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US   POLITICS  
Maduro's 'narco nephews' hit with sanctions as Trump tightens screw on Venezuela | World News
- The US has issued new sanctions targeting Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro's family, six oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them. The US has issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro's family, oil tankers and shipping companies, as Washington ramps up pressure on Caracas. The measures target three of the president's wife's nephews as well as six crude oil tankers and six ...

Source: news.sky.com
BUSINESS   TECHNOLOGY  
What smart people are saying about Disney's licensing deal with OpenAI
- It's likely just a matter of time before we see the wisened duo of Rafiki and Jiminy Cricket weilding lightsabers on the icy plains of Arendelle. to use Disney's characters and other intellectual property. Disney will also invest $1 billion in OpenAI and will purchase ChatGPT Enterprise for its employees. It's a major shift for Disney, which has historically been deeply protective of its intellectual property. And ...

Source: insider.com
US   POLITICS  
Trump Gives Big Tech Friends an Early Christmas Gift With Order Against State AI Regulations
- US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aimed at preventing state-level regulation of the burgeoning artificial intelligence industry, a gift to tech corporations that bankrolled his inauguration and are currently funding his White House ballroom project. Trump's order instructs the US Justice Department to establish an AI Litigation Task Force with a single mandate: sue states that enact AI ...

Source: commondreams.org
POLITICS  
Kilmar Abrego Garcia freed from immigration detention centre on judge's orders as he fights to stay in US | US News
- The 30-year-old returned to his home in Beltsville, Maryland, a few hours later and was due to check-in with ICE officials in Baltimore on Friday. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration would be appealing against the court ruling. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who became a flashpoint of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown earlier this year when he was wrongly deported to El ...

Source: news.sky.com
Fired Michigan coach Sherrone Moore faces arraignment amid assault investigation
- Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By LARRY LAGE ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — After spending two nights in jail, fired Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore was expected to be arraigned Friday amid a police investigation of an alleged assault. Moore, 39, was fired on Wednesday for what the school called an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Hours later, he was in police custody. Authorities ...

Source: orlandosentinel.com
US   POLITICS  
The Justice Department can keep trying to reindict Letitia James, but is it worth the risks?
- The Justice Department's mortgage fraud investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James is on life support after a grand jury, for the second time, rejected an indictment that would have revived charges against her. Lindsey Halligan , appointed by President Donald Trump to run the office, now faces the decision on whether to try again next week or pull the plug and risk the wrath of the president who ...

Source: aol.com
Washington state facing 'historic' flooding as more communities face deluge
- Western Washington is facing a "historic" flooding crisis that has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes and could displace thousands more Friday as rivers reach record levels. There have been no reports of fatalities, but local authorities and first responders stressed the potentially lethal nature of the record-breaking flooding. Warnings remain in place for some parts of the state until Saturday morning. ...

Source: nbcnews.com
US   POLITICS  
Colorado Governor Shoots Down Trump Pardon of Tina Peters
- 's declaration that he has granted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters a "full pardon" saying it 'is a matter for the courts to decide". Peters, who was convicted in 2024 on multiple state charges-including attempting to influence a public servant and criminal impersonation-remains incarcerated at La Vista Correctional Facility while her appeal proceeds. In a post on X Thursday, Polis wrote that Peters "was ...

Source: bradenton.com
US   HEALTH   MEDICINE  
FDA intends to put its most serious warning on Covid vaccines, sources say
- The US Food and Drug Administration intends to put a "black box" warning on Covid-19 vaccines, according to two people familiar with the agency's plans. A boxed warning, which appears at the top of prescribing information for medicines, is the agency's most serious, designed to warn about risks such as death or life-threatening or disabling reactions that should be weighed against the intervention's benefits. They ...

Source: aol.com
WORLD   POLITICS  
Why is Trump demanding travellers' social media handles; how will it work?
- The United States is planning to require some visitors to provide their social media history from the past five years, according to US President Donald Trump's administration. This requirement will apply to visitors who do not need a visa to enter the US. Here is a closer look at this proposal: What is the US planning to do? The proposal was announced on the Federal Register by the US Customs and Border Protection ...

Source: aljazeera.com
Fans slam FIFA, demand halt to 'extortionate' 2026 World Cup ticket sales
- Football's leading fan organisations have demanded FIFA immediately stop selling tickets for next year's World Cup , to be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico, warning that prices reaching nearly $9,000 for premium final seats will exclude supporters from the tournament. Football Supporters Europe, which called the ticket pricing "extortionate", issued the call on Thursday after national associations ...

