NEWS

Unbiased headline news Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is under mounting scrutiny for allegedly censoring pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli content amid the ongoing war, drawing criticism from human rights organizations and media outlets such as the BBC. The company has faced several allegations over the past month, including claims in a Human Rights Watch report about content suppression, a BBC investigation accusing Facebook of limiting Palestinian news outlets’ reach, and testimonies collected by the human rights group 7amleh alleging shadow-banning of Palestinian pages. — As the deadline for the arrest warrant against impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol approached on Sunday, protesters and counter-protesters braved freezing temperatures and snow outside his residence. The protest coincided with a Seoul court’s dismissal of an injunction filed by Yoon seeking to invalidate warrants for his detention and a search of his home. South Korea remains in political turmoil after Yoon declared martial law in early December, accusing the opposition of attempting to overthrow democracy. — The new year brought a powerful winter storm to a significant portion of the United States, delivering heavy snow and dangerous ice that placed over 60 million people across 30 states under winter weather warnings. Blizzard warnings remained in effect for more than 4 million people through Sunday night in parts of Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri, according to the National Weather Service’s online map. Travel became hazardous in several heartland states, including Kansas, Kentucky, and Indiana. — A child missing for five days was discovered alive this week in a sprawling game park in northern Zimbabwe, home to big cats and other wild animals, officials confirmed. The seven-year-old boy was reported missing from his rural village on Dec. 27, according to a statement from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks). The agency noted that a coordinated search effort involving park rangers, police, and the local community led to his rescue. — New York City introduced a new toll for drivers entering the heart of Manhattan on Sunday, requiring many to pay $9 during peak hours to access the city’s busiest area. Known as congestion pricing, the initiative aims to alleviate traffic gridlock in the densely populated city while generating funds to improve its struggling public transit system. “We’ve studied this issue for five years, but five minutes in midtown Manhattan shows New York has a real traffic problem,” said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair. — A soccer-loving nun from Brazil has reportedly become the world’s oldest living person at nearly 117 years old following the death of a Japanese woman who previously held the title. Sister Inah Canabarro, who was frail as a child and not expected to survive, has now been recognized by LongeviQuest, an organization tracking supercentenarians. In a statement released Saturday, the group confirmed her status, based on early life records, as the world’s oldest living person.

Unbiased headline news – Disgraced former Congressman George Santos has requested that a judge delay his sentencing in his federal fraud case. Santos is currently set to be sentenced on February 7th in Central Islip, New York, following his guilty plea to charges of federal fraud, campaign finance violations, and embezzlement. His legal team has asked the judge to extend the sentencing by six months, pushing it to August, to allow Santos additional time to earn money and meet the nearly $600,000 he owes in restitution and forfeiture payments. — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s New York criminal hush money case has indicated plans to issue an “unconditional discharge” as a sentence, citing respect for the presidential immunity doctrine. Judge Juan Merchan ordered Trump to appear, either in person or virtually, for sentencing on January 10th, just 10 days before Trump’s presidential inauguration. In his ruling, Merchan described an unconditional discharge as the “most practical resolution to ensure finality and enable Defendant to pursue his appellate options.” — Secretary of State Antony Blinken began what is expected to be his final international trip in office this weekend, with visits planned to South Korea, Japan, and France. The State Department announced that Blinken’s travels to Seoul, Tokyo, and Paris commenced on Sunday. In South Korea, amid the political upheaval following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, and in Japan, Blinken aims to underscore the enhanced cooperation between the U.S. and these nations as part of the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy. — The Los Angeles County district attorney recently met with relatives of the Menendez brothers but stated he is still reviewing the facts of the case and has not yet decided whether to support their bid for release. LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman noted that upon taking office on December 3rd, he pledged to reevaluate the Menendez case thoroughly. This process, he explained, has involved examining thousands of pages of confidential prison records, trial transcripts, consultations with prosecutors and defense attorneys, and a review of court filings. — A fire at a shopping center in Dallas on Friday morning resulted in the deaths of over 500 animals, primarily small birds, authorities reported. The 579 animals at the Plaza Latina pet shop in Northwest Dallas succumbed to smoke inhalation, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson Jason Evans. The fire’s flames never reached the animals directly. Chickens, hamsters, two dogs, and two cats were among those lost, Evans said. The two-alarm fire required approximately two hours and 45 firefighters to extinguish. — Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman recognized as the world’s oldest person by Guinness World Records, has passed away at the age of 116, an Ashiya city official confirmed on Saturday. Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official overseeing elderly policies, stated that Itooka died on December 29th at a care facility in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan. Known for her love of bananas and a yogurt-flavored Japanese drink called Calpis, Itooka was born on May 23, 1908. She became the world’s oldest person last year, succeeding 117-year-old Maria Branyas, according to the Gerontology Research Group.

