The House Ethics Committee weighs releasing their report on Matt Gaetz. And Susan Smith, who made headlines for killing her sons 30 years ago, is up for parole. The Ethics Committee has jurisdiction only over sitting members of Congress, Johnson argues. But there is precedent for the Ethics Committee to publish reports after a member of Congress has resigned. Susan Smith up for parole 30 years after killing her sonsSusan Smith leaves court after a hearing in Union, S.C., in 1995.

VIENTIANE, Laos — Women and racial diversity are vital to the strength of U.S. armed forces, outgoing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an exclusive interview with NBC News as he prepares to shortly exit the top military post after four years. “I would tell you that, you know, our women are the finest troops in the world. Our military is going to remain a diverse military," Austin said. Austin did not weigh in on what he thinks about Trump's choice of Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense. Austin, a four-star general who was previously commander of U.S. Central Command, was appointed as Secretary of Defense by President Joe Biden and was sworn in on Jan. 22, 2021.

Comcast announced a plan Wednesday to spin off most of its cable television networks into a separate publicly traded company. The new company will include the USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and the Golf Channel. Comcast will retain key NBCUniversal assets, including the NBC broadcast network, NBC News, NBC Sports, the streaming service Peacock, and the cable channel Bravo. The move comes as the traditional cable television bundle faces stiff economic headwinds, most notably the rise of cord-cutting and the shift to streaming alternatives. Matt Strauss will become chairman of the NBCUniversal Media Group.

HONG KONG — Former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai began testifying Wednesday in his landmark national security trial that is widely seen as a measure of press freedom and judicial independence in the Chinese territory. He is fighting charges of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to issue seditious publications. Lai, 76, faces up to life in prison if convicted under a national security law imposed by Beijing. But critics say that promise has become threadbare under the rubric of maintaining national security. It added that judges remain independent and partial when handling national security cases.

President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday named former Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker as his pick for the next ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a key alliance that Trump derided for years. He served just three months in the position until Bill Barr was confirmed as attorney general. Before becoming acting attorney general, Whitaker served as chief of staff to Sessions when he was attorney general. Trump has long criticized NATO, accusing European allies of not contributing enough toward defense spending. In February, Hillary Clinton warned that Trump would seek to withdraw the U.S. from NATO if he were to be re-elected.

Mike DeWine, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and other city leaders condemned the neo-Nazis in statements and on social media. But Black locals like Holmes wanted to do more and send a message of solidarity, they said. A group of Black leaders and locals marched through Columbus, Ohio, in a “unity” rally. Dozens of men walked, many side by side, down North High Street, many dressed in all black. He said the atmosphere among Black Columbus residents was one of fear and anxiety, with many wondering if they were safe in the city.

WASHINGTON — Members of the House Ethics Committee will meet behind closed doors Wednesday afternoon to discuss whether to publicly release a report detailing their sweeping investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general. Several Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have said they want to review the House report before a Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Gaetz next year. She argued that there is precedent for the Ethics Committee to publish reports after members of Congress have resigned. If the committee declines to make the Gaetz report public, any House member can try to force a vote to release it. In September 1996, House Democrats tried to force the Ethics Committee to release a report from an outside counsel about its investigation of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

While rice is the staple that’s cooked in households across Kashmir, bread is what drives the local community and economy. With so much traditional knowledge guarded and passed down through generations, Kashmir’s bread culture could qualify for a UNESCO intangible heritage listing and possibly rival France’s boulangerie tradition. Her father hailed from Kashmir so for her, summertime equals Kashmir, and Kashmir equals a warm, pillowy girda. When she returned years later, to learn more about Kashmir’s bread culture from her neighborhood baker, she was promptly told off. “Bread is really sacred in Kashmir and that relationship that a family has with their local kandurwan is really special.

