Dave Bautista describes failed pitch to play Batman villain Bane: ‘They had a giggle and showed me the exit’

AFP
N. Korean soldier captured in Russia-Ukraine war: Seoul
South Korea's spy agency said Friday it had confirmed that a North Korean soldier sent to back Russia's war against Ukraine had been captured by Ukrainian forces."Through real-time information sharing with an allied country's intelligence agency, it has been confirmed that one injured North Korean soldier has been captured," South Korea's National Intelligence Service said in a statement.
Associated Press
Climate change added 41 days of dangerous heat around world in 2024
People around the world suffered an average of 41 extra days of dangerous heat this year because of human-caused climate change, according to a group of scientists who also said that climate change worsened much of the world's damaging weather throughout 2024. The analysis from World Weather Attribution and Climate Central researchers comes at the end of a year that shattered climate record after climate record as heat across the globe made 2024 likely to be its hottest ever measured and a slew of other fatal weather events spared few. “The finding is devastating but utterly unsurprising: Climate change did play a role, and often a major role in most of the events we studied, making heat, droughts, tropical cyclones and heavy rainfall more likely and more intense across the world, destroying lives and livelihoods of millions and often uncounted numbers of people,” Friederike Otto, the lead of World Weather Attribution and an Imperial College climate scientist, said during a media briefing on the scientists' findings.
Associated Press
Florida condo owners look at higher costs as new regulations take effect in the new year
Florida condominium owners are looking at higher costs from condo associations in the new year, a consequence of a safety law passed by state lawmakers in 2022. It requires associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major repairs and to conduct a survey of reserves every decade. Because of the law, older condos — found largely in South Florida, according to state records — are facing hefty increases to association payments to fund the reserves and repair costs.
Associated Press
Croatia's outspoken president is seeking reelection. He faces several contenders in Sunday's vote
Croatia’s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, is running for reelection this weekend against an array of contenders, including the candidate backed by the conservative government. President Zoran Milanović is seen as a favorite ahead of the presidential election on Sunday, though he is unlikely to score an outright victory. If none of the eight contenders gain more than half of the ballots cast in the first round, a runoff between the top two will be held on Jan. 12.
CBS News
Search continues for missing girl swept away in Texas floodwaters
The girl's father, Will Robinson, a well-respected high school coach from Durant, Oklahoma, did not survive.
AFP
India announces state funeral for former PM Manmohan Singh
India announced seven days of state mourning on Friday after the death of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, one of the architects of the country's economic liberalisation in the early 1990s."As a mark of respect for the departed dignitary, it has been decided that seven days of state mourning will be observed throughout India," the Indian government said in a statement on Friday, with mourning running until January 1.
TODAY
‘Baby Driver’ actor Hudson Meek, 16, dies after falling from a moving vehicle
Hudson Meek, who acted in "Baby Driver," died at age 16 after falling from a moving vehicle in Alabama, officials reported.
TODAY
Savannah Guthrie’s family wears matching Christmas jammies. See pics from the past 9 years
Matching family pajamas are a beloved holiday tradition for Savannah Guthrie and her family. See pics of the family wearing them through the years.
CBS News
Storms impact holiday travel in parts of U.S.
The wave of storms put a damper on travel plans after the Christmas holiday and contributed to hundreds of flight cancellations nationwide.
CNN
Holiday travelers are facing flight cancellations as severe storms roll into the South
Holiday travelers setting out for what is expected to be one of the busiest travel weekends of the year are already facing delays as a severe round of storms rolls into the Southern US.
CNN
Black boxes of downed Azerbaijani jet recovered as questions mount over Russian involvement. Here’s what we know
Early indications suggest a Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed the passenger jet that crashed in Kazakhstan, a US official told CNN, as authorities recovered a second black box that they hope will shed light on the cause of the disaster that killed dozens of people.
AFP
India announces state funeral for ex-PM Manmohan Singh
India on Friday announced seven days of state mourning after the death of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, one of the architects of the country's economic liberalisation in the early 1990s."As a mark of respect for the departed dignitary, it has been decided that seven days of state mourning will be observed throughout India," the Indian government said in a statement Friday, with mourning running until January 1.
AFP
Japan govt approves record budget for ageing population, defence
Japan's government on Friday approved a record budget for the next fiscal year, ramping up spending on social welfare, as the population ages, and defence to tackle regional threats.The 8.7 trillion yen approved Friday will help pay for measures to help attract recruits to Japan's Self-Defense Forces, and to improve relations between the US and Japanese militaries with locals in Okinawa.
Associated Press
Japan Cabinet OKs record defense budget as it pushes strike-back capability to deter regional threat
The Japanese Cabinet on Friday approved a record 8.7 trillion yen ($55 billion) defense budget for 2025 as Japan accelerates building up its strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles and starts deploying Tomahawks to fortify itself against growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia. The Cabinet-endorsed draft defense budget marks the third year of Japan’s ongoing five-year military buildup under the national security strategy adopted in 2022. The defense spending is part of the more than 115 trillion yen ($730 billion) national budget bill — also a record — that requires parliamentary approval by March to be enacted.
AFP
Japanese shares gain on weaker yen after Christmas break
Japanese stocks rose Friday on a weaker yen after a muted day on Wall Street following the Christmas holiday. The yen was "marginally stronger" on Friday, Bloomberg reported, after data showed inflation in Tokyo rose for a second month in December.
AFP
South Korea's acting president faces impeachment vote
South Korea's acting president faced an impeachment vote on Friday, as the country struggled to shake off political turmoil sparked by his predecessor's martial law declaration that shocked the world.Han Duck-soo took over as acting president from President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was suspended following a parliamentary vote over his move to impose martial law on December 3.
Reuters
Canada ministers to meet Trump aides in Florida over tariff risks
Canada's new finance minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly will meet aides to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Friday to discuss the risks of imposing new trade tariffs, the Canadian government said. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on imports from Canada when he takes office in January unless the country reduces the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the U.S. LeBlanc's office said in a statement on Thursday that the two ministers would highlight "the negative impacts that the imposition of 25% tariffs on Canadian goods would have on both Canada and the United States."
CNN
US FDA proposes standardized testing to detect asbestos in talc products
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing that cosmetic products containing talc should be tested using standardized methods to detect asbestos, a potential contaminant, according to documents posted on the federal register on Thursday.
Associated Press
China probes personal disputes after mass killings. Many fear further infringement on freedoms
China's leader Xi Jinping wants the recent spree of mass killings that shocked the country not to happen again. The attacks, where drivers mow down people on foot or knife-wielding assailants stab multiple victims, are not new in China. Local officials were quick to vow to examine all sorts of personal disputes that could trigger aggression, from marital troubles to disagreements over inheritance.
USA TODAY
Massive sinkhole swallows part of New Jersey interstate. What to know
NJDOT crews are evaluating how to repair a sinkhole on I-80 eastbound near Exit 34 in northern New Jersey. Here's what you need to know.

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