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Today's top stories
South Korea's parliament voted today to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo. This comes less than a month after parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol for imposing martial law. The two impeachments illustrate the seriousness of the political crisis happening in one of Asia's key democracies.
- 🎧 Han has been cited as refusing to appoint three justices to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court, which will rule on Yoon's impeachment, NPR's Anthony Kuhn tells Up First. Han says he didn't appoint them because that's the prerogative of the president and not the acting president. The deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, is now acting president. The court has 180 days to decide whether to remove or reinstate Yoon, but they say the impeachment trial is a top priority. Yoon also faces charges of insurrection.
Israel launched its most aggressive attack in Yemen so far against Iran-backed Houthis yesterday. The airstrikes hit the rebel-controlled capital's international airport causing damage to the runway and control tower. At least six people died and dozens were injured in the strikes, according to Yemen's state-run news agency.
- 🎧 Israel says it attacked the infrastructure used as a conduit for Iranians who back Houthis rebels to smuggle weapons into the country and for entry of senior Iranian officials, NPR's Carrie Kahn says. The head of the World Health Organization was in the airport waiting to board a flight at the time of the strike. Israel says the attack was in retaliation for missiles being fired from Yemen, which the Houthis say they won't stop until Israel withdraws from Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Houthis will be taken down even if it takes time.
Georgia is preparing to swear in a new president, who has been a vocal critic of the West. This development follows protests in the capital, Tbilisi, that erupted last month after the government decided to suspend talks to join the European Union. The country's incumbent president has refused to resign following the disputed election in October.
- 🎧 Mikheil Kavelashvii, a former soccer player turned politician for the Georgian Dream Party, is set to be inaugurated on Sunday. He was chosen by the electoral college, a first for the country, rather than the popular vote, says Robin Forestier-Walker, a reporter following the situation in Georgia. The incumbent president, President Salome Zourabichvili, was elected by popular vote in 2018 and says the recent elections were stolen. Tensions are rising in the country as two potential presidents claim legitimacy. A significant portion of the nation is demanding new elections given that polling consistently has shown strong support for Georgia joining the EU.
Life advice
Fraudsters are improving their scams with the help of artificial intelligence. Generative AI has made it easier to dupe people by creating more convincing fake text messages and voices to commit scams. The FBI issued a public service announcement earlier this month, warning about AI being used to commit these crimes, especially during the holiday season. Here are some tips to help protect yourself:
- 📱 Phishing is when bad actors try to obtain sensitive information for fraudulent purposes. If you get a strange-looking message, check for misspelled words, grammatical errors, or even variations in the logos of companies claiming to be contacting you.
- 📱 Scammers just need a few seconds of your voice to create a clone that they could then try to use on your friends and loved ones. Create a secret code with your loved ones to keep them safe from schemes asking for money.
- 📱 To prevent impersonation, reduce your digital footprint. Set your social media accounts to private and limit the personal information you share publicly.
Check out more tips to help you avoid AI scams.
Weekend picks
Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:
🍿 Movies: It's been a great year for movies. Some have included scenes and performances that have captivated audiences many months later. NPR's Aisha Harris breaks down nine such moments.
📺 TV: The new series Laid is a dark rom-com following a woman who discovers all her exes have started to die under mysterious circumstances. This results in her taking a sexual audit of her life to warn them of their possible fate.
📚 Books: Photographer Brian Kelley talked with Morning Edition about Parks 2, a new book jam-packed with photos, memorabilia and essays about U.S. national parks.
🎵 Music: All Songs Considered asked listeners for songs they couldn't stop listening to this year because of how it made them feel. Check out the curated playlist of songs that made the list.
🍍 Food: Camilla Wynne, a Canadian pastry chef and master food preserver, is the author of the new cookbook Nature's Candy. It's an ode to the pleasures of candying fruit and baking them. Here's one of her cake recipes to try.
3 things to know before you go
- Netflix says over 200 countries tuned into the "Beyoncé Bowl" and its two Christmas Day NFL games. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans writes that the platform proved it is ready to compete with the big dogs of broadcasting to offer glitch-free live entertainment.
- A Washington state animal sanctuary is under quarantine after a bird flu outbreak killed 20 big cats, including four cougars and a half-Bengal tiger, in recent weeks.
- Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh died yesterday at age 92. He was known as the father of economic reform in the country.
This newsletter was edited by Obed Manuel.
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