Pre-emptive power outages in Colorado due to wind get credit and criticism

Thousands of Colorado customers remained without power Wednesday night due to a combination of high winds and a planned safety shutdown by Xcel Energy. Crews spent the day inspecting power lines for damage from fallen trees and snapped poles, a process that can delay restoration until winds subside and daylight allows for drone or helicopter checks. Outages affected homes, businesses, and traffic signals across parts … Continue reading Pre-emptive power outages in Colorado due to wind get credit and criticism

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino says he will step down in January

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced he will step down from the bureau in January, thanking President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel for the opportunity to serve. Bongino was an unconventional choice for the role, as neither he nor Patel had prior FBI experience, and he was better known as a pro-Trump podcaster and former law enforcement officer. His tenure … Continue reading FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino says he will step down in January

US approves $11bn in arms sales to Taiwan in deal likely to anger China

The United States approved an $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan, one of its largest ever, including HIMARS rocket systems, long-range missiles, artillery, drones, and military software. U.S. officials said the package supports Taiwan’s efforts to modernize its forces and maintain a credible defensive capability. Taiwan welcomed the deal, calling it essential to strengthening deterrence and national defense. China strongly criticized the move, urging Washington … Continue reading US approves $11bn in arms sales to Taiwan in deal likely to anger China

Police ask for patience in search for Brown University gunman

Five days after a deadly shooting at Brown University that killed two people and injured nine, authorities have not identified a suspect, keeping the campus community on edge. Investigators released new images of a person they want to question, believed to be near the primary person of interest seen on surveillance footage before the attack. Police say the individual appeared to be casing the area … Continue reading Police ask for patience in search for Brown University gunman

Trump tells America the economy is strong, blames Biden for nation’s struggles

President Donald Trump used a prime-time White House address to promise lower prices, defend his economic record, and blame inflation and high costs on former President Joe Biden as frustration grows ahead of the midterm elections. Despite claiming major progress and forecasting an economic boom, Trump faces low approval ratings on the economy, with polls showing widespread affordability concerns among Americans. Economists warn that job … Continue reading Trump tells America the economy is strong, blames Biden for nation’s struggles

Rob Reiner’s son Nick makes 1st court appearance after being charged with murder

Nick Reiner made his first court appearance Wednesday after being charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. He did not enter a plea, and his arraignment was continued until Jan. 7. The couple, aged 78 and 68, were found dead Sunday in their Brentwood, Los Angeles home, with the preliminary cause of death … Continue reading Rob Reiner’s son Nick makes 1st court appearance after being charged with murder

Naveed Akram charged with 15 counts of murder over Bondi shooting

Naveed Akram, the sole surviving suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney, has been charged with 59 offenses, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act. The attack, targeting Australia’s Jewish community during a Hanukkah celebration, left 15 people dead and dozens injured, making it the country’s deadliest shooting since 1996. Akram’s father, Sajid Akram, was killed in a … Continue reading Naveed Akram charged with 15 counts of murder over Bondi shooting

Senate passes $901 billion defense bill that pushes Hegseth for boat strike video

The Senate passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act, authorizing $901 billion in defense spending and a 3.8% pay raise for troops, while demanding more Pentagon transparency on strikes against alleged drug boats near Venezuela. The 3,000-page bill balances bipartisan priorities, maintaining U.S. troop levels in Europe, providing military aid to Ukraine, and implementing Trump administration policies on military diversity and border powers. It also … Continue reading Senate passes $901 billion defense bill that pushes Hegseth for boat strike video

Venezuelan Navy Escorts Vessels After Blockade Threat

Venezuela has deployed its Navy to escort ships carrying petroleum products from its ports, heightening tensions with the U.S. after President Trump announced a “total and complete blockade” targeting sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers. Several vessels transporting urea, petroleum coke, and other oil-based products departed the Port of José for Asia under military escort, responding to Trump’s blockade threats. The escorted ships do not appear on … Continue reading Venezuelan Navy Escorts Vessels After Blockade Threat

