JUST IN - U.S. Senate votes 52-48 to repeal Biden's federal vaccination mandates. Senators Tester (D-MT) and Manchin (D-WV) joined all Republicans in voting yea.

Bill now goes to the Democrat-controlled House.

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NEW - China #Evergrande Group has officially declared in default for the first time (Bloomberg)

UPDATE - China's property developer #Kaisa defaults on $400 million debt.

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JUST IN - #Omicron cases are "mostly mild" in Europe so far, says the European Medicines Agency (EMA)

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JUST IN - Putin: Conflict in eastern Ukraine "looks like genocide"

Talks on peaceful settlement of Ukrainian crisis reached an impasse, says the Russian Foreign Ministry.

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JUST IN - Biden orders "preparations" in case diplomacy fails. US committed to ensuring Iran doesn't obtain nuclear weapons, the White House says.

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NOW - Psaki: Biden will veto bill banning the federal vaccine mandates if it comes to his desk.

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NEW - Biden reads a script and says "end of message" out loud and slowly at the end.

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JUST IN - Seven triple-vaccinated Germans become infected with #Omicron in South Africa. 6 of the 7 had the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA "booster" dose.

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/wissen/erste-berichtete-booster-durchbrueche-mit-omikron-sieben-junge-deutsche-infizieren-sich-in-suedafrika-trotz-dritt-impfung/27879838.html

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JUST IN - Jury finds former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett guilty on 5 of 6 counts: He lied, staged a race-baiting attack in Chicago.

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JUST IN - High Court in London allows extradition of Wikileaks Julian Assange to the United States.

A judge blocked Assange's extradition in January over concerns about his mental condition. The High Court said Friday that it had received appropriate assurances from the U.S. to meet the threshold for extradition.

He is wanted in the U.S. on charges of violating the Espionage Act.

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NEW - Scientist bitten twice by a lab mouse in #Taiwan while running experiments on different coronavirus variants in a high-security bio lab before testing positive for the virus.

It is the island's first local confirmed case in over a month.

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JUST IN - Next vaccine: Moderna announces "positive interim phase 1 data" for an #mRNA jab against the regular flu.

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JUST IN - U.S. consumer price inflation jumps 6.8% year over year in November, the largest increase since 1982.

Markets celebrate the "in line with consensus" record-high inflation data. US stock futures on the rise.

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JUST IN - U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Texas abortion providers can sue over the state’s ban on most abortions, but keeps the law in place.

In other words, this is a non-decision. SCOTUS is afraid of a clear ruling on the issue.

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NEW - Facebook asserts "fact checks," created by third-party organizations and used to remove content or to suspend users, are nothing more than "protected opinions" in a court filing.

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JUST IN - New York Gov. Hochul imposes a statewide indoor mask mandate. Up to $1,000 fine for each violation.

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JUST IN - #Omicron is projected to become the dominant variant in England by mid-December, claims the Health Security Agency now.

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NEW - Erdogan: Social media has turned into one of the main threats for "developed democracies like us." Disinformation, digital fascism, and fake news have become a global security issue.

Amnesty International: "Freedom of expression in Turkey is under sustained and increasing attack. Academics, journalists, and writers who criticize the government risk criminal investigation and prosecution, intimidation, harassment, and censorship."

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JUST IN - China: American-style democracy has become a "weapon of mass destruction" used to interfere in other countries' affairs.

CCP spokesperson: Our country practices a "whole-process people's democracy" under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

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