Chevron logos are displayed at a gas station in Columbus, Miss., Monday, Oct. 23, 2023.(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)2026-01-05T15:05:10Z Shares of major U.S. companies in the energy sector are sharply higher Monday after President Donald Trump announced plans to take control of Venezuelas oil industry, saying that it would be American companies helping to revitalize it following the capture of President Nicols Maduro. While the U.S. action is unlikely to have an immediate impact on crude prices given the current glut in the market, it could upend energy markets and have an impact on the geopolitical landscape. The shale oil revolution made the U.S. the worlds largest crude producer. Recent, massive oil finds off the coast of Guyana are largely controlled by ExxonMobil and Chevron. U.S. control of the Venezuelan energy industry, which sits on the worlds largest oil reserves, could reshape the balance of power in international energy markets, analysts with JP Morgan wrote Monday. The combined total could position the US as a leading holder of global oil reserves, potentially accounting for about 30% of the worlds total if these figures are consolidated under US influence, JP Morgan wrote. This would mark a notable shift in global energy dynamics. Venezuelas oil industry is in disrepair after years of neglect and international sanctions. Yet some oil industry analysts believe that Venezuela could double or triple its current output of about 1.1 million barrels of oil a day and return the nation to historic production levels relatively quickly. With greater access to and influence over a substantial portion of global reserves, the US could potentially exert more control over oil market trends, helping to stabilize prices and keep them within historically lower ranges, according to JP Morgan. This increased leverage would not only enhance US energy security but could also reshape the balance of power in international energy markets.If or when that would happen, however, is more complex. Many energy analysts see a longer and more difficult road ahead. While the Trump administration has suggested large U.S. oil companies will go into Venezuela and spend billions to fix infrastructure, we believe political and other risks along with current relatively low oil prices could prevent this from happening anytime soon, wrote Neal Dingmann of William Blair. Material change to Venezuelan production will take a lot of time and millions of dollars of infrastructure improvement, he said. And any investment in Venezuelan infrastructure right now would take place in a weakened global energy market. Crude prices in the U.S. are down 20% compared with last year. The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude hasnt been above $70 since June, and hasnt touched $80 per barrel since the summer of 2024. A barrel of oil cost more than $130 in the leadup to the the U.S. housing crisis in 2008. Theres several factors that could impact Venezuelan production, including how quickly a government transition can take hold and how fast and willing multinational oil companies are to reenter the country, wrote John Freeman of Raymond James. At the opening bell, shares in the energy sector moved broadly higher, particularly companies with large refinery operations. Venezuela produces the kind of heavy crude oil thats needed for diesel fuel, asphalt and other fuels for heavy equipment. Diesel is in short supply around the world because of the sanctions on oil from Venezuela and Russia and because Americas lighter crude oil cant easily replace it.Big refiners like Valero, Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66 rose between 5% and 6% at the opening bell. Oilfield service companies, those that actually go into the field and do the drilling and upkeep, rose even more sharply. SLB and Halliburton rose between 7% and 8%. Major oil exploratory companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips rose between 2% and 4%. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Medical workers remove the debris in a damaged private clinic after, according to Ukrainian officials, a Russian drone hit a hospital room killing a patient, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)2026-01-05T14:10:15Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replaced the head of Ukraines security service Monday, continuing a top-level reshuffle ahead of a trip to Paris where he hoped to finalize agreements with allies on how to ensure that Russia doesnt repeat its invasion if a peace agreement is signed.Zelenskyy is trying to revamp his administration as the grinding war of attrition with Russia marks its fourth anniversary next month. He is keen to keep up the momentum of U.S.-led peace talks as well as sharpen Ukraines focus on defense if those efforts collapse.The Paris talks are expected to include the leaders of about 30 countries, dubbed the coalition of the willing, which are ready to provide security guarantees to keep Ukraine safe in the future.Key issues include whether countries are prepared to deploy troops inside or close to Ukraine and what the remit of any force overseeing a ceasefire might be. Russia has said it wont accept troops from NATO countries on Ukrainian soil. AP AUDIO: Zelenskyy replaces Ukraines security chief ahead of Paris talks AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports on a Russian attack on a Kyiv medical center. Zelenskyys changes at the top Zelenskyy also announced the appointment of Canadas former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland as Ukraines economic development adviser, describing her as an expert on the issues with significant experience in attracting investment and carrying out economic transformations.Amid Ukraines biggest top-level reshuffle in about six months, Lt. Gen. Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service, or SBU, announced his resignation on the agencys website.Zelenskyy published a decree on the presidential website appointing Ievhen Khmara, former head of the A Special Operations Center of the Security Service, as the agencys acting head.Under Maliuk, the SBU produced some stunning successes against Russia, including Operation Spiderweb, which Ukraine said damaged or destroyed 41 Russian military aircraft in coordinated strikes on four air bases. On Friday, Zelenskyy appointed the head of Ukraines military intelligence as his new chief of staff.Announcing the appointment of Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs to focus on security issues, developing its defense and security forces, and peace talks areas that are overseen by the office of the president.New adviser has been a staunch critic of PutinZelenskyy also is looking to strengthen the war-battered economy, including through projects in partnership with the U.S. and other countries. Freeland, who is of Ukrainian heritage and is a strong critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is a former journalist and Canadian lawmaker. Besides being a former deputy prime minister, she also served as Canadas minister of international trade, foreign minister and finance minister, and helped negotiate trade agreements with both Europe and the U.S.The Harvard University graduate has served as Canadas special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine a position outside the Cabinet in addition to her responsibilities as a lawmaker.Freeland and U.S. President Donald Trump have had a sometimes-fraught relationship that could work against Ukraine. In Trumps first term, Freeland played a key role in negotiating the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, and occasionally frustrated Trump aides with her tactics. During Trumps first meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office, the president recalled his own antipathy for Freeland. She was terrible, actually -- she was a terrible person, Trump said.When Freeland left former Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus Cabinet, Trump said on social media that her behavior was totally toxic.One opposition lawmaker in Canada argued that Freeland could not be a member of the countrys parliament and at the same time work as an adviser to a foreign government. Ukraine seeks to counter size of Russian forcesIn his New Years address, Zelenskyy said a proposed U.S.-brokered peace deal was 90% ready but warned that the remaining 10%, believed to include issues such as the future of disputed territory, would determine the outcome of the push for peace.Moscow hasnt been forthcoming about details of the negotiations. Officials have, however, restated Russias demands and insist there can be no ceasefire until a comprehensive settlement is agreed.The fighting has not subsided along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line that snakes along southern and eastern Ukraine.Zelenskyy said he met with Budanov on Monday to look at ways to reduce Russias edge in larger armed forces.Russia has one significant advantage in this war, namely the ability to put pressure on Ukraine with the scale of strikes, the scale of assaults, he said on social media. We have and must respond with more active use of technology, faster development of new types of weapons, new tactics.An overnight Russian drone strike at a private clinic in Kyivs Obolon district killed a 30-year-old old patient and injured three others, the capitals prosecutors office said Monday. Energy workers and repair crews worked across the country after Russian drones damaged energy infrastructure, causing more power disruptions for civilians in the bitter winter, Zelenskyy said. Russia fired nine ballistic missiles and 165 long-range drones at Ukraine overnight, the air force said Monday.Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at an industrial facility in Yelets, in Russias western Lipetsk region, according to regional Gov. Igor Artamonov. There were no casualties, he said.The Russian airports of Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod and Yaroslavl briefly suspended flights because of Ukrainian drone attacks, authorities said.The Russian Defense Ministry reported downing another 50 Ukrainian drones later Monday over the Belgorod, Kursk and Lipetsk regions.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine ILLIA NOVIKOV Novikov is an Associated Press reporter covering news in Ukraine since 2022. He is based in Kyiv. instagram mailto

