pilots — when they spotted unidentified flying objects. Some of those findings — first reported over the weekend by The New York Times and Politico — have been released to the public. According to reports, the program began in 2007 and ended in 2012. Elizondo took over the program in 2010. — NPR

At least 12 people dead after bus carrying American cruise ship passengers crashes in Mexico

At least 12 people died and several more were injured after a bus carrying cruise ship passengers flipped over on a highway in eastern Mexico early Tuesday, officials said. Seven Americans and two Swedish citizens are among the nearly two dozen injured, according to Vincente Martin, the civil defense spokesman for Quintana Roo state. Authorities have not yet been able to ascertain the nationalities of the dead, Martin added. — New York Daily News

White House to ‘temporarily’ shut petition website

The White House has said it will be shutting down its website for petitions from midnight on Tuesday until a new one is set up in late January. The “We The People” site was set up by the Obama administration in 2011. It promised a response to all petitions drawing more than 100,000 signatures but the Trump administration has not responded to any since January. — BBC