Adorable, fun ... and tasty? CFB bowl game mascots are sometimes as memorable as the game itself.

Justice Department officials have been considering whether to bring new charges against James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, after a different judge dismissed the original case against him.

Blackhawks star Connor Bedard grasped his right shoulder as he left the ice after Friday night's 3-2 loss to the Blues, and the team has ruled him out for Saturday's game against Detroit.

Jets from the Myanmar military dropped two bombs on the facility in Mrauk-U, in what rebels and witnesses called a deliberate attack on civilians.

Kim Jong-un hugged the returning troops and awarded the countrys highest medal to nine soldiers killed in action.

Village security volunteers and resident run into shelter while the blasts sounded too close in Buriram province, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, following renewed border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)2025-12-13T07:35:01Z SURIN, Thailand (AP) Fighting continued to rage Saturday morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after U.S. President Donald Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries for a ceasefire.Thai officials have said they did not agree to a ceasefire, and Cambodia has not commented on Trumps claim. Its defense ministry instead said Thai jets carried out airstrikes Saturday morning. Cambodian media reported Trumps claim without elaborating.The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire promoted by Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July over longstanding territorial disputes.The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended. About two dozen people have officially been reported killed in this past weeks fighting, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides of the border. The Thai military acknowledges 11 of its troops have been killed, while estimating there have been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia has not announced military casualties, but has said at least 11 civilians have been killed and 76 wounded. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on Trump on Friday, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, had announced an agreement to restart the ceasefire. They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, Trump said in his Truth Social post.Trumps claim came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Anutin had after his call with Trump said he had explained Thailands reasons for fighting and said peace would depend on Cambodia ceasing its attacks first. The Thai foreign ministry later explicitly disputed Trumps claim that a ceasefire had been reached. Anutins busy day on Friday including dissolving Parliament so new elections could be held early next year. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, in comments posted early Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire.He said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and a night earlier with Malaysias Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and thanked both for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand.Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed, Hun Manet wrote.Thailand has been carrying out airstrikes on what it says are strictly military targets, while Cambodia has been firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets that have caused havoc but relatively few casualties. BM-21 rocket launchers can fire up to 40 rockets at a time with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These rockets cannot be precisely targeted and have landed largely in areas from where most people have already been evacuated. However, the Thai army announced Saturday that BM-21 rockets had hit a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two civilians who had heard warning sirens and had been running toward a bunker for safety.Peck reported from Bangkok. Sopheng Cheang in Serei Saophoan, Cambodia, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

This article is a partnership between Reveal and 404 Media.Jesus Gutirrez, 23, was walking home one morning from a Chicago gym when he noticed a gray Cadillac SUV with no license plates. He kept walking, shrugging it off. Then the car pulled over and two men got out.The federal immigration officials told him not to run. They then peppered Gutirrez with questions: Where are you going? Where are you coming from? Do you have your ID on you?Gutirrez is a U.S. citizen. He told the officials this. He didnt have any identification on him, but, panicking, he tried to find a copy on his phone. The agents put him into the car, where another two agents were waiting, and handcuffed him. Just sit there and be quiet, they said.Without Gutirrezs ID, the agents resorted to another approach. They took a photo of his face. A short while later, the agents got their answer: Oh yeah, hes right. Hes saying the right thing. He does got papers, Gutirrez recalled the agents saying.Has this happened to you or someone you know? Do you have any videos of ICE or CBP scanning people's faces? Do you work for either agency? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me an email at joseph@404media.co.Gutirrezs experience, which he recounted to Reveal, is one snapshot of something that federal authorities have acknowledged to 404 Media that they are doing across the country: scanning peoples faces with a facial recognition app that brings up their name, date of birth, alien number if theyre an immigrant, and whether they have an order of deportation. 