A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot stands outside the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)2026-01-05T12:20:16Z WASHINGTON (AP) Approaching the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the official plaque honoring the police who defended democracy that day is nowhere to be found. Its not on display at the Capitol, as is required by law. Its whereabouts arent publicly known, though its believed to be in storage. A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot hangs outside the office of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot hangs outside the office of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 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 House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has yet to formally unveil the plaque. And the Trump administrations Department of Justice is seeking to dismiss a police officers lawsuit asking that it be displayed as intended. The Architect of the Capitol, which was responsible for obtaining and displaying the plaque, said in light of the federal litigation, it cannot comment.Determined to preserve the nations history, some 100 members of Congress, mostly Democrats, have taken it upon themselves to memorialize the moment. For months, theyve mounted poster board-style replicas of the Jan. 6 plaque outside their office doors, resulting in a Capitol complex awash with makeshift remembrances.On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on Jan. 6, 2021, reads the faux bronze stand-in for the real thing. Their heroism will never be forgotten. Jan. 6 void in the CapitolIn Washington, a capital city lined with monuments to the nations history, the plaque was intended to become a simple but permanent marker, situated near the Capitols west front, where some of the most violent fighting took place as rioters breached the building.But in its absence, the missing plaque makes way for something else entirely a culture of forgetting. Visitors can pass through the Capitol without any formal reminder of what happened that day, when a mob of President Donald Trumps supporters stormed the building trying to overturn the Republicans 2020 reelection defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. With memory left unchecked, it allows new narratives to swirl and revised histories to take hold. Five years ago, the jarring scene watched the world over was declared an insurrection by the then-GOP leader of the Senate, while the House GOP leader at the time called it his saddest day in Congress. But those condemnations have faded. A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot hangs outside the office of Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot hangs outside the office of Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 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 Trump calls it a day of love. And Johnson, who was among those lawmakers challenging the 2020 election results, is now the House speaker.The question of January 6 remains democracy was on the guillotine how important is that event in the overall sweep of 21st century U.S. history, said Douglas Brinkley, a professor of history at Rice University and noted scholar.Will January 6 be seen as the seminal moment when democracy was in peril? he asked. Or will it be remembered as kind of a weird one-off?Theres not as much consensus on that as one would have thought on the fifth anniversary, he said.Memories shift, but violent legacy lingersAt least five people died in the riot and its aftermath, including Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by police while trying to climb through a window toward the House chamber. More than 140 law enforcement officers were wounded, some gravely, and several died later, some by suicide.All told, some 1,500 people were charged in the Capitol attack, among the largest federal prosecutions in the nations history. When Trump returned to power in January 2025, he pardoned all of them within hours of taking office.Unlike the twin light beams that commemorated the Sept. 11, 2001, attack or the stand-alone chairs at the Oklahoma City bombing site memorial, the failure to recognize Jan. 6 has left a gap not only in memory but in helping to stitch the country back together.Thats why you put up a plaque, said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa. You respect the memory and the service of the people involved. Police sue over Jan. 6 plaque, DOJ seeks to dismissThe speakers office said in a statement late Monday the statute authorizing the plaque is not implementable and proposed alternatives also do not comply. Johnsons spokesman said if Democrats are serious about commemorating the police, theyre free to work with the appropriate committees to develop a framework for proper vetting and consideration.Lawmakers approved the plaque in March 2022 as part of a broader government funding package. The resolution said the U.S. owes its deepest gratitude to those officers, and it set out instructions for an honorific plaque listing the names of officers who responded to the violence that occurred. It gave a one-year deadline for installation at the Capitol.This summer, two officers who fought the mob that day sued over the delay.By refusing to follow the law and honor officers as it is required to do, Congress encourages this rewriting of history, said the claim by officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges. It suggests that the officers are not worthy of being recognized, because Congress refuses to recognize them. The Justice Department is seeking to have the case dismissed. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and others argued Congress already has publicly recognized the service of law enforcement personnel by approving the plaque and displaying it wouldnt alleviate the problems they claim to face from their work.It is implausible, the Justice Department attorneys wrote, to suggest installation of the plaque would stop the alleged death threats they claim to have been receiving.The department also said the plaque is required to include the names of all law enforcement officers involved in the response that day some 3,600 people. Makeshift memorials emergeLawmakers whove installed replicas of the plaque outside their offices said its important for the public to know what happened.There are new generations of people who are just growing up now who dont understand how close we came to losing our democracy on Jan 6, 2021, said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a member of the Jan. 6 committee, which was opposed by GOP leadership but nevertheless issued a nearly 1,000-page report investigating the run-up to the attack and the attempt to overturn the 2020 election. A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot stands outside the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) A replica plaque commemorating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot stands outside the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 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 Raskin envisions the Capitol one day holding tours around what happened. People need to study that as an essential part of American history, he said.Think about the dates in American history that we know only by the dates: Theres the 4th of July. Theres December 7th. Theres 9/11. And theres January 6th, said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-calif., who also served on the committee and has a plaque outside her office. They really saved my life, and they saved the democracy and they deserve to be thanked for it, she said.But as time passes, there are no longer bipartisan memorial services for Jan. 6. On Tuesday, the Democrats will reconvene members from the Jan. 6 committee for a hearing to examine ongoing threats to free and fair elections, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York announced. Its unlikely Republicans will participate.The Republicans under Johnson have tapped Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia to stand up their own special committee to uncover what the speaker calls the full truth of what happened. Theyre planning a hearing this month.We should stop this silliness of trying to whitewash history -- its not going to happen, said Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., who helped lead the effort to display the replica plaques.I was here that day so Ill never forget, he said. I think that Americans will not forget what happened.The number of makeshift plaques that fill the halls is a testimony to that remembrance, he said.Instead of one plaque, he said, theyve now got 100.

