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Approximately 1 million taxpayers will automatically receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks. The money will be directly deposited into eligible people’s bank accounts or sent in the mail by a paper check.  Click here to see i are one of the ones receiving this extra Christmas gift from the IRS.

Click here to read about how President Joe Biden announced that he is taking 37 people off federal death row to serve out life sentences behind bars — a decision that leaves only three federal prisoners awaiting execution when President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month. 

A White former Kansas City police officer who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black man was released from prison Friday after Missouri’s governor commuted his sentence to parole.  The decision by Republican Gov. Mike Parson to free Eric DeValkenaere came after months of public debate about the case.  Parson did not pardon DeValkenaere but rather shortened his sentence to parole, subject to normal restrictions against possessing firearms, traveling out of state without permission and other items. He granted a similar commutation of parole to Patty Prewitt, another high-profile prisoner who had spent 40 years behind bars for her husband’s killing.  Click here for the full story on both sentences being commuted.  

Click here to read about a "non-stereotypical kangaroo" as a family in Austin County, Texas, is anxiously waiting for the return of their 3-year-old kangaroo after the marsupial pushed a gate open and hopped a fence.  The 5-foot-tall kangaroo, named Rowdy, was last seen early Wednesday morning on Pyka Road near Interstate 10 in Austin County, according to the kangaroo's owner.

Pilots are reporting a massive uptick in being hit by laser pointers from the ground since the drone panic took off earlier this month, according to new data from the Federal Aviation Administration.  Laser strikes can temporarily blind pilots or worse in some of the most critical times of a flight—when a plane is near the ground for takeoff or landing.  Click here for the full story.  

As the Teamsters' cross-country Christmastime strike against Amazon entered its second day on Friday, the union said that "momentum continues to mount" as workers seek "fair treatment" from the online retailer.   "The Amazon Teamsters movement grows bigger and stronger every day and will not be stopped," the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said in a statement posted on social media late Thursday.  Click here for more on this story.

Stanley, the drinkware brand that exploded in popularity on social media, issued a recall of roughly 2.6 million travel mugs over potential “burn hazards,” the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced in a release Thursday.  The recall applies specifically to all Stanely Switchback and Trigger Action stainless steel travel mugs sold in the United States.  Click here to see if your mug is being recalled.  

China says two of its astronauts completed a nine-hour spacewalk Tuesday, a figure that beats the US-held record for the world’s longest spacewalk set in 2001, in the latest milestone in the country’s ambitious space program.  But is it actually true?  Click here for the full story.  

(See related headline below) Mysterious possible drone sightings across the East Coast have prompted calls from civilians and some politicians to shoot down the unidentified aircraft.  But shooting at drones is dangerous and illegal – and may bring unintended consequences, according to federal officials and experts.

TikTok’s US-based users could have only a few more weeks to enjoy scrolling through their For You Page before the app is banned in the country starting on January 19, 2025.  A US appeals court on Friday upheld the law that requires TikTok to be sold off from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a ban.  Click here for more on this story.