Source: aljazeera.com
US  
51 babies across 19 states fall ill from botulism linked to ByHeart baby formula
- FDA reports cases have increased from 39 last week with illnesses spanning multiple months At least 51 babies have been hospitalized in a growing botulism outbreak tied to contaminated baby formula, federal health officials announced Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said suspected and confirmed cases have now been reported in 19 states among infants who consumed ByHeart formula ...

Source: foxbusiness.com
Crypto mogul Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud
- Co-founder of Singapore-based Terraform Labs given more jail time by US judge than prosecutors sought Do Kwon, the entrepreneur behind two cryptocurrencies that lost $40bn (£29.8bn) three years ago and caused the sector to crash, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud. The South Korean, 34, had pleaded guilty to two counts of US charges of conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud. Kwon, who co-founded ...

Source: theguardian.com
US   MARKETS  
Mortgage rates tick higher but remain near 2025 lows
- Average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.22%, says Freddie Mac Mortgage rates ticked higher this week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage increased to 6.22% from last week's reading of 6.19%.  The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.6% a year ago. ...

Source: foxbusiness.com
US   POLITICS  
Senate rejects extension of health care subsidies
- WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday rejected legislation to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits, essentially guaranteeing that millions of Americans will see a steep rise in costs at the beginning of the year. As Republicans and Democrats have failed to find compromise, senators voted on two partisan bills instead that they knew would fail — the Democratic bill to extend the subsidies, and a ...

Source: bostonglobe.com
POLITICS  
Democrat Rips Into Kristi Noem For Sending ICE After Veterans And Their Family Members
- During a Thursday national security hearing, Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) methodically questioned Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over the brutal anti-immigration crackdown her department is carrying out on behalf of President Donald Trump . The Democrat managed to secure a verbal pledge from Noem to, at the very least, take a look at certain individual immigrants' cases of alleged mistreatment at the hands ...

Source: huffpost.com
Time magazine names 'Architects of AI' as its person of the year for 2025
- The "Architects of AI" were named Time's person of the year Thursday, with the magazine citing 2025 as when the potential of artificial intelligence "roared into view" with no turning back. "For delivering the age of thinking machines, for wowing and worrying humanity, for transforming the present and transcending the possible, the Architects of AI are TIME's 2025 Person of the Year," Time said in a social media ...

Source: apnews.com
US   HEALTH  
Hundreds are quarantined in South Carolina as measles spreads in 2 US outbreaks
- Measles outbreaks are growing along the Utah-Arizona border and in South Carolina, where hundreds are in quarantine. Between Friday and Tuesday, South Carolina health officials confirmed 27 new measles cases in an outbreak in and around northwestern Spartanburg County. In two months, 111 people have been sickened by the vaccine-preventable virus . More than 250 people, including students from nine area elementary, ...

Source: apnews.com
WORLD   POLITICS  
Zelensky says revised US plan still calls for Ukraine to leave disputed Donbas region
- KYIV -- President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that a compromise peace plan backed by the United States still called for Ukraine to withdraw from the eastern Donbas region, a concession that Zelensky said his country would not make. Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Zelensky made clear that territorial questions remained a major unresolved issue, a day after Ukrainian and European leaders sent to the United States ...

Source: bostonglobe.com
OpenAI says its new GPT 5.2 set a 'new state-of-the-art score' for professional knowledge work
- OpenAI released its anticipated update to GPT-5 on Thursday, boasting that the new AI is "the most capable model series yet for professional knowledge work." "We designed GPT‑5.2 to unlock even more economic value for people; it's better at creating spreadsheets, building presentations, writing code, perceiving images, understanding long contexts, using tools, and handling complex, multi-step project," the ...

Source: businessinsider.com
Killer whales and dolphins are 'being friends' to hunt salmon together
- White-sided dolphins seem to help killer whales "scout" and catch Chinook salmon near Vancouver Island, then eat the leftovers Killer whales and dolphins have been working together to hunt salmon in the northern Pacific Ocean, an unexpected finding that further reveals the complex social lives of marine mammals. Video cameras and sensors attached to nine killer whales – also known as orcas – showed four ...

Source: newscientist.com
Not lovin' it: McDonald's pulls AI-generated Christmas ad after social media backlash
- Some social media users in the Netherlands said they couldn't stomach it, so McDonald's has withdrawn an advertisement generated entirely by artificial intelligence . Entitled "the most terrible time of the year," the 45-second video was released on the fast-food giant's YouTube channel for the country Saturday. As a reworked version of the Andy Williams song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" plays in the ...

Source: nbcnews.com
New "Trump Cards" Debut, Expediting Visa Process for Those Who Pay $1 Million
- On Wednesday, through a legally dubious executive order, President Donald Trump launched the "Trump Card," a means by which wealthy immigrants or their corporate backers can expedite their visa process and gain entry into the United States. "THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT'S TRUMP GOLD CARD IS HERE TODAY!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday . "A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted ...

