promoearn: Havoc in Hawaii

Tuesday, December 7

A small tractor pushes sand off a walkway on Waikiki Beach, Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, in Honolulu. A strong storm packing high winds and extremely heavy rain flooded roads and downed power lines and tree branches across Hawaii, with officials warning Monday of potentially worse conditions ahead.

Severe weather in Hawaii has brought flooding in streets and 8 inches of snow atop some summits. It's Tuesday's news.

NFT auction: USA TODAY and iconic artist Peter Tunney are teaming up to benefit charity – and you can get involved.

The threat of dangerous floods and landslides continues after an unusually powerful storm hit the Hawaiian islands. The lives lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor are honored. And is math education racist?

👋 It's Julius here with Tuesday's news.

But first, which words have you been saying wrong? Here are the most mispronounced terms of the year, according to the U.S. Captioning Company.

The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here.

Storm slams Hawaiian islands

An unusually powerful storm battered the Hawaiian islands on Tuesday, leaving thousands without power and flooding streets across the archipelago. The weather left tourists stranded, including several who canceled wedding plans, and some of the islands' most iconic beaches barren as the threat of dangerous flash floods, landslides and crashing tree limbs persisted. It also brought as much as 8 inches of snow atop some of the state's highest summits. The conditions forced Gov. David Ige to issue a state of emergency for all of the state's islands Monday night.

•	What travelers should know about the severe weather and state of emergency in Hawaii

A car turns onto a flooded Cooke Street, Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, in Honolulu. A strong storm packing high winds and extremely heavy rain has flooded roads and downed power lines and tree branches across Hawaii.

Marco Garcia, AP Images

Remembering Pearl Harbor, an event that 'led to a changed world'

Tuesday marked eight decades since the shocking attack on Pearl Harbor. The date that changed the course of a nation was marked by about 35 military survivors who gathered at multiple events. When hundreds of Japanese planes bombed American service members and civilians on U.S. soil on Dec. 7, 1941, America was an "isolated, quiet, withdrawn" nation said Craig Nelson, author of the 2016 book "Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness." The events of that day launched America's involvement in World War II, beginning decades of growing global U.S. influence. Each year, the National Memorial marks Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day by commemorating how "December 7 was a catalyst that led to a changed world."

•	After Pearl Harbor, nothing was the same: 80 years later, attack still shakes my family \| Opinion

Smoke rises from the battleship USS Arizona as it sinks during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941.

AP Images

What everyone's talking about

•	Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows now will not cooperate with Jan. 6 committee.
•	Omicron could be more contagious, less dangerous. That would be 'good news for the human race.'
•	BTS announces they're taking a break: How the group is changing 'cutthroat' K-pop culture.
•	'It's not a Bill Belichick-type thing': Bills coach Sean McDermott diminishes impact of Patriots coach after loss.
•	For 'unbanked' Americans, pandemic stimulus checks arrived slowly and with higher fees. But that could change.

The Short List is free, but several stories we link to are subscriber-only. Consider supporting our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today.

Biden warns Putin against Ukraine invasion

President Joe Biden emphasized his desire for a diplomatic solution to the U.S. conflict with Russia over Ukraine, but still had strong words for Russian President Vladimir Putin in a call on Tuesday. Biden's video call with Putin comes as U.S. intelligence reports a buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine's border. A senior administration official said the U.S. doesn't know whether Putin had decided to pursue further military escalation in Ukraine. "But we do know that he is putting in place the capacity to engage in such escalation should he decide to do so," the official said. If Russia proceeds, the U.S. and its European allies could order economic sanctions, the official said.

Is math racist? How subject's teaching could drastically change

Recommendations to make the subject more inclusive are blowing up the world of math education. Schools are collapsing gifted math "tracks" to put kids of all abilities in the same classes, and they're adding data science courses that carry the same prestige as calculus. The changes have pitted mathematicians and math educators against each other and sparked criticism from affluent parents. They've caused upheaval in California as professors, parents and teachers spar over proposed changes to its K-12 math framework. Opponents say the changes effectively dumb down math education, but advocates say math's teaching is full of inequity – and that's unacceptable.

Real quick

•	A substitute teacher sang Britney Spears' 'Toxic' on a karaoke machine. He was asked to leave early.
•	Nick Cannon tearfully reveals his 5-month-old son Zen died of brain cancer.
•	Native American man serving 'de facto life sentence' for drug dealing. 'Why must I die in prison?'
•	Elon Musk says there aren't 'enough people,' birth rate could threaten human civilization.
•	'There's no one way to be Latina': Rachel Zegler does stardom her way with 'West Side Story.

A moon mystery 🌑

For the past two years, China's Yutu 2 rover has been roaming the Von Karman crater on the far side of the moon. On the rover's 36th lunar day, it spotted a cube-shaped object on the horizon. Andrew Jones, a Space.com reporter tracking China's space endeavors, said officials called it a "mystery house." Though there is no actual answer for what the cube is, Jones says the most likely explanation is that it's actually a large boulder that appeared after an impact event. But China officials are intrigued by the object, and Yutu 2 will be traversing through the region to get closer to it.

A break from the news

•	✈️ A flight with your coffee? Alaska Airlines partners with Starbucks for sale ending Tuesday night.
•	💰 Changes are coming to 401Ks and IRAs in 2022. See how that will benefit your retirement.
•	🧳 Planning a family vacation? Here's how to save money without sacrificing any fun.

This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here.