TNS International Budget for Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022

Updated at 0100 UTC (8 p.m. U.S. ET)

Additional news stories appear on MCT-NEWS-BJT and MCT-NEWSFEATURES-BJT.

TOP STORIES

Brittney Griner returns home, lands in San Antonio

USRUSSIA-GRINER:NY — Brittney Griner is home.

The WNBA superstar landed in San Antonio, Texas, Friday morning after being released from Russian custody a day earlier. Per standard procedure for freed U.S. prisoners, Griner’s first stop is expected to be a medical facility for evaluation.

406 words by Joseph Wilkinson, Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News. MOVED

PHOTOS

CORONAVIRUS

A strange pandemic for John Hollis, naturally immune to COVID

CORONAVIRUS-NATURAL-IMMUNITY:AT — ATLANTA — It was summer 2020 and John Hollis, a publicist at George Mason University, was asking a scientist about his research on COVID-19 antibodies, when the scientist turned the tables. The scientist, Lance Liotta, asked his own question: Would Hollis like to join the study as a subject?

Less than a week later, Liotta was standing with his staff fixated on the computer screen of his lab assistant, marveling at the numbers representing Hollis’s blood sample. Liotta marched back to his office to call Hollis.

894 words by Ariel Hart, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. MOVED

PHOTOS

Hospitals reaching capacity as flu, RSV, COVID spike in Kansas and Missouri

CORONAVIRUS-KANSAS-MO-HOSPITALS:KC — KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Flu-like illnesses like COVID-19, RSV, the flu and other viruses are on the rise in Kansas City and beyond. This week’s data shows COVID-19 cases continuing to increase in all five counties and two cities that make up the metro area.

Data reported on Tuesday shows that there have been 1,643 new cases reported in the metro in the past week. That’s higher than the 1,309 cases reported the previous week and 997 the week prior.

488 words by Natalie Wallington, The Kansas City Star. MOVED

PHOTOS

Washington state health leaders again urge masking indoors amid ‘tripledemic’

CORONAVIRUS-FLU-RSV-WASH-STATE:SE — SEATTLE — It’s time, Washingtonians: You should resume regularly masking up indoors if you haven’t already.

The new guidance from 12 county health officers and 25 hospital executives is fueled by the region and country’s overwhelming surge in viral respiratory illnesses — mainly influenza and RSV, though COVID-19 numbers are beginning to creep back up. Pediatric hospitals in particular, including Seattle Children’s, have been overcapacity for months with the highest patient volumes many longtime staffers say they’ve ever seen.

525 words by Elise Takahama, The Seattle Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

WORLD NEWS

Putin says Russia may add nuclear first strike to strategy

RUSSIA-NUCLEAR:BLO — Vladimir Putin said Russia may consider formally adding the possibility of a preventive nuclear first strike to disarm an opponent to its military doctrine, just days after warning that the risk of atomic war is rising.

“We’re thinking about this,” the Russian president told reporters after a summit in Kyrgyzstan. “If we are talking about a disarming strike, perhaps we should think about using the approaches of our American partners,” he said, citing what he called U.S. strategies to use high-accuracy missiles for a preventive strike.

194 words by Bloomberg News, Bloomberg News. MOVED

PHOTOS

Modi to skip annual Putin summit over Ukraine nuke threats

INDIA-RUSSIA:BLO — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi won’t be holding an annual in-person summit with Vladimir Putin after the Russian president threatened to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The relationship between India and Russia remains strong but trumpeting the friendship at this point may not be beneficial for Modi, said a senior official with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

539 words by Sudhi Ranjan Sen, Bloomberg News. MOVED

PHOTOS

UAE’s diplomatic might grows with Russian release of WNBA star

USRUSSIA-GRINER-UAE:BLO — Among all the countries that have tried to mediate with Russia since it invaded Ukraine earlier this year — from France to South Africa — the United Arab Emirates and its Middle East partners are the ones showing an ability to get things done.

That was on display again this week, when the Gulf state helped facilitate a prisoner swap between Russia and the U.S., with the U.S. releasing a notorious Russian arms dealer in exchange for Russia’s release of basketball star Brittney Griner.

483 words by Bloomberg News, Bloomberg News. MOVED

PHOTOS

Netanyahu gets extension to Dec. 21 to form Israeli government

ISRAEL:DPA — JERUSALEM — Benjamin Netanyahu has 10 extra days to form a governing coalition after Israeli President Isaac Herzog extended the deadline Friday, five weeks after elections left a complicated parliamentary landscape out of which to craft a government.

The president's decision means Netanyahu now has until Dec. 21 to present a working government coalition.

361 words by Cindy Riechau, dpa. MOVED

PHOTOS

Number of journalists, media professionals killed on the job in 2022 up by more than 40% over previous year

JOURNALISTS-JOB-DEATHS:NY — The number of journalists and media workers killed while doing their job in 2022 has increased by more than 40% compared to last year, according to a new report released Friday.