Starting overThe couple, pictured at a friend's party in Malaga, also considered moving to Singapore, but decided on Spain due to its closer proximity to the United States. Gail and Greg WarnerThey’d originally planned to leave the United States in December 2018. The couple quickly put their Florida home on the market and set about winding down their lives in the United States. Now that they’ve lived outside of the US for so long, the couple say they can’t imagine ever moving back, and feel as though they were often on a “hamster wheel” before. Just go with it.’”Gail and Greg couldn’t be happier with their new lives, but the couple do have one regret about leaving the United States and starting over in Spain.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's broadened nuclear doctrine appeared to be a thinly veiled threat to the United States and its allies over their ramped-up support for Ukraine. The updated document includes a change that allows for Moscow to launch a nuclear strike if attacked by a nonnuclear country, such as Ukraine, that is supported by a nuclear state, such as the U.S. It was formally approved the same day that Kyiv used its first U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles against Russia. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told NBC News that he saw no indication that Moscow is imminently intent on using nuclear weapons. “He has rattled his nuclear saber quite a bit and this is dangerous behavior,” Austin said of Putin.

Comcast is expected to announce a plan Wednesday to spin off its cable networks into a separate company, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News. Comcast had announced during its quarterly earnings call in October that it was considering spinning off its cable networks. Bravo will remain part of Comcast’s NBCUniversal because its content is heavily featured on Peacock, CNBC reported. Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts will have a voting position in the new entity, but he won't be on the board of directors, CNBC reported. Executive Vice President Adam Miller will become NBCUniversal’s chief operating officer, CNBC reported.

WASHINGTON — A Donald Trump supporter who was among the first rioters to breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been convicted of plotting to kill FBI special agents who investigated him over his crimes at the Capitol. NBC News affiliate WBIR in Knoxville reported that the jury convicted Kelley on all three counts after just an hour of deliberation. Kelley will be sentenced in the murder plot case on May 7, one month after he is set to be sentenced on his Capitol case, on April 7. Kelley provided a list of about 37 members of law enforcement who worked on his Jan. 6 case, prosecutors alleged. Edward Kelley was the fourth rioter to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Of course, these basic rules of political decorum are ones Donald Trump has rarely followed. He’s been accumulating political capital, and his victory only gives him an opening to accumulate more ... if he chooses to. On some level, I accept the notion that one person’s revenge is another person’s “reform,” so I’m sure Trump could argue he’s appointing reformists. What will ultimately matter is whether these folks can govern like reformers or end up simply as conduits for Trump’s revenge. Here’s the political problem Trump is creating for himself: He’s taking full ownership of the entire bureaucracy now.

COLUMBIA, S.C. --- Susan Smith, the young mom who shocked the nation 30 years ago when she rolled her car into a lake with her two sons inside and watched them drown, was denied parole Wednesday. Susan Smith is led from the Union County Courthouse after the first day of testimony in the penalty phase of her trial. Brooks Kraft LLC / Sygma via Getty Images fileFrom behind bars, Smith continued to claim she was a good mother. He then read a passage that Smith wrote explaining why she allowed her sons to die. “I knew Jesus would take better care of them than I could,” Smith wrote, according to Thomas.

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Linda McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive who served in the first Trump administration, as his pick to lead the Education Department. Before joining the first Trump administration, McMahon briefly served on the Connecticut State Board of Education in 2009, and made unsuccessful bids in 2010 and 2012 for U.S. Senate seats in the state. CNN first reported on McMahon as Trump’s pick for education secretary. McMahon is also the latest Cabinet pick from Trump’s transition team. Earlier Tuesday he named Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, who is co-chairing his transition alongside McMahon, as his choice for commerce secretary.

The man accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley was found guilty of murder Wednesday in a case that became a flashpoint in the immigration debate earlier this year, ahead of the presidential election. Riley’s killing drew national attention to the immigration debate after officials announced that Ibarra is a Venezuelan citizen who entered the United States illegally in 2022. UGA students during a vigil for Laken Riley on Feb. 26. Joshua L. Jones / USA Today NetworkDuring the trial, prosecutors argued that Ibarra killed Riley after she fought off his attempt to rape her. The prosecution pointed to DNA and other evidence that they said linked Ibarra to Riley on the day of her murder.

Big retailers’ fortunes are diverging as the holiday shopping season gets underway. On Wednesday, Target cited “lingering softness in discretionary categories” as a top factor in its disappointing third-quarter sales, as many budget-conscious shoppers continue to focus on necessities. It’s the latest sign that discounts will be the driving force this holiday season, as they’ve been for much of this year. “We’re starting to get back to normal here.”U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% overall in October, federal data showed last month, beating analysts’ forecasts. In the meantime, the steady expansion of e-commerce looks set to continue this holiday season.