FTX insider Caroline Ellison has been quietly moved out of prison

Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research and ex-girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried, has been moved from federal prison to community confinement after serving about 11 months of her two-year sentence. The Bureau of Prisons confirmed she was transferred in October from a low-security prison in Connecticut to either home confinement or a halfway house, though details were not disclosed. Ellison pleaded guilty to conspiring in … Continue reading FTX insider Caroline Ellison has been quietly moved out of prison

4 Republicans revolt, force vote on Obamacare funding

Four House Republicans broke with party leadership to join Democrats on a discharge petition, securing the 218 signatures needed to force a vote on a three-year extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire Dec. 31. If the subsidies lapse, insurance premiums are expected to double on average for about 22 million people who rely on Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage. The move highlights divisions … Continue reading 4 Republicans revolt, force vote on Obamacare funding

Israel examining possibility Iran involved in murder of MIT nuclear scientist in US

Israeli officials are reviewing unverified intelligence suggesting a possible Iranian connection to the killing of Prof. Nuno Loureiro, a senior MIT nuclear scientist who was shot and killed at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. U.S. authorities have not confirmed any such link and say the investigation remains open, with no suspects, motive, or signs of forced entry identified so far. Loureiro, a 47-year-old Portuguese-born expert … Continue reading Israel examining possibility Iran involved in murder of MIT nuclear scientist in US

Jack Smith tells lawmakers his team developed ‘proof beyond a reasonable doubt’ against Trump

Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers in a closed-door interview that his team developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Donald Trump criminally conspired to overturn the 2020 election. Smith also said investigators gathered strong evidence that Trump illegally retained classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and obstructed efforts to recover them. He emphasized that his decisions were based solely on facts and … Continue reading Jack Smith tells lawmakers his team developed ‘proof beyond a reasonable doubt’ against Trump

Senators Press FBI Over Failure to Investigate Epstein’s Lawyer and Accountant

A group of Democratic senators is pressing the Justice Department to explain why federal investigators never interviewed Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime lawyer, Darren Indyke, or his in-house accountant, Richard Kahn, during probes of his sex-trafficking operation. Both men were senior officers in Epstein-controlled entities that handled finances, cash payments, and transactions later linked to the scheme, according to The Wall Street Journal. Despite their close and … Continue reading Senators Press FBI Over Failure to Investigate Epstein’s Lawyer and Accountant

Luigi Mangione smiles for cameras in court as defense claims police violated his rights

Luigi Mangione appeared in court Tuesday as his defense argued that Pennsylvania police violated his constitutional rights during and after his arrest at an Altoona McDonald’s following the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The defense seeks to suppress evidence from Mangione’s backpack and statements he made to officers and jail guards, citing Fourth and Fifth Amendment concerns. Officer George Featherstone testified that searching a … Continue reading Luigi Mangione smiles for cameras in court as defense claims police violated his rights

Plans for attack in New Orleans thwarted, authorities say

Authorities foiled a planned attack in New Orleans after ex-Marine Micah James Legnon, 28, was arrested while traveling to the city with guns, body armor, and other weapons. Legnon, charged with threats in interstate commerce, was under federal surveillance due to ties to the extremist anti-capitalist group Turtle Island Liberation Front. Court documents show Legnon expressed intentions to “recreate” the 1993 Waco siege in New … Continue reading Plans for attack in New Orleans thwarted, authorities say

Sen. Mark Kelly clashes with Hegseth over Pentagon’s investigation into him

Sen. Mark Kelly called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s investigation into him “a bunch of bull****,” saying it appears intended to intimidate retired service members from speaking out against the president. The probe stems from a video Kelly and five other Democrats, all military veterans, posted urging troops not to follow illegal orders. Hegseth asked the Secretary of the Navy to review Kelly for “potentially unlawful … Continue reading Sen. Mark Kelly clashes with Hegseth over Pentagon’s investigation into him

