Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 4 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “light,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. All times on the map are Japan time.The New York Times
A strong, 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean on Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The temblor happened at 11:44 a.m. Japan time about 71 miles northeast of Hachinohe, Japan, data from the agency shows.
As seismologists review available data, they may revise the reported magnitude of the latest quake. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.
Aftershocks in the region
An aftershock is usually a smaller earthquake that follows a larger one in the same general area. Aftershocks are typically minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.
Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles
Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.
When quakes and aftershocks occurred
Source: United States Geological Survey | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Japan time. Shake data is as of Friday, Dec. 12 at 12:03 p.m. Japan time. Aftershocks data is as of Friday, Dec. 12 at 4:14 p.m. Japan time.
Big Tech continues to tiptoe into crypto. The latest example is a move by YouTube to let creators on the video platform choose to receive payouts in PayPal’s stablecoin. The head of crypto at PayPal, May Zabaneh, confirmed the arrangement to Fortune, adding that the feature is live and, as of now, only applies to users in the U.S.
A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, confirmed the video site has added payouts for creators in PayPal’s stablecoin but declined to comment further.
YouTube is already an existing customer of PayPal’s and uses the fintech giant’s payouts service, which helps large enterprises pay gig workers and contractors.
Early in the third quarter, PayPal added the capability for payment recipients to receive their checks in PayPal’s stablecoin, PYUSD. Afterwards, YouTube decided to give that option to creators, who receive a share of earnings from the content they post on the platform, said Zabaneh.
“The beauty of what we’ve built is that YouTube doesn’t have to touch crypto and so we can help take away that complexity,” she added.
Big Tech eyes stablecoins
YouTube’s interest in stablecoins comes as Google and other Big Tech companies have shown interest in the cryptocurrencies amid a wave of hype in Silicon Valley and beyond.
The tokens, which are pegged to underlying assets like the U.S. dollar, are longtime features of the crypto industry. But over the past year, they’ve exploded into the mainstream, especially after President Donald Trump signed into law a new bill regulating the crypto assets. Proponents say they are an upgrade over existing financial infrastructure, and big fintechs have taken notice, including Stripe. In February, the payments giant closed a blockbuster $1.1 billion purchase of the stablecoin startup Bridge.
PayPal has long been an earlier mover in crypto among large tech firms. In 2020, it let users buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a handful of other cryptocurrencies. And, in 2023, it launched the PYSUD stablecoin, which now has a market capitalization of nearly $4 billion, according to CoinGecko.
PayPal has slowly integrated PYUSD throughout its stable of products. Users can hold it in its digital wallet as well as Venmo, another financial app that PayPal also owns. They can use it to pay merchants. And, in February, a PayPal executive said small-to-medium sized merchants will be able to use it to pay vendors.
YouTube’s addition of payouts in PYUSD isn’t the first time Google has experimented with PayPal’s stablecoin. An executive at Google Cloud, the tech giant’s cloud computing arm, previously toldFortune that it had received payments from two of its customers in PYUSD.
Fighting between Cambodia and Thailand has entered its fifth day, with Cambodia accusing the Thai military of continued shelling and Thailand’s caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirming that he is scheduled to speak with United States President Donald Trump.
Thai forces allegedly carried out new attacks in three Cambodian provinces in the early hours of Friday morning, according to Cambodian news outlet The Khmer Times.
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The newspaper reported that Thai forces opened fire in the Ta Moan, Ta Kra Bei and Thmar Daun areas of Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province.
It also reported Thai shelling in the Phnom Khaing and An Ses areas of the country’s Preah Vihear province, as well as the areas of Prey Chan Village and Boeung Trakuan in nearby Banteay Meanchey province.
No new casualties were reported following the renewed fighting.
At least 20 people have been killed across both countries, with nearly 200 more wounded, since fighting resumed on Monday.
An estimated 600,000 people have also been displaced on both sides of the Thai-Cambodia border since the breakdown of a peace agreement brokered by Trump in October.
