The exercises end months of relative calm across the Taiwan Strait and come after the Trump administration announced arms sales to the island.

For the second week in a row, QB Brock Purdy accounted for five touchdowns as the 49ers outlasted the Bears 42-38 in a wild shootout on Sunday Night Football to set up a Week 18 showdown with the Seahawks for the NFC's top seed.

Palestinian youth walk along a tent camp for displaced people as the sun sets in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-12-29T05:01:11Z PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, as Washington looks to create fresh momentum for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza that could be in danger of stalling out before a complicated second phase.Trump could use the face-to-face at his Mar-a-Lago estate to try to leverage his strong relationship with Netanyahu and look for ways to speed up the peace process, especially as Israels leader has been accused of not pushing his side to move fast enough.The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that Trump has championed has mostly held, but progress has slowed recently. Both sides accuse one another of violations, and divisions have emerged among the U.S., Israel and Arab countries about the path forward. The truces first phase began in October, days after the two-year anniversary of the initial Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed around 1,200 people. All but one of the 251 hostages taken then have been released, alive or dead. Now comes the next, far more complicated part. Trumps 20-point plan which was approved by the U.N. Security Council lays out an ambitious vision for ending Hamas rule of Gaza. The two leaders also could discuss non-Gaza topics, including Iran, whose nuclear capabilities Trump continues to insist were completely and fully obliterated following U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites in June. There are many key facets of the ceasefires second phase that Israels leader doesnt support or has even openly opposed, said Mona Yacoubian, director and senior adviser of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.This is going to be a really tall order, I think, for President Trump to get Netanyahu to agree, she said.How he does that, what kind of pressure he puts on Netanyahu, I think, is going to be important to watch for, said Yacoubian, who also said the two could exhibit a broader clash of approaches to the region. Next phase is complexIf successful, the second phase would see the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision by a group chaired by Trump and known as the Board of Peace. The Palestinians would form a technocratic, apolitical committee to run daily affairs in Gaza, under Board of Peace supervision.It further calls for normalized relations between Israel and the Arab world, and a possible pathway to Palestinian independence. Then there are thorny logistical and humanitarian questions, including rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza, disarming Hamas and creating a security apparatus called the International Stabilization Force.The Board of Peace would oversee Gazas reconstruction under a two-year, renewable U.N. mandate. Its members had been expected to be named by the end of the year and might even be revealed following Mondays meeting, but the announcement could be pushed into next month. Netanyahu was the first foreign leader to meet Trump at the White House in his second term, but this will be their first in-person meeting since Trump went to Israel in October to mark the start of the ceasefires initial phase. Netanyahu has been to Mar-a-Lago before, including in July 2024 when Trump was still seeking reelection. Much remains unsettledTheir latest meeting comes after U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and the presidents son in law, Jared Kushner, recently huddled in Florida with officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have been mediating the ceasefire. Two main challenges have complicated moving to the second phase, according to an official who was briefed on those meetings. Israeli officials have been taking a lot of time to vet and approve members of the Palestinian technocratic committee from a list given to them by the mediators, and Israel continues its military strikes.Trumps plan also calls for the International Stabilization Force, proposed as a multinational body, to maintain security. But it, too, has yet to be formed. Whether details will be forthcoming after Mondays meeting is unclear. A Western diplomat said there is a huge gulf between the U.S.-Israeli understanding of the International Stabilization Forces mandate and that of other major countries in the region, as well as European governments. All spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that havent been made public.The U.S. and Israel want the force to have a commanding role in security duties, including disarming Hamas and other militant groups. But countries being courted to contribute troops fear that mandate will make it an occupation force, the diplomat said.Hamas has said it is ready to discuss freezing or storing its arsenal of weapons, but insists it has a right to armed resistance as long as Israel occupies Palestinian territory. One U.S. official said a potential plan might be to offer cash incentives in exchange for weapons, echoing a buy-back program Witkoff has previously floated. Questions about Gaza reconstructionIsraeli bombardment and ground operations have transformed neighborhoods in several Gaza cities into rubble-strewn wastelands, with blackened shells of buildings and mounds of debris stretching in all directions. Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are pressing for a negotiated deal on disarming Hamas, and on an additional Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before moving to next elements of the plan. Those include deployment of the international security force and reconstruction, three Arab officials told The Associated Press. That appears to run against ideas floated by U.S. officials to quickly start building temporary housing for Palestinians in parts of southern Gaza still controlled by Israeli troops. Three officials said the United Arab Emirates has agreed to fund reconstruction in Gaza, including new communities, although they said discussions are ongoing and plans remain unsettled.A proposed map created by the U.S. and obtained by the AP shows an area labelled UAE Temporary Emirates housing complex inside an Israeli-controlled area of Gaza. The map shows a U.S. planned community area surrounding the UAE area.An Arab official said he was aware of the map, but said it was a suggestion from the U.S. and Israel that was put to the Emiratis and other countries.The UAE did not respond to multiple requests for comment about whether it has agreed to the plans or to fund the communities. It is not known if the money would be contingent on gestures from Israel and Hamas, such as a commitment to Palestinian statehood or disarmament.___Associated Press writers Darlene Superville in Washington and Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto SAM MEDNICK Mednick is an AP correspondent for Israel and the Palestinian Territories. She focuses on conflict, humanitarian crises and human rights abuses. Mednick formerly covered West & Central Africa and South Sudan. twitter SAMY MAGDY Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses. twitter facebook mailto

People carry sacks and boxes of food and humanitarian aid that was unloaded from a World Food Program convoy that had been heading to Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi, File)2025-12-29T05:10:14Z GENEVA (AP) The United States on Monday announced a $2 billion pledge for U.N. humanitarian aid as President Donald Trumps administration continues to slash U.S. foreign assistance and warns United Nations agencies to adapt, shrink or die in a time of new financial realities. The money is a small fraction of what the U.S. has contributed in the past but reflects what the administration believes is a generous amount that will maintain the United States status as the worlds largest humanitarian donor.The pledge creates an umbrella fund from which money will be doled out to individual agencies and priorities, a key part of U.S. demands for drastic changes across the world body that have alarmed many humanitarian workers and led to severe reductions in programs and services. The $2 billion is only a sliver of traditional U.S. humanitarian funding for U.N.-backed programs, which has run as high as $17 billion annually in recent years, according to U.N. data. U.S. officials say only $8-$10 billion of that has been in voluntary contributions. The United States also pays billions in annual dues related to its U.N. membership.Critics say the Western aid cutbacks have been shortsighted, driven millions toward hunger, displacement or disease, and harmed U.S. soft power around the world. A year of crisis in aidThe move caps a crisis year for many U.N. organizations like its refugee, migration and food aid agencies. The Trump administration has already cut billions in U.S. foreign aid, prompting them to slash spending, aid projects and thousands of jobs. Other traditional Western donors have reduced outlays, too.The announced U.S. pledge for aid programs of the United Nations the worlds top provider of humanitarian assistance and biggest recipient of U.S. humanitarian aid money takes shape in a preliminary deal with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, run by Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat and government official. Even as the U.S. pulls back its aid, needs have ballooned across the world: Famine has been recorded this year in parts of conflict-ridden Sudan and Gaza, and floods, drought and natural disasters that many scientists attribute to climate change have taken many lives or driven thousands from their homes.The cuts will have major implications for U.N. affiliates like the International Organization for Migration, the World Food Program and refugee agency UNHCR. They have already received billions less from the U.S. this year than under annual allocations from the previous Biden administration or even during Trumps first term. Now, the idea is that Fletchers office which last year set in motion a humanitarian reset to improve efficiency, accountability and effectiveness of money spent will become a funnel for U.S. and other aid money that can be then redirected to those agencies, rather than scattered U.S. contributions to a variety of individual appeals for aid. US seeks aid consolidationThe United States wants to see more consolidated leadership authority in U.N. aid delivery systems, said a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide details before the announcement at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva.Under the plan, Fletcher and his coordination office are going to control the spigot on how money is distributed to agencies, the official said.This humanitarian reset at the United Nations should deliver more aid with fewer tax dollars providing more focused, results-driven assistance aligned with U.S foreign policy, said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz.U.S. officials say the $2 billion is just a first outlay to help fund OCHAs annual appeal for money, announced earlier this month. Fletcher, noting the upended aid landscape, already slashed the request this year. Other traditional U.N. donors like Britain, France, Germany and Japan have reduced aid allocations and sought reforms this year. The agreement requires the U.N. to consolidate humanitarian functions to reduce bureaucratic overhead, unnecessary duplication, and ideological creep, the State Department said in a statement. Individual U.N. agencies will need to adapt, shrink, or die. Nowhere is reform more important than the humanitarian agencies, which perform some of the U.N.s most critical work, the department added. Todays agreement is a critical step in those reform efforts, balancing President Trumps commitment to remaining the worlds most generous nation, with the imperative to bring reform to the way we fund, oversee, and integrate with U.N. humanitarian efforts. At its core, the reform project will help establish pools of funding that can be directed either to specific crises or countries in need. A total of 17 countries will be targeted initially, including Bangladesh, Congo, Haiti, Syria and Ukraine. One of the worlds most desperate countries, Afghanistan, is not included, nor are the Palestinian territories, which officials say will be covered by money stemming from Trumps as-yet-incomplete Gaza peace plan. The project, months in the making, stems from Trumps longtime view that the world body has great promise, but has failed to live up to it, and has in his eyes drifted too far from its original mandate to save lives while undermining American interests, promoting radical ideologies and encouraging wasteful, unaccountable spending. Fletcher praised the deal, saying in a statement, At a moment of immense global strain, the United States is demonstrating that it is a humanitarian superpower, offering hope to people who have lost everything. ___Lee reported from Washington. JAMEY KEATEN Keaten is the chief Associated Press reporter in Geneva. He previously was posted in Paris and has reported from Afghanistan, the Middle East, North Africa and across Europe. twitter

