Famine in Gaza ‘around the corner,’ as people face ‘highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded,’ UN relief chief says (edition.cnn.com)
Kentucky governor backs longer list of conditions eligible for treatment under medical marijuana law (apnews.com)
Access to medical marijuana in Kentucky should expand to include a longer list of severe health conditions, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday in advocating a change that would make hundreds of thousands more people eligible for treatment when the program begins next year....
Neri Oxman, billionaire investor Bill Ackman’s wife, accused of plagiarism in MIT dissertation (www.nbcnews.com)
Ackman has been a vocal critic of Harvard’s recently resigned president, Claudine Gay, over allegations of plagiarism and her handling of antisemitism on campus.
European Supermarket Giant Drops Pepsi and Lay’s Over Price Increases (www.wsj.com)
‘Speed Racer’ Actor Christian Oliver and His Two Young Daughters Killed in Caribbean Plane Crash (variety.com)
Nude man nabbed by police after 'cannonball' plunge into giant aquarium at Bass Pro Shop in Alabama (apnews.com)
The ordeal happened Thursday night in front of shocked shoppers in the town just outside Birmingham, Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin said....
Sudanese women describe being gang-raped in attacks by Arab forces (www.reuters.com)
Rape is widespread amid the war in Sudan. Young women from the ethnic-African Masalit tribe say they were sexually assaulted at gunpoint by RSF paramilitary and Arab militia forces during attacks on the city of El Geneina in West Darfur.
Three years after the January 6 attack, propaganda about the insurrection is poisoning the American public (www.cnn.com)
The U.S. will mark the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection on Saturday, a milestone that will confer upon the reality-dwelling citizenry a grim reminder of the potency of propaganda and how quickly it can warp perception when introduced into the public square....
US supreme court allows Idaho’s strict abortion ban to stand pending hearing (www.theguardian.com)
Biden administration had argued hospitals receiving Medicare funds are required to provide emergency care, including abortion...
Vatican stands by approval of blessing same-sex couples despite criticism (www.thepinknews.com)
Unpacking the US December jobs report's mixed signals (www.axios.com)
It took decades, but San Francisco finally installs nets to stop suicides off Golden Gate Bridge (apnews.com)
Kevin Hines regretted jumping off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge the moment his hands released the rail and he plunged the equivalent of 25 stories into the Pacific Ocean, breaking his back....
Supreme Court agrees to weigh whether Trump can be kicked off ballot in Colorado (www.nbcnews.com)
The justices will review a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court that said Trump could be barred from the Republican primary ballot in that state, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruling is likely to have national repercussions, potentially setting guidelines that would determine how every other state would handle the issue....
African elephant populations stabilise in southern heartlands (www.theguardian.com)
Baltimore celebrates historic 20% drop in homicides even as gun violence remains high (apnews.com)
Long plagued by rampant gun violence, Baltimore recorded less than 300 homicides last year for the first time in nearly a decade, ending a surge that began in 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray, which sparked civil unrest and prompted widespread calls for police reform....
Italy divided over new pineapple pizza (edition.cnn.com)
The US just capped off another banner year of job growth. Now it’s at a turning point (www.cnn.com)
Friday’s jobs report marked a fitting end to what was an odds-defying year....
Israel tries to appease US with proposals for Gaza as Blinken heads to Middle East (www.theguardian.com)
Israeli officials are scrambling to head off mounting frustration in Washington in the run-up a potentially difficult meeting between the top US diplomat and Benjamin Netanyahu by offering a series of policy proposals on Gaza that critics say lack detail or commitment....
Third batch of Jeffrey Epstein documents unsealed (www.theguardian.com)
A new batch of documents related to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse were released on Friday afternoon....
LaPierre to step down as National Rifle Association leader (www.reuters.com)
Wayne LaPierre, the longtime leader of the National Rifle Association, announced his resignation as chief executive on Friday, days before a corruption trial involving the gun rights group begins in a Manhattan courtroom....
In southern Mexico, the cost for migrants to reach the US is increasingly death (www.elpasotimes.com)
Migrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border, including thousands of migrant deaths in the Arizona desert, have long drawn alarm. Recent federal data shows record numbers of migrant deaths in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s El Paso Sector, which includes New Mexico and far west Texas. In March, 40 migrants died and several...
U.S. Moves Closer to Filing Sweeping Antitrust Case Against Apple (www.nytimes.com)
Florida abortion rights measure gets enough signatures to go before voters (www.reuters.com)
A state constitutional amendment that would protect abortion access in Florida has received enough signatures of support to appear on ballots in the November election, but a challenge by the state’s attorney general could still block it....