Congress returns after holiday break to face lengthy to-do list – as it happened

Here’s more on Arizona’s election controversy, from the Hill.

Maricopa residents can cast a ballot at any of the county’s vote centers, so poll workers print customized ballots on demand to match one of more than 12,000 ballot styles, depending on where a voter lives.

But after previously testing the printers, county officials say they began hearing at 6:30 a.m. on Election Day that some machines were printing ballots too light for tabulators to read.

Republican supervisors in Mohave County said last week that they will sign off Monday but wanted to register a protest against voting issues in Maricopa County.

In Cochise County, GOP supervisors demanded that the secretary of state prove vote-counting machines were legally certified before they will approve the election results.

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‘There is a lot to do’: Bob Iger outlines vision for Disney as he returns as CEO

Priorities will be creativity and profitability, a shift from a costly streaming services growth strategy pursued by predecessor

Returning Disney boss Bob Iger told employees that he will prioritize creativity and profitability at a staff meeting at the company’s Burbank headquarters on Monday – outlining a shift from a costly streaming services growth strategy pursued by his predecessor, who was dramatically ousted from the company eight days ago.

Iger, 71, held the top Disney job from 2005 to 2020. After a two-year break, he was reinstated after the company ousted Bob Chapek following an earnings report that showed the company lost close to $1.5bn in just three months on its streaming services platform.

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Mexico requests extradition of American charged in tourist death

Shanquella Robinson reportedly died while on holiday after viral video shows her being beaten, apparently by an American woman

The US is weighing an extradition request from Mexico after authorities in the country charged an American woman with murdering another US woman shown being beaten while they vacationed in a viral video.

Prosecutors in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur have not named the suspect in the death of North Carolina’s Shanquella Robinson, who reportedly died of a severe spinal cord or neck injury while on holiday in Mexico on 29 October.

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US awaits ‘serious response’ from Russia over Brittney Griner release proposal

Diplomat in Moscow says US has ‘put a significant proposal on the table’ in effort to free basketball star jailed on drugs conviction

The US is waiting for a “serious response” from Russia to a series of proposals regarding the release of the basketball star Brittney Griner, a senior US diplomat said.

Elizabeth Rood, the US chargée d’affaires in Moscow, told Russia’s state-owned RIA news agency that talks about freeing Griner – who was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony on charges of possessing and smuggling drugs – were ongoing. But Rood said Russia was yet to seriously engage.

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Donald Trump ‘shied away from criticising Nick Fuentes’

Advisers wanted ex-president to distance himself from white supremacist with whom he dined but Trump feared alienating supporters – insiders

Donald Trump repeatedly refused to disavow the outspoken antisemite and white supremacist Nick Fuentes after they spoke over dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort, rejecting the advice from advisers over fears he might alienate a section of his base, two people familiar with the situation said.

The former US president was urged publicly and privately to denounce Fuentes in the aftermath of the dinner, which included the performer Ye, previously known as Kanye West, who has also recently been propagating antisemitic remarks.

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It ain’t me babe: Bob Dylan apologises for using a machine to autograph ‘hand-signed’ books

Musician admits he used an autopen to sign books and artworks due to his vertigo, after fans compared signatures and discovered they were identical

Bob Dylan has issued a rare public statement to apologise for his “error in judgment”, amid controversy over his use of a machine to autograph special copies of his new book that had been advertised as “hand-signed”.

The book, The Philosophy of Modern Song, features the legendary singer-songwriter’s commentary on tracks by other artists and was released in early November, with a limited run of 900 “hand-signed” editions sold for US$599 each. All copies came with a letter of authenticity from publisher Simon & Schuster.

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Nicole Kidman surprises Broadway with $100,000 bid for Hugh Jackman’s hat

Actor’s gesture draws gasps and cheers at charity auction, held after a performance of Jackman’s hit musical The Music Man

Nicole Kidman has surprised both Broadway audiences and Hugh Jackman by bidding US$100,000 (A$150,000, £83,000) for a hat signed by Jackman after a performance of her former co-star’s musical The Music Man.

During an auction for the charity Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids after the performance on Saturday, Kidman made her presence known by shouting her bid of $100,000 for the hat, which led to gasps and cheers in the crowd, then a standing ovation.

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Odell Beckham Jr removed from flight after refusing to fasten seatbelt

  • NFL star appeared to drift in and out of consciousness
  • Wide receiver was escorted off plane by police officers

NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr was removed by police from an aircraft before takeoff at Miami International Airport after officials said he failed to respond to requests to buckle his seatbelt and appeared to be unconscious, police and airline officials said on Sunday.

“Fearing that Mr Beckham was seriously ill, and that his condition would worsen through the expected five-hour flight, [aircraft crew members] called for police and fire rescue,” Miami-Dade Police Department said in a statement. “As they tried to wake [Beckham] to fasten his seat belt, he appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness.”

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Man who helped stop shooter at Colorado gay club ‘wanted to save family I found’

Navy member Thomas James was one of two men who prevented gunman from doing more harm after he killed five people

A member of the US Navy who was injured while helping prevent further harm during a shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado last weekend said on Sunday that he “simply wanted to save the family that I found”.

Petty officer 2nd class Thomas James made his first public comments on the shooting in a statement issued through Centura Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, where James is recovering from undisclosed injuries suffered during the attack.

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White House health officials: up-to-date vaccines key to move on from Covid

Fauci and Jha comments come amid campaign to encourage public to get the new coronavirus boosters as well as flu shots

White House public health officials offered cautious optimism that Americans could begin to move on from coronavirus, but cautioned that keeping immunity vaccination up-to-date and combating scientific disinformation remained key for the country to successfully emerge from the three-year Covid-19 pandemic.