A line forms at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, as jury selection continues in the trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)2026-01-05T05:00:20Z CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) A Texas judge seated a jury Monday in the trial of a former school police officer in Uvalde who was part of the hesitant law enforcement response to one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history and has been charged with failing to protect children from the gunman.Adrian Gonzales, one of the first officers to respond to the 2022 attack, is charged with 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment in a rare prosecution of an officer accused of not doing more to save lives. Authorities waited more than an hour to confront the teenage shooter who killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary.Gonzales has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney has said the officer tried to save children that day.The panel of 12 jurors and four alternates were seated Monday evening by Judge Sid Harle, after hundreds of prospective jurors were asked what they knew about the response and their impressions of what happened. The judge had said the court was not looking for jurors who knew nothing about the shooting but wanted those who could be impartial. About 100 people were dismissed after saying they already formed opinions. One man said more officers should be on trial, while a teacher said she would throw herself in front of her students to protect them. Bill Turner, a special prosecutor, told potential jurors they would would need to consider whether the inaction of the officer proved harmful. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on If there is a duty to act and you fail to act, thats child endangerment, he said. The judge said the trial was expected to last about two weeks.Among the potential witnesses are FBI agents, rangers with the Texas Department of Public Safety, school employees and family members of the victims.Nearly 400 officers from state, local and federal law enforcement agencies responded to the school, but 77 minutes passed from the time authorities arrived until a tactical team breached the classroom and killed the shooter, Salvador Ramos. An investigation later showed that Ramos was obsessed with violence and notoriety in the months leading up to the attack. Gonzales and former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo were among the first on the scene, and they are the only two officers to face criminal charges over the response. Arredondos trial has not been scheduled.The charges against Gonzales carry up to two years in prison if he is convicted.Police and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott initially said swift law enforcement action killed Ramos and saved lives. But that version quickly unraveled as families described begging police to go into the building and 911 calls emerged from students pleading for help.The indictment alleges Gonzales placed children in imminent danger of injury or death by failing to engage, distract or delay the shooter and by not following his active shooter training. The allegations also say he did not advance toward the gunfire despite hearing shots and being told where the shooter was.State and federal reviews of the shooting cited cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned why officers waited so long. According to the state review, Gonzales told investigators that once police realized there were students still sitting in other classrooms, he helped evacuate them.Some family members of the victims have said more officers should be indicted.They all waited and allowed children and teachers to die, said Velma Lisa Duran, whose sister Irma Garcia was one of the two teachers who were killed.Prosecutors will likely face a high bar to win a conviction. Juries are often reluctant to convict law enforcement officers for inaction, as seen after the Parkland, Florida, school massacre in 2018.Sheriffs deputy Scot Peterson was charged with failing to confront the shooter in that attack. It was the first such prosecution in the U.S. for an on-campus shooting, and Peterson was acquitted by a jury in 2023.At the request of Gonzales attorneys, the trial was moved about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast to Corpus Christi. They argued Gonzales could not receive a fair trial in Uvalde, and prosecutors did not object. Uvalde, a town of 15,000, still has several prominent reminders of the shooting. Robb Elementary is closed but still stands, and a memorial of 21 crosses and flower sits near the school sign. Jesse Rizo, whose 9-year-old niece Jackie was one of the students killed, said even with a three-hour drive to Corpus Christi, the family would like to have someone attend the trial every day.Its important that the jury see that Jackie had a big, strong family, Rizo said.___Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, and Juan A. Lozano in Houston contributed to this report.

