Lebanon Protests

The two-month standoff between protesters and the government continued as thousands took to the streets in cities across Lebanon over the weekend. On Monday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun postponed a series of meetings with members of parliament who reportedly are set to name Saad Hariri as prime minister - Hariri had quit the same post in late October, two weeks after the anti-government protests began.

Chinese Officials Expelled

Per the New York Times, the U.S. government secretly expelled two Chinese Embassy officials who drove on to a sensitive military base in Virginia in September. The officials, along with their wives, reportedly gained entry to the base at a checkpoint and evaded military personnel pursuing them, stopping only when fire trucks barricaded them in.

Impeachment Report Filed

The House Judiciary Committee filed their impeachment report with the House Rules Committee early Monday morning. The 658-page document will accompany the articles of impeachment, which will be voted on by the full House as soon as Wednesday.

Fed-‘Ex’

Amazon will no longer allow third-party sellers to use FedEx’s ground-delivery service for Prime shipments, the company announced in an email to merchants on Sunday. Amazon stopped using FedEx ground-delivery for their own warehouses in August, but had continued to let third-party merchants - who account for 58 percent of total merchandise sold - use the service.

Intel gAIning

Intel has agreed to buy AI chip-maker Habana Labs in a deal valuing the company at approximately $2 billion. Intel has said they plan to operate the Israel-based startup as an independent entity, keeping the location and current management team intact.

MAX Halt

Boeing will halt production of its 737 MAX jetliner, the model involved in two separate crashes within six months that killed 346 people, in January. The company has a backlog of around 400 jets that built up after governments worldwide ordered the grounding of the plane following the second crash in March 2019.

For the Record

The Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all closed at their highest values ever on Monday. In Europe, the STOXX Europe 600 index - featuring stocks from 17 different European countries - also set a record high, surpassing the previous mark set in 2015.

Guardian Angel

11-year-old Angel Farley has lived a unique and challenging life, but she doesn’t let her difficulties interfere with spreading joy to others this holiday season. Angel was born without a femur or hip socket in her right leg, and suffered through years of limited mobility and grueling medical care before she was eventually required to have the leg amputated last year.

That hasn’t slowed down Angel, though - two years ago she decided to help spread Christmas cheer to her neighbors by sending out Christmas cards to those with disabilities or who were alone for the holidays. This year, Angel and her family have hand-delivered over 1,000 cards to strangers, friends, and neighbors.

Angel’s journey hasn’t been easy, as she became severely infected with sepsis following her amputation surgery. But her mother Holly says it was an eye-opening experience when people in the community donated to help fund Angel’s care when she was most in need. She’s given the gift of cheer to her community, and they supported her and her family while she was healing, completing the circle of kindness and giving that is what this season is all about.

Here Comes Santa Claus

This time of year, Santa’s “helpers” can be found nearly everywhere, bringing joy to children by listening to their wishes for a memorable Christmas morning. But Art Hoffman brings something a little different the role, making it a point to spread good wishes and cheer on Christmas, even though he doesn’t celebrate the holiday himself.

Art is Jewish and has been one of Louisville, KY’s most beloved Santa Claus “helpers” for 45 years. He says that he considers the role an act of service and giving back - “tikkun olam” as it’s known in the Jewish faith.

This Santa knows that it doesn’t matter what religion you are, where you’re from, or what holiday you celebrate this time of year. What matters is the sense of belonging we all find in a smile or a hug, or the listening ear of a kind man in a red suit whose only motive is to make children happy.

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