404 Media previously obtained internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) emails revealing the agencys facial recognition app, called Mobile Fortify, and catalogued social media videos showing agents scanning peoples faces to verify their citizenship.Now, Reveal has spoken to a person who appears to have had that technology used against them. Gutirrez sent Reveal a copy of his passport to verify his citizenship.You just grabbing, like, random people, dude, Gutirrez said he told the agents after they scanned his face. The officials eventually dropped off Gutirrez after driving for around an hour. For several days, he didnt go anywhere, not even to the gym. Gutirrez told his father at the time that he got kidnapped.This is a flagrant violation of rights and incompatible with a free society, said Nathan Freed Wessler, deputy project director for the American Civil Liberties Unions (ACLU) Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. Immigration agents have no business scanning our faces with this glitchy, privacy-destroying technologyespecially after often stopping people based on nothing more than the color of their skin or the neighborhood they live in.A screenshot of an internal DHS document obtained by 404 Media. Available here.Mobile Fortify is available to ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials on their work-issued phones. After an agent scans someones face, the app queries an unprecedented collection of U.S. government databases, including one run by the FBI and another that checks for outstanding state warrants, according to user manuals seen by 404 Media. The app runs the persons face against a database of 200 million images, according to internal ICE material 404 Media viewed.The photograph shown [in the apps results] is the photograph that was taken during the individuals most recent encounter with CBP, however the matching will be against all pictures CBP may maintain on the individual, said an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document 404 Media obtained. The app turns the system usually used for verifying travelers at the border inward against people on U.S. streets.The need for Mobile Fortify, according to that internal document, is for immigration authorities to identify people who can be removed from the country. But it acknowledges that it may be used against U.S. citizens, like in Gutirrezs case.It is conceivable that a photo taken by an agent using the Mobile Fortify mobile application could be that of someone other than an alien, including U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, the document reads.PRX Play - Embeddable PlayerEmbeddable PlayerRep. Bennie G. Thompson, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, previously told 404 Media that ICE will prioritize the results of the app over birth certificates. ICE officials have told us that an apparent biometric match by Mobile Fortify is a definitive determination of a persons status and that an ICE officer may ignore evidence of American citizenshipincluding a birth certificateif the app says the person is an alien, he said. ICE using a mobile biometrics app in ways its developers at CBP never intended or tested is a frightening, repugnant, and unconstitutional attack on Americans rights and freedoms.404 Media has found other instances in which ICE and CBP agents have used a facial recognition app to verify someones identity and citizenship. In one that appeared to take place in Chicago, a Border Patrol officer stopped two young men on bicycles before asking his colleague, Can you do facial? The other official then scanned one of the boys faces, according to a video posted on social media. In another, a group of ICE officers surrounded a man driving a car. He said he was an American citizen. Alright, we just got to verify that, one of them said. A second then pointed their phones camera at the man and asked him to remove his hat. If you could take your hat off, it would be a lot quicker, the officer said. Im going to run your information.In Gutirrezs case, there is little indication that he was stopped for any reason beyond the color of his skin. He is of Mexican descent, he said. Stops of people based on their race, use of Spanish, or location (such as a car wash or bus stop) have become known among critics as Kavanaugh stops, after Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh justified the method in a September opinion.ICE and CBP Agents Are Scanning Peoples Faces on the Street To Verify CitizenshipVideos on social media show officers from ICE and CBP using facial recognition technology on people in the field. One expert described the practice as pure dystopian creep.404 MediaJoseph CoxThe Government sometimes makes brief investigative stops to check the immigration status of those who gather in locations where people are hired for day jobs; who work or appear to work in jobs such as construction, landscaping, agriculture, or car washes that often do not require paperwork and are therefore attractive to illegal immigrants; and who do not speak much if any English, the opinion says. (Gutirrez speaks Spanish but conducted his interview with Reveal in English.) If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, they promptly let the individual go. If the individual is illegally in the United States, the officers may arrest the individual and initiate the process for removal.The ACLUs Wessler added: In the United States, we should be free to go about our business without government agents scanning our faces, accessing our personal information, saving our photos for years, and putting us at risk of misidentifications and wrongful detentions. ICE and CBPs use of Mobile Fortify on the streets of America should end immediately.DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement, DHS is not going to confirm or deny law enforcement capabilities or methods. CBP said that the agency built the app to support ICE operations and that it has been used by ICE around the country.A CBP spokesperson added in a statement, Mobile Fortify is a law enforcement app developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for ICE agents and officers. It helps field personnel gather information during immigration inspections, but agents must consider all circumstances before deciding on someone's immigration status. CBP personnel working with ICE teams can access the app after completing required training. Further details cannot be shared due to law enforcement sensitivities.Gutirrez said that at the end of his encounter, while he was still in the car, the agents were laughing.

