US News
President Obama criticized Hillary Clinton's campaign and said he could have beaten Donald Trump in a theoretical matchup. In an interview with his former senior advisor David Axelrod for Axelrod's podcast, Obama said there was a tendency by the Clinton campaign to "play it safer." President-elect Donald Trump responded to Obama's claim by tweeting "NO WAY!" —CNNRepublicans Want to Ban Members of Congress from Filming
House Republicans want to punish any representatives who film or take photos on the floor of the chamber with fines of up to $2,500. It is seen as a response to the Democrats who filmed their sit-in over gun control in June. A spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan said the proposed policy would help establish "order and decorum." —NBC News
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Trump Dismisses the UN as a "Good Time" Club
President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter to dismiss the United Nations as "just a club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time." It follows Trump's implied criticism of a UN resolution condemning Israeli settlement-building in the Palestinian territories, which the US declined to veto. "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th," he tweeted. —The Washington PostPolice Break Up Christmas Mall Fights Across US
Police were called to at least ten disturbances at shopping malls across the US on Monday. In Ohio, police officers used pepper spray to break up a crowd of fighting shoppers at Beachwood Place Mall. In both New Jersey and Long Island, false reports of gunfire following brawls caused panicked shoppers to flee. —CBS NewsRescuers Find Black Box from Russian Plane Wreckage
A Russian rescue team has found a black box recorder from the plane that crashed into the Black Sea and killed all 92 people onboard. The data recorder will be sent to Moscow for analysis as investigators attempt to work out what kind of fault or error caused the Tu-154 aircraft to crash. Investigators have said a terrorist act was unlikely. —ReutersTurkish Police Officers Face First Trial over Failed Coup
The first trial over July's failed military coup in Turkey begins today. A court in Istanbul is set to hear statements by 29 former police officers accused of disobeying orders to protect the home of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, among other charges. Prosecutors are seeking life sentences for 21 of the officers. —AP
President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter to dismiss the United Nations as "just a club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time." It follows Trump's implied criticism of a UN resolution condemning Israeli settlement-building in the Palestinian territories, which the US declined to veto. "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th," he tweeted. —The Washington PostPolice Break Up Christmas Mall Fights Across US
Police were called to at least ten disturbances at shopping malls across the US on Monday. In Ohio, police officers used pepper spray to break up a crowd of fighting shoppers at Beachwood Place Mall. In both New Jersey and Long Island, false reports of gunfire following brawls caused panicked shoppers to flee. —CBS News
International News
A Russian rescue team has found a black box recorder from the plane that crashed into the Black Sea and killed all 92 people onboard. The data recorder will be sent to Moscow for analysis as investigators attempt to work out what kind of fault or error caused the Tu-154 aircraft to crash. Investigators have said a terrorist act was unlikely. —ReutersTurkish Police Officers Face First Trial over Failed Coup
The first trial over July's failed military coup in Turkey begins today. A court in Istanbul is set to hear statements by 29 former police officers accused of disobeying orders to protect the home of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, among other charges. Prosecutors are seeking life sentences for 21 of the officers. —AP
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Doctors Struggle to Treat Aleppo Evacuees
Medical staff in rebel-held Idlib Province in Syria are struggling to cope with the number of recent arrivals from Aleppo who have serious injuries or illnesses. Thousands of those evacuated from the city are reportedly suffering from infected shrapnel wounds along with conditions such as hypothermia and malnutrition. The Syria Relief charity said remaining hospitals were under "huge pressure." —Al JazeeraKorean Air Crew to Use More Force in Future
Korean Air has announced it will change its policy to allow crew members to restrain passengers more forcefully. The airline said it will also hire more male flight attendants and review its use of Tasers. It follows criticism from US soft rock singer Richard Marx, who recently helped staff subdue a rowdy passenger. —BBC NewsSony Apologizes for Hoax Britney Spears Death Tweet
Sony Music has apologized to Britney Spears and her fans after the company's Twitter account falsely announced the singer had died in an accident. Sony said the hacking of the account had now been "rectified." —BloombergTroy Ave Recovering After Christmas Day Shooting
Rapper Troy Ave has left the hospital after recovering from wounds suffered when he was shot twice while driving in Brooklyn on Christmas Day. "Shot in my head, shot in my back, GOD is Great Ya boi is back," he posted on Instagram. —New York Daily NewsEddie Vedder Helps Maryland Family Facing Eviction
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder helped stop a Maryland family from being evicted by giving them $10,000 at Christmas. A GoFundMe page for Tyshika Britten, mother of six, has now raised more than $18,000. —The Washington PostPioneer of Dark Matter Science Dies
Vera Rubin, the American astronomer whose work helped lead to the discovery of dark matter, has died at the age of 88. Rubin was advanced for the Nobel Prize in Physics many times, but the award is never given posthumously. —MotherboardFrench Sailor Breaks Record for Sailing Around the World
Frenchman Thomas Coville has set a new world record by sailing around the world solo in only 49 days, three hours, seven minutes, and 38 seconds. Coville smashed the previous record by more than eight and a half days. —VICE SportsScience That Uses Storytelling Is More Widely Shared
A new study published in the PLOS One journal found that scientific papers with good storytelling techniques—sensory language, implied cause and effect, and direct calls to action—were more widely circulated by scientists and cited more often. —Broadly
Medical staff in rebel-held Idlib Province in Syria are struggling to cope with the number of recent arrivals from Aleppo who have serious injuries or illnesses. Thousands of those evacuated from the city are reportedly suffering from infected shrapnel wounds along with conditions such as hypothermia and malnutrition. The Syria Relief charity said remaining hospitals were under "huge pressure." —Al JazeeraKorean Air Crew to Use More Force in Future
Korean Air has announced it will change its policy to allow crew members to restrain passengers more forcefully. The airline said it will also hire more male flight attendants and review its use of Tasers. It follows criticism from US soft rock singer Richard Marx, who recently helped staff subdue a rowdy passenger. —BBC News
Everything Else
Sony Music has apologized to Britney Spears and her fans after the company's Twitter account falsely announced the singer had died in an accident. Sony said the hacking of the account had now been "rectified." —BloombergTroy Ave Recovering After Christmas Day Shooting
Rapper Troy Ave has left the hospital after recovering from wounds suffered when he was shot twice while driving in Brooklyn on Christmas Day. "Shot in my head, shot in my back, GOD is Great Ya boi is back," he posted on Instagram. —New York Daily NewsEddie Vedder Helps Maryland Family Facing Eviction
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder helped stop a Maryland family from being evicted by giving them $10,000 at Christmas. A GoFundMe page for Tyshika Britten, mother of six, has now raised more than $18,000. —The Washington PostPioneer of Dark Matter Science Dies
Vera Rubin, the American astronomer whose work helped lead to the discovery of dark matter, has died at the age of 88. Rubin was advanced for the Nobel Prize in Physics many times, but the award is never given posthumously. —MotherboardFrench Sailor Breaks Record for Sailing Around the World
Frenchman Thomas Coville has set a new world record by sailing around the world solo in only 49 days, three hours, seven minutes, and 38 seconds. Coville smashed the previous record by more than eight and a half days. —VICE SportsScience That Uses Storytelling Is More Widely Shared
A new study published in the PLOS One journal found that scientific papers with good storytelling techniques—sensory language, implied cause and effect, and direct calls to action—were more widely circulated by scientists and cited more often. —Broadly