Displaced people carry boxes with drinking water distributed at a temporary camp in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province on December 11, 2025 [Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP]
In a Facebook post, Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence also rejected as “fake news” a claim from the Thai military that it was using foreign mercenaries to operate suicide drones in its attacks on targets in Thailand.
“The Ministry of National Defence of Cambodia would like to reject propaganda disseminated on the Thai 2nd Army Area Facebook page, which accused Cambodia of using foreigners to help launch FPV [first person view] drones in the Cambodian-Thai border conflict,” the ministry said.
Separately, the ministry also rejected accusations from Thai media outlets alleging that it was preparing to launch Chinese-made PHL-03 missiles in the border dispute.
The PHL-03 is a truck-mounted multiple rocket launcher that can fire guided and unguided rockets with a range of 70km to 130km (43.5 miles to 81 miles), according to a US military database, while Cambodia’s BM-21 Soviet-designed multi-rocket launchers have a range of just 15km to 40km (9.3 miles to 25 miles).
“Cambodia demands the Thai side to deliberately stop spreading false news in order to divert attention to its violations of international law by painting Cambodia as a pretext to use more violent weapons on Cambodia,” the Defence Ministry said.
The Southeast Asian neighbours accuse one another of reigniting the conflict that centres around a centuries-old border dispute along their 800-kilometre (500-mile) frontier, where both sides claim ownership over a smattering of historic temples.
The continued fighting involving artillery, fighter jets, tanks and drones comes as Thailand’s caretaker Prime Minister Anutin confirmed he was scheduled to speak with President Trump at 21:20 local time (14:20 GMT) on Friday.
Trump promised on Wednesday to reach out to the leaders of both countries, saying he thinks he “can get them to stop fighting”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Trump had yet to call the Thai and Cambodian leadership, but added that “the administration is obviously tracking this at the highest levels and is very much engaged”.
Thailand’s top diplomat Sihasak Phuangketkeow spoke with US counterpart Marco Rubio on Friday ahead of the planned call between Trump and Anutin, Thailand’s foreign ministry said.
Sihasak told Rubio that Thailand was committed to a peaceful resolution, but said sustainable peace must be backed up by actions and genuine commitment, the ministry said in a statement, adding that Rubio confirmed US readiness to constructively promote peace.
Anutin also said his decision to dissolve parliament on Thursday – earlier than expected – would not affect the management of the ongoing border conflict.
The move comes following a breakdown in relations between Anutin’s Thai Pride Party and the opposition People’s Party, the largest bloc in the Thai legislature.
Government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat said a legislative impasse had paralysed the government’s agenda, meaning Anutin’s party “can’t go forward in parliament”.
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn endorsed the dissolution, the country’s official Royal Gazette announced on Friday, making way for early elections.
The national polls must now be held within 45 to 60 days in Thailand.
Pro Music Rights (PMR) and its parent company Music Licensing, Inc. say that they are exploring legal action following US Representative Scott Fitzgerald’s request for a Federal Trade Commission investigation into the PRO’s business practices.
In a press release issued today (December 11), PMR rejected Fitzgerald’s Congressional letter, calling it “politically motivated” and containing “factually inaccurate assertions” about the company’s business, repertoire, and commitment to independent music creators.
The Wisconsin Republican’s December 8 letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson requested an investigation into whether PMR and AllTrack violated consumer protection laws through allegedly deceptive practices, particularly regarding misrepresentation of their music rights portfolios.
According to the PMR press release, Chairman Jake P. Noch is “personally evaluating legal action” against Representative Fitzgerald, claiming the Congressman’s statements are “anti-Semitic, false, and damaging to his personal and professional reputation.”
Noch is claimed in the press release, which you can read in full here, to be “one of the few openly Jewish and pro-Israel senior executives in the U.S. PRO landscape,” alleging he has been “subjected to prejudicial and anti-Semitic commentary.”
The company said Fitzgerald’s assertion that PMR or Noch “feigns legitimacy” or engages in deceptive practices is “false, defamatory, and unsupported by the factual record.”
