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CBS News
3 Israeli hostages freed, but 3rd exchange with Hamas doesn't go smoothly
Two female Israeli soldiers and an 80-year-old male hostage were released in chaotic handovers in Gaza that have been condemned by Israel's leader.
Associated Press
More schools in France are getting special mailboxes for children to flag abuse
A special mailbox for children to flag abuses was set up Thursday at a Paris primary school, a first in the French capital as part of nationwide effort to encourage more victims of sexual violence to speak up. The program is supported by child protection association Les Papillons, or Butterflies, and runs under the motto: “If you can’t say it, write it.” It comes as activists are pushing to lift taboos that have long surrounded sexual abuse and make “shame changes sides.”
CBS News
Gold vs. Treasury bonds: Where should investors turn next?
Both gold and Treasury bonds offer unique advantages, experts say — but one may be better than the other in 2025.
Reuters
Colombia government to propose fresh $2.86 billion tax reform to Congress
The Colombian government plans to pitch a new tax reform to Congress to raise at least 12 trillion pesos ($2.86 billion) needed to finance its budget, Finance Minister Diego Guevara said on Thursday, after lawmakers struck down a similar proposal late last year. Guevara, in an interview with local radio station Caracol, added that the government could seek an even higher amount from the reform. Last year, Congress rejected a tax reform proposal to raise around 9.8 trillion pesos to round out the funding needed to finance the 2025 budget.
AFP
Dubai airport clocks record 92.3m passengers, extending hot streak
A record 92.3 million passengers travelled through Dubai's international airport last year, its operator said on Thursday, extending a post-pandemic tear that exemplifies the city's economic boom.A record performance in the first half of 2024 was followed by a strong finish with 8.2 million travellers in December, the busiest month of the year.
USA TODAY
Missouri woman pardoned for role in Jan. 6 riot sentenced over drunk driving crash
A Missouri woman was sentenced for a deadly drunk driving crash just days after being pardoned for her role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
AFP
ECB cuts rate again as eurozone falters, with eye on Trump
The European Central Bank cut interest rates again Thursday and signalled more to come as the eurozone economy flatlines, while warning of trade tensions and uncertainty amid US President Donald Trump's protectionist agenda."Greater friction in global trade could weigh on euro area growth," she said, while also warning that trade tensions could have an impact on eurozone inflation.
CBS News
What we know about the American Airlines plane and Army helicopter crash
A regional jet carrying 64 people collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter. Reagan National Airport grounded all flights.
Reuters
Emirati billionaire Al Habtoor says he is afraid to set foot in Lebanon
United Arab Emirates billionaire Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, who this week scrapped his investments in Lebanon, said the country was still not safe and that he had been threatened with being "slaughtered and killed" last year. Al Habtoor has not visited Lebanon - a thriving banking hub dubbed the Switzerland of the Middle East before its ruinous civil war erupted in 1975 - in almost two decades, and told Reuters a threat to his life had caused him to abandon plans to launch a media venture in Beirut in 2024. The threat, made via social media by an anonymous individual, led Al Habtoor to file a lawsuit, which he won in a Lebanese court, he said.
AFP
Trump's contentious national security picks face Senate grilling
Donald Trump's picks to lead the US intelligence community and top law enforcement agency were set to be grilled on Capitol Hill Thursday as the Republican president's most contentious cabinet nominees face potentially showstopping Senate hearings.Tulsi Gabbard, tapped for director of national intelligence, will sit before the Senate Intelligence Committee for the most consequential confirmation hearing to date, while Kash Patel will be questioned on his ambitions to head the FBI. Gabbard, a Ha
AFP
Stock markets rise on ECB rate cut, healthy corporate results
US and European stock markets rose Thursday as the European Central Bank cut interest rates again and companies posted healthy earnings.While the ECB is set to keep cutting rates, Fed chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday the US central bank was in no "hurry" to adjust its borrowing costs again.
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 freed along with three Israelis held by Hamas as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Gaza war.
CNN
Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband, imprisoned for raping and drugging her, now caught up in other cases
Dominique Pélicot, the convicted rapist who horrified France by drugging his then wife so other men could rape her, was questioned Thursday about other cases of rape and murder that he’s suspected in.
Yahoo Finance
Fewer homes went under contract in December amid high rate pain
The Pending Home Sales Index, which tracks contract signings on existing homes, dropped 5.5% from November to December as mortgage rates hover near 7%.
Politico
The Iffy Transparency of Trump’s Order on the JFK Assassination Files
He’s promised the same before and fell short. This time could be more of the same.
CNN
Painting found at garage sale is a Van Gogh, experts say
A painting bought at a garage sale in Minnesota is a previously unknown portrait by Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh, according to a newly published expert analysis.
Reuters
US SEC case over massive Allen Stanford fraud ends, judge orders fines
A federal judge ordered an end to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's 16-year-old lawsuit over Allen Stanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme, directing the financier and two former colleagues to pay sums that will go largely uncollected. In a decision on Wednesday, Chief Judge David Godbey of the Dallas federal court imposed a $5.9 billion civil fine on Stanford, who is serving a 110-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2012 of defrauding about 18,000 investors. Godbey ordered Stanford Financial Group's former chief financial officer James Davis to pay $17.66 million, including a $5 million fine, and former chief accounting officer Gilberto Lopez to pay $3.42 million over their roles in the fraud.
Popular Science
Fungus-infected zombie spiders discovered in Northern Ireland
While filming a documentary in Northern Ireland, a team of scientists discovered a new fungus that appears to manipulate spiders’ behavior–and turn them into “zombies.” The fungus named Gibellula attenboroughii is described in a study published January 24 in the journal Fungal Systematics and Evolution. The shaded orbweaver or orb-weaving cave spider (Metellina merianae) appears […]
AccuWeather
What is the 'Pineapple Express,' and how is it connected to an atmospheric river?
Weather systems that affect the West Coast of the United States often have their origins in the northern Pacific Ocean. This is because the jet stream usually flows in a general west-to-east fashion. Sometimes, however, this is not the case. When the jet stream dips far to the south in the central Pacific Ocean, abundant moisture from the tropics can be transported toward the West Coast. Oftentimes, the ripple in the jet stream occurs near Hawaii. Since pineapples are one thing that Hawaii is kn
Associated Press
Prosecutors are seeking to detain the woman charged in a Vermont border patrol officer's death
Prosecutors were set to argue on Thursday that a Washington state woman should remain jailed in connection with the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a case that has grown to encompass killings in multiple states. Teresa Youngblut, 21, faces federal firearms charges in the Jan. 20 death of Agent David Maland. She’s accused of opening fire on agents during a traffic stop in northern Vermont, sparking a shootout that also left her companion, Felix Bauckholt, dead. Pennsylvania state police said Wednesday that the gun used in the Vermont shooting was purchased by a person of interest in the Dec. 31, 2022, killings of Richard and Rita Zajko, who were shot to death in their Chester Heights home.

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