California’s budget deficit swells to record $68B as tax revenue falls (www.politico.com)
The shortfall threatens to force the state’s deepest spending cuts in a decade....
Large part of U.S. Osprey that crashed in Japan reportedly found with 5 more crew members' bodies inside (www.cbsnews.com)
One of the three Palestinian-American students shot in Vermont is paralyzed (www.theguardian.com)
Twenty-year-old Hisham Awartani paralyzed from the chest down after a bullet lodged in his spine, his family say...
Georgia Man Who Threw Hot Grease at Popeyes Employee Sentenced to Prison (toofab.com)
Russia Supreme Court Bans “LGBT Movement” as “Extremist” (www.hrw.org)
Thousands of fake Facebook accounts shut down by Meta were primed to polarize voters ahead of 2024 (apnews.com)
Massachusetts becomes fifth state in nation to make prison calls free (www.wgbh.org)
Pentagon official overseeing federal schools arrested in Georgia human-trafficking sting (nypost.com)
Boy held by Hamas ‘forced to watch videos of 7 October attacks’ (www.theguardian.com)
“Every time a child cried, they would threaten him with a weapon to shut him up.”...
Tensions are bubbling up at thirsty Arizona alfalfa farms as foreign firms exploit unregulated water (apnews.com)
A blanket of bright green alfalfa spreads across western Arizona’s McMullen Valley, ringed by rolling mountains and warmed by the hot desert sun....
In the battle over books, who gets to decide what's age-appropriate at libraries? (www.npr.org)
There are efforts to change how decisions are made about which books libraries should stock and which section they belong in. Some advocate using a national rating system like the one used for movies.
Trump tells appeals court that threats to judge and clerk in NY civil fraud trial do not justify gag order (www.cnn.com)
Donald Trump urged a New York appeals court to continue to pause the gag order against him in his civil fraud trial, saying that threats to the judge and his law clerk do not “justify” limiting the former president’s constitutional right to defend himself....
Israel says Hamas ceasefire violated after 15 minutes (www.newsweek.com)
Friday’s pause in the fighting comes after several weeks of tough negotiations between Israel, Hamas, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar. It is the first significant break in combat since the Hamas infiltration attack into southern Israel on October 7, which killed some 1,200 people and saw around 240 taken back into the Gaza Strip as...
Scores of Palestinians and Israelis freed from captivity on first day of Gaza truce (www.npr.org)
After nearly seven weeks in captivity, 24 hostages seized by Hamas in its deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel are now free after crossing into Egypt. In exchange, Israel released 39 Palestinians hours later at the city of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Geert Wilders’ victory confirms upward trajectory of far right in Europe (www.theguardian.com)
A chemical train derailed in Kentucky. As residents return home, questions remain (www.independent.co.uk)
After spending Thanksgiving camped out in a school hall, evacuated Livingston residents are now going home. But the cause of the train derailment remains a mystery. Amelia Neath reports...
More than 1 million gallons of oil leaks into Gulf of Mexico, potentially putting endangered species at risk (www.cbsnews.com)
The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that an estimated 1.1 million gallons of crude oil has leaked into the Gulf of Mexico near a pipeline off the coast of Louisiana. Officials are concerned about the oil’s potential impact on endangered and threatened species....
Amazon warns workers who don’t return to the office will have a harder time getting promoted (www.cnn.com)
Amazon is once again doubling down on its return-to-office mandate, warning staff that not complying could impact their chances of being promoted....
UnitedHealth uses AI model with 90% error rate to deny care, lawsuit alleges (arstechnica.com)
For the largest health insurer in the US, AI's error rate is like a feature, not a bug.
Mysterious screams on B.C. island turn out to be from a 'sad' goat, RCMP say (bc.ctvnews.ca)
The sound of screams off a ravine prompted a police response on Quadra Island last month, and Mounties say the unusual call didn't involve a person in distress, but rather a 'sad' goat.
Dog survives 10 weeks in Colorado mountains beside dead owner (www.bbc.com)
Autistic People Both Express and Interpret Emotions Differently (researchinenglish.com)
Israel orders residents from southern Gaza towns, raising fear of war's spread (www.reuters.com)
In the north of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave, Israel said its forces were still present at Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al Shifa, but gave no further details of their operations since the previous day when they entered the facility culminating a days-long siege....
Salman Rushdie makes rare appearance for ‘Lifetime Disturbing the Peace Award’ (www.independent.co.uk)
‘I don’t feel at all mysterious. But it made life a little simple,’ Rushdie says about his mystery appearance
Texas Republicans Target Climate Science in Textbooks Ahead of Education Board Vote - Inside Climate News (insideclimatenews.org)
Just a week after Texas voters approved billions of dollars to build new gas-fired power plants, the state’s education board will decide if it wants schools using science textbooks that acknowledge that burning fossil fuels warms the planet. The Texas Board of Education could vote as early as next Tuesday on whether it will...
