Actor Danny Masterson gets 30 years to life, new dinosaur discovery, and a hamster wheel boat.

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US News, Politics, & Government

Airbnb bookings dry up in New York as new short-stay rules are introduced

New York City began enforcing rules on Tuesday that crack down on short-term rentals. People can no longer rent out their space for stays that are less than 30 days unless property owners have applied for and received an official registration number. The new rules also state that short-term rentals are only permitted if the host stays in the same unit as the guests, and no more than two guests can be hosted at one time. (More)

Ex-Trump adviser Peter Navarro convicted of contempt of Congress

Peter Navarro, who served as a White House trade adviser during Trump’s presidency, was convicted for defying a subpoena in 2022 from the House Jan. 6 committee. The panel accused Navarro of creating a plan to delay Congress’ certification of the 2020 election and Navarro refused to testify or produce documents in compliance with the subpoena. He will be sentenced on Jan. 12. (More)

Appeals court says Texas floating border barrier can remain for now

An appeals court has temporarily allowed Texas’ floating border barrier to remain in place in the Rio Grande. The barrier was placed in the river to prevent migrant crossings from Mexico into the US. However, the Biden administration and Mexican officials have criticized the move, citing concerns for migrants’ safety. (More)

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World

Mexico is on course to elect its first woman president

Mexico’s two main political groups have selected women presidential candidates. The Broad Front for Mexico chose Senator Xóchitl Gálvez to be their representative, while the governing Morena party picked the former mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum. That means — barring any third-party upsets — Mexico will elect its first woman president. (More)

North Korea launches new tactical nuclear attack submarine

North Korea has launched its first “tactical nuclear attack submarine” that will patrol the waters between Korean and Japan. The country has test-fired submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and cruise missiles from submarines, but it is unclear if they have developed the miniaturized nuclear warheads needed to fit on such missiles. (More)

Former Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin quits politics

Former Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin said she is quitting politics and will join a London-based non-profit. Marin was 37 years old when she took office in 2019 and received praise for her Cabinet’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also saw her country become the 31st member of NATO. She stepped down in April after her party came in third in Finland’s parliamentary elections. (More)

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Business & Economy

Daily stock market update

US stock markets closed mixed on Thursday (S&P -0.32%, Nasdaq -0.89%, Dow +0.17%) ~ Concerns over whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again this year drove the stock losses. (More)

Walmart cuts starting pay for some new hires

Walmart has cut starting pay for new employees who pick and pack online orders and stock shelves. The new hires will now make a dollar less than they would have if hired several months ago. The wage cuts mark a change in the company’s hiring practices. Until now, they had been raising wages over the past few years to address labor shortages fueled by the pandemic. (More)

Apple shares fall after reports that China banned iPhone use by government employees

Apple’s stock fell 3% on Thursday, following a 4% drop on Wednesday after several reports suggested that Chinese government workers could be banned from using iPhones. The potential restrictions raised concerns in the market that all of Apple’s products could be outlawed in China due to their international tensions with the US. (More)

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Sports & Entertainment

Actor Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for rape

A judge has sentenced actor Danny Masterson to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women. He was first accused of sexual misconduct in 2017, and then in 2020, he was charged with raping three women between 2001 and 2003. The three women had all met Masterson through the Church of Scientology, which tried to silence the victims to protect the actor. (More)

Detroit pulls off huge upset against Chiefs

The Detroit Lions trailed in the second half to the Kansas City Chiefs but put together a clutch 4th quarter drive and pulled off the upset, beating the defending champions 21-20. The Chiefs were without Travis Kelce, who is injured, and defensive lineman Chris Jones, who is holding out for a better contract. (More)

Gauff-Muchova delayed 50 minutes by protestors

The US Open semifinal between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova was delayed by 50 minutes because of a disruption by environmental activists. One protester glued his bare feet to the concrete floor. Two of the activists were escorted out quickly, but it took some time to remove the person who stuck himself to the ground. Gauff won 6-4, 7-5 and advanced to the championship on Saturday. (More)

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Science, Health, & Tech

Hurricane Idalia flung flamingos across the eastern U.S.

Dozens of sightings of flamingos have been reported across the Eastern US, with some coming from as far north as Pennsylvania. The birds are native to Florida but were hunted to near-extinction and now mainly live in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The flamingos most likely got caught up in Hurricane Idalia last week and went with the winds instead of fighting them. Experts say they will hang around for a while before making their way back home. (More)

Remembering the order of information is a unique human trait

A recent study shows that the ability to remember the order of information when participating in conversations, planning things, or getting an education is probably unique to humans. The experiment tested monkeys’ and humans’ abilities to remember short sequences of color patterns. The primates struggled to recall the patterns, while humans learned to distinguish them almost instantly. (More)

Scientists discover “weird” bird-like dinosaur

Paleontologists discovered a 150-million-year-old bird-like dinosaur in southeast China. Its features include a long bony tail and lower legs that were twice as long as its upper legs. The animal’s upper limbs resembled bird’s wings, but with three clawed fingers. The dinosaur may have had feathers, but researchers can’t tell for certain from the fossil. (More)

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Bonus Material

How long can you drive after the low fuel light comes on?

The Coast Guard arrested a man try to run a giant hamster wheel across the Atlantic.

How much does it take to be wealthy in different American cities?

Fanta’s new Halloween flavor will turn your tongue black.