Chicago White Sox pick UNCW's Brooks Baldwin in 12th round of 2022 MLB Draft

AFP
Merkel slams successor over far-right support on immigration bill
Germany's ex-chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in Thursday on a controversy flaring ahead of February elections, slamming her party successor for relying on far-right support on the flashpoint issue of immigration.Veteran Merkel's criticism of long-time party rival Merz for breaching the parliamentary taboo comes as the campaign heats up towards February 23 elections.
AFP
Qatari emir tells Syria leader 'urgent need' for inclusive government
Visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani emphasised the "urgent need" to form an inclusive Syrian government during a meeting Thursday with the country's new interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Qatari royal court said.The emir "stressed the urgent need to form a government representing all spectrums" of Syrian society in order "to consolidate stability and move forward with reconstruction, development and prosperity projects", the royal court statement said, congratulating Sharaa
Reuters
US DOJ sues to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion Juniper deal
Shares of network equipment maker fell about 3% while the server maker's stock was down about 2%. The DOJ argued that the acquisition would eliminate competition and would lead to two companies — Cisco Systems and HPE — controlling more than 70% of the U.S. market for networking equipment.
NBC News
OpenAI says DeepSeek may have 'inapproriately' used its data
OpenAI itself has been accused of building ChatGPT by inappropriately accessing content it didn't have the rights to.
NBC News
Education Dept. to investigate installation of all-gender restroom at Colorado high school
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into Denver Public Schools for "discriminating against its female students" after the district converted a women's restroom into an all-gender facility, the office announced Tuesday.
Politico
Curtis Yarvin’s Ideas Were Fringe. Now They’re Coursing Through Trump’s Washington.
“In almost every way, JD is perfect,” he says in a conversation about JD Vance, Trump’s second term and the end of democracy.
Reuters
Voice AI startup ElevenLabs closes new funding round at $3.3 billion valuation
The Series C funding round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Iconiq Growth, with participation from additional new investors NEA, World Innovation Lab, Valor, Endeavor Catalyst Fund and Lunate. Headquartered in London, ElevenLabs aims to use the funding to expand its research into more expressive and controllable voice AI, create new products and expand its tools for developers and businesses.
Associated Press
Average rate on 30-year mortgage eases for second week in as row, but remains just below 7%
The rate fell to 6.95% from 6.96% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, it averaged 5.94%, Freddie Mac said. Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including how the bond market reacts to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions.
Associated Press
Fresh lawsuit hits Oregon city at the heart of Supreme Court ruling on homeless encampments
The small Oregon city at the heart of a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that allowed cities across the country to enforce homeless camping bans is facing a fresh lawsuit over its camping rules as advocates find new ways to challenge them. Disability Rights Oregon sued Grants Pass on Thursday, accusing it of violating a state law requiring cities’ camping regulations to be “objectively reasonable.” The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yahoo Finance
Mortgage rates stay stuck near 7%
The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.95% this week compared with 6.96% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac data.
CBS News
3 Israeli hostages freed, but 3rd exchange with Hamas doesn't go smoothly
2 Israeli women and an 80-year-old male hostage, along with 5 Thai nationals, were released in Gaza, but Israel delayed its part of the exchange, accusing Hamas of "shocking scenes" at one handover.
AFP
Top Palestinian militant freed in Israel prisoner exchange
Zakaria Zubeidi, a former leader of a Palestinian militant group jailed for attacks that killed several Israelis, was released Thursday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.During his years in jail, three of Zubeidi's brothers, as well as his son Muhammad, were killed by the Israeli military.
AFP
Stock markets firm on ECB rate cut, corporate results
European stock markets rose Thursday as the European Central Bank cut interest rates again while US shares were steady after a mixed bag of company earnings reports. Earlier, Asian stock markets closed mixed in holiday-thinned trading.
Associated Press
The 2 aircraft that collided over Washington are both workhorses in use around the world
The Army helicopter and regional American Airlines jet that collided over Washington are both workhorse aircraft that operate around the world on a daily basis. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the jet, a Bombardier CRJ700, officials said. Three service members were on a training flight on the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
AFP
Tears of joy for Thai hostages freed in Gaza
The families of Thai farm workers held for over a year in Gaza cheered and wept with relief Thursday as they were freed in a hostage-prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.Five Thais were released along with three Israelis held by Hamas as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Gaza war.
AFP
Russian drone barrage kills eight in east Ukraine
A Russian drone attack on a residential block killed eight people including three elderly couples in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, prosecutors said on Thursday.Ukrainian prosecutors said the barrage killed eight people, including three couples -- six men and women between the ages of 61 and 74.
AFP
Mexican economy shrinks for first time in three years
Mexico's economy suffered its first contraction in three years in the fourth quarter of 2024, official figures showed Thursday, as the country braces for US President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs.For the whole of 2024, Latin America's second-largest economy grew by 1.3 percent compared with the previous year, it said.
Yahoo Finance
Comcast stock sinks as Peacock fails to add more subscribers, broadband losses disappoint
Comcast stock fell double digits on Thursday after the company reported a bigger-than-expected drop in broadband customers and failed to add more subscribers to its Peacock streaming service.
USA TODAY
Video shows American Airlines passenger jet, Black Hawk helicopter crash over DC
Video recorded by bystanders shows the harrowing moment when the 2 aircraft crashed into one another, causing an explosion over the nation's capital.
AFP
EU vows 'action plan' for beleaguered auto sector
The EU promised Thursday an "action plan" to help the bloc's beleaguered auto sector as it faces mounting pressure to ease green targets for an industry beset by Chinese competition.The car industry has been plunged into crisis by high manufacturing costs, a stuttering switch to electric vehicles (EV) and increased Chinese competition.

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