Despite a brilliant 39-point performance from Stephen Curry, who returned from a quad injury, the Warriors lost 127-120 to the Wolves after allowing 39 fourth-quarter points.

Emergency crews, including National Guard soldiers, wort in a neighborhood flooded by the Skagit River on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)2025-12-13T05:03:57Z BURLINGTON, Wash. (AP) When Eddie Wicks and his wife went to bed in their house next to the Snoqualmie River on a Washington state farm known for its sunflower mazes and Christmas trees, they werent too worried about the flooding heading their way.After 30 years living in the city of Duvall northeast of Seattle, their family had plenty of experience with floods and always made it through largely unscathed. But as they moved their two donkeys to higher ground and their eight goats to their outdoor kitchen, the water began to rise much quicker than anything theyd experienced before.It was hours, not days, he said. In four hours it had to come up 4 feet.As the water engulfed their home Thursday afternoon, deputies from the King County Sheriffs Office marine rescue dive unit were able to rescue them and their dog, taking them on a boat the half mile (800 meters) across their field, which had been transformed into a lake. They were among the thousands forced to evacuate as an unusually strong atmospheric river dumped a foot (30 centimeters) or more of rain in parts of western and central Washington over several days this week and swelled rivers, inundating communities and prompting dramatic rescues from rooftops and vehicles. The record floodwaters were expected to continue to slowly recede Saturday, but authorities warn that waters will remain high for days, and that there is still danger from potential levee failures or mudslides. There is also the threat of more rain forecast for Sunday. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on Still, no deaths have been reported. Authorities have yet to estimate the costs, but photos and videos show widespread damage, with entire communities or neighborhoods flooded around western and central Washington. Officials have conducted dozens of water rescues, debris and mudslides have closed highways, and raging torrents have washed out roads and bridges. President Donald Trump has signed the states request for an emergency declaration, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said.Officials issued go now orders Wednesday to tens of thousands of residents in the Skagit River flood plain north of Seattle, including the farming city of Burlington, home to nearly 10,000 people. By Friday morning, muddy water overflowed a slough and rushed into homes, prompting more urgent warnings for Burlington.The rain arriving Sunday will cause rivers to rise again, said Robert Ezelle, director of the Washington Military Departments emergency management division.National Guard fans out to help with evacuationsNational Guard members knocked on hundreds of doors in Burlington early Friday to tell residents about the evacuation notice and help transport them to a shelter. By late morning the evacuation order was lifted for part of the city and waters were slowly receding. The Skagit River drains a wide swath of the rugged Cascade Range before winding west across broad, low-lying farmlands and tulip fields on its way to Puget Sound. Cities like Burlington sit on that delta, leaving them especially vulnerable to floods.The river crested overnight Thursday into Friday at 37 feet (11.2 meters) in the valleys biggest city, Mount Vernon, surpassing the previous record by a few inches. A flood wall held fast and protected the downtown area. About 1,000 Burlington residents had to evacuate in the middle of the night, Ferguson said. The water was reportedly 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 centimeters) deep in certain areas as it flooded homes, police department spokesperson Michael Lumpkin said.Mario Rincn had been staying at a hotel with his family, including a week-old infant. They returned to their Burlington property Friday but couldnt get inside, as murky floodwaters reached part-way up the first floor. Its going to be a few days before the water recedes, he said. Near the U.S.-Canada border, Sumas, Nooksack and Everson which together have about 6,500 residents were inundated. The border crossing at Sumas was closed.In a social media message, Sumas Mayor Bruce Bosch acknowledged community members were anxious to return to their homes. Hang in there, he wrote.In King County, crews worked through the night to fill a sinkhole on a levee along the Green River in the Seattle suburb of Tukwila, County Executive Girmay Zahilay said Friday. Crews reach people by boat and by helicopterAuthorities across the state in recent days have rescued people from cars and homes.Helicopters rescued two families on Thursday from the roofs of homes in Sumas that had been flooded, according Frank Cain Jr., battalion chief for Whatcom County Fire District 14.Near Deming, two homes collapsed into the Nooksack River as erosion undercut them. No one was inside at the time.Climate change has been linked to some intense rainfall. Scientists say that without specific study they cannot directly link a single weather event to climate change, but in general its responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme storms, droughts, floods and wildfires.___Rush reported from Portland, Oregon, and Golden from Seattle. Associated Press writers Gene Johnson in Seattle and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report. CEDAR ATTANASIO Attanasio covers the state of Washington for The Associated Press with a focus on immigration and the environment. He uses remote sensing to support the APs global coverage. twitter instagram facebook mailto CLAIRE RUSH Rush is an Associated Press reporter covering Oregon state government and general news in the Pacific Northwest more broadly. twitter mailto