The International Federation of Journalists says that 67 media professionals were killed on the job in targeted attacks so far this year — up from 47 in 2021 — a reversal of the decline seen in recent years.

416 words by Muri Assuncao, New York Daily News. MOVED

PHOTOS

Venezuelans stranded in Mexico hold out hope Biden will shift border policy: ‘I want to have faith’

IMMIGRATION-BORDER-POLICY-VENEZUELANS:LA — MEXICO CITY — Rosa Maria Trejo got here to the Mexican capital thanks to a brother residing in Arizona who sent money to help finance the difficult trip from their native Venezuela. He now provides cash for food and lodging at a small hotel while she figures out what to do next.

She hasn’t abandoned her plan to get to the United States.

“I don’t want to stay in Mexico, but I also don’t want to go back to Venezuela,” said Trejo, 27. “My brother tells me it’s best to wait here until the situation in the United States changes.”

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans stuck in Mexico appear to be making the same calculation.

1150 words by Patrick J. McDonnell and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

UNITED STATES

Sinema leaves Democratic Party, registers as independent

SENATE-SINEMA-2ND-LEDE:CON — WASHINGTON — Decrying partisan divisions, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said Friday she is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent in Arizona, where she is up for reelection in 2024 and already faced a movement to replace her as the party’s nominee.

“Americans are more united than the national parties would have us believe,” she wrote in an op-ed published in the Arizona Republic. “Arizonans — including many registered as Democrats or Republicans — are eager for leaders who focus on common-sense solutions rather than party doctrine.”

721 words by Daniela Altimari and Herb Jackson, CQ-Roll Call. MOVED

PHOTOS

What Sinema’s party switch means for the next Congress and 2024

SENATE-SINEMA-ASSESS:CON — WASHINGTON — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema‘s decision to leave the Democratic Party and register as an independent in Arizona is unlikely to upend the political equilibrium in the Senate. But her announcement could add new complications to the 2024 race in her increasingly purple home state.

“Americans are more united than the national parties would have us believe,” Sinema wrote in an op-ed published Friday in the Arizona Republic. “Arizonans — including many registered as Democrats or Republicans — are eager for leaders who focus on common-sense solutions rather than party doctrine.”

1008 words by Daniela Altimari and Niels Lesniewski, CQ-Roll Call. MOVED

PHOTOS

What Kyrsten Sinema’s party change means for Pa.'s John Fetterman and Senate Democrats

PASENATE-FETTERMAN-SINEMA:PH — PHILADELPHIA — Well, that didn’t last long.

Democratic elation after John Fetterman came through on his pledge to become the party’s 51st Senate vote — a promise made whole when Sen. Raphael Warnock won reelection in Georgia Tuesday — ran into a speed bump Friday when Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, of Arizona, announced she’s leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent.

708 words by Jonathan Tamari, The Philadelphia Inquirer. MOVED

PHOTOS

Trump’s attorneys in closed-door court hearing after contempt reports

TRUMP-MARALAGO-SEARCH:BLO — WASHINGTON — The day after Donald Trump effectively gave up his court fight over government documents seized by the FBI from his Mar-a-Lago home, his lawyers were in a Washington courthouse amid reports the Justice Department has asked for the former president to be held in contempt in connection with the records probe.

None of the attorneys — Evan Corcoran, Jim Trusty and Tim Parlatore — would say why they were in court Friday. Corcoran, Trusty and Parlatore met up in the courthouse cafeteria before the lawyers walked up to an office suite where U.S. District Chief Judge Beryl Howell has her chambers shortly before 2 p.m. and were let in. That area is not open to the public.

534 words by Zoe Tillman, Bloomberg News. MOVED

PHOTOS

US lawmakers want more oversight of the Federal Reserve

CONGRESS-FED:BLO — An organizational loophole used by the Federal Reserve’s 12 regional banks to avoid complying with transparency requests is under fire from two U.S. senators seeking to toughen congressional oversight.

Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Pennsylvania Republican Patrick Toomey plan on Friday to propose legislation to subject the regional branches to congressional information requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

606 words by Craig Torres, Bloomberg News. MOVED

PHOTOS

Thin House majorities, current and future, color spending talks

CONGRESS-SPENDING-BILL:CON — WASHINGTON — House Democrats’ current two-seat majority — and Republicans’ narrow edge they will claim in January — is casting a shadow over fiscal 2023 omnibus negotiations as next Friday’s deadline to reach an agreement nears.

Negotiations have slowed as Republicans and Democrats remain billions of dollars apart on the level of nondefense spending, even as current stopgap appropriations lapse Dec. 16. The dispute is likely to bleed over into the week of Christmas, if not beyond, but right now the basic question of simply keeping the government’s lights on is unanswered.

