Top General News
Pope calls for nations to overcome divisions in Christmas address as communities celebrate worldwide
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis in his traditional Christmas message on Wednesday urged “all people of all nations” to find courage during this Holy Year “to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions” plaguing the world, from the Middle East to Ukraine, Africa to Asia. ...
Azerbaijani airliner crashes in Kazakhstan, killing 38 with 29 survivors, officials say
An Azerbaijani airliner with 67 people onboard crashed Wednesday near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, killing 38 people and leaving 29 survivors, a Kazakh official said. Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbaev disclosed the figures while meeting with Azerbaijani officials, the Russian...
Fate of Trump's Cabinet picks unclear as Republicans prepare to take power in Senate
WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet is still unclear after Republican senators spent much of December carefully dodging questions about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’s views on vaccines, accusations of sexual misconduct against Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard's 2017...
Trial of man accused in Trump assassination attempt in Florida pushed back to September
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man accused of attempting to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump in South Florida won't be tried until September 2025, a federal judge ruled this week. Ryan Routh's trial will begin Sept. 8 instead of the previously scheduled Feb. 10, 2025 start date,...
A baby froze to death overnight in Gaza as Israel and Hamas trade accusations of ceasefire delays
JERUSALEM (AP) — A baby girl froze to death overnight in Gaza, while Israel and Hamas accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts that could wind down the 14-month war. The 3-week old baby was the third to die from the cold in Gaza's tent camps in recent days, doctors...
An Israeli soldier who died 417 days after his Oct. 7 wounds has become a symbol of sacrifice
MODIIN, Israel (AP) — For more than 400 days after being critically wounded during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, Yona Brief tried to recover. But after losing both legs and enduring medically induced comas, the combat medic died in late November. The dual...
US census data shows how Middle Eastern and Hispanic residents differ in racial identity
As the U.S. Census Bureau gets public feedback about how it should tally people into new race and ethnicity groups, the agency has released new research reflecting how U.S. residents from different backgrounds regard their racial and ethnic identities. Earlier this year, the U.S....
Russia targets Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Christmas Day
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a massive missile and drone barrage targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure on Wednesday, striking a thermal power plant and prompting Ukrainians to take shelter in metro stations on Christmas morning. The strikes on Ukrainian fuel and energy...
Taliban say Pakistani airstrikes killed 46 people in eastern Afghanistan, mostly women and children
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s airstrikes on eastern Afghanistan killed 46 people, mostly women and children, a Taliban government official said Wednesday, raising fears of further straining the relations between the two neighbors. Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for...
Blake Lively's claims that movie co-star launched smear campaign gets support in publicist's suit
NEW YORK (AP) — Blake Lively’s claims that “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni unleashed a smear campaign against her have gained support from a new lawsuit that Baldoni’s former publicist filed against him. The lawsuit was lodged Tuesday in New York...
Latest General News
Clashes between Islamists now in power in Syria and Assad's supporters kill 6 fighters
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Clashes between Islamists who took over Syria and supporters of ousted President Bashar Assad's government killed six Islamic fighters on Wednesday and wounded others, according to a British-based war monitor. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the...
Oregon house cat died after eating pet food that tested positive for bird flu
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon house cat died after eating pet food that tested positive for bird flu, Oregon authorities said, prompting a recall of raw frozen pet food that was sold nationwide. Northwest Naturals, a pet food company based in Portland, Oregon, said Tuesday it had...
A baby froze to death overnight in Gaza as Israel and Hamas trade accusations of ceasefire delays
JERUSALEM (AP) — A baby girl froze to death overnight in Gaza, while Israel and Hamas accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts that could wind down the 14-month war. The 3-week old baby was the third to die from the cold in Gaza's tent camps in recent days, doctors...
Undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia hit by outage, prompting investigation
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A power cable linking Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea suffered an outage, prompting an investigation, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Wednesday. Writing on X, Orpo said that power transmission through the Estlink-2 cable stopped...
Dead body found in wheel well of United plane from Chicago to Maui
KAHULUI, Hawaii (AP) — Maui police are investigating the discovery of a dead body in the wheel well of a United Airlines plane after it landed in Maui, the airline and police department said in statements on Wednesday. The body was found in the wheel well of one of the main landing...
Snowy owl rescued from car grille by Minnesota woman who saved another bird hours earlier
Annabell Whelan woke up Tuesday and frantically checked on her holiday overnight guest — Nowl the snowy owl, who she rescued from the grille of a car the day before. Whelan was out with her boyfriend's family Monday in Duluth, Minnesota, when she saw the owl “just hanging out...
Oakland man dies in Christmas house fire after rescuing his family
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A man in Oakland was found dead Christmas morning after his house caught on fire, officials said. Firefighters responded around 6:15 a.m. to a residential fire in the area. A 37-year-old man had alerted his family to the fire and rescued his father and aunt...
Man arrested in Christmas Eve attack on 2 people at Manhattan's Grand Central
NEW YORK (AP) — A man accused of using a knife to slash a man and a woman in Manhattan's Grand Central subway station faced assault and menacing charges Wednesday. The man was arrested on assault, reckless endangerment, menacing, harassment, disorderly conduct and a weapons charge...
PHOTO COLLECTION: Christmas in Bethlehem
This is a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors.Corrections officer dies after inmate assault in Ohio prison on Christmas Day, officials say
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (AP) — A corrections officer died after an assault by an inmate in an Ohio prison on Christmas morning, authorities said Wednesday. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said correction officer Andrew Lansing died “following an inmate assault”...