Source: truthout.org
Australia is booting kids under 16 off social media. Some senators hope the US is next: 'Our lack of action is inexcusable.'
- A law in Australia banning children under 16 from creating social media accounts took effect this week. It was the latest move in a growing global effort to protect young people from the harmful effects of social media. A group of American senators is hoping the US will do the same. "Australia is stepping up to protect kids from the addictive and harmful content being constantly fed to them on social media. It's ...

Source: businessinsider.com
MEDICINE  
Lilly's next-gen obesity drug delivers major weight loss in Phase 3 trial, but with many discontinuations
- Eli Lilly's next-generation obesity drug led to what appears to be the most weight loss seen so far in a late-stage trial, but rates of side effects were high and many participants discontinued the treatment, including people who felt they were losing too much weight. In a 68-week Phase 3 study of patients with obesity and knee osteoarthritis, those who took the highest dose and stayed on the drug, called ...

Source: statnews.com
Nascar settles antitrust lawsuit with Michael Jordan–backed team after bruising trial
- Nascar reached a confidential settlement agreement on Thursday with Front Row Motorsports and Michael Jordan's 23XI racing in a federal courtroom in Charlotte. The two race teams filed an antitrust lawsuit against the motorsports organization in 2024, alleging monopolist practices and accusing Nascar of using anti-competitive tactics to pressure teams into compliance. The settlement came one day after the ...

Source: theguardian.com
US  
OpenAI, Microsoft Sued Over Murder-Suicide Blamed on ChatGPT (1)
- OpenAI and its investor Microsoft Corp. were sued over a Connecticut murder-suicide in the latest case to blame the popular ChatGPT chatbot for dangerous psychological manipulation of users. The lawsuit turns on the actions of a 56-year-old man who lived with his 83-year-old mother in Greenwich, Connecticut, and had been conversing for months with the chatbot over his fear that he was under surveillance and people ...

Source: news.bloomberglaw.com
WORLD  
Trump administration claims that spending $140 million on jets for deportations will save money
- In its latest splurge, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will spend nearly $140 million on six Boeing 737 planes to deport immigrants. The new DHS planes are intended to cut costs "by allowing ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to operate more effectively," Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told The Washington Post . The planes will be purchased with funding granted by the One ...

Source: reason.com
POLITICS  
Trump to set up militarized zone along U.S.-Mexico border in California
- The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it plans to create a militarized zone along the U.S.-Mexico border in California to support border security operations for three years, the latest in a controversial series of moves aimed at securing the border amid the government's immigration crackdown. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a written statement that the agency plans to transfer about 760 ...

Source: latimes.com
POLITICS  
US trade gap shrinks to narrowest since 2020 after tariff hikes
- The US trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in September to the smallest since 2020, delayed government data showed Thursday, with imports rising just slightly as President Donald Trump's new tariffs set in. The overall trade deficit fell 10.9 percent to $52.8 billion, the lowest since mid-2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. This came as exports rose 3.0 percent to $289.3 billion, while imports edged up 0.6 percent ...

Source: digitaljournal.com
US  
Hearing on whether ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO is mentally fit to stand trial for sex trafficking set
- NEW YORK – The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch faces a March court hearing to determine whether he's competent to stand trial on after being hospitalized in recent months for dementia and Alzheimer's symptoms. If he's found mentally fit, Michael Jeffries could have his day in court by late October, U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury said Thursday. "We are aiming for a trial this fall," she said on a ...

Source: news4jax.com
Dozens killed in hospital strike in Myanmar's western Rakhine state
- Conflict monitors say the junta has increased airstrikes year-on-year since the start of Myanmar's civil war Dozens have been killed in a military strike on a hospital in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, according to an aid worker, a rebel group, a witness and local media reports, as the junta wages a withering offensive ahead of elections beginning this month. "The situation is very terrible," said on-site aid ...

Source: theguardian.com
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson Set To Return For 'The Hunger Games' Prequel 'Sunrise on the Reaping'
- By Jennifer Lawrence is set to play Katniss Everdeen and enter the games, again! According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter , the Academy Award-winning star is set to make an appearance in the upcoming film, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, making her return to the franchise for the first time since Mockingjay – Part II, which was released in 2015. However, she is not the only one returning ...

Source: miamiherald.com
SCIENCE  
NASA says Maven spacecraft that was orbiting Mars has gone silent
- NASA has lost contact with a spacecraft that has orbited Mars for more than a decade. Maven, an acronym for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, abruptly stopped communicating with ground stations on Dec. 6. NASA said this week that it was working fine before it went behind the red planet. When it reappeared, there was only silence. Launched in 2013 and having entered Mars' orbit in September 2014, Maven began ...

Source: cbsnews.com