1377 words by Aidan Quigley, CQ-Roll Call. MOVED

PHOTOS

Missouri man sentenced in Capitol riot case said Trump, others to blame for his actions

CAPITOL-RIOT-MO-MAN:KC — KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Independence man sentenced Friday for breaching the Capitol on Jan. 6 blamed Trump, right-wing media and other elected officials — including Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley — for spreading the “Big Lie” that led to his actions.

In a court document filed prior to the sentencing, defense attorney Ronna Holloman-Hughes said Devin Kiel Rossman was duped by Trump and others into believing that Democrats rigged the 2020 presidential election.

1344 words by Judy L. Thomas, The Kansas City Star. MOVED

PHOTOS

Why ex-Gov. Rick Perry decided to become a spokesperson in support of sports betting

TEXAS-PERRY-SPORTSBETTING:DA — AUSTIN, Texas — From the time he was a state lawmaker in the late 1980s, through his 14-year tenure as Texas governor, Rick Perry was steadfast in his opposition to expanding gambling in his home state.

But Perry is now among those who are calling for Texas to legalize mobile sports betting during next year’s legislative session.

712 words by Aarón Torres, The Dallas Morning News. MOVED

PHOTOS

Maxwell Frost, first Gen Z'er elected to Congress, is denied an apartment in Washington

CONGRESS-APARTMENT-DENIAL:NY — The first member of Generation Z elected to Congress has been denied an apartment in Washington, D.C.

Floridian Congressman-elect Maxwell Alejandro Frost, 25, tweeted about his application rejection after he claimed he was told he would clear the process despite his “really bad” credit score.

297 words by Tim Balk, New York Daily News. MOVED

PHOTOS

Appealing Adnan Syed’s release, Hae Min Lee’s brother asks appeals court for new hearing

SERIAL-SYED:BZ — BALTIMORE — After two murder trials, multiple failed appeals, 23 years in prison and a public acquittal, Adnan Syed’s legal saga is not over yet.

The brother of Hae Min Lee, the 18-year-old Woodlawn High School student found killed in Leakin Park in 1999, is asking the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to order a repeat of the hearing that set the “Serial” podcast subject free earlier this year.

729 words by Lee O. Sanderlin, The Baltimore Sun. MOVED

PHOTOS

Former Minneapolis Officer J. Alexander Kueng sentenced for aiding George Floyd's killing

FLOYD-EXOFFICERS:MS — MINNEAPOLIS — One of the ex-officers already imprisoned for his role in helping to hold down George Floyd as he pleaded for his life in a south Minneapolis street two years ago received a 3 1/2-year state sentence Friday.

J. Alexander Kueng appeared from a federal prison in Ohio for a 15-minute virtual hearing when Judge Peter Cahill announced his agreed-upon sentence of 3 1/2 years for aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Kueng's state sentence will be served concurrently with the three-year federal sentence he's serving for violating Floyd's civil rights.

1054 words by Kim Hyatt, Star Tribune. MOVED

PHOTOS

Florida school board member defends against criticism over welcoming Proud Boys’ support

FLA-SCHOOLBOARD-MEMBER-RALLY:FL — MIAMI — A new Broward School Board member is being denounced by civil-rights groups, LGBTQ leaders and two of her fellow board members after saying she welcomes support from all kinds of groups, even the far-right Proud Boys.

Brenda Fam, who was elected in November to a seat in the Weston and Davie area, posted the comment on Facebook on Thursday morning. She was responding to criticism over her speaking about sex trafficking at a Dec. 3 rally on A1A in Fort Lauderdale that featured anti-LGBTQ rhetoric by some participants and an appearance by uniformed members of the Proud Boys, which several civil rights groups have identified as an extremist hate group.

1042 words by Scott Travis, South Florida Sun-Sentinel. MOVED

PHOTOS

FBI, cooperating with North Carolina's Moore County, seeks cellphone information after attacks on power substations

NC-POWER-OUTAGES:RA — RALEIGH, N.C. — Federal investigators are seeking cellphone data as part of their search for whoever fired upon a pair of Duke Energy substations in Moore County, leaving the county without power for days.

“We are in a fully joint investigation with Moore County. Investigators have filed search warrants for cellphone data,” Shelley Lynch, an FBI spokeswoman, wrote in an email.

646 words by Adam Wagner, Virginia Bridges, and Avi Bajpai, The News & Observer. MOVED

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For NC energy company, fortifying the grid usually means dealing with storms, not snipers

NC-POWER-OUTAGES-PREVENTION:RA — RALEIGH, N.C. — The attacks on two power substations in Moore County last weekend came amid a multiyear effort by Duke Energy to “strengthen the grid” and reduce the number and severity of power outages.

