newsnation

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget : Amazon issues an update to its Appstore to fix the issues that left customers unable to use their downloaded apps on Android 12   —  Amazon has addressed the issue that had left those with Android 12 phones unable to use apps they had downloaded from the company's Appstore.

Saturday Night Live said in a tweet there will be no live audience for Saturday night's broadcast and the show will have a limited cast and crew due to a “recent spike” in coronavirus omicron variant cases.

The United States Senate confirmed former Chicago mayor and Obama chief of staff as U.S. ambassador to Japan on Saturday with three Democrats voting in opposition.

Muriel Bowser told reporters that she is not entirely against returning to a mask mandate

Wall Street Journal : Investigation: a dozen automated TikTok accounts, registered as 13-year-olds, were shown tens of thousands of weight-loss videos within a few weeks of joining   —  The app's algorithm can send users down rabbit holes of narrow interest, resulting in potentially dangerous content such as emaciated images …

The White House released a statement to correct previous comments from Vice President Kamala Harris about the government and the omicron variant.

DeWine has dispatched over 1,000 national guard troops to aid state hospitals suffering from staff shortages

Pennsylvania Senate candidate Kathy Barnette discussed some of the top concerns she is hearing from voters in the state in a Friday interview with Fox News Digital.

William Turvill / Press Gazette : Sources: Google delayed the US launch of News Showcase, live in 14 countries, to at least Q1 2022 as pubs find the offers underwhelming and doubt its efficacy   —  Google is struggling to persuade some of America's largest publishers to sign up to its News Showcase aggregation scheme, an investigation by Press Gazette has found.

A Florida man has received the stiffest criminal sentence of any Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendant so far, getting more than five years in prison.

A new Fox Business survey found that a majority of voters support basic coronavirus precautions, however, support waivers over vaccine mandates.

A Fox Business survey finds an overwhelming majority are concerned about crime nationally.

Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley claimed student debt is "policy violence" and urged President Biden to cancel Americans' loans.

The White House Friday said it was "closely monitoring" threats of violence in schools, which were going viral on social media, despite a lack of evidence that there is anything substantive behind them.

Luke Plunkett / Kotaku : GSC Game World decides to “cancel anything NFT-related” in its game Stalker 2 after fans criticize its plans for in-game NFTs in partnership with DMarket   —  It hasn't been a great week for the GSC Game World team  —  STALKER 2 developers GSC Game World announced yesterday that they'd be adding NFTs to the game.

Rod and Sean Stewart entered guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges of simple battery.

New Customs and Border Protection figures show agents reported 173,620 encounters at the southern border in November, a staggering increase of 140 percent from the same time last year.

Kate Krader / Bloomberg : TikTok partners with Virtual Dining Concepts to launch TikTok Kitchen, a food delivery service based on viral trends, starting with 300 US locations in March   —  The video platform is teaming up with Virtual Dining Concepts to deliver those viral foods across the country.  Baked feta pasta, anyone?

Reuters : How Amazon grew its business in China, including partnering with a government propaganda arm for a books section on Amazon US, AWS-related concessions, and more   —  Amazon.com Inc was marketing a collection of President Xi Jinping's speeches and writings on its Chinese website about two years ago …

President Biden is not expected to change his holiday plans due to COVID-19, according to the White House press secretary.

Kim Lyons / The Verge : TikTok says it is removing “alarmist warnings” about a supposed day of school violence that prompted some US districts to cancel classes on Friday   —  It hasn't found any videos threatening school violence on Friday, the company said  —  TikTok said Friday that it's working to remove …

President Biden appeared at the South Carolina State University commencement ceremony Friday to speak to students of the historically Black university, where he committed several verbal gaffes.

Sara Fischer / Axios : Spotify acquires Australian company Whooshkaa, which helps radio broadcasters turn existing content into podcasts and sell ads around them   —  Spotify on Thursday said it acquired Whooshkaa, a podcast technology platform that specializes in technology for radio broadcasters to turn existing content into podcasts.

