Marjorie Taylor Greene tries to troll Biden administration by taking a large balloon into State of the Union

Politico
A week into a new Syria, rebels aim for normalcy
Syrians vow not to be silent again.
NBC News
Blinken confirms direct contact with Syria’s rebel leaders
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that the U.S. has made direct contact with Syria’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) rebels, as they transition from a militant insurgency toward a more legitimate governing authority.
USA TODAY
From Starship tests to Starliner woes, recapping the biggest spaceflight missions of 2024
Starliner astronauts got a much longer stay at ISS. SpaceX caught a rocket booster. Here's a look back at the most pivotal space missions from 2024.
NBC News
Bob Casey looks back on two decades in the Senate — and to a future without Trump on the ballot
Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is one of the longest-serving senators in Pennsylvania’s history.
AFP
At least 14 killed as Cyclone Chido devastates Mayotte
At least 14 people were killed in Mayotte when a fierce cyclone battered the French Indian Ocean territory, authorities said Sunday, with officials warning it will take days to know the full toll.Medical personnel and equipment were being delivered from Sunday by air and sea, said the prefecture in La Reunion, another French Indian Ocean territory some 1,400 kilometres away on the other side of Madagascar.
AFP
DR Congo, Rwanda peace talks cancelled
Talks due Sunday between the leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to end conflict in the eastern DRC were called off after negotiations deadlocked, officials said."If Kigali is in good faith in the negotiations and on its promise to withdraw... its troops from Congolese soil, the conflict will end with the M23, and at the same time it will stop with Rwanda," a Congolese government source said.
AFP
Hostage hunter fears ousted Syria rulers still hiding US reporter Tice
A former prisoner spearheading a private effort to help find captive US journalist Austin Tice is concerned that deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad may be hiding him to use as leverage in securing his own future.Zakka thinks a senior former government figure such as Maher al-Assad, the leader's younger brother, may have arranged to hide Tice inside Syria.
Reuters
New top US Senate Republican John Thune faces test as Trump returns
Incoming U.S. Senate Republican leader John Thune will face the test of his career when Donald Trump returns to power next month, as he aims to shepherd the new president's priorities through Congress while protecting his chamber's authority over Cabinet picks and spending. A 20-year Senate veteran, the 63-year-old South Dakotan is known as an affable negotiator skilled at finding common ground between opposing factions. Thune will have to maintain a positive relationship with a sometimes petulant and unpredictable Trump who once sought his ouster and who has displayed little interest in the Senate's role as a check on executive power.
CNN
These convicted felons say if Trump can be elected president they shouldn’t face a stigma when applying for jobs
CNN asked convicted felons about their struggles, their hopes and how they feel about President-elect Donald Trump, who will return to the White House after being convicted of 34 felony charges.
CNN
CNN’s latest poll found Americans are divided on how they feel about Trump’s next term. Here’s what they had to say
The American public is closely divided on the outlook for Donald Trump’s second term, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds, with 52% of adults expressing positive feelings, and 48% responding negatively.
AFP
S. Korean opposition urges swift removal of impeached President Yoon
South Korea's opposition leader urged a top court on Sunday to swiftly formalise the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol and ease the "suffering of the people" after his short-lived martial law decree.Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Sunday urged the judges to "swiftly" remove Yoon from office.
Associated Press
UN envoy calls for sanctions relief to help rebuild Syria after Assad's ouster
A U.N. envoy on Sunday called for a quick end to Western sanctions against Syria as the country’s new leaders and regional and global powers begin to chart a path forward following the fall of President Bashar Assad. The Syrian government has been under strict sanctions by the United States, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and later spiraled into a civil war. The rebel alliance that ousted Assad and broke his iron grip on the country just days ago faces a nation wracked and deeply isolated by tough international sanctions, which compounded Syria’s previous economic troubles.
AFP
Gaza rescuers say 18 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes
Gaza's civil defence agency reported Sunday that overnight Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory killed at least 18 people, including four displaced individuals who had sought refuge in a tent.Gaza's civil defence agency reports that the operation has resulted in hundreds of deaths, while the Israeli military claims it has eliminated dozens of militants.
Associated Press
At least 11 dead in the French territory of Mayotte as Cyclone Chido causes devastating damage
At least 11 people have died after Cyclone Chido caused devastating damage in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, France's Interior Ministry said Sunday. The intense tropical cyclone has now made landfall on the east coast of Africa, where aid agencies are warning of more loss of life and severe damage in northern Mozambique.
Reuters
Oil spills into Kerch Strait after Russian tanker breaks apart in storm
A Russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of oil products split apart during a heavy storm on Sunday, spilling oil into the Kerch Strait, while another tanker was also in distress after sustaining damage, Russian officials said. The 136-metre Volgoneft 212 tanker, with 15 people on board, was split in half with its bow sinking, footage published by state media showed, with waves washing over its deck. "There was a spill of petroleum products," said Russia's water transport agency, Rosmorrechflot.
USA TODAY
A Cold War-era bomb shelter in Florida has new owners. What's going on there?
A crypto-mining cabal? The 'ultimate man cave'? Someone just bought a nuclear bomb shelter in Florida. Neighbors have questions.
USA TODAY
Seven reasons why Americans pay more for health care than any other nation
Americans pay more for health care but don't get better results. Why? The blame goes well beyond insurance companies.
USA TODAY
Rapists draw lighter sentences when DNA test backlogs delay prosecution
Judges wrestle with punishment for cold case rapes solved with DNA and funding from a federal program.
CNN
What Trump’s pledge to redo his own trade agreement with Canada and Mexico could mean
President-elect Donald Trump’s frequent calls for new tariffs on foreign goods may have overshadowed another massive trade-related pledge he made about a month before the November election: renegotiate the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
AFP
'Bali Nine' drug ring prisoners fly home to Australia
The five remaining members of the Australian "Bali Nine" drug ring flew home Sunday after 19 years in jail in Indonesia, ending a saga that had frayed relations between the two countries."These Australians spent more than 19 years in prison in Indonesia.

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