Cleanup continues in the Kerch Strait near Russian-occupied Crimea, a week after at least 3,700 tons of low-grade fuel oil spilled out of two storm-stricken Russian tankers. Russia’s state Tass news agency says that by Sunday afternoon, more than 12,000 tons of contaminated soil had been removed along 34 kilometers (21 miles) of shoreline. Russia’s
Continue Reading AP National Writer The average final score over the first week of the College Football Playoffs: Winners 36, Losers 17. This bold, new experiment was supposed to bring more programs from more parts of the country into the loop of a largely regional sport that had been dominated by about a half-dozen teams for the
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COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ) According to AAA, an estimated 2.3 million Missourians will travel 50 miles or more for end-of-the-year holidays, with more than 90% traveling by car. With this increase of travel, officials like the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the National Road Safety Foundation are reminding drivers to stay alert when driving. “The holidays
Continue Reading The Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Tens of thousands streamed into a central square in Serbia’s capital on Sunday for a big rally against populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government. Their tight grip on power has been challenged by weeks of street protests led by university students. The rally Sunday at Belgrade’s Slavija
Continue Reading By Mohammed al Sawalihi, Ibrahim Dahman, Tim Lister and Dana Karni, CNN (CNN) — Eleven people were killed in an Israeli air strike in central Gaza on Saturday night, including several members of one family, according to hospital authorities. Khalil Al-Daqran, spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, told CNN that others had been injured in the
Continue Reading AP National Writer When the page turns on 2024, it will be time to say goodbye, once and for all, to the amateur athlete in college sports. In theory, the concept held on stubbornly via the quaint and now all-but-dead notion that student-athletes played only for pride, a scholarship and some meal money. In practice,
Continue Reading By Andrew Torgan and Daniel Wine, CNN (CNN) — Do you hear that sound? No, it’s not jingling bells or reindeer hooves. It’s the sound of nearly 120 million people in the US taking to the roads, rails and skies this holiday season. If you plan to drive to your destination, here are the best
Continue Reading By Maria Aguilar Prieto, CNN (CNN) — Sometimes even superheroes need rescuing. A Colorado deputy came to the aid of “Captain America” after the crusader’s motorcycle broke down en route to a local children’s hospital event last Wednesday. Matt Gnojek, dressed as the Avenger and known locally as Colorado Captain, had planned to make an
Continue Reading AP Science Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A NASA spacecraft aims to fly closer to the sun than any object sent before. The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to get a close-up look at the sun. Since then, it has flown straight through the sun’s corona: the outer atmosphere visible during a total
Continue Reading Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Capitol buildings are almost always an imposing presence. The seat of government, they tend to be elegant and stately. Visitors to Pennsylvania’s Capitol are drawn to its priceless artwork, polished marble and intricate carvings. But there’s another treasure there: 273 antique clocks that were part of its original design.
Continue Reading Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spaniards have been anticipating the arrival of “El Gordo” or “The Fat One” for weeks. That’s the name of the first prize in Spain’s hugely popular national Christmas lottery. This year’s total draw is worth 2.7 billion euros. Much of that will be paid out in small winnings. The top
Continue Reading Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — It was during the pandemic when the Rev. Kira Austin-Young and her puppet-maker husband, Michael Schupbach, were going a little stir-crazy that they came up with the idea. Instead of a star or some stylized humanoid angel to top their Christmas tree, why not create a biblically accurate angel?
Continue Reading VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has called for a ceasefire on all war fronts in his Sunday prayer ahead of Christmas celebrations, condemning the “cruelty” of bombing schools and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza. Francis said, “Let the weapons fall silent and let the Christmas carols ring out!” He delivering his blessing from indoors
Continue Reading Associated Press MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte (AP) — When Cyclone Chido ravaged Mayotte’s fragile infrastructure, it also exposed deep-seated tensions between the island’s residents and its large migrant population. Thousands of people who have entered the island illegally bore the brunt of the storm that tore through the Indian Ocean archipelago — France’s poorest territory. Authorities in
Continue Reading KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones have struck a major Russian oil terminal for the second time in just over a week, according to the Russian local governor, as part of what he called a “massive” cross-border attack on fuel and energy facilities that Kyiv says supply Moscow’s military. The strikes came days after Russia
Continue Reading The Associated Press Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, which they view as increasingly leaning too far to the right given its owner’s support of President-elect Donald Trump, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms. The platform
Continue Reading By Catherine Nicholls, CNN (CNN) — At least 32 people were killed in crowd crushes at two separate charity events in Nigeria on Saturday, police say. Some 22 people were killed at an event held in a community center in Okija in the southeastern state of Anambra, state police said on Sunday. The event was
Continue Reading By Eric Levenson, CNN (CNN) — Paul Kemp, a 64-year-old who lives outside Portland, Oregon, bought his son Nathan his first rifle for his 16th birthday over a decade ago. Nathan had notched his first hunting kill, a squirrel, at age 7, and the Kemp family enjoyed their time hunting together over the ensuing years.
Continue Reading Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A prominent Lebanese politician has met with the insurgent who led the overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar Assad, and both expressed hope Sunday for a new era in relations between their countries. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt was a longtime critic of Syria’s involvement in Lebanon and blamed Assad’s father for
Continue Reading By Thomas Lake, CNN (CNN) — It was near the end of an unusual day for the four Patterson children when the deputies came to arrest their mother. The sheriff’s deputies approached the house, a tidy split-level outside Blue Ridge, Georgia, with chickens roaming the front yard and yellow flowers blooming along the front steps.
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