US verges on vaccination tipping point, faces thousands of needless deaths as more people decline vaccinations: FDA (arstechnica.com)
Feds charge eBay over employees who sent live spiders and cockroaches to couple; company to pay $3M (abcnews.go.com)
The Steiners, the newsletter’s publisher and editor, have also sued the e-commerce giant in federal court, describing how cyberstalking and upsetting deliveries of anonymously sent packages upended their lives....
Rental giant Hertz dumps EVs, including Teslas, for gas cars (www.reuters.com)
Rental firm Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ.O) said on Thursday it would sell about 20,000 electric vehicles, including Teslas, from its U.S. fleet due to higher expenses related to collision and damage, and will opt for gas-powered vehicles....
Israel lashes back at ICJ genocide case; Gazans return to wasteland (www.reuters.com)
Israel faced down accusations at the World Court on Thursday of genocide in its war in Gaza, as the first residents returned to scenes of total devastation in the north of the enclave where Israeli forces have begun withdrawing this week....
Biden awards $623M to states, local governments and tribes to build EV charging network (apnews.com)
The Biden administration is awarding $623 million in grants to help build an electric vehicle charging network across the nation....
‘Astounding’ ocean temperatures in 2023 intensified extreme weather, data shows (www.theguardian.com)
Record levels of heat were absorbed last year by Earth’s seas, which have been warming year-on-year for the past decade...
Israeli Group Claims It’s Using Big Tech Back Channels to Censor “Inflammatory” Wartime Content (theintercept.com)
Groupon to Sponsor STEM Training for Black Students Following EEOC Inquiry (hrmjunkies.com)
Threats against Jews, Muslims and Arabs continue on social media: DHS bulletin (abcnews.go.com)
ABC News has obtained the latest DHS tracking data....
What we know about 'Fito', Ecuador's notorious gang leader who escaped jail (www.france24.com)
FBI arrests Florida man accused of threatening ‘mass casualty event’ (www.cnn.com)
A Florida man accused of posting online threats to carry out mass violence has been arrested and charged with making an interstate threat and a weapon violation, federal court records show....
Federal lawsuit against Florida school district that banned books can move forward, judge rules (apnews.com)
A lawsuit can move forward against a Florida Panhandle school district over its removal of books about race and LGBTQ+ identities from library shelves, a federal judge ruled Wednesday....
Judge in Trump’s civil fraud trial faces bomb threat ahead of closing arguments (www.nbcnews.com)
Nassau County police on Thursday have responded to a bomb threat at the home of Judge Arthur Engoron, the judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud case, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told NBC News....
NYC issues vacate orders to stabilize synagogue and nearby buildings following discovery of 60-foot tunnel (www.nbcnews.com)
An investigation by the city’s Department of Buildings uncovered a tunnel that was 60-foot-long, 8-foot-wide and 5-foot-high located underneath the global headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, an important Jewish site....
Neo-Nazis in the US no longer see backing Ukraine as a worthy cause (www.theguardian.com)
Like mainstream Republicans blocking military aid, American rightwing extremists are disavowing a war they once admired
DOJ praised Albuquerque police reform gains as 'bad shooting' hangs over hearing (www.abqjournal.com)
Archived at web.archive.org/…/article_f02d3814-ac3f-11ee-bb47…
Guards Beat and Waterboarded Prisoners in New York, Lawsuits Say (www.nytimes.com)
Archived at web.archive.org/…/new-york-prisoners-waterboardin…
2023 saw record killings by US police. Who is most affected? (www.theguardian.com)
In 2023, Black people were killed at a rate 2.6 times higher than white people, Mapping Police Violence found. Last year, 290 people killed by police were Black, making up 23.5% of victims, while Black Americans make up roughly 14% of the total population. Native Americans were killed at a rate 2.2 times greater than white...
Engine maker Cummins to repair 600,000 Ram trucks in $2 billion emissions cheating scandal (apnews.com)
Engine maker Cummins Inc. will recall 600,000 Ram trucks as part of a settlement with federal and California authorities that also requires the company to remedy environmental damage caused by illegal software that let it skirt diesel emissions tests....
$100M will be left for Native Hawaiian causes from the estate of an heiress considered last princess (apnews.com)
In life, Abigail Kawānanakoa embodied the complexities of Hawaii: Many considered her a princess — a descendant of the royal family that once ruled the islands....
Substack removes multiple newsletters including pro-Nazi content amid growing pressure (www.cnn.com)
Although the platform has explicit guidelines banning content that incites violence, a November article in The Atlantic pointed out at least 16 different newsletters with Nazi symbols, as well as many more supporting far-right extremism, leading to calls for change from many Substack authors and a refusal from leadership.
Many Republicans seek a largely unconstrained president: Reuters/Ipsos poll (www.reuters.com)
The week-long poll, which closed on Tuesday, found Trump’s Republican Party appears divided on where to draw the limits on presidential power that help define American democracy....
Pasadena officer died by suicide hours after learning he's under investigation, police say (abc13.com)
ABC13 learned a veteran Pasadena police officer, who took his own life in a church parking lot, found out he was under investigation for invasive visual recording that same morning....
X Corp. has slashed 30% of trust and safety staff, an Australian online safety watchdog says (abcnews.go.com)
X Corp., the owner of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has slashed its global trust and safety staff by 30% including an 80% reduction in the number of safety engineers since billionaire Elon Musk took over in 2022, Australia’s online safety watchdog said on Thursday....
Philadelphia measles outbreak has hospitals on alert after child was sent to day care despite quarantine instructions (www.nbcnews.com)
At least eight people have been diagnosed with measles in an outbreak that started last month in the Philadelphia area. The most recent two cases were confirmed on Monday....
