Jimmy Carter’s Legacy, South Korean Turmoil, and GOP Divisions

Good Morning,

Former president Jimmy Carter died at 100, South Korea has launched a probe to investigate a plane crash that took 179 lives, internal conflict within the Republican Party has erupted over H-1B visas, and South Korean authorities requested an arrest warrant for Presidentg Yoon Suk-yeol.

Top Stories

• Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100 (AP)

• South Korea orders airline safety probe after worst domestic crash kills 179 (RT)

• The Taliban say they will close all NGOs employing Afghan women (AP)

• Trump says H-1B visa program is ‘great’ amid MAGA feud over tech workers (CNBC)

• Inside the Gaetz ethics report, a trove of new details alleging payments for sex and drug use (AP)

• Social Media Companies Face Global Tug-of-War Over Free Speech (NYT)

• A Record-Shattering $1 Trillion Poured Into ETFs This Year (WSJ)

• South Korea authorities seek arrest of Yoon over martial law declaration (AJ)

• Newly released pictures show Joe Biden meeting Hunter Biden’s Chinese business partners (CNN)

• Moldova's separatist region cuts gas as Ukraine transit deal runs out (RT)

• A fourth infant dies of the winter cold in Gaza as families share blankets in seaside tents (AP)

• Syria Looks to Pick Up the Pieces of Its Shattered Economy (WSJ)

• Japan's factory activity shrinks at slower pace, PMI shows (RT)

• WHO chief calls for end to hospital attacks in Gaza after strike (RT)

United States and Canada

• Canadian lawmaker to start work on defeating Trudeau government in early January (RT)

• Tornadoes in Texas and Mississippi kill 2 as storm system moves across southern U.S. (AP)

• The Number of Murders Kept Falling This Year, but Fear of Crime Persists (NYT)

• Trump asks Supreme Court to pause law that could ban TikTok (RT)

• Some Justice Department Lawyers Look for Protection—and the Exits (WSJ)

• Video of inmate’s fatal beating shows him handcuffed as correctional officers punch and kick him (CNN)

• US homelessness up 18 percent in last year amid cost of living crisis (AJ)

• Interior Dept. Is Caught Between Tribes in Casino Battles (NYT)

• Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen returns to a tournament after a dispute over jeans is resolved (AP)

Africa

• Trucks Carrying Aid Finally Reach Sudan’s War-Torn Capital Region (NYT)

• Chad holds parliamentary election likely to cement president's grip on power (RT)

• UN approves new AU force in Somalia (AN)

• Police in Kenya fire teargas to disperse protesters (RT)

• Libyan minister meets Syrian officials on security issues (AN)

• At least 71 people killed in Ethiopia road accident (AJ)

• Angola's president grants pardons to dozens of prisoners, including predecessor's son (AN)

Middle East

• Israeli hospital says Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgery (AP)

• Turkey ready to supply power to Syria and Lebanon, energy minister says (RT)

• Calls for the release of Gaza hospital director detained by Israel (AJ)

• Syrian elections could take up to 4 years to organize, de facto leader says (CNN)

• Cold Takes More Infant Lives in Gaza, Adding to the War’s Civilian Toll (NYT)

• Iran Detains Prominent Italian Journalist Cecilia Sala (WSJ)

• Turkey's jailed PKK leader is reported to suggest he might be ready to end insurgency (RT)

Indo-Pacific

• Chinese man sentenced to death for killing 35 people after driving into a crowd (AP)

• Azerbaijan Airlines Says Deadly Crash Caused by ‘External Interference’ (WSJ)

• South Korea’s Acting President Has Been in Office Only Since Friday (NYT)

• Thailand says no evidence of bank transactions for Myanmar weapons (RT)

• Ignoring Warnings, a Growing Band of Tourists Venture to Afghanistan (NYT)

• A 9th telecoms firm has been hit by a massive Chinese espionage campaign, the White House says (AP)

• North Korea launches 'toughest' U.S. strategy in key party meeting (RT)

Europe

• Finnish investigators find anchor drag mark on the Baltic seabed following cable damage (AP)

• Berlin says Elon Musk trying to exert influence over German election (RT)

• Finland Seizes Tanker Linked to Russia After More Undersea Baltic Cables Cut (WSJ)

• New Georgian president sworn in, as pro-EU predecessor says she takes ‘legitimacy’ with her (CNN)

• Croatia’s incumbent president gains most votes for re-election, but not enough to avoid a runoff (AP)

• Biden announces $2.5 billion in fresh military aid to Ukraine (RT)

• Belarus’ strongman leader pardons 20 more prisoners, but rights groups say repression continues (AP)

Latin America

• Haitians Flee Gangs on a Mountain Trail ‘Where Even the Dogs Don’t Go’ (WSJ)

• Chinese workers found in ‘slavery-like conditions’ in Brazil taken to hotels as probe gets underway (AP)

• Procuraduría destituye e inhabilita a Olmedo López y Sneyder Pinilla por escándalo en la UNGRD (SM)

• Bolivia’s former leader Evo Morales seeks a political comeback from his stronghold in the tropics (AP)

• Investigan por intimidación pública a dos rusos que manipularon un dron sobre el Congreso (CA)

• Peru’s Navy rescues dozens of fishermen stranded at sea as giant waves pound shore (AP)

• Denuncian que presos políticos recluidos en El Rodeo I son sometidos a condiciones inhumanas (LN)