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Joe Biden left in a bind as Israel tells US it needs months' to defeat Hamas. Plus, Ukraine stung after Hungary's Viktor Orban blocks EU war fundingGood morning.Israeli tanks and planes on Friday intensified their bombardment of northern Gaza as well as Khan Younis and Rafah in the territory's south - with four people including two children killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Khan Younis early on Friday, Palestinian health officials said.What is the humanitarian death toll of Israel's offensive so far? At least 18,787 Palestinians have been killed and 50,897 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said on Thursday. The strikes followed Hamas's attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, with more than 200 others taken hostage.What do Israelis think of Netanyahu's actions? A poll of Israelis revealed widespread dissatisfaction with Netanyahu's handling of US-Israel relations during the war. About 43% disapproved of Netanyahu's treatment of Biden with 36% supporting, according to a Maariv/Jerusalem Post poll conducted this week.How are diplomatic efforts playing out? France's foreign minister will travel to Lebanon on Saturday as part of diplomatic efforts by Emmanuel Macron's government to help contain the Middle East conflict. Fears of a widening war have been growing, with Iran-backed groups targeting US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria, and daily exchanges of fire along Israel's border with Lebanon.What is Adnoc is planning to invest? $150bn over seven years in oil and gas, which Al Jaber said would maintain current production levels rather than increase output. He said Adnoc was forgoing much of its potential extraction.What was the significance of the Cop deal? It marked the first time in 30 years of climate talks that a global resolution had been made addressing the future of all fossil fuels.What have critics of the Cop deal said? Indigenous people, frontline communities and climate justice groups rebuked the deal as unfair, inequitable and business as usual. Continue reading...

So much of the festive season is built around children. Amid the celebrations, it's OK to give yourself space to grieveHave you seen those baubles - Baby's First Christmas? If my first pregnancy hadn't ended in miscarriage, last year would have seen our tree adorned with those, but instead it marked yet another year filled with loss." Sophie Flynn is telling me about navigating the festive season when you desperately want to be a parent. So much of Christmas is framed around children that it can feel like an emotional obstacle course for those who have experienced baby loss, miscarriage, or biological or social infertility. Everywhere you turn, there are reminders of what others have.Christmas becomes something you count as another year that didn't turn out as you hoped," she says. Add into it the messaging that it's all for the kids, as if your celebrations are frivolous without them, and the season can become something to endure." It's all very well having a happily childfree, adult Christmas of oysters and champagne and movie marathons and naps, but when your childless status is a source of pain, it's a different matter altogether.Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

As a teen, I dreaded the annual update on my gawky progress. But the letters have become a glorious archive of the mundaneThe round robin is very, very dead. Even Debrett's thinks they're tedious and unnecessary, and keeping tedious and unnecessary stuff going is Debrett's whole thing. The idea of an end-of-year roundup shoved into a Christmas card has been dead for so long that even the whole tranche of comedy built on mimicking the smuggest, most thunderingly boring retellings of the year's exploits - incredible trips abroad, professional triumphs, angelic and gifted children - is gone too.The reasons are fairly obvious. If I want to know what your kids are up to and where you went on holiday, Instagram will tell me. If I want your take on the state of the nation, I'll check which James O'Brien clips you've retweeted. If I ever want to know how your career's going, I'll snoop on your LinkedIn. And generally, I don't want any of these things anyway.Tom Nicholson is a freelance writer Continue reading...

After surviving a battle with the Super Bowl champions to keep their season alive, the Bills need to keep stacking wins starting with Sunday's showdown with the surging CowboysAs the regular season draws to a close, we'll take a look each Friday at a game likely to affect the playoff race, along with the teams whose fortunes are rising and falling. And, so we don't neglect the also-rans, we'll see which teams are in the hunt for next year's No 1 pick. Continue reading...

