News

The New York Times reports: The Israeli military announced on Monday that it will begin withdrawing several thousand troops from Gaza at least temporarily, in what would be the most significant publicly announced pullback since the war began. The military cited a growing toll on the Israeli economy following nearly three months of wartime mobilization with little end in sight …

The Washington Post reports: Japan issued tsunami warnings for several regions after an earthquake with an estimated 7.6 magnitude erupted off the country’s western coast around 4:10 p.m. local time Monday, prompting authorities to urge those in vulnerable areas to evacuate or run to higher ground. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings or advisories for almost all of its …

Bloomberg News reports: Artificial intelligence will change how US courts do business, though human judges will be around “for a while” yet, Chief Justice John Roberts said. AI tools will change how judges do their jobs and how they understand “the role that AI plays in the cases that come before them,” Roberts said in his end-of-year report. There’s been …

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: According to a source, the passenger was set to board American Airlines flight 9948 at 10 p.m. Friday from Rio de Janeiro to arrive at Miami International Airport early Saturday morning when he was heard screaming for “help” and “they’re killing me” in Spanish. Exclusive video obtained by Local 10 News shows that the man was …

The Associated Press reports: As the clock struck midnight in Australia, tons of explosives erupted in a 12-minute display that focused on the Sydney Harbor Bridge. More than 1 million people — a number equivalent to one in five of the city’s residents — watched from the shore and from boats in the harbor. “It’s total madness,” said German tourist …

The Hill reports: Michael Cohen, former President Trump’s ex-fixer and personal lawyer, said in newly unsealed court filings that he accidentally gave his lawyer fake legal citations concocted by the artificial intelligence program Google Bard. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman called three case citations into question earlier this month after they were used in a motion to end Cohen’s supervised …

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 …