Doja Cat Says You Might Be a ‘Complete Loser’ If You Have a Twitter Blue Checkmark

NBC News
New arrest warrant amplifies Florida's fight with feds over second Trump assassination attempt
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Wednesday announced the state has obtained an arrest warrant for attempted felony murder against Ryan Routh, who is already being held in federal custody on charges of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump.
CBS News
Fed lowers rates by 0.25 percentage point, but expects fewer cuts
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday moved to lower its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points, but said it plans fewer cuts in 2025.
Associated Press
US effort to curb China's and Russia's access to advanced computer chips 'inadequate,' report finds
The Commerce Department's efforts to curb China's and Russia's access to American-made advanced computer chips have been “inadequate” and will need more funding to stymie their ability to manufacture advanced weapons, according to a report published Wednesday by the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The Biden administration imposed export controls to limit the ability of China and Russia ability to access U.S.-made chips after Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.
Politico
New charges target ex-Miami congressman for lobbying on behalf of sanctioned Venezuelan tycoon
The indictment unsealed on Wednesday alleges that Rivera lobbied U.S. officials to remove sanctions against Raúl Gorrín.
Associated Press
CNN says its report on a freed Syrian prisoner is not what it initially believed
CNN is acknowledging that a gripping story it aired last week depicting a Syrian man being let free from a Damascus prison after the fall of dictator Bashar Assad's regime was not what it seemed. The network said that it has since found out that the man shown in correspondent Clarissa Ward's report, which initially aired on Dec. 11, apparently gave a false identity. “This moment captures the complexity of the situation in Syria,” CNN's Jake Tapper said on Tuesday.
Associated Press
MacKenzie Scott gives rare third gift to medical debt relief group
MacKenzie Scott continues to make medical debt relief a priority in her mysterious giving. This week, Undue Medical Debt, formerly RIP Medical Debt, announced it had received a rare third gift — $50 million — from the billionaire philanthropist, signaling her satisfaction with the group’s efforts to purchase medical debt in bulk from hospitals and debt collectors. Scott has donated a total of $130 million to the organization since 2020.
AFP
Zelensky huddles with European leaders as Trump looms
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with NATO chief Mark Rutte and key European leaders in Brussels Wednesday to strategise over Russia's war ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House.But Ukraine's leader has said Trump's arrival could mean the war ends next year, and has called for allies to help secure a peace deal that Moscow cannot violate.
AFP
Mayotte hospital on life support after cyclone
The haggard faces in the wreckage-and-water-strewn corridors betrayed the nerves and exhaustion of those soldiering on at the main hospital on the French archipelago of Mayotte, ravaged by a deadly cyclone last weekend.Perched on a cliffside overhanging the capital Mamoudzou, the hospital offers a fine vantage point from which to view the vast wreckage Cyclone Chido wrought when it barrelled into the French Indian Ocean territory.
Time
What Israel's Use of AI in Gaza May Mean for the Future of War
Experts are wary of the deference officers give programs that suggest targets.
AFP
UN humanitarian chief urges massive aid boost for Syria: AFP interview
Visiting UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called Wednesday for a massive aid boost for Syria to respond to "this moment of hope" after the ouster of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad."We have to get behind them and to respond to this moment of hope.
Reuters
Montana top court says youth have right to stable climate
Montana's top court ruled on Wednesday the state's constitution guaranteed a right to a stable climate and invalidated laws barring regulators from considering the effects of greenhouse-gas emissions when permitting fossil-fuel projects. The Montana Supreme Court upheld a landmark trial court decision in favor of 16 young people who said their health and futures were being jeopardized by climate change that the state aggravates through its permitting of energy projects. The 6-1 decision came in the first lawsuit to go to trial in the United States by young environmental activists challenging state and federal policies they say are exacerbating climate change.
Associated Press
Mexico praises it own migrants with a 'hymn,' while abuses continue against those from other nations
Mexico’s president on Wednesday unveiled a bilingual “hymn” to Mexican migrants living in the United States, even as migrants from other countries continue to suffer abuses, delays and hostility in Mexico. President Claudia Sheinbaum used her morning news briefing to present the song “Migrant Hymn.” Sheinbaum called Mexican migrants “heroes,” in part because they sent $63 billion back home to relatives in Mexico last year.
Associated Press
Youngkin proposes tax relief on tips and cars in his adjusted Virginia budget plan
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed a state budget plan on Wednesday to provide tax relief on tips and cars, measures his Republican administration touted as giving money back to middle- and lower-income workers. The proposal, which would amend the final year of the state's two-year budget cycle, also seeks to boost funding for schools, maternal health and disaster relief. An adviser for Youngkin said ahead of his speech that the proposed adjustments are fueled by surplus funds coming out of fiscal year 2024.
Associated Press
Police investigating Baltimore County shooting and car crash that killed 1, injured 9
Investigators in Baltimore County are looking into whether a shooting and related vehicle crash that left one person dead and nine injured Tuesday night are connected to a nearby homicide earlier this month. Officials said all 10 of the victims were found inside a flipped SUV that burst into flames after crashing in front of a funeral home — where a service for Andrew Blessing had wrapped up just hours earlier Tuesday afternoon. Blessing, 19, was shot to death Dec. 9 in the same suburban area north of Baltimore.
AFP
Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California squirrels go nuts for vole meat
Squirrels might look like adorable, nut-hoarding furballs, but some are ruthless predators that hunt, tear apart, and devour voles.Between June and July, researchers recorded 74 interactions involving California ground squirrels and voles, with 42 percent of them involving active hunting of their fellow rodents.
Associated Press
Bill responding to drone sightings is blocked in the Senate
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was blocked Wednesday from quickly advancing a bill that would allow local law enforcement agencies to track aerial drones, ensuring Congress won't act this year on the mysterious drone sightings that have bewildered residents of New Jersey and across the eastern U.S. Schumer, a New York Democrat, sought to speed a bipartisan bill through the Senate by seeking unanimous consent on the floor, but Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, objected to its passage.
CBS News
Here's how the Fed's interest rate cut today could impact your money
The Federal Reserve announced a third rate cut today, but also cautioned it expects fewer cuts in 2025.
CNN
Here’s what’s in the government funding agreement
House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a spending bill late Tuesday that would avert a government shutdown if it is passed by both the House and Senate before funding runs out on Saturday.
AFP
Syria war monitor says 21 pro-Turkey fighters killed near flashpoint northern town
A Syria war monitor said 21 pro-Turkey fighters were killed Wednesday after they attacked a Kurdish-held position near a flashpoint northern town despite a US-brokered ceasefire extension in the area."At least 21 members of pro-Turkey factions were killed and others wounded by fire from the Manbij Military Council after pro-Turkey factions attacked" a position at the Tishreen Dam, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the town of Manbij, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
AFP
First severe bird flu case in US sparks alarm
An elderly patient in Louisiana is in a "critical condition" with severe avian influenza, US authorities announced Wednesday, the first serious human case in the country as fears grow of a possible bird flu pandemic. "The patient is experiencing severe respiratory illness related to H5N1 infection and is currently hospitalized in critical condition," the Louisiana health department said in a statement to AFP, adding the person has underlying medical conditions and is over the age of 65.

Latest Stories