This latest horrific crime shatters any illusions we may still have about when, where and how such things can happenIt was broad daylight, and there were other people in the tube carriage. She should have been safe.She'd fallen asleep, missed her stop, and ended up at the end of the Piccadilly line. But still, on a weekend morning in a bustling city, she should have been safe. And yet, hauntingly, she wasn't.Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnistInformation and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.htmlDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which includes sweeping legislation covering a wide range of military priorities including Aukus passed the US House of Representatives, a day after it cleared the Senate. The acquisition of at least three such submarines from the US is an interim step before Australian-built nuclear-powered submarines start to enter into service in the 2040s

Electric aviation and renewable energy among shifts needed for the Pacific to build a more sustainable tourist industry

Sydney Moore says her son was in a bassinet that flew skyward after the twister ripped the roof off their homeA 4-month-old boy has survived after a tornado in Tennessee sucked him up from his family's mobile home, which was demolished in the storm.Sydney Moore told WSMV-TV that when the tornado hit their home in Clarksville on Saturday, it ripped off the roof and lifted the bassinet with her son inside. Her boyfriend, the child's father, tried to grab the bassinet but was spun up into the twister as well, Moore said. Continue reading...

Teacher arrested after allegedly saying he would cut' student's head off' after she told him she was offended by his Israeli flagA school teacher in the US state of Georgia was arrested after allegedly threatening to behead a student who expressed taking offense over his Israeli flag, according to authorities.Benjamin Reese's arrest at the middle school named after the town of Warner Robins occurred on after a student approached and told him she was offended by the Israeli flag hanging in his classroom, the local news station WMAZ reported, citing a police account of the case. Continue reading...

Mississippi judge also orders child to write a book report on Kobe Bryant after officers arrested him for urinating in a parking lotA 10-year-old Black child who urinated in a parking lot must serve three months' probation and write a two-page book report on the late NBA star Kobe Bryant, a Mississippi judge has ordered.Tate county youth court judge Rusty Harlow handed down the sentence Tuesday after the child's lawyer reached an agreement with a special prosecutor. The prosecution threatened to upgrade the charge of child in need of supervision" to a more serious charge of disorderly conduct if the boy's family took the case to trial, said Carlos Moore, the child's attorney. Continue reading...

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Satanic clubs, whose members do not worship the devil, usually formed in response to presence of religious groups in schoolsCommunity members in a Tennessee school district want to banish Satan from their children's halls after the formation of a new club was announced.The After School Satan Club (ASSC) wants to establish a branch in Chimneyrock elementary school in the Memphis-Shelby county schools (MSCS) district. Continue reading...

Federal Reserve indicated borrowing costs would be lower next year as inflation falls faster than expectedWall Street scaled a fresh all-time high on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signaled that it would cut borrowing costs next year.The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record level for the second consecutive session as investors looked to the end of the Fed's aggressive campaign against inflation. Continue reading...

Order prohibits agencies and public colleges and universities from using state funds, property or resources towards DEI initiativesOn Wednesday Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma's governor, signed an executive order in effect banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at agencies and public colleges and universities across the state.The order prohibits them from using state funds, property or resources towards DEI initiatives and orders them to dismiss non-critical personnel". It is effective immediately, but institutions are expected to comply no later than 31 May 2024. Continue reading...

Attorney for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss asks jury to award them each at least $24m in damages to repair their reputation

Giovanni Hernandez and Miguel Solorio had their convictions vacated this year and now a judge found them factually innocentTwo men who spent decades in prison for crimes they did not commit have been exonerated and freed, the Los Angeles county district attorney announced on Wednesday.Giovanni Hernandez and Miguel Solorio had their convictions vacated earlier this year and on Wednesday a judge found them factually innocent, the district attorney's office said. Continue reading...