PMR also announced it is considering antitrust litigation against the MIC Coalition, incumbent PROs including BMI and ASCAP, and their member associations for “coordinated efforts to suppress independent competition and maintain market dominance.”
The company accused these organizations of leveraging “political influence to entrench dominance and portray independent competitors as threats,” rather than supporting “a competitive, creator-focused licensing ecosystem.”
PMR claimed the Congressional letter “cherry-picks commentary from other PROs submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office’s 2025 Notice of Inquiry, while disregarding the Office’s own findings.”
Fitzgerald’s letter questioned PMR’s claimed 7.4% US market share, with BMI’s analysis suggesting that figure would exceed the combined rights managed by SESAC and Global Music Rights.
PMR defended its transparency, stating it has “consistently and transparently disclosed its licensing practices, market share estimates, and repertoire information in official filings and public statements, including during the 2025 Copyright Office inquiry.”
The company claims to represent a catalog of more than 2.5 million works by artists including A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell, Fall Out Boy, and others, as well as works generated by artificial intelligence.
PMR claimed it “remains the only PRO that has consistently disrupted the status quo while advocating for fair treatment of historically marginalized or underpaid creators,” adding that no “competent authority” has ever found misconduct by the organization or its chairman.
Watch: Record-setting floods hit the United States’ Pacific Northwest
Residents in the Pacific Northwest of the US and western Canada are bracing for potentially life-threatening floods as several days of heavy rain have swollen a number of rivers and tributaries.
On Thursday, the National Water Center reported heavy flooding along the Skagit and Snohomish rivers in the state of Washington that is expected to continue through Friday.
In Canada, major highways to Vancouver have been closed because of flooding, debris and the risk of avalanches.
There are evacuation orders in place for thousands of people in the US and Canada, and authorities have warned more rain is on the way.
In the US, the governor of Washington state, Bob Ferguson, declared a statewide emergency and estimated 100,000 residents could face evacuation orders.
The emergency declaration warned that rain and possibly snow at mountain elevations would exacerbate flooding conditions.
Governor Ferguson said there were no reports of fatalities, but warned residents the risk wasn’t over yet.
“On the Skagit River, for example, the river will be cresting tomorrow mid-morning. Again, that is expected to be historic level on that river,” he told CNN on Thursday evening.
He warned it would take “weeks” to recover from the storm, and appealed for help from the federal government.
An evacuation order was lifted in the Orting community south of Seattle, but Central Pierce Fire and Rescue cautioned residents to “remain vigilant into the evening”.
“Remember, turn around don’t drown,” the department wrote on Thursday on X.
More than 30 highways were closed across the state, with closures also affecting commuters in the Seattle area.
The flooding has hit all of western Washington, as well as further south along the Oregon coast.
Skagit County, a major agricultural area north of Seattle, issued an immediate evacuation order to residents who live on the floodplain. Some 75,000 people would be evacuated from low-lying areas, officials said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Thursday the Skagit river would cause “severe near-record flooding from Rockport downstream through Sedro Woolley”.
It warned of “deep and swift flood waters” especially in the Cape Horn, Hamilton and Thunderbird area.
Rescues are taking place around the state, involving inflatable boats and helicopters.
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said in an overnight social media post that they had rescued “multiple” people by helicopter after they got trapped in their homes in Sultan, Washington, about 40 miles (65km) north-east of Seattle.
Officials said the Snohomish River was experiencing major flooding and “dancing with records” as water lapped against a local flood wall.
King County – which contains the city of Seattle – and Snohomish County officials have warned the road closures could last for several days.
Reuters
Evacuation efforts were under way in Sultan, Washington, on Wednesday
Across the border in Canada’s British Columbia, there are evacuation orders in place for the communities of Tulameen and Eastgate, and several other areas.
City officials said the Nooksack River was expected to overflow its banks, and they anticipate flooding, though not as severe as in 2021, when it caused significant damage and five deaths in the province.
Most major highways to the Lower Mainland are now closed, according to the travel-information website Drive BC.
