The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 8 declined to hear the case of a California Christian baker who was prosecuted for refusing, on religious grounds, to create a custom wedding cake celebrating a same-sex marriage. The unsigned order in Miller v. Civil Rights Department came without comment or recorded dissent, leaving in place a California ruling against the baker.
Australian authorities said at least 12 people, including one suspected gunman, were killed and dozens wounded in a shooting attack linked to a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, an incident condemned by leaders in Australia, Britain, and Israel as antisemitic terrorism.
Students, staff and anxious parents faced an uncertain Sunday and several leaders urged prayers after a shooter killed at least two people and wounded nine others at Brown University in the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
German authorities have detained five men in southern Germany over an alleged plot to carry out a “possibly Islamist-motivated attack” on a Christmas market, officials confirmed late Friday.
Russia escalated its war rhetoric Friday, stating that any ceasefire with Ukraine is conditional on Kyiv’s complete withdrawal from the Donbas region, as Ukrainian forces claimed new gains near the strategic northeastern hub of Kupiansk.
Bulgaria plunged into renewed political turmoil Friday after Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned following mass protests accusing his minority government of corruption, just weeks before the Balkan nation is due to adopt the euro.
Hungary’s embattled Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely viewed as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally within the European Union, has accused the EU’s executive arm of “systematically raping European law” over plans to lock up Russia’s frozen assets until Moscow ends its war in Ukraine and compensates for the devastation it has inflicted.
Germany on Friday summoned the Russian ambassador amid allegations that Moscow is conducting a coordinated campaign to destabilize the country, the European Union’s largest economy, according to government officials.
A leading human rights group has condemned Hungary’s decision to place state-run youth detention centers under police oversight after abuse scandals triggered calls for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s resignation.
The Trump administration has prevented more than $1 billion in attempted federal student-loan fraud this year after reinstating strict identity-verification requirements that officials say were weakened under the Biden administration.