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Ethylene oxide was once considered an unremarkable pollutant. The colorless gas seeped from relatively few industrial facilities and commanded little public attention.All that changed in 2016, when the Environmental Protection Agency completed a study that found the chemical is 30 times more carcinogenic than previously thought.The agency then spent years updating regulations that protect millions of people who are most exposed to the compound. In 2024, the EPA approved stricter rules that require commercial sterilizers for medical equipment and large chemical plants to slash emissions of ethylene oxide, which causes lymphoma and breast cancer.It was doing what the EPA has done countless times: revising rules based on new scientific knowledge.Now, its ability to do that for many air pollutants is under threat.In government records that have flown under the radar, President Donald Trumps EPA said it is reconsidering whether the agency had the legal authority to update those rules.Chemical companies and their trade organizations have argued that the EPA cannot reevaluate hazardous air pollution rules to account for newly discovered harms if it has revised them once already.It doesnt matter if decades have passed or new information has emerged.If the EPA agrees, environmentalists fear that the decision could have wide implications, significantly curbing the EPAs ability to limit nearly 200 pollutants from thousands of industrial plants. The next time new science reveals that a chemical is much more toxic, or that the amount of pollution released from a factory had been underestimated and would cause legally unacceptable health risks, the agency would not be able to react.Its a poor reflection on this administrations claim that they are actually interested in clean air, said Ana Baptista, a professor of environmental policy and sustainability management at The New School. By saying were no longer going to consider science, its abdicating your mission.The EPA didnt address ProPublicas questions about the ethylene oxide reevaluation or its broader implications. Instead, the agency pointed to a March press release about how it was reconsidering multiple air pollution rules issued by President Joe Bidens administration, including the ones for chemical plants and commercial sterilizers. EPA is committed to using the gold standard of science during these reviews, a spokesperson said in an email. Since day one, EPA has been clear that providing clean air, water, and land for all Americans is a top priority.The EPAs reconsideration focuses on the Clean Air Act, the countrys most powerful air quality law, which regulates hazardous air pollutants for different types of industrial operations. Theres a specific rule for oil refineries, for instance, and another for steel mills. Within eight years after each rule is published, the EPA is required to conduct an assessment, called a residual risk review, to decide if an update is necessary.These assessments use detailed data on the quantity of emissions coming from each facility, the toxicity of each chemical and other information on how the chemicals are released and dispersed in the air. The combined data reveals how the emissions put local residents at risk of cancer, respiratory diseases, reproductive harm and other health problems.If the EPA determines the overall risks exceed whats allowed under the law, the agency must tighten the rules.The Clean Air Act doesnt say whether the EPA is required to conduct additional residual risk reviews after the first one. Nor does it specifically prohibit the agency from doing so.As far back as 2006, the EPA under President George W. Bush asserted that the agency had the right to revisit and revise the rules based on risk.The issue became newly relevant in 2021, when the EPAs Office of Inspector General cited the new conclusions about the toxicity of ethylene oxide. The office estimated that nearly half a million Americans were exposed to unacceptable cancer risks from industrial emissions by chemical plants, commercial sterilizers and other facilities pumping out ethylene oxide.In its report, the inspector generals office advised the agency to exercise its discretionary authority to conduct new residual risk reviews as needed when new data or information indicates an air pollutant is more toxic than previously determined. (The inspector general was a Trump appointee.)The EPA had already conducted the first, mandatory risk reviews for large chemical plants and commercial sterilizers in the early 2000s. In response to the inspector general report, the agency launched additional reviews using the updated science on ethylene oxide. Ultimately, the EPA determined the health risks were unacceptable and revised the rules to lower them. The agency asserted that the Clean Air Act does not limit our discretion or authority to conduct another risk review should we consider that such review is warranted.According to the EPAs estimates, the new regulations for chemical plants under the 2024 revised rule would cut the number of nearby residents who are exposed to unacceptable cancer risks from 90,000 to 3,000.But the chemical industry opposed the stricter rules. Industry representatives disagreed with the EPAs new assessment of ethylene oxide, contending that it overestimated the risk the chemical posed, and argued the agency didnt have the authority to conduct those risk reviews. In a 2023 letter, the American Chemistry Council said the Agency has erred in conducting a new risk review, as the plain text of the Clean Air Act indicates that EPA actually lacks this authority.Similarly, the Louisiana Chemical Association submitted public comments on the chemical plant rule stating the EPA has no statutory authority to conduct a second risk review and that doing so was arbitrary and capricious.David Cresson, president and CEO of the association, told ProPublica that the trade group supports protecting the publics health through regulatory frameworks that are lawful, while remaining based in sound science.Brendan Bradley, a spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council, said the organization had no further comment on the issue.After Trump was inaugurated, one of his appointees to the EPA let the industry know the agency was conducting a reconsideration of the two rules focused on ethylene oxide emissions. Last spring, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Abigale Tardif, a former oil and gas lobbyist, hinted at how the EPA might challenge those rules.In letters addressed to trade groups representing commercial sterilizers and chemical plants, Tardif said the agency was reconsidering multiple issues related to the rules, including the EPAs authority and decision to undertake a second residual risk review under the Clean Air Act, as well as the analysis and determinations made in that review, and the resulting risk standards.Tardif didnt respond to requests for comment.The agency also filed a regulatory notice about its plans to revise the 2024 chemical plant rule. Citing the part of the Clean Air Act that deals with the updated rule assessments, the notice said the EPA had identified items for reconsideration around its CAA section 112(f)(2) residual risk review authority.While the stricter ethylene oxide rules are technically still in effect, the Trump administration has exempted dozens of large chemical plants and sterilizer facilities from following them as the agency works through a formal process that is widely expected to result in watered-down standards.If the Trump EPA does decide it lacks the legal authority to conduct multiple risk reviews, the agency might still have the authority to strengthen hazardous air pollution rules by using a separate part of the Clean Air Act, said Abel Russ, a senior attorney at the Environmental Integrity Project, an advocacy group. That section of the act allows the EPA to update a rule if agency scientists conclude that better pollution-control technology is affordable and available. But limiting the agencys ability to conduct residual risk reviews would be a serious blow to the act, Russ said, kneecapping the agencys authority over these toxic pollutants.Environmental groups will almost certainly sue if the EPA concludes it does not have the legal authority to revise hazardous air pollution rules more than once based on risk. Russ called industrys comments absurd and said they dont account for the reality that our knowledge of industrial pollution is changing all the time.As ProPublica reported in October, the agency recently received clear evidence that many industrial facilities are leaking far more pollution than the companies that own them previously reported. In 2023, researchers who conducted their own air monitoring in the industrial corridor of Louisiana known as Cancer Alley found much higher concentrations of ethylene oxide than expected. For more than half the areas they sampled, the local cancer risk from ethylene oxide would be unacceptable if residents were exposed to these concentrations over a lifetime.If the EPA decides it lacks the legal authority to conduct multiple risk reviews, it would find itself in the position of not being able to take action even if the agency confirmed similar results.The whole premise of risk assessment is that its based on the best available science, said Kimberly Terrell, a research scientist at the Environmental Integrity Project. As our knowledge grows, researchers tend to find that chemicals are linked to additional health effects, she added, so blocking these updates pretty much ensures the EPA is underestimating the risks.The post Trumps EPA Could Limit Its Own Ability to Use New Science to Strengthen Air Pollution Rules appeared first on ProPublica.