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), front row second from left, poses with other military officers after promoting to generals, back row, from left, Yang Zhibin of the Eastern Theater Command and Han Shengyan commander of Central Theater Command in Beijing on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP)2025-12-29T01:10:48Z HONG KONG (AP) Chinas military on Monday dispatched air, navy and rocket troops to conduct joint military drills around the island of Taiwan, a move Beijing called a stern warning against separatist and external interference forces. Taiwan said it was placing its forces on alert and called the Chinese government the biggest destroyer of peace.The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at U.S. arms sales to the territory and a statement by Japans prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, saying its military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, the self-governing island that the worlds second-biggest economy says must come under its rule. But the Chinese military did not mention the United States and Japan in its statement on Monday morning.Taiwans Defense Ministry said in a post on X that rapid response exercises were underway, with forces on high alert to defend the island. In a separate statement, it said it had deployed appropriate forces in response, conducting combat readiness drills. The Chinese Communist Partys targeted military exercises further confirm its nature as an aggressor and the biggest destroyer of peace, the ministry said. Senior Col. Shi Yi, spokesperson of Chinas Peoples Liberation Armys Eastern Theater Command, said the drills would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, southwest, southeast and east of the island. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on Shi said the activities will focus on sea-air combat readiness patrol, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority and blockades on key ports. It was also the first large-scale military drill where the command publicly mentioned one of the goals was all-dimensional deterrence outside the island chain. It is a stern warning against Taiwan independence separatist forces and external interference forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard Chinas sovereignty and national unity, Shi said. China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when a civil war brought the Communist Party to power in Beijing. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan. The island has operated since then with its own government, though the mainlands government claims it as sovereign territory. Live firing exercises scheduled for Tuesday The command on Monday deployed destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles, alongside long-range rockets, to the north and southwest of the Taiwan Strait. It carried out live fire exercises against targets in the waters as well. Drills to test the capabilities of sea-air coordination and precise target hunting were also conducted in the waters and airspace to the east of the strait.It said major military drills were scheduled to happen between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, saying it would organize live firing activities then, and its exercises would cover five areas around the island. The command released themed posters about the drills online accompanied by provocative wording. One poster depicted two shields with the Great Wall alongside three military aircraft and two ships. Its social media post said the drills were about the Shield of Justice, Smashing Illusion, adding that any foreign interlopers or separatists touching the shields would be eliminated. Last week, Beijing imposed sanctions against 20 U.S. defense-related companies and 10 executives, a week after Washington announced large-scale arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion. If approved by the U.S. Congress, it would be the largest-ever American weapons package to the self-ruled territory.Under U.S. federal law in place for many years, Washington is obligated to assist Taipei with its defense, a point that has become increasingly contentious with China. The U.S. and Taiwan had formal diplomatic relations until 1979, when President Jimmy Carters administration recognized and established relations with Beijing. Taiwanese army on high alert Mondays drills heightened tensions on both sides. Karen Kuo, spokesperson for the Taiwanese presidents office, said the operation was undermining the stability and security of the Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific region and openly challenging international law and order. Our country strongly condemns the Chinese authorities for disregarding international norms and using military intimidation to threaten neighboring countries. she said.Taiwans Defense Ministry released a video that featured its weapons and forces in a show of resilience. Multiple French Mirage-2000 aircraft conducted landings at an air force base.Beijing sends warplanes and navy vessels toward the island on a near-daily basis, and in recent years it has stepped up the scope and scale of these exercises. In October, the Taiwanese government said it would accelerate the building of a Taiwan Shield or T-Dome air defense system in the face of the military threat from China. The military tensions came a day after Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an said he hoped the Taiwan Strait would be associated with peace and prosperity, instead of crashing waves and howling winds, during a trip to Shanghai. KANIS LEUNG Leung covers Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China for The Associated Press. She is based in Hong Kong. twitter

A police officer injured by a thrown stone is helped away from the area after clashes erupted between Alawite protesters from the Alawite religious minority and counterprotesters, two days after a bomb in an Alawite mosque in Homs killed eight people and wounded 18 during Friday prayers, in Latakia, Syria's coastal region, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)2025-12-28T11:59:28Z LATAKIA, Syria (AP) Clashes broke out on Syrias coast between protesters from the Alawite religious minority and counterdemonstrators Sunday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens of others, health officials said.The clashes came two days after a bombing at an Alawite mosque in the city of Homs killed eight people and wounded 18 others during prayers. Thousands of protesters gathered in the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartous, and elsewhere. Officials have said that preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque in Homs, but authorities havent publicly identified a suspect in Fridays bombing. Funerals for the dead were held Saturday.A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, in which it indicated that the attack intended to target members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam whom hard-line Islamists consider to be apostates. Sundays demonstrations were called for by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite sheikh living outside of Syria who heads a group called the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the Diaspora. An Associated Press photographer in Latakia saw pro-government counterprotesters throw rocks at the Alawite demonstrators, while a group of protesters beat a counterdemonstrator who crossed to their side. Security forces tried to break up the two sides and fired into the air in an attempt to disperse them. Syrias state-run television reported that two members of the security forces were wounded in the area of Tartous after someone threw a hand grenade at a police station, and cars belonging to security forces were set on fire in Latakia.Later, state-run news agency SANA reported that a member of the security forces was killed by gunfire. The AP photographer in Latakia saw the bodies of four people killed in the clashes in local hospitals. Three of them had head wounds that appeared consistent with being hit by rocks, while one had a bullet wound in the chest. The state-run SANA news agency said 60 people were wounded by stabbings, blows from stones, and gunfire targeting both security personnel and civilians.The country has experienced several waves of sectarian clashes since the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December 2024 that brought to an end nearly 14 years of civil war. Assad, an Alawite, fled the country to Russia.In March, an ambush carried out by Assads supporters against security forces triggered days of violence that left hundreds of people dead, most of them Alawites. Since then, although the situation has calmed, Alawites have been targeted sporadically in sectarian attacks. They have also complained of discrimination against them in public employment since Assads fall and of young Alawite men detained without charges.During the rein of the Assad dynasty, Alawites were overrepresented in government jobs and in the army and security forces. Government officials condemned Fridays attack and promised to hold perpetrators accountable, but havent yet announced any arrests.We went out to protest the incidents of killing and the marginalization and arrests and detentions and the employees who were fired, said Hussein Abbas, an engineer who joined the Alawite protest.Counterprotester Mohammed Ismail from Latakia blamed spoilers who benefited from the former system under Assad for sowing discord.We are calling for one Syria and one people, and they dont want that, he said. They want to return us to chaos so they can benefit.

