Good Morning! Today’s edition is 910 words, a 4-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Australia’s social media ban begins

• AP Athlete of the Year

• How to avoid strange goodbyes

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Big Stories

Education Department Ends SAVE Program

• The Education Department agreed to end the SAVE repayment plan, Biden’s signature effort to lower monthly student loan payments, after settling lawsuits brought by several Republican-led states. No new borrowers can enroll, pending applications will be denied, and current participants will be moved to other plans.

• The department says borrowers will have only a limited window to choose a new plan and recommends using Federal Student Aid tools to estimate future bills. More than 7 million SAVE borrowers have been stuck in administrative forbearance for over a year, not making payments, while interest resumed in August.

• Biden’s student loan policy delivered nearly $200 billion in relief overall and $5.5 billion in discharges specifically through SAVE. Borrowers will likely face higher monthly payments under alternative plans.

Australia Social Media Ban

• Australia's world-first ban on social media for children under 16 takes effect today, with over 1 million accounts set to be deactivated. Platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube must now prevent under-16s from creating accounts or face fines up to $32 million.

• The ban has 77% public support. A government study found 96% of children ages 10-15 use social media, with seven in 10 exposed to harmful content and one in seven experiencing grooming behavior. Meta began closing accounts in early December ahead of the deadline.

• Two 15-year-olds are suing the government, arguing the ban violates freedom of political communication. And regulation could prove difficult, as Teens say they'll use VPNs to circumvent restrictions or migrate to unregulated platforms.

Miami Elects First Female Mayor

• Democrat Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayor's race Tuesday, defeating Trump-backed Republican Emilio Gonzalez and ending her party's nearly 30-year losing streak in the Hispanic-majority city. Higgins will be Miami's first woman mayor.

• The victory gives Democrats momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms after recent wins in New Jersey and Virginia. Miami is part of Miami-Dade County, which Trump flipped in 2024. The results suggest growing Hispanic voter concerns over immigration policies and rising costs.

• Higgins, who served as a Miami-Dade County commissioner for seven years, has promised to focus on finding city-owned land for affordable housing and cutting unnecessary spending.

Quick Stories

US News

• One student was killed and another critically hurt in a shooting at Kentucky State University. Officials say it began as a personal dispute, and the suspect is now in custody. (More)

• The Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday on whether spending limits between political parties and candidates are unconstitutional. (More)

• A judge ordered secret grand jury records from Ghislaine Maxwell's trafficking case released under a new law, but added protections after prosecutors initially ignored victims' privacy concerns. (More)

World

• The UN slashed its humanitarian funding request to $33 billion for 2026, down from $47 billion, after donations fell to their lowest level in a decade amid economic pressures on Western governments. (More)

• Honduras issued an arrest warrant for former President Juan Orlando Hernandez days after Trump pardoned him from US prison, accusing him of stealing millions in poverty funds to finance his campaigns. (More)

• Taliban authorities detained four young men for dressing like "Peaky Blinders" characters, calling it promoting foreign culture, then released them after they agreed to stop imitating the British drama series. (More)

Business & Economy

• US stock markets closed mixed on Tuesday (S&P -0.09%, Nasdaq +0.13%, Dow -0.38%). Stocks traded mostly flat as investors await today’s Fed rate cut decision. (More)

• President Trump will let Nvidia sell advanced AI chips to some Chinese customers, with the US taking 25% of sales. (More)

• Commercial real estate sales growth turned negative in October for the first time since early 2024, as high interest rates and economic uncertainty created a standoff between buyers and sellers. (More)

Sports & Entertainment

• Grammy-nominated singer Jubilant Sykes, 71, was stabbed to death at his California home on Monday, with his son Micah arrested on suspicion of murder. (More)

• The Chicago White Sox will pick first in the 2026 MLB draft after winning Tuesday's lottery, their first top selection since 1977. (More)

• Shohei Ohtani won AP Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth time, tying Lance Armstrong, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods after leading the Dodgers to another World Series title. (More)

Science, Health, & Tech

• Researchers in China taught robots to handle physical touch like human infants learn, using tactile sensors to help the machines adapt quickly and interact safely with people in new scenarios. (More)

• Refusal of vitamin K shots that prevent deadly newborn bleeding jumped from 3% to 5% since 2017, driven by parents mistakenly equating the plant-based supplement with vaccines due to misinformation. (More)

• Astronomers watched a supermassive black hole flare trigger winds at 19% of light speed for the first time, revealing black holes launch material like the Sun does, but on cosmic scales. (More)

Extra Credit

Countries where travelers spend the most and least.

Why you can’t wiggle your toes one at a time.

…and why your body shivers when it’s cold.

The foolproof formula to avoid strange goodbyes.