Sam Smith Memorializes Late Trans Teen Brianna Ghey During London Gloria Tour Stop

AFP
ECB cuts rates again as eurozone hit by economic, political woes
The European Central Bank cut interest rates again Thursday, citing a worsening growth outlook and slowing inflation, with political turmoil in the eurozone adding to the troubled picture.Adding to the troubled picture is Donald Trump's impending return to the White House.
Yahoo Finance
Wholesale inflation jumps more than expected in November as price pressures remain sticky
Thursday's wholesale inflation reading follows a string of releases that have shown price increases aren't rapidly falling toward the Fed's 2% target.
Associated Press
Rescue group saves 11-year-old girl floating alone in the Mediterranean for days after shipwreck
An 11-year-old girl from Sierra Leone was found floating in the Mediterranean Sea off Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa, believed to be the only survivor of a shipwrecked migrant boat that had departed from the port of Sfax in Tunisia, a humanitarian group said Thursday. The girl was saved by a German-flagged sailboat named Trotamar III, which brought her to Lampedusa on Wednesday morning, according to the German charity Compass Collective that has been operating in the Mediterranean Sea since August 2023. The crew immediately cut the engines and searched for the source of the voice, Compass Collective's Katya Tempel, told The Associated Press “She was exhausted and tired and cold, but in general, she was fine when we fetched her out of the water.”
Associated Press
Black denomination upholds stance against same-sex marriage. A gay pastor in its ranks seeks change
When the African Methodist Episcopal Church, arguably the world’s largest independent Black Protestant denomination, held its quadrennial General Conference in Ohio in August, among the agenda items was an issue that the Rev. Jennifer S. Leath had labored over for two decades: same-sex marriage. Leath, 43, self-identifies as “quare” — terminology designed to capture both her same-sex attraction and intellectual heritage as a “blackqueer womanist” thinker. The move was widely seen as a response to the Episcopal Church’s election of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson as its first openly gay bishop the year prior.
Reuters
Warner Bros Discovery to split TV and streaming businesses into two units
Shares rose about 3% in premarket trading after the company said the new corporate structure will "increase optionality to pursue further value creation opportunities for both divisions". Media companies are considering options for their cable TV businesses as a largescale shift by consumers toward streaming has slammed growth in traditional TV, which has long been the industry's cash cow. Comcast last month plans to split most of its NBCUniversal cable networks into a new public company as it looks to unchain its faster-growing studio and theme parks business from the declining traditional TV.
Associated Press
US applications for jobless benefits rise to highest level in 2 months but remain relatively low
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits jumped to their highest level in two months last week but remain low relative to historical standards. Jobless claim applications climbed by 17,000 to 242,000 for the week of Dec. 7, the Labor Department reported Thursday. This week’s report also showed that continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, rose by 15,000 to 1.89 million for the week of Nov. 30.
USA TODAY
Franklin Fire in Malibu consumes thousands of acres: See map
Firefighters have 7% of the fire under containment as red flag warnings come to an end.
Associated Press
US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
Wholesale costs in the United States picked up sharply last month, signaling that price pressures are still evident in the economy even though inflation has tumbled from the peak levels it hit more than two years ago. The Labor Department reported Thursday that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 0.4% last month from October, up from 0.3% the month before. Measured from 12 months earlier, wholesale prices climbed 3% in November, the sharpest year-over-year rise since February 2023.
Reuters
Iran accepts tougher oversight at Fordow enrichment plant, IAEA reports
Iran has agreed to tougher monitoring by the U.N. nuclear watchdog at its Fordow site dug into a mountain after it greatly accelerated uranium enrichment to close to weapons grade there, the watchdog said on Thursday in a report seen by Reuters. Last week the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported Iran had multiplied the pace of its enrichment to up to 60% purity, close to the 90% of weapons grade, at Fordow, which Western powers called an extremely serious escalation in their standoff with Iran over its nuclear programme. At that time the agency said it would discuss the need for tougher so-called safeguards measures, such as inspections, at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), one of two sites where Iran is enriching to that highest level.
Reuters
Trump invites China's Xi, other world leaders to inauguration
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and other foreign leaders to his inauguration next month in Washington, a Trump transition spokesperson said on Thursday. Asked if Xi had responded, Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in an interview that was "to be determined". "This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just our allies but our adversaries and our competitors, too," she added.
AFP
Blinken and Jordan king agree on need for secure Syria
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Jordan's King Abdullah II called Thursday for a secure Syria as the top US diplomat opened a regional tour following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.King Abdullah in his meeting with Blinken "reaffirmed Jordan's respect" for "the Syrian people's choices, stressing the need to safeguard Syria's security and the safety of its citizens", a palace statement said.
AFP
Macron expected to name new French PM
French President Emmanuel Macron was expected Thursday to name a new prime minister a week after MPs toppled the government, shortening a visit to Poland amid a torrent of criticism over the prolonged political crisis.Former prime minister Michel Barnier was felled last week in a confidence vote over his cost-cutting budget.
AFP
Pope meets Palestinian leader Abbas at the Vatican
Pope Francis, who has recently intensified criticism of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, on Thursday received Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, with whom he discussed the "serious" humanitarian situation.In recent weeks he has hardened his remarks against the Israeli offensive.
Time
Fact-Checking Trump’s 2024 Person of the Year Interview
Here is a review for facts and context of several of Trump’s statements from the Person of the Year interview
CBS News
CBS News speaks with man who says he's just been freed from Syrian prison
A man identifying himself as Missourian Travis Timmerman tells CBS News he was liberated from a Syrian prison upon dictator Bashar al-Assad's ouster.
Associated Press
Holiday Gift Guide: Handcrafted items from North Carolina support hurricane recovery
The town of Asheville, known for its artists and restaurants, is a tourist destination and the economic hub of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountain communities. Now, besides hoping that visitors will return for the holidays, Asheville's artists and small businesses are pitching their handcrafted goods as gifts online to speed recovery. The heavily damaged River Arts District lets artists sell directly through its website.
Time
Read the Transcript of Trump's Person of the Year Interview
Trump discussed his election victory, the economy, and the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East
Time
Why Donald Trump Is TIME's 2024 Person of the Year
TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains why Donald Trump was chosen as the 2024 Person of the Year.
NBC News
Biden to commute sentences of 1,500 'non-violent' offenders, in the biggest single-day act of clemency to date
President Joe Biden will commute the sentences of almost 1,500 offenders and pardon 39 others, in what the White House said early Thursday was the biggest number of commutations and clemencies granted in a single day.
CNN
Biden grants clemency for nearly 1,500 people, the biggest single-day act of clemency in modern history
President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he is commuting the sentences of some 1,500 individuals and pardoning 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes – marking a broad use of the presidential clemency power just weeks from the end of Biden’s administration.

