News

The Associated Press reports: The world population grew by 75 million people over the past year and on New Year’s Day it will stand at more than 8 billion people, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday. The worldwide growth rate in the past year was just under 1%. At the start of 2024, 4.3 births …

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: Before first light on Wednesday, construction crews began the process of removing a Confederate statue in Springfield Park that has long been the subject of debate in Jacksonville. By 11 a.m., the monument had been taken down. Following a similar process undertaken in 2020 to remove a Confederate statue from what was then known as Hemming …

Just in via press release: Comedian Tom Smothers, one half of the legendary Smothers Brothers comedy team, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, December 26, 2023, at the age of 86, following a recent battle with cancer. Dick Smothers, Tom’s brother and co-star of the celebrated and groundbreaking Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, announced that Tom was at home with his family …

The Hill reports: Israel expects the war in Gaza will go on for “many more months,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said. “The war will continue for many more months, and we will operate in various ways – so that the achievement will be preserved over time,” Halevi said in a press conference Tuesday. …

Gothamist reports: New York cannabis officials will be handing out up to 1,445 new business licenses in the coming weeks, including at least 500 for dispensaries. Other licenses will go to marijuana growers, processors, wholesalers and microbusinesses after the application window for licenses closed earlier this month. In this new round, the state is prioritizing businesses that already have leases …

Axois reports: The Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs committee approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO on Tuesday. The vote that brings Sweden closer to achieving NATO membership comes after a series of delays in its attempt to become part of the alliance, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s initial refusal to accept Sweden’s bid. A country’s admission into NATO must be …

Mashable reports: Ancient Mars wasn’t simply just wet. It experienced momentous floods. As clear evidence of this water-filled past, NASA released an image snapped by its Perseverance rover, showing large heavy boulders absolutely blanketing part of the Jezero Crater, a dried-up river delta. “The rounded boulders seen here are believed to have been washed into Jezero Crater, which Perseverance is …

The Telegraph reports: Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, has warned those celebrating Christmas to “be careful not to become a communist” in a bizarre seasonal message to his followers. Mr Milei, who took office earlier this month after winning the October elections on a promise to take a chainsaw to public spending. The Libertarian former rock singer appears brandishing …

Axios reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to continue waging war against Hamas in Gaza, despite a growing number of international calls for a ceasefire. While visiting Israeli troops in northern Gaza, Netanyahu said: “Whoever talks about stopping, there is no such thing.” He also posted a video to X on Monday with the comment: “With our …

The Associated Press reports: Gift cards get lost or forgotten, or recipients hang on to them for a special occasion. In a July survey, the consumer finance company Bankrate found that 47% of U.S. adults had at least one unspent gift card or voucher with an average value of $18. That’s a total of $23 billion. Every year, big companies …

Bloomberg News reports: Pope Francis on Monday blasted the weapons industry and its “instruments of death” that fuel wars as he made a Christmas Day appeal for peace in the world and in particular between Israel and the Palestinians. Speaking from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to the throngs of people below, Francis said he grieved the “abominable attack” …

NBC News reports: Retirement announcements often come after the holidays, as lawmakers discuss their next steps with their families and weigh whether to continue in an increasingly dysfunctional Congress. And because Democrats need a net gain of just five seats to take control of the House in 2024, every seat is going to matter, and the dynamics can shift if …

Courthouse News reports: Judges in Amsterdam sentenced a man convicted of harassing a 15-year-old girl who later died by suicide to six additional years in prison on Thursday. The Amsterdam District Court was tasked with bringing Aydin Coban’s Canadian sentence for blackmailing teenager Amanda Todd in line with Dutch guidelines, opting for the legal maximum and exceeding the nearly four …

Reuters reports: Records and interviews reveal for the first time that the automaker has long known far more about the frequency and extent of the defects than it has disclosed to consumers and safety regulators. The documents, dated between 2016 and 2022, include repair reports from Tesla service centers globally; analyses and data reviews by engineers on parts with high …

Axios reports: A fast-spreading new COVID-19 variant called JN.1 could drive a new wave of disease across the U.S. this holiday season just as other respiratory viruses are cresting, experts say. COVID modeler Jay Weiland estimated on Monday that JN.1 would become the dominant strain within a week and that daily new infections, now around 965,000, aren’t close to peaking. …

The Messenger reports: The names of nearly 200 people connected to pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein are likely to be unsealed in the New Year, according to ruling by a federal judge on Monday. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered that sealed names and material related to 177 people be publicly filed in 14 days, according to court filings. That …

The BBC reports: A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland after weeks of intense earthquake activity. About 4,000 people were earlier evacuated from the fishing town of Grindavik and the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa was closed. The region around the capital Reykjavik has been experiencing an increase in earthquake activity since late October. Images and …

NBC News reports: Mayim Bialik, who has been co-hosting “Jeopardy!” alongside Ken Jennings for more than a year, said Friday she will no longer host the syndicated version of the show. “Jeopardy!” said it would be going with one host for the show for continuity. “Ken Jennings will be the sole host for syndicated Jeopardy!” the show said in a …

NBC News reports: The lead contamination in recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches that potentially poisoned at least 65 children may have been intentional, the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. The FDA has been investigating the lead contamination in the cinnamon-flavored applesauce products from Florida-based food manufacturer WanaBana since October. The agency has homed in on the cinnamon specifically as …

Variety reports: Matthew Perry died from “the acute effects of ketamine,” according to the toxicology report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office. Contributing factors in the “Friends” actor’s death included drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine (used to treat opioid use disorder). The manner of death was ruled an accident. Perry died on Saturday, Oct. …