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Many reported drone sightings in New Jersey since mid-November are lawful manned aircraft, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI said Saturday. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas nonetheless acknowledged yesterday some remain unidentified and said the agency is monitoring the situation and deploying additional resources.
The statement comes as the FBI has received over 5,000 tips since November regarding drone sightings in New Jersey and five other East Coast states, including sightings over a military air base. Many of these objects, largely observed at night, are described as larger than typical hobbyist drones, with some reportedly as large as cars. The activity has even temporarily shut down a runway in New York. See video of some sightings here.
The activity has sparked comparisons to last year's Chinese spy balloon sightings, with Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R, NJ-2) suggesting Iran is behind the recent drones. The FBI and US Coast Guard maintain there is no evidence to date of foreign involvement or illegal or malicious activity. |
South Korea's highest court will meet today to begin discussing whether to uphold the impeachment of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol. The court has six months to determine whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate him following parliament's impeachment vote Saturday.
The vote was the second of two such attempts after Yoon temporarily returned the country to martial law for the first time since the 1980s. Saturday's impeachment attempt proved successful, with 204 legislators surpassing the two-thirds majority threshold needed to suspend Yoon's powers. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, appointed by Yoon, is serving as interim president while Yoon has been stripped of his powers pending the court's determination.
Lawmakers are meanwhile investigating Yoon and his inner circle for rebellion. Yoon's office was raided by police last week, and he has reportedly defied a summons from prosecutors. Arrest warrants have been issued against multiple high-level officials, including the country's former defense minister, who resigned after allegedly recommending martial law to Yoon. |
Colorado standout Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy Saturday night, becoming the second player in school history to earn the honor. The two-way star—excelling in both offense and defense—beat out Ashton Jeanty (Boise State, RB), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon, QB), and Cam Ward (Miami, QB).
Considered the top overall recruit in the 2022 class, Hunter began his career at Jackson State—then led by ex-NFL star and current Colorado coach Deion Sanders—becoming the first five-star recruit of the modern era to commit to a historically Black school. He later followed Sanders to Colorado in 2023.
A rare full-time two-way player, Hunter played 1,380 snaps this season—670 on offense, 686 on defense, and 24 on special teams. At wide receiver, he notched 1,152 yards and 15 touchdowns; at cornerback, he accounted for four interceptions and one forced fumble. He also became the first player in the sport's history to win awards honoring the best defensive player and wide receiver.
Hunter is widely projected as the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Watch highlights here. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Zakir Hussain, legendary Indian tabla player and four-time Grammy winner, dies at age 73 (More) | Taylor Swift No. 1 on Billboard's year-end Top Artist chart for second straight year, first artist to top the year-end chart four times since it launched in 1981 (More) |
> Milwaukee Bucks beat the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder defeat Houston Rockets in 2024 NBA Cup semifinals; Bucks and Thunder matchup in second-ever NBA Cup final tomorrow (More) |
> Warner Bros. Discovery opts not to renew deal to air new episodes of "Sesame Street" on HBO and Max (More) | "Kraven The Hunter" brings in just $11M in its opening weekend, lowest-ever opener for a Sony-produced Marvel film (More) |
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> Louisiana reports its first human case of H5N1 bird flu, patient hospitalized; around 60 human cases have been confirmed nationwide but no human-to-human transmission observed; officials say threat to public remains low (More) | See bird flu stats (More) |
> AI-powered blood screening detects signs of breast cancer at stages earlier than existing tests; technique detected stage 1A tumor presence with 98% accuracy (More) |
> Astronomers observe a particle jet emanating from M87*—the first black hole to ever be imaged—with energy tens of millions of times greater than visible light (More) | Fascinated by black holes but don't know how they work? Start here (More) |
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> US stock markets close mixed Friday (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq +0.1%), with Dow's seven-day losing streak the longest since 2020 (More) |
> Broadcom's stock jumps 24% to all-time high Friday, pushing the company past $1T valuation; news came after Broadcom's quarterly earnings call spurred reports the company is working to develop AI server chips for Apple and OpenAI (More) |
> Amazon workers at two New York warehouses authorize possible strike after setting a Dec. 15 deadline for union contract bargaining dates; roughly 5,500 workers threaten to walk out days before Christmas (More) |
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> Cyclone Chido hits French territory of Mayotte as Category 4 storm, the most destructive cyclone to hit the Indian Ocean island in 90 years; 11 people confirmed dead and 250 injured as of this writing, with death toll expected to rise to several hundred or more (More) |
> ABC News agrees to pay $15M and $1M in attorneys' fees to settle President-elect Donald Trump's defamation case over anchor George Stephanopoulos' false claims Trump had been found civilly liable of raping E. Jean Carroll; a Manhattan court found Trump civilly liable of sexual battery, not rape (More) |
> An alleged Chinese spy attended a 2020 birthday party for Britain's Prince Andrew and was authorized to act on the prince's behalf in Chinese business dealings, UK court hears (More) |
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*Disclosure: "Journal of Retirement Study Winter" (2020). The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results. Please follow the link to see the methodologies employed in the Journal of Retirement study. |
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