U.S. and world news for Dec. 6

 Election day in Georgia: This is election day in Georgia where incumbent U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker are in a close runoff contest. As expected, the Democratic voter turnout in Georgia was strong on early election days. Republicans are hoping for a strong turnout of their voters today.

Kirstie Alley dies: Actress Kirstie Alley has died of cancer at age 71 in Los Angeles. She is perhaps best known for her role as the lead female in the TV series “Cheers.” Alley won two Emmy awards. In the 1989 movie “Look Who’s Talking” she appeared opposite Bruce Willis. She also starred in two sequels of that movie.

Avanti sentenced: Attorney Michael Avanti, who became well-known when representing porn star Stormy Daniels in a case brought against Donald Trump, has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $10 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and some clients from whom he stole money. In court, Avanti expressed remorse for cheating on taxes and stealing from his clients.

Drones hit Russia: Russia reports that for a second day its territory has been hit by drone strikes but Russia did not immediately blame the strikes on Ukraine as it had when there were previous strikes. Russia said that an industrial building and an airport about 300 miles from the Russian border with Ukraine suffered damage from the drones. Ukraine did not immediately take credit for the drone attacks.

Jury gets Trump case: Jury deliberations are underway in the criminal trial in Manhattan of two Trump companies: the Trump Organization and Trump Payroll. They’re charged with multiple counts of fraudulent activity over 15 years by paying top executives off the books to avoid paying taxes. Although Donald Trump is not charged personally, prosecutors showed evidence that Trump knew what was going on. They produced a document that he signed showing approval of the practice.

Hertz settles: Hertz says it has settled 364 claims that it falsely charged customers with having stolen rental cars. Hertz says it will pay $168 million by the end of the year to resolve the disputes. The company believes it will recover what it terms “a meaningful portion” of the settlement amount from its insurance carriers.

Photo: Allen Light / Flickr Creative Commons