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On this version of Hot off the Wire:
» The Senate has passed a $1.7 trillion bill to finance federal agencies through September, aid Ukraine and provide assistance to communities recovering from hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters. The bill passed by a vote of 68 to 29 and now goes to the House for action later in the day.
» President Joe Biden has warned Americans to take seriously a storm that is spreading severe cold, snow and wind.
» Shrugging off rampant inflation and rising interest rates, the U.S. economy grew at an unexpectedly strong 3.2% annual pace from July through September, the government reported Thursday in a healthy upgrade from its earlier estimate of third-quarter growth.
» Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried has left Manhattan federal court after his parents signed a $250 million personal recognizance bond. He wore an electronic monitoring bracelet as he rushed to a car Thursday to head with his parents to their California home to await trial.
» Australian authorities say vandals have destroyed rock art believed to be some 30,000 years old.
» The U.S. government’s highway safety agency says it's sending teams to investigate November crashes in California and Ohio involving Teslas that may have been operating on automated driving systems.
» Gov. Doug Ducey says Arizona will take down a makeshift wall made of shipping containers at the Mexico border, settling a lawsuit and political tussle with the federal government over trespassing on federal lands.
» Inflation is driving many consumers to put off their holiday shopping until the last minute. This year, higher prices on everything are squeezing shoppers’ budgets and pushing them to postpone their buying.
» Nearly 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year. That's according to final figures released Thursday.
» A group of women in a California commune known as the "weed nuns," marijuana is a religion.
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