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., prepares to speak to reporters following a strategy session with House Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-12-12T22:03:16Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Senate failed to get anywhere on the health care issue this week. Now its the Houses turn to show what it can do. Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a Republican alternative late Friday, a last-minute sprint as his party refuses to extend the enhanced tax subsidies for those who buy policies through the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, which are expiring at the end of the year. Those subsidies help lower the cost of coverage. Johnson, R-La., huddled behind closed doors in the morning as he did days earlier this week working to assemble the package for consideration as the House focuses the final days of its 2025 work on health care. House Republicans are tackling the real drivers of health care costs to provide affordable care, Johnson said in a statement announcing the package. He said it would be voted on next week. Later Friday, though, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said: House Republicans have introduced toxic legislation that is completely unserious, hurts hardworking America taxpayers and is not designed to secure bipartisan support. If the bill reaches the House floor, I will strongly oppose it. Time is running out for Congress to act. Democrats engineered the longest federal government shutdown ever this fall in a failed effort to force Republicans to the negotiating table on health care. But after promising votes, the Senate failed this week to advance both a Republican health care plan and the Democratic-offered bill to extend the tax credits for three years.Now, with just days to go, Congress is about to wrap up its work with no consensus solution in sight. What Republicans are proposingThe House Republicans offered a 100-plus-page package that focuses on long-sought GOP proposals to enhance access to employer-sponsored health insurance plans and clamp down on so-called pharmacy benefit managers.Republicans propose expanding access to whats referred to as association health plans, which would allow more small businesses and self-employed individuals to band together and purchase health coverage. Proponents say such plans increase the leverage businesses have to negotiate a lower rate. But critics say the plans provide skimpier coverage than what is required under the Affordable Care Act.The Republicans proposal would also require more data from pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, as a way to help control drug costs. Critics say PBMs have padded their bottom line and made it more difficult for independent pharmacists to survive.Additionally, the GOP plan includes mention of cost-sharing reductions for some lower-income people who rely on Obamacare, but those do not take effect until January 2027. The emerging package from the House Republicans does not include an extension of an enhanced tax credit for millions of Americans who get insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Put in place during the COVID-19 crisis, that enhanced subsidy expires Dec. 31, leaving most families in the program facing more than double their current out-of-pocket premiums, and in some cases, much more. What Trump wantsPresident Donald Trump has said he believes Republicans are going to figure out a better plan than Obamacare something he has promised for years but offered few details beyond his idea for providing Americans with stipends to help buy insurance. I want to see the billions of dollars go to people, not to the insurance companies, Trump said late Friday during an event at the White House. And I want to see the people go out and buy themselves great healthcare.The president did not comment directly on the Houses new plan. He has repeatedly touted his idea of sending money directly to Americans to help offset the costs of health care policies, rather than extending the tax credits for those buying policies through Obamacare. Its unclear how much money Trump envisions. The Senate GOP proposal that failed to advance would have provided payments to new health savings accounts of $1,000 a year for adult enrollees, or $1,500 for those ages 50 to 64.It appeared there were no such health savings accounts in the new House GOP plan. Political pressure is building for manyGoing Johnsons route has left vulnerable House Republicans representing key battleground districts in a tough spot. Frustrated with the delays, a group of more centrist GOP lawmakers is aligning with Democrats to push their own proposals for continuing the tax credits, for now, so that Americans dont face rising health care costs.They are pursuing several paths for passing a temporary ACA subsidy extension, co-sponsoring a handful of bills. They are also signing onto so-called discharge petitions that could force a floor vote if a majority of the House signs on. Such petitions are designed to get around the majoritys control and are rarely successful, but this year has proven to be an exception. Lawmakers, for example, were able to use a discharge petition to force a vote