Biggest news you missed this weekend
At least 30 dead in Oakland warehouse fire
At least 30 people are dead and as many as two dozen more may have perished in a massive fire that broke out late Friday night in an Oakland warehouse and artist collective. The fire, the worst in Oakland in years, started during an electronic dance music party. City officials were still working to determine how many had died in the blaze, and Alameda County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ray Kelly said Saturday that it could take at least 48 hours to tally the number of casualties because of the continuing danger posed to firefighters by the unstable and charred remains of the structure. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Cuba’s final farewell to Fidel Castro
The ashes of Fidel Castro, the 90-year-old Cuban revolutionary and former president, were interred Sunday in the eastern city where he started his communist revolt. Cubans were not able to see the private ceremony on state television as they had expected, and it was unclear whether the broadcast failed or if Cuban officials decided at the last moment to cut it off. The ceremony came after a week-long procession from Havana to Santiago de Cuba, and Castro's remains were finally laid to rest just blocks from the plaza where he declared victory for his revolution on Jan. 1, 1959.
Trump takes Taiwan call, protests ‘SNL’ (again)
No U.S. president has spoken officially with a leader of Taiwan since 1979, but President-elect Donald Trump received a congratulatory call from the Taiwanese president Friday. Vice-president elect Mike Pence called the conversation “a moment of courtesy,” and he said that Trump had a similar call with Chinese president Xi Jinping. “Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call,” Trump tweeted. The President-elect also took to Twitter to protest another Saturday Night Live skit that took shots at him, calling the show “unwatchable.”
Jill Stein, Green Party to take Pennsylvania recount to federal court
After a Green Party campaign dropped its case in state courts, the group plans to take its fight for a statewide recount of presidential votes in Pennsylvania to federal court. The group said over the weekend that state courts were ill-equipped to handle the case and that it needed to federal intervention. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein said in a tweet Saturday that the move will take place Monday. President-elect Donald Trump won Pennsylvania on Election Day and is also facing Stein-backed recounts in Michigan and Wisconsin.
College Football Playoff set
After 14 weeks of games, the final four teams for the College Football Playoff have been picked. No. 1 Alabama will square off against No. 4 Washington in the Peach Bowl, and No. 2 Clemson will face No. 3 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. The picks come after Alabama, Clemson and Washington won their conference titles Saturday. Penn State, after winning the Big Ten, landed at No. 5 and just missed out while Ohio State becomes the first non-conference champion to make the playoffs in the three years of the current system.
Two feet of snow in Hawaii with one more on the way
If you're looking to get away to somewhere warm, Hawaii may not be the best pick right now. The island state expected to receive another foot of snow Sunday after two feet have already been dumped since Thursday. Yes, you read that correctly: two feet of snow in Hawaii. The summits of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on the Big Island remain under winter storm warnings, and heavy snow and howling winds could reduce visibility to below a quarter- mile at times. All of the Hawaiian islands were also under flash flood watches.