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The central bank faces two major hurdles early on in 2026 that will determine the extent to which it operates free of political meddling.

Backers claim the tests can predict a childs risk of autism using a strand of hair or a mothers blood, but critics say they are not ready for the market.

CORRECT THE ORDER OF SPEAKERS, FILE - Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, right, and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, left, speak on April 27, 2025, in Marienborg, Denmark. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, File)2026-01-07T09:45:05Z Denmark and Greenland are seeking a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the Trump administration doubled down on its intention to take over the strategic Arctic island, a Danish territory. Tensions escalated after the White House said Tuesday that the U.S. military is always an option, even as a series of European leaders rejected President Donald Trumps renewed calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland, citing strategic reasons.Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned earlier this week that a U.S. takeover would amount to the end of the NATO military alliance. The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom joined her in a statement Tuesday reaffirming that the mineral-rich island belongs to its people.Their statement defended the sovereignty of Greenland, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark and thus part of NATO. Trump has floated since his first term the idea of acquiring Greenland, arguing that the U.S. needs to control the worlds largest island to ensure its own security in the face of rising threats from China and Russia in the Arctic. This weekends U.S. military action in Venezuela has heightened fears across Europe, and Trump and his advisers in recent days have reiterated the U.S. leaders desire to take over the island, which guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America. Its so strategic right now, Trump told reporters Sunday.Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, have requested the meeting with Rubio in the near future, according to a statement posted Tuesday to Greenlands government website. Previous requests for a sit-down were not successful, the statement said.While most U.S. Republicans have supported Trumps statement, Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, the Democratic and Republican co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group, blasted Trumps rhetoric in a statement Tuesday. When Denmark and Greenland make it clear that Greenland is not for sale, the United States must honor its treaty obligations and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark, the statement said. Any suggestion that our nation would subject a fellow NATO ally to coercion or external pressure undermines the very principles of self-determination that our Alliance exists to defend.French Foreign Minister Jean-Nol Barrot said he spoke by phone Tuesday with Rubio, who dismissed the idea of a Venezuela-style operation in Greenland. In the United States, there is massive support for the country belonging to NATO a membership that, from one day to the next, would be compromised by any form of aggressiveness toward another member of NATO, Barrot told France Inter radio Wednesday.Asked if he has a plan in case Trump does claim Greenland, Barrot said he wont engage in fiction diplomacy.Associated Press journalist Geir Moulson, in Berlin, contributed to this report. STEFANIE DAZIO Dazio covers Northern Europe from Berlin for The Associated Press. She previously covered crime and criminal justice from Los Angeles. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

In this photograph released on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, by the official website of the Iranian Army, Iran's army chief Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami speaks to military academy students, in Tehran, Iran. (Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP)2026-01-07T10:34:21Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Irans army chief threatened preemptive military action Wednesday over the rhetoric targeting the Islamic Republic, likely referring to U.S. President Donald Trumps warning that if Tehran violently kills peaceful protesters, America will come to their rescue.The comments by Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami come as Iran tries to respond to what it sees as a dual threat posed by Israel and the United States, as well as the protests sparked by its economic woes that have grown into a direct challenge to its theocracy. Seeking to halt the anger, Irans government began Wednesday paying the equivalent of $7 a month to subsidize rising costs for dinner-table essentials like rice, meat and pastas. Shopkeepers warn prices for items as basic as cooking oil likely will triple under pressure from the collapse of Irans rial currency and the end of a preferential subsidized dollar-rial exchange rate for importers and manufacturers likely fueling further popular anger. More than a week of protests in Iran reflects not only worsening economic conditions, but longstanding anger at government repression and regime policies that have led to Irans global isolation, the New York-based Soufan Center think tank said. Army chiefs threatHatami spoke to military academy students. He took over as commander-in-chief of the Irans army, known by the Farsi word Artesh, after Israel killed a slew of the countrys top military commanders in Junes 12-day war. He is the first regular military officer in decades to hold a position long controlled by Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The Islamic Republic considers the intensification of such rhetoric against the Iranian nation as a threat and will not leave its continuation without a response, Hatami said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. He added, I can say with confidence that today the readiness of Irans armed forces is far greater than before the war. If the enemy commits an error, it will face a more decisive response, and we will cut off the hand of any aggressor. Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been responding to Trumps comments, which took on more significance after the U.S. military raid that seized Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro, a longtime ally of Tehran, over the weekend. But theres been no immediate public sign of Iran preparing for an attack in the region.New subsidy payment beginsIranian state television reported on the start of a new subsidy of the equivalent of $7, put into the bank accounts of heads of households across the country. More than 71 million people will receive the benefit, which is 10 million Iranian rials, it reported. The rial now trades at over 1.4 million to $1 and continues to depreciate. The subsidy is more than double than the 4.5 million rial people previously received. But already, Iranian media report sharp rises in the cost of basic goods, including cooking oil, poultry and cheese, placing additional strain on households already burdened by international sanctions targeting the country and inflation.Irans vice president in charge of executive affairs, Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, told reporters Wednesday that the country was in a full-fledged economic war. He called for economic surgery to eliminate rentier policies and corruption within the country. Protests began Dec. 28 Iran has faced rounds of nationwide protests in recent years. As sanctions tightened and Iran struggled after the June war with Israel, its rial currency sharply fell in December. Protests began soon after on Dec. 28. They reached their 11th day on Wednesday and did not appear to be stopping. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency offered the latest death toll of 36 for the demonstrations. It said 30 protesters, four children and two members of Irans security forces have been killed. Demonstrations have reached over 280 locations in 27 of Irans 31 provinces.The group, which relies on an activist network inside of Iran for its reporting, has been accurate in past unrest. 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

