Parents of Michigan school shooting suspect will spend holidays in jail, but defense wants bond revisited

AFP
Biden warns America's 'soul' at stake as Trump comeback looms
US President Joe Biden warned Wednesday that the "soul of America" is still at stake, as he prepared to deliver his farewell address to the nation before the return of Donald Trump."I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake.
USA TODAY
Spiders, fish and oysters saved: These pet rescuers are capturing hearts amid the LA fires
On the front lines of the pet rescue effort in Los Angeles, volunteers capture hearts in a city reeling from disaster but determined to save itself.
USA TODAY
Supreme Court takes up how to keep kids from lewd content without limiting adults' rights
Nineteen states want to require adult sites verify users' age through an ID or other means. That might mean revisiting past Supreme Court decisions.
USA TODAY
A cold Monday in DC? Here's Donald Trump's Inauguration Day weather forecast
Bitter cold – along with a chance of snow – is in the latest forecast for President-elect Donald J. Trump's Inauguration Day.
Reuters
Space startup funding set for boost from US-China rivalry in 2025, report says
Funding in the space industry is set to receive a boost this year from growing U.S.-China tensions, after startups in the sector clocked $8.6 billion in investments in 2024, according to a report by investment firm Seraphim Space. China has been increasing its efforts to go toe-to-toe with Western countries in sectors such as satellite production and rocket launches to supplement the growing need for space-based imaging, intelligence and data. "This will very likely continue to drive investment towards the capitally intensive sectors of the space industry in the year ahead," said Lucas Bishop, Investment Associate at Seraphim Space.
AFP
BP nears deals for oil fields, curbs on gas flaring in Iraq
Iraq and British oil giant BP are set to finalise a deal by early February to develop four oil fields in Kirkuk and curb gas flaring, Iraqi authorities announced Wednesday.BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq's oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate.
Reuters
Sweden seeks to change constitution to be able to revoke citizenships
Sweden is preparing to change the constitution to be able to take away the passports of people who obtained citizenship by fraudulent means, or who are a threat to the state, the government said on Wednesday. People with dual nationality who received citizenship by providing false information, bribery or threats, as well as people convicted of crimes like espionage or treason could be stripped of their Swedish passports if the law is passed. "The background is that Sweden is dealing with three parallel and very serious threats to our internal security," Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told a news conference.
Associated Press
How mega-polluters take advantage of billions in green loans
Companies don’t have to spend the money toward their sustainability targets, and neither they nor the banks have to disclose interest rates, benchmarks for success or the penalties for falling short. In the last several years, banks gave out more than $286 billion in these SLLs to hundreds of companies in environmentally damaging industries, including fossil fuels, mining and companies linked to significant deforestation, an investigation by The Examination, Toronto Star and Mississippi Today has found.
USA TODAY
Tarnished legacy? How Biden’s age and refusal to pass torch earlier hangs over his exit
President Joe Biden wants his legacy to be defined by his big legislative wins but his initial decision to run for reelection hangs over his exit.
Associated Press
Middle East latest: Palestinian prime minister says Palestinian Authority should run Gaza in future
The Palestinian prime minister says it “will not be acceptable” for any entity other than the Palestinian Authority to run the Gaza Strip in the future. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa made the comments on Wednesday as he visited Norway, one of three European countries that formally recognized a Palestinian state in May. Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, confining the Western-backed Palestinian Authority’s limited self-rule to parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Reuters
Futures flat on caution ahead of bank earnings, key inflation data
JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs edged up in light premarket trading, ahead of their quarterly earnings reports, due before markets open. In 2024, the banking index logged its biggest annual jump since 2019, on expectations that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's policies such as tax cuts and loose regulations could boost the financial sector. Also on the radar is the consumer price index, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, and economists polled by Reuters expect the figure to rise 2.9% in December, from the previous month's 2.7% advance.
AFP
Syrian activists work to avoid return to dictatorship
In a Damascus courtyard, Syrian activists brainstormed strategies to ensure their country does not return to authoritarianism, in a scene unimaginable under president Bashar al-Assad's rule.In the arched courtyard of a traditional Damascus home, Syrian activist Sawsan Abou Zainedin recounted meeting the country's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa earlier this month.
AFP
Holy dips at India's giant Hindu festival come with challenge
For pilgrims at the largest gathering of humanity, ritual bathing in India's holy rivers includes a key challenge -- finding your family and clothes after the chilly dip.But many said that the effort to bathe in the holy waters was worth it.
AFP
Mediators make final push for Gaza truce deal
Mediators were making a final push Wednesday to seal a Gaza truce and hostage release deal, after a Qatari official involved in the talks expressed hope an agreement could be reached "very soon".Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday that negotiations were in their "final stages" and mediators were hopeful they would lead "very soon to an agreement".
AFP
Thousands to be evacuated after Mount Ibu eruption
Thousands of islanders are set to be evacuated after a volcano erupted in eastern Indonesia, spewing a towering column of smoke and ash into the atmosphere, officials said Wednesday.Mount Ibu, located on the remote island of Halmahera, erupted for a fifth time this year on Wednesday, sending a column of smoke four kilometres (2.5 miles) into the sky.
USA TODAY
Iran's president says his country won't try to assassinate President-elect Trump
Iran's leader made the claim less than a week before the president-elect returns to the White House. In his first term, Trump took a tough line on Iran.
Associated Press
Why do civilians often die in Nigerian military strikes that target rebels?
The Nigerian military has mistakenly killed hundreds of civilians in airstrikes targeting armed groups in the nation's conflict-battered north over the years, many of them locals bombed in their villages. The latest misfire was on Saturday when the Nigerian air force bombarded rebels in the conflict-battered northwestern Zamfara State but ended up erroneously killing civilians working with a community security outfit, the state government said. Residents told the Associated Press that at least 20 civilians were killed.
CNN
South Korean president arrested by anti-corruption investigators after weekslong showdown
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested for questioning, according to the country’s anti corruption agency, in the latest chapter of a weekslong political saga that began with the embattled president’s shock martial law decree last month.
Associated Press
Japan and Philippines plan to convey to Trump the need for US engagement in Asia
Japan and the Philippines will convey to President-elect Donald Trump the urgent need for the U.S. to remain committed to help uphold the rule of law in an Asian region where security concerns have become “increasingly severe,” Japan’s top diplomat said Wednesday. The U.S., Japan and the Philippines have been building an alliance under outgoing President Joe Biden since last year to deal with China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea.
AFP
Japan's tourism boom prices out business travellers
After travelling to Tokyo for meetings, Yoshiki Kojima's IT company employees crash out in a capsule hotel, as a tourism boom makes regular rooms too pricey for business trips.But that is also raising prices for Kojima's staff and other Japanese business travellers.

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