Voters in California have narrowly rejected a ballot measure that would have gradually increased the minimum wage in the state to $18 per hour, NBC News projected Wednesday. It’s the first time a ballot measure proposing to raise the statewide minimum wage has failed nationwide since 1996. Some cities within New York also implement a minimum wage of $16 per hour, while Washington state’s minimum wage is $16.26 per hour. The defeat is the first time in 28 years that a ballot measure to increase a state minimum wage was defeated. Meanwhile, ballot measures in two other states to increase the minimum wage overwhelmingly passed this month.

Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday said that he supports restricting “single-sex facilities” in the Capitol, including restrooms, to “individuals of that biological sex”— which would effectively ban the first transgender congresswoman from using women’s bathrooms in the next Congress. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a resolution this week that would ban transgender women from using women's bathrooms and other facilities at the Capitol. She said Tuesday the bill "absolutely" targets Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., the first openly transgender person elected to Congress. In a statement posted to X on Wednesday, McBride wrote, “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars."

The 46-year-old country star had gone to his Maydelle, Texas, ranch on Thursday by himself. “I was sure that I was going to die. “This is how I’m gonna die. I thought, how pointless that I’m gonna die from such a weird, freak accident,” Head said. All I know is I didn't die the day before yesterday, and I have another opportunity to live, and I feel like the Lord has blessed me just beyond — I can't even comprehend really,” he said.

Over three years after the accidental on-set death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Alec Baldwin's Western film “Rust” received a polite response during its controversial premiere Wednesday at the EnergaCamerimage festival in Toruń, Poland. The audience clapped through the film’s closing credits, strengthening their applause when a dedication to Hutchins appeared. The premiere opened with Camerimage director Marek Żydowicz asking the audience to stand for a moment of silence for Hutchins. Cinematographer Rachel Mason, Hutchins’ friend who made a documentary about the completion of the film, then made an emotional speech. Additionally, AFI launched the Halyna Hutchins Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The Summary A Georgia woman has filed a lawsuit in response to the E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots. Melinda Pratt says she was hospitalized for three days with an E. coli infection that she contracted after eating carrots from Grimmway Farms. Melinda Pratt had been buying the same brand of organic carrots for years: Bunny Luv by Grimmway Farms. Pratt filed a lawsuit Monday against Grimmway Farms. The company recalled batches of organic whole and baby carrots Saturday, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that the products were likely linked to a multistate E. coli outbreak.

A group of more than a dozen Republican lawmakers is urging a collegiate athletic conference to ban transgender women from competition after reports of a trans student competing on the s women’s volleyball team of a participating university. “Under these guidelines, it is only fair that biological males play men’s sports and biological females play women’s sports.”“Clearly, the Mountain West Conference has dropped the ball,” it continues. In September, SJSU volleyball player Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen women athletes against the NCAA, which oversees collegiate athletics, about trans athletes’ participation in school sports. The lawsuit argues that the NCAA violated the Title IX rights of cisgender female athletes by allowing transgender women to compete against them. Just last week, Slusser and 10 other former and current athletes in the Mountain West Conference filed a separate lawsuit against the conference and three SJSU staffers, accusing them of violating players’ Title IX rights.

Businesswoman and philanthropist Michele Kang just made a historic donation to women’s soccer. Kang, owner of the professional soccer team Washington Spirit, has pledged $30 million to the girls and women’s programs of U.S. Soccer, the organization announced on Tuesday. It’s the largest donation ever made to the soccer body by a woman, as well as to girls and women’s soccer. “Michele Kang’s gift will transform soccer for women and girls in the United States,” said Cindy Parlow Cone, president of the U.S. Soccer. She also owns Olympique Lyonnais, a women soccer team that plays in France, and London City Lionesses, in England.

The filing said those claims are "unambiguous violations of the Consent Injunction, and the Court should hold him in civil contempt." A representative for Giuliani, Ted Goodman, called the motion "a dishonest and duplicitous attack meant to deprive Mayor Rudy Giuliani of his First Amendment right to freedom of speech." "The ongoing lawfare against Mayor Giuliani must end," he said in a statement. Giuliani was found liable for defaming the pair during his efforts on Trump's behalf to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Moss and Freeman's attorneys urged the judge to stick with the current trial date, which was set last month.

