Detroit Lions sign seventh-round pick Oregon State RB Jermar Jefferson

AFP
World falls short of drought deal at Saudi-hosted talks
Negotiators failed to produce an agreement on how to respond to drought at Saudi-hosted UN talks, participants said on Saturday, falling short of a hoped-for binding protocol addressing the scourge.A delegate at COP16 from a country in Africa, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, told AFP that African nations had hoped the talks would produce a binding protocol on drought.
NBC News
What just happened in Syria? Unpacking the historic week that toppled Assad
Syria has had a week like no other, rebels toppling President Bashar al-Assad and opening Saydnaya prison, while the hunt for American Austin Tice continues.
Yahoo Finance
This strategy for getting a 5% mortgage isn't going away anytime soon
House hunters are likely to continue to see offers like mortgage rate buydowns on new construction in 2025.
CNN
Georgia political crisis deepens as lawmakers vote in far-right ex-soccer player as president
Georgian lawmakers have voted in far-right former soccer star Mikheil Kavelashvili as next president of Georgia, amid mounting popular anger over the government’s halt to EU accession talks.
AFP
South Korea's President Yoon impeached over martial law bid
South Korean lawmakers on Saturday impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, with the opposition declaring a "victory of the people"."Yoon had no choice but to declare martial law.
NBC News
Images appear to show Russia dismantling military equipment in Syria
Satellite images appeared to show Russian forces packing up and dismantling military equipment at one of their key bases in Syria on Friday, suggesting that it may be preparing for a military withdrawal after former president and Russian ally Bashar Al-Assad was overthrown by Syrian rebels last week.
AFP
Blinken presses Iraq on Iran-backed groups, seeing Syria window
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed Iraq to crack down on Iranian-backed militias, seeing an opening after the downfall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad put Tehran on the back foot, a US official said.Specifically, Blinken asked Sudani to clamp down on Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite armed groups, who for years have periodically attacked US forces in Iraq, the official said on condition of anonymity.
USA TODAY
'It could have been my son': Parents to protest over students' treatment at Maryland Cracker Barrel
Parents have organized a protest at a Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, Maryland after special education students were denied dine-in service.
Associated Press
Brazilian police arrest ex-Bolsonaro cabinet member in alleged coup plot investigation
Brazil’s Federal Police on Saturday arrested Gen. Walter Braga Netto, a former member of President Jair Bolsonaro’s Cabinet and his 2022 running mate, in connection with investigations into an alleged coup plot, according to a source close to the process. Braga Netto was formally accused in November, along with Bolsonaro and 35 others, of plotting a coup to keep Bolsonaro in office following his failed 2022 reelection bid. Prosecutors have yet to file formal charges against Braga Netto.
Reuters
Slovakia criticizes Moody's downgrade as 'improper and one-sided'
Moody's cut the country's rating by one notch to A3 and changed its outlook to stable from negative, alongside a cut in the rating of France. It said the downgrade reflected Slovakia's "broad institutional challenges amid political tensions". "A comprehensive reform programme on the judiciary and the media will weaken the country's checks and balances, amplifying a deteriorating trend already captured in governance indicators," Moody's said.
Reuters
Factbox-South Korea's Yoon impeached: powers stripped, benefits kept and retirement
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, impeached on Saturday over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, has been stripped of his duties and powers as head of state but remains president while the Constitutional Court decides his fate. Yoon's main constitutional powers have been transferred to Acting President Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the Yoon-picked prime minister. Yoon loses the sole power to declare martial law and to declare war against a foreign state, command of the military and immunity from prosecution for crimes.
CNN
Why Pepperdine University doesn’t evacuate students, even when flames are close to campus
As the Franklin Fire forced evacuation orders or warnings for 18,000 residents in the Malibu area along the Southern California coast– including some celebrities, and more than 8,000 homes and businesses– students at Pepperdine University hunkered down to shelter-in-place. Here’s why.
CNN
Wait, exactly how many people work for the federal government?
In 40 years of explosive population, spending and debt growth, the size of the federal workforce has stayed pretty much the same.
Associated Press
Serbia's main gas supplier that is controlled by Russia faces US sanctions, president says
The United States plans to introduce sanctions against Serbia’s main gas supplier that is controlled by Russia, Serbia’s president said Saturday. President Aleksandar Vucic told state RTS broadcaster that Serbia has been officially informed that the decision on sanctions will come into force on Jan. 1 but that he has so far not received any related documents from the U.S. Serbia almost entirely depends on Russian gas, which it receives through pipelines in neighboring states.
Associated Press
US Marines start partial transfer from Okinawa in Japan to Guam under plan agreed 12 years ago
The partial transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam began on Saturday, 12 years after Japan and the United States agreed on their realignment to reduce the heavy burden of American troop presence on the southern Japanese island, officials said. The relocation started with 100 members of III Marine Expeditionary Force stationed on Okinawa moving to the Pacific island for the initial logistical work, the U.S. Marine Corps and Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a joint statement. Under the plan agreed between Tokyo and Washington in April 2012, about 9,000 of the 19,000 Marines currently stationed on Okinawa are to be moved out of Okinawa, including about 4,000 of them to be moved to Guam in phases.
AFP
Cyclone batters French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte
Cyclone Chido inflicted "catastrophic" damage on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on Saturday, a senior local official told AFP, battering the archipelago with winds of up to 220 kilometres (137 miles) per hour.Weather authority Meteo France recorded winds of at least 226 kilometres per hour at Pamandzi airport.
Reuters
Palestinian security forces clash with militants in West Bank
At least one person was killed as Palestinian security forces clashed with Palestinian militants and set up checkpoints on Saturday in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, residents and medics said. Gunshots and explosions could be heard in the city, where friction has risen in recent days between militant factions and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas following raids by the PA. The PA's security branch said in a statement that its forces were undertaking a security operation to restore law and order to Jenin's historic refugee camp suburb, a stronghold of Palestinian militants alienated from the Palestinian leadership.
NBC News
South Korean president is impeached over martial law declaration
South Korean lawmakers are set to vote for a second time Saturday on whether to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to impose martial law.
AFP
Georgia ruling party installs loyalist president amid constitutional crisis
Georgia's ruling party on Saturday installed a far-right loyalist as president in a controversial election process, amid a deepening constitutional crisis and weeks of mass pro-EU protests.This is because it ratified the mandates of newly elected lawmakers before a court issued a ruling on a legal bid to contest the elections filed by the incumbent president, he explained.
AFP
'I'm so happy': tears of joy, K-pop on Seoul streets as Yoon impeached
South Koreans wept and screamed with joy in freezing Seoul on Saturday as parliament voted to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office over his failed bid to impose martial law.With the impeachment, Yoon has been suspended from office while South Korea's Constitutional Court deliberates on the vote.

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