Latest News Headlines for Thursday Dec 21, 2023 – Chinese President Xi Jinping conveyed directly to President Joe Biden at their recent summit that China plans to reunify with Taiwan.

While the approach remains unclear, Xi suggested an initial preference for peaceful efforts. This statement, made bluntly during a summit aimed at improving relations, underscores the significance of China’s stance on Taiwan reunification.

After thwarting Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive, Russia is amassing resources for a winter stage of the war.

This could involve extending gains in the east and dealing significant blows to Ukraine’s vital infrastructure. President Vladimir Putin seems to rely on military pressure, changing Western political dynamics, and global attention on the Israeli-Hamas conflict to weaken support for Ukraine.

As Israeli forces targeted over 300 Gaza Strip locations, the head of IDF’s Southern Command declared the military at “another significant phase of the offensive in new areas.”

Israel Defense Forces hit more than 300 infrastructure targets, including a raid on a Hamas headquarters in Khan Yunis by the 55th Brigade paratroopers.

Former President Donald Trump urged the Supreme Court to deny a request from special counsel Jack Smith and decline to consider Trump’s claims of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution before an appeals court can examine the matter.

Trump’s attorneys argue that regular review procedures will let the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit address the appeal first.

A federal judge granted former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss’ request to expedite their $148 million judgment against Rudy Giuliani.

The judge noted that Freeman and Moss have “good cause” to fear Giuliani may attempt to avoid paying them. Giuliani was ordered to pay nearly $150 million for defaming the women with false accusations related to the 2020 election.

Hackers exploited a vulnerability in a third-party vendor servicing Xfinity, leading to the theft of some customer information, according to a state attorney general’s report.

Approximately 36 million people could be affected, and the hack originated from a vulnerability in Citrix software, initially patched by Xfinity but requiring additional measures.

Southern border towns in the U.S. are experiencing a familiar scene: thousands of migrants overwhelming Border Patrol agents.

Last week, nearly 7,900 migrants were apprehended daily across the southern border, up from an average of 6,000 per day in October. On a specific Wednesday, more than 10,500 migrants crossed into the U.S., with over 4,000 in Texas’ Del Rio sector alone.

Toyota is recalling approximately 1 million cars in the U.S. due to a potential defect in the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensors in the front passenger seat.

This defect could cause a short circuit, leading to improper detection of the passenger’s presence and weight, risking failure of the front passenger airbags to deploy properly in a crash.

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