Russia-installed official says drone shot down over Crimea's Sevastopol

AFP
Canadian foreign, finance ministers to meet Trump team on tariffs
Key members of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet traveled to Florida on Thursday for talks with representatives of US President-elect Donald Trump, as Ottawa works to avert a potentially devastating trade war.Newly appointed Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly flew to Palm Beach, Florida, "to meet with officials from the incoming Trump administration," Leblanc spokesman Jean-Sebastien Comeau said in a statement sent to AFP. Trump has vowed to impose
CBS News
ChatGPT recovering after being hit by outages, OpenAI says
The OpenAI issue was caused by an "upstream provider," according to the artificial intelligence organization.
Associated Press
Canadian ministers head to Palm Beach for talks with incoming Trump administration
Two top Canadian Cabinet ministers are visiting Palm Beach to talk border security and trade with the incoming Donald Trump administration as Trump threatens tariffs on all Canadian products. New Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly will be in Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday for the talks this week, said Jean-Sébastien Comeau, a spokesman for LeBlanc. LeBlanc said last week he would meet with Tom Homan, Trump’s incoming “border czar,” after Christmas to discuss Canada’s plan to secure the border as part of a bid to avoid the sweeping tariffs.
AFP
Israeli strikes hit Yemen as Netanyahu fires warning
Israeli air strikes pummelled Sanaa's international airport and other targets in Yemen on Thursday, with Huthi rebel media reporting six deaths.The rebel-held capital's airport was struck by "more than six" attacks, with raids also targeting the adjacent Al-Dailami air base, a witness told AFP. Yemen's civil aviation authority said the strikes occurred as the UN aircraft "was getting ready for its scheduled flight", adding that the airport planned to reopen on Friday.
USA TODAY
No 'rizz': School accused of banning Gen Alpha slang
An Iowa school teacher is accused of banning slang popular among Gen Alpha, prompting a fight over the First Amendment.
AFP
Peru ex-official denies running Congress prostitution ring
A former Peruvian congressional official on Thursday denied having set up a prostitution ring in the legislature providing sexual favors to lawmakers in return for votes.He said he had no connection to sexual workers providing services to members of congress, "much less that these services have been used to generate votes in favor of a bill."
CNN
WHO chief says he was at Yemen airport which Israeli strikes targeted
Israeli forces unleashed a series of strikes on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and the western city of Hodeidah on Thursday, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more, the Iran-backed Houthis said in a statement where it vowed to retaliate.
CBS News
Storms, dense fog threaten holiday travel in parts of U.S.
Rain and high winds were expected roll through parts of Oregon and Washington, while fog settled over an area from Kansas City to Chicago.
CBS News
Passenger without ticket gets onto Delta flight from Seattle to Honolulu
A plane passenger taken into custody after boarding a Delta flight from Seattle to Hawaii without a boarding pass.
AFP
India's former PM Manmohan Singh dies aged 92
Manmohan Singh, the former Indian prime minister whose economic reforms made his country a global powerhouse, has died at the age of 92."As our Prime Minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people's lives."
TODAY
Systane eye drops recalled for possible fungal contamination, FDA says
Systane brand eye drops were voluntarily recalled because of possible fungal contamination, the Food and Drug Administration said.
CNN
Christmas Eve stowaway caught on Delta airplane at Seattle airport
A stowaway was caught trying to nab a ride on a Delta Air Lines plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Christmas Eve.
Reuters
Brazil says workers at BYD construction site victims of human trafficking
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Chinese workers found at a construction site for a factory owned by China's electric vehicle producer BYD in Brazil's Bahia state are victims of human trafficking, Brazilian labor authorities said on Thursday. BYD and contractor Jinjiang Group have agreed to assist and house the 163 workers in hotels until a deal to end their contracts is reached, Brazil's Labor Prosecutor's Office said in a statement issued after meeting representatives from both firms. A deal could clear BYD and Jinjiang from an investigation by labor prosecutors, but they could still face scrutiny from labor inspectors and from federal prosecutors, who have requested the sharing of the evidence so that "measures can be adopted in the criminal sphere", the statement said.
AFP
Australian bushfire burns area the size of Singapore
Australian firefighters said Friday they were fighting to control a bushfire racing through a national park that has consumed an area the size of Singapore."We're talking about the fire that's roughly the size of Singapore," he told Australian national broadcaster ABC. Fire conditions were easing but it would still take time to control the Grampians blaze, which has a perimeter of more than 360 kilometres, he said.
Politico
Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen’s capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away
The Israeli army said it wasn’t aware that WHO's director-general or delegation was at the airport in Sanaa.
Associated Press
Richard Parsons, prominent Black executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup, dies at 76
Richard Parsons, one of corporate America's most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, died Thursday. Parsons, who died at his Manhattan home, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later. The financial services company Lazard, where Parsons was a longtime board member, confirmed his death.
NBC News
Person without ticket sneaks onto Delta flight from Seattle to Hawaii, is kicked off plane
A passenger without a ticket was kicked off a Delta flight this week after having sneaked onto a flight from Seattle to Hawaii, the airline said.
Reuters
Bird flu virus shows mutations in first severe human case in US, CDC says
The CDC said the patient's sample showed mutations in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene, the part of the virus that plays a key role in it attaching to host cells. The mutations seen in the patient are rare but have been reported in some cases in other countries and most often during severe infections. One of the mutations was also seen in another severe case from British Columbia, Canada.
NBC News
Trump blasts Biden's federal death row commutations: "Makes no sense"
Dorthy Moxley, whose family name became linked with the Kennedys as the 1975 murder of her teenage daughter, Martha, became a decadeslong media sensation, died Tuesday after she was hospitalized last week with the flu, her son said.
CNN
Holiday travelers are facing flight cancellations as severe storms roll into the South
Holiday travelers setting out for what is expected to be one of the busiest travel weekends of the year are already facing delays as a severe round of storms rolls into the Southern US.

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