Sam Smith Memorializes Late Trans Teen Brianna Ghey During London Gloria Tour Stop

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Latest Stories

ECB cuts rates again as eurozone hit by economic, political woes

Wholesale inflation jumps more than expected in November as price pressures remain sticky

Rescue group saves 11-year-old girl floating alone in the Mediterranean for days after shipwreck

Black denomination upholds stance against same-sex marriage. A gay pastor in its ranks seeks change

Warner Bros Discovery to split TV and streaming businesses into two units

US applications for jobless benefits rise to highest level in 2 months but remain relatively low

Franklin Fire in Malibu consumes thousands of acres: See map

US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated

Iran accepts tougher oversight at Fordow enrichment plant, IAEA reports

Trump invites China's Xi, other world leaders to inauguration

Blinken and Jordan king agree on need for secure Syria

Macron expected to name new French PM

Pope meets Palestinian leader Abbas at the Vatican

Fact-Checking Trump’s 2024 Person of the Year Interview

CBS News speaks with man who says he's just been freed from Syrian prison

Holiday Gift Guide: Handcrafted items from North Carolina support hurricane recovery

Read the Transcript of Trump's Person of the Year Interview

Why Donald Trump Is TIME's 2024 Person of the Year

Biden to commute sentences of 1,500 'non-violent' offenders, in the biggest single-day act of clemency to date

Biden grants clemency for nearly 1,500 people, the biggest single-day act of clemency in modern history