Willie Garson portrayed Stanford Blatch, a talent agent and the devoted and stylish best male friend to Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie for six seasons.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki championed the administration’s work over the last year to bolster U.S. ties with foreign partners as its "biggest" successes this year, but omitted the chaotic withdrawal ending the 20-year war in Afghanistan.

Henry Meyer / Bloomberg : Google loses a court appeal in Russia and faces daily fines following a lawsuit to unblock a YouTube account of a TV channel owned by a sanctioned Putin ally   —  - Google lost an appeal over suit to unblock a YouTube account  — U.S. technology giant says it's complying with U.S. sanctions

Sarah Ferguson and Princess Diana first met as teenagers. It was the Princess of Wales who introduced Ferguson to Prince Charles’ younger brother, Prince Andrew.

Vice President Kamala Harris is barely beating the anti-Biden slogan, "Let’s go, Brandon," in web searches, according to Google Trends.

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg : Job listings show Apple is hiring engineers for a new office in Irvine, California to develop wireless chips that could replace Broadcom and Skyworks components   —  - Company seeks engineers for location in Irvine, California  — Apple is poised to attract employees from Broadcom, Skyworks

Burton has been hired as the host of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

“Sex and the City” alum Chris Noth has been accused of sexually assaulting two women.

The reality TV mogul spoke to journalist/writer Bari Weiss on her podcast "Honestly" about fame, body image, and reputation.

The Austin City Council has pushed through an extension of an ordinance that allows the city to enforce coronavirus restrictions.

Former director of the Office of Government Ethics Walter Shaub torched the speaker’s backing of personal financial trading among lawmakers after Pelosi defended the practice on Wednesday.

Senate Republicans Wednesday highlighted provisions in Democrats' massive reconciliation bill that they say will harm religious day care.

President Biden was met with "Let’s go, Brandon" jeers after stepping out of his motorcade Wednesday in Mayfield, Kentucky, while surveying the tornado damage that killed 88 people.

Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge : IBM and Samsung say Vertical Transport Field Effect Transistors, an alternative to FinFET chip designs, can offer 2x performance, amid similar claims from Intel   —  The next big advance in chips is looking up  —  IBM and Samsung have announced their latest advance in semiconductor design …

Derick Dillard sounded off on Jim Bob Duggar in a Facebook post hours before the family patriarch lost his run for the Arkansas State Senate.

The Senate on Wednesday passed a $778 billion national defense spending bill in an overwhelmingly 89-10 vote, advancing the bill to the president’s desk for signature.

Dan Primack / Axios : Katie Haun is leaving Andreessen Horowitz to start a new firm focusing on crypto and Web3 startups; Haun's deals at a16z included OpenSea and Coinbase   —  Katie Haun, one of the world's most influential crypto venture capitalists, is leaving Andreessen Horowitz to form her own firm.

Queen Elizabeth II receives frequent visits from her sons Prince Edward and Prince Andrew.

President Biden is in Kentucky on Wednesday, surveying the damage from last weekend’s tornadoes and other extreme weather that left a path of death and destruction through the state.

Reuters : 18 Democratic lawmakers call on the Treasury and State Departments to enact Magnitsky rights abuse sanctions on four spyware firms, including NSO and DarkMatter   —  A group of U.S. lawmakers is asking the Treasury Department and State Department to sanction Israeli spyware firm NSO Group …

Billie Eilish praised the coronavirus vaccine during a recent interview with Howard Stern. The musician claimed the vaccine kept her from dying while she experienced a breakthrough case of COVID-19.

Democratic Rep.  Hakeem Jeffries expressed support Tuesday for a bill passed by the New York City Council allowing hundreds of thousands of noncitizens to vote in local elections.

President Biden’s nominee to be the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Robert Califf, faced a wide range of questions during his confirmation hearing Tuesday, but some of the toughest grilling came from Democrats, making his future far from a certainty.

