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Republican Senator Tuberville says he will release some military holds -US media // Republican U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, who has blocked hundreds of military promotions for months to protest the Pentagon's payment of abortion-related travel costs, said on Tuesday he would lift his hold on some of them.

11 HOURS AGO

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) speaks with reporters on the way to the Senate floor for a procedural vote regarding top military appointees at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

Jennifer Lewerenz@KNSIJenniferLewerenz

12 HOURS AGO

Design for Next Minnesota State Seal Selected // (KNSI) - The Great Seal of the State of Minnesota has been chosen. The State Emblems Redesign Commission unanimously voted to move forward with design...

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Minnesota

US charges ex-ambassador with spying for Cuba over decades // The United States on Monday charged a former ambassador to Bolivia with spying for Cuba for over 40 years, in what the Justice Department described as one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the U.S. government by a foreign agent.

FILE PHOTO: Bolivian President Hugo Banzer shakes hands with Victor Manuel Rocha, the then U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, during a ceremony in the Goverment Palace in La Paz, August 3, 2000. File photo DM/JP/HB

US woman killed in shark attack in Bahamas // An American woman died after she was attacked by a shark while paddle boarding in The Bahamas on Monday, police said. The woman, who was in her 40s and visiting from Boston, was with a male relative when the attack occurred near a resort in western New Providence, according to police, who added that the pair were rescued by a lifeguard.

People gather on the resort pier after what police described as a fatal shark attack against a tourist at Sandals Royal Bahamian resort, in Nassau, Bahamas December 4, 2023. REUTERS/Dante Carrer

Mortuary services personnel transport the body of a female tourist after what police described as a fatal shark attack in waters near Sandals Royal Bahamian resort, in Nassau, Bahamas December 4, 2023. REUTERS/Dante Carrer

Police officers walk on the beach after what police described as a fatal shark attack against a tourist at Sandals Royal Bahamian resort, in Nassau, Bahamas December 4, 2023. REUTERS/Dante Carrer

#U.S.#World

War risk insurance rates edge up after surge in Red Sea ship attacks // War risk insurance premiums edged up for Red Sea voyages after three vessels were attacked in the area on Sunday and fears grow over worsening perils for commercial shipping, maritime and insurance sources said on Monday.

Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS

#World#Business

Andrea Leinfelder@andrealeinfelder

Houston-Australia team to use Antarctica's climate for space research // A new Houston-Australian partnership is looking to use the extreme conditions of Antarctica to advance health research as astronauts prepare for trips to the moon and Mars.

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#Space

North Dakota Governor Burgum exits 2024 presidential race // Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota who struggled to find his footing in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, ended his campaign on Monday. Burgum, 67, was a successful software executive and investor before his political career and largely self financed his candidacy. On the stump, he portrayed himself as a traditional, business-minded conservative but was often lost amid the clatter surrounding former President Donald Trump.

Republican presidential candidate and Governor of North Dakota Doug Burgum speaks during the party's Florida Freedom Summit in Kissimmee, Florida, U.S., November 4, 2023. REUTERS/Octavio Jones

#Politics

Amanda Heidt@aheidt

Disability lawsuit lands Howard Hughes Medical Institute in court //

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#Sci/Tech

Fed, with rates at a peak, now looks at a hold and an eventual pivot lower // U.S. Federal Reserve officials appear on track to end the year with interest rate hikes as a thing of the past but with a coming challenge over when and how to signal a turn to rate cuts that investors, politicians and the public may demand before the central bank is ready.

FILE PHOTO: The Federal Reserve building in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

#U.S. & 2 other topics

What to watch at COP28 on Monday // Monday is finance day at COP28, which means more funding is likely to be announced for the climate cause. If that sounds familiar, that is because world leaders and the private sector have spent much of the first few days of this year's U.N. climate summit talking about boosting finance for climate action and disaster support.

2 DAYS AGO

A demonstrator holds a placard, during a climate protest coinciding with COP28 being held in Dubai and ahead of the upcoming Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium, December 3, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

#World#Climate

Christa Case Bryant@christacasebryant

Congress sets precedent by expelling Rep. George Santos // Rep. George Santos, a New York Republican who won election last fall on what was later revealed to be a largely fabricated biography, today became only the sixth member of the House of Representatives ever to be expelled from Congress. He’s also the first member to be expelled who did not support the Confederacy or get convicted in court. Following the release of a damning report from the GOP-led House Ethics committee last month, nearly half of Republicans joined with all but a handful of their Democratic colleagues to oust Mr. Santos Friday morning. Notably, all members of the Republican leadership, including the new House speaker, voted against Mr. Santos’ expulsion. It requires a two-thirds House vote to expel a member.

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#Politics

Laurent Belsie@laurentbelsie

Is cryptocurrency enabling Hamas? Efforts to halt terror funding revive. // The Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza has pushed into the limelight an issue that’s been seething on the back burner for nearly a decade: the funding networks for terrorism. Now, U.S. and other Western government watchdogs, legislators, and others have refocused on the problem. And especially on terrorists’ use of digital money – or cryptocurrency – that can be flashed around the world without the scrutiny of banks or regulators.

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#U.S.

Henry Gass@henrygass

Everything she did made history: Sandra Day O’Connor’s legacy // Although the United States was founded, as John Adams once said, to be “a government of laws and not of men,” for more than two centuries it was almost exclusively men who wrote and interpreted those laws. That was until Sandra Day O’Connor, raised on a remote cattle ranch in the rural Southwest, joined the United States Supreme Court. Beyond shattering that glass ceiling, Justice O’Connor – who died Friday – left an indelible mark on American law and American society. For a time considered the most powerful woman in the country, she used her cautious and pragmatic approach to cases to shape the law on major issues ranging from abortion and affirmative action to executive branch war powers and the 2000 presidential election.

