AP National News

Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A British-based war monitor said clashes between Islamists who took over Syria and supporters of ousted President Bashar Assad’s government have killed six Islamic fighters and wounded others. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighters were killed while trying to arrest a former official in Assad’s government,

Associated Press 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 there, literally” after car

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese government panel has largely supported a draft energy policy calling for bolstering renewables up to half of Japanese electricity needs by 2040. It also recommends maximizing the use of nuclear power to accommodate the growing demand for power in the era of AI while meeting decarbonization targets. Cabinet

Hang onto those stocking-stuffer lottery tickets. The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed $1 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve. That means the estimated jackpot for Friday’s drawing is $1.15 billion, potentially the fifth-largest jackpot in the game’s history. “We know that many people will likely receive tickets to Friday’s

A pair of Saturday NFL games drew a larger viewing audience than college football for the rollout of the sport’s 12-team playoff. The playoff game between SMU and Penn State averaged 6.4 million viewers on TNT networks, compared with the Texans-Chiefs game on NBC, which averaged 15.5 million viewers. Later, Clemson-Texas drew 8.6 million viewers

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The organizer of a Christmas fair in southern Mexico has been assassinated at his city’s holiday event. Authorities in the southern state of Guerrero said gunmen killed the organizer of the annual Christmas fair in the state capital of Chilpancingo, as well as another person. Prosecutors said another person in the

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s striking university students on Wednesday rallied outside the chief prosecutor’s office to demand justice over a concrete canopy collapse that killed 15 people last month in the country’s north. Serbia’s universities have been blocked for weeks as part of a wider movement demanding accountability over the Nov. 1 tragedy in

Edmunds Edmunds highlights five dream-worthy vehicles for holiday wish lists, focusing on models that are luxurious yet somewhat attainable. The lineup includes the Ford F-150 Raptor R, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Cadillac Escalade V and Lucid Air Sapphire, with prices ranging from $112,825 to $250,500. Even if you can’t afford any of these vehicles,

Associated Press PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) — Desi Bouterse, a military strongman who led a 1980 coup in the former Dutch colony of Suriname then returned to power by election three decades later despite charges of drug smuggling and murder, has died. He was 79. Suriname’s President Chan Santokhi on Wednesday reflected on Bouterse’s outsized legacy

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court has sentenced a Dutch citizen to three years in prison after he was found guilty of punching a police officer. Harry Johannes van Wurden was arrested and placed under house arrest following an altercation with a police officer in central Moscow in October. Russia media said that van Wurden

Associated Press 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 meeting with then-President Bashar Assad of Syria. While some GOP

NAHARIYA, Israel (AP) — A missile launched from Yemen triggered air raid sirens across central Israel sending millions of residents looking for cover for the second night in a row. The military said the missile early Wednesday was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory. Police said shrapnel from the interception fell in several towns. There

Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis in his traditional Christmas message has 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 Holy Land to Ukraine, Africa to Asia.  The pontiff’s “Urbi et Orbi” — “To

Associated Press 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 relations between the two neighbors. Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, said those killed in the strikes that targeted four locations in Barmal,

Associated Press 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 Israeli-American citizen has come to symbolize the

Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China and Japan agreed Wednesday to set up talks on often contentious security issues as they seek to improve a relationship riven in recent years by a range of issues, from territorial disputes to the discharge of water from Japan’s tsunami-wrecked nuclear power plant. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, on

Associated Press 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 sources included 78 air, ground, and sea-launched missiles as well as

Associated Press JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — Gunfire has rung out for days from the West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp. But this time, it’s not Israeli forces that are facing off against armed groups. It is the forces of the Palestinian Authority clashing with Palestinian gunmen. The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of