Month: December 2024

Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The dramatic downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad presents possible danger, and an opening, for neighboring Israel. After fighting wars on multiple fronts for months, Israel is now concerned that unrest in Syria could spill over into its territory. Israel also views the end of the Assad regime

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president says much of the money gained by eliminating independent oversight and regulatory agencies will go to the army to fund a rise in soldiers’ pay. The announcement by President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday is the latest in a a series of strange funding sources to pay for the country’s

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Power to tens of thousands of people had been shut off by Monday night as utilities worked to mitigate the impacts of Southern California’s notorious Santa Ana winds, whose strong gusts could damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires. The National Weather Service has issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation,” or PDS,

Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is taking on a lead role for Democratic efforts to win governorships in the 2026 midterm elections. A majority of states will be electing governors in 2026, including in presidential swing states. Democratic governors on Saturday picked Beshear as chair-elect of the Democratic Governors Association

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Work to lay natural gas pipelines near the foot of the Acropolis has uncovered an ancient marble statue of a young man buried almost upright in a brick-lined pit. Greece’s Culture Ministry says in a statement that the nude statue resembles ancient representations of messenger of the Greek gods Hermes and

Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A Ukrainian man who embarked on a perilous journey fleeing his war-torn country into Romania has been rescued from a deep mountain ravine in subzero temperatures with an unlikely companion: his months-old kitten named Peach. More than a dozen rescuers worked in harsh blizzard conditions to save Vladislav Duda,

Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A gang leader who controls a key port in Haiti’s capital is accused of massacring older people and Vodou religious leaders in his community to avenge his son’s death, according to the government and human rights organizations that estimate more than 100 were killed. Reports on the number of

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia man has been released from prison after 41 years in the latest review of convictions allegedly tainted by detectives in the 1980s in a “sex-for-lies” scheme. Russell Williams is the fourth person to have his conviction overturned in the investigation of whether police offered informants favors in exchange for false

NEW YORK (AP) — The oldest known stone tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments, dating from 300 to 800 A.D., will be sold in New York this month. The 155-pound (52-kilogram) marble slab inscribed with the commandments in Paleo-Hebrew script will be auctioned at Sotheby’s on Dec. 18.  The tablet was unearthed during railroad excavations

BERLIN (AP) — Germany and several other European countries said Monday they are suspending decisions on asylum claims by Syrian nationals because of the unclear situation in their homeland following the fall of Bashar Assad. Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said Monday that more than 47,000 applications are currently pending. It said it

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Four women who accused Curtis Hill of drunkenly groping them when he was Indiana’s attorney general have dropped their lawsuit against him. Jury selection was to begin on Monday. The women’s decision Sunday ends nearly seven years of investigations and litigation over Hill’s actions during a party in March 2018. The women

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Police say two suspected militants riding on a motorcycle were killed when an explosive device they were carrying exploded prematurely near a police station in restive southwestern Pakistan. The blast happened Monday in Killa Abdullah, a town in Balochistan province. A local police officer said the men were near a police

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Cynthia Erivo says her Golden Globe nomination for “Wicked” was a dream come true, “really surreal and wild” — and especially rare because it was for a musical. Demi Moore, nominated for “The Substance,” calls her nod a “huge win” for women, and also important for its message of self-love

Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Imagine being able to bet on a basketball game or a boxing match after it was already over. That’s happened again in New Jersey, where sportsbook William Hill has been fined $20,000 for taking such bets in 2022 and 2023. The company, which runs retail sports betting at

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to Hawaii’s gun-licensing law, though three justices expressed a willingness to hear arguments over the issue later. The majority did not explain their reasoning in a brief order on Monday declining to take the case. But Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A federal appeals court has delayed a hearing in which an Oklahoma death row inmate is expected to make a final plea for mercy before his scheduled execution. The three-member panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit delayed Monday’s scheduled hearing of the Pardon and Parole Board.

AP Health Writer Winter is a great time to experiment with new food preparations and flavors to keep your meals nutritious and interesting. Experts recommend packing healthy ingredients into into warm stews and porridges, trying out underappreciated seasonal vegetables and broadening your use of spice. Balanced meals made in bulk can also be a way

AP Airlines Writer FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — It’s the job of American Airlines’ chief operating officer to make sure the carrier’s flights take off on time and fly safely during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. David Seymour oversees flight and airport operations for American, which expects to make about 6,500

Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The global chemical weapons watchdog has said that it reminded Syria of its obligations to comply with rules to safeguard certain toxic chemicals after rebels entered the capital Damascus over the weekend and overthrew Syrian President Bashar Assad. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in

Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 29 political prisoners amid what human rights groups describe as renewed oppression in the country. Belarusian officials did not provide the names of those released on Monday, but said that the group included 11 women and 18 men. More than half of

AP Film Writer The Golden Globes nominated more than 40 individual films Monday and yet still managed to overlook quite a bit. That may just be the brutal truth of awards season. The field narrows and suddenly great performances and wonderful films are simply left in the dust. Excluded were actors like Danielle Deadwyler, June

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Boston parents who claimed a temporary admissions policy for the city’s elite high schools discriminated against white students and those of Asian descent. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from their colleagues’ decision to leave in place lower court rulings in favor of

Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An alleged drug trafficker wanted for his role in an international cocaine smuggling operation through the port of Antwerp, in Belgium, had been arrested in Dubai. Police said Monday that Othman El Ballouti was detained under an international arrest warrant issued by Belgian authorities. El Ballouti, who

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Wisconsin parents who wanted to challenge a school district’s guidance for supporting transgender students. The justices, acting Monday in a case from Eau Claire, left in place an appellate ruling dismissing the parents’ lawsuit. Parents with children in Eau Claire public schools

Associated Press OSLO, Norway (AP) — Terumi Tanaka, a survivor of the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan and the representative of an organization that won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop making nuclear threats. The 92-year-old spoke at a news conference in Oslo, Norway, a day before

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus and the U.S. say they’re doubling down on a joint effort to crack down on illicit finance with additional training of Cypriot law enforcement authorities to identify, investigate and prosecute financial crimes. According to a joint statement issued Monday, an “ambitious” plan for next year will involve 21 weeks of

Associated Press HOMUN, Mexico (AP) — A huge poplar tree stands proud in Maribel Ek’s courtyard, adorned with a sign that reads: “Florece desde adentro” (“It blooms from within”). Deep underground, the tree’s long roots search for the water that makes this land special: a sinkhole lake, known as a cenote. Cenotes provide an important