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#U.S.

Renewed Gaza fighting stretches into second day after Israel-Hamas truce collapses // U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said too many innocent Palestinians had been killed in Gaza as Israeli war planes and artillery bombarded the enclave on Saturday following the collapse of a truce with Hamas militants.

Palestinians inspect the site of Israeli strikes on houses after a temporary truce between Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel expired, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Palestinians flee their houses due to Israeli strikes, after a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel expired, in the eastern part of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A Palestinian carries a casualty following an Israeli strike on a house, after a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel expired, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A Palestinian woman wounded in an Israeli strike has her eyes covered to stop bleeding as she is assisted, after a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel expired, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Arafat Barbakh

Smoke rises over Gaza following an Israeli strike, after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired, as seen from southern Israel, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Israeli soldiers ride in an armoured personnel carrier (APC) near the border with Gaza, after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired, in Israel, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired, as seen from southern Israel, December 2, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, after a temporary truce expired between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in this handout picture released on December 2, 2023. Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS

Smoke rises amid damaged buildings in Gaza, after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired, as seen from southern Israel, December 2, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, gather to receive their portion of lentil soup, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Arafat Barbakh

A view of damaged buildings in Gaza, after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired, as seen from southern Israel, December 2, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Smoke from an explosion rises in Gaza, after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired, as seen from southern Israel, December 2, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Displaced Palestinian woman Nihad Abu Habel uses a plastic tray to chase away flies as she sits with her children inside their tent where they take shelter, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip December 2, 2023. REUTERS/Saleh Salem

People mourn next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes at Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip December 2, 2023. REUTERS/Fadi Shana

Palestinians gather to get their share of charity food offered by volunteers, amid food shortages, as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, December 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Smoke billows after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, December 2, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Building lie in ruin as Palestinians carry their belongings following Israeli strikes on residential buildings at the Qatari-funded Hamad City, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip December 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot

#World

US appeals court says Trump must face lawsuits over US Capitol attack // A U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled that Donald Trump must face civil lawsuits over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters, rejecting the former president's claim that he is immune.

FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a 2024 presidential election campaign event in Summerville, South Carolina, U.S. September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Sam Wolfe/File Photo

Former US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor dies at 93 -Supreme Court // Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, whose centrist views and shrewd negotiating skills allowed her to steer the nation’s law for much of her quarter-century tenure, died on Friday at the age of 93, the court said.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor speaks during an interview with Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler at the 92nd Street Y in New York March 15, 2012. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (R) and Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor greet people before O'Connor's speech on her first day of retirement from court at the Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale, Arizona February 1, 2006. McGregor was O'Connor's first law clerk when O'Connor began her term on the Supreme Court in 1981. REUTERS/Jeff Topping

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) presents the Medal of Freedom to the first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, August 12, 2009. Obama presented the nation's highest civilian honour to 16 recipients during the ceremony. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor speaks during the lunch session of The Women's Conference in Long Beach, California October 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: Former Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (R) speaks next to Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg during the lunch session of "The Women's Conference 2010" in Long Beach, California October 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

Gaza negotiators try to get Israel, Hamas to agree to extend truce again // Israel's warplanes pounded Gaza on Friday after talks to extend a week-old truce with Hamas collapsed, sending wounded and dead Palestinians into hospitals and forcing hundreds to flee in the streets.

5 DAYS AGO

A helicopter carrying hostages released amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel arrives at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv district, Israel, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Hostages who were abducted by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 attack on Israel are escorted by members of the International Red Cross, as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel amid a temporary truce, in an unknown location in the Gaza Strip, November 30, 2023. Hamas Military Wing/Handout via REUTERS

Hostages released amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel sit inside a vehicle after a helicopter carried them to Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv district, Israel, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

People sit in a Red Cross vehicle, as part of a convoy carrying hostages abducted by Hamas militants during the October 7 attack on Israel, as it arrives at the Rafah border, amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in the southern Gaza Strip, November 30, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

A view shows the damaged buildings of Northern Gaza strip, as seen from the viewpoint in Sderot, South Israel, November 30, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Palestinians wounded in Israeli strikes are rushed into Nasser hospital, after a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel expired, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Arafat Barbakh

Palestinians run following an Israeli strike, after a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel expired, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Saleh Salem

A Palestinian girl and woman react at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, after a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel expired, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

An Israeli soldier aims a weapon as they operate in the Gaza Strip, after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired, in this handout picture released on December 1, 2023. Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS

An Israeli military helicopter releases a flare over the Israel-Gaza border, after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired, as seen from southern Israel, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel, after a temporary truce expired between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from Israel's border with Gaza in southern Israel, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel, after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired, as seen from Israel's border with Gaza in southern Israel, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Avi Roccah ISRAEL OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ISRAEL

A picture released on December 1, 2023 by the Jordanian Armed Forces shows what it says is a health worker assisting a premature baby lying in an incubator at the Jordanian private field hospital in Gaza, after a temporary truce expired between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Jordan Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS

#World#Politics

In Greece, iconic olive crop becomes a climate change front line // The olive tree, according to Greek mythology, was created by Athena, the goddess of wisdom, as a gift to the people of her namesake city, Athens. Olives and olive oil have become synonymous with Greece, and are credited, in part, with fueling the rise of Greek civilization. But despite a history spanning thousands of years, these culinary pillars of Greek identity are under threat. Small farmers expect this year’s harvest season, which got underway in November, to be one of the worst years on record, thanks to climate change and the irregular seasonal shifts it has wrought upon the flowering process and fruit development.

Dominique Soguel@dominiquesoguel

5 DAYS AGO

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#World