Severe cold reportedly killed a sixth baby in Gaza,a senior Hamas official expressed optimism regarding negotiations for a Gaza cease-fire,the US announced $5.9B in aid to Ukraine,as the White House reportedly considered its options for striking Iran's nuclear facilities,and French troops prepared to leave Côte d'Ivoire.

The US sanctioned Russian and Iranian entities over alleged election interference,a poll concluded that the UK's Labour Party would lose 184 seats in a hypothetical election,Croatia's presidential election headed for a second-round runoff,and Germany and France's foreign ministers met with Syria's new leadership.This comes as Chilean Pres. Gabriel Boric visited the South Pole,Venezuela set a $100K bounty for opposition leader Edmundo González,a South Korea court issued an arrest warrant for Pres. Yoon Suk Yeol,with a six-hour standoff seeing his attempted detainment abandoned,and Kenyans protested the disappearance of dozens of government critics.In other news, annual accounting revealed that US First Lady Jill Biden received a $20K diamond from India's Narendra Modi,the US considered a ban on Chinese-made drones,as the US Treasury Dept. alleged that Beijing had hacked its employees' workstations,and China's Xi Jinping said that "national reunification" with Taiwan is inevitable.Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin instructed Russia to collaborate with China in the field of artificial intelligence,Slovakia threatened to cut benefits to Ukrainian refugeesafter Kyiv halted the transit of Russian gas to Europe,and UK channel crossings increased by 25% in 2024.

With Donald Trump's backing,Mike Johnson was reelected House speaker,Joe Biden named Liz Cheney among 20 recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal,and Trump's $5M vedict in the E. Jean Carroll case was upheld,as his sentencing in the "hush money" case was set for Jan. 10.

The Palestinian Authority temporarily suspended Al Jazeera's operations in the West Bank,and the Taliban ordered nongovernmental organizations to stop employing women.

A Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside of Trump's Las Vegas hotel,a truck-ramming attack in New Orleans left 15 dead,and a New Zealand police officer was killed after being deliberately run over by a car.Meanwhile, data showed that mass shootings in the US fell to a five-year low in 2024,a US military court upheld the plea deals of three alleged 9/11 plotters,and the FBI raided former New York Police Department Chief Jeffrey Maddrey's home amid allegations of sexual misconduct.Elsewhere, a mass shooting in Montenegro killed 12,Trinidad and Tobago declared a state of emergency following a surge in violence,a burglar stole $13M worth of jewelry from a London mansion,and the UK seized more than 6K illegal bird eggs.

American actor and director Justin Baldoni sued The New York Times over allegations of libel,Apple agreed to a $95M settlement over a Siri eavesdropping lawsuit,and Venezuela fined TikTok $10M over viral challenges that allegedly led to three deaths.Meanwhile, Meta named former Republican staffer Joel Kaplan as its new global head of policy,Tesla reported its first annual sales drop,and Ukraine's Kyivstar partnered with Elon Musk's Starlink to bring satellite cell service to its customers.

US Surgeon General Vivek Murphy warned of a link between cancer and alcohol,England hit a record early cancer detection benchmark,and Milan enforced a complete outdoor smoking ban.In other news, the World Health Organization urged China to share data about COVID's origins,and Beijing faced an outbreak of human metapneumovirus (HMPV).

China recorded its hottest year ever,and 337 metric tons of toxic waste from India's Bhopal disaster was moved.

Pro-Palestinian protests halted a tennis match between Israel's Lina Glushko and Japan's Naomi Osaka in New Zealand.

US jobless claims hit a nine-month low,Puerto Rico was struck by a widespread blackout,Syria's new government named Maysaa Sabrine as the country's first woman to lead the central bank,and Israel's Knesset passed a budget bill.

A plane crash at a California factory killed two.

An Orca mother was observed mourning the death of her calf,and 2025 marked the debut of "Generation Beta..