Greetings! Happy National Chocolate Candy Day to those celebrating.

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🇸🇷 Knife attack near Paramaribo kills 9, police say. Police said a 43-year-old attacked children and neighbors in Richelieu, 25 km east of Paramaribo. They said he argued with his wife by phone, then went house to house with a knife. Nine people died, including children, and at least two others were injured. The suspect was hurt during arrest, and detectives are still confirming victims and motive. President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons urged calm and called the killings a national tragedy. For Suriname, the horror is a blunt reminder that private rage can become public catastrophe.

🇹🇼 China stages drills around Taiwan, citing external forces. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command said the drill, Justice Mission 2025, would test joint operations around the island. Spokesperson Senior Col. Shi Yi called it a warning after fresh frictions with Japan. Beijing cited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s moves around disputed territory as the spark. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said it ramped up monitoring and would respond if threatened. Each rehearsal narrows the margin for error and widens the space for miscalculation. Deterrence, in practice, is now a loud kind of silence.

🧨 Pipe bomb suspect cites parties in charge, memo says. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents wrote that Brian J. Cole Jr. targeted Democratic and Republican offices because they were in charge. Prosecutors at the Department of Justice (DOJ) say that mindset makes him too dangerous to release. Cole’s lawyer, John Shoreman, pushed for strict conditions and called the allegations overstated. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya is weighing the filings as the case advances. The memo reads like a civics lesson taught with detonators instead of textbooks. Regardless of outcome, political violence keeps rebranding itself as accountability.

🗽 New York subway ends MetroCard and goes all tap-to-ride. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) says MetroCards stop being sold or refilled after December 31, replaced by One Metro New York (OMNY) taps on smartphones and other mobile devices. About 90% of rides already use taps, and fare-capping limits weekly charges. Chief Customer Officer Jodi Shapiro said it cuts swiping glitches and plastic waste. The MTA estimates MetroCard upkeep costs about $20M a year as parts get scarce. After 31 years, the swipe retires and the turnstile keeps its tempo.

🐾 Brigitte Bardot, French actress and animal-rights crusader, dies at 91. Bardot became a sensation after And God Created Woman, directed by Roger Vadim. She quit acting young, then led animal-rights campaigns via the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. French President Emmanuel Macron praised her star power and her cause. Her later years were shadowed by convictions over racist remarks and flirtations with the far right. Even critics admit few celebrities wielded fame with such single-issue intensity. Bardot leaves a legacy split between screen glare and kennel devotion.

🚁 Two helicopters collide midair in New Jersey, killing 1. Police said one person died and another was critically injured near Hammonton. Witness Sal Silipino said the pilots were regulars at a nearby cafe and often ate breakfast together. Bystanders watched the aircraft lift off, then saw one helicopter spiral down, followed by the other. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the collision. Former investigator Alan Diehl said “see and avoid” failures drive most crashes. Good visibility can still fail if attention does first.

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That’s all for today!

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