Heavy snow falls along Nicollet Mall Sunday Dec.28, 2025 in Minneapolis. (Jerry Holt /Star Tribune via AP)2025-12-29T04:54:57Z A potent winter storm threatened blizzard-like conditions, treacherous travel and power outages in parts of the Upper Midwest as other areas of the country braced Monday for plunging temperatures, strong winds and a mix of snow, ice, and rain.The snow and strengthening winds began spreading Sunday across the northern Plains, where the National Weather Service warned of whiteout conditions and possible blizzard conditions that could make travel impossible in some areas. Snowfall totals were expected to exceed a foot (30 centimeters) across parts of the upper Great Lakes and as much as double that along the south shore of Lake Superior.Part of the storm system is getting heavy snow, other parts of the storm along the cold front are getting higher winds and much colder temperatures as the front passes, said Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service office in College Park, Maryland. Theyre all related to each other different parts of the country will be receiving different effects from this storm. The weather service warned of dangerous wind chills as low as minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34.4 degrees Celsius) in North Dakota and into Minnesota from Sunday night into Monday. In the South, meteorologists warned severe thunderstorms are likely to signal the arrival of a sharp cold front bringing a sudden drop in temperatures and strong north winds that will abruptly end days of record warmth throughout that region. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on The high temperature in Atlanta was around 72 F (22 C) on Sunday, continuing a warming trend after climbing to 78 F (about 26 C) to shatter the citys record high temperature for Christmas Eve, the National Weather Service said. Numerous other record high temperatures were seen across the South and Midwest on the days after Christmas. But the incoming cold front was expected to drop rain on much of the South late Sunday night into Monday, and a big drop in temperatures Tuesday. Forecasters said the low temperature in Atlanta to 25 F (minus 3.9 C) by early Tuesday morning. The colder temperatures in the South are expected to persist through New Years Day. In Dallas, Sunday temperatures in the lower 80s (upper 20s C) could drop down to the mid 40s (single digits Celsius). In Little Rock, high temperatures of around 70 (21 C) on Sunday could drop down to highs in the mid-30s on Monday.Were definitely going back towards a more winter pattern, Oravec said. The storm is expected to intensify as it moves east, drawing energy from a sharp clash between frigid air plunging south from Canada and unusually warm air that has lingered across the southern United States, according to the National Weather Service.___Willingham reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Martin reported from Kennesaw, Georgia. JEFF MARTIN Martin covers a variety of topics including crime, hurricanes, and civil rights across the southeastern U.S. He was a member of the AP team named a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting for the Lethal Restraint project. mailto

With the Lakers reeling from a three-game slide, a calf injury to Austin Reaves and an air-it-out team meeting coming into Sunday's game against the Kings, LeBron James and Luka Doncic led a dominant 125-101 win to help right the ship for L.A.

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference, in the Queens borough of New York, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa, File)2025-12-29T04:57:16Z Zohran Mamdani has promised to transform New York City government when he becomes mayor. Can he do it?Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, already faces intense scrutiny, even before taking office in one of the countrys most scrutinized political jobs. Republicans have cast him as a liberal boogeyman. Some of his fellow Democrats have deemed him too far left. Progressives are closely watching for any signs of him shifting toward the center. On Jan. 1, he will assume control of Americas biggest city under that harsh spotlight, with the country watching to see if he can pull off the big promises that vaulted him to office and handle the everyday duties of the job. All while skeptics call out his every stumble.For Mamdani, starting off strong is key, said George Arzt, a veteran Democratic political consultant in New York who worked for former Mayor Ed Koch. Hes got to use the first 100 days of the administration to show people he can govern, he said. Youve got to set a mindset for people thats like, Hey, this guys serious.That push should begin with Mamdanis speech on the day of his inauguration, where Arzt said it will be important for the new mayor to establish a clear blueprint of his agenda and tell New Yorkers what he plans to do and how he plans to do it. From there, he said Mamdani will have to count on the seasoned hands hes hired to help him handle the concrete responsibilities of the job, while he and his team also pursue his ambitious affordability agenda. Managing expectations as a movement candidateMamdani campaigned on a big idea: shifting the power of government toward helping working class New Yorkers, rather than the wealthy.His platform which includes free child care, free city bus service and a rent freeze for people living in rent stabilized apartments excited voters in one of Americas most expensive cities and made him a leading face of a Democratic Party searching for bright, new leaders during President Donald Trumps second term. But Mamdani may find himself contending with the relentless responsibilities of running New York City. That includes making sure the trash is getting picked up, potholes are filled and snow plows go out on time. When theres a subway delay or flooding, or a high-profile crime or a police officer parks in a bicycle lane, its not unusual for the citys mayor to catch some heat. He had a movement candidacy and that immediately raises expectations locally and nationally, said Basil Smikle, a Democratic political strategist and Columbia University professor, who added that it might be good for Mamdani to Just focus on managing expectations and get a couple of good wins under your belt early on.Theres a lot to keep you busy here, he said.A large part of Mamdanis job will also be to sell his politics to the New Yorkers who remain skeptical of him, with Smikle saying the biggest hurdle is getting people comfortable with his policies and explaining how what hes pushing could help the city.Its difficult to have this all happen on day one, he said, or even day 30 or even day 100. Challenges and opportunitiesMamdanis universal free child care proposal perhaps one of his more expensive plans is also one that has attracted some of the strongest support from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a moderate from Buffalo who endorsed the mayor-elect.Hochul is eager to work with Mamdani on the policy and both leaders consider the program a top priority, although its not yet clear how exactly the plan could come to fruition. The governor, who is up for reelection next year, has repeatedly said she does not want to raise income taxes something Mamdani supports for wealthy New Yorkers however she has appeared open to raising corporate taxes. I think he has allies and supporters for his agenda, but the question is how far will the governor go, said state Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris, a Mamdani ally. Theres an acknowledgement that the voters have spoken, and theres very clear policies that were associated with his successful campaign, he said, so to not make progress on them would be us thumbing our noses at the voters. Mamdanis pledge to freeze the rent for roughly 1 million rent stabilized apartments in the city would not require state cooperation. But that proposal perhaps the best known of his campaign is already facing headwinds, after the citys departing mayor, Eric Adams, made a series of appointments in recent weeks to a local board that determines annual rent increases for the citys rent stabilized units.The move could potentially complicate the mayor-elects ability to follow through on the plan, at least in his first year, although Mamdani has said he remains confident in his ability to enact the freeze. Other challenges awaitHis relationship with some of the citys Jewish community remains in tatters over his criticisms of Israels government and support for Palestinian human rights. The Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish advocacy organization, plans to track Mamdanis policies and hires as it pledged to protect Jewish residents across the five boroughs during a period of unprecedented antisemitism in New York City. Earlier this month, a Mamdani appointee resigned over social media posts she made more than a decade ago that featured antisemitic tropes, after the Anti-Defamation League shared the posts online. The group has since put out additional findings on others who are serving in committees that Mamdani set up as he transitions into his mayoral role. In response, Mamdani said the ADL often ignores the distinction between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli government.The mayor-elects past call to defund the citys police department continue to be a vulnerability. His decision to retain Jessica Tisch, the citys current police commissioner, has eased some concerns about a radical shakeup at the top of the nations largest police force. And then theres Trump.Tensions between Trump and Mamdani have appeared to cool for now after months of rancor led into a surprisingly friendly Oval Office meeting. Future clashes may emerge given the sharp political differences between them, particularly on immigration enforcement, along with anything else that could set off the mercurial president. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference, in the Queens borough of New York, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa, File)2025-12-28T21:30:14Z MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) Officials said a train accident in southern Mexico killed at least 13 people and injured dozens, halting traffic along a rail line connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico.The Interoceanic Train linking the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz went off the rails Sunday as it passed a curve near the town of Nizanda. The Mexican Navy has informed me that, tragically, 13 people died in the Interoceanic Train accident, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum posted on X, adding that 98 people are injured, five of them seriously.She said she instructed the secretary of the navy and the undersecretary of human rights of the Ministry of the Interior to travel to the site and personally assist the families.In a message on X Sunday, Oaxaca state Gov. Salomon Jara said several government agencies had reached the site of the accident to assist the injured. Officials said that 241 passengers and nine crew members were on the train when the accident occurred.The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 by then President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The rail service is part of a broader push to boost train travel in southern Mexico, and develop infrastructure along the isthmus of Tehuantepec, a narrow stretch of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The Mexican government plans to turn the isthmus into a strategic corridor for international trade, with ports and rail lines that can connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Interoceanic train currently runs from the port of Salina Cruz on the Pacific Ocean to Coatzacoalcos, covering a distance of approximately 180 miles (290 kilometers) .

