21+ hour, 35+ min ago (82+ words) Mattress Firm is making better sleep more affordable with up to $900 off select mattresses, free adjustable bases and instant gifts on top-rated brands like Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, Beautyrest and more. NBC Select Holiday Edit: Deals Edition Find deals on gifts for your friends and family this holiday season. Mattress Firm is making better sleep more affordable with up to $900 off select mattresses, free adjustable bases and instant gifts on top-rated brands like Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, Beautyrest and more....

12+ hour, 29+ min ago (403+ words) Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups on Monday pleaded not guilty to a two-count federal indictment accusing him of participating in a brazen scheme to rig underground poker games backed by the Mafia. Billups is charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Judge Ramon Reyes set bond at $5 million, secured by Billups" home in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The conditions of his bond package dictate that he cannot have contact with witnesses, victims, co-conspirators or co-defendants. He also cannot gamble or associate with any members of organized crime. Billups was surrounded by reporters and cameras as he left the federal courthouse Monday alongside his attorney, his wife and one of his daughters. The arraignment was followed by a status conference for 31 of his co-defendants in the alleged cheating case, dubbed "Operation Royal Flush" by federal investigators. Assistant U.S. Attorney…...

17+ hour, 38+ min ago (219+ words) Morning Rundown: Ukraine peace plan progress, no bumper Black Friday, and what's your brain age? President Donald Trump said on social media that "something good just may be happening" with the talks. Ukraine'and the United States were set for "intensive work" today after the two sides hailed progress in high-stakes talks over the new plan to end'Russia's war'that Washington has pressured Kyiv'to endorse by Thanksgiving. Meetings in Geneva produced an "updated and refined peace framework," Ukraine and the U.S. said in a joint statement that described "meaningful progress" from the "highly productive" talks. New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said that he still believes Trump is a "fascist" and a "despot," but he viewed their first face-to-face meeting at the White House on Friday as an "opportunity" to work together on lowering the cost of living for New Yorkers. After months…...

20+ hour, 40+ min ago (416+ words) The man who rushed Ariana Grande at the Singapore premiere of "Wicked: For Good" has been deported and banned from the city-state. Johnson Wen, 26, was returned home to Australia on Sunday and has been "barred from re-entering Singapore," a spokesperson for Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said. Local media reported Wen had been sentenced to nine days in jail for public nuisance after the incident at the Nov. 13 premiere at Universal Studios in Singapore. Video showed Wen jumping over a barricade and running toward Grande, briefly putting his arm around her before co-star Cynthia Erivo and others intervened. Erivo and co-star Michelle Yeoh could then be seen comforting Grande. "I just wanted to make sure my friend was safe," Erivo told NBC News last week. "I'm sure he didn't mean us harm, but I just, you never know with…...

20+ hour, 8+ min ago (684+ words) Ukraine and the United States were set for "intensive work" Monday after the two sides hailed progress in high-stakes talks over the new plan to end Russia's war that Washington has pressured Kyiv to endorse by Thanksgiving. Meetings in Geneva produced an "updated and refined peace framework," Ukraine and the U.S. said in a joint statement that described "meaningful progress" from the "highly productive" talks. There were no specific details released, while European leaders cautioned that "major issues" remained as Kyiv and its allies sought to navigate the U.S. ultimatum to accept a 28-point proposal they view as handing the Kremlin its key demands. Moscow continued to suggest Monday it had been shut out of the discussions, and it was unclear whether any counterproposals from Ukraine would be acceptable to Russia. President Donald Trump also weighed in. "Is it really possible that…...

8+ hour, 2+ min ago (634+ words) Unveiling the new "Genesis Mission" to support American efforts on AI, the order charted out a series of steps to expand computational resources, increase access to vast federal datasets and move towards impactful, real-world applications, particularly in scientific fields. Michael Kratsios, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and director of the Office for Science and Technology Policy, will lead the effort. The order opened the door to significantly increased public-private partnerships on AI development: within 90 days, the Secretary of Energy must identify systems and data available to support the program, including "resources available through industry partners." AI systems require immense datasets in order to learn how to represent the real world. With its vast troves of information about Americans and their activities, the federal government has an enviable, but often decentralized and disorganized, gold mine of data untapped…...

13+ hour, 8+ min ago (1522+ words) A federal judge on Monday dismissed the criminal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after finding the prosecutor who brought the cases, former Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan, was not lawfully appointed. U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie said that she agreed with Comey, who moved to dismiss the case on the grounds that Halligan's appointment was illegal. "Because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey's motion and dismiss the indictment," Currie wrote in finding that Halligan lacked the authority to present a case to a grand jury. "All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan's defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey's indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside," the judge wrote, describing the insurance lawyer as "a former White House aide…...

4+ hour, 39+ min ago (859+ words) JERUSALEM " The U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, set up to distribute aid to Gaza as an alternative to the United Nations but which Palestinians said endangered the lives of civilians as they tried to get food, said Monday it would shutter operations. The operations of the GHF were shrouded in secrecy during its short time in operation, and the group never revealed its sources of funding and said little about the armed contractors who operated the sites. It said its goal was to deliver aid to Gaza without it being diverted by Hamas. Palestinians, aid workers and health officials have said the system forced aid-seekers to risk their lives to reach the sites by passing Israeli troops who secured the locations. Soldiers often opened fire, killing hundreds, according to witnesses and videos posted to social media. The Israeli military says…...

14+ hour, 43+ min ago (253+ words) The "ShamWow guy" is running for Congress and is looking to wipe the floor with the competition. Offer Vince Shlomi, the once-prominent infomercial pitchman, is running for Congress in Texas, according to a filing with the state's Republican Party. Shlomi is running for the seat held by Republican Rep. John Carter, 84, who has served more than two decades in Congress. Carter announced earlier this month he'd run for re-election, so Shlomi has an uphill battle against an entrenched incumbent. The former pitchman, best known for his role selling the "ShamWow" towel, told Fox News that he wants to "destroy wokeism" in Congress and that he's been motivated by the "political infighting in the country" to run and "make America happy." In 2009, Shlomi was arrested for aggravated battery after a fight with a woman, who was also arrested. Prosecutors declined to…...

7+ hour, 47+ min ago (314+ words) President Donald Trump said Monday that he will travel to Beijing in April and host Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit later in the year. Trump announced the plans after a call with Xi on Monday, which came weeks after a meeting in South Korea at the end of October. "Our relationship with China is extremely strong!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Now we can set our sights on the big picture. To that end, President Xi invited me to visit Beijing in April, which I accepted, and I reciprocated where he will be my guest for a State Visit in the U.S. later in the year." The travel plans come after the Trump administration detailed a trade deal framework with China that renewed soybean purchases from China and loosened China's export restrictions on rare earth minerals, two commitments…...