United States

Jimmy Carter, serving as US President from 1977 to 1981, has died at 100 at his home in Plains, Georgia; in 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work as he brokered peace between Israel and Egypt amid Iraq hostages crisis

President Biden signed a law making the white-headed sea eagle the official symbol of the United States, after it had been the country's symbol for more than two centuries, although not formalised

President-elect Donald Trump and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son announced a $100 billion investment in the US aimed at generating 100.000 new jobs; Trump called the investment "a monumental demonstration of confidence in America's future"

President-elect Trump, on his first trip overseas since winning the election, met in Paris with French President Macron and Ukraine's leader Zelenskiy for talks on 7 December, before the ceremony for the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral

An executive grant of clemency for a “full and unconditional pardon” has been signed by President Joe Biden for his son Hunter who faced sentencing for federal tax and gun convictions; the pardon cannot be reversed by next presidents coming in office

The Texas State Board of Education approved a controversial, Bible-infused curriculum for public school students in kindergarten through fifth grade; schools will not be required to use "BlueBonnet" curriculum but will receive extra funding if they do

President Biden and Chinese Xi Jinping met in Lima, Peru, the last meeting in long political relationship that began in 2009 when both were vice-presidents; the only commitment made was not to let artificial intelligence decide on the use of atomic weapon

Three daughters of Malcolm X have sued the CIA, the US intelligence agency, the FBI, the federal police investigative agency, and the New York Police Department accusing them of responsibility for the 1965 murder of the civil rights leader

Dozens of monkeys escaped a research facility in South Carolina last week after an employee improperly locked the fence; of the 43 Rhesus macaques that broke out, only one has been captured in the following hours and many are still at large

Republican former President Trump has been elected as the United States’ 47th president following wins in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, in the 2024 race against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris who would have been the country's first female President

TikTok could be banned in the US starting January 2025 unless ByteDance sells it; although mother companies insist they are independent of the Chinese government, deep concerns persist about its ties to the Chinese state

The New York City Council passed a bill allowing pedestrians to cross the street at any time without adhering to traffic signals, it has now 30 days to became law if not vetoed by the Mayor; illegal since 1958, jaywalking carried a fine of up to $250