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Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples. A fierce winter storm is rolling up the East Coast. And which holiday movie is the most watched this year? |
π Hey pals! Laura Davis here. Hope you had a good weekend! It's time for Monday's news. |
Pope says priests can bless same-sex couples |
In a radical shift aimed at making the Catholic church more inclusive while maintaining its strict ban on gay marriage, Pope Francis formally approved letting Catholic priests bless same-sex couples, the Vatican said Monday. The move stops short of sanctioning same-sex marriages but is still being heralded by some LGBTQ+ advocates as historic. The document released by the Vatican says requests for blessings from same-sex couples should not be denied, so long as the blessing is not conferred at the same time as a civil union, using set rituals or with the clothing and gestures that are part of a wedding. π Here's what to know. | Pope Francis leaves after an audience to the participants of the live nativity scene of Santa Maria Maggiore on Saturday in The Vatican. ANDREAS SOLARO, AFP via Getty Images |
Jonathan Majors found guilty of assaulting ex-girlfriend |
A six-person jury convicted Jonathan Majors of assaulting his former girlfriend Grace Jabbari on Monday, concluding a two-week trial that the actor hoped would salvage his damaged reputation and restore his status as an emerging Hollywood star. A Manhattan jury found Majors guilty of assault and harassment. The "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" star was also acquitted of a different assault charge and aggravated harassment. Majors faced eight misdemeanor counts involving assault, aggravated harassment and harassment after his arrest in March over a confrontation with Jabbari, during which she said he struck her in the head with his open hand, twisted her arm behind her back and squeezed her middle finger until it fractured. Majors pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. π Here's a closer look at the trial. | Actor Jonathan Majors arrives at court for a trial on his domestic violence case on Dec. 4 in New York. Yuki Iwamura, AP |
Flash flood warnings, power outages after deadly winter storm |
An intense storm system battered the Northeast with torrential rains and fierce winds Monday, snarling traffic, delaying flights, knocking out power across the region and killing at least two people. In New England, trees fell and killed two people: one in Hingham, Massachusetts, and the other in Windham, Maine. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph were recorded in New York and New Jersey, where 2 to 4 inches of rain fell throughout the morning, and flooding across New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Boston left city streets completely underwater ahead of rush hour. ⛈️ Live updates from the storm. | Some streets in Charleston, S.C., were flooded on Sunday. (Laura Bilson/The Post And Courier via AP) |
This year's top holiday movies |
What holiday movies are sleighing the ratings? It's a mixed Santa's sack of the Ghost of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Present, according to data shared exclusively with USA TODAY. Turns out, smiling is the audience's favorite! So far, 9 million households have watched "Elf," the 2003 feature starring Will Ferrell as whimsical Buddy the tall elf, who left the North Pole in search of his biological father. As for number two on the list, nearly 8 million households have pushed play on 1989's "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" – mine included! Did your favorite make the list? And is "Die Hard" a Christmas movie? πΏ Check out the rest of the favorites here. | "Elf," starring Will Ferrell, is the most-watched holiday movie so far this year, according to data from Samba TV. AP Photo/ Alan Markfield/New Line Productions | | | | Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin holds talks in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hostage talks in Warsaw go nowhere. | | | |  | Ruby Franke, a family vlogger famous for her '8 Passengers' YouTube channel, had a hearing Monday following her arrest on child abuse charges. | | | | Astronaut Frank Rubio was blamed for eating missing tomatoes until they were found on the International Space Station. Now, NASA has released a photo. | | | | The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said the 4-year-old was sitting in the back seat when he was hit by a bullet in the torso on Friday night. | | | | Residents who long have feared being displaced from the island they've lived on for generations are angry about the lack of help available. | | | | Durwin Hickman, who works at the San Francisco International Airport, bought a scratch-off and played it during his lunch break. He won $20 million. | | | | The driver of a car that plowed into a parked van that was part of President Joe Biden's security detail has been charged with drunken driving. | | | | Once again the world is failing to pay for half of the sexual and reproductive health care needed in humanitarian settings, Ashley Judd writes. | | | | "In an unexpected and ironic twist," police say, while the thieves went to work, a carjacker jumped into their getaway vehicle outside and fled. | | | | The campaign arm of House Democrats lays the blame at the 118th Congress' slow-moving pace on House Republicans in a new memo. | | | | | Sign up for the news you want | Exclusive newsletters are part of your subscription, don't miss out! We're always working to add benefits for subscribers like you. | | | | | | |
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