Senate Democrats laugh off Trump's endorsement of banning congressional stock trading. But there's still no consensus on passing their proposals in the lame duck session.

Associated Press
Italy vows to push ahead with dormant migrant vetting centers in Albania
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government vowed on Monday to open controversial migrant processing centers in Albania that have remained dormant after Italian courts refused to validate the transfer of the first two groups of migrants. The statement cited a court ruling last week by Italy's highest court that said Italian judges could not substitute for government policy on deciding which countries are safe for repatriation of migrants whose asylum requests are rejected. Meloni told reporters in Finland over the weekend that the high court ruling “had substantially proved the Italian government was correct.”
AFP
France's new government to be announced Monday evening: Elysee
President Emmanuel Macron's office said the composition of France's new government would be announced on Monday evening amid efforts to drag the second-largest EU economy out of a deepening political crisis.The cabinet of new Prime Minister Francois Bayrou will be announced by Elysee secretary-general Alexis Kohler, Macron's office said.
Yahoo News
House Ethics Committee finds 'substantial evidence' Matt Gaetz paid for sex and drugs while in Congress: Here's what we know about the report, expected to be released today
The House Ethics Committee began to investigate former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz in 2021.
AFP
Accused killer of US insurance CEO pleads not guilty to 'terrorist' murder
The man accused of gunning down a health insurance executive in a brazen hit in New York that sparked fierce debate about the industry pleaded not guilty Monday to state charges including "terrorist" murder.Monday's hearing came after Mangione, 26, appeared in a New York court last week to face federal charges also including murder following his dramatic extradition by plane and helicopter from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested at a McDonald's restaurant.
Reuters
Black Sea oil spill volunteers in Russia ask Putin to send urgent help
Volunteers helping to clean up a major oil spill along Russia's Black Sea coast appealed in a video released on Monday for President Vladimir Putin to urgently send federal aid, saying that they and local authorities were overwhelmed. The oil is from two ageing tankers hit by a storm on Dec. 15. On Thursday, Putin called the incident an ecological disaster and officials from Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry say over 10,000 people are now involved in the clean-up.
Associated Press
AI will eavesdrop on world's wildest places to track and help protect endangered wildlife
PUERTO JIMÉNEZ, Costa Rica (AP) — The endangered Geoffrey’s spider monkeys that dangle high in the rainforest canopy are elusive and hard for scientists to track. The devices recorded the sounds of the forest and surrounding countryside for a week, collecting so much data that Lawson could have spent years listening to it all. Instead, she fed it into artificial intelligence systems trained to instantly recognize spider monkey calls and detect where the animals traveled.
CBS News
Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to state murder, terrorism charges
Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Monday to state charges in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
AFP
London toy 'shop' window where nothing is for sale
With its twinkling Christmas fairy lights and nostalgic array of vintage toys, the window of one London "shop" never fails to enchant passers-by.After a short spell back in Chicago he and his now ex-wife returned to settle in London in 1967 and ran the poster shop and a print business from the property.
AFP
Volkswagen boss hails cost-cutting deal but shares fall
Volkswagen's chief executive welcomed a deal to slash jobs and reduce production capacity in Germany without the need to close factories, but the car giant's shares fell heavily on Monday. Even without shuttering factories, Blume said the agreement would lead to a reduction in production capacity of around 730,000 vehicles a year.
Associated Press
Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal
First it was Canada, then the Panama Canal. Now, Donald Trump again wants Greenland. The president-elect is renewing unsuccessful calls he made during his first term for the U.S. to buy Greenland from Denmark, adding to the list of allied countries with which he's picking fights even before taking office on Jan. 20.
CNN
Boy in hospital after drones fall from sky at Orlando holiday show
What was intended to be a dazzling festive spectacle ended in injury to a 7-year-old boy after several drones unexpectedly fell from the sky during a show in Florida on Saturday night, according to CNN affiliate reports.
Associated Press
American consumers feeling less confident in December, Conference Board says
American consumers are feeling less confident in December, a business research group says. The Conference Board said Monday that its consumer confidence index fell back in December to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. Analysts forecast a rise to a reading of 113.8.
CBS News
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CNN
House Ethics report finds evidence Matt Gaetz paid thousands for sex and drugs including paying a 17-year-old for sex in 2017
The House Ethics Committee found evidence that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex or drugs on at least 20 occasions, including paying a 17-year-old girl for sex in 2017, according to a final draft of the panel’s report on the Florida Republican, obtained by CNN.
Associated Press
Nigerian agency 'failed completely' to clean up oil damage despite funding, leaked files say
The site, outside the city of Port Harcourt, was on a cleanup list kept by the United Nations Environment Programme, supposed to be restored to green farmland as the Delta was before thousands of oil spills turned it into a byword for pollution. Instead the land was left a sandy “moonscape” unusable for farming, according to U.N. documents. Previously unreported investigations, emails, letters to Nigerian ministers and minutes from meetings make clear that senior U.N. officials were increasingly concerned that the Nigerian agency in charge of cleaning up crude oil spills has been a “total failure.”
AFP
Global stock markets mostly higher
Global stocks mostly moved higher Monday as investors waited to see if a so-called Santa Claus rally sweeps over the market.Known as a Santa Claus rally, there are various explanations for the phenomenon including seasonal optimism and end-of-year tax considerations.
USA TODAY
Nebraska governor to be hospitalized 'for several days' after being bucked off horse
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen was bucked of a new horse while riding with his family. He is expected to remain hospitlized for several days.
Reuters
US core capital goods orders rebound as economy eyes strong end to 2024
New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods surged in November amid strong demand for machinery, offering more signs that the economy is on solid footing as the year ends. The upbeat data underscores the economy's resilience that prompted the Federal Reserve last week to project fewer interest rate cuts in 2025. "That strength is consistent with our view that business equipment spending growth will accelerate gently next year," said Michael Pearce, deputy chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.
AFP
Not for sale. Greenland shrugs off Trump's new push
Greenland on Monday stressed that it was not for sale, after Donald Trump again suggested he wanted the United States to take control of the strategic island that holds major mineral and oil reserves.Trump on Sunday posted that "for purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."
CNN
A new front in the Middle East: Militants battle Palestinian Authority in sprawling refugee camp
For more than a week, the sprawling Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank has echoed to the sound of heavy gunfire – with masked snipers on roof tops and muffled explosions within its warren of alleyways.

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