Thousands flock to see the last 2 pandas in Japan before their return to China

Thousands visited Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo to see twin pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei before they return to China next month, marking the first time in over 50 years Japan will be without a panda. Their last public viewing will be on January 25, but tensions between Japan and China make the arrival of replacements uncertain. The four-year-old pandas were born in Tokyo in 2021 … Continue reading Thousands flock to see the last 2 pandas in Japan before their return to China

Driver who rammed through crowd at Liverpool soccer parade sentenced to over 20 years

A driver who injured more than 130 people by plowing his minivan into a crowd celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League title was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. Paul Doyle, 54, deliberately accelerated into groups of fans on May 26, stopping only after a bystander forced the vehicle into park. Prosecutors said Doyle used his car as a weapon after becoming enraged over delays … Continue reading Driver who rammed through crowd at Liverpool soccer parade sentenced to over 20 years

Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket launches its 1st pair of Galileo navigation satellites

Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket successfully launched its first pair of Galileo navigation satellites on Wednesday, Dec. 17, from the Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana. The satellites, part of Europe’s GPS-equivalent constellation, will deploy about 3 hours and 20 minutes after liftoff and undergo a four-month positioning phase before becoming operational. Most previous Galileo satellites were launched on Ariane 5 or Russian Soyuz rockets, with Europe … Continue reading Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket launches its 1st pair of Galileo navigation satellites

New research suggests interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is not a spaceship

The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, once speculated by some—including Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb—to be alien technology, has been shown to behave like a typical comet. A new study in Research Notes of the AAS finds that its unusual motion is caused by natural “outgassing,” where gas and dust expelled from its surface give it small rocket-like pushes, altering its speed, orbit, and spin. Measurements using NASA’s Psyche spacecraft … Continue reading New research suggests interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is not a spaceship

NASA’s Roman Telescope Will Observe Thousands of Newfound Cosmic Voids

The observable universe contains up to two trillion galaxies, which are not randomly scattered but instead form giant cosmic “bubbles” separated by mostly empty regions called cosmic voids. NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will map these voids with unprecedented precision, helping scientists study the universe’s expansion and the mysterious roles of dark matter and dark energy. By combining galaxy positions and spectroscopic redshifts, astronomers … Continue reading NASA’s Roman Telescope Will Observe Thousands of Newfound Cosmic Voids

Google retains spot as world’s most popular internet service

ChatGPT has become one of the internet’s 40 most popular websites, reflecting the rapid growth of generative AI, according to a Cloudflare report. Despite Google, Facebook, and Instagram remaining dominant overall, ChatGPT’s rise was highlighted as the year’s defining story for online activity. Launched by OpenAI in November 2022, ChatGPT had 700 million active users as of September. Cloudflare also reported a 19% increase in … Continue reading Google retains spot as world’s most popular internet service

Woman arrested for hiding razor blades in loaves of bread at Walmart stores

Camille Benson, 33, of Texas, was arrested for allegedly inserting razor blades into loaves of bread at two Walmart stores in Biloxi, Mississippi, and has been charged with attempted mayhem with a $100,000 bond. The first incident was reported on December 5 at a Walmart Supercenter, followed by a second on December 8 at a Walmart Neighborhood Market. Subsequent inspections revealed additional tampered loaves, prompting … Continue reading Woman arrested for hiding razor blades in loaves of bread at Walmart stores

Millions of Hyundai and Kia owners can get free repairs from settlement

Millions of Hyundai and Kia owners are eligible for free repairs under a nationwide settlement over inadequate anti-theft protections. The settlement, led by Minnesota’s attorney general and joined by 34 other states, addresses vehicles lacking engine immobilizers, which left them more prone to theft. Hyundai and Kia must provide free repairs for about 9 million eligible vehicles from 2011 to 2022, at a cost that … Continue reading Millions of Hyundai and Kia owners can get free repairs from settlement