Arlene Golonka, Star of The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. Has Passed Away

Associated Press
The Leonid meteor shower peaks as the supermoon wanes
It's a treat to see a supermoon. But that bright glowing orb will still be almost full when the Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend, likely obscuring all but the brightest meteors in most locations. The Leonids are known for their high-speed meteors, which can travel at up to 44 miles per second (70 kilometers per second). "Unfortunately this year, the viewing conditions will be affected" by a nearly full moon, said Shyam Balaji of King's College London.
NBC News
Baby red panda's death blamed on noise stress from fireworks
Animal campaigners are calling for a ban on the public sale of fireworks after Roxie the baby red panda was thought to have died from stress related to the noise.
Associated Press
Biden heads to international summits in Peru and Brazil as world leaders brace for Trump presidency
President Joe Biden begins his six-day visit to Peru and Brazil on Thursday for the final major international summits of his presidency, while world leaders turn their attention to what Donald Trump 's return to the White House means for their countries. The visit to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru and stops in the Amazon rainforest and at the Group of 20 leaders summit in Brazil offer Biden one of his last chances as president to meet with heads of state he’s worked with over the years.
USA TODAY
Trump transition live coverage: Latest updates after Trump tapped Gaetz, Rubio, Gabbard
President-elect Donald Trump is still choosing his nominees for his second term in the White House − and making some surprising picks.
NBC News
Hitting government with a 'blowtorch': Trump's Cabinet picks are the first step in carrying out his agenda
Since his decisive victory last week, Trump has tapped trusted allies — like Matt Gaetz and Tulsi Gabbard — to carry out his priorities.
NBC News
Premature births in the U.S. remain at an all-time high, the March of Dimes reports
Many pregnant women in the U.S, particularly in the South, face inadequate prenatal care, complicated by abortion restrictions, air pollution and extreme heat, according to a new March of Dimes report.
AFP
Iran tells UN nuclear chief it won't negotiate under 'intimidation'
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that Iran will not negotiate under "intimidation" as he held crunch talks with the UN nuclear chief weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office.The IAEA chief described his meeting with Araghchi as "indispensable" in a post on X. Araghchi was Iran's chief negotiator in talks that led to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, abandoned three years later by Trump.
AFP
Stock markets diverge as traders weigh future Fed cuts
Stock markets diverged on Thursday as investors digested US inflation data that supported the case for another interest rate cut next month, while worries over Donald Trump's presidency clouded optimism.US inflation data showed that consumer prices rose in line with forecasts, cementing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month.
AFP
Israel warfare methods 'consistent with genocide': UN committee
Israel's warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, a special UN committee said Thursday, accusing the country of "using starvation as a method of war".Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", said the committee, which has for decades been investigating Israeli practices affecting rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.
CNN
Rudy Giuliani’s lawyers are trying to quit his debt enforcement case
The lawyers who have been representing Rudy Giuliani are trying to quit his debt enforcement case because of disagreements with him, according to new court filings, as a Friday deadline nears for the former New York City mayor to turn over many of his most valuable possessions to two Georgia election workers to whom he owes nearly $150 million.
Associated Press
Lawmakers stage Māori protest in New Zealand's parliament during fraught race relations debate
A vote in New Zealand’s parliament was suspended and two lawmakers ejected on Thursday when dramatic political theater erupted over a controversial proposed law redefining the country’s founding agreement between Indigenous Māori and the British Crown. Under the principles laid out in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which guide the relationship between the government and Māori, tribes were promised broad rights to retain their lands and protect their interests in return for ceding governance to the British. The bill would specify that those rights should apply to all New Zealanders.
Yahoo Finance
Disney earnings beat as streaming profit tops estimates
Disney reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines as its streaming business swung to a profit.
Associated Press
UK set to create new pension megafunds with aim of unlocking $100 billion for investment
British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves is set to announce plans later Thursday to merge dozens of pension funds with the aim of unlocking tens of billions of pounds for investment and boosting the U.K.'s sub-par economic growth. In comments released by the Treasury ahead of her speech to finance leaders in central London, Reeves will say that the creation of so-called “megafunds” will represent the “biggest pension reform in decades.” In her first so-called Mansion House speech, an annual ritual for British chancellors of the exchequer, Reeves will say that the changes could help unlock 80 billion pounds ($100 billion) for investment.
Reuters
Qatari Emir arrives in Turkey to meet Erdogan, discuss cooperation
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani arrived in Ankara on Thursday to chair a Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee meeting with President Tayyip Erdogan, after which the sides are expected to sign off on investment-related accords. Turkey, which fiercely criticised Israel over its offensives in Gaza and in Lebanon, does not deem the Palestinian militant group Hamas a terrorist group, and some of its political officials regularly visit Turkey. Erdogan and al Thani will hold a bilateral meeting and then will chair the tenth meeting of the Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee.
Reuters
Russia open to any Ukraine peace talks if Trump starts them, envoy says
GENEVA (Reuters) -Russia is open to negotiations on an end to the Ukraine war if initiated by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, but any talks need to be based on the realities of Russian advances, Moscow's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva told reporters on Thursday. Trump has repeatedly criticised the scale of Western aid to Kyiv and has promised to end the conflict swiftly, without explaining how.
Reuters
Futures muted ahead of economic data, Powell speech
The producer price index (PPI) reading for October and weekly jobless claims data are expected at 8:30 a.m. ET. "These numbers (PPI) better reflect corporate pricing power than the consumer price data, the tone should be consistent with a December rate cut," said Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management. Traders are broadly pricing in an 82.3% chance of a 25-basis point interest rate cut at the Fed's December meeting, according to CME FedWatch.
Associated Press
Mastermind of foiled Hong Kong bomb plot to target police is jailed for nearly 24 years
The mastermind behind a foiled bomb plot during anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019 has been jailed for nearly 24 years in the city's first case brought under an anti-terrorism law. Ng Chi-hung, who had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit the bombing of prescribed objects under the anti-terror law and possession of arms or ammunition with intent to endanger life, was sentenced to 23 years and 10 months by a Hong Kong court on Thursday. Judge Judianna Barnes said the plan was vicious and was a declaration of war on society.
Reuters
Biden to bid farewell at APEC and G20 under Trump's shadow
President Joe Biden heads to South America on Thursday for a curtain call with global leaders after over 50 years in U.S. politics, but the man he tried and failed to keep from returning to power is likely to be the focus of many meetings: incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. Biden will hold private meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the heads of Japan, South Korea and Brazil during the summits of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, in Peru and the Group of 20 leading economies, or G20, in Brazil. The meetings over six days are not expected to yield any major new agreements, senior Biden administration officials said, even as they are likely to touch on trade, security and global alliances.
AFP
Russia shuts Moscow's famed gulag museum
Russian authorities ordered the closure from Thursday of Moscow's award-winning Gulag History Museum, dedicated to the victims of Soviet-era repression.In 2021, authorities ordered the liquidation of Memorial, the Nobel Prize-winning NGO that records victims of both Soviet repression and allegations of human rights violations by the current regime.
Reuters
Analysis-Crypto industry pushes for policy sea change after Trump victory
The crypto industry is pushing for an ambitious raft of policies that would promote the widespread adoption of digital assets and considering who best to promote them, as they anticipate a cryptocurrency-friendly regime under President-elect Donald Trump. While crypto companies were already anticipating a lighter touch with a new administration, Donald Trump's decisive victory and a projected Republican sweep of Congress pave the way for a dramatic and lasting crypto policy overhaul. Trump courted crypto cash with promises to be a "crypto president," and industry executives say he now has a strong mandate to deliver.

Latest Stories