Most of that effort is aimed not at sabotage but at more common and widespread threats to the energy system, including hurricanes, ice storms and squirrels.

823 words by Richard Stradling, The News & Observer. MOVED

PHOTOS

Did an iguana just turn out the lights? What happens when Florida critters zap our power

FLA-IGUANA-POWER-OUTAGE-EXPLAINER:MI — MIAMI — An iguana cut the power to an entire South Florida city this week.

Lake Worth Beach, just south of West Palm Beach, reported that the iguana got into a substation, and that led to a “large scale outage” in the city.

317 words by Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald. MOVED

PHOTOS

10 years after kidnapping, Texas native Austin Tice is still imprisoned in Syria

USSYRIA-JOURNALIST:DA — The high-level prisoner swap that freed Brittney Griner this week has placed a spotlight on another Texan imprisoned across the world, journalist Austin Tice.

Tice, a former U.S. Marine, was abducted in Syria in August 2012 shortly after his 31st birthday. The Houston native disappeared at a checkpoint in a contested area west of Damascus.

328 words by Sarah Bahari, The Dallas Morning News. MOVED

North Texas Republican files bill to ban social media for Texans under 18

TEXAS-LAWMAKER-SOCIALMEDIA:DA — DALLAS — A North Texas Republican wants to ban social media for Texans under the age of 18.

State Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, filed House Bill 896 this week that would require social media users to show two forms of photo identification to verify their age.

293 words by Sarah Bahari, The Dallas Morning News. MOVED

PHOTOS

10 Florida school districts under scrutiny by state over LGBTQ, racial equity policies

FLA-SCHOOLS-LGBTQ:MI — MIAMI — Florida’s State Board of Education will meet next week to scrutinize whether 10 school districts — including Miami-Dade, Broward and Hillsborough counties — are carrying out the state’s parental rights law, which have become a political lightning rod in local school board meeting and national politics in recent years.

The Florida Department of Education put the districts on notice last month when it sent superintendents letters detailing the policies and procedures that each of their districts “may not comport with Florida law.”

581 words by Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald. MOVED

PHOTOS

Man indicted on capital murder charge in Dallas Methodist hospital shooting, records show

DALLAS-HOSPITAL-SHOOTING:DA — DALLAS — The man accused of fatally shooting two health care workers inside Methodist hospital in October was indicted by a Dallas County grand jury Thursday.

Nestor Oswaldo Hernandez, 30, was charged with capital murder in the killing of Katie Annette Flowers, a 63-year-old nurse, and Jacqueline Ama Pokuaa, a 45-year-old social worker, died after they were shot Oct. 22 inside the Dallas Methodist hospital in north Oak Cliff.

416 words by Aria Jones, The Dallas Morning News. MOVED

PHOTOS

Co-workers of cop who killed 3 in California removed items from his home before official search

CALIF-CATFISHING-DEATHS:LA — ABINGDON, Va. — Co-workers of Austin Lee Edwards, the Virginia cop who killed the grandparents and mother of a 15-year-old Riverside, California, girl he “catfished” online, removed a sheriff’s truck and a black trash bag from Edwards’ property the night before it was officially searched, according to an eyewitness and a video reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.

Two deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the law enforcement agency that employed Edwards immediately before his death, arrived at the white Cape Cod-style home with blacked-out windows late on Nov. 25, the day of the killings.

560 words by Erin B. Logan and Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

South Carolina judge grants Alex Murdaugh’s attorney request for blood spatter evidence

MURDAUGH:CS — WALTERBORO, S.C. — A South Carolina judge on Friday granted a motion from Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys to compel the state to turn over communications and underlying files that led an expert witness to say Murdaugh’s shirt was covered in blood from his son’s gunshot wound.

“We need that information in order to say whether or not that’s voodoo science,” Dick Harpootlian, Murdaugh’s attorney, told the court Friday.

390 words by Ted Clifford, The State (Columbia, S.C.). MOVED

PHOTOS

Judge dismisses Flint water charges against ex-Gov. Rick Snyder

MICH-FLINT-WATER-SNYDER:DTN — DETROIT — A Genesee County Circuit Court judge has ordered the dismissal of charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder related to the Flint water crisis, but Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's Flint legal team vowed to appeal.

Judge F. Kay Behm on Wednesday ruled that a June Michigan Supreme Court ruling was controlling on Snyder's case when the high court declared unconstitutional the use of a one-judge grand jury to charge the Flint defendants.

762 words by Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News. MOVED

PHOTOS

EPA says no drinking water was contaminated by Keystone Pipeline oil spill in Kansas

KAN-KEYSTONE-OILSPILL:KC — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said no drinking water was contaminated after a Keystone Pipeline oil spill in northern Kansas.

