Four-star F Jett Howard, Juwan Howard's son, commits to Michigan basketball

Associated Press
New Zealanders help to save about 30 whales after a pod strands on a beach
More than 30 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a beach in New Zealand were safely returned to the ocean after conservation workers and residents helped to refloat them by lifting them on sheets. Four of the pilot whales died, New Zealand’s conservation agency said. New Zealand is a whale stranding hotspot and pilot whales are especially prolific stranders.
AFP
Donkeys offer Gazans lifeline amid war shortages
Amina Abu Maghasib's livelihood rests on one animal: a donkey that pulls the cart she uses to transport people around Gaza, where more than a year of war has led to a widespread shortage of fuel for cars.Donkey-pulled carts were a fairly common sight in pre-war Gaza.
TODAY
Grandma of 12 breaks Guinness World Record for completing 1,575 pushups in an hour
A 59-year-old Canadian grandmother just broke a Guinness World Record for pushups, completing 1,575 pushups in one hour.
AFP
Court moves to sentencing in French mass rape trial
With evidence over in the trial of a man who drugged his wife for years so he could invite dozens of strangers to abuse her, French prosecutors will from Monday set out their sentencing requests to judges.The court's five judges will not issue their ruling on the sentences until late December. - 20 years maximum - The serious rape charges levelled at most of the accused carry a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Associated Press
Social media sites call for Australia to delay its ban on children younger than 16
An advocate for major social media platforms told an Australian Senate committee Monday that laws to ban children younger than 16 from the sites should be delayed until next year at least instead of being rushed through the Parliament this week. Sunita Bose, managing director of Digital Industry Group Inc., an advocate for the digital industry in Australia including X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, was answering questions at a single-day Senate committee hearing into world-first legislation that was introduced into the Parliament last week.
AFP
'Existential challenge': plastic pollution treaty talks begin
A final round of talks on a treaty to end plastic pollution opened on Monday, with the diplomat chairing the difficult negotiations urging nations to "meet an existential challenge.""It is about humanity rising to meet an existential challenge."
Associated Press
Who is Yamandú Orsi, the next president of Uruguay?
Left-wing politician Yamandú Orsi is poised to become the next president of Uruguay after his main challenger in the runoff conceded defeat Sunday and even the outgoing leader of the South American country congratulated him. A teacher of history, folk dancer and former mayor, the 57-year-old politician is considered the political heir of former President José Mujica, who accompanied him in his campaign and praised him as a new leader able to find the right balance between the complex dynamics on the social, political and economic chessboard. Orsi was born on June 13, 1967, in the rural area of the Canelones department.
Associated Press
South Korea holds memorial for forced laborers at Sado mines, a day after boycotting Japanese event
South Korea paid tribute to wartime Korean forced laborers at Japan’s Sado Island Gold Mines in a memorial ceremony on Monday, a day after boycotting a similar event organized by Japan, as tensions over historical atrocities continue to impact relations between the two sides. Monday's ceremony at a former dormitory near the 16th century Sado mines, which were listed this summer as a UNESCO World Heritage site, was organized by South Korea’s Foreign Ministry and attended by nine families of Korean wartime laborers, the country’s ambassador to Japan and other officials. Japan on Sunday held a memorial service for all workers at the Sado mines, including Koreans.
AFP
Asian markets begin week on front foot, bitcoin rally stutters
Asian markets rose Monday following a record close on Wall Street as traders welcomed Donald Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, while bitcoin's push to $100,000 ran out of steam after coming within a whisker of the mark at the end of last week.After a strong finish Friday on Wall Street -- where the Dow ended on a fresh record -- Asian markets followed suit.
NBC News
GOP senator argues it 'doesn't matter' who conducts background checks for Trump Cabinet picks
Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty suggested that Americans don't care about traditional FBI background checks for President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks as Democrats call for deeper vetting of executive branch nominees.
NBC News
Matt Gaetz is now giving pep talks and holiday wishes on Cameo
After announcing he would not return to Congress, Matt Gaetz appears to be trying out a new career option: creating personalized videos for his fans on Cameo.
CNN
UAE arrests three over death of rabbi Israel says was murdered in ‘antisemitic act of terror’
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have arrested three people in connection with the death of an Israeli rabbi who, according to Israel, was killed in an “antisemitic act of terror.”
AFP
Plastics: lifesaver turned environmental threat
Before it threatened biodiversity, the oceans and the global food chain, plastics saved lives and transformed societies as a durable, malleable and cheap material.Condoms, many of which are made from latex, have greatly improved public health and saved countless lives by protecting against sexually transmitted infections.
AFP
Closing arguments coming in US-Google antitrust trial on ad tech
Google and the US government will face off in a federal court on Monday, as each side delivers its closing arguments in a case revolving around the technology giant's alleged unfair domination of online advertising.- 'Old practices' - The government alleges that Google controls the auction-style system that advertisers use to purchase advertising space online.
AFP
'Easy, convenient, cheap': how single-use plastic rules the world
Each year the world produces around 400 million tonnes of plastic waste, much of it discarded after just a few minutes of use.Thailand produces two million tons of plastic waste a year, according to the country's Pollution Control Department.
AFP
Left-wing candidate Orsi wins Uruguay presidential election
Left-wing politician Yamandu Orsi was elected president of Uruguay, official results showed on Sunday, in a rebuke by voters of five years of conservative rule.- 'A very different world' - The victory for Orsi will see Uruguay swing left again after five years of center-right rule in the country of 3.4 million inhabitants.
Reuters
US plans to reduce Intel's $8.5 billion federal chips grant below $8 billion - New York Times
The change took into account a $3 billion contract Intel had been offered to make chips for the Pentagon, the people told the Times. This spring U.S. President Joe Biden's administration said it was awarding Intel nearly $20 billion in grants and loans, supercharging the company's domestic semiconductor chip output and marking the government's largest outlay to subsidize leading-edge chip production. The U.S. announced a preliminary agreement for $8.5 billion in grants and up to $11 billion in loans for Intel in Arizona, with some of the funding to be used to build two new factories and modernize an existing one.
Associated Press
What to know about the plastic pollution treaty talks in South Korea
A last round of negotiations on a legally binding treaty to address the global scourge of plastic pollution has opened in Busan, South Korea. National delegations still have a lot to hammer out before there is a treaty. Led by Norway and Rwanda, 66 countries plus the European Union say they want to address the total plastic on Earth by controlling plastic design, production, consumption and what happens at the end of its life.
Reuters
New Zealand citizen poisoned by tainted alcohol in Laos returns home
Two Danes, two Australians, a Briton and an American have died from methanol poisoning after visiting Vang Vieng, an idyllic town that is popular with foreign backpackers. Mark Jones, father of 19-year-old Australian Bianca, urged officials in the Southeast Asian country to take strict action so that similar incidents do not repeat.
Associated Press
In South Korea, nations meet in final round to address global plastic crisis
Negotiators gathered in Busan, South Korea, on Monday in a final push to create a treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution. It's the fifth time the world's nations convene to craft a legally binding plastic pollution accord. In addition to the national delegations, representatives from the plastics industry, scientists and environmentalists have come to shape how the world tackles the surging problem.

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