Incoming Trump administration advisers Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on Wednesday floated ending remote work for federal workers, calling the practice a “privilege” left over from the pandemic. “Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home,” the two men wrote. The future of remote work for office-based employees is hotly debated. Some unionized federal workers have criticized Musk and Ramaswamy, saying they don’t know what they’re doing. Erwin said the two tech figures “make absurd claims about government waste and bash dedicated federal employees.” His union says it represents 110,000 federal employees.

Wednesday is Transgender Day of Remembrance, which focuses on trans people who have lost their lives because of violence. What is Transgender Day of Remembrance? Transgender Day of Remembrance is marked every Nov. 20 and began in 1999 to honor Rita Hester, a trans woman who was killed in Massachusetts. International Transgender Day of Visibility, which is designed to bring attention to transgender people, is commemorated in March. Rita Hester is pictured on a poster in Boston for Transgender Day of Remembrance.

The 74-year-old former “Tonight Show” host and TV personality arrived at his latest comedy show with an eye patch, broken wrist and bruised face. Boom, boom, boom, boom.”Leno said he “hit a bunch of rocks,” which resulted in him being “all black and blue.” He noted that one of the rocks hit him in the eye, which is why he needed the eye patch. I’m not worried about it.”Despite the fall, Leno performed just three hours later and did not cancel his stand-up shows. Just last year, Leno was involved in a motorcycle accident that resulted in more broken bones. While underneath the car, he blew “some air through the line.”“And suddenly, boom, I got a face full of gas.

North Carolina Republican lawmakers voted to strip the state’s incoming Democratic governor and attorney general of key powers, passing a sweeping bill before the GOP likely loses their veto-proof supermajority in the Legislature next year. That power currently lies with the governor's office, which will remain in Democratic hands after Attorney General Josh Stein defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Republicans have long sought control of the state Board of Elections, which is historically controlled by the same party as the current governor, but their past efforts have been foiled by the courts. That means they would be unable to override any future vetos from Stein without Democratic support. Stein is succeeding outgoing Cooper, whose administration repeatedly clashed with the Republican-led Legislature in the battleground state.

Two teenagers were killed and a third was hospitalized in a car crash over the weekend while authorities pursued a man suspected of kidnapping a baby. She told authorities that the "man was suicidal and homicidal," the sheriff's office said. Fremont County deputies and troopers with the Iowa State Patrol chased the Kia in a pursuit that crossed over into Missouri, the sheriff's office said. According to the accident report, the suspect driving the Kia was killed in the crash. "In times of sorrow, I offer my deepest sympathies to the Cunningham and Yeates families," Mayor Randy Pogue said in a statement on Facebook.

Black Friday is still a few weeks away, but early Black Friday Best Buy deals are already here, with notable deals on TVs, laptops, headphones and more. I frequently cover shopping events as a tech reporter for NBC Select, and I’ve been combing through discounts to find the best early Black Friday Best Buy deals actually worth shopping. SKIP AHEAD Best early Black Friday Best Buy deals | How I found the best early Black Friday Best Buy deals | Why trust NBC Select? How I found the best early Black Friday Best Buy dealsAll of my recommendations above are based on NBC Select’s previous coverage and reporting. For this piece, I researched early Black Friday deals across Best Buy to find notable products across categories like home, audio, TVs and gaming.

Russia transferred more than 70 animals, including an African lion and two brown bears, to a zoo in the North Korean capital Pyongyang from Moscow’s zoo, the Russian government said on Wednesday. The animals were “a gift from (Russian President) Vladimir Putin to the Korean people,” the government said. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a welcoming ceremony in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. A bird is unloaded in a wooden crate upon arrival in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. Pyongyang and Moscow have forged closer ties since Putin visited the country in June and concluded a treaty with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Four students were arrested on felony charges after buildings at the University of Rochester in New York were defaced with "wanted" posters targeting several Jewish faculty members, officials said. The four students were charged with felony criminal mischief and a fifth is being investigated, Quchee Collins, the university public safety chief, said in a news release Tuesday. "The posters identifying faculty, staff, and board members have instilled credible fear among those depicted, their families, and other members of our Jewish community," Mangelsdorf said in a message to the community. The university Department of Public Safety was made aware of the posters last week and immediately began removing them. The posters named certain university staff members and professors for alleged war crimes related to the conflict in Gaza, NBC affiliate WHEC of Rochester reported.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an attempt by Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to protect doctors being investigated in Washington state for allegedly spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 virus. The emergency application was denied by Justice Elena Kagan on behalf of the court. Circuit Court of Appeals, declined to impose injunctions blocking investigations led by the Washington Medical Commission. The Supreme Court did not ask the state to file a response to the application, suggesting that it was deemed lacking in legal merit. Two doctors subject to investigations, Richard Eggleston and Thomas Siler, had joined Kennedy's group in asking the court to weigh in.