Autonomous vehicle unit cuts about a quarter of its workforce as it moves to reduce costs and remake itself after accidentGeneral Motors' troubled Cruise autonomous vehicle unit is cutting over 900 jobs, about a quarter of its workforce, as it moves to reduce costs and remake itself after a grisly accident in San Francisco and subsequent regulatory scrutiny. Early last month, the company recalled all its robotaxis, which it had been testing on roads in California, and regulators accused Cruise of hiding the severity of the incident.The subsidiary announced the cuts on Thursday in a letter to Cruise's 3,800 workers from its president and chief technical officer, Mo ElShenawy, who wrote that the layoffs were not the fault of the workers. The job cuts come a day after Cruise confirmed that nine key leaders are no longer with the company amid an ongoing investigation into an October crash involving one of its driverless robotaxis that forced it to suspend operations. Continue reading...

Those who follow the royals were unsurprised, and those who don't were entertained. But I'm not sure it moved the dialAfter seven years, six seasons, 60 episodes and enough airtime to last you continuously from now to next Sunday, Netflix's mammoth, popular and sort-of acclaimed series The Crown ends with the release of the last four episodes today.That takes the saga up to 2005, so the reign of Queen Elizabeth II still had another 17 years to run, but writer Peter Morgan and the series' makers have decided enough is enough. Discretion has shrouded the final years, though they do give Her 80-year-old Maj, played by Imelda Staunton, intimations of mortality, and even visitations by her younger self in the shape of Claire Foy, the young queen in seasons one and two, and Olivia Colman's mother of the nation from seasons three and four. Continue reading...

Bull was first spotted on train tracks and eventually corralled inside a fenced lot near Newark Liberty international airportLate morning rail commuters going from New Jersey to New York City experienced a wild transit delay on Thursday: a bull was loose on the train tracks.First reports of the bull came around 10.30am local time at Newark Penn Station, when the bull was seen walking on the tracks through the station. Continue reading...

For three years central banks in the US and Europe have been struggling to rein in price growth unseen in a generationFor the last three years, the US and Europe have struggled with a specter unseen for a generation - inflation. Now it looks like the phantom may finally be fading.This week the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and the Bank of England all held interest rates steady and cautiously signaled that the fight to tamp down soaring prices may be coming to an end. Continue reading...

Chinese-owned e-commerce firm reignites acrimonious legal battle and alleges Shein bullied and intimidated' suppliersThe Chinese-owned online marketplace Temu has sued its rival Shein, alleging that the fast fashion giant bullied, intimidated, and even detained" suppliers in China as part of a campaign of mafia-style intimidation".Reigniting an acrimonious legal battle, Temu accused Shein of trying to illegally interfere" with its business and going so far as to confiscate merchants' cellphones during meetings to obtain access to confidential information. Continue reading...

Maduro's annexation threat is only the latest move on a chessboard stretching back to the 15th century. The outcome could reverberate throughout Latin America and the CaribbeanIt is a precipitous moment for Venezuela and Guyana this week as they meet to address the longstanding dispute over the Essequibo region. Leaders from both nations have said they will come to the table with the Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the St Vincent and Grenadines prime minister Ralph Gonsalves, and the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres.In recent weeks, the two have seemed to be drawing closer to conflict. Venezuela has threatened to annex the densely forested Essequibo region, which constitutes two-thirds of Guyana's territory, after holding a referendum to seek support. While the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro's pseudo-referendum further exposed his disregard for international law, both countries are reenacting what was a colonial conflict between the British and the Spanish. Continue reading...

Trial tentatively set for next week, amid surge in antisemitic episodes across the US following Hamas's October attacks in IsraelA 13-year-old boy was arrested after plotting to carry out a mass shooting at a Canton, Ohio, synagogue, and posting detailed plans of the attack on social media, according to authorities.The boy faces misdemeanor charges of inducing panic and disorderly conduct in connection with the scheme aimed at Temple Israel. His family court trial is tentatively scheduled to start on 20 December, the Canton Repository newspaper reported. Continue reading...

Ryan says ex-president not a conservative' and praises Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for opposing TrumpDonald Trump is not a conservative", the former Republican House speaker Paul Ryan said, but a populist, authoritarian narcissist".The former vice-presidential pick, who led the House majority for two years when Trump was president, also praised the Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for opposing Trump to the cost of their congressional careers. Continue reading...

