 Four hostages held at a synagogue in Dallas, Texas, by an assailant who demanded the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist have been freed unharmed. The FBI negotiated with the assailant during the 10-hour standoff that ended in his death. More: - The FBI identified the man as British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, 44. He is the sole suspect, and law enforcement believes he acted alone.
- According to reports, he took the hostages at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue during the morning service on Saturday.
- Explosions and gunshots were heard, forcing the police to deploy special weapons teams.
- The synagogue was stormed by an elite FBI rescue squad, but details on how the standoff ended, including how the hostage-taker died, are still unclear.
- The hostage-taker demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neurologist serving an 86-year sentence in the U.S. after being convicted of attempting to assassinate U.S. military officials while in captivity in Afghanistan.
- President Joe Biden condemned the hostage-taking as an "act of terror" late Saturday.
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Microsoft's threat intelligence arm issued a warning after detecting a "highly destructive" form of malware targeting computer networks in Ukraine. The malware is said to be targeting private and government networks and has the ability to completely erase all data. More: - The malware appears to be disguised as ransomware but seems to have no infrastructure for payment transfer, while Microsoft's analysts conclude that it does have a file corrupting code.
- The code was discovered at the same time that several of Ukraine's government websites were defaced with the "Be afraid and expect the worst" message.
- Microsoft has not yet identified the perpetrators behind the code, although Ukrainian officials suspect Russian involvement.
- If confirmed, this would not be the first cyberattack on Ukraine of Russian origin.
- Russia unsuccessfully attempted to sway the outcome of Ukraine's presidential election in 2014.
- Two major attacks in 2015 resulted in an electricity outage in Ukraine.
- Businesses and government agencies were targeted with the tax preparation software NotPetya exploits in 2017 in Ukraine.
- Discussions over Russian soldiers gathering near the Ukraine border with the U.S. and NATO have come to a halt.
- Sources believe the cyberattack to be a precursor or a substitute for the ground invasion and are expected to stall the U.S.'s imposition of sanctions on Russia.
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 One America News headquarters in San Diego. DirecTV announced that it will not renew the contract with Herring Networks Inc. Once the contract comes to an end this year, the satellite and streaming network with about 15 million subscribers will stop airing One America News Network (OAN). More: - Herring Networks Inc, the owner of OAN, has been notified by the satellite TV provider.
- The channel is still available on Verizon FiOS and certain smaller pay-TV providers, as well as being streamed via KlowdTV, an online-TV service.
- DirecTV, a joint venture between AT&T Inc. and TPG, is also planning to drop AWE, a second channel owned by Herring that covers lifestyle and entertainment programming.
- The One America News Network is claimed to have spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, and the safety of coronavirus vaccines.
- DirecTV was forced to offer OAN to customers since April 2017 after losing in a trial bought on by Herring Networks.
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 Jonathan with his vet Joe Hollins Good news: Jonathan, celebrating his 190th birthday, has been bestowed with another Guinness World Records title as the oldest chelonian. The tortoise was already the oldest living land animal titleholder. More: - The new title has seen this tortoise surpass the previous record held by Tu'i Malila, believed to have lived to at least 188 years old before his death in 1965.
- Jonathan was fully mature when he arrived in St. Helena in 1882 and hence believed to be at least 50 years old at that time.
- Although he may be even older at that point, his birth year was estimated to be 1832.
- A fully grown Jonathan can be seen grazing on grass at the residence of the Governor of St. Helena, with the photo supposedly taken between 1882 and 1886.
- Jonathan has spent most of his life at the Plantation House, witnessing over 31 governors' tenures.
- Cabbage, cucumber, carrot, and apple are a few of Jonathan's favorite foods.
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 Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is negotiating a plea deal in his corruption case, which is expected to be finalized early next week and could result in a seven-year ban from politics. The former premier, accused of fraud, breach of trust, and receiving bribes, has denied any wrongdoing. More: - Protestors gathered outside the attorney general's house on Saturday evening voicing their opposition to the deal, which is likely to be challenged in court.
- Netanyahu is currently the leader of the opposition and is on trial for the following counts:
- Allegedly accepting high prized gifts from wealthy associates.
- Supposedly promoting favorable coverage in a major Israeli newspaper in exchange for supporting legislation that would have hurt the news organization's main competitor.
- Apparently backing legislation favoring Israeli telecom Bezeq for positive coverage on Walla news site.
- The deal, if accepted, would drop the bribery and fraud charges. One case could be scrapped entirely.
- In exchange, the deal will include the charge of "moral turpitude," which would carry a sentence of community service time and a seven-year ban from politics.
- The deal would dampen Netanyahu's hope to return to the political premiership.
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 Passenger in wheelchair assisted boarding with Amtrak crew Amtrak paid $2.25M to over 1,500 disabled people for inaccessible rail stations, the Department of Justice revealed. The funds are part of a Dec. 2020 settlement between the DOJ and Amtrak. The settlement also requires Amtrak to have plans finished to make at least 135 stations accessible by 2030, with construction complete at 90 of them and underway at the other 45 at that time. More: - Amtrak took a year to identify all the disabled Americans who have been impacted by the 78 specific stations with major accessibility concerns and transferred the funds to the eligible citizens.
- The DOJ’s inquiry into Amtrak, which operates ~500 stations across 46 states and the District of Columbia, was due to complaints received in 2011, 2012, and 2013 from disabled people, who felt they were discriminated against, and The National Disability Rights Network.
- The DOJ published its findings in 2015, finding Amtrak at fault for non-compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which mandated the rail service provider to make its network accessible by 2010.
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- Novac Djokovic has flown out of Melbourne, Australia, after three federal judges unanimously voted against the unvaccinated tennis star's attempt to overturn his second visa cancellation. The news has thwarted Djokovic's shot at a 21st Grand Slam championship.
- A 40-year-old woman has died after being pushed in front of an oncoming train at the Times Square subway station in a random attack by a homeless man identified as Simon Martial, who may have a history of mental illness.
- Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has ordered the closure of the Darvaza gas crater site, popularly known as the "Gates of Hell," which has been burning off natural gas ever since the ground collapsed during a Soviet gas-drilling expedition in the early 1970s.
- Greece's Aegean Airlines suspended flights to Beirut, Lebanon, while it investigates what caused a hole in the left rear cockpit window on one of its aircraft that landed in Beirut.
- Joyce Watkins, 74, was exonerated after being wrongfully convicted for having killed her great-niece and spending 27 years in prison.
- China-North Korea trade is expected to resume on Jan. 17 after a freighter North Korean train entered a Chinese border town for the first time since the pandemic began.
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Visualization of the day: 
This image encapsulates all of the named bodies in the solar system. Zoom in and check it out here.
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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