Federal Judge restores CNN reporterJim Acosta's White House press pass

A federal judge today ruled that the White House must restore the press pass it stripped last week from CNN's chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.

Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that Jim Acosta's free-press rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outweigh "the government’s interest in orderly, respectful press conferences''. He went on to add that the White House failed to give Acosta "due process," something guaranteed in government proceedings under the Fifth Amendment. And he suggested that the White House exaggerated when it claimed that Acosta "placed his hands" on a female intern last week as she tried to reclaim a press conference microphone. 

While Kelly ordered the White House to let Acosta back in the building, he said Trump and his spokespeople aren't obligated to call on him during press conferences or let him ask questions.

Kelly, a Trump appointee, emphasized that his ruling was temporary, saying: 

"I have not determined that the First Amendment was violated here.

"I want to emphasize the very limited nature of this ruling."

Speaking outside the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. after the ruling, Acosta thanked other reporters, saying:

"I want to thank all of my colleagues in the press who supported us this week. And I want to thank the judge for the decision he made today. And let's go back to work."

Angola shut down 34 churches for operating illegally

At least  34 churches have been shut in Angola following an operation dubbed Operação Resgate (rescue operation) by the national police.

The national police director for communication, Orlando Bernardo, said 19 churches were shut in Cabinda Province, 11 in Luanda and four in Malanje province for operating illegally. The government said recently that more than 50 per cent of churches operating in Angola were foreign, mainly from the DR Congo, Brazil, Nigeria and Senegal, adding that at least 1,116 of them operated illegally.  

The police rescue operation started on November 6th and will run until the end of the year. The operation aims at restoring the state authority by instituting order in worship, on the roads, fighting unregulated hawking and illegal migrations, among others.

Viral homeless veteran and couple who created GoFundMe account for him knew each other for a month before creating fake story and may now face 10 years in jail

Last year, a homeless veteran went viral after a New Jersey woman claimed that he used his last $20 to buy her gas when he met her for the first time and noticed she was stranded.

The story went viral and touched hearts all over the world. The New Jersey woman and her man then went on to start a GoFundMe campaign which raised over $403,000 for the homeless man. But the relationship soured when the veteran took them to court this year and accused them of refusing to Grant him access to the money, and instead using it on themselves.

Well, it has now emerged that the homeless veteran and the New Jersey couple are all frauds and knew each other for one month before they faked that viral touching story. 

On Thursday, October 15, Kate McClure, 28, Mark D'Amico, 39, and Johnny Bobbitt Jr, 34, were all charged with second degree theft by deception and conspiracy to commit theft by deception in New Jersey. 

They all now face between five and ten years behind bars. 

The couple, McClure and D'Amico, were released on bail after turning themselves in and will return to court on December 24.  Bobbitt is still in custody in Philadelphia awaiting extradition to New Jersey.

The couple was not required to pay anything to post bail. Of the $403,000 they raised and $360,000 they netted after GoFundMe fees, there is not a single dollar left.  They gave Bobbitt around $75,000 but blew the rest on expensive trips, casinos, expensive bags, and cars.

GoFundMe has promised to reimburse the 14,000 people who contributed to the campaign. 

The story began to fell apart in August this year after Bobbitt complained to a newspaper that the couple "stole" the money and left him to return to the streets. But the couple claimed Bobbitt was trying to squander the money and they were helping him manage it properly. They accused him of trying to slander them because they wouldn't let him blow the money away.  They also swore they had not spent a single dollar from the donations on themselves.

Prosecutors then carried out an investigation and found that not only had the couple blown all the money, as has been suspected for months, but their story was fraudulent from the beginning and Bobbitt, who had been seen as their victim, was in on the plan all along. 

Scott Coffina, Burlington County Prosecutor, said at a press conference on Thursday:

The paying it forward story that drove this fundraiser might seem too good to be true. Unfortunately it was. The entire campaign was predicated on a lie.

She did not run out of gas at an I-95 off ramp and he did not spend his last $20 to help her.

D'Amico, McClure and Bobbitt conspired to pass off a fake, feel good story that would compel donors to contribute to their cause and it worked in a very big way but it was fictitious and illegal and there are consequences.

Speaking on how the couple met the homeless man, Coffina said:

Johnny Bobbitt used to hang out near an underpass and this off ramp happens to be near a Sugarhouse casino and they frequented it and they ran into him on their trips there, befriended him, gave him $10, some coffee or some food.

Prosecutors found a 2012 Facebook post made by Bobbitt in which he claimed to have helped another woman in North Carolina by buying her gas after she too became stranded. There is no trace of it ever happening. 

