Domestic

After a deadly crash involving a UPS cargo plane, the shipping giant has grounded all of its MD-11 cargo planes. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration has prohibited all MD-11 planes from flying until they are inspected. UPS Flight 2976 crashed on Nov. 4 at around 5:15, p.m. resulting in at least 14 deaths. The investigation is ongoing.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has completed its 150 mile trip to New York City, where it will be lit on December 3. The tree is a 75 ft. Norway spruce and weighs about 11 tons. It will be decorated with more than 50,000 lights and topped with a star weighing 900 pounds. After the holiday season, the tree will be turned into lumber for use by Habitat for Humanity.

International

In Sudan, over 12 million people have been displaced due to fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese military. While the RSF was originally established by the government, it challenged the military in 2023, plunging the country into chaos. On Oct. 26, the RSF seized el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, killing thousands. The number of deaths is estimated to be about 150,000, with some estimates reaching significantly higher. Satellite imagery has suggested the presence of mass graves and piles of bodies.

Less than a week after Typhoon Kalmaegi devastated parts of the Philippines and Vietnam, another typhoon has struck the region. Super Typhoon Fung-wong, with wind speeds of over 115 mph, has led to the evacuation of around 1 million people from the Philippines. Hurricanes and typhoons both describe the same thing, a tropical cyclone, with the term hurricane being used in the North Atlantic, central North Pacific and eastern North Pacific and the term typhoon being used for cyclones in the Northwest Pacific.