The spill, which is the largest in the pipeline’s history, released an estimated 14,000 barrels of oil into Mill Creek in Washington County on Wednesday night.

393 words by Natalie Wallington, The Kansas City Star. MOVED

PHOTOS

Chaos erupts after Kevin de León shows up at his first LA City Council meeting since October

LA-COUNCIL-DELEON:LA — LOS ANGELES — Council member Kevin de León showed up in Los Angeles City Council chamber Friday morning, appearing briefly at a council meeting for the first time since fallout from a racist leaked audio tape roiled the city in mid-October.

The question of when — or if — de León would return had loomed large at City Hall for nearly two months. His name was frequently invoked even as his seat remained empty, with protesters regularly interrupting the thrice-weekly meetings to demand his resignation.

1049 words by Julia Wick and David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

Seattle Archdiocese pays $2.3 million to settle five claims of sexual abuse

RELIG-SEXABUSE-SETTLEMENT:SE — SEATTLE —The Archdiocese of Seattle has paid nearly $2.3 million since August to settle five claims brought by people who alleged they were sexually abused decades ago by clergy and parish school personnel.

The settlements, for allegations of abuse occurring in the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s, were announced by the archdiocese in November. Three of the five cases involve alleged perpetrators who have since died. They are the only individuals named in an archdiocesan news release.

983 words by Lauren Girgis, The Seattle Times. MOVED

Hospital financial decisions play a role in the critical shortage of pediatric beds for RSV patients

HEALTH-RSV-HOSPITALS-FINANCES:KHN — The dire shortage of pediatric hospital beds plaguing the nation this fall is a byproduct of financial decisions made by hospitals over the past decade, as they shuttered children’s wards, which often operate in the red, and expanded the number of beds available for more profitable endeavors like joint replacements and cancer care.

To cope with the flood of young patients sickened by a sweeping convergence of nasty bugs — especially respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, and coronavirus — medical centers nationwide have deployed triage tents, delayed elective surgeries, and transferred critically ill children out of state.

1276 words by Liz Szabo, Kaiser Health News. MOVED

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BUSINESS

Juul agrees to pay $1.2 billion in youth-vaping settlement

JUUL-SETTLEMENT:BLO — Juul Labs Inc. has agreed to pay $1.2 billion to resolve about 10,000 lawsuits targeting the e-cigarette maker as a major cause of a U.S. youth-vaping epidemic, according to people familiar with the matter.

The accord, which hasn’t yet been finalized, was announced on Tuesday, but an amount wasn’t disclosed. The deal aims to resolve all personal-injury, class-action and school-district claims against Juul gathered before a judge in California for pre-trial information exchanges, the people said.

561 words by Jef Feeley, Malathi Nayak, Bloomberg News. MOVED

PHOTOS

December Fed Meeting Preview: How many more giant rate hikes are left? ‘This is where it becomes the tough part’

PFP-BANKRATE-FED:MCT — The Federal Reserve’s busiest year for rate hikes since Jimmy Carter was president may be coming to an end — but U.S. central bankers’ rate increases are far from over.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is projected to raise interest rates by half a percentage point when it gathers for its final meeting of the year on Dec. 13-14. That decision will cap the year off with seven straight increases worth a whopping 4.25 percentage points, moves the Fed made in just nine months — a pace unheard of since its last inflation fight in the 1980s.

1856 words by Sarah Foster, Bankrate.com. MOVED

PHOTOS

ENTERTAINMENT

The 5 juiciest tidbits from Netflix’s ‘Harry & Meghan’ doc (so far)

VID-HARRY-MEGHAN-TIDBITS:LA — After months of anticipation, “Harry & Meghan,” the docuseries about Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, has finally landed on Netflix.

The first three of six total episode arrived Thursday, offering a glimpse into the private world of the notorious ex-royals —and enough provocations to send ardent monarchists clutching for their pearls.

1089 words by Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

Commentary: Harry and Meghan throw the gauntlet to William and Kate

VID-HARRY-MEGHAN-COMMENTARY:BLO — Some of the blows were low. In the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s slick new Netflix documentary, Prince Harry took aim at his brother, the Prince of Wales, and his father, King Charles, while his wife Meghan swiped at her sister-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales.

“I think for so many people in the family, especially the men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mold as opposed to somebody you perhaps are destined to be with,” Harry said. Perhaps that’s a fair, if unfilial, reflection on his father’s doomed marriage to his mother, Princess Diana. But what a cruel judgement on his brother William’s choice of wife.

1183 words by Martin Ivens, Bloomberg Opinion. MOVED

PHOTOS

‘Harry & Meghan’ review: In Part I, the couple addresses racism and the press — but so far steer clear of royal family digs

VID-HARRY-MEGHAN-REVIEW:TB — The British royals have entered a new flop era. We’ve been here before.

