Maren Morris Confidently Embraced the Naked Dress Trend in a Plunging Sparkly Ensemble That Has Us Speechless

Reuters
Britain sanctions 15 Venezuelan individuals linked to Maduro government
Britain on Friday set out new sanctions targeting 15 individuals associated with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government, alleging they were responsible for human rights violations and undermining democracy and the rule of law. Those sanctioned include judges and security and military officials, Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement.
AFP
Pro-Russian disinformation makes its Bluesky debut
The first symptoms of disinformation are emerging on the social media network Bluesky, with echoes of the pro-Russian "Matryoshka" campaign that flooded Elon Musk's X -- but with a few twists.- 'Industrialised' fakes - "This indicates that the campaign has managed to industrialise its manufacturing of deepfake voiceovers, which echoes a trend that is common among various Russian-sponsored disinformation operations," said the Atlantic Council's Chatelet.
Associated Press
Who is Joseph Aoun, a low-profile army chief who is now Lebanon's president?
Lebanon’s new president and former army commander Joseph Aoun has maintained a low profile. Bilal Saab, a former Pentagon official who is now senior managing director of the TRENDS US consulting firm, often met Aoun while overseeing Washington's security cooperation in the Middle East. “He really was viciously nonpartisan, did not have any interest in even delivering speeches or doing media,” Saab said.
Associated Press
New York students could get free meals under a plan from Gov Kathy Hochul
Every student in New York could get free breakfast and lunch at school under a proposal announced Friday by Gov. Kathy Hochul. If approved by state lawmakers, the plan would cover more than 2.7 million students in the state regardless of income, Hochul said in a news release. Students in New York can already receive free or discounted meals at school through a federal program that is dependent on a family's income level.
Yahoo Finance
Biden is leaving Trump a new lever for squeezing Putin
The Biden administration is targeting Russian oil production as punishment for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Incoming President Trump will be the enforcer, though.
USA TODAY
Earthquake rattles San Francisco, Bay Area at magnitude 3.7, USGS says
A magnitude 3.7 earthquake was recorded in the Bay Area on Friday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.
AFP
Venezuela's Maduro takes presidential oath, opposition decries 'coup'
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in Friday for a third six-year term rejected by the opposition as a "coup d'etat" achieved through election fraud and a campaign of repression.The opposition accuses Maduro, 62, of stealing the election of July 28 last year, and the United States, European Union and several Latin American countries have recognized opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela's legitimate president-elect.
AFP
UK gas reserves 'concerningly low', warns biggest supplier
Britain's biggest gas supplier on Friday said UK storage levels are "concerningly low" owing to high demand caused by freezing weather and after Ukraine ended Russian gas transit to Europe.Such a "perfect storm" had reduced "UK winter gas storage to concerningly low levels", it added.
AFP
Los Angeles wildfires in figures
Ten people dead, 10,000 buildings destroyed, 180,000 people evacuated, $150 billion in damage.By comparison, the Camp Fire ravaged nearly 19,000 buildings north of Sacramento in November 2018, and the Tubbs Fire destroyed 5,600 north of San Francisco in October 2017. - 180,000 people evacuated - Around 180,000 people have been ordered to leave their neighborhoods.
CBS News
How contained are the Los Angeles fires, including the Palisades fire?
Here's the latest on containment for the fires burning across Southern California as firefighters work to get the blazes under control.
Reuters
US has responded to Chinese-linked cyber attacks on telecoms firms, Sullivan says
The United States has take steps in response to Chinese-linked cyber-espionage operations against U.S. telecoms firms, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday. U.S. telecoms firms AT&T and Verizon said late last year their networks had been targeted by the cyber hackers, but were now secure as they worked with the U.S. government and law enforcement. "We have taken steps in response to Salt Typhoon, in response to Volt Typhoon, we have sent clear messages to the PRC about what it would actually mean if they acted to disrupt American critical infrastructure and how we would respond," Sullivan told reporters, referring to China by the initials of its official name, the People's Republic of China.
AFP
2024 warmest year on record for mainland US: agency
Last year set a record for high temperatures across the mainland United States, with the nation also pummeled by a barrage of tornadoes and destructive hurricanes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a report Friday.Annual precipitation totaled 31.6 inches (802.1 millimeters) -- 1.7 inches above average -- while 1,735 tornadoes struck amid a punishing Atlantic hurricane season that included Hurricane Helene, the second deadliest hurricane to hit the US mainland in more th
Reuters
Potential Trump pick to lead bank regulator signals lighter rulewriting touch
The potential next head of a U.S. banking regulator laid out a sweeping plan on Friday to adopt a lighter touch on the banking industry on matters ranging from capital to cryptocurrency. Travis Hill, the vice chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, said in prepared remarks the FDIC needs a "new direction," which he expects will be ushered in at the beginning of President-Elect Donald Trump's second term. Hill, who is a leading candidate to head the agency on a full-time basis and will take over as its acting chief following the Jan. 19 retirement of Chairman Martin Gruenberg, made the broad case that regulators have strayed too far in trying to police the banking sector on a range of issues, and their approach needs to change.
Yahoo Finance
Qualcomm CEO Amon hints at future graphics products for PCs, taking aim at Nvidia
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon says the company will be targeting high-performance PCs and is looking at the graphics space.
Associated Press
Biden levies new sanctions against Russian energy sector, but it's up to Trump whether to keep them
President Joe Biden's administration announced Friday that it's expanding sanctions against Russia's critically important energy sector, unveiling a new effort to inflict pain on Moscow for its nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine as President-elect Donald Trump gets set to return to office vowing to quickly end the conflict. The outgoing Democratic administration billed the new sanctions as the most significant to date against Moscow's oil and liquefied natural gas sectors, the driver of Russia's economy. More than 180 oil-carrying vessels that are suspected to be part of a shadow fleet utilized by the Kremlin to evade oil sanctions as well as traders, oil field service firms and Russian energy officials are also targeted by the new sanctions.
AFP
Meta policy reversal puts question mark on future of fact-checking
Media outlets around the world have been left scratching their heads over the future of their fact-checking operations after Meta's shock announcement that it will halt its US programme.African media appear particularly exposed should Meta's worldwide fact-checking programme be stopped.
AFP
Trump sentenced to 'unconditional discharge' for hush money conviction
A judge sentenced Donald Trump to an unconditional discharge Friday for covering up hush money payments to a porn star despite the US president-elect's last-ditch efforts to avoid becoming the first felon in the White House.The trial saw Trump forced to look on as a string of witnesses testified that he had fraudulently covered up illicit payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in an effort to stop her disclosing their tryst ahead of the 2016 presidential election, which he ultimately won.
Reuters
White House's Sullivan sees risk of North Korea exploiting Seoul political turmoil
There is a risk North Korea may try to exploit the domestic political turmoil in South Korea and it is in Washington's interest to help resolve the issue, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday. Sullivan told reporters in a briefing on the outgoing Biden administration's policies towards Asia that the U.S.-South Korean alliance remains strong, despite domestic political issues in Seoul. Sullivan also said the trend on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was headed in the wrong direction, a reference to North Korea's expanding nuclear weapons program.
The Conversation
2024’s extreme ocean heat breaks records again, leaving 2 mysteries to solve
The oceans have been much warmer than average for the past two years, and the planet just set another global heat record. What’s going on?
CBS News
Maduro sworn in for 3rd term despite outcry over Venezuela's election
President-elect Donald Trump says Venezuela's embattled opposition leader must be protected as President Nicolas Maduro takes the oath of office for a third six-year term.

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