Unbiased headline news – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un proclaimed a “new high” in relations between North Korea and Russia, expressing hope for a Russian victory in its conflict with Ukraine by 2025. In a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin dated Dec. 30, Kim extended his best wishes for the upcoming year, describing 2024 as a pivotal year in transforming relations between the two nations. He characterized the shift as evolving from “friendly co-existence” to a “strategic and cooperative” partnership between “sworn friends.” — The World Health Organization commemorated the fifth anniversary of the emergence of COVID-19 by renewing its call for China to release critical data and allow external access to aid the global scientific community in uncovering the origins of the virus that triggered the pandemic. Reflecting on the day the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission first reported cases of “viral pneumonia” in Wuhan, the United Nations’ public health agency emphasized in a news release that uncovering the truth remains essential to ensure better preparedness for future pandemics than was the case with COVID-19. — A massive blackout engulfed almost all of Puerto Rico early Tuesday as the island prepared for New Year’s celebrations, leaving over 1.3 million customers without electricity. Officials warned it could take up to two days to restore power fully. The outage struck at dawn, silencing appliances and air conditioners across the island before those with generators turned them on. “Of all days, it had to be December 31st!” lamented a man named Manuel, standing outside a grocery store in San Juan and expressing frustration over the power failure coinciding with his birthday. — Four family members, including three U.S. citizens, were shot in an attack in Durango, Mexico, that claimed the lives of three of them, authorities reported. The victims included two brothers, Vicente Peña Rodríguez and Antonio Fernández Rodríguez, both U.S. citizens, and a local relative, Jorge Eduardo Vargas Aguirre, the Durango Attorney General’s Office confirmed. The shooting has left family members and officials seeking answers. — Two security guards were shot and injured at a downtown Los Angeles shopping center after confronting a man attempting to leave a store with a suitcase filled with unpaid merchandise, police said Tuesday. The confrontation escalated, shots were fired, and the suspect fled the scene on a bicycle, according to Los Angeles Police Officer Drake Madison. Both guards were reported to be in stable condition, while the suspect remains at large. The incident underscores mounting public frustration with retail theft and crime in California as 2024 begins. — London police are searching for a burglar who broke into an occupied mansion and made off with jewelry, designer handbags, and cash valued at over 10.5 million pounds, or 13.2 million dollars. The estate owners, identified by British media as an Instagram influencer and her developer husband, were not at home during the Dec. 7 burglary. However, employees were present, and surveillance footage captured a housekeeper narrowly avoiding a confrontation with the armed intruder.

Unbiased headline news – President-elect Donald Trump on Monday gave his backing to House Speaker Mike Johnson to remain in the position for the 119th Congress. Trump announced his “total and complete endorsement” of Johnson on his Truth Social platform early Monday morning. He praised the Louisiana congressman as a “good, hard-working, religious man” and expressed confidence that Johnson “will do the right thing, and we will continue to win.” — South Korean authorities said Monday they have requested a court to issue an arrest warrant for suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol over allegations of insurrection and abuse of power tied to his failed attempt to declare martial law. The request comes from a joint investigation team comprising officials from the police anticorruption office and the defense ministry. The team is seeking to detain Yoon after he failed to respond to three prior subpoenas for questioning about his December 3rd martial law declaration. Similar arrests of former leaders such as Roh Tae-woo, Chun Doo-hwan, Park Geun-hye, and Lee Myung-bak occurred only after they left office. — A federal appeals court on Monday denied President-elect Donald Trump’s effort to overturn a jury’s verdict from last year, which found him liable for sexually abusing writer E Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that “Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings” and found he “has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial.” — The fund responsible for compensating victims of Bernie Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme began its final disbursement this week, distributing an additional 131 million dollars to investors who were defrauded. Payments are being sent to 23,000 victims globally, bringing total recoveries to 94% of the losses suffered. Federal prosecutors noted that the majority of these victims were small investors who lost less than $500,000 in the massive fraud. — Three high-end watches, including a $9,000 Rolex, stolen from actor Keanu Reeves’ Los Angeles home have been recovered in Chile, police said. Chilean authorities reported that a man was arrested in Santiago on Saturday in connection with the theft, as part of a larger local operation. The suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed, is now in custody. One of the recovered watches is a Rolex Submariner engraved with the “John Wick” actor’s name. — The funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 100, is scheduled for Jan. 9 at Washington National Cathedral. According to the Carter Center, Carter will also lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda after Congress extended the invitation to his family. The 39th president, a peanut farmer’s son who rose to the nation’s highest office, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by loved ones. He had recently become the longest-lived former U.S. president.

