Retail Intel: Saks to Shutter Men’s Store at Brookfield Place + More

Associated Press
What is the Native American Church and why is peyote sacred to members?
The Native American Church is considered the most widespread religious movement among the Indigenous people of North America. It holds sacred the peyote cactus, which grows naturally only in some parts of southern Texas and northern Mexico. Peyote has been used spiritually in ceremonies, and as a medicine by Native American people for millennia.
Associated Press
Peyote sacred to Native Americans threatened by psychedelic renaissance and development
In this corner of southern Texas, the plump cacti seem to pop out of arid dust and cracked earth, like magic dumplings. It’s only here and in northern Mexico that the bluish-green peyote plant can be found growing naturally, nestled under thorny mesquite, acacia and blackbrush. For many Native American Church members who call this region the “peyote gardens,” the plant is sacrosanct and an inextricable part of their prayer and ceremony.
Reuters
Exclusive-Guatemala open to accepting Trump's Central American deportees, sources say
Guatemala is open to receiving citizens of other Central American nations who are deported from the United States, three sources familiar with the matter said, as the country looks to build a positive relationship with the incoming Trump administration. The U.S. has struggled to deport nationals from places such as Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti due to strained relations. His team has already reached out to the governments of several countries to test their willingness to take deportees from third countries.
USA TODAY
Ohio corrections officer killed on Christmas Day in 'inmate assault,' prison officials say
Andrew Lansing, a corrections officer at a prison in Chillicothe, Ohio, was killed Christmas Day in what state officials say was an "inmate assault."
AFP
Palestinian TV channel says Israeli strike kills 5 journalists in Gaza
A Palestinian TV channel affiliated with a militant group said five of its journalists were killed Thursday in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in Gaza, with Israel's military saying it had targeted a "terrorist cell".The Israeli military said in its own statement that it had conducted "a precise strike on a vehicle with an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell inside in the area of Nuseirat".
Associated Press
Trump has pressed for voting changes. GOP majorities in Congress will try to make that happen
Republicans plan to move quickly in their effort to overhaul the nation’s voting procedures, seeing an opportunity with control of the White House and both chambers of Congress to push through long-sought changes that include voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements. In the new year, Republicans will be under pressure to address Trump’s desires to change how elections are run in the U.S., something he continues to promote despite his win in November. The main legislation that Republicans expect to push will be versions of the American Confidence in Elections Act and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, said GOP Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, chair of the Committee on House Administration, which handles election-related legislation.
Yahoo Finance
Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures fall after Christmas break with jobs data on deck
US stocks were set to open post-Christmas trading with a bit of a hangover.
CBS News
3 shot, 1 stabbed in Christmas night dispute at Phoenix airport, police say
Gunfire rang out at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Christmas night and left three people wounded, police say. Another was stabbed. One was in critical condition.
AFP
Turkey lowers interest rate to 47.5 percent
Turkey's central bank lowered its key interest rate on Thursday, the first cut in nearly two years as it battles with double-digit inflation. The central bank began to raise interest rates last year to battle soaring prices, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped his opposition to orthodox monetary policy.
AFP
Syria authorities launch operation in Assad stronghold
Syria's new authorities launched an operation in a stronghold of ousted president Bashar al-Assad on Thursday, with a war monitor saying three gunmen affiliated with the former government were killed.According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, three gunmen linked with Assad's government were killed in the operation.
Associated Press
Turkey's central bank lowers key interest rate to 47.5%
Turkey’s central bank lowered its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 47.5% on Thursday, carrying out its first rate cut in nearly two years as it tries to control soaring inflation. Citing slowing inflation, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said it was reducing its one-week repo rate to 47.5% from the current 50%. The committee said in a statement that the overall inflation trend was “flat” in November and that indicators suggest it is likely to decline in December.
Associated Press
Estonian government to meet as investigators probe interruption of undersea cable
Estonia's government was to hold an extraordinary meeting Thursday as investigators try to find out what disrupted a Baltic Sea power cable bringing electricity from Finland, Estonia's prime minister said Thursday. Officials have been on edge about undersea cables in the wake of damage to two data cables in November and Nord Stream gas pipeline, both of which have been termed sabotage.
Associated Press
How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers
U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing. Remember when President Bill Clinton got impeached or when baseball's Mark McGwire hit his 70th home run against the Montreal Expos?
NBC News
Leaders in 'uncommitted' and 'abandon Harris' movements reflect on Trump's victory and early moves
"Uncommitted" leaders say they felt Harris didn’t do enough to distance herself from Biden or outline how she’d handle the war differently. Now, they’re closely watching Donald Trump’s early moves to see what comes next.
CNN
New York taxi driver hits 6 pedestrians, 3 taken to hospital, police say
A taxicab hit six pedestrians in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, police said, with three people — including a 9-year-old boy — transported to hospitals for their injuries.
AFP
Tears, prayers as Asia mourns tsunami dead 20 years on
Tearful mourners prayed and lit candles Thursday at ceremonies across Asia to remember the 220,000 people killed two decades ago when a tsunami hit coastlines around the Indian Ocean in one of the world's worst disasters.In Indonesia's Aceh Province, where more than 100,000 people were killed, a siren rang out at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque to kick off a series of memorials around the region, including in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, which the tsunami hit hours later.
CNN
Three babies die from cold in Gaza, as Israel’s war pushes Palestinians deep into tent camps
A newborn baby died from the cold in a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi, in southern Gaza, highlighting the stark challenges to survival faced by Palestinian children displaced from their homes amid Israel’s ongoing assault on the strip.
CNN
At least 14 security personnel killed in ‘ambush’ by former Assad forces, new Syrian authorities say
At least 14 law enforcement personnel were killed in western Syria overnight in an “ambush” by the former forces of deposed leader Bashar al-Assad, the interior ministry said on Thursday, in an indication of challenges for the country’s new government.
AFP
Record number of migrants lost at sea bound for Spain in 2024: NGO
At least 10,457 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2024, an NGO said Thursday, more than 50 percent more than last year and the most since it began keeping a tally in 2007.According to the interior ministry, 60,216 migrants entered Spain irregularly between January 1 and December 15 -- a 14.5 percent increase over the same period last year.
Associated Press
What is known about a plane crash in Kazakhstan that killed 38 of 67 people on board
An Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in Kazakhstan after being diverted, killing 38 of 67 people on board. Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons that aren't fully clear yet. It crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau, Kazakhstan, after flying east across the Caspian Sea.

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