HB 68 bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care to trans children and blocks trans girls from playing on girls' sports teamsThe Ohio legislature has given its final approval to a bill that would impose substantial new restrictions on the lives of trans children.The bill, HB 68, prohibits doctors from providing gender-affirming care to trans youths. It also blocks transgender female student athletes from participating in girls' sports. Continue reading...

Mike McCarthy has long been cast as bozo and a child of privilege. But the Dallas coach has the Cowboys on course for their first Super Bowl appearance in nearly three decadesGather the animals two-by-two, because it's really, actually happening: The Dallas Cowboys have their best shot at winning a Super Bowl since Dez Caught It.The team's dismantling of the Eagles last week leaves them in a tier of two in the NFC: it's the Cowboys, Niners and then a drop to the Eagles and Lions. If Dallas can secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, they should enter the postseason as the favorites to come out of the NFC, despite their thorny record v the Niners.Buffalo Bills: 14.9%, 28thKansas City Chiefs: 14.9%, 27thPhiladelphia Eagles: 13.9%, 23rdMiami Dolphins: 13.7%, 22ndBaltimore Ravens: 10%, 14thSan Francisco 49ers: 8.5%, 6thDallas Cowboys: 7.6%, 3rd Continue reading...

The Fox News host's direct-to-streaming crusade, Jingle Smells, features a canceled action star and triggered youthSean Hannity has been on the front line of a forever war - on Christmas - for years. Every December, the Fox News host eagerly covers what he considers a holiday under siege" by the ruling class, which aims to cancel the beloved holiday and its time-honored traditions.Now, Hannity's yuletide crusade is getting the direct-to-streaming treatment with Jingle Smells, a so-called anti-woke" Christmas movie produced by Hannity and streaming on Rumble, the company providing a platform for Russell Brand and Matt Gaetz. Continue reading...

Court spokesperson said man set fire to papers and was later arrested, hours after conclusion of testimony in Trump caseA man deliberately started a fire at the New York state supreme court building where Donald Trump's civil trial is currently being heard, resulting in minor injuries for 17 people, according to FDNY officials.A court spokesperson said the man set fire to court papers at about 4:15pm on the fourth floor of the building, located at 60 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan, then he used a fire extinguisher to douse it. Continue reading...

I've been accused of being a soyboy' and in the pay of Big Lettuce' by one of the most destructive industries on EarthEverything that makes campaigning against fossil fuels difficult is 10 times harder when it comes to opposing livestock farming. Here you will find a similar suite of science denial, misinformation and greenwashing. But in this case, it's accompanied by a toxic combination of identity politics, nostalgia, machismo and the demonisation of alternatives. If you engage with this issue, you don't just need a thick skin; you need the skin of a glyptodon.You will be vilified daily as a soyboy", a hater of farmers" and a dictator who would force everyone to eat insects. You will be charged with undermining western civilisation, destroying its masculinity and threatening its health. You will be denounced as an enemy of Indigenous people, though generally not by Indigenous people themselves, for many of whom livestock farming is and has long been by far the greatest cause of land-grabbing, displacement and the destruction of their homes.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The final round of Champions League group games are in the books. We run through the standouts, surprises and disappointments, grading all 32 teamsEditor's note: these grades are for teams' performances in this week's round of matches rather than their chances of winning the competition as a whole. Continue reading...

With Galactic Boosters, McPops and Churro Frappes, the fast food giant's pilot focuses on customizable drinks and snacksMcDonald's fast-food universe expanded a little last week to take in CosMc's, a drive-thru-only pilot project focused on customizable drinks and snacks. After trying the intergalactically-themed restaurant's drinks and snacks I can confirm CosMc's is indeed reminiscent of space - lonely, gray, and being actively colonized by corporations.According to the fast food giant: CosMc's seamlessly blends brand-new, otherworldly beverage creations with a small lineup of food ... all designed to boost your mood into the stratosphere, if only for a few moments." Continue reading...