On Thursday, Coffina said he hoped the shocking story would not stop others from donating to genuine good causes in the future.

what Manchester United star Marouane Fellaini now looks like after cutting off his trademark curly locks

Belgium and Manchester United midfielder, Marouane Fellaini, has left many stunned online after he cut off his curly locks which has been a trademark of his appearance since moving to the Premier League 10-years-ago.

The 30-year-old footballer took to his social media accounts to show off a new haircut ahead of his birthday and he looked unrecognizable.

He captioned the photos: 'new year, new look #birthdaytommorow.' 

See the photos below.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi shows off five Pichichi trophies as he takes his total number of individual awards to 160

Barcelona striker, Lionel Messi, was pictured today posing with his five Pichichi awards given to the top scorer in La Liga each season as he took his individual awards to160.

The 31-year-old Argentine who scored 34 goals in 36 matches and 12 assists last season was awarded the Alfredo Di Stefano trophy and the latest Pichichi award at a ceremony on Monday.

Messi, who is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time won his first individual honours in 2005 when he was just 18. 

Check out Lionel Messi's full list of Individual awards below.

Ballon d'Or/FIFA Ballon d'Or: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015

European Golden Shoe: 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018

FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 2014

FIFA World Player of the Year: 2009

UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award: 2011, 2015

UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2009

UEFA Club Forward of the Year: 2009

World Soccer World Player of the Year: 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015

Onze d'Or: 2009, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2017-18

Globe Soccer Awards Best Player of the Year: 2015

Best Player in La Liga: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018

Best Forward in La Liga: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2009, 2011

FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball: 2015

FIFA Club World Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 2009, 2011

FIFA World Youth Championship Golden Ball: 2005

FIFA World Youth Championship Golden Shoe: 2005

Olimpia de Oro (Argentine Sportsperson of the Year): 2011

Olimpia de Plata (Argentine Footballer of the Year): 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017

Copa America Best Young Player: 2007

FIFPro Young World Player of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2008

World Soccer Player of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2008 

Bravo Award: 2007  

Golden Boy (Young European Footballer of the Year): 2005 

IFFHS World's Best Playmaker: 2015, 2016, 2017

IFFHS World's Best Top Goalscorer: 2011, 2012

IFFHS World's Best Top Division Goalscorer: 2012, 2013, 2017

La Liga Player of the Month: January 2016, April 2017, April 2018, September 2018 

Trofeo Aldo Rovira: 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017-18

Trofeo EFE: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12

Trofeo Alfredo Di Stefano: 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2014-15, 2016-17, 2017-18 

FIFA FIFPro World XI: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

UEFA Team of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

ESM Team of the Season: 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17

UEFA Ultimate Team of the Year (published in 2015)

La Liga Team of the Season: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016-17

FIFA World Cup Dream Team: 2014

Copa America Dream Team: 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016

AFA Team of All Time (published 2015)

UEFA Goal of the Season: 2006–07, 2014–15, 2015–16

Copa America Best Goal: 2007

UEFA Champions League Final Fan's Man of the Match: 2009, 2011

UEFA Champions League Final UEFA Man of the Match: 2011

UEFA Super Cup Man of the Match: 2011, 2015

Best International Athlete ESPY Award: 2012, 2015 

Don Balon Team of the Decade (published in 2010) 

Don Balon Best Foreign Player: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10 

Pichichi Trophy: 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18 

TOTAL AWARDS: 160

Real Madrid appoints Santiago Solari as new coach till 2021

Spanish giants, Real Madrid have appointed Santiago Solari as a permanent first-team coach, after he secured the best start of any manager in 116-YEAR history.

The 42-year-old Argentine, who won all four of his games in caretaker charge after Julen Lopetegui was sacked after the 5-1 Clasico defeat at Barcelona in October, will now officially be the coach of the Spanish club until June 30, 2021.

The club made the news on their Twitter page, writing: 'Santiago Solari, coach of the first team @RealMadrid until June 30th, 2021.#HalaMadrid.'

View image on Twitter

Real Madrid C.F.

✔@realmadrid

Santiago Solari, entrenador del primer equipo del @RealMadrid hasta el 30 de junio de 2021.#HalaMadrid

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Barcelona star Lionel Messi receives Alfredo Di Stefano trophy and Pichichi award

Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi was presented with two more pieces of silverware to add his trophy cabinet at an awards ceremony which took place on Monday.

The Argentine who scored 34 goals in 36 matches, 12 assists,  in the process scooped the Alfredo Di Stefano trophy as well as the Pichichi award after an impressive season with Barcelona that saw them took the La Liga title last season.

The Di Stefano award is given to the best player in La Liga while the Pichichi award, named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael 'Pichichi' Moreno Aranzadi, goes to the top goalscorer in the division.

Messi was presented with the trophies by Marca Director Juan Ignacio Gallardo and La Liga presidentJavier Tebas.