National-World

Associated Press Blake Lively has accused her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the movie and a subsequent effort to “destroy” her reputation in a legal complaint. The complaint obtained by The Associated Press, which The New York Times reported was filed Friday with the

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — We all know the stressors: Social obligations. Family discord. Political rifts. Financial stress. And the desire to stay cheery and big-hearted throughout. So here’s a reminder about how to banish your inner perfectionist and truly enjoy the holiday season: “It really helps to let go of some of the

Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Hundreds of former Syrian soldiers are reporting to the country’s new rulers for the first time since Bashar Assad was ousted to answer questions about whether they may have been involved in crimes against civilians in exchange for a promised amnesty. The former soldiers trooped to what used to

AP National Writer Hanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day Festival of Lights, begins this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900. For some rabbis, the intersection of the two religious holidays provides an auspicious occasion for interfaith engagement. “This can be a profound opportunity for learning and collaboration and togetherness,” said Rabbi Josh

Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least 13 people, including four children, were killed in two separate stampedes in Nigeria as large crowds gathered to collect food and clothing items distributed at annual Christmas events, the police said Saturday. The two accidents came days after another such stampede in Africa’s most populous country, amid

Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — At Scoma’s Restaurant in San Francisco, this holiday season ‘s batch of eggnog began 11 months ago. The process typically starts in late January, just after the previous year’s celebrations are over. Nearly a thousand egg yolks, gallons upon gallons of heavy cream and roughly $1,000 worth of vanilla

Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Authorities have not formally named the suspect in the car ramming in the city of Magdeburg that killed at least five people and wounded hundreds, saying only that he is a Saudi doctor who has lived in Germany for nearly two decades and that he acted alone. Local media say

Associated Press MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte (AP) — A week after Cyclone Chido ravaged Mayotte, France’s poorest territory, the island remains in crisis. Hospitals are overwhelmed and doctors warning of mounting risks of epidemics like cholera due to the lack of clean water and electricity. Thirty-five people have been confirmed dead in Mayotte but French Health Minister

Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ top diplomat says his country stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war. Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said on Saturday that Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine brought the war into the heart of Russia Saturday morning with drone attacks that local authorities said damaged residential buildings in the city of Kazan in the Tatarstan region, over 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the front line. The press service of Tatarstan’s governor, Rustam Minnikhanov, said that eight drones

Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Another 14 people had minor injuries

SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — Western New Mexico University’s president has agreed to resign. Joseph Shepard’s resignation Friday comes after a state audit found evidence of wasteful spending by top WNMU officials and regents that didn’t comply with university rules. Shepard’s last day will be Jan. 15. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Shepard’s

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan authorities have searched the compound of an extremist ultra-orthodox Jewish sect and taken at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody after reports of abuse. Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez said Friday the National Civil Police and members of military participated in the raid on the Lev Tahor group’s

AP Business Writer Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract. The strikes that started Thursday and Friday followed other recent standoffs

Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A new report by a congressional subcommittee accused former top Coast Guard officials of hiding a yearslong investigation into sexual assault and harassment at the service’s academy in Connecticut from both Congress and the public. The Senate Permanent Committee on Investigations released the report Friday. It also accused Coast

Associated Press O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge has ruled that the state’s Republican governor and not a local Democratic official has the power to fill a vacancy in the prosecutor’s office for the state’s most populous county. A spokesperson said St. Louis County would appeal St. Louis Circuit Judge Brian May’s decision Friday.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. has won a trade dispute panel resolution on Mexico’s bid to ban genetically modified corn for human consumption. U.S. growers welcomed the decision announced on Friday, calling it “a major win.” Mexico’s Economy Department said it disagreed with the ruling by a panel of experts convened under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada

Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — As the stars of Friday’s show in downtown Miami, baby pigs Glinda and Elphaba will never have to worry about gracing the dinner table at a Cuban American family’s home on Christmas Eve. Public pardons for the two piglets were granted by the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava,

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Blaring trumpets and joyful voices resounded in a New Orleans neighborhood earlier this week as about 100 people marched in honor of John “Prince” Gilbert, a founding member of an innovative brass band, who died last weekend. Gilbert played the saxophone for the Rebirth Brass Band, which has been a favorite

Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s governor has commuted the sentence of a white Kansas City police officer who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black man. Gov. Mike Parson decided Friday to free Eric DeValkenaere, who was serving a six-year prison sentence after he was convicted in

Associated Press SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has found El Salvador’s government responsible for violating the rights of a young Salvadoran woman who was denied an abortion of her anencephalic fetus in a country with a total abortion ban. The Costa Rica-based regional court said Friday that the

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Authorities say a teacher at a San Antonio-area day care was killed when one car accelerated into another in a parking lot and both vehicles crashed through a fence into a play area. Another day care employee and five toddlers were injured in the accident that happened Thursday afternoon as parents

Associated Press President-elect Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk played a key role this week in killing a bipartisan funding proposal that would have prevented a government shutdown, railing against the plan in a torrent of more than 100 X posts that included multiple false claims. The X owner, an unelected figure, not only used

PHOENIX (AP) — The director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources has determined that it’s necessary to regulate the use of groundwater in the state’s rural southeast. The agency’s announcement Friday allows it to designate a controlled area to stop rapid depletion of the water through agricultural use. The department’s director says data analysis

Associated Press/Report for America AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas man facing execution did not appear at the state Capitol after two failed attempts by lawmakers to issue a subpoena for his testimony. The second failed effort Friday comes after Texas’ attorney general ordered to block what was likely the final chance to have Robert

Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida agriculture suffered more than $190 million in losses from Hurricane Milton, making it the costliest for farmers and ranchers of three cyclones that struck the state in 2024, according to University of Florida researchers. When all the data is in, the university’s Institute of Food and Agricultural