But while the 1990s were beset by scandals and the death of a princess, even Princess Diana’s sure-footed and damning 1995 Panorama interview about her life in the royal family was just an hour long. The Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan,” from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, is an even more ambitious project at six times that length. To its credit, it’s hard to compare it to anything — and it’s trying to do everything: Pull back the curtain, right some wrongs and reframe the conversation.

2101 words by Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune. MOVED

PHOTOS

Gloria's 'Estefan Family Christmas' a labor of love from Miami

MUS-ESTEFAN:MI — MIAMI — You may think you know the Estefan family.

After all, more than 45 years have gone by since Gloria and Emilio released “Live Again/Renacer” as the first Miami Sound Machine album. Nearly 40 since “Conga” crossed over from Miami clubs to global pop charts. Closing in on 30 years after Gloria took listeners back to her Cuban homeland on “Mi Tierra.”

1661 words by Howard Cohen, Miami Herald. MOVED

PHOTOS

Inside Trevor Noah's tearful goodbye to 'The Daily Show'

TV-DAILYSHOW-NOAH-FINALE:LA — NEW YORK — Trevor Noah, who went from being an unknown quantity to American TV viewers to a smart, satirical voice on Comedy Central, signed off from "The Daily Show" for the final time Thursday.

Noah was reflective and subdued in front of a live audience at the studio on Manhattan's West Side where the show is taped, often speaking at length about a seven-year sojourn that began when Jon Stewart handed over the host chair of the influential comedy talk show.

803 words by Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

Taylor Swift is set to direct her first feature film from her original script

MOVIE-SWIFT:LA — Pop musician Taylor Swift will make her feature directorial debut after writing an original script for the Searchlight Pictures film.

The studio behind the Oscar-winning movies “Nomadland,” “The Shape of Water” and “Birdman”announced the move in a statement Friday.

544 words by Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

Dismissal of journalists’ lawsuit against Golden Globes is upheld

GOLDENGLOBES-HFPA-LAWSUIT:LA — LOS ANGELES — The 9th Circuit of Appeals Court has upheld the federal district court's earlier decision to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit that a Norwegian entertainment reporter filed against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind the Golden Globe Awards.

In the summer of 2020, reporter Kjersti Flaa filed suit alleged that, although the HFPA is a tax-exempt organization, it acted like a private club and a cartel, barring qualified applicants who might compete with existing members and severely hampering their professional opportunities.

560 words by Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

'Elden Ring' wins Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022

VIDEOGAMES-GAME-AWARDS:LA — LOS ANGELES — The Game Awards returned to Los Angeles' Microsoft Theater Thursday night for its first in-person event since the COVID-19 pandemic. Basking in the cheers of the gaming community was FromSoftware's "Elden Ring," which won the top Game of the Year prize.

"We have faced so many difficulties while developing this game...so I'm really relieved," said director Hidetaka Miyazaki. "I haven't made up my mind to create even more interesting games than this one. As for 'Elden Ring,' we still have more things we want to do, so getting this GOTY award really, really encourages us."

1235 words by Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

Review: The Game Awards celebrate growth in video games, but the ceremony still needs to evolve

VIDEOGAMES-GAME-AWARDS-REVIEW:LA — LOS ANGELES — The Game Awards are a course study in giving an audience what it thinks it wants.

And if you're a consumer of interactive entertainment, the Game Awards believe you want teasers, previews and a whole lot of marketing. "Elden Ring," a complex and, for many, a captivatingly convoluted fantasy role-playing game, won big at the show, but it was, as is typical for the Game Awards, overshadowed by looks ahead at new games and prods from host Geoff Keighley to take advantage of demos and sales, sometimes for games and sometimes for food delivery services.

1250 words by Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

'Jackass' star Bam Margera reportedly hospitalized with pneumonia and COVID-19 complications

MARGERA:LA — TV personality and former pro skateboarder Bam Margera, known for the "Jackass" franchise, was hospitalized this week with complications related to COVID-19, TMZ reported on Friday.

Margera was hospitalized earlier this week with pneumonia and later tested positive for COVID-19, TMZ said in a report. He was placed on a ventilator and remained in the intensive care unit at a San Diego hospital.

449 words by Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

R. Kelly, disgraced R&B singer in prison for sexual trafficking, releases new album

MUS-RKELLY:LA — R. Kelly, the disgraced R&B singer currently serving a 30-year prison sentence for federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges, has managed to release a new album, provocatively titled "I Admit It."

The 13-song album, credited to Kelly as the main writer with "D. Johnson" as producer," covers usual Kelly terrain on tracks like "I Got It" and "Good Old Days" until the final three tracks, a 19-minute long triptych where he "confesses" to relationships with fans and straying on a partner, while obliquely acknowledging and protesting his long, sordid list of sex crime convictions.

