Florida condo collapse victims to get $4.9M from fundraising efforts

Support Surfside was created in the wake of the June 14 collapse of Champlain Towers South outside Miami that left 98 people dead.
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Chinese Embassy in France releases anti-American song: US is ‘human rights cop’

China is whispering to U.S. allies behind America's back – in the form of a poorly produced music video.
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Thousands of Afghan allies, families still trapped under Taliban control

Thousands of Afghans who assisted the United States government and military during the two-decade-long war against the Taliban are still stuck in the country.
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Amtrak drops vax mandate for employees, won’t have to cut service

The railroad entity told its workers in a memo that it would allow those who were not vaccinated to get tested as an alternative.
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Companies scramble to defend against newly discovered 'Log4j' digital flaw

The vulnerability was publicly disclosed last week in an unexpected way — through the popular game Minecraft. Embedded in a common software tool, it could potentially impact billions of devices.
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35 hospitalized in Florida with severe bleeding after smoking synthetic ‘spice’

At least 35 people have been hospitalized in Florida for severe bleeding after smoking synthetic marijuana that they bought from local drug dealers, officials announced.
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Police investigating ‘suspicious death’ at Tesla plant in California

California police are investigating a “suspicious death” at Tesla’s Fremont manufacturing plant on Monday, officials said. Fremont Fire Department personnel responded to the Tesla plant just before 3:30 p.m. local time on reports of a subject down in the parking lot, according to an alert from Fremont Police Department. Firefighters provided medical aid before declaring...
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Majority of US voters feel country headed off on ‘wrong track’: poll

The majority of US voters feel the country is headed “off on the wrong track” — citing economic conditions, the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in crime, according to a poll.
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Elon Musk is Time's 2021 Person of the Year

The magazine says it gives the title to the person who had the greatest influence for the past year. Musk, the richest person on Earth, is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla.
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Frustrated that you can't schedule an IRS callback? Biden signed an order to do that

The provision is part of an order Biden signed to make the government more consumer friendly. It also makes it simpler for disaster survivors to apply for help. The order covers 17 federal agencies.
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Vaccinators in Peru's Amazon are challenged by religion, rivers and a special tea

Peruvian health officials face many obstacles as they try to get everyone vaccinated, including those who live in remote and rural areas.
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Anne Rice, the gothic novelist who wrote 'Interview with the Vampire,' dies at age 80

"Interview With the Vampire" was Rice's first novel but over the next five decades, she would write more than 30 books and sell more than 150 million copies worldwide.
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We're not dying of metastatic breast cancer. We're living with it

Getting diagnosed with incurable breast cancer didn't end this reporter's life — it just marked a new chapter. She and others with the diagnosis have insights that might help you, too.
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Southeast Asians are underrepresented in STEM. The label 'Asian' boxes them out more

The way data on racial groups is typically collected in the U.S. has sidelined smaller Asian populations like Hmong, Lao and Filipino Americans for decades. Now, there are growing calls for change.
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Activists wanted Biden to revamp the justice system. Many say they're still waiting

Advocates who want big changes to the criminal justice system are pressing the Biden administration. They want him to grant clemency for a few thousand people and make key personnel decisions.
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New York City is decked out for the holidays, but business owners are anxious

Amid the general air of merriment, an air of dread fills the air. Business owners feel the pressure to make money from every last sale this holiday season.
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Over 80 killed in tornadoes in central U.S.; Biden declares emergency in Kentucky

A severe storm system caused scores of deaths and injuries and significant damage at a Kentucky candle factory, an Amazon facility in Illinois, a nursing home in Arkansas and many homes and buildings.
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One skier dead in Washington avalanche

A man has died and five other skiers were buried in an avalanche in the Silver Basin area of Crystal Mountain in Washington state Saturday, police said.
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Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother says she believes Jeffrey Epstein was murdered

Ghislaine Maxwell believes that Jeffery Epstein was murdered, her brother Ian suggested in an interview.
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French Olympic swimmer Yannick Agnel accused of raping 15-year-old

Yannick Agnel, 29, was arrested Thursday in Paris in connection with the rape and sexual assault of a 15-year-old.
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The prosecution rests its case in Ghislaine Maxwell's sex-trafficking trial

A fourth and final accuser took the stand Friday, offering yet another harrowing story about being lured into sexual exploitation.
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What omicron's fast spread could mean for the U.S. – and the world

The variant has spread through South Africa with remarkable speed — and been detected in at least 60 other countries. Specialists are trying to figure out the next stage for this unwelcome variant.
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Nobel Peace laureates blast tech giants and warn against rising authoritarianism