Nobel Peace Prize winner Mara Corina Machado with Deputy Leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Asle Toje, right, outside the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Friday Dec. 12, 2025. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB via AP)2026-01-07T05:44:33Z CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuelas opposition supporters have long hoped for the day when Nicols Maduro is no longer in power a dream that was fulfilled when the U.S. military whisked the authoritarian leader away. But while Maduro is in jail in New York on drug trafficking charges, the leaders of his repressive administration remain in charge.The nations opposition backed by consecutive Republican and Democratic administrations in the U.S. for years vowed to immediately replace Maduro with one of their own and restore democracy to the oil-rich country. But U.S. President Donald Trump delivered them a heavy blow by allowing Maduros vice president, Delcy Rodrguez, to assume control.Meanwhile, most opposition leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Mara Corina Machado, are in exile or prison.They were clearly unimpressed by the sort of ethereal magical realism of the opposition, about how if they just gave Maduro a push, it would just be this instant move toward democracy, David Smilde, a Tulane University professor who has studied Venezuela for three decades, said of the Trump administration. The U.S. seized Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores in a military operation Saturday, removing them both from their home on a military base in Venezuelas capital, Caracas. Hours later, Trump said the U.S. would run Venezuela and expressed skepticism that Machado could ever be its leader. She doesnt have the support within, or the respect within, the country, Trump told reporters. Shes a very nice woman, but she doesnt have the respect.Ironically, Machados unending praise for the American president, including dedicating her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump and her backing of U.S. campaigns to deport Venezuelan migrants and attack alleged drug traffickers in international waters, has lost her some support at home. The rightful winner of Venezuelas presidential electionMachado rose to become Maduros strongest opponent in recent years, but his government barred her from running for office to prevent her from challenging and likely beating him in the 2024 presidential election. She chose retired ambassador Edmundo Gonzlez Urrutia to represent her on the ballot.Officials loyal to the ruling party declared Maduro the winner mere hours after the polls closed, but Machados well-organized campaign stunned the nation by collecting detailed tally sheets showing Gonzlez had defeated Maduro by a 2-to-1 margin. The U.S. and other nations recognized Gonzlez as the legitimate winner.However, Venezuelans identify Machado, not Gonzlez, as the winner, and the charismatic opposition leader has remained the voice of the campaign, pushing for international support and insisting her movement will replace Maduro.In her first televised interview since Maduros capture, Machado effusively praised Trump and failed to acknowledge his snub of her opposition movement in the latest transition of power.I spoke with President Trump on Oct. 10, the same day the prize was announced, not since then, she told Fox News on Monday. What he has done as I said is historic, and its a huge step toward a democratic transition. Hopes for a new electionU.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday seemed to walk back Trumps assertion that the U.S. would run Venezuela. In interviews, Rubio insisted that Washington will use control of Venezuelas oil industry to force policy changes, and called its current government illegitimate. The country is home to the worlds largest proven crude oil reserves.Neither Trump nor Rodrguez have said when, or if, elections might take place in Venezuela. Venezuelas constitution requires an election within 30 days whenever a president becomes permanently unavailable to serve. Reasons listed include death, resignation, removal from office or abandonment of duties as declared by the National Assembly. That electoral timeline was rigorously followed when Maduros predecessor, Hugo Chvez, died of cancer in 2013.On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally who traveled with the president on Air Force One on Sunday, said he believes an election will happen but did not specify when or how. Were going to build the country up infrastructure wise crescendoing with an election that will be free, the South Carolina Republican told reporters.But Maduro loyalists in the high court Saturday, citing another provision of the constitution, declared Maduros absence temporary meaning there is no election requirement. Instead, the vice president which is not an elected position takes over for up to 90 days, with a provision to extend to six months if approved by the National Assembly, which is controlled by the ruling party. Challenges lie ahead for the oppositionIn its ruling, Venezuelas Supreme Court made no mention of the 180-day limit, leading to speculation that Rodrguez could try to cling to power as she seeks to unite ruling party factions and shield it from what would certainly be a stiff electoral challenge.Machado on Monday criticized Rodrguez as one the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narco-trafficking certainly not an individual that can be trusted by international investors.Even if an election takes place, Machado and Gonzlez would first have to find a way back into Venezuela. Gonzlez has been in exile in Spain since September 2024 and Machado left Venezuela last month when she appeared in public for the first time in 11 months to receive her Nobel Prize in Norway.Ronal Rodrguez, a researcher at the Venezuela Observatory in Colombias Universidad del Rosario, said the Trump administrations decision to work with Rodrguez could harm the nations democratic spirit. What the opposition did in the 2024 election was to unite with a desire to transform the situation in Venezuela through democratic means, and that is embodied by Mara Corina Machado and, obviously, Edmundo Gonzlez Urrutia, he said. To disregard that is to belittle, almost to humiliate, Venezuelans.

Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)2026-01-07T01:38:38Z CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) When explosions erupted by night in Venezuelas balmy capital, 21-year-old Mariana Camargo dashed through the streets of eastern Caracas.It was at 2:05 in the morning and, as explosions boomed in the background, Associated Press photographer Matas Delacroix was on the street snapping what would become one of the first images of the American military operation in Venezuela.Days later after Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro was replaced by his vice president following his capture by the Trump administration Camargo and Delacroix found a moment of calm at the same place the emblematic photo was taken.A woman arrived in a big truck and she screeched to a stop and said kids what are you doing here, go home theyre bombing! Camargo remembered. We were like nine people and we were like Well, lets run. We started to run and passed by here. The images show Camargo in a white shirt and jeans, sprinting through the street, with fear and urgency painted on her face, with a group of her friends running behind her. She said she clocked Delacroix standing to the side as he took the photo.It was that emotion that caught the eye of Delacroix, who minutes earlier awoke to the rumbling sound of American strikes, grabbed his camera and ran onto the street toward the explosions. It was there, with the sound of military aircrafts overhead, that the two crossed paths: one person running away from the blasts and one running toward them. What caught my attention was how you were running, with your cellphone and clearly scared. I have photos of your friend that was behind you, but between the two photos, yours was the one that expressed the most what was happening, said Delacroix to Camargo as they flipped through the photos. Mariana Camargo poses for a photo in the Altamira neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) Mariana Camargo poses for a photo in the Altamira neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) 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 As the photograph proceeded to paint the front pages and websites of the worlds biggest media, capturing a moment set to transform the hemisphere, Camargos friends began to see her and write her in their WhatsApp group message.Am I tripping or is that Nana Mariana??? asked one of her friends, posting a picture of the photo. (In Venezuela, Nana is a nickname for Mariana.)IT IS NANA! another friend wrote shortly after.The photo slowly became a joke in her friend group and even turned into a meme with the words the gringos have arrived! written over it. Camargo laughed as she scrolled through the messages.Now I laughed, and I laughed when I saw the photo. My mom laughed, my friends too. They made stickers and memes and all that, Camargo said. But I still see the videos of what happened that day, of the explosions, I hear the sounds and I still feel this sense of panic.On Sunday, a day after the strikes and as chaos, Camargo wrote to Delacroix over his Instagram account, asking if he had more photographs of the moment.When they met up on Tuesday, chatting on the street, the two parted with a hug.Crazy things always happen to me, she said with a laugh. Of course I end up on the street during a bombing and I go viral. Its nuts.Associated Press reporter Megan Janetsky contributed to this report from Mexico City. JUAN PABLO ARRAEZ Arraez is a Venezuelan video journalist working for The Associated Press since 2018. twitter mailto MATIAS DELACROIX Delacroix is a Chilean-raised photojournalist currently based in Panama. With a focus on migration, social unrest, and humanitarian crises, he has covered key events across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. twitter instagram facebook mailto

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, left, during a ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding, (MOU) between South Korea and China in Beijing, China, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Han Sang-kyun/Yonhap via AP)2026-01-07T10:18:56Z BEIJING (AP) China escalated its trade tensions with Japan on Wednesday by launching an investigation into imported dichlorosilane, a chemical gas used in making semiconductors, a day after it imposed curbs on the export of so-called dual-use goods that could be used by Japans military.The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement that it had launched the investigation following an application from the domestic industry showing the price of dichlorosilane imported from Japan had decreased 31% between 2022 and 2024.The dumping of imported products from Japan has damaged the production and operation of our domestic industry, the ministry said.The measure comes a day after Beijing banned exports to Japan of dual-use goods that can have military applications.Beijing has been showing mounting displeasure with Tokyo after new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested late last year that her nations military could intervene if China were to take action against Taiwan an island democracy that Beijing considers its own territory. Tensions were stoked again on Tuesday when Japanese lawmaker Hei Seki, who last year was sanctioned by China for spreading fallacies about Taiwan and other disputed territories, visited Taiwan and called it an independent country. Also known as Yo Kitano, he has been banned from entering China. He told reporters that his arrival in Taiwan demonstrated the two are different countries. I came to Taiwan to prove this point, and to tell the world that Taiwan is an independent country, Hei Seki said, according to Taiwans Central News Agency.The nasty words of a petty villain like him are not worth commenting on, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning retorted when asked about his comment. Fears of a rare earths curbMasaaki Kanai, head of Asia Oceanian Affairs at Japans Foreign Ministry, urged China to scrap the trade curbs, saying a measure exclusively targeting Japan that deviates from international practice is unacceptable. Japan, however, has yet to announce any retaliatory measures.As the two countries feuded, speculation rose that China might target rare earths exports to Japan, in a move similar to the rounds of critical minerals export restrictions it has imposed as part of its trade war with the United States.China controls most of the global production of heavy rare earths, used for making powerful, heat-resistance magnets used in industries such as defense and electric vehicles.While the Commerce Ministry did not mention any new rare earths curbs, the official newspaper China Daily, seen as a government mouthpiece, quoted anonymous sources saying Beijing was considering tightening exports of certain rare earths to Japan. That report could not be independently confirmed. Improved South Korean ties contrast with Japan rowAs Beijing spars with Tokyo, it has made a point of courting a different East Asian power South Korea.On Wednesday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung wrapped up a four-day trip to China his first since taking office in June. Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping oversaw the signing of cooperation agreements in areas such as technology, trade, transportation and environmental protection.As if to illustrate a contrast with the China-Japan trade frictions, Lee joined two business events at which major South Korean and Chinese companies pledged to collaborate.The two sides signed 24 export contracts worth a combined $44 million, according to South Koreas Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. During Lees visit, Chinese media also reported that South Korea overtook Japan as the leading destination for outbound flights from Chinas mainland over the New Years holiday.China has been discouraging travel to Japan, saying Japanese leaders comments on Taiwan have created significant risks to the personal safety and lives of Chinese citizens in Japan. SIMINA MISTREANU Mistreanu is a Greater China reporter for The Associated Press, based in Taipei, Taiwan. She has reported on China since 2015. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 06 January 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00047-4Jellyfish seem to sleep in ways strikingly similar to humans, despite not having a brain. Plus, US lawmakers have pushed back on proposed cuts to science and why cancer can come back years after successful treatment.

