Top General News
In a shock offensive, insurgents breach Syria's largest city for the first time since 2016
BEIRUT (AP) — Insurgents breached Syria’s largest city Friday and clashed with government forces for the first time since 2016, according to a war monitor and fighters, in a surprise attack that sent residents fleeing and added fresh uncertainty to a region reeling from multiple wars. ...
Battered by war and divisions, Lebanon faces a long list of challenges after ceasefire deal
BEIRUT (AP) — Hours after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect, Lebanon woke up to the sound of celebratory gunfire instead of Israeli airstrikes and drones buzzing overhead. It was a rare moment of respite for Lebanon, as bombs...
Middle East latest: 2 children and a woman crushed to death outside Gaza bakery amid food shortage
Two children and a woman were crushed to death Friday as a crowd of Palestinians pushed to get bread at a bakery in the Gaza Strip amid a worsening food crisis in the war-ravaged territory, medical officials said. The bodies of two girls aged 13 and 17 and the 50-year-old woman were...
Donald Trump's call for 'energy dominance' is likely to run into real-world limits
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is set to create a National Energy Council that he says will establish American “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from President Joe Biden’s focus on climate change. ...
Retailers coax Black Friday shoppers into stores with big discounts and giveaways
NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers used giveaways and big discounts to reward U.S. shoppers who ventured out for Black Friday even as earlier offers, the prospect of better bargains in the days ahead and the ease of e-commerce drained much of the excitement from the holiday shopping season's much-hyped...
Desertion threatens to starve Ukraine's forces at a crucial time in its war with Russia
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Desertion is starving the Ukrainian army of desperately needed manpower and crippling its battle plans at a crucial time in its war with Russia, which could put Kyiv at a clear disadvantage in future ceasefire talks. Facing every imaginable shortage, tens of...
Nigeria confirms that at least 27 people died and more than 100 are missing after boat capsized
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least 27 people died and more than 100, mostly women, were missing on Friday, after a boat transporting them to a food market capsized along the River Niger in northern Nigeria, authorities said. About 200 passengers were on the boat that was going from the...
Bill to legalize assisted dying in England and Wales faces heated parliamentary debate
LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers are expected to vote Friday on a law proposed to help terminally ill adults end their lives. The contentious bill would allow adults expected to have fewer than six months to live to request and be provided with help to end their life, subject to...
Notre Dame Cathedral unveils its new interior 5 years after devastating fire
PARIS (AP) — After more than five years of frenetic, but sometimes interrupted, reconstruction work, Notre Dame Cathedral showed itself anew to the world Friday, with rebuilt soaring ceilings and creamy good-as-new stonework erasing somber memories of its devastating fire in 2019. ...
Santa's annual train visit delivers hope and magic to one corner of coal country
ON BOARD THE SANTA TRAIN (AP) — Since 1943, the people of Appalachian Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee have looked forward to Santa's arrival. Not in a sleigh on their rooftops, but on a train. The Santa Train marks its 82nd running this year, bringing presents and joy to small...
Latest General News
How Brazilian police say Bolsonaro plotted a coup to stay in office
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's Federal Police in late November formally accused far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others of planning a coup to keep him in office. The agency described a multi-step scheme, substantiated by evidence and testimony, in an 884-page report. The...
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau flies to Florida to meet with Trump after tariffs threat
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Florida on Friday to have dinner with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club after Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on...
China sentences journalist detained at meal with Japanese diplomat to 7 years for espionage
BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Beijing on Friday sentenced a prominent Chinese journalist to seven in years in prison for espionage, his family said. Dong Yuyu, a commentator and editor, was taken away by police while meeting a Japanese diplomat at a restaurant in February 2022. He has...
Iran to begin enriching uranium with thousands of advanced centrifuges, UN watchdog says
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran will begin enriching uranium with thousands of advanced centrifuges at its two main nuclear facilities at Fordo and Natanz, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Friday, further raising tensions over Tehran's program as it enriches at near weapons-grade...
2025 will start with a 3.5% pay raise for Pennsylvania's governor, lawmakers and judges
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania state lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials will get a heftier salary increase in 2025 than the average Pennsylvanian saw over the past 12 months, under a state law that guarantees them automatic pay raises. More than 1,300...
North Korea's Kim vows steadfast support for Russia’s war in Ukraine
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed his country will “invariably support” Russia’s war in Ukraine as he met Russia's defense chief, the North’s state media reported Saturday. A Russia military delegation led by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov...
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen gets engaged to Hailee Steinfeld
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen’s latest kneel-down had nothing to do with football. The Buffalo Bills quarterback and actor Hailee Steinfeld posted a photo to their Instagram followers on Friday — 20.3 million for Steinfeld and a mere 1.3 million for Allen — of Allen on...
What to know about sudden rebel gains in Syria's 13-year war and why it matters
WASHINGTON (AP) — The 13-year civil war in Syria has roared back into prominence with a surprise rebel offensive on Aleppo, one of Syria's largest cities and an ancient business hub. The push is among the rebels' strongest in years in a war whose destabilizing effects have rippled far beyond the...
Trump promised federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe. Will he follow through?
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — When Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigned in North Carolina, both candidates courted a state-recognized tribe there whose 55,000 members could have helped tip the swing state. Trump in September promised that he would sign legislation to grant federal...
Georgian protesters clash with police for a second night after EU talks are suspended
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators protesting the Georgian government's decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union rallied outside the parliament and clashed with police for a second straight night on Friday. The night before, police used water...