This courtroom sketch depicts Brian Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Va., the man accused of planting a pair of pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties on Jan. 5, 2021, in Washington, being sworn in, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 before U.S. Magistrate Moxila Upadhyaya, at Federal Court in Washington, as U.S. Attorney Charles Jones, seated left, and Defense Attorney John Shoreman, seated center, look on. (Dana Verkouteren via AP)2025-12-29T00:00:40Z WASHINGTON (AP) The man accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol told investigators after his arrest that he believed someone needed to speak up for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen and that he wanted to target the countrys political parties because they were in charge, prosecutors said Sunday.The allegations were laid out in a Justice Department memo arguing that Brian J. Cole Jr., who was arrested earlier this month on charges of placing pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national committees, should remain locked up while the case moves forward. The memo provides the most detailed government account of statements Cole is alleged to have made to investigators and points to evidence, including bomb-making components found at his home after his arrest, that officials say connects him to the act. The homemade bombs did not detonate and were discovered Jan. 6, the afternoon that rioters supporting President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to halt the certification of his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Cole denied to investigators that his actions were connected to Congress or the events of Jan. 6, the memo says. But after initially disputing that he had any involvement in the pipe bombs, prosecutors say, he confessed to placing them outside the RNC and DNC and acknowledged feeling disillusioned by the 2020 election, fed up with both political parties and sympathetic to claims by Trump and some of his allies that the contest had been stolen. According to the memo, he told agents who interviewed him that if people feel that, you know, something as important as voting in the federal election is being tampered with, is being, you know, being you know, relegated null and void, then, like, someone needs to speak up, right? Someone up top. You know, just to, just to at the very least calm things down. He said something just snapped after watching everything, just everything getting worse and that he wanted to do something to the parties because they were in charge, according to the Justice Departments memo. Prosecutors say when Cole was asked why he had placed the explosives at the RNC and DNC, he responded, I really dont like either party at this point. Cole was arrested on the morning of Dec. 4 at his Woodbridge, Virginia, house in what law enforcement officials described as a major breakthrough in their nearly five-year-old investigation. His lawyers will also have an opportunity to state their position on detention ahead of a hearing set for Tuesday in Washingtons federal court.During a search of Coles home and car after his arrest, prosecutors say, investigators found shopping bags of bomb-making components. He at first denied having manufactured or placed the pipe bombs, prosecutors say, and when pressed about his whereabouts on the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, initially told investigators he had driven by himself to attend a protest related to the 2020 election. I didnt agree with what people were doing, like just telling half the country that they that their that they just need to ignore it. I didnt think that was a good idea, so I went to the protest, the memo quotes him as saying.But over the course of hours of questioning, prosecutors say, Cole acknowledged he went to Washington not for a protest but rather to place the bombs. He stowed the explosives in a shoebox in the back seat of his Nissan Sentra and placed one apiece outside the RNC and DNC headquarters, setting the timer on each for 60 minutes, the memo says.Neither device exploded, a fact Cole says he was pretty relieved about because he planted them at night because he did not want to kill anyone, the memo says. The fact that the devices did not detonate is due to luck, not lack of effort, prosecutors said in arguing that Cole poses a danger to the community and must remain detained pending trial.The defendants choice of targets risked the lives not only of innocent pedestrians and office workers but also of law enforcement, first responders, and national political leaders who were inside of the respective party headquarters or drove by them on January 6, 2021, including the Vice President-elect and Speaker of the House, prosecutors wrote. ERIC TUCKER Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department. twitter mailto

Kosovo's acting Prime Minister and leader of VeteVendosje political party Albin Kurti greets his supporters in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)2025-12-28T07:11:43Z PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) Kosovo s Prime Minister Albin Kurti appeared set for another term in office after his party on Sunday convincingly won an early parliamentary election in the Balkan country, preliminary results showed. The Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination, party won nearly 50% of the ballots, far ahead of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21%, and the Democratic League of Kosovo with nearly 14%, the state election, authorities said after nearly all the ballots were counted. Congratulations on the biggest victory in the history of the country, a cheerful Kurti said after results were announced. Now we have a lot of work ahead of us.The snap ballot on Sunday was scheduled after the Self-Determination party failed to form a government despite also winning the most votes in a Feb. 9 election, which led to a monthslong political deadlock. It was not immediately clear whether the Self-Determination party has won 61 seats in the 120-member parliament to be able to rule alone. Kurti said a new parliament and a government will be formed as soon as possible. We dont have time to lose and must move forward together as quickly as possible, he said. Hundreds of ruling party supporters gathered outside the party offices in Pristina in celebration, chanting Kurtis name. The previous postelection stalemate marked the first time Kosovo could not form a government since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO intervention. Kosovo has not approved a budget for next year, sparking concern over the already poor economy in the country of 2 million people. Lawmakers also are set to elect a new president in March as current President Vjosa Osmanis mandate expires in early April.After voting Sunday, Kurti urged Kosovos 1.9 million voters to turn out in large numbers to grant more legitimacy for our institutions. Turnout was at around 44%, according to the state election authorities. According to Kosovos election laws, 20 parliamentary seats are automatically assigned to ethnic Serb representatives and other minority parties. Opposition parties have accused Kurti of authoritarianism and of alienating Kosovos U.S. and European Union allies since he came to power in 2021. Kurti also briefly served as prime minister in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lumir Abdixhiku from the Democratic League of Kosovo earlier on Sunday urged voters to move away from the gloom, the deadlock and the division that has accompanied us for these years. A former political prisoner during Serbias rule in Kosovo, the 50-year-old Kurti has taken a tough stand in talks mediated by the European Union on normalizing relations with Belgrade. In response, the EU and the United States imposed punitive measures. Kurti has promised to buy military equipment to boost security.Ilmi Deliu, a 71-year-old pensioner from the capital, Pristina, said he hoped the election will bring a change or we will end up in an abyss.Young people no longer want to live here, he said. Tensions with restive ethnic Serbs in the north exploded in clashes in 2023 when scores of NATO-led peacekeepers were injured. In a positive step, ethnic Serb mayors this month took power peacefully there after a municipal vote. Kurti has also agreed to accept third-country migrants deported from the United States as part of tough anti-immigration measures by the administration of President Donald Trump. One migrant has arrived so far, authorities have told The Associated Press. Kosovo has one of the poorest economies in Europe. It is one of the six Western Balkan countries striving to eventually join the EU, but both Kosovo and Serbia have been told they must first normalize relations.