Black Friday is almost here, and Target is already offering deals on apparel, holiday decor, tech and more that you can shop right now. As an associate reporter for NBC Select, I frequently cover Target deals and sales year round. SKIP AHEAD Best early Black Friday Target deals | More early Black Friday Target sales |Why trust NBC Select? Best early Black Friday Target deals4.8-star average rating from 3,285 reviews at TargetThis Apple iPad is our pick for the best overall tablet due to its functionality and price. Best early Black Friday Target salesHere are the best early Black Friday Target sales to know about.

The Danish military said Wednesday that it was staying close to a Chinese ship currently sitting idle in Danish waters, days after two fiber-optic data telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea were severed. Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 was anchored in the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden on Wednesday, with a Danish navy patrol ship at anchor nearby, MarineTraffic vessel tracking data showed. “The Danish Defense can confirm that we are present in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3,” the military said in a post on social media X, adding it had no further comments. It is quite rare for Denmark’s military to comment publicly on individual vessels travelling in Danish waters. It did not mention the cable breaches or say why it was staying with the ship.

Hyosub Shin/Pool/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/APState prosecutor Sheila Ross outlined each of the charges Jose Ibarra is facing during her closing argument Wednesday morning. Ross described Ibarra as “a monstrously guilty individual,” and asked Judge H. Patrick Haggard to find him guilty on all counts. Here’s a look at how she described the evidence surrounding each of the charges:Malice murder: Ross outlined Ibarra’s deliberate intention to kill, noting evidence from the medical examiner in the case. • Aggravated Assault with Intent to RapeRoss outlined Laken Riley’s state of undress, noting her clothes being “in two different directions.”“Her underwear has been torn. Obstruction of 911 CallThe prosecutor noted that evidence showed Laken Riley’s emergency called had hung up on the 9-1-1 center.

Before global leaders take the problem of plastic pollution into their hands this month, Japanese manicurist Naomi Arimoto is putting it into her fingernails. “I became aware of environmental issues the moment I saw with my own eyes just how much plastic waste was in the ocean,” 42-year-old Arimoto said. “I thought it was horrifying.”An estimated 22 million tons of plastic waste is dumped into the environment each year, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Arimoto opened a nail salon in her home in 2018 after a spinal condition forced her to give up her career as a social worker, and she’s been using Umigomi, or “sea trash,” to make nail art since 2021. To turn sea trash into treasure, Arimoto starts by rinsing the plastic in fresh water and then sorting it by color.

Tom’s of Maine said in a statement Wednesday that it is working with the FDA and remedying issues raised from the May inspection. That water was used to manufacture Tom’s Simply White clean mint paste and for the final rinse of numerous equipment cleaning processes, the letter said. “Batches manufactured after these incidents were released based on the microbial testing of the finished OTC product despite the quality of the water used as a component or to clean the equipment,” the FDA letter said. The investigator “also observed powder residues at a stainless-steel tray” near a batch of Tom’s Silly Strawberry anticavity toothpaste. We are also making capital investments as part of an ongoing, significant upgrade of the Sanford plant’s water system."

LONDON — Liam Payne’s funeral was taking place Wednesday in south-east England, just over a month after the One Direction star died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires. Girls Aloud star Cheryl, the mother of Payne’s seven-year-old son Bear, was also expected to join the funeral proceedings. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul." In a joint statement, his One Direction bandmates said they were "completely devastated." Pallbearers carry the coffin of the singer Liam Payne into the church ahead of his funeral on Wednesday.

