Singer-Songwriter Mac Davis Is 'Critically Ill' After Heart Surgery

AFP
Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
Honda and Nissan were poised Monday to announce the start of talks on a merger to help the Japanese giants catch up with Chinese rivals and Tesla on electric vehicles.Business has been especially tough for foreign brands in China, where electric vehicle manufacturers such as BYD are leading the way as demand grows for less polluting vehicles.
Associated Press
A Holy Year is about to start in Rome. Here's what you need to know
Pope Francis on Tuesday formally inaugurates the 2025 Holy Year, reviving an ancient church tradition encouraging the faithful to make pilgrimages to Rome, amid new security fears following a Christmas market attack in Germany. At the start of Christmas Eve Mass, Francis will push open the Holy Door on St. Peter’s Basilica, which will stay open throughout the year to allow the estimated 32 million pilgrims projected to visit Rome to pass through. The first Holy Year was called in 1300 and in recent times they are generally celebrated every 25 to 50 years.
AFP
'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
Social media users in Vietnam on platforms including Facebook and TikTok will need to verify their identities as part of strict new internet regulations that critics say further undermine freedom of expression in the communist country.A large proportion of the population is also on social media, with the MIC estimating the country has around 65 million Facebook users, 60 million on YouTube and 20 million on TikTok.
AFP
Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
Asian markets rose Monday after big gains on Wall Street, with traders welcoming below-forecast US inflation data that tempered worries that the Federal Reserve will take a more hawkish tone with interest rates next year.Sharp losses in reaction to the forecasts were pared after data showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, came in at 2.4 percent on-year in November.
AFP
Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
Tens of thousands protested Sunday in Belgrade to demand that Serbian leaders take responsibility for the collapse of a train station roof that killed 15 people last month.Fourteen people, aged between six and 74, were killed on November 1 when the roof collapsed after major renovation works on the station.
CNN
Dress Codes: Why Santa Claus wears a red and white suit
Santa Claus’ suit may be one of his immutable features today, but he didn’t always wear red — and his closet used to be much more expansive. The legendary gift-giver’s style is just one indicator of his elusive origins.
AFP
Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
Exhausted by more than 14 months of war, the wives and mothers of Israeli soldiers are uniting in protest against exemptions from conscription for ultra-Orthodox men.Ultra-Orthodox residents passed by, some running, as protesters holding Israeli flags and banners shouted through megaphones demanding "conscription for all".
NBC News
NYPD arrests person of interest in woman's fatal burning on subway
A man described as a person of interest in the search for a suspect who set a woman sleeping in a subway car on fire, killing her, was taken into custody Sunday, New York City police said.
CBS News
Woman set on fire while sleeping on NYC subway, NYPD says
A person of interest was taken into custody after a woman died after being lit on fire while she was asleep on an F train in Brooklyn, police say.
Associated Press
Trauma lingers on for survivors of the deadly tsunami that hit Thailand 20 years ago
The 20-year-old freshman student was still asleep that Sunday morning at the family's house on the Andaman Sea coast of southern Thailand when her mom, sensing something wasn't right, woke her up saying they needed to leave right away. The day is forever seared in Neungduangjai Sritrakarn's memory: Dec. 26, 2004, the day the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami struck across South and Southeast Asia, after a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island. Within minutes, Neungduangjai, her mother, father, brother and sister were speeding away, trying to get as far as they could from their village of Ban Nam Khem.
CNN
Suspect arrested in the killing of a woman who was set on fire on a NYC subway car
New York police have arrested a suspect accused of killing a female subway passenger by setting her on fire Sunday morning, according to police.
AFP
Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday pledged to "stop the transgender lunacy" on day one of his presidency, as Republicans -- set to control both chambers of Congress and the White House -- continue their push against LGBTQ rights.Transgender issues have roiled US politics in recent years, as Democratic- and Republican-controlled states have moved in opposite directions on policy such as medical treatment and what books on the topic are allowed in public or school libraries.
Politico
Trump names Kratsios, Parker to tech roles
Trump is bringing two veterans of his first administration to join other tech appointees working on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.
CBS News
Drones collide, fall into crowd at holiday show in Florida, FAA says
A holiday drone show just days before Christmas was interrupted when drones collided, officials said.
Politico
In Arizona speech, Trump jokes Musk is ‘not going to be president’
“All the different hoaxes, and the new one is, ‘President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk,’” Trump said.
AFP
'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
A US health boss's murder sparked a torrent of online misinformation and calls for violence against other executives, suggesting a failure of social media moderation that analysts fear could translate into real-world harms."As much disagreement as there is about what content, if any, should be moderated -- at the top of most peoples' list would be 'explicit threats of violence,'" Jonathan Nagler, co-director of New York University's Center for Social Media and Politics, told AFP. "So seeing post
CBS News
Winter weather interrupts some holiday weekend travel
Record holiday travel is expected in the U.S. this year, with the weekend before Christmas projected to be one of the busiest times for transit.
Reuters
New Zealand rejects Cook Islands passport plan
New Zealand has rejected a proposal by the Cook Islands, a self-governing nation in free association with the larger Pacific country, to allow the creation of its own passports and citizenship but said it could discuss independence. A spokesperson for New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement late Sunday that a separate passport, citizenship and membership of the United Nations are only available to fully independent and sovereign countries. As such, the Cook Islands could access these things while it remains in free association with New Zealand and would need to become fully independent for it to do so, the spokesperson said.
AFP
Panama rejects Trump's threat to take control of Canal
Panama's president Jose Raul Mulino on Sunday dismissed recent threats made by US President-elect Donald Trump to retake control of the Panama Canal over complaints of "unfair" treatment of American ships."Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belongs to Panama and will continue belonging to Panama," Mulino said in a video posted to X. Mulino's public comments, though never mentioning Trump by name, come a day after the president-elect complained about the canal on his Tr
AFP
Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
Just 12 trucks distributed food and water in northern Gaza in two-and-a-half months, aid group Oxfam said on Sunday, raising the alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation in the besieged territory.Oxfam said that it and other international aid groups have been "continually prevented from delivering life-saving aid" in northern Gaza since October 6 this year, when Israel intensified its bombardment of the territory.

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