The 7-foot tall "2026" numerals are displayed at an illumination ceremony in Times Square, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray, File)2025-12-29T05:16:17Z NEW YORK (AP) Its that time Decembers waning days, when we prepare to turn the calendar page. Many Americans take stock, review goals accomplished and unmet, ponder hopes and plans. Hows our health? Whats up with our money? What about the country? Will the coming year look like the departing one year, or be something entirely different? Are we ready?It can be an overwhelming period. So The Associated Press reached out to professionals with varying expertises home organization, risk management, personal training, personal finance, and political science to talk about their perspectives on changes and transitions. And for something a little different, we gave each interviewee a chance to ask a question of one of the others. So lets talk endings and beginnings. Girls film their dance at a Christmas fair opened prior to Christmas and New Year festivities in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, with a statue of Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin in the background. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) Girls film their dance at a Christmas fair opened prior to Christmas and New Year festivities in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, with a statue of Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin in the background. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The change expert: Milestones stir emotionsTransitions are professional organizer Laura Olivares working life. As co-founder of Silver Solutions, she works with senior adults and their families to help make sure theyre in safe environments, whether that means decluttering a lifetime of possessions, downsizing to another home, or helping families clear a house after a loved ones passing.She offers this: Changes, even exciting ones, can unearth sadness or grief over places, things and people left behind. Acknowledging those feelings can help smooth the move from one chapter to another.When you let go of something that was meaningful to you, it deserves a moment, she says. Whatever that moment is, could be a second, could just be an acknowledgement of it. Or maybe you set it on the on the mantle and you think about it for a while and when youre ready to let it go, you let it go. NEXT QUESTION: Certified personal trainer Keri Harvey asked: What small weekly habits can I build that will help me stay organized during the year? Olivares tips: In December, do a brain dump of thoughts, ideas, and goals. Then, before Jan. 1, schedule out tasks that move those priorities forward over the course of 2026. Olivares suggests three tasks on each of three days, so nine tasks per week. Workers prepare a display welcoming 2026 in the lobby of the LG Towers in Beijing, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Anthony) Workers prepare a display welcoming 2026 in the lobby of the LG Towers in Beijing, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Anthony) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The actuary: Planning is important but sometimes fickleProbably no group of people think more about the future than actuaries. Using data, statistics and probabilities, they devise models on how probable it is that certain events happen, and what it could cost to recover from them. Their work is vital to organizations like insurance companies.Listen to R. Dale Hall talk, though, and he sounds almost ... philosophical. Hes managing director of research at the Society of Actuaries. Asked how the general public could think about a new year, he readily brings up strategies like mapping out risk scenarios and how to respond.Theres a balance to be struck, he says: We cant control or predict everything and must accept the possibility of something unexpected. And the past isnt always a perfect guide; just because something happened doesnt mean it must again.Its the nature of taking risk, right? That yeah, there are going to be uncontrollable things, Hall says. There are ways to maybe diversify those risks or mitigate those risks, but no one has that perfect crystal ball thats going to see three, six, nine, 12 months into the future. NEXT QUESTION: From personal finance educator Dana Miranda: Thinking about the variables we consider when making decisions or plans, how might the juxtaposition of the holiday season with the new year affect the way people are evaluating their finances and setting goals at the beginning of each year? ... What do you recommend they do to ensure the holiday experience doesnt skew financial goal-setting?Halls advice: Keep em separate. He recommends people enjoy the holidays and hold off on financial goals until January.The personal finance authority: Be intentional about moneyIn her work as a financial writer and a personal finance educator, Miranda encourages people to make conscious choices around their spending and saving, and understand that theres no absolute rule.Miranda, author of You Dont Need a Budget, says details are key. What works for one person may not work for another. And its something Americans should consider as another year of goals and resolutions approaches. Insisting that the same technique works for everybody can leave people feeling stuck, Miranda says. We tend to be not good at talking about the nuances and that leaves people with, Heres the one right rule. Its not possible for me to achieve that perfection, so Im just going to feel ashamed of every move that I make that is not moving toward that perfect goal.NEXT QUESTION: From Jeanne Theoharis, a political science professor, who asked how Miranda gets people to look beyond the micro and consider the larger system of capitalism. How does she also get people to think about more collective solutionslike union organizing, pressing City Council or Congress for changes? Miranda is quick to make it clear shes not an organizer but says she tries to evoke larger systemic issues when discussing personal finance. The way that I try to move that needle just a little bit is to always bring in that political aspect to whatever conversation were having ... to make the systemic and the cultural impact visible. This image provided by America250 in December 2025 shows the New Years Eve ball designed for the U.S.'s 250th year. (Eli Ritter/America250 via AP) This image provided by America250 in December 2025 shows the New Years Eve ball designed for the U.S.'s 250th year. (Eli Ritter/America250 via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The trainer: Make goals attainableWhen it comes to changes and new years, one of the most popular areas is fitness, the subject of many a (failed) resolution. Personal trainer Harvey, of Form Fitness Brooklyn, says you can make positive, lasting change in fitness (and generally) with one philosophy: Start small and build.We want to be mindful of making sure that were not asking too much or trying to overcompensate for what we feel like we left behind this past year or what we feel like we left on the table this past year, she says. Its very reasonable to try and have the goal of getting to the gym twice a week, maybe three times a week, and then building from there instead of saying Jan. 1, Im starting, Im gonna be at the gym five days a week, two hours a day. Thats not realistic and its not kind to ourselves.NEXT QUESTION: From Hall: What advice do you have for me to transition to an even more robust workout schedule in 2026 without falling into the risk of injuring myself by doing too much too soon?Harvey emphasized warming up and having a mobility routine, and making the goal attainable by making it fun. Find things that you actually enjoy doing and try and fit those in as well so that the idea of starting something new or adding to it isnt one that comes with a negative like, Oh, I dont want to have to do this, where youre dragging yourself into it. The historian: Learn from your pastIts not just as individuals that we think about transitions. Nations and cultures have them, too.We can learn from them if we look at our history honestly and not through the guise of trying to hide the ugly parts, says Theoharis, professor of political science and history at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center.She points to the story of Rosa Parks, remembered as the catalyst of the Montgomery bus boycotts 70 years ago. But when Parks chose to resist, she didnt know what her arrest would mean or what the outcome would be. Theoharis sees a lesson there for people looking to make change in todays world and even individuals wanting to evolve. A number of us would be willing to do something brave if we knew that it would work, Theoharis says. And we might even be willing to have some consequences. But part of what looking at the actual history of Rosa Parks or the actual history of the Montgomery bus boycott is in fact you have to make these stands with no sense that they will work.NEXT (AND LAST) QUESTION: From Olivares, who wanted Theoharis thoughts on todays civil rights battles. Theoharis referenced voting rights, which have been eroded in recent years. At the same time, remembrances of the turmoil during the Civil Rights years have become glossed over by a mythology of America overcoming its injustices.Theres a lesson there about what it takes to make real change for individuals, too, Theoharis says: Its difficult to move forward if youre not honestly addressing whats come before. Part of how weve gotten here is by that ... lack of reckoning with ourselves, lack of reckoning with where we are, lack of reckoning with history. DEEPTI HAJELA Hajela writes about the ways in which America is changing as part of the APs Trends+Culture team. She is based in New York City.

Napoli want Real Madrid midfielder Franco Mastantuono on loan, but he won't be allowed to move this month. Transfer Talk has the latest news and rumors.

Nature, Published online: 29 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-04104-2Encouraging academics to act as advisers to outside organizations is the most effective way to serve societys needs.

