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President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, last night, weeks before the younger Biden was due to be sentenced for federal gun and tax evasion charges. The announcement marked a reversal for the president, who had previously vowed not to interfere on his son’s behalf.
Hunter faced up to 25 years in prison after being convicted this year of lying on a 2018 gun application when he falsely asserted he was not addicted to illicit drugs. Hunter separately faced up to 17 years in prison and fines of up to $1.4M after pleading guilty to tax fraud charges related to counting strip club visits, rent, and children’s tuition as business expenses, among other items. He was due to be sentenced Dec. 12 and Dec. 16, respectively.
The president reportedly decided to pardon his son over the weekend, two months before President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to take office. Read the president’s statement here. |
Syrian rebels maintained control over the country's largest city, Aleppo, over the weekend while also advancing in the neighboring Hama province. The offensive marks the rebels' most significant gains against the Assad regime in years.
The rebels are led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadi group formed as an al-Qaida affiliate in 2011 before splintering off and forging other alliances. Based in Idlib province, the group has largely failed to capture territory amid rebel group infighting and a 2020 ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey. The latest offensive in Aleppo, which began Wednesday, came as Israel is seen to have significantly degraded the capabilities of Hezbollah, long considered a dominant force in the region and a key Assad ally.
The Syrian army, supported by Russian jet strikes, launched a series of airstrikes yesterday in an effort to retake the city while also setting up a defensive line in Hama province. See war updates here. |
Researchers say they've identified a new ancient human relative. The species, which researchers call "Homo juluensis," made stone tools and hunted animals in eastern Asia between 300,000 and 50,000 years ago, according to the study. The findings shed light on human evolution in the region, with researchers claiming a mysterious group known as the Denisovans may have been a subset.
Denisovans have long intrigued scientists. Despite some modern humans sharing as much as 6% of their DNA, limited remains have been found to date. The most complete specimen is a partial jawbone with a number of teeth found on China’s Tibetan Plateau, and the group does not have a formal species classification due to a lack of physical remains.
Researchers argue Homo juluensis’ large skull and broad teeth are different enough to justify a new species, while the teeth are similar enough to Denisovans that the group should be assigned to the new species.
Explore the human family tree here. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> MLS Cup Final (Dec. 7) set after Los Angeles Galaxy top the Seattle Sounders 1-0 and the New York Red Bulls defeat Orlando City SC 1-0 (More) | Michigan upsets No. 2 Ohio State; postgame scuffle broken up with pepper spray (More) | Skiing legend Mikaela Shiffrin injured in crash during bid for 100th World Cup win (More) |
> Marshall Brickman, Oscar-winning screenwriter, dies at age 85 (More) | Lou Carnesecca, Basketball Hall of Fame coach who won more than 500 career games, dies at age 99 (More) | Bob Bryar, former My Chemical Romance drummer, dies at age 44 (More) |
> US domestic box office hauls in a record $420M during five-day Thanksgiving weekend, including $221M for "Moana 2's" opening (More) |
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> Lockheed-Martin unveils solar array to power NASA's upcoming Artemis II mission; slated for as early as 2025, flight is the next step in returning humans to the moon (More) | The history of NASA (More, w/video) |
> Fossilized dinosaur droppings suggest the animals' flexible diet amid changing climates helped them become Earth's dominant species in the late Triassic period (More) |
> Researchers observe killer whales hunting whale sharks in the Gulf of California, the first time the behavior has been seen; orca pod used a coordinated attack method targeting the liver (More) |
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> US stock markets close higher Friday (S&P 500 +0.6%, Dow +0.4%, Nasdaq +0.8%), with Dow reaching record high, S&P 500 closing out best month of 2024 (More) |
> Meta plans to build $10B fiber-optic subsea cable extending around the world (over 40,000 kilometers); Meta's subsidiaries—Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—together account for 22% of mobile internet traffic (More) | Elon Musk files injunction to stop OpenAI from converting to a for-profit company (More) |
> Black Friday sales grew 3.4% year-over-year, per preliminary data from Mastercard; jump in sales powered by e-commerce, with online purchases up 14.6%, in-store up 0.7% (More) | Top e-commerce items included makeup, skincare, speakers, and headsets, per Adobe Analytics (More) |
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> President-elect Donald Trump threatens tariffs on Russia, eight other countries if they work to replace the US dollar in international transactions (More) | Trump names Kash Patel—lead author of the "Nunes memo"—as his pick for FBI director (More) | What is the "Nunes memo"? (More) | Trump taps in-laws Charles Kushner and Massad Boulos—to diplomatic positions; see running list of appointments (More) |
> Dozens injured in protests in Tbilisi, Georgia, following pro-Russian ruling party's decision to suspend EU accession talks; opposition party boycotts parliament, calls for new election while reasserting allegations of fraud in October vote (More) |
> Ireland vote counting continues as of this writing, with long-ruling right-wing parties Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael expected to form coalition with smaller parties (More) | Iceland's left-wing Social Democratic Alliance wins snap election (More) |
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