Unbiased headline news – President-elect Donald Trump on Monday gave his backing to House Speaker Mike Johnson to remain in the position for the 119th Congress. Trump announced his “total and complete endorsement” of Johnson, R-La., on his Truth Social platform early Monday morning. He praised the Louisiana congressman as a “good, hard-working, religious man” and expressed confidence that Johnson “will do the right thing, and we will continue to win.” — South Korean authorities said Monday they have requested a court to issue an arrest warrant for suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol over allegations of insurrection and abuse of power tied to his failed attempt to declare martial law. The request comes from a joint investigation team comprising officials from the police anticorruption office and the defense ministry. The team is seeking to detain Yoon after he failed to respond to three prior subpoenas for questioning about his December 3 martial law declaration. Similar arrests of former leaders such as Roh Tae-woo, Chun Doo-hwan, Park Geun-hye, and Lee Myung-bak occurred only after they left office. — A federal appeals court on Monday denied President-elect Donald Trump’s effort to overturn a jury’s verdict from last year, which found him liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that “Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings” and found he “has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial.” — The fund responsible for compensating victims of Bernie Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme began its final disbursement this week, distributing an additional $131 million to investors who were defrauded. Payments are being sent to 23,000 victims globally, bringing total recoveries to 94% of the losses suffered. Federal prosecutors noted that the majority of these victims were small investors who lost less than $500,000 in the massive fraud. — Three high-end watches, including a $9,000 Rolex, stolen from actor Keanu Reeves’ Los Angeles home have been recovered in Chile, police said. Chilean authorities reported that a man was arrested in Santiago on Saturday in connection with the theft, as part of a larger local operation. The suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed, is now in custody. One of the recovered watches is a Rolex Submariner engraved with the “John Wick” actor’s name. — The funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 100, is scheduled for Jan. 9 at Washington National Cathedral. According to the Carter Center, Carter will also lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda after Congress extended the invitation to his family. The 39th president, a peanut farmer’s son who rose to the nation’s highest office, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by loved ones. He had recently become the longest-lived former U.S. president.

Unbiased headline news – Syria’s newly formed government is grappling with growing unrest in several regions, marked by an increase in violations and acts of revenge. These developments have heightened fears among the country’s minorities, particularly the Alawite and Christian communities, according to Syrian analysts and experts. The rapid collapse of President Bashar Assad’s Baath Party regime, the relatively peaceful control gained by Syrian rebels, and assurances from their leader, Abu Mohammad al Jolani—who now goes by his real name, Ahmad Sharaa—have spurred optimism about the nation’s future. — Although protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza dominated headlines for months, coverage has diminished. Yet, demonstrations opposing the conflict remain active more than 14 months after hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians escalated. Protesters continue demanding an end to the violence in Gaza and greater advocacy for Palestinian rights. Major European capitals still witness large turnouts at rallies, even as some nations, such as Germany, impose restrictions on criticism of Israel. — A devastating winter storm left two people dead and six others injured as it swept across Texas and Mississippi, eventually tearing the roof off an Alabama courthouse early Sunday and causing “significant damage” in downtown areas. “The roof has been blown off of the courthouse and this could have been caused by an extremely brief tornado,” Chelsea Aaron, a WAFF-TV meteorologist, posted on social media alongside photos of the damaged Limestone County Courthouse in Athens. The rare December storm surged through Alabama late Saturday into Sunday. — California Justice Department officials are investigating the death of a man who was fatally shot by his parole officer on Christmas Eve, authorities said. Jeremy Sanchez, 26, was at his Fresno home when a “physical altercation” occurred with the parole agent, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation stated. The officer discharged his weapon, striking Sanchez. Despite attempting lifesaving measures, the officer was unable to prevent Sanchez’s death at the scene. — Eleven secret graves containing the remains of 15 men were uncovered in Chiapas, a southern Mexican state embroiled in a conflict between the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación drug cartels, local officials reported Sunday. Chiapas Governor Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar announced on social media that the discovery followed a raid in La Concordia, near the border with Guatemala. He added that four individuals connected to the case had been detained with weapons and drugs in their possession. — A Texas-based company known for its elaborate synchronized drone shows has been prohibited from staging such events after a mishap in Orlando in which several drones collided and fell into the crowd. The Federal Aviation Administration revoked Sky Elements’ waiver required to conduct shows over live audiences, the agency confirmed in a statement on Friday. The duration of the suspension remains unclear at this time.