Syrian refugees face a food crisis – You weren’t imagining things, it really was that hot – Show biz people in trouble – And more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

The United Nations World Food Program (WHP) has cut off food aid for more than 1.6 million Syrian refugees because of a funding crisis.  The agency gets its money from donations from individuals, corporations, and governments, but has come up short.  It takes more than US$60 Million per month to pass out vouchers to refugees, who spend on food in the economies of their host countries.  The WHP was already forced to reduce rations within Syria, where it is trying to help another 4.25 million people.

The Bureau of Meteorology says November was the hottest month of the hottest spring on record.  Maximum temperatures were warmer than average across nearly the entire continent, says the BoM.  Spring 2014 was the warmest on record for the second year running, and spring rainfall was down 34 percent from the long-term mean.

Phil Rudd has pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of drugs and making death threats.  The 60-year old known for playing the drums with AC/DC did not appear in the Taurunga District Court in New Zealand, with his lawyer entering the plea.  Rudd’s future with the band is still unclear.

Rolf Harris has given up his appeals of his twelve convictions for sexually assaulting four girls in the UK.   He was jailed in July for a sentence of five years, although it’s likely he will serve only three.

US comedian and sitcom legend Bill Cosby has resigned from the board of trustees of Temple University in Philadelphia amid sex abuse allegations.  Several women say the lovable dad with the colorful sweaters on the 1980s classic “The Cosby Show” drugged and raped them.  No charges have been filed and Cosby denies the allegations.  But he’s been forced to cancel several live appearances.

A Republican party congressional staffer has been forced to resign after attacking US President Barack Obama’s teenage daughters on social media.  Elizabeth Lauten was communications director for a GOP congressman.  But last week, she accused the girls of being dressed for a bar and lacking class at an annual White House photo op in which the President pardons a turkey.  The girls were actually conservatively dressed, well-behaved, and reacted appropriately to the hokiest event of the Thanksgiving holiday.  Lauten unfortunately opened herself up for criticism – and in this Internet age, that’s not a good thing.  Sleuths quickly learned that Lauten was arrested for shoplifting when she was a teen, and they dug up an embarrassing photo involving a beer bottle.  BTW, the Obama girls have never been arrested, have no substance abuse problems, and have never thrown stones in a glass house.

Moody’s Investors Service cut Japan’s credit rating, an embarrassment for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the start of the campaign for snap elections.  Abe wants to the campaign to focus on his economic plans, termed “Abe-nomics”.  Moody’s is the first to downgrade Japan since Abe came to power two years ago.  Although voters are disgusted with the lackluster economy, Abe is likely to be returned to power – the opposition is just that weak.

Maoist rebels have killed 14 paramilitary police officers in a forest in central India, specifically the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh state.  The authorities attempted to raid a rebel hideout, but were surrounded and attacked.  The Maoists say they are fighting for greater rights for tribal people and the rural poor.

Colombian General Ruben Alzate has resigned, after being released by Marxist FARC rebels.  The FARC abducted Alzate in a jungle area known to be a FARC stronghold.  He had defied standard military protocols and went into the area in civilian clothing and without his security detail – claiming he did that because local people don’t trust the military.