House Republicans rally behind inquiry despite failure to find evidence, while Democrats stand united in opposition. Plus, UN agency says conditions in Gaza now hell on earth'

Even cardinals can get distracted in the closing stages of a close football match ...I'm often oblivious to what is going on in front of me, but there are certain situations in which I miss nothing, such as when I'm giving any kind of speech. If but one person in the audience yawns, or in any way suggests they're not paying attention, I see it. And it's a dagger to my heart. This is why I always found presenting to millions on live television a lot easier than addressing even just a couple of dozen people in the flesh. Why, this very evening I am to give a speech to a gathering of dentists in Chislehurst, south-east London. Don't ask. Just be assured, I am terrified. And I'll be watching them like hawks.A couple of Sundays ago I was addressing 500 Christians, and I'm delighted to say that they seemed to stay with me throughout. Well, 499 of them did. One didn't. The offender was a gentleman in his 70s in the front row. This was an event celebrating the connection between football and Christianity, so the shirt was acceptable. What I couldn't quite accept was that this chap never took his eyes off his phone, anxiously scrolling and refreshing for all he was worth. But distracting as his distraction was for me, I had to keep my annoyance in check because the gentleman in question was a cardinal.Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The messages of Andrew Tate and his ilk are as old as the patriarchy: female autonomy is a threat, and must be punishedIt's been a great year for Taylor Swift in many ways, as everything she's touched has turned to gold, and her superfans got their own proper noun, Swifties. But haters gonna hate: when she appeared on the cover of Time magazine as their person of the year, looking staggering, wearing both a catsuit and a cat, a Christian manfluencer called Eric Conn (his Hard Men podcast is tagged Reclaiming biblical masculinity in a world of softness") was quick to react: It's shameful and sad that a hyper-promiscuous, childless woman, aging and alone with a cat, has become the heroine of a feminist age."I don't want to say the manosphere reached its apogee in 2023, because things can always get worse. But if Time had a person of the year for the dark timeline, Swift's opposite, a character to embody the hostility, alienation and evangelical, triumphant stupidity of the age, it would be Andrew Tate. Figures like Tate and Conn, and their millions upon millions of disciples, have no struggle for content because they feel no duty of originality. Continue reading...

Their story is that of thousands of other Palestinians: forced to move time and time again, their homes lost or destroyedA friend sent me a cartoon this week. It showed two elderly gentlemen sitting in comfortable chairs. One says to the other: Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it." Yes," agrees the other gentleman, and those who do study history are doomed to stand by helplessly while everyone else repeats it."In the case of the heartbreaking devastation in my home town of Khan Younis, this seems like an especially cruel joke. Witnessing this genocide unfolding, I find myself failing to find much to laugh at. Continue reading...

Governments are already shifting gear on issues from Ukraine to the climate crisis - and the US election could change everythingThere has been much talk of late about a renewed far right surge in Europe, especially as the continent looks ahead to the European parliament elections next June. Is this tilt to the right likely to happen - and what could it mean for us?This fear has ebbed and flowed. It took off when Georgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy surged in elections last year, as did the hard-right Sweden Democrats, which entered government for the first time. The following months saw rightwing wins in Finland and Greece too. The firm conviction that there was an inexorable rise of the right then crumbled in July this year, when in Spain the hard-right Vox and the conservative Popular party failed to win a joint majority in elections, leading to the eventual return of a progressive coalition led by Pedro Sanchez. Three months later, Poles voted to oust the populist right Law and Justice party, opening the way to a liberal government led by a former president of the European Council, Donald Tusk.Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...