Ben Thompson / Stratechery : A look back at tech's three eras, from Bell Labs to Facebook, and why the metaverse is the fourth, defined by its bifurcation with the physical world   —  For the first several years of Stratechery I would write a year end article about “The State of Consumer Technology”; the last one I wrote …

DCCC strategist Nijeria Boone attacked police as "terrorist groups" and has openly expressed her disdain for law enforcement on her Twitter account.

Mia Sato / The Verge : Snap launches a preview of Story Studio, a standalone video editing app for iOS, aimed at users who make more professional content, like Spotlight creators   —  The app is for users wanting to make more professional content, like Spotlight creators  —  Snap has launched a standalone video …

The former "Empire" star maintains his innocence, and his attorney has said he will appeal the verdict.

An investigation released by the Department of Justice Tuesday found four FBI officials engaged in commercial sex with prostitutes while overseas and a fifth official attempted to – a direct violation of DOJ and FBI policies.

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg : Sources: Apple management training chief Joel Podolny, who worked with Steve Jobs to create Apple University, left earlier this year to join a startup   —  - Podolny was hired by Steve Jobs to teach new managers in 2009  — Former executive was previously dean of Yale management school

A juror in Jussie Smollett’s trial explained that they believed they were doing the former “Empire” star a “favor” by convicting him on all but one of the charges against him.

The freshman congressman tore into the transportation secretary’s spouse over the recent Instagram story that saw Buttigieg make headlines.

Ian Sherr / CNET : Apple debuts Tracker Detect, an Android app that scans for AirTags and other Find My items that may be traveling with them without their knowledge   —  Apple's following through on a promise to help Android users identify nearby AirTags and Find My trackers that aren't with their owners.

Cara Williams wed actor John Drew Barrymore, son of John Barrymore, and the two produced actor John Blythe Barrymore before divorcing in 1959.

President Biden will travel to Kentucky on Wednesday to survey the damage following tornadoes and unseasonal extreme weather across the Midwest that left dozens dead.

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE : Crypto gaming company VulcanForge says hackers stole ~$135M from users by accessing 96 wallet private keys, as three high-profile hacks net ~$404M this month   —  VulcanForge becomes the third cryptocurrency company to be hit by hackers this month.  In total, hackers have stolen more than $400 million.

José Adorno / 9to5Mac : Apple releases iOS 15.2 with App Privacy Report in Settings, Messages safety warnings for kids, Hide My Email, and more; watchOS 8.3 and tvOS 15.2 also released   —  Apple is releasing today iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, watchOS 8.3, tvOS 15.2, and HomePod Software version 15.2 to all users.

Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch : Nuvocargo, a logistics software startup focused on moving cargo between Mexico and the US, raises $20.5M at a $180M post-money valuation, up from $70M in April   —  Nuvocargo, a logistics startup out to help simplify the challenges of cross-border trade, has raised $20.5 million in a round led by Tiger Global Management.

Megan Thee Stallion is officially a college graduate.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, told Colorado Public Radio on Friday that he won’t be implementing another statewide mask mandate in response to the spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant.

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg : iOS 15.2 to get nudity detection for Messages, macro lens toggle, better privacy controls, and more; no digital IDs in Wallet or Universal Control for macOS yet   —  Apple Inc. is set to release new features with iOS 15.2, including scanning for nude photos sent to or from children in Messages.

In Florida, for the first time in modern history, registered Republican voters outnumber Democrats. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is heading into a reelection campaign buoyed by a national profile and a cash reserve unmatched by any Democratic challenger. And Republicans control virtually all of state government.

Vicente Fernández, a beloved Mexican singer who was awarded three Grammys and nine Latin Grammys and inspired a new generation of performers, including his son Alejandro Fernández Jr., died on Sunday. He was 81 years old.

The Foo Fighters have canceled an appearance at the Formula One race in Abu Dhabi after one of the members suffered “unforeseen medical circumstances.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's husband, Chasten, appeared less than enthusiastic about having to repay his student loans, writing, "no thank you," in an Instagram story on Saturday.