The US-Canada Sumas Border Crossing is also closed to commercial traffic.
The entire region, spanning parts of both the US and Canada, has received torrential rain from an atmospheric river – a phenomenon where water evaporates into the air and is carried by the wind and forms long currents that surge through the sky like rivers flow on land.
Forecasters have warned of another storm on Sunday.
Joe Frazier never needed much encouragement to take a swipe at Muhammad Ali during their bitter 1970s rivalry.
Their trilogy produced three iconic events, culminating in The Thrilla in Manila — a brutal finale that eclipsed the first two encounters due to the extraordinary punishment both men absorbed. Ali won the series 2-1, cementing his status as the standout heavyweight of his era and, to many, “The Greatest,” echoing his own famous moniker.
But Frazier — whose only career defeats came against Ali and George Foreman — insisted his nemesis was neither the self-proclaimed greatest nor the finest heavyweight of all time. The Philadelphia fighter instead chose a champion from a bygone era, a man who remains a popular pick for the division’s crown.
“Joe Louis is the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.
Rocky Marciano is second only to Louis. Where do I rate Ali? Somewhere below me. I beat him, and if I could beat him, no doubt Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano could have beaten him.”
One of the longest-reigning heavyweight champions in history, Louis was not only a dominant boxer but also a symbol of hope to many — particularly after his 1938 destruction of Germany’s Max Schmeling at a time when the United States was on a collision course with Adolf Hitler’s regime.
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Some of us are natural-born chefs with the ability to look at a few ingredients and whip up a succulent meal, while others have the knack of being able to burn boiling water. The Cube o1: Your Personal AI Chef, is designed to guide either group towards tastier culinary shores.
A culmination of three years of prototyping from three passionate Hong Kong food tech developers, the Cube o1 is promoted as a “personal cook assistant” and provides AI-assisted instructions for home cooks wanting to confidently dive deeper and master the culinary arts regardless of their technical experience or ability. It’s currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign.
“We did the hard work of teaching the Cube so you don’t have to. No studying required,” say the designers. “Think of it as your kitchen sidekick that’s just graduated elementary school – ready to help, easy to understand.”
The Cube o1 comes with a tripod and a swivel ball mount
Cue Chef
Designed with touchscreen functions along with a high-definition thermal imaging system, the palm-sized device attaches magnetically to a swivel ball mount on a tripod that the user sets up to record during cooking, or it can be attached to any metal surface such as a range hood or fridge with an ideal viewing range. From that perch, it monitors the user’s actions along with the temperature of the cooking surface.
The Cube o1 comes preloaded with AI Copilot software featuring autonomous decision-making and intelligent data analysis designed for chefs. The device itself is engineered to withstand steam and splatters during cooking, and is easily cleaned by rinsing under water.
Recipes are distilled into straightforward step-by-step instructions from the beginning to end via the onboard “Traffic Light UI-intuitive Guidance” system. It provides LED prompts along the lines of, “green-everything is fine, yellow-act now, and red-something is wrong.” The self-contained AI software functions directly on the device, so no constant internet connection is necessary.
The Cube o1 can be packed up in an included carrying case when not in use
Cue Chef
Professional chefs aren’t left out of the equation either, as the Cube o1 can be an aid in helping create new recipes and reduce the amount of fine-tuning needed to perfect an original creation. Every move during cooking is recorded, and the data is converted into an easy-to-follow recipe that is suitable for sharing.
Because no cook is an island, users can also upload recipes to share on the Cue Chef Club app with other aspiring cooks worldwide, as well as discover other recipes to experiment with. Even better would be preserving the iconic creations of soon-to-be-retired restaurateurs during these last few days of food service, as sadly so many businesses are closing either due to retirement or economic hardship.
If everything works out, a pledge of HK$1,390 (about US$179) will get you a package that includes a Cube o1 with a tripod, ball mount, telescopic rod and charging cable. That’s 60% off the planned retail price. Deliveries should commence next month.