This summer, my colleagues were reporting out a story about the Department of Educations final mission, its effort to undermine public education even as the Trump administration worked feverishly to close the agency.As we do with all stories, the reporters reached out to those who would be featured in the article for comment. And so began a journey that showed both the emphasis we place on giving the subjects of our stories an opportunity to comment, as well as the aggressively unhelpful pushback weve faced this year as weve sought information and responses to questions.Megan OMatz, a reporter based in Wisconsin on ProPublicas Midwest team, first asked the departments press office for an interview in mid-August. At the same time, we emailed top administration officials who were making crucial decisions within the agency, including Lindsey Burke, deputy chief of staff for policy and programs, and Meg Kilgannon, director of strategic partnerships.In response to the outreach to Kilgannon, department spokesperson Madison Biedermann told OMatz to Please direct all media inquiries to press@ed.gov. Reached on her cellphone that day, Biedermann said she was happy to look into the request. We asked for a response within a week.At that time, the published press phone number for the department appeared, at all hours, to be a black hole, with a recorded message saying it was temporarily closed. (It still indicates that.)Hearing nothing more, OMatz emailed the press office again Aug. 18. And again Aug. 28 with detailed questions. She left follow-up messages on Biedermanns cell. And on Burkes cell, including once on her husbands cell as ProPublica tried to find a direct way to contact Burke. To ensure fairness and accuracy, it is our long-standing practice to try to reach those who are part of our stories so that they have an opportunity to respond to them. Wed rather get responses before we publish an article than after.Reached on her cell Aug. 29, Kilgannon said she had no comment and hung up before OMatz could explain what we planned to publish about her and her work. She did not respond to a subsequent email with those details.On Sept. 8, still hearing nothing from Burke, OMatz reached out to the departments chief of staff, writing: We have been seeking to talk to the secretary and to Dr. Burke. Can you help us arrange that? A week later, ProPublica arranged for a letter to be delivered via FedEx to Burkes home outlining what our reporting had found so far and to let us know if anything was inaccurate or required additional context. We invited her again to talk with us, to comment or provide any additional information.Finally, on Sept. 17, Biedermann wrote: Just heard from an ED (Education Department) colleague that you sent these inquiries in writing to their home address. This is highly inappropriate and unprofessional. You have also reached out to employees on their personal cell phones, emails, and even reached out to employees family members. This is disturbing. Do not use an employees home addresses or relatives to contact them. (The emphasis was hers.)ProPublica replied the following day that its common practice for journalists to reach out to people we are writing about. In fact, its our professional obligation, OMatz wrote.Biedermann responded: Reaching out to individuals about a work matter at their private address is not journalism it is borderline intimidation. In todays political climate it is particularly unacceptable. We received your inquiries (via email, phone calls, text messages, both on work and personal email address) and made a conscious decision not to respond, as we have every right to do.You are not entitled to a response from us, or anyone, ever, Biedermann wrote.To be clear, at no time prior to this email did the department tell OMatz that it had received her inquiries and would not comment. The article ran on Oct. 8, about two months after we first contacted the department. (I would highly encourage you to read it.)The world has come a long way since the days of All the Presidents Men and Spotlight, movies that favorably portrayed journalists knocking on doors and trying to reach sources to tell important stories in those cases, about the Watergate break-in that led to President Richard Nixons resignation and the abuse scandal that enveloped the Roman Catholic Church in Boston and beyond.Bob Woodward, left, and Carl Bernstein in the Washington Post newsroom in April 1973. More than 50 years later, reporters have gone from venerated to vilified. Ken Feil/The The Washington Post via Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump has labeled his administration the most transparent in history, but at the same time, agencies in the executive branch have taken down datasets and pulled down public information. Trump has called the press fake news and called individual reporters derogatory terms. In this environment, our journalists have found that their efforts to get the real story and be fair were vilified rather than appreciated. Condemned, not commended.Take what happened with Doug Bock Clark, a reporter in ProPublicas South office. Clark was working on a story about North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby, who has remade the court to make it more partisan.Newby wouldnt talk to Clark, so Clark interviewed over 70 people who know Newby professionally or personally, including former North Carolina justices and judges, lawmakers, longtime friends and family members. Clark reached out to Newbys daughter, Sarah, who is the finance director of the North Carolina GOP.When ProPublica emailed questions to Sarah Newby, the North Carolina Republican Partys communications director, Matt Mercer, responded, writing that ProPublica was waging a jihad against NC Republicans, which would not be met with dignifying any comments whatsoever.Im sure youre aware of our connections with the Trump Administration and Im sure they would be interested in this matter, Mercer said in his email. I would strongly suggest dropping this story. (The emphasis was Mercers.)Or consider what happened to Vernal Coleman, a reporter in our Midwest office who has been reporting on the Department of Veterans Affairs this year as part of a team. Theyve reported how doctors and others at VA hospitals and clinics have sent sometimes desperate messages to headquarters explaining how the Trump administrations cuts would harm veterans care. (The VA provides health care to roughly 9 million veterans.) And theyve reported how nearly 40% of the doctors offered jobs at the VA from January through March of this year turned them down.Coleman was pursuing a story of interest and identified a potential source in Michigan. In an effort to contact them, Coleman visited the persons home. He introduced himself as a reporter and explained his reasons for being there. They had a pleasant conversation, but the person ultimately declined to speak about the VA without prior authorization from their superiors.A few days later, VA Secretary Doug Collins sent out a tweet that accused Coleman of trying to stalk the employee.Door-knocking is not stalking, as reporter Gina Barton explains in this 2023 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel column. Indeed, federal employees have a First Amendment right to talk to the press, courts have ruled as theyve invalidated policies preventing it.Just as my colleagues did, I reached out to those featured in this article to give them an opportunity to comment.Biedermann wrote, Sincerely hope you print the entire back and forth so that readers understand the ProPublica method of journalism.Mercer wrote: Doug Bock Clark needs a hobby besides his weird obsession with North Carolinas judges. Maybe knitting or surfing. Have a nice day!And VA spokesperson Peter Kasperowicz wrote: Vernals uninvited visit to the home of a VA employee was rude, creepy and stalker-like. No VA employee should have to worry about being accosted at home by an uninvited reporter whose sole mission is to make their employer look bad.When told that Coleman had received threatening notes after Collins tweeted about him, Kasperowicz wrote: We condemn all violence and threats of violence, but the secretary simply publicly highlighted Vernals actions. ProPublica literally does the exact same thing in every story it writes. ProPublicas website says it wants to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing. The fact that you are whining about the spotlight being turned on one of your reporters proves youre nothing but a bunch of hypocrites.To be clear, Coleman did nothing wrong. The same is true of OMatz and Clark. I am proud to call them my colleagues. They exemplify what fairness in journalism looks like.As 2026 approaches, ProPublica remains committed to telling stories of public interest and continuing to offer the subjects of our stories an opportunity to comment. As members of the public who rely on accurate reporting, you should expect no less.The post Our Reporters Reached Out for Comment. They Were Accused of Stalking and Intimidation. appeared first on ProPublica.

Nature, Published online: 29 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-04101-5If youve hatched a New Year plan to move abroad, improve your presentations or chase happiness as a 20-something researcher, youll find advice aplenty in these books.

The nations largest organization for medical examiners has issued a warning about a controversial, centuries-old forensic test that has contributed to cases in which pregnant women have been charged with murder.The premise behind the lung float test is simple: If a baby was born alive and then died, air from its first breaths would cause its lungs to float in a jar with water. If the baby was stillborn, the lack of air in the lungs would cause them to sink. But the many critics of the test have long labeled it junk science and drawn parallels between the test and witch trials, where women were deemed witches based on whether they floated or sank.The National Association of Medical Examiners addressed the lung float test as part of a larger position paper released in October on investigating perinatal deaths, including stillbirths. A panel of 11 experts said the test has known pitfalls and is of questionable value and without clearly defined error rates.Those who use the lung float should be wary of accepting the results when it conforms to their summation of the findings and rejecting the result if it conflicts; a test used in such fashion inevitably becomes more dangerous than useful, the authors wrote.The paper follows a 2023 investigation by ProPublica into the use of the lung float test in cases where women were charged with murder despite their claims that they had a stillbirth. ProPublica found that the test was deeply flawed, lacked the basic standardization of trusted forensic disciplines and did not have full support from any of the countrys 12 largest medical examiners offices.The test is typically used where someone gives birth outside of a hospital or without medical supervision. But the paper cautioned that the distinction between a liveborn and stillborn infant can be very difficult to discern. Other than food in the stomach, the authors wrote, there is no diagnostic tool or finding that can stand alone as the sole determinant of whether an infant was liveborn or stillborn.Because a determination of livebirth or stillbirth may result in criminal charges, the papers authors wrote that a high degree of certainty is required. They concluded that if the autopsy and investigative findings do not provide clear and convincing evidence of live birth, it is recommended to default to a designation of fetal death (stillbirth).Dr. Reade Quinton, the president of National Association of Medical Examiners and an associate professor of pathology at the Mayo Clinic, said he thinks this is the first time in the associations nearly 60 years that it has issued a position paper that includes a statement on the lung float test. The paper is expected to be published next year in the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology.We hope that this paper will provide guidance on how to address these complex cases, he said.In another response to ProPublicas investigation, a group of medical and legal experts convened a study group to examine the lung float test and determine whether it should be used in court. That effort is ongoing.At the time of ProPublicas investigation, Dr. Odey Ukpo, the chief medical examiner in Los Angeles County, said his department did not use the lung float test because it was unreliable and inaccurate. He said this month that his office remains committed to evidence-based medicine and that the position paper exemplifies that forensic medicine is aligned with those practices.Some medical examiners who use the test have said they worry they will be criticized for not doing it since it is often included in forensic pathology training. The paper makes clear that there is no reason to mandate its performance. It also underscores the lack of data around the test and the wide variation in how it is performed.The papers findings are particularly relevant in the wake of a growing concern around criminalizing pregnancy loss following the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to eliminate a constitutional right to abortion.In September, the New York-based nonprofit Pregnancy Justice released a report that examined prosecutions in the two years after the Dobbs decision. During that time, more than 400 people were charged with pregnancy-related crimes, including 31 who had a pregnancy loss. That, according to a release about the report, treated miscarriage and stillbirth as suspicious events rather than personal, medical experiences.ProPublicas 2023 investigation examined the case of Moira Akers, a Maryland mother who was charged with murder and child abuse. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison after prosecutors cited a lung float test as part of the evidence against her. Akers had insisted that her baby was stillborn.These lungs floated, the prosecutor said during closing arguments. They floated because this child had breathed and was alive after he was delivered at home that day.In February, the Maryland Supreme Court granted Akers a new trial, though it didnt rule on the use of the lung float test and instead focused on Akers abortion search history and lack of prenatal care. A spokesperson for the Howard County states attorneys office did not answer questions about the position paper or whether prosecutors plan to use the results of the lung float test at Akers new trial, which is scheduled for June.ProPublica also wrote about Latice Fisher, who had delivered her baby in the toilet and told her husband, who then called 911. The medical examiner in Fishers case performed the lung float test. Parts of the lungs floated and parts didnt. The medical examiner ruled that the baby was born alive and died from asphyxiation. A grand jury indicted Fisher on second-degree murder charges.Fishers attorneys wrote to Scott Colom, district attorney for the 16th Circuit Court of Mississippi, about the tests shortcomings, prompting Colom to do more research. He dismissed the charges against Fisher in 2019 and then presented the case and details about the lung float test to another grand jury, which chose not to indict her.The position paper, Colom said, provides much-needed guidance around the test, especially in areas like his, where people have been wrongfully prosecuted and medical examiners are not always forensic experts.Its important that we now have clarity on it, he said. Once the momentum gets towards a prosecution, it does take a bit of courage to stop that train and go back in another direction.The post Medical Examiners Warn That Controversial Lung Float Test Could Be Dangerous appeared first on ProPublica.

