News

The Associated Press reports: A highly decorated Army soldier who died in an explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck at the Trump hotel in Las Vegas left a note saying it was stunt to serve as “wakeup call” for the country’s ills, investigators said Friday. Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old Green Beret from Colorado Springs, Colorado, also wrote in the note that …

CBS News reports: The 119th Congress will convene on Capitol Hill on Friday, with Republicans in control of both the House and Senate for the first time since 2019. The House will meet at noon and hold its election for speaker, with current Speaker Mike Johnson hoping to hold onto his gavel. Johnson needs to win a majority of the …

AccuWeather reports: A massive storm is expected to bring both wintry and severe weather to millions of Americans as early as this weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. “Over a dozen states are forecast to be impacted by one or more aspects of this storm,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham. The storm emerging from the Rockies late on Saturday is forecast to …

NBC News reports: A judicial organization that sets national policy for federal courts has rejected a request from two Democratic lawmakers to refer Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the Justice Department over free travel and gifts from wealthy benefactors that were largely omitted from his financial disclosure forms. The group, the Judicial Conference, sent identical letters Thursday to Sen. …

ABC News reports: Bags of ready-to-eat broccoli florets sold in 20 states have been recalled over concerns they may be contaminated with listeria. Braga Fresh Foods has voluntarily recalled one lot of its 12-ounce bags of Marketside Broccoli Florets, according to a recall notice shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 31. Braga Fresh Foods, a California-based …

The Associated Press reports: Firework mortars and camp fuel canisters were found stuffed into the back of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel early Wednesday, killing a suspect inside the vehicle and sparking an intense investigation into possible terrorism. Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said authorities know who rented the truck with the Turo …

ABC News reports: Authorities investigating the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck on Wednesday outside the Trump Las Vegas hotel have expanded their search for evidence to Colorado, federal sources have confirmed to ABC News, as law enforcement agencies probe the incident as a possible act of terror. The FBI is conducting operations and searches in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in relation …

The Associated Press reports: Emergency crews arrived to a chaotic and gruesome scene in a Honolulu neighborhood after a large New Year’s firework tipped over after being lit and ignited a fiery, shrapnel-studded blast that killed three people and injured more than 20 others, several of them critically. Two women died at the scene and a third woman died at …

Las Vegas’s NBC affiliate reports: One person is dead after a Tesla Cybertruck burst into flames outside Trump International Hotel near the north end of the Las Vegas Strip Wednesday morning. A vehicle fire was first reported around 8:40 a.m. in the valet area of the hotel, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters. A Cybertruck pulled up to the …

People Magazine reports: Jocelyn Wildenstein has died at the age of 84. The Swiss socialite was known for both her extensive and extreme plastic surgeries and her high-profile 1999 divorce from a billionaire art dealer. Jocelyn’s partner, Lloyd Klein, told AFP that she died of a pulmonary embolism in a Parisian palace on Tuesday. Jocelyn was born Jocelyne Périsset in …

NBC News reports: Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday blasted what he called “illegitimate activity” aimed at undermining the independence of the judiciary. While facing criticism of contentious court rulings is part of the job for judges, some recent actions have crossed the line, Roberts said in his annual end-of-year report. He outlined four areas of concern: violence, intimidation, disinformation …

The New York Times reports: A Virginia man was arrested this month with what federal prosecutors described in court papers on Monday as the largest cache of “finished explosive devices” ever found in the F.B.I.’s history. The man, Brad Spafford, was taken into custody at a farm outside Norfolk on Dec. 17 on the basis of a single-count criminal complaint …

The New York Times reports: A sweeping blackout hit Puerto Rico early Tuesday morning, plunging nearly all of the island into darkness on New Year’s Eve. As of 10:20 a.m. Eastern, only 13 percent of Puerto Rico’s 1.4 million utility customers had power, according to the tracking page of Luma Energy, which supplies power to the U.S. territory. The company …

Politico Europe reports: Chancellor Olaf Scholz hit back at tech billionaire Elon Musk for attempting to influence the outcome of Germany’s snap election on Feb. 23 by endorsing the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD). “You, the citizens, decide what happens in Germany,” Scholz said in a New Year’s address to be broadcast Tuesday, according to a text circulated in …

The Associated Press reports: Almost 3 in 4 Americans plan to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home instead of going out, according to a new poll. The survey, published Tuesday by The Associated Press-NORC Research Center, revealed that 72 percent of those planning to ring in the New Year will do so from their own home. Another 21 percent said …

Via press release from the city of Sydney: The event features one of the world’s largest, most technologically advanced displays of fireworks, lighting and projections. Sydney New Year’s Eve plays live to more than 1 million spectators along the Sydney Harbour foreshore, and reaches a global audience of more than 425 million. For the first time ever, fireworks will dazzle …

NBC News reports: The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation after a private jet carrying the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team nearly crossed a runway as another flight was taking off Friday at Los Angeles International Airport. The plane operated by Key Lime Air was ordered by air traffic controllers to stop as a Delta aircraft took off. No …

Axios reports: A South Korean court approved an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk-Yeol on Tuesday morning local time, Yonhap News Agency first reported. The warrant related to Yoon’s brief martial law declaration this month that sparked widespread protests and shocked allies would mark the first time one has been issued for an incumbent president in South Korea, per …

The Associated Press reports: The world population increased by more than 71 million people in 2024 and will be 8.09 billion people on New Year’s Day, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Monday. The 0.9% increase in 2024 was a slight slowdown from 2023, when the world population grew by 75 million people. In January 2025, 4.2 births and …

Politico reports: The House Ethics Committee closed investigations into at least four members Monday for violating campaign finance rules. The investigations involved Reps. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Wesley Hunt (R-Tex.), Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.), Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) and “other confidential matters that have been under review.” The committee declined to disclose further details on those cases. In a statement, Jackson hailed the …