Two people were killed and a third was injured after a house in an Ohio village exploded and caught fire Tuesday morning, officials said. The home exploded at around 8:44 a.m. in Bethel, a village of around 2,600 southeast of Cincinnati, Bethel Fire Chief Christopher Cooper said at a news conference. “It was a large explosion that had sent debris across the neighborhood,” Cooper said, describing the scene as chaotic. Firefighters work the scene of a house explosion in Bethel, Ohio, on Tuesday. The property that exploded was a one-story ranch house that used propane instead of gas, he said.

The caller was a neighbor who told the operator Ashley had shown up at his house, frantic. Detective Dan Dickerman with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office raced to the scene. Ashley was taken to the sheriff’s office. You can also watch on the NBC app or listen to it on our podcast. After you’ve finished the episode, listen to this week’s Talking Dateline with Andrea Canning and Blayne Alexander in which they take you behind the scenes of the episode.

McDonald’s is preparing 2025 value offerings in a bid to hang onto customers who are fed up with high costs at restaurants. Local value offerings have been on menus across the country and in the app as of late, including 10 piece nuggets for $1, among other deals, as a part of the broader value strategy. While operators are still voting on the 2025 value offerings, the initiative looks likely to pass, two people familiar with the matter said. In its most recent quarter, McDonald’s reported earnings and revenue that topped expectations, but saw its same-store sales fall globally by 1.5%. And when you do that with news and great marketing, you can get strong full margin check that goes along with some of those value programs,” he said.

A Florida man arrested on suspicion of weapons violations on Halloween had a list of targets that included a congressman and locations he associated with Jewish and Black people, prosecutors allege. The Federal Public Defender of South Florida did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A customary walk-through of the home turned up evidence of firearms, including spent shell casings and a homemade target, Anton said. The alleged list of targets includes Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., as well as locations the writer of the list characterized as draws for Jewish and Black people — a synagogue, a Jewish cemetery, a Jewish sandwich shop and parks and schools that were described using a derogatory term for Black people, according to Anton's filing. One entry on the list said, "Stalk Jewish parks," the proffer said.

Target reported earnings Wednesday that came in far below Wall Street's expectations, something the big-box retailer attributed to slower-than-expected demand. The company announced profits that missed forecasts by 20%, its widest miss in two years. Broader stock trading did not immediately react, however, as Wall Street awaits earnings from chipmaker Nvidia, which has helped power the market higher throughout the year. Target's report comes a day after rival Walmart reported earnings and revenues that beat expectations. “We’re expecting this holiday period to be very consistent with that,” Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told CNBC.

The United States said Wednesday that its embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, had closed after receiving "specific information of a potential significant air attack." "Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy will be closed, and Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place," it said in a security alert, recommending U.S. citizens take shelter if an air alert is announced. Shutting the embassy is not an unprecedented move amid the war, which reached its 1,000th day Tuesday. Searchlights look for Russian drones in the skies over Kyiv, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Moscow could justify a nuclear strike if subject to an attack by a nonnuclear country that is supported by a nuclear country, according to the revised doctrine.

Donald Trump's attorneys are demanding the judge who presided over his New York hush money trial and conviction immediately throw out the case, saying it would be "uniquely destabilizing to the country" otherwise. The letter also cited presidential immunity as a reason to dismiss the case, and maintained Trump is already protected by it. "Just as a sitting President is completely immune from any criminal process, so too is President Trump as President-elect," the letter said. The attorneys have argued he can't be sentenced while in office because it would interfere with his constitutional duties. Trump was convicted earlier this year on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.

San Diego native Kevin DiCicco is ready for his second act. The man credited with creating the movie “Air Bud” has experienced homelessness while battling multiple health issues, but the kindness of others is helping him get back on his feet. He believes that contributed to his ongoing respiratory issues that include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. But after two or three minutes, you start getting short of breath,” DiCicco explained about his respiratory issues. In addition to health issues, the San Diego man says his 90-day limit at a North County homeless shelter is almost up.

• The US embassy in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv said it would be closed today after it received “specific information of a potential significant air attack.” Air raid sirens were activated in the city several times overnight. The US said it doesn’t see any indication that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. • Moscow’s fresh round of nuclear saber rattling follows the US move to allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia with American-made weapons. Ukraine hit a Russian weapons arsenal with the ATACMS missiles, which it fired across the border for the first time yesterday, according to two US officials — a major escalation on the 1,000th day of war. • The US has also approved sending anti-personnel mines to Ukraine for the first time, according to two US officials — another major policy shift.