North Carolina voters have chosen Democrats in three straight elections for governor; the states Republican-led legislature has countered by siphoning off some of the powers that traditionally came with the job.These power grabs have had a profound effect on both democracy in the state and on the everyday lives of North Carolina residents, Democrats argue.The changes are weakening environmental protections, raising energy costs, and politicizing election administration, Josh Stein, North Carolinas governor, said in a text message responding to questions from ProPublica.Republican leaders in the General Assembly did not respond to requests for comment or emailed questions about the power shifts. In the past, they have defended these actions as reflecting the will of voters, with the senate president describing one key bill as balancing appointment power between the legislative and executive branches.Read MoreInside the North Carolina GOPs Decade-Long Push to Seize Power From the States Democratic GovernorsFormer state Sen. Bob Rucho, a Republican picked to sit on the state elections board after lawmakers shifted control from Stein to the Republican state auditor, said the changes would fix problems created by Democrats.Republicans are very proud of whats been accomplished, Rucho said. Shifting authority over the elections board, he argued, would reestablish a level of confidence in the electoral process that Democrats had lost.ProPublica recently chronicled the nearly 10-year push to take over the board, which sets rules and settles disputes in elections in the closely divided swing state. Decisions made by the boards new leadership particularly on the locations and numbers of early voting sites could affect outcomes in the 2026 midterms.Below, we examine how other power transfers driven by North Carolinas Republican legislature are reshaping everything from the regulations that protect residents drinking water to the rates they pay for electricity to the culture of their state university system.How North Carolinas Governor Got Weaker Over the Past DecadeProPublica tracked 29 executive powers and prerogatives traditionally held by North Carolinas governor and other Democrats that have been targeted by its Republican-majority legislature since the end of 2016. We found many have been stripped away, leaving the governor the nations weakest.Note: Data covers December 2016 to December 2025. Sources: ProPublica review of North Carolina legislation and court cases; expert interviews. Chris Alcantara/ProPublicaEnvironmental Management CommissionWhat it is: The Environmental Management Commission adopts rules that protect the states air and water, such as those that regulate industries discharging potentially carcinogenic chemicals in rivers.Power transfer: In October 2023, Republican legislators passed a law shifting the power to appoint the majority of the commissions members from the governor to themselves and the states commissioner of agriculture, who is a Republican.Whats happened since: The new Republican-led commission has stymied several efforts by the states Department of Environmental Quality to regulate a potentially harmful chemical, 1,4-dioxane, in drinking water.Advocates for businesses, including the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, had criticized some regulations and urged the commission to intervene. Clean water is worth the cost, but regulators should not arbitrarily establish a level that is low for the sake of being low, the chamber said in a press release.The Southern Environmental Law Center, which has pressed the state to regulate the chemical, has said the commissions rulings are crippling the states ability to protect its waterways, drinking water sources, and communities from harmful pollution.Utilities CommissionWhat it is: The North Carolina Utilities Commission regulates the rates and services of the states public utilities, which include providers of electricity, natural gas, water and telephone service. The commission also oversees movers, brokers, ferryboats and wastewater.Power transfer: In June 2025, a trial court sided with the General Assembly in allowing a law passed in 2024 to take effect, removing the governors power to appoint a majority of the commissions members and transferring that power to legislative leaders and the state treasurer, who is a Republican.Whats happened since: The states primary utility, Duke Energy, has backed off from some plans to rely more on clean energy and retire coal-fired power plants. In November, the company said it would seek the commissions approval to raise rates by 15%.In response to a new resource plan the company filed in October, the executive director of NC WARN, a climate and environmental justice nonprofit, said in a statement that Dukes actions would cause power bills to double or triple over time and increase carbon emissions. The states governor and attorney general, both Democrats, have said they oppose the rate hike.Garrett Poorman, a spokesperson for Duke Energy, said that the company is focused on keeping costs as low as possible while meeting growing energy needs across our footprint and that the company had recently lowered its forecasted costs.The commission will decide whether to approve the proposed rate hikes in 2026.University of North Carolina SystemWhat it is: The University of North Carolina System encompasses 17 institutions and more than 250,000 students, including at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, considered one of best in the nation.Power transfer: Though the legislature has traditionally appointed the majority of the trustees for individual schools, the governor also made a share of these appointments.In 2016, the legislature passed a law that eliminated the governors ability to make university trustee appointments.In 2023, changes inserted into the state budget bill gave the legislature power to appoint all of the members of the state board that oversees community colleges and most of those colleges trustees. The governor had previously chosen some board members and trustees.Whats happened since: The system has created a center for conservative thought, repealed racial equity initiatives, suspended a left-leaning professor, gutted a civil rights center led by a professor long critical of Republican lawmakers and appointed politically connected Republicans to the boards.Republicans say the moves are reversing the systems long-term leftward drift.Ultimately, the board stays in for a while, and you change administrators, and then start to moderate the culture of the UNC schools, said David Lewis, a former Republican House member who helped drive the changes to the university system.Democrats, including former Gov. Roy Cooper, have criticized the board changes as partisan meddling.These actions will ultimately hurt our states economy and reputation, Cooper said in a 2023 press release.The post How GOP Lawmakers Power Transfers Are Reshaping Everything From Utilities to Environmental Regulation in North Carolina appeared first on ProPublica.

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2025-12-29T06:06:43Z ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Islamic State militants clashed with police in northwest Turkey on Monday, leaving three police officers and six militants dead, Turkeys interior minister said. At least eight other police officers and a night guard were wounded. The shooting occurred in Elmali district in Yalova province, south of Istanbul, as police stormed a house where the militants were hiding. Special forces from neighboring Bursa province were dispatched to reinforce the operation.Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the operation in Yalova was one out of more than 100 simultaneous raids carried out against IS suspects in 15 provinces across the country.The operation in Yalova was carried out with great care because women and children were inside the house where the militants were located, Yerlikaya said. All five women and six children were safely evacuated from the house, he said. All of the militants were Turkish nationals, the minister told reporters.The operation began at around 2 a.m. local time and was officially completed at 9:40 a.m, he added.Meanwhile, the Yalova Chief Public Prosecutors Office launched an investigation, assigning five prosecutors to lead the probe, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on the X social media platform. He said five people have been taken into custody as part of the investigation, without providing further information on the suspects. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his condolences for the police officers who were killed and vowed to press ahead with the fight against extremist groups.We will continue our fight against the bloodstained killers who threaten our nations peace and our states security both within our borders and beyond, with determination, comprehensively and without compromise, he said in a statement posted on X. As the confrontation spread into the streets, five schools in the area were closed for the day, private news channel NTV reported earlier. Authorities also cut off natural gas and electricity supplies as a precaution while civilians and vehicles were barred from entering the neighborhood, the report said.Last week, police launched scores of simultaneous raids, detaining 115 militants of the extremist group who were allegedly planning attacks targeting Christmas and New Years celebrations. Officials said the group had called for action, particularly against non-Muslims, during the celebrations.IS has carried out a series of deadly attacks in Turkey in recent years, including a shooting at an Istanbul nightclub during New Year celebrations on Jan. 1, 2017, which killed 39 people.