on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files held by the Department of Justice. One petition, filed by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., had signatures from 12 Republicans and 12 Democrats as of Friday afternoon. It would force a vote on a bill that includes a two-year subsidy extension and contains provisions designed to combat fraud in the ACA marketplace. There are also restrictions for PBMs, among other things.Another petition from Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., has 39 signatures and is broadly bipartisan. Its a simpler proposal that would force a vote on a one-year ACA enhanced subsidy extension and would include new income caps limiting who qualifies for the enhanced credit.Both discharge petitions have enough Republicans support that they would likely succeed if Jeffries encouraged his caucus to jump on board. So far, hes not tipping his hand. Were actively reviewing those two discharge petitions and well have more to say about it early next week, Jeffries said.Meanwhile, Jeffries is pushing Democrats own discharge petition, which has 214 signatures and would provide for a clean three-year subsidy extension. No Republicans have signed onto that one. And as Republicans made clear in the Senate this week, a three-year extension without changes to the program has no chance of passing their chamber. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Yassin Marouf, 23, who lost his left foot and suffered a severe injury to his right leg after being hit by Israeli shelling in May, lies in a tent surrounded by his family in Zawaida, central Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-12-13T05:13:09Z NUSEIRAT, Gaza Strip (AP) Sitting in her wheelchair, Haneen al-Mabhouh dreams of rebuilding her family, of cradling a new baby. She dreams of walking again. But with her leg gone, her life in Gaza is on hold, she says, as she waits to go abroad for further treatment.An Israeli airstrike in July 2024 smashed her home in central Gaza as she and her family slept. All four of her daughters were killed, including her 5-month-old baby. Her husband was severely burned. Al-Mabhouhs legs were crushed under the rubble, and doctors had to amputate her right leg above the knee.For the past year and a half, I have been unable to move around, to live like others. For the past year and a half, I have been without children, she said, speaking at her parents home.The 2-month-old ceasefire in Gaza has been slow to bring help for thousands of Palestinians who suffered amputations from Israeli bombardment over the past two years. The World Health Organization estimates there are some 5,000 to 6,000 amputees from the war, 25% of them children. Those who lost limbs are struggling to adapt, faced with a shortage of prosthetic limbs and long delays in medical evacuations out of Gaza. The WHO said a shipment of essential prosthetic supplies recently made it into Gaza. That appears to be the first significant shipment for the past two years. Previously, Israel had let in almost no ready-made prosthetic limbs or material to manufacture limbs since the war began, according to Loay Abu Saif, the head of the disability program at Medical Aid for Palestinians, or MAP, and Nevin Al Ghussein, acting director of the Artificial Limbs and Polio Center in Gaza City. The Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid, known as COGAT, did not respond when asked how many prosthetic supplies had entered during the war or about its policies on such supplies. My future is paralyzedAl-Mabhouh was asleep with her baby girl in her arms when the strike hit their home in Nuseirat, she said. For several weeks while recovering in the hospital, al-Mabhouh had no idea her children had been killed. She underwent multiple surgeries. Her hand still has difficulty moving. Her remaining leg remains shattered, held together with rods. She needs a bone graft and other treatments that are only available outside of Gaza. She was put on the list for medical evacuation 10 months ago but still hasnt gotten permission to leave Gaza.Waiting for her chance to go, she lives at her parents house. She needs help changing clothes and cant even hold a pen, and remains crushed by grief over her daughters. I never got to hear her say mama, see her first tooth or watch her take her first steps, she said of her baby. She dreams of having a new child but cant until she gets treatment. Its my right to live, to have another child, to regain what I lost, to walk, just to walk again, she said. Now my future is paralyzed. They destroyed my dreams. Medical evacuations remain slow The ceasefire has hardly brought any increase in medical evacuations for the 16,500 Palestinians the U.N. says are waiting to get vital treatment abroad not just amputees, but patients suffering many kinds of chronic conditions or wounds. As of Dec. 1, 235 patients have been evacuated since the ceasefire began in October, just under five a day. In the months before that, the average was about three a day.Israel last week said it was ready to allow patients and other Palestinians to leave Gaza via the Israeli-held Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt. But its unsure that will happen because Egypt, which controls the crossings other side, demands Rafah also be opened for Palestinians to enter Gaza as called for under the ceasefire deal.Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, the WHOs representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, told The Associated Press that the backlog is caused by the lack of countries to host the evacuated patients. He said new medevac routes need to be opened, especially to the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, where hospitals are ready to receive patients. For those waiting, life grinds to a standstillYassin Marouf lies in a tent in central Gaza, his left foot amputated, his right leg barely held together with rods.The 23-year-old and his brother were hit by Israeli shelling in May as they returned from visiting their home in northern Gaza that their family had been forced to flee. His brother was killed. Marouf lay bleeding on the ground, as a stray dog attacked his mangled left leg.Doctors say his right leg will also need to be amputated, unless he can travel abroad for operations that might save it. Marouf said he cant afford painkillers and cant go to the hospital regularly to have his bandages changed as theyre supposed to.If I want to go to the bathroom, I need two or three people to carry me, he said.Mohamed al-Naggar had been pursuing an IT degree at the University of Palestine before the war. Seven months ago, shrapnel pierced his left leg during strikes on the house where his family was sheltering. Doctors amputated his leg above the knee. His right leg was also badly injured and shrapnel remains in parts of his body.Despite four surgeries and physical therapy, the 21-year-old al-Naggar cant move around.Id like to travel abroad and put on a prosthetic and graduate from college and be normal like young people outside Gaza, he said.Gaza faces prosthetic limb shortageSome 42,000 Palestinians have suffered life-changing injuries in the war, including amputations, brain trauma, spinal cord injuries and major burns, the WHO said in an October report.The situation has improved slightly for those with assistance needs but there is still a huge overall shortage of assistive products, such as wheelchairs, walkers and crutches. Gaza has only eight prosthetists able to manufacture and fit artificial limbs, the WHO said in a statement to the AP.The Artificial Limbs and Polio Center in Gaza City, one of two prosthetics centers still operating in the territory, received a shipment of material to manufacture limbs just before the war began in 2023, said its director, Al Ghussein. Another small shipment entered in December 2024, but nothing since.The center has been able to provide artificial limbs for 250 cases over the course of the war, but supplies are running out, Al Ghussein said. No pre-made prosthetic legs or arms have entered, according to Abu Saif of MAP, who said Israel does not ban them, but its procedures cause delays and in the end they ignore it.Ibrahim Khalif wants a prosthetic right leg so he can get a job doing manual labor or cleaning houses to support his pregnant wife and children.In January, he lost his leg when an Israeli airstrike hit Gaza City while he was out getting food. I used to be the provider for my kids, but now Im sitting here, Khalif said. I think of how I was and what Ive become. FATMA KHALED Khaled is based in the Middle East region. She covers humanitarian crises, conflict, among other news beats for The Associated Press. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

2025-12-13T07:57:25Z At least two people were killed in a drone attack in Russias southwestern Saratov region and parts of Ukraine went without power following targeted assaults on energy infrastructure, local authorities said Saturday, as U.S.-led peace talks on ending the war press on.The drone attack damaged a residential building and several windows were also blown out at a kindergarten and clinic, said Saratov regional Gov. Roman Busargin. Russias defense ministry said it had shot down 41 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight.In Ukraine, Russia launched overnight drone and missile strikes on five Ukrainian regions, targeting energy and port infrastructure.An attack on the Black Sea city of Odesa caused grain silos to catch fire at the port, according to Ukrainian deputy prime minister and reconstruction minister, Oleksiy Kuleba. The strikes also damaged energy infrastructure in settlements across the region, he said. Energy facilities in the Chernihiv, Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions also sustained damage, Kuleba said.Similar Russian strikes left parts of the Kherson region, including the regional capital, also called Kherson, without power Saturday, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call weaponizing the cold. The latest round of attacks came after Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Friday that Russian police and National Guard will stay on in eastern Ukraines Donbas and oversee the industry-rich region, even if a peace settlement ends Russias nearly four-year war in Ukraine. This underscores Moscows ambition to maintain its presence in Donbas post-war. Ukraine is likely to reject such a stance as U.S.-led negotiations drag on. Moscow will give its blessing to a ceasefire only after Ukraines forces have withdrawn from the front line, Ushakov said in comments published in Russian business daily Kommersant. Meanwhile, Germany is set to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday for talks as peace efforts gain momentum and European leaders seek to steer negotiations.For months, American negotiators have tried to navigate the demands of each side as U.S. President Donald Trump presses for a swift end to Russias war while growing increasingly exasperated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into a major obstacle over who keeps Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russian forces.

