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Scientists on Monday unveiled the first global geological map of Saturn's moon Titan including vast plains and dunes of frozen organic material and lakes of liquid methane, illuminating an exotic world considered a strong candidate in the search for life beyond Earth. The map was based on radar, infrared and other data collected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which studied Saturn and its moons from 2004 to 2017. Titan, with a diameter of 3,200 miles (5,150 km), is the solar system's second-biggest moon behind Jupiter's Ganymede.

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 16:15:26 -0500

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday the Trump administration had voiced support for legislation providing temporary funds for an array of federal agencies through Dec. 20 to avert shutdowns at the end of this week. McConnell, a Republican, predicted such a bill would pass the Senate "and the White House has indicated President Trump would sign it" into law. The Democratic-led House of Representatives is expected to pass the legislation later this week and send it to the Senate for final approval and Trump's signature ahead of a Thursday deadline.

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 16:14:02 -0500

Twenty-four Malian soldiers were killed and 29 wounded in an attack on an army patrol in northern Mali on Monday in which 17 militants were also killed, a spokesman for the army said. The West African country is still reeling from an attack on an army post that killed 54 in early November - one of the deadliest strikes against its military in recent memory, which underscored the increasing reach and sophistication of armed jihadist groups active in the wider region. The Malian patrol attacked on Monday was in Tabankort, Gao region, while on a joint operation with Niger against militants operating near the border.

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 16:04:39 -0500

Citing what they said were signs U.S. rivals want to undermine the November 2020 poll, National Security Action - a group led by former advisers to President Barack Obama - said states and agencies should invest in paper ballot backups for digital voting machines, ensure audits of election results, improve cybersecurity and boost training for poll workers. Election security has become a major concern since U.S. intelligence agencies claimed Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to tilt the vote in Donald Trump’s favor.

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 16:03:38 -0500

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs. A miniature manuscript written by the teenage Charlotte Bronte is returning to her childhood home in West Yorkshire after it was bought by a British museum at auction in Paris. The Bronte Parsonage Museum bid 780,000 euros ($862,600) for the unpublished manuscript, written by Bronte when she was 14 years old.

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 15:57:46 -0500