News

NBC News reports: Two people were found dead in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane in Florida during routine post-flight inspections on Monday, the company has said. “Tragically, both individuals were deceased. At this time, the identities of the individuals and the circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation,” the company said in a statement …

The Washington Post reports: The widespread use of pharmaceuticals in America is introducing even more toxic “forever chemicals” into the environment through wastewater, according to a study released Monday, and large municipal wastewater treatment plants are not capable of fully filtering them out. The plants’ inability to remove compounds known as organofluorines from wastewater before it enters drinking water supplies …

The New York Times reports: A joint session of Congress is set to convene on Monday afternoon to certify President-elect Donald J. Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, a basic ritual of democracy that was brutally disrupted four years ago by a violent pro-Trump mob inflamed by his lie about a stolen election. There is no hint of a similar …

The Washington Post reports: The Vatican named one of the United States’ leading liberal Catholic prelates Monday to run the prominent D.C.-area archdiocese, sending to the nation’s capital, as a second Trump administration begins, a cleric known for a pastoral approach to migrants and for the “radical inclusion” of the LGBTQ+ community. San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy, who for a …

Politico Europe reports: Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Monday he found it “worrying” that a billionaire social media owner like Elon Musk is inserting himself into the politics of other countries. Musk has been on a social media rampage over the holidays, endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, repeatedly denouncing the U.K.’s Labour Prime Minister Keir …

The New York Times reports: The far-right Freedom Party of Austria gained a realistic chance this weekend of leading the country’s next government, after talks between three mainstream parties collapsed. The Freedom Party’s ascent would put its firebrand leader, Herbert Kickl, into the position of chancellor and signal a new high-water mark for the rise of the far right in …

ABC News reports: As a deep winter chill begins to take over the northern half of the country, a new major winter storm will move across the U.S. this weekend into early next week. Around 47 million Americans across 14 states were under winter weather alerts as of early Saturday morning, with many expecting the storm to be sustained into …

The Hill reports: Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede announced a desire to obtain independence from Denmark in the wake of President-elect Trump’s comments about buying the island territory. “The Greenlandic people’s opportunity for independence has been adopted through the provisions of the Self-Government Act, thereby creating a legal basis for how independence can be achieved,” Egede said in a Wednesday …

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 …