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, brought some holiday cheer to patients and families at a children’s hospital in Washington. The president and first lady on Friday made a traditional Christmastime visit to Children’s National Hospital. They visited privately with patients and their families for photos. Jill Biden read

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Norfolk State officially named Michael Vick its head football coach Friday, the latest hire of a talented NFL player with no college coaching experience to lead an HBCU program. Vick’s addition was unanimously approved by the school’s board of visitors, Norfolk State athletic director Melody Webb said in a release from

Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he’s nominating the president of the advocacy group CatholicVote to be the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. Brian Burch is the president and co-founder of CatholicVote. He and his wife, Sara, have nine children and live in the Chicago suburbs. Trump on Friday

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Regan, who has led the Environmental Protection Agency throughout President Joe Biden’s four-year term, said Friday he will be leaving the agency Dec. 31, about three weeks before Biden’ leaves office. In a letter to agency employees, Regan said he was proud of the EPA’s work to confront climate

Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee says he is pardoning 43 people who have served out their sentences in what he says is “very different” than President Joe Biden’s recent wave of commutations. Lee’s latest clemency moves are nearly double his next highest total for a single year. But Lee

Associated Press An Indigenous community in Peru has won the latest stage of a legal battle to reclaim lost rainforests. The Kichwas say land they were evicted from in 2001 to create a national park and later a carbon credit project that generated huge sums of money was their ancestral territory. The Kichwas got no

Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Department of Homeland Security agent who the FBI says conspired with another agent to sell an illicit drug known as “bath salts” pleaded not guilty to a drug distribution conspiracy charge Friday in federal court. A grand jury in Salt Lake City brought the criminal charge against

BERWYN, Ill. (AP) — A man suspected in the killings of three people in Illinois was fatally shot by police in suburban Chicago while in the neighborhood of a far-right political influencer. Nick Fuentes said on the social media site X that the man was outside his home in Berwyn with a gun and another

Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Fentanyl fueled a record number of homeless deaths last year in Oregon’s Multnomah County, home to Portland. An annual report released by the county on Friday says 456 homeless people died in 2023. That’s the highest number on record in the county and a 45% jump compared to 2022.

AP Sports Writer Netflix is planning to provide plenty of gifts for viewers of its two Christmas Day games, including Mariah Carey kicking it all off with a taped performance of “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Yet, Netflix executive Brandon Riegg realizes it all amounts to a lump of coal if there are

Associated Press MANASQUAN, N.J. (AP) — Huge gates at the mouths of three inlets and barriers across bays are no longer part of a plan to protect New Jersey’s back bays from the type of catastrophic flooding they endured during Superstorm Sandy. Instead, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to rely more on elevating

ROME (AP) — A court in Sicily Friday found Vice Premier Matteo Salvini not guilty of illegally detaining 100 migrants aboard a humanitarian rescue ship when he was interior minister. The court dropped all the charges against Salvini in relation an incident in 2019, when he refused to allow the migrants to leave the Open

Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Members of Greece’s former royal family have applied for Greek citizenship and formally acknowledged the country’s republican system of government, in a landmark move 50 years after the monarchy was abolished. A government official said relatives of the late King Constantine II, who died last year aged 82, had

AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. flu season is underway, with cases surging across much of the country, health officials said Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted sharp increases in several measures, including lab tests and emergency room visits. “It’s been increasing at a pretty steady pace now for

DENVER (AP) — A baby Jesus figurine snatched from a nativity scene in Colorado has been returned in time for Christmas, with an apology. Police in Fort Collins say the statuette of Jesus lying in a manger, stolen from a public display downtown, was dropped off anonymously at a fire station Thursday. It was accompanied

AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen’s employee representatives say they have reached a wage deal. The deal will ward off management proposals for plant closings in Germany and bars involuntary layoffs through 2030. The company said the deal includes provisions to shed more than 35,000 jobs in “socially responsible” ways by 2030. The

Associated Press Federal education officials say the Philadelphia school district failed to show it protected Jewish students from harassment despite “repeated, extensive notice” that students, teachers and administrators were engaging in antisemitic behavior. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights found that Philadelphia school administrators did not adequately address allegations that students were performing Nazi

AP Sports Writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The chance to rub shoulders with quarterback Josh Allen and broaden the Buffalo Bills’ reach into Toronto wasn’t the only thing on the minds of former NBA stars Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady and soccer’s Jozy Altidore in purchasing a minority share of the franchise. More importantly,

Associated Press The U.S. Department of Education said Friday it has reached an agreement with the University of California system resolving complaints from Jewish and Muslim students of discrimination and harassment during protests last spring over the war in Gaza. The department’s Office for Civil Rights said it investigated nine complaints against University of California

AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — The government’s highway safety agency is proposing voluntary safety guidelines for self-driving vehicles. But a rule from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration putting the plan in place won’t be approved before the end of President Biden’s term in January and likely will be left to whoever runs the

AP Golf Writer Derek Sprague is the new CEO of the PGA of America. Sprague is the first CEO to previously be PGA president. It’s the first time in nearly 20 years the PGA of America has chosen a club professional to be its business leader. Sprague takes over for former Deutsche Bank Americas CEO

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California regulators have approved a controversial proposal to delay the closure of the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Facility, the site of the nation’s largest known methane leak, which forced thousands of families from their Los Angeles homes in 2015. The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday voted 4-0, with one commissioner

CAIRO (AP) — Even with hopes running high, so much can go wrong when a country ousts a longtime dictator and tries to start anew. The Middle Eastern and North African nations that attempted to transition to democracy in recent years can attest to that. Now it’s Syria’s turn to try to get it right.