AAA is forecasting that 115 million people will go 50 miles or more from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day.
Nation & World
National and world news from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
Agreement on UN resolution on critical aid for Gaza is ‘very close’ and vote expected, sponsor says
The U.S. has been struggling to change the text’s references to a cessation of hostilities in the Israel-Hamas war, but the key sticking point is the inspection of aid trucks entering Gaza to ensure they are only carrying humanitarian goods.
Clarence Thomas faces calls to recuse himself from Jan. 6 Trump cases
Critics say Thomas’s wife’s publicly documented efforts to challenge the 2020 election results should disqualify him from making decisions on pivotal issues related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy days after being ordered to pay $148 million in defamation case
The former New York City mayor listed nearly $153 million in existing or potential debts.
Gunman opens fire in Prague university, killing 14 in Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting
Police gave no details about the victims or a possible motive for the shooting, and it remained unclear whether the shooter took his own life or was killed by officers.
Hamas leader visits Cairo as talks build for another Gaza cease-fire
The visit to Cairo by Ismail Haniyeh came a day after Hamas fired rockets that set off air raid sirens in central Israel.
FTC proposes strengthening children’s online privacy rules to address tracking, push notifications
The federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, requires kid-oriented apps and websites to get parents’ consent before collecting personal information of children under 13.
A fifth of U.S. hospitals have been warned over secretive prices
The records reveal the challenges U.S. regulators face as they try to force long-hidden prices into the open to address decades of rising medical expenses.
Carmakers fight massive air bag recall that may cost $10 billion
ARC’s airbags are used in cars made by GM, Ford, Stellantis NV, Tesla Inc., Volkswagen AG, Hyundai Motor Co., BMW, Kia Corp., Maserati, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Porsche, and Toyota Motor Corp.
U.S. child care costs at $40,000 force parents to get second jobs
The average cost in the U.S. for full time, in-home infant care like a nanny is around $39,270 per year, according to Care.com data.