Delta Air Lines will begin shaking up its menu by serving Shake Shack cheeseburgers on flights departing from Boston this December, part of a new partnership with the New York-based burger chain. Only first-class fliers on routes over 900 miles will be able to pre-select a Shake Shack cheeseburger as their meal option starting Dec. 1, Delta Airlines said Tuesday in a press release. Passengers will be served a Caesar salad, chips and a dark chocolate brownie in addition to their cheeseburger, the release stated. "At Shake Shack, we’re always looking for new and innovative ways to meet our guests where they are, even at 35,000 feet," said Michael Kark, President of Global Licensing at Shake Shack. "Taking our beloved cheeseburger to new heights, Shake Shack is proud to partner with Delta as we elevate the in-flight dining and hospitality experience for travelers across the country."

In just a few months, the world will have its first digital saint. Pope Francis on Wednesday announced April plans to canonize a teenage web designer who documented miracles online and used his tech skills to maintain web sites for local Catholic organizations. Acutis, who was born to Italian parents in London, was a web designer who died of leukemia in Italy in 2006 at the age of 15. The church has attributed two miracles to the teen informally known as “God’s influencer.”In May, the pope attributed a second miracle to the teen, who is set to become the church’s youngest contemporary saint. The move came four years after he was beatified in 2020 after one miracle was attributed to him.

An NYPD officer and another woman were shot in Queens by an armed robbery suspect who was believed to be responsible for multiple robberies within the span of just about an hour, according to police. As police searched for the suspect, officers were flagged down by a witness who pointed out a man on Jamaica Avenue and 160th Street. The witness told police the man had just robbed a smoke shop on Guy Brewer Boulevard, and fired a shot while doing so, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny. After being ordered to drop his weapon, the suspect fired once, hitting Officer Rich Wong in the thigh, Kenny said at a press conference from the hospital. Worthy, who had been arrested for seven crimes since 2001, was also wanted for three other robberies at gunpoint, according to police.

A Nebraska girl's murder went unsolved for more than 55 years before an Oklahoma man was arrested and accused of being the "enraged killer," that was being sought for decades, officials said. Mary Kay Heese. The family maintained a Facebook page all these years, asking for the public's help to bring justice to the teenager whose "life was taken by this enraged killer." Investigators recently exhumed Heese’s body, though it wasn't immediately clear what role, if any, unearthing the girl's remains played in Ambroz's arrest. Ambroz was taken into custody on Monday and was still at the Kay County Detention Facility on Thursday, a jail official said.

ATHENS — Ships docked at Greek ports, and railway and bus services were disrupted on Wednesday as transport workers, hospital doctors, school teachers together with construction workers joined a nationwide strike to protest squeezed living standards and demand higher pay. Many Greeks saw their wages and pensions slashed in return for bailouts worth 280 billion euros ($297 billion) during a 2009-2018 debt crisis which shaved a quarter off Greece’s economic output and nearly pushed the country out of the eurozone. Workers were expected to protest in central Athens later on Wednesday. The strike comes as the government submits later on Wednesday its final 2025 budget to the 300-seat parliament for debate before a vote due next month. The draft budget sees economic growth of 2.3% next year and higher tax revenues thanks to expanding digital payments and booming property sales.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Tuesday that it is stopping operations across the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince and its wider metropolitan area due to an escalation in violence and threats to its staff from members of the Haitian police. The suspension would last from Wednesday “until further notice,” said MSF. A spokesperson for Haiti’s national police declined to comment. The medical aid group treats on average 1,100 outpatients, 54 children in emergency situations and more than 80 sexual and gender-based violence survivors each week, MSF said, as well as many burn victims. Garnier added that while MSF remained committed to the population it could only resume services if it receives guarantees of security and respect by armed groups, members of self-defense groups and law enforcement.

After flatlining the week before, mortgage demand rose last week, despite mortgage rates increasing for the fourth straight week. Total application volume climbed 1.7% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home rose 2% for the week but were 1% lower than the same week one year ago. Purchase demand was driven by conventional and FHA loans, with FHA purchase applications seeing a 7% increase. Mortgage rates are about flat so far this week, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily.