Here's a roundup of news trending across the nation and world today.
What to know now:
1. Putin in on the hack: NBC News is reporting that Russian President Vladimir Putin was personally involved in efforts to influence the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The network cited two unnamed "senior U.S. intelligence officials" as saying new intelligence links the Russian president directly to the release of hacked Democratic National Committee emails. According to the story, the hack of the DNC was first a "vendetta" against Hillary Clinton, but then became a means to undermine America's credibility on the world stage.
2. Electors not swayed: While there has been more talk of a revolt among electors during next week's Electoral College vote, The Associated Press says that, by-and-large, electors will do what they were elected to do – vote for the person who won the most votes in their states. The AP reports that despite pressure from many corners and doubts they may have themselves, the majority of voters say they will be voting for Donald Trump.
3. Biggest hack in history: More than one billion Yahoo users have had their personal information hacked, the company revealed Wednesday. The attack happened in August of 2013, Yahoo said, and put at risk the most sensitive of information users share – birthdays, Social Security numbers, passwords and phone numbers. The news of this hack comes just months after the company announced that in another cyber attack, some 500 million accounts were hit in 2014.
4. Put it in the mail: If you are mailing holiday gifts via the U.S. Postal Service, today should be a red-letter day for you. It's the deadline for mailing standard ground packages for guaranteed Christmas Day delivery, according to the Postal Service. For other means of delivery, the deadlines are Friday for FedEx and Monday for United Parcel Service. Click here for other delivery deadlines.
5. Don't drink the water: Officials in Corpus Christi, Texas, are telling residents not to drink the tap water because of possible chemical contamination. An advisory for residents to use only bottled water was issued Wednesday after a back-flow incident likely caused the drinking water to be contaminated. Residents are being told not to use the water in any way.
And one more
If you are a Super Mario fan, today is a good day for you. Beginning Thursday, Nintendo is releasing "Super Mario Run," for smartphones. The company has never released the Mario game for use on smartphones. The game is free to download, but will cost $9.99 if you want to unlock the full game.
In case you missed it
Here's one that answers the question, "What is Tokoyo like if you are riding around the city on a bike with a camera strapped to your head." We know you've asked.
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