Although Labour has successfully kept the spotlight on Tory incompetence, difficult battles are yet to comeFor Keir Starmer, the Tory party is the gift that keeps on giving. If Labour has one overriding wish as the start of general election year approaches, it is that Rishi Sunak's party should continue to remind voters why they have given up on the Conservatives after electing them in such numbers in 2019. On Tuesday, in the Commons, the Tory party delivered handsomely on that Labour wish.As well as days of buildup, every newsflash throughout Tuesday was about Tory division and Tory difficulty. There hasn't been a spotlit display of Conservative dysfunction like this for, well, several weeks. It may not have been a gamechanging horror show on the scale of Partygate in 2021 or the Truss emergency budget in 2022. But it was a reminder that the Bertha Mason version of his party that Sunak tries to keep locked in the parliamentary attic is alive and well and ready to burn down the house if it gets the chance.Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The US House of Representatives has voted to formally open an impeachment inquiry into Biden - without any evidence he has committed wrongdoingThe US House of Representatives has voted to formally open an impeachment inquiry into president Joe Biden, moving forward a process that has been promised by Republican leaders since they regained control of the lower chamber in midterm elections in 2022.Although no evidence has been produced, Republicans have accused Biden and his family of personally profiting from his position while vice-president under Barack Obama. Continue reading...

High court to consider whether obstruction statute is too broad to be used in connection with January 6 attackA decision by the US supreme court to take a case linked to the January 6 attack on the Capitol could have consequences altering the trajectory of the criminal case against Donald Trump over his effort to overturn the 2020 election as well as for hundreds of other people prosecuted for the riot.The nation's highest court has agreed to consider whether federal prosecutors can charge January 6 riot defendants with a statute that makes it a crime to obstruct an official proceeding of Congress - a charge also filed against Trump in his 2020 election-interference case. Continue reading...

House Republicans rally behind investigation authorized by party-line vote as Democrats stand united in oppositionThe House on Wednesday authorized the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, with every Republican rallying behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the US president.The 221-212 party-line vote put the entire House Republican conference on record in support of an impeachment process that can lead to the ultimate penalty for a president: punishment for what the constitution describes as high crimes and misdemeanors", which can lead to removal from office if convicted in a Senate trial. Continue reading...

Republicans have failed to produce evidence showing president financially benefitted from family business dealingsThe House voted Wednesday to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, even as Republicans have failed to produce evidence showing that the president financially benefitted from his family's business dealings.The House voted on partisan lines, 221-212 to launch the inquiry. The vote came hours after the president's son, Hunter Biden, defied a subpoena to appear for a closed-door deposition with House members. Instead choosing to hold a press conference on Capitol Hill, Hunter Biden reiterated his willingness to testify publicly, an offer that House Republicans have rejected.This story was amended on 13 December 2023 to accurately reflect the House votes for the inquiry to 221-212. Continue reading...

Ruby Freeman's testimony is at center of trial to determine how much in damages Giuliani will have to pay to her and her daughterRuby Freeman sobbed on the witness stand. The former election worker said she is afraid to tell anyone her name, has been driven from her home and was terrorized with threatening phone calls and letters after Rudy Giuliani, a key Trump ally and the former New York mayor, spread lies about her in 2020.Freeman began her testimony in federal court on Wednesday by introducing herself to the jury as Lady Ruby", saying the name was special, unique and classy". But, she says, she's stopped using the name because she fears what would happen if someone were to recognize her. When she goes out, she wears sunglasses and a mask. Continue reading...

A 28-year-old Detroit man was charged with three crimes, and authorities allege he was a stranger who had broken into homeA stranger accused of breaking into the home of a Detroit synagogue leader was charged with her murder Wednesday, nearly two months after her body was found outdoors with multiple stab wounds, authorities said.There was not a shred of evidence" that Samantha Woll was killed as a result of antisemitism or any hate crime, prosecutor Kym Worthy said. Continue reading...

Protesters from a Jewish organization, If Not Now, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza disrupted traffic along the 110 highway south in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning. The activists blocked all six lanes of the busy freeway before California police cleared the demonstration. At least 75 people were detained, NBC Los Angeles reportedDozens of activists block Los Angeles highway calling for Gaza ceasefire - video