“If you look at where we were a year ago at this time, when [coronavirus variant] Omicron started to surge, we were having 800,000 to 900,000 infections and 3,000 to 4,000 deaths [a day]. Today, we had less than 300 deaths. Yesterday, we had 350 deaths, and…anywhere from 27,000 to 45,000 cases” Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the US president, said.

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Jon Batiste to perform at Biden’s first White House state dinner

Dinner highlights long-standing ties between the US and France and honors President Macron

Musician Jon Batiste is on tap to perform at Joe Biden’s first White House state dinner, this Thursday, highlighting long-standing ties between the US and France and honoring President Emmanuel Macron.

“An artist who transcends generations, Jon Batiste’s music inspires and brings people together,” said Vanessa Valdivia, a spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden, whose office is overseeing dinner preparations.

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Republican says Trump ‘empowering’ extremists by having dinner with white supremacist

‘It’s very troubling,’ says Arkansas governor who condemned Trump’s meeting with anti-semite Nick Fuentes

The Republican governor of Arkansas on Sunday joined a chorus of criticism of Donald Trump for having dinner with American white supremacist and anti-semite Nick Fuentes, accusing the former US president of effectively “empowering” such extremists.

“It’s very troubling and it should not happen,” Asa Hutchinson told CNN’s State of the Union show on Sunday morning, becoming the most senior Republican politician to condemn the meeting.

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Workers at Amazon’s largest air hub in the world push to form a union

Employees at the company’s hub outside Cincinnati Northern Kentucky international airport are now mobilizing

Amazon workers at the air hub outside the Cincinnati Northern Kentucky international airport, Amazon’s largest air hub in the world, are pushing to organize a union in the latest effort to mobilize workers at the tech company.

Workers say they are dissatisfied with annual wage increases this year. About 400 of them have signed a petition to reinstate a premium hourly pay for Amazon’s peak season that hasn’t been enacted at the site yet. Their main demands also include a $30 an hour starting wage, 180 hours of paid time off and union representation at disciplinary hearings.

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January 6 report expected to focus on Trump’s role and potential culpability

Final report by House select committee is scheduled for release in December – but fixation on Trump has opened a rift on the panel

The House January 6 select committee’s final report into its investigation is expected to focus heavily on Donald Trump’s involvement in the Capitol attack and his potential culpability, opening a rift on the panel weeks before its scheduled release in the middle of December.

The nature of the final report – alongside criminal referrals to the justice department – is expected to be the defining legacy of the investigation that brought into sharp relief Trump’s efforts to stop the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s election win and return to the White House for a second term.

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Company fires 2,700 workers while they were sleeping days before Thanksgiving

Workers at Mississippi-based furniture company received text saying they were terminated right before midnight on 21 November

A Mississippi-based furniture company abruptly fired nearly 2,700 workers in the US just days before Thanksgiving, according to multiple reports.

Right before midnight on 21 November, thousands of workers – many of whom were asleep – received a text message from United Furniture Industries (UFI) saying that they were terminated effectively and were no longer allowed to return to work.

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US federal judge denies 19-year-old’s request to attend her father’s execution

Judge upholds Missouri law that bars anyone under 21 from witnessing an execution

A federal judge in the US has denied a request from a 19-year-old woman to allow her to watch her father’s death by injection, upholding a Missouri law that bars anyone under 21 from witnessing an execution.

Kevin Johnson is set to be executed Tuesday for killing Kirkwood police officer William McEntee in 2005. Johnson’s lawyers have appeals pending that seek to spare his life.

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University of Idaho killings: police receive over 260 digital submissions

Idaho governor also directs up to $1m in state emergency funds for investigation after four students killed

Police hunting who is behind the shocking killings of four University of Idaho students have now received hundreds of digital media submissions via an FBI internet link as they continue to seek clues for the unsolved crime.

In a statement released on Friday, the Moscow police department said that more than 260 digital media submissions have been sent in by community members since authorities launched an investigation into the quadruple homicide that happened on 13 November.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

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Early voting begins in Georgia Senate runoff after state supreme court ruling

Court allows early voting on a Saturday as polling shows Democrat Raphael Warnock with a lead over Herschel Walker

Thanks to a Georgia supreme court ruling, a week of early voting on Saturday began in nearly two dozen counties in the state for a contentious runoff between Democratic senator Raphael Warnock and Republican opponent Herschel Walker.

Recent polling commissioned by AARP shows Warnock with a four point lead over the Donald Trump-endorsed Walker ahead of the December 6 election.

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Trump condemned for dining with white supremacist Nick Fuentes

Democrats, anti-racist groups and some Republicans criticize president for meeting Fuentes at dinner with Kanye West

Democrats, anti-racist groups and some Republicans have condemned Donald Trump for having a dinner with American white supremacist and anti-semite Nick Fuentes after details of their encounter at the former US president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida emerged.

The meeting is the latest in a long line of incidents involving the former US president and the far right, including once referencing the Proud Boys in a presidential debate and his comments that there were “very fine people on both sides” after 2017 clashes at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one anti-fascist protester dead.

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Nasa’s Orion spacecraft enters lunar orbit as test flight nears halfway mark

Nasa considers capsule’s flight a dress rehearsal for the next moon flyby in 2024, with astronauts

Nasa’s Orion capsule has entered an orbit stretching tens of thousands of miles around the moon, as it neared the halfway mark of its test flight.

The capsule and its three test dummies entered lunar orbit more than a week after launching on the $4bn demo that’s meant to pave the way for astronauts. It will remain in this broad but stable orbit for nearly a week, completing just half a lap before heading home.

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