Elon Musk's X gets another valuation cut from Fidelity (www.axios.com)
Fidelity has again marked down the value of its shares in X Holdings, which the mutual fund giant helped Elon Musk buy for $44 billion when the company was known as Twitter....
Respiratory virus activity is high and rising across the United States, CDC data shows (www.cnn.com)
As seasonal virus activity surges across the United States, experts stress the importance of preventive measures – such as masking and vaccination – and the value of treatment for those who do get sick....
Plane detained in France sheds light on Nicaragua’s role in US migrant crisis (www.theguardian.com)
Flight contained 303 Indians en route to Central American country whose light visa requirements have attracted US-bound travelers...
Judge orders Starbucks to rehire, give backpay to fired Colorado union leader (www.cbsnews.com)
Alendra ‘Len’ Harris says she feels validated by the judge’s ruling, which she says also backs up the hundreds of similar allegations from other Starbucks workers around the country who have unionized in an effort to get better pay and working conditions.
Half of Gazans Are at Risk of Starving, U.N. Warns (www.nytimes.com)
Israel’s war in Gaza has created a humanitarian catastrophe, with half of the population of about 2.2 million at risk of starvation and 90 percent saying that they regularly go without food for a whole day, the United Nations said in a recent report....
Blue-collar workers won big in 2023, defying bleak predictions (www.washingtonpost.com)
A year that started out with bleak prospects, including a widely predicted recession, shaped up to be a boon for the average American worker — and one of the most triumphant for organized labor in a generation....
Migrants taking trains from New Jersey to NYC after bus arrivals restricted: officials (thehill.com)
After New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) restricted bus arrivals last week in an effort to curb a surge of migrants, bus operators appear to have found a loophole by dropping migrants off at a New Jersey train station from which they can continue on into the city....
John Roberts weighs in on AI, ignores looming Trump cases (www.politico.com)
Chief Justice John Roberts devoted his year-end report on the federal courts to a rumination about the perils and promise of artificial intelligence, skirting entirely the ethics controversies that bedeviled the Supreme Court over the past year and the momentous role the court is set to play in the 2024 presidential election....
Clarence Thomas must recuse himself from ruling on Trump’s 2024 eligibility, Raskin says (www.theguardian.com)
Supreme court justice Clarence Thomas must recuse himself from ruling on Donald Trump’s eligibility for the 2024 presidential election, a prominent Democrat said Sunday, warning that the leading Republican candidate is seeking to become a “political martyr” as he pursues a second presidency....
U.S. oil production has hit a record under Biden, but he seldom mentions it. (www.washingtonpost.com)
DOJ threatens to sue Texas over new immigration law; border cities again see migrant encampments (elpasomatters.org)
In the latest showdown over immigration law, the U.S. Department of Justice has threatened to sue the state of Texas if it doesn’t retract a new law that would allow state and local police to arrest migrants who enter the country illegally....
New Florida law requires city officials to disclose net worth; some are resigning instead (www.usatoday.com)
Two Daytona Beach Shores city commissioners have resigned as the latest in a wave of local elected officials leaving before Jan. 1, when they face more stringent financial disclosure requirements....
At These Schools, Arab and Jewish Students Share Their Feelings, With Each Other (www.nytimes.com)
In a classroom decorated with Hebrew and Arabic letters, a group of third graders — their eyes closed, their hands placed facing up on their laps — took a deep breath in unison....
Asian American officials cite unfair scrutiny and lost jobs in China spy tensions (www.nytimes.com)
When Thomas Wong set foot in the United States Embassy in Beijing this summer for a new diplomatic posting, it was vindication after years of battling the State Department over a perceived intelligence threat — himself....
Muhammad Yunus: Nobel Peace Prize winner sentenced to 6 months in jail (apnews.com)
Texas plane, 300 migrants land in Rockford; 8 buses in route to Chicago drop off migrants in suburbs (abc7chicago.com)
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WLS) – Eight migrant buses were in route to Chicago Sunday morning after a plane from Texas carrying over 300 asylum seekers landed in Rockford overnight....
[US] Texas AG Threatens Seattle Hospital With Jail Unless It Provides Trans Patient Data (www.erininthemorning.com)
Excerpts:...
China’s many systemic problems dominate its outlook for 2024 (www.theguardian.com)
Japan’s example 30 years ago shows islands of excellence can combine with deep structural imbalances...
The Empire State rings in the new year with a pay bump for minimum-wage workers (apnews.com)
New York’s minimum-wage workers had more than just the new year to celebrate Monday, with a pay bump kicking in as the clock ticked over to 2024....
Who Investigates the Sheriff? In Mississippi, Often No One. (mississippitoday.org)
The state ignored or was unaware of allegations of jailhouse rape, brutal beatings and corrupt acts by sheriffs and their deputies, even when there was ample evidence to examine....
350 more migrants head to Chicago after Texas sends plane to Rockford (www.cbsnews.com)
A plane carrying 350 migrants from Texas landed in Rockford early Sunday, and the asylum seekers were then sent to Chicago....
Up to 10 hospital patients in Oregon died from tap water injections instead of fentanyl: report (www.businessinsider.com)
Inside sources within Asante have since disclosed details surrounding the reported deaths, per NBC5 News. It is alleged that up to 10 patients died of infections contracted at the hospital....
Queen Margrethe II: Danish monarch announces abdication live on TV (www.bbc.com)
Special counsel Jack Smith hits back at Trump’s immunity claims (www.independent.co.uk)
The filing came in the federal election subversion case ahead of 9 January oral arguments...
December migrant surge at Southern border largest in more than two decades as mayors call for action (www.cnn.com)
A new surge of migrants at the US-Mexico border is overwhelming already-stretched resources and prompting urgent talks with Mexican officials as December border crossings reached a record monthly high....
