The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for several Israeli and Hamas leaders,an Israeli strike in Syria killed dozens,and dozens of US lawmakers called for a classified briefing on Turkey's support for Hamas.This comes as US envoy Amos Hochstein expressed confidence in a Lebanon cease-fire,the US vetoed a UN resolution calling for a Gaza cease-fire,and Iran offered to cap its enriched uranium stock to up to 60% purity,as it activated a series of new centrifuges.Meanwhile, Pres. Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold on using Russia's nuclear arsenal,as he confirmedthat Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Ukraine,US Pres. Joe Biden approved the sending of anti-personnel mines to Kyiv,and Ukraine and NATO prepared to hold an emergency meeting.In other news, Russia blocked a UN effort to end hostilities in Sudan,China and Russia opposed a new UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti,and residents fought alongside police to fend off a gang attack in Haiti's Pétion-Ville.

The US officially recognized Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia as the nation's president-elect,Sri Lankan Pres. Anura Kumara Dissanayake appointed a new cabinet,Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga was fired,and Somaliland's opposition leader Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi won the presidential election.This comes as the UK's Sir Keir Starmer met China's Xi Jinping on the sidelines of Brazil's G20 summit,former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott passed away,and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $4.5B economic relief package.Meanwhile, two severed undersea internet cables in the Baltic Sea prompted several investigations,over 10K marched against the UK's recent inheritance tax changes,and Australian senator Lidia Thorpe was censured for protesting against King Charles III.In other news, former Brazilian Pres. Jair Bolsonaro was accused of plotting a coup,as Brazilian police arrested five officers over an alleged 2022 plot to assassinate Pres. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,and Argentina and Brazil signed a gas export deal.

Pres.-elect Donald Trump nominated Linda McMahon for education secretary, picked Dr. Mehmet Oz to oversee Medicare and Medicaid, tapped Howard Lutnick as the next secretary of commerce,and chose Pam Bondi for attorney generalafter Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration for the role.This comes as Trump's secretary of defense nominee faced allegations of sexual assault,a judge postponed Trump's hush money sentencing until after he leaves office,and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court barred the counting of undated mail-in ballots.Meanwhile, Sen. Bob Casey conceded the Pennsylvania Senate race to Dave McCormick,OpenAI's Sam Altman joined San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie's transition team,GOP Sen. Mike Round introduced legislation to eliminate the Department of Education,and Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy unveiled plans for federal layoffs.In other news, Trump confirmed plans to use the military to deport unauthorized migrants,Los Angeles declared itself a "sanctuary city" for immigrants,and one in five Americans were found to "regularly" consume news from social media influencers.

Hong Kong jailed 45 pro-democracy activists,as media mogul Jimmy Lai testified in his Hong Kong collusion trial,US Rep. Nancy Mace proposed a transgender bathroom ban at the Capitol,and Australia considered a social media ban for children under 16.

The US charged Indian billionaire Gautam Adani in a $265M bribery scandal,as it opened an investigation into the killing of Sonya Massey — a Black woman who was shot by an Illinois officer earlier this year —an unauthorized migrant was convicted in the killing of Georgian nursing student Laken Riley,and retired Australian radio host Alan Jones was charged with sexually abusing eight people.

The US Justice Department pushed to make Google sell Chrome,and Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy.

US Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler announced plans to step down on Trump's inauguration day,and Walmart's Chief Financial Officer, John David Rainey, predicted increased prices under Trump's proposed tariffs.

A New York hospital performed the world's first fully robotic double-lung transplant,Health Canada gave Neuralink the greenlight to perform a clinical trial,and Pokémon Go-creator Niantic announced that it's using user data to build an artificial intelligence model to map the physical world.

Nigeria began a mpox vaccination program,and Eli Lilly's Muvalaplin pill was shown to lower genetic cholesterol by up to 85.8%.

A study found that climate change strengthened nearly 85% of North Atlantic hurricanes from 2019-2023,an Australian survey warned that parts of the Great Barrier Reef have seen their biggest annual loss in 39 years,New Delhi's pollution levels reached 50 times the World Health Organization's limit,and Ecuador declared a 60-day national emergency amid ongoing wildfires.

Rafael Nadal retired from tennis.

Trump and Musk attended a SpaceX rocket launch.

A banana taped to a wall sold for $6.2M.