354 words by August Brown, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

Britney Spears’ husband wants fans to respect her privacy amid her ‘suspicious’ behavior

MUS-SPEARS-ASGHARI:NY — Britney Spears’ husband thinks her lack of privacy is toxic.

Sam Asghari urged the “Gimme More” singer’s fans to give her more privacy, saying in an Instagram story he makes a point not to post about the pop star.

268 words by Jami Ganz, New York Daily News. MOVED

PHOTOS

Kumail Nanjiani already had a complicated relationship with food. 'Eternals' didn't help

MOVIE-ETERNALS-NANJIANI-FOOD:LA — Kumail Nanjiani has shed more light about his time on Marvel's "Eternals." This time, he's reflecting on how the action movie negatively affected his body image and eating habits.

Days after fellow actors Brendan Fraser and Jennifer Lawrence spoke up about losing weight for previous roles, the "Welcome to Chippendales" star said "'Eternals' brought a lot of those issues up to the surface."

401 words by Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

PHOTOS

HBO docuseries shines light on controversial church’s plans in Georgia

TV-UNVEILED-GA:AT — ATLANTA — In between emotional interviews with victims of sexual abuse, a new HBO docuseries about a megachurch’s pedophilic leader takes viewers on an aerial tour of Hall County, Georgia. There are shots of sprawling forests and bucolic Flowery Branch, a small town on the shores of Lake Lanier.

The program, titled “Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo,” lays out longstanding patterns of alleged abuse at La Luz del Mundo, which translates to The Light of the World. The Mexican-based church has a reported 5 million members across the globe — and a large Georgia footprint.

553 words by Lautaro Grinspan, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. MOVED

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Review: ‘EO’ is a donkey’s tale, clear-eyed and moving

EO-MOVIE-REVIEW:TB — A prime year for cinematic donkeys: That’s one way to remember 2022.

“Prime” does not mean “kind.” Jenny, the wee miniature companion of Colin Farrell’s character in “The Banshees of Inisherin,” provides reliable emotional support for a lonely soul, at least until Jenny meets a fate befitting a Martin McDonagh tale of woe. In “Triangle of Sadness,” Ruben Östlund’s black comedy now streaming, a donkey meets an even grislier fate, thanks to hungry survivors of a luxury cruise ship disaster.

739 words by Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune. MOVED

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OP-ED

Commentary: Mass long-COVID disability threatens the economy

LONGCOVID-COMMENTARY:BLO — Forget the work-from-home revolution or quiet quitting: The COVID-19 pandemic’s biggest impact on the U.S. labor market will be as a mass disability event. It’s a shock that the economy is not well prepared to handle.

An estimated 1 in 4 COVID patients experience symptoms lasting months. In principle, not all of them should have to leave the labor force. First, they should be able to call in sick. If work-impairing symptoms persist beyond a week or two, they should have the option of requesting reduced hours or claiming short-term disability benefits. Only in severe cases, lasting several months or more, should they have to transition to long-term disability insurance.

476 words by Kathryn A. Edwards, Bloomberg Opinion. MOVED

PHOTOS

Commentary: By sharing their genetic risks, Hemsworth, Jolie are raising awareness of testing

GENETIC-RISKS-COMMENTARY:TB — When actor Chris Hemsworth, aka Thor, God of Thunder, agreed to host a National Geographic series about extending the human life span, he didn’t expect to discover a genetic risk of his own. But that’s what happened as Hemsworth revealed on an episode of “Limitless” that he carries a common change in the APOE gene associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Hemsworth almost opted to keep his finding private, but in the end he decided to go public, a decision reminiscent of actor Angelina Jolie, who in 2013 revealed that she carries a change in the gene called BRCA1 that confers a high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Jolie, another actor whose roles have included superheroes on screen, chose to have risk-reducing surgeries and inspired many to get similar testing, and her example sparked broad discussion about the power of genes to offer predictions about the future risk for cancer.

819 words by Robert C. Green, Chicago Tribune. MOVED

PHOTOS

Commentary: Is computer programming a ‘dirty job’?

TECHJOBS-COMMENTARY:MCT — In his TV show "Dirty Jobs," host Mike Rowe is famous for promoting work that most people don’t want to do, such as septic tank cleaner or snake wrangler. He has exposed audiences to roles that are essential to our society but often avoided, especially by Americans who pursue a college education. Employers find it difficult to recruit people to these positions. Usually the drawbacks to the “dirty jobs” are obvious, even if the pay is high, as it can be for plumbers.

In contrast to the vital roles of maintaining a sewage treatment plant or catching rattlesnakes, tech jobs are comfortable in a physical sense, and they are not low-status. Why does it seem like tech workers are in short supply, along with plumbers?