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A woman fills her car at a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)2025-12-13T03:22:54Z TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran introduced a new pricing tier Saturday for its nationally subsidized gasoline, attempting to rein in spiraling costs for the first time since a price hike in 2019 that sparked nationwide protests and a crackdown that reportedly killed over 300 people.Cheap gasoline has been viewed for generations as a birthright in Iran, sparking mass demonstrations as far back as 1964 when a price increase forced the shah to put military vehicles on the streets to replace those of striking taxi drivers. But Irans theocracy faces a growing squeeze from the countrys rapidly depreciating rial currency and economic sanctions imposed due to Tehrans nuclear program. That has made the cost of having some of the worlds cheapest gasoline at a few pennies per gallon that much more expensive. However, the governments hesitant move toward increasing prices likely signals it wants to avoid any confrontation with the nations exhausted public after Israel launched a 12-day war on the country in June. Our discontent has no result, fumed Saeed Mohammadi, a teacher who works as a taxi driver in his spare time to make ends meet. The government does whatever it likes. They dont ask people if they agree or not. New rate is still pennies per gallonAt four gas stations in northern Tehran on Saturday morning, drivers seemed relaxed as they refueled in clear, cold weather. Single police vehicles were stationed nearby at times, but there were no long lines at the pumps or other visible problems.The new pricing system implemented Saturday adds a third pricing level to the countrys long-running subsidy system. The revised structure allows motorists to continue receiving 60 liters (15 gallons) per month at the subsidized rate of 15,000 rials per liter, or 1.25 U.S. cents, and the next 100 liters (26 gallons) will remain at 30,000 rials a liter, or 2.5 cents.Anything purchased beyond that falls under the new pricing scheme of 50,000 rials per liter, or about 4 cents. Iran introduced fuel rationing back in 2007, but that has yet to ease demand for the ultracheap gasoline. Even at that new rate, Iranian gasoline prices remain among the lowest in the world. The difference between the cost of production and delivering the fuel and the price at the pump is the subsidy paid by Irans government. The Paris-based International Energy Agency ranked Iran as paying the worlds second-highest energy subsidy costs in 2022, behind only Russia. The IEA put Irans oil subsidies at $52 billion that year, with Iranian officials acknowledging tens of billions of dollars a year go toward artificially keeping energy prices low. Tehran-based economist Hossein Raghfar said that since 2009, the price of gasoline has grown 15-fold, offering a pessimistic view of the governments subsidies.Not only did it fail in lessening the budget deficit, but it also trapped the countrys economy in a negative loop of inflation and budget deficit, he said. Hamid Rezapour, a 35-year-old bank teller, said he believed Irans government had no choice except to increase the price to manage the countrys economy.It needs more money to pay for public needs. he said. To me, it is an indirect tax though in a messy economy it barely works. First hike since 2019 protests The move is the most significant change to Irans fuel-subsidy system since 2019, when a sudden 50% jump in subsidized prices and a 300% increase in the rate for purchases beyond quota sparked nationwide protests.Security forces cracked down on demonstrations across 100 cities and towns, with some protesters burning down gas stations and banks. The crackdown that followed killed at least 321 people, according to Amnesty International. Thousands were detained.Critics say every single 10,000-rial increase in gasoline prices will lead to as much as a 5% increase in inflation. Currently, the nation is struggling with an annual inflation rate of some 40%.But cheap gas provides an opportunity for employment for the country. There are 25 million vehicles, including 3 million public and government-affiliated cars, as well as 6 million motorbikes in the Islamic Republic. Reportedly, more than 8 million Iranians work as taxi drivers through online platforms, nearly 10% of the population. Uber, meanwhile, has 8.8 million drivers and couriers worldwide. It is a start for amending the trend of fuel consumption, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad earlier told journalists. Officials comments suggest Iran may seek steeper price increases in the future, as the government reviews prices every three months. Mohammad Reza Assadi, a 60-year-old taxi driver, offered skepticism that any further protest would make a change. People have poured into the streets over hikes in the gasoline price in the past, he said, but they returned home tired and hopeless later at dusk.___Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report. NASSER KARIMI Karimi reports and writes from Tehran, Iran, on various topics for The Associated Press. He began working for AP in 2003. twitter instagram mailto JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

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