"If you're working in tech, I'm talking to you," Rappler CEO Maria Ressa said. She later added, "What happens on social media doesn't stay on social media."
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Redditors are spamming Kellogg's job portal in solidarity with its striking workers

Temporary employees have been working at cereal plants across Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Tennessee since the strike began in October.
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READ: Key excerpts from the Supreme Court ruling on S.B. 8, the Texas abortion case

The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing abortion providers to challenge the restrictive Texas abortion law and dismisses a Justice Department case against the law. Here are excerpts from Friday's opinion.
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New York's attorney general is seeking to question Donald Trump under oath

The request by New York Attorney General Letitia James represents a significant milestone in a long-running fraud investigation into the Trump family's business practices.
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Former Sen. Bob Dole lies in state at the Capitol as his colleagues pay tribute

The former lawmaker and presidential candidate was remembered by his former colleagues, including President Biden. He died on Dec. 5 at the age of 98.
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Poop sleuths hunt for early signs of omicron in sewage

Scientists have identified the new coronavirus variant in wastewater in a few U.S. cities. This type of surveillance can help communities stay a step ahead of omicron's spread.
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Opinion: I want my mom to see her grandkids for Christmas. Travel bans make it tough

Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa was planning for her mom to fly from Zambia to the U.S. for Christmas. Ever-changing travel bans are making it seem like a holiday dream that won't come true.
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Not invited to Biden's democracy summit, China launches a propaganda blitz

President Biden's Summit for Democracy has kicked off. China is not invited — but it's still trying to project its own narratives about democracy.
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Instagram's CEO faces senators accusing his company of harming some young users

Under sharp questioning by senators of both parties, Mosseri challenged statements that research found Instagram to be addictive for children. He said the site has take steps to protect young users.
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Supreme Court signals further erosion of separation of church and state in schools

The handwriting on the wall came during a nearly two-hour argument involving a challenge brought by two Maine families to the state's unusual way of providing public education.
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D.C. council renames the street in front of the Saudi embassy after Jamal Khashoggi

The decision marks a rebuke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who according to U.S. intelligence approved the killing of the former Washington Post journalist and critic of Saudi policy.
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Trial begins for ex-officer Kim Potter, who fatally shot Daunte Wright

Defense lawyers argued that Potter's use of a weapon was justified, even as they acknowledged she meant to draw her Taser, not her handgun. "She's a human being," said attorney Paul Engh.
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A Coast Guard diver pulls a body from a submerged car just yards from Niagara Falls

The lone occupant of the car was a woman in her 60s. Authorities haven't released her name, pending notification of relatives. A helicopter lowered the diver to the car, stuck in rushing rapids.
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Reigning cats and dogs: Meet the winners of the Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021

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'Stonehenge of the sea' to be unveiled at British Museum

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Storm Barra hits: Forty flood alerts as UK battered by 70mph winds

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Watch: Pedestrian guilty of murdering driver who braked to avoid him

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Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: We must 'pin down' where 'ghost children' who have vanished from schools are, says Ofsted chief

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Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to two years for incitement

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Watch: How Kamala Harris became ‘the incredible disappearing vice president’

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Joey Barton cleared of pushing rival manager at the end of match after saying it wasn't him

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Hanukkah 2021: how the 'miracle of the oil' sparked the Jewish Festival of Lights

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Omicron will become UK's dominant Covid variant 'within weeks', says scientist

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Pope Francis returns to Lesbos, Greece and pleads for action on migrant crisis

Francis returned to Lesbos, an island that has been at the heart of a massive wave of migration to Europe, and called on nations to end "this shipwreck of civilization."
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Thomas Gavin might be America's most prolific artifact thief — but the jig is up

Thomas Gavin went on a tear in the '60s and '70s, hitting nearly a dozen museums on the East Coast. He mostly stole antique firearms and stashed them in his hideout — a barn in rural Pennsylvania.
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There is an environmental impact each time you hit 'buy now.' Here's an alternative

Overconsumption from the holiday shopping season can have negative an environmental impact. But there are ways to make gift giving more sustainable.
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These moms overcame homelessness. But the fight for a better life is far from over

After battling homelessness as single mothers, these four women strive to become advocates for other struggling families and create a better life for their children.
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Pro-Trump counties now have far higher COVID death rates. Misinformation is to blame

An analysis by NPR shows that since the vaccine rollout, counties that voted heavily for Donald Trump have had more than twice the COVID mortality rates of those that voted for Joe Biden.
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