Teenage shortstop, highly regarded Oakland A's prospect Max Muncy joining Lansing Lugnuts

AFP
Putin vows 'destruction' on Ukraine after Kazan drone attack
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday vowed to bring more "destruction" to Ukraine in retaliation for a drone attack on the central Russian city of Kazan a day earlier."Whoever, and however much they try to destroy, they will face many times more destruction themselves and will regret what they are trying to do in our country," Putin said during a televised government meeting on Sunday.
Associated Press
Pope Francis calls for a ceasefire on all fronts in his prayer ahead of Christmas
Pope Francis called for a ceasefire on all war fronts in his Sunday Angelus prayer ahead of Christmas, condemning the “cruelty” of bombing schools and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza. “Let the weapons fall silent and let the Christmas carols ring out!” Francis said, delivering his Sunday blessing from indoors due to a cold and as a precaution ahead of a busy Christmas period.
Associated Press
Destructive Cyclone Chido unearths tensions between locals and migrants in France's Mayotte
Cyclone Chido not only ravaged Mayotte’s fragile infrastructure but also laid bare deep-seated tensions between the island’s residents and its large migrant population. Authorities in Mayotte, France's poorest territory, said many avoided emergency shelters out of fear of deportation, leaving them, and the shantytowns they live in, even more vulnerable to the cyclone’s devastation. Mayotte, a French department located between Madagascar and mainland Africa, has a population of 320,000, including an estimated 100,000 migrants, most of whom have arrived from the nearby Comoros Islands, just 70 kilometers (43 miles) away.
Reuters
Mozambique's death toll from Cyclone Chido rises to 94, AFP reports
The cyclone had made landfall in northern Mozambique a week ago and Mozambique's institute for natural disasters on Thursday had given the death toll at 73. Officials in Mayotte, which is one of France's poorest overseas territories, have only been able to confirm 35 fatalities from Chido, but some have said they fear thousands could have been killed. Olamide Harrison, the International Monetary Fund's Mozambique resident representative, said on Wednesday that the country's 2024 economic growth is likely to be revised down from a previous forecast of 4.3% due to the impact of the cyclone and post-election civil unrest.
Yahoo Finance
Wall Street reevaluates 'higher for longer' rates post Fed meeting: What to know this week
Investors will contend with a host of challenges, from turmoil in Washington to a more hawkish stance from the Fed.
Associated Press
Ukrainian drones hit a Russian fuel depot for the second time this month
Ukrainian drones struck a major Russian fuel depot for the second time in just over a week on Sunday, according to a senior Russian regional official, as part of a “massive” cross-border attack on fuel and energy facilities that Kyiv says supply Moscow's military. The strikes came days after Russia launched sweeping attacks on Ukraine’s already battered energy grid, threatening to plunge thousands of homes into darkness as winter tightens its grip over the region, and as Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor nears the three-year mark. A fire broke out at the Stalnoy Kon oil terminal in Russia’s southern Oryol region, local Gov. Andrey Klychkov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app, adding Russian forces downed 20 drones targeting “fuel and energy infrastructure” in the province.
CNN
Questions mount in Germany over deadly Christmas market attack as suspect appears in court
A judge in Germany has ordered the suspect in the dedly Christmas market ramming attack to be held in pre-trial detention following a late-night court appearance on Saturday, according to a statement from police early Sunday.
CNN
Crowd crushes at two charity events in Nigeria kill at least 32 people
At least 32 people were killed in crowd crushes at two separate charity events in Nigeria on Saturday, police have reported.
USA TODAY
Y2K swept the nation 25 years ago: Historical photos show millennium panic in America
It's the 25th anniversary of Y2K, when panic about a millennium bug swept the nation. Photos show how we prepared.
Politico
China: US is ‘playing with fire’ with latest military aid for Taiwan
Taiwan is a democratic island of 23 million people that the Chinese government claims as its territory.
Politico
2 US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident, US military says
Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft.
CNN
Joe Manchin torches Democrats on the way out the door
As Joe Manchin prepares to leave Congress after nearly 15 years, the West Virginia senator — who left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent earlier this year — is further distancing himself from his former party, calling the Democratic brand “toxic.”
NBC News
German Christmas market attack suspect faces charges of five counts of murder; aggravated assault
Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian doctor accused of killing four women and a nine-year-old boy by driving into a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, now faces charges of five counts of murder, and multiple counts attempted murder and aggravated assault after appearing in court Saturday night.
NBC News
Faith-based cost-sharing seemed like an alternative to health insurance, until the childbirth bills arrived
Health care sharing ministries offer reimbursements for members’ medical bills. But they are largely unregulated, and most restrict maternity coverage. Four families said they struggled to get reimbursed for childbirth costs.
Politico
Farewell to ‘The Axe Files’
David Axelrod’s podcast was the last place where members of the opposite party could sit down and share ideas.
Reuters
Spain's Christmas lottery spreads cash and seasonal joy to winners
Players with winning tickets in Spain's huge Christmas lottery draw on Sunday celebrated with sparkling wine, cheers and hugs in a 200-year-old tradition that marks the beginning of the Christmas season. The total prize pot in the state-run National Lottery event reached 2.71 billion euros ($2.83 billion) this year, slightly more than last year's 2.59 billion euros. In the nationally televised draw at Madrid's Teatro Real, young pupils from San Ildefonso school picked the winning numbers from two revolving globes and sang them out.
AFP
France awaits appointment of new government
President Emmanuel Macron returned to Paris on Sunday after a visit to cyclone-devastated Mayotte and East Africa, as a France racked by political deadlock awaited the appointment of a new government.France has been mired in deadlock since Macron gambled on snap elections this summer in the hopes of bolstering his authority.
AFP
Cyclone Chido death toll rises to 94 in Mozambique
Cyclone Chido killed at least 94 people in Mozambique in its deadly rampage through the Indian Ocean last week, the country's disaster management agency said Sunday, raising a previous death toll of 76.Despite losing intensity it killed 13 people and injured nearly 30 there, according to the Malawian disaster management agency.
AFP
Khamenei says Iran does not have or need regional proxy forces
Iran's supreme leader denied Sunday that militant groups around the region functioned as Tehran's proxies, warning that if his country chose to "take action", it would not need them anyway.They do not act as our proxy," supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a group of visitors in Tehran.
Associated Press
Prominent Lebanese figure visits Syria, hoping for a post-Assad reset in troubled relations
A prominent Lebanese politician held talks on Sunday with the insurgent who led the overthrow of Syria's President Bashar Assad, with both expressing hope for a new era in relations between their countries. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt was a longtime critic of Syria's involvement in Lebanon and blamed Assad's father, former President Hafez Assad, for the assassination of his own father decades ago.

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