
US Army four-star General Laura J. Richardson is to be replaced as Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Chief by her current second-in-command US Navy Vice Admiral Alvin Holsey, who is to be promoted to full Admiral for his new role, it was announced this week.

At least 12 people have been confirmed dead Thursday in the U.S. state of Florida, where Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean, leaving millions without power and causing severe damage. According to PowerOutage.us, 2.63 million homes were still without power in Florida Thursday night.

The US State Department announced Wednesday it was designating former Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa (2007-2017) as ineligible to enter the country. The measure also applied to former Vice President Jorge Glas (2013-2018) due to their involvement in cases of significant corruption while in public office. Both leaders reportedly “abused” their position by accepting bribes, including through political contributions, in exchange for awarding public works contracts.

A United States dockworkers strike involving 45,000 striking at East and Gulf coast ports reached a deal Thursday to suspend a three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract.

For the last several years, the well-established regulatory framework has allowed tremendous growth in the online betting and gaming market of Ontario. As the largest province in Canada, Ontario became a huge driver in the country's gambling industry when single-event sports betting was legalized, effective 2021.

At least 45 people were killed Friday as Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall in the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia causing also power outages and floodings. Among the fatalities were three firefighters, a woman and her one-month-old twins, plus an 89-year-old woman whose home was struck by a falling tree.

The US state of Alabama Thursday used for the second time the controversial nitrogen gas asphyxiation method to put down death row inmate Alan Eugene Miller for the 1999 killing of three co workers. While supporters of this mechanism claim that the person being executed loses consciousness quickly, which makes it more humane than other execution methods, others contend that nitrogen could lead to excessive pain and torture and that there is no way of knowing with certainty at which point a person loses consciousness when exposed to 100% nitrogen. Miller was pronounced dead at 6.38 pm local time at Atmore prison.

The Criminal Chamber of Venezuela's Supreme Court (TSJ) Monday gave its nod to the prosecution of Argentine President Javier Milei, Presidential Secretary Karina Milei, and Security Minister Patricia Bullrich in connection with the impounding and handing over of Emtrasur's Boeing 747-300 freighter handed over to the United States where the aircraft was wanted for its alleged involvements in terrorist activities under its previous Iranian ownership.

Ice Patrol HMS Protector has provided the perfect training platform during Exercise Unitas, the world's longest-running multinational maritime exercise. Teams from the UK, US, Chile, Mexico and Colombia used the Royal Navy's ice patrol ship for practicing boarding operations, where personnel move between vessels.

Tycoon Elon Musk's social media network X appointed a legal representative in Brazil as requested by Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre De Moraes just before the deadline 9.29 pm deadline, Agencia Brasil reported. The company chose Lawyer Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova for the position.