Countries at a U.N. climate conference are hoping to agree on new ways to keep the planet from catastrophic heating by the end of the century. Also in the news: A truce between Israel and Hamas was extended through Thursday at the last minute and U.S. foreign policy juggernaut Henry Kissinger has died at 100.
🙋🏼‍♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Look up! The aurora borealis could be visible across northern U.S. Thursday night.
Here is the news to know Thursday.
World leaders from 197 countries including the U.S. will be spending considerable energy over the next few days pondering a number: 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (Or 1.5 degrees Celsius).
Representatives and negotiators are gathering in Dubai at an event called COP (Conference of the Parties), a 13-day meeting that comes at what scientists say is a critical moment in the fight to keep climate change from tipping into the catastrophic.
Related: Pope Francis says he’s ”not well” after canceling his trip to COP28.
A temporary truce between Israel and Hamas has been extended another day, just minutes before it was set to expire Thursday. The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that the temporary truce will be extended for a seventh day “in light of the mediators’ efforts to continue the process of releasing hostages, and subject to the terms of the agreement.” Officials in Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. have been working with Hamas and Israeli leaders on a temporary extension with an eye toward ending the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has said fighting will ultimately continue until Hamas has been crushed. Read more
What’s the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
Henry Kissinger, a German-born American diplomat who shaped U.S. foreign policy in the second half of the 20th century and won a Nobel Prize for brokering an end to the Vietnam War, has died. Kissinger, 100, was the most celebrated U.S. statesman in modern times, helping former President Richard Nixon establish U.S. relations with China, reaching Cold War detente and arms agreements with the Soviet Union and conducting “shuttle diplomacy” to defuse Middle East tension. Kissinger at the same time was an intensely controversial figure and a lightning rod for critics of Nixon’s foreign policy, particularly in conduct of the Vietnam War as well as staging the rise of authoritarian rulers in Latin America. Read more
Incidence of a COVID-19 variant appears to have increased threefold in the U.S. in recent weeks, federal tracking showed. The BA.2.86 variant – a mutated COVID-19 strain previously thought to be uncommon – is projected to account for nearly one-tenth of circulating viruses, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracking. So it may be time to get that shot before any planned holiday travel: The updated COVID-19 vaccines are expected to increase protection against BA.2.86, the CDC said. Read more
Usher’s reign continues as the king of R&B – and as the king of Las Vegas. The singer, whose final show of his Vegas “My Way” residency at Park MGM is Dec. 2, will keep his Sin City streak going come February when he headlines the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show at Allegiant Stadium. From his pre-show routine to Go-Karts with his kids, his must-haves help him stay grounded and playful. In a new series, USA TODAY’s The Essentials, celebrities share what fuels their lives. We’re kicking off with Usher, Meg Ryan and Ariana DeBose.
Throughout December, the children of military families, frontline workers, first responders, educators and local school children will get to lace on skates on the South Lawn of the White House.
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.
Associated Press contributed reporting.