677 words by Joy Buchanan, Tribune News Service. MOVED

PHOTOS

Faye Flam: Let's leave the oil — and the ‘zombie viruses’ — under the permafrost

FLAM-COLUMN:BLO — Vast stretches of permafrost are melting as the Earth’s polar regions warm, thawing ancient viruses and bacteria that had remained frozen for tens of thousands of years. Behind the lurid headlines about “zombie viruses,” there’s some fascinating science — and a warning.

Last month, scientists announced they’d taken a sample of tundra from Siberia, extracted a virus that had been frozen for 50,000 years, and showed it was still capable of infecting its normal host — amoebas. It was not only a virus new to scientists but also a member of an intriguing group of giant viruses. These are shaking up scientists’ understanding of how viruses evolved, representing a sort of missing link with other life forms.

956 words by Faye Flam, Bloomberg Opinion. MOVED

PHOTOS

Joe Battenfeld: Democrats issue ultimatum to New Hampshire on first in the nation primary

BATTENFELD-COLUMN:YB — The Democrats’ attack on New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary — political payback for President Joe Biden’s humiliating loss there — has sparked a high-stakes confrontation that jeopardizes the party’s hold on the Granite State.

The DNC led by Biden is essentially blackmailing New Hampshire to scuttle its law mandating the state to be the first primary or be bumped down in the order of states holding contests.

440 words by Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald. MOVED

PHOTOS

Editorial: Radicalization for all: German coup plot shows power of online conspiracies

GERMANY-EXTREMISTS-EDITORIAL:NY — A secret group of German ultranationalists being arrested after plotting to overthrow the government, murder the chancellor and install a monarch is a situation you might expect to find in a 19th or 20th century history textbook, not contemporary headlines.

Yet in these strange times we live in, exactly that happened this week as German police arrested 25 people of a roughly 50-member group of fanatics bent on reestablishing a state modeled around the nation’s Second Reich, under Kaiser Wilhelm and Bismarck. Better that than the Third Reich under you know who. All hail the descendant of a former noble family calling himself Prince Heinrich XIII.

359 words by New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News. MOVED

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Editorial: The final nail: Walker’s loss shows the Trump train is out of fuel

GASENATE-TRUMP-EDITORIAL:NY — Do you remember that Donald Trump has already thrown his hat in the ring for the 2024 presidential election? Odds are it slipped your mind, on account of more-or-less general indifference not only from a media that seems to have finally learned some lessons, but even a national GOP that has at last tired of his toxicity.

Regular readers of these pages will know that we have painstakingly detailed the many, many reasons that the former New York real estate promoter and lifelong fraudster is constitutionally, categorically unfit to run a hot dog stand, let alone the nation’s executive branch. Yet in this cynical game of politics, the coin of the realm is often not fitness but electoral firepower, and many prominent Republicans swallowed their pride and threw in their chips with the man they thought could deliver.

363 words by New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News. MOVED

PHOTOS

Editorial: Feds continue kicking the can on REAL ID

REAL-ID-EDITORIAL:LV — More than 20 years after 9/11, Americans are still taking their shoes off at airport checkpoints and remain prohibited from packing larger bottles in their luggage. Yet the folks at the Department of Homeland Security continue to be flummoxed about how to implement more stringent identification requirements for airline passengers.

On Monday, the department announced that it was again delaying enforcement of the Real ID Act, which Congress passed 17 years ago. The legislation imposed certain standards on states for issuing driver’s licenses and ID cards, forcing recipients to provide additional documentation. The purpose was to enhance travel security by improving the reliability of state-issued identification.

479 words by Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas Review-Journal. MOVED

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SPORTS

Croatia pulls off World Cup stunner, ousts Brazil in shootout

SOC-WORLDCUP-CROATIA-BRAZIL:DPA — AL RAYYAN, Qatar — Neymar's goal was not enough as powerful Brazil crashed out of the World Cup, 4-2, on penalties against Croatia in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Rodrygo and Marquinhos missed from the spot for Brazil, while Nikola Vlasic, Lovro Majer, captain Luka Modric and Mislav Orsic converted all four penalties taken by Croatia following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes.

660 words by Nathalia Araújo and Patrick Reichardt, dpa. MOVED

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Argentina defeats Netherlands on penalty kicks to advance to World Cup semifinals

SOC-WORLDCUP-ARGENTINA-NETHERLANDS:LA — LUSAIL, Qatar — Lionel Messi's World Cup hopes are still alive, but Tuesday's quarterfinal win over the Netherlands didn't come easily and it didn't come quickly — nor did Messi do it alone.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez made two saves in a five-round penalty-kick shootout to lift Argentina past the Netherlands following a game that ended in a 2-2 draw. Messi had a goal and an assist, then got Argentina started in the shootout by converting on his attempt.

647 words by Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times. MOVED

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