News stories I’ve been reading:

• Des groupes contestent des projets de loi de l’Alberta sur les personnes trans — Deux organisations de défense des droits des personnes 2ELGBTQI+ affirment avoir mis en oeuvre leur plan visant à contester devant les tribunaux trois projets de loi sur les personnes trans de l’Alberta. — Radio Canada
• Cambridge University Responds To Backlash Over Thesis Linking Body Odour To Racism — Cambridge University issued a statement supporting Dr Ally Louks after she faced online abuse for her viral social media post. — NDTV
• At least three killed in Netherlands apartment explosion — At least three people have died and a further three people have been taken to hospital after an explosion in an apartment building in The Hague, the Netherlands on Saturday, according to authorities. — 9 News
• Drone captured on camera by Ocean County Sheriff’s Office — The Ocean County Sheriff’s Office says sightings were reported in the western and southern parts of the county. — News 12
• Rep. Nancy Mace Satisfied with Classified AARO Briefing — Congresswoman Nancy Mace discusses a classified UAP briefing by AARO. — News Nation
• Possible drones in New Jersey spotted over critical infrastructure, police chief says — The mystery in the skies over New Jersey continues. One law enforcement official said flying objects, possibly drones, were seen over critical infrastructure, while residents have reported seeing some hovering over their homes in the northern and central parts of the state. — CBS News
• Trump responds after rebels overtake Syria, ousting longtime dictator: ‘Assad is gone’ — ‘Assad is gone. He has fled his country,’ Trump wrote — Fox News
• Trump says US should ‘NOT GET INVOLVED’ in conflict in Syria — President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday the U.S. should not be involved in the conflict in Syria, where rebel forces are threatening the government of President Bashar al-Assad. — Reuters
• Syrian President Bashar Assad flees, war monitor says, as his government collapses and insurgents enter Damascus — Syria’s government appears to have fallen after opposition fighters said they had entered Damascus following a stunning advance, and a Syrian opposition war monitor reported that President Bashar Assad had left the country. — CBS News
• University of Michigan becomes latest school to roll back DEI requirements — _University of Michigan Provost Laurie McCauley on Thursday said the college will stop requiring potential hires to provide a statement on how they will maintain diversity on the campus. _ — Just the News
• Appeals court upholds Sandy Hook verdict against Alex Jones — A Connecticut appeals court on Friday largely upheld a nearly $1.3 billion defamation verdict against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a case accusing the Infowars founder of spreading lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting. — Reuters
• Trump, Zelensky, Macron Meet in Paris — n-person talks between US, Ukrainian presidents are the first since November election — Newser
• South Korea’s ex-defense minister detained over martial law declaration, reports say — South Korean prosecutors on Sunday detained a former defense minister who allegedly recommended last week’s brief but stunning martial law imposition to President Yoon Suk Yeol, making him the first figure detained over the case, news reports said. — CBS News
• Opposition fighters reportedly drive Syrian leader from the country. Who are they and what now? — Syria’s government appears to have fallen after opposition fighters said they entered Damascus following a stunning advance. — The AP
• OpenAI Partners With Anduril to Build AI for Anti-Drone Systems — The deal marks the ChatGPT maker’s biggest push yet into the defense sector. — Bloomberg
• Why bitcoin is booming — The crypto industry is excited about a second Trump presidency. — Vox
• West drawing near to ‘third nuclear age,’ says head of UK armed forces — UK Chief of the Defence Staff Adm. Tony Radakin, also said there is only a “remote” chance that Russia attacks the UK — a projection that is also true for NATO as a whole — while Moscow understands that a retaliatory response would be overwhelming, “whether conventional or nuclear.” — Breaking Defense
• Dragon Age The Veilguard review: after a month in Thedas, we’ve got some thoughts — BioWare’s RPG epic sheds many sacrosanct genre trappings - does it work? — Top Gear
• TikTok defiant after federal court upholds law to force its sale — TikTok signals it will appeal after a federal court sided with the Justice Department and upheld a law to force its sale or ban it. But Donald Trump could offer a way out. — Politico
• Earthquakes under a volcano near Alaska’s largest city raise concerns — An increase in the number of earthquakes under a volcano near Alaska’s largest city this year has geologists paying attention. — The AP
• South Korea’s ruling MPs thwart impeachment vote to save president — Almost all the members of Yoon Suk-yeol’s ruling party walked out of parliament for the ballot after the president apologised for imposing martial law — The Times
• Emmanuel Macron says he will appoint new prime minister ‘within days,’ vows to fight on — French President Emmanuel Macron said he will appoint a new prime minister in the next few days after Michel Barnier, his previous pick, resigned after losing a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly that brought down his government after just 90 days in office. — United Press International
• Hawk Tuah Girl Launched a Memecoin and Everyone Lost Their Money — People are accusing the “Hawk Tuah Girl” Haliey Welch of a “pump-and-dump” scheme after the launch of her HAWK memecoin. — Vice
• Trump appoints ‘AI and crypto czar’ — US President-elect Donald Trump on late Thursday named former PayPal chief operating officer David Sacks as White House “AI and crypto czar.” — The Inquirer
• Lummis Joins Elon’s DOGE Push In “Herculean Effort” To Cut Government Pork — Wyoming U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis has joined the DOGE Caucus in Congress to help Elon Musk and the incoming Trump administration’s efforts to cut government pork. Lummis said Friday it will be “a Herculean effort” to slash spending by $2 trillion. — Cowboy State Daily
• Russia’s longtime foreign minister describes the war with the United States and how to end it — Tucker Carlson interview with Sergey Lavrov — Tucker Carlson
• Former national security officials urge caution on Gabbard — A group of nearly 100 former national security officials urged the Senate to “carefully scrutinize” former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), President-elect Trump’s nominee to serve as director of national intelligence. — The Hill
• Russia’s Lavrov Tells Tucker Country Not at War With U.S., But Will Use All Means to Defend Itsel — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gave broadcaster Tucker Carlson the official Kremlin line that while the country doesn’t consider itself at war with the U.S., nevertheless it expects its warnings to be heeded. — Breitbart
• Google says its new AI models can identify emotions — and that has experts worried — Google says its new AI model family has a curious feature: the ability to “identify” emotions. — TechCrunch