Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend
Massive car crash in Virginia leaves at least 50 hospitalized
More than 60 vehicles were involved in chain-reaction crashes on an icy, foggy Virginia bridge Sunday, leaving 51 hospitalized and shutting down I-64 in both directions on a busy holiday travel day. Eleven people were seriously injured in the pile-up at the Queen's Creek bridge, about 50 miles east of Richmond just outside historic Williamsburg, state police said in a tweet. The interstate is a major access road for Virginia Beach, a sprawling beach and military city of more than 440,000 people. Images from the scene revealed a sea of cars with crumpled hoods and trunks. Some vehicles were squeezed between other cars, partially lifted into the air as first responders walked across them looking to extricate drivers and passengers.
- Video: Over 60 cars involved in Virginia interstate pile-up crash
- How to deal with holiday traffic: When NOT to drive, what to expect at airports
13 people shot in 'chaotic scene' at Chicago house party
At least two gunmen opened fire early Sunday at a house party on Chicago's South Side, wounding 13 people and sparking bedlam as partygoers fleeing for safety encountered more shooting on the street outside, police said. Patrol Chief Fred Waller said two people were in custody. "There was a dispute where shots were fired inside," Waller said. "The people started to spill out, and as they spilled out more shots were fired. So we have about three (shooting) scenes." Waller said the party was a memorial for someone who had been killed in April. Chicago police say violent crime is down in 2019, and the department has forecast a double-digit percentage decline in shootings and homicides for the third straight year. Still, about 475 homicides have been reported in Chicago this year.
Trump signs $1.4 trillion bill to avoid shutdown, raise minimum age for tobacco
President Donald Trump signed a $1.4 trillion spending package Friday that will put off the possibility of a government shutdown until next fall, earmark money for gun violence research and raise the age for buying tobacco to 21. The bipartisan legislation, which will keep the government funded through September, not only avoids a shutdown that had been scheduled for Friday but also represents a remarkable moment of cooperation just after House Democrats impeached the president. Trump secured $1.4 billion for barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, the same amount lawmakers approved last year. Included in the package is a provision that would make it a violation of federal law to sell tobacco to anyone under 21, up from the current age of 18. The new minimum age would apply to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and vaping cartridges.
- 'It's 100% not safe': Vaping increases risk of chronic lung disease by 30%, according to new study
- Impeachment: Trump wants a speedy Senate trial and to pay back foes over impeachment. He might not get both
Boeing's Starliner capsule touches down after dramatic mission
Despite complications after launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Boeing's Starliner capsule softly touched down in New Mexico early Sunday, wrapping up a dramatic flight that saw mission managers scrambling to save the unmanned spacecraft and its mission. The spacecraft didn't reach the International Space Station as originally planned. The Starliner lifted off Friday morning, but a scheduled orbital insertion burn to "catch up" with the International Space Station didn't happen due to the spacecraft thinking it was at a different point in the mission, causing it to burn too much fuel. Had this flight been fully successful, NASA astronauts were slated to fly on the spacecraft sometime in the first half of 2020. A revised timeline for that mission has not yet been made clear.
- Boeing Starliner: Won't reach International Space Station, returns to Earth
New poll shows majority approve of Trump's impeachment, removal from office
Following the House of Representatives' vote to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, a new poll from Politico and Morning Consult shows a majority of respondents supporting the articles of impeachment, Trump's impeachment and his removal from office. In the first poll to be conducted following the House's passage of impeachment articles, 52% of respondents said they supported the Houses' articles of impeachment, with 43% opposing. Similarly, 52% of respondents said they support Trump's impeachment and removal from office, while 42% disapproved. Meanwhile, Trump on Saturday rallied student supporters in Florida on behalf of his political agenda – and blasted Democrats for their impeachment push.
- Paste BN Poll: Impeached or not, Trump leads his Democratic rivals for another term
- Trump urges students to back his agenda and oppose impeachment
Real quick
- Notre Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in April, will not host Christmas services for first time since French Revolution
- NFL season winding down: Ravens lock up AFC's No. 1 seed, home-field advantage
- Mysterious green ooze on Michigan highway: It came from a waste site whose owner is in prison
- Democratic Sen. Doug Jones may vote against convicting Trump in impeachment if 'dots aren't connected'
- A new Trump administration policy would leave many Americans without food stamps
'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' falls short, 'Cats' flops badly
The Force was a little less strong with "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker." J.J. Abrams' Skywalker finale couldn't match its recent predecessors on opening weekend, but it still amassed a $175.5 million debut that ranked far, far away from all but a dozen films."The Rise of Skywalker" pulled in $374 million worldwide, according to studio estimates Sunday. Such expectations did not await Tom Hooper's adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats." The much ridiculed big-screen musical, featuring infamous "digital fur technology," scratched out just $6.5 million in ticket sales. The $100 million production, featuring an ensemble including Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench, James Corden, Idris Elba, Ian McKellen and Taylor Swift, came in well behind projections. It opened in a distant fourth place.
Eddie Murphy's hilarious 'Saturday Night Live' return
Eddie Murphy's long-awaited return to "Saturday Night Live" brought back classic characters like Buckwheat, Mister Robinson and Gumby, plus a ribbing of Bill Cosby. The comedy legend took the "SNL" stage with some all-stars when he hosted the show Saturday for the first time in 35 years. Fellow "SNL" alumni Chris Rock and Tracy Morgan joined Murphy as well as Dave Chappelle during the comedian's monologue on the holiday episode. Rock, Morgan and Chappelle each took turns joining Murphy and joking about sketches they pitched for the episode and getting in various zingers. For Murphy's longtime fans, the old "SNL" personalities he dusted off were highlights, including the return of his throwback Mister Rogers parody, "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood."
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This is a compilation of stories from across the Paste BN Network. Contributing: Associated Press.