The Somali flag was flown outside a school building in reaction to President Donald Trump referring to Minnesota’s Somali community as "garbage."

Winooski

The Winooski School District in Vermont faced a wave of racist and threatening messages after it displayed the Somali flag alongside the US flag for one week. The flag was raised to show solidarity with the district's Somali community, which makes up about nine percent of its student population, following comments by US President Donald Trump referring to Minnesota's Somali community as 'garbage.'

The district responded to the harassment by shutting down its website and some phone lines to protect staff and students. Police are investigating the hateful messages, while a White House spokesperson stated that the threats were actions of individuals not connected to President Trump.

Vermont school district receives threats after putting up Somali flag

In the United States, a small school district in the state of Vermont was hit with racist and threatening calls and messages after it began to display a Somali flag. The Winooski School District put up the flag last week in response to US President Donald Trump referring to Minnesota's Somali community as garbage. About nine percent of our students are of Somali descent and we don't ignore the fact that we are different. We celebrate it. The original plan was to have the Somali flag flying under the US flag for one week as part of a celebration and solidarity with our Somali community. What ensued was a deluge of phone calls, voicemails and social media posts aimed at district workers and students. The district's website and some school phone lines were shut down to shield staff from harassment. One student said, Mr. Mokhtar, what's going on? Am I safe? Is my family safe? I know I was born here but is my mom safe? That really broke my heart because when you come to school you shouldn't be worried about the president. He's your president. We should be looking up to the president. This harassment comes as Donald Trump is repeatedly making racist remarks against Somali immigrants in the US. Immigration agents have especially ramped up their operations against the Somali community in Minnesota. I don't think the flag caused the anger or our actions caused the anger. The anger was already there. People were just waiting for a target. That is what happens with hate. Somebody who has hate in their heart are looking for the next excuse to show it. And this time our flag was that excuse. Police have been reviewing hateful messages sent to the Winooski School District. A White House spokesperson described the calls and messages as the actions of individuals who have nothing to do with Donald Trump.

For the first time, Amnesty International has accused Hamas and its allies of committing crimes against humanity, following an investigation into the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel. The organization found that 1,221 people were killed and said the mass killing of civilians amounted to extermination.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Amnesty accuses Hamas of 'crimes against humanity' for Oct. 7 attack

The “Architects of AI” were named Time's person of the year Thursday, with the magazine citing 2025 as when the potential of artificial intelligence “roared into view” with no turning back.

Rise of AI

Time magazine names 'Architects of AI' as person of the year for 2025

Message board website Reddit filed a lawsuit on Friday (December 12) asking Australia's High Court to overturn the country's social media ban for people under 16 as well as its inclusion in it, calling the law an infringement of free political expression.

Council of the City of Sydney

Reddit sues to overturn Australian social media ban

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Washington

Trump says Venezuela land operations could begin 'pretty soon'

One day after capturing an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, the U.S. has sanctioned three of Nicolas Maduro's nephews, along with six other oil tankers.

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The EU has decided to keep the assets of the Russian Central Bank immobilised for the foreseeable future. The ban, which is based on a provision for economic emergencies, pushes back against external attempts to release the €210 billion in assets before Ukraine is compensated.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

EU triggers emergency clause to indefinitely immobilise Russian assets

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she planned to take her award back to Venezuela, but declined to say when she would return to her home country after leaving in great secrecy to receive the honor.

Caracas

Nobel peace laureate Machado vows to take award home to Venezuela

Japanese authorities are assessing damage after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan, followed by multiple aftershocks. In response, officials have issued a warning about the possibility of a megaquake, defined as a magnitude 8.0 or higher event.

Tokyo

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Judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia's immediate release from ICE custody

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Samraong

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The U.S. has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions with Caracas.

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The U.S. House has approved a bill to end all Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, sparking cautious optimism in Damascus as the measure moves closer to becoming law.

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Myanmar's military bombs a hospital in western Rakhine state, at least 31 people are killed and dozens injured.

Rakhine

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The U.S. military seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the ship had been used to violate sanctions on oil from Venezuela and Iran.

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The daughter of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother's behalf in Oslo, Norway. Machado, who lives in hiding in Venezuela, is set to make an address on Thursday.

Oslo

Venezuela's Machado awarded Nobel Peace Prize in absentia

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is commenting on potential elections in Ukraine under certain conditions. Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst joins CBS News with more on the war against Russia.

Kyiv

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A renewed outbreak of fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has derailed a US-brokered peace agreement, with cross-border shelling and air raids forcing more than half a million civilians to flee their homes.

Bangkok

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U.S. immigration agents used pepper spray against protesters in Minneapolis on Tuesday as residents blocked the officers’ vehicles and forced them to leave the area.

Minneapolis

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In Australia, millions of kids' social media profiles are going dark, as the country's new social media ban takes effect for anyone under 16. Jo Ling Kent reports.

Canberra

Australia's social media ban takes effect for kids under 16

President Trump, in recent months, has dismissed concerns about affordability, but this evening, in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, he is focusing on the crisis and touting his administration's efforts to lower the cost of living. Nancy Cordes has more.

Pennsylvania

Trump tries to flip the script on affordability

Dozens of protesters blocked a highway near Tel Aviv to demonstrate against moves by the Israeli government to force some ultra-Orthodox Jews into mandatory military service, something they are currently exempt from so they can study the Torah full time.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

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President Trump has told Politico that Nicolas Maduro's "days are numbered" in Venezuela. Political strategists Kevin Sheridan and Hyma Moore join with analysis.

Trump says Maduro’s “days are numbered”

The FBI has released a new photo of former Olympian Ryan Wedding, whom the bureau’s director has described as a “modern day iteration of Pablo Escobar.” The ex-skier and snowboarder remains at large as agents continue their search.

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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Pope Leo XIV and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Tuesday (December 9), meanwhile voicing his refusal to surrender territory to Moscow despite pressure from Washington for territorial concessions.

Rome

Zelenskyy seeks backing from Pope Leo XIV, Italian PM Meloni

A federal judge said Tuesday (December 9) that the Department of Justice can unseal the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case records. CBS News' Scott MacFarlane has more details.

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Prosecutors on Monday (December 8) released new evidence seized from Luigi Mangione on the day of his arrest. He is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson a year ago and has pleaded not guilty.

Manhattan

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The EU antitrust enforcer has opened an investigation into the U.S. tech giant over its use of online content to power its AI services, a move that threatens to ratchet up transatlantic relations.

Brussels

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Ukraine is set to present a revised peace plan to the United States on Tuesday following President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s talks in London with the leaders of France, Germany, and Britain.

London

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The International Criminal Court Tuesday handed down a sentence of 20 years to a Sudanese militia leader for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country's civil war two decades ago.

Breakdown