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, left, Thai counterpart Sihasak Phuangketkeow, right, and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi pose for a photograph in Yunnan province, China, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AKP via AP)2025-12-29T06:40:54Z HONG KONG (AP) Foreign ministers from Cambodia and Thailand convened with their Chinese counterpart on Monday as the Beijing government, building on its expanding presence in global diplomacy, sought to play a stronger mediating role in the violent border dispute between the two Southeast Asian countries.The trilateral meeting, held in a southwestern Chinese province north of the contested border, came two days after Thailand and Cambodia signed a fresh ceasefire agreement to end weeks of fighting that killed more than 100 people and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands on both sides of the border.We havent resolved everything, but I think we are making progress in the right direction and we have to keep up the momentum, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told reporters after the meeting in Yunnan province. He said chief priorities are to ensure a sustained ceasefire and continue rebuilding trust. It was noteworthy that the meeting was held in Yunnan, nearer to the dispute and to Southeast Asia, rather than in Beijing, the Chinese capital and seat of government about 2,500 kilometers (1,300 miles) northeast. The meetings represented Chinas latest efforts to strengthen its role as an international mediator and, in particular, its influence in Asian regional crises. As China grows into an economic and political force globally, Beijing has spent the past decade and more working in various ways to increase its voice as a third party in diplomatic matters. Hopes for peace expressedDuring the meeting Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for joint efforts to promote regional peace, stability and development language typical for China in such situations.Allowing the flames of war to be reignited is absolutely not what the people of the two countries want and not what China, as your friend, wants to see. Therefore, we should resolutely look ahead and move forward, Wang said. Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said he believed the latest ceasefire would last and would create an environment for both nations to resume previously agreed-upon ways to settle differences, according to a Chinese interpreter. We dont want to return to the past, which means that no one wants to see this fighting happening again. Therefore, what is important is that this ceasefire is to be permanent and must be firmly respected and implemented, Prak Sokhornn said after the talks, speaking to Cambodian state media TVK.Sihasak also expressed hopes for peace with neighboring countries.After the meeting, Chinese official news agency Xinhua quoted Wang as saying the three nations reached a consensus to move forward with the ceasefire without reversal, maintain dialogue and restore ties between the two Southeast Asian countries step by step. A statement released by Xinhua, the Cambodian state news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse and the Thai Foreign Ministry said the three sides had in-depth exchanges on maintaining the ceasefire. The next key step was to work toward resuming normal exchanges, it said. China said it was ready to provide immediate humanitarian assistance for displaced residents, the statement said. The countries also agreed to take more robust measures to combat transnational crimes, including telecom and online scams, the statement said. Sihasak and Prak Sokhonn had also held separate meetings with Wang on Sunday, the first day of the two-day gathering. Disputes persistThe two Southeast Asian countries originally reached a ceasefire in July. It was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. The preliminary pact was followed by a more detailed October agreement.But Thailand and Cambodia carried on a bitter propaganda war, with minor, cross-border violence continuing. The tensions erupted into heavy fighting in early December. The Saturday agreement calls for Thailand, after the ceasefire has held for 72 hours, to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers who have been held prisoner since the earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side. The agreement also calls on both sides to adhere to international agreements against deploying land mines, a major concern of Thailand. Sihasak said Thailand would start repatriating the 18 Cambodian soldiers if the ceasefire could be maintained for 72 hours with no additional incidents. Thailand would also ask Cambodia to facilitate the return of remaining Thais in the Cambodian border city of Poipet, he said. Also Monday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet issued a statement to all Cambodian combatants along the Thai border. Even though we can still fight, he said, as a small country we still have nothing to gain from prolonging the fighting for a long time. ___Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wasamon Audjarint in Bangkok and Liu Zheng in Beijing contributed to this report. KANIS LEUNG Leung covers Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China for The Associated Press. She is based in Hong Kong. twitter

This is so fucking stressful, Jason said. On a group call, all four of usJason, Sam, Emanuel, and mewere bidding on something that had long eluded us. 404media.com. Not the .co domain we launched with two years ago because thats all we could afford. But a fully-fledged .com.That September day I was on holiday in an Airbnb. Sam was in San Diego to report on the sentencing of a high profile sex trafficker. Emanuel was home. Jason was also at home and eating a bagel. Ordinarily we wouldnt be able to buy a .com for two main reasons: they are typically quite expensive, and when we created our company the domain was already in use by someone else.Fortunately for us, that company had seemingly moved on to other things, and the domain was up for auction. I got some emails from our domain registrar about the auction a few days before, and some 404 Media readers contacted us about it too. This was our chance.But an auction is a very different experience to just buying the domain outright. We would be trying to beat other people or bots. We thought that might include those kindly trying to buy the domain on our behalf, or others trying to take it from underneath us. And we had no idea how high the price might go.I was in charge of placing the bids themselves. Soon we found I wasnt able to place bids of a certain size because, we later learned, the account didnt have the necessary level of verification to do so. We were leading with a bid of $1,207.A few minutes into our group call, Jason started recording it.I think we should just get 202 Media if this doesnt work, he said.Okay, under one minute until the five minute extension is over, I added.Emanuel led a ten second countdown.Your bid won, I read from the screen. Everyone cheered. Here is what we said immediately afterwards:A transcript of some of the group call.Right now, our .com domain just redirects to the .co one. Maybe well put an Easter Egg or something else fun on it soon, but we also had practical reasons for buying it. The first is that were proud to say 404 Media is a well known publication at this point, and we dont want anyone else parking and abusing the .com domain that many people may end up at by mistake. The second is that, understandably, many people mistakenly email us at the @404media.com domain rather than the @404media.co domain, so now well be able to catch those lost emails and save us all a lot of heartache.But our ability to buy the domain signifies something important: that we are able to grow, bit by bit, sustainably. When we launched 404 Media in August 2023, we each put $1,000 in. That was to pay for the domain, the content management system (CMS) and website host we use called Ghost, some other add-ons that automatically send people emails, and thats about it. Buying a .com was a pipedream then, just like running a website and podcast years later was.Since then weve built a fulltext RSS feed for our subscribers (something that didnt exist with Ghost before); run multiple in-person events; and most recently produced a physical zine. All while reporting and writing cutting edge journalism on technology and AI and how they are really impacting humans every day.Thank you to all of our paying subscribers who make it possible for us to write impactful journalism every day. And let us buy a new domain.

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NEW YORKIn an effort to bring greater transparency to the citys public transit system, New Yorks Metropolitan Transportation Authority released a statement Monday admitting that large parts of its subway map had been fabricated. Despite the common belief that the map is an accurate representation of the nations largest subway system, it in fact depicts many stations and routes we completely made up, especially in the outer boroughs, said MTA chief Janno Lieber, who added that the creators of the map were under a lot of pressure to meet a deadline, and that actually charting out all 665 miles of track would be an unreasonably large undertaking. Frankly, no one I know has ever ridden farther than the Carroll Street Station in Brooklyn. Were not really sure whats out there, but we figured wed better put something on the map. Now we see the error in our ways. It was a mistake to trick New Yorkers into believing the G train existsit does not. And I mean, come on, does Hoyt-Schermerhorn sound like a real station name to anybody? Chances are we made that one up too. At press time, a sheepish Lieber revealed what he called the MTAs only 100% verified map, which was entirely blank apart from a single train line running directly from New York City Hall to New Jersey.The post MTA Admits To Fabricating Large Parts Of Subway Map appeared first on The Onion.

Nature, Published online: 29 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-04147-5Researchers are investigating whether GLP-1 drugs can help blunt cravings for nicotine, alcohol and opioids.