This year's NFL playoffs will feature three elite defenses -- the Texans, Seahawks and Broncos. What makes each so unstoppable?

We ask where Americas new foreign policy might take us and the world.

Needing U.S. support to fend off Russia in Ukraine, European leaders have been cautious about criticizing President Trump on Greenland, Iran, Venezuela and much else.

The Daily Show host quipped that after a surprise capture, Nicols Maduro will face justice in the best legal system in the world that we illegally kidnapped him to.

A court dispute over the lines of the 11th Congressional District represents one of New York Democrats few hopes of drawing maps in their favor for the 2026 midterms.

The development deepens the confrontation over the tanker formerly known as the Bella 1, which the United States wants to seize but which Russia has sought to protect.

The Paramount Pictures water tower is seen in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)2026-01-07T12:38:10Z NEW YORK (AP) Warner Bros. again rejected Paramounts latest takeover bid and told shareholders Wednesday to stick with a rival offer from Netflix. Warners leadership has repeatedly rebuffed Skydance-owned Paramounts overtures and urged shareholders just weeks ago to back its the sale of its streaming and studio business to Netflix for $72 billion. Paramount, meanwhile, has sweetened its $77.9 billion offer for the entire company and gone straight to shareholders with a hostile bid.Warner Bros. Discovery said Wednesday that its board determined Paramounts offer is not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders. It again recommended shareholders support the Netflix deal.Late last month Paramount announced an irrevocable personal guarantee from Oracle founder Larry Ellison who is the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison to back $40.4 billion in equity financing for the companys offer. Paramount also increased its promised payout to shareholders to $5.8 billion if the deal is blocked by regulators, matching what Netflix already put on the table. The battle for Warner and the value of each offer grows complicated because Netflix and Paramount want different things. Netflixs proposed acquisition includes only Warners studio and streaming business, including its legacy TV and movie production arms and platforms like HBO Max. But Paramount wants the entire company which, beyond studio and streaming, includes networks like CNN and Discovery. If Netflix is successful, Warners news and cable operations would be spun off into their own company, under a previously-announced separation. A merger with either company will attract tremendous antitrust scrutiny. Due to its size and potential impact, it will almost certainly trigger a review by the U.S. Justice Department, which could sue to block the transaction or request changes. Other countries and regulators overseas may also challenge the merger.

The president of the Yemen's Southern Transitional Council Aidarous Al-Zubaidi sits for an interview, Sept. 22, 2023, in New York, while attending the United Nations General Assembly's annual high-level meeting of world leaders. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)2026-01-07T05:26:30Z ADEN, YEMEN (AP) A council fighting against Yemens Houthi rebels said Wednesday that it had expelled the leader of a separatist movement and charged him with treason after he reportedly declined to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks. The latest upheaval in southern Yemen is revealing a growing divide among the Persian Gulf powers, cracking the coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis. Longstanding differences between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from Sudan to energy policy have spilled into Yemen, where they back rival factions. The rift has deepened strains between the two neighbors, who officially share the goal of countering the Houthis, in control of the capital, Sanaa, since 2014.Uncertainty is also growing over the future of Yemen itself a country strained by more than a decade of war in the Arab worlds poorest country. A delegation of the Southern Transitional Council, or STC, which had been backed by the United Arab Emirates, flew to the Saudi capital, where it was scheduled to attend a meeting to discuss the situation in Yemens southern governorates.But the STC said in a statement it lost contact with the delegation after it landed. It expressed deep concern over the matter. The STC said leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi remained in Aden, the interim capital where the internationally recognized government is based. It also accused Saudi Arabia of launching airstrikes in Yemens al-Dhale governorate and causing casualties. While a senior STC delegation is in Saudi Arabia pursuing negotiations, the President remains in Aden to ensure security and stability, wrote Amr al-Bidh, an STC official focused on foreign affairs. He will not abandon his people, and he will engage directly when conditions allow. The Presidential Leadership Council, or PLC, headed by Rashad al-Alimi, accused al-Zubaidi in a Facebook statement of damaging the republics military, political and economic standing, as well as forming an armed gang and committing the murder of officers and soldiers of the armed forces. Saudi Arabia launches new airstrikesMore than 15 Saudi airstrikes overnight hit the al-Dhale governorate, targeting STC camps, according to STC leader Salah bin Laghir. Meanwhile, two eyewitnesses, Hossam Mohsen and Mohamed Awlaqi, told The Associated Press that armored vehicles affiliated with the STC left Aden overnight heading to al-Dahle.Other witnesses, Khaled Mathni and Abdallah Abeid, said they saw drones in the sky and flames rising as explosions shook neighborhoods in al-Dahle city and its surrounding areas. They said they believe a weapons warehouse was targeted.In a statement Wednesday morning, the STC said it was surprised by the Saudi airstrike, adding that it marks a regrettable escalation. While the Southern Transitional Council condemns these unjustified airstrikes, it demands that the Saudi authorities immediately cease the bombing, guarantee the safety of its delegation in Riyadh, and enable it to communicate immediately, considering this a prerequisite for creating a positive atmosphere for any serious and meaningful dialogue, the STC statement read. The anti-Houthi leadership group, the PLC, formed in April 2022 after President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi of Yemens internationally recognized government stepped down. Its members have often pursued competing agendas and relied on different foreign backers, leaving the council fragmented and unable to mount a unified campaign against the Houthis even after the United States and Israel launched bombing campaigns targeting the rebels.An uneasy ceasefire between the combatants on the ground in Yemen held for years. But tensions flared again in late December over the STCs advances in the oil-rich governorates of Hadramout and Mahra, which were once held by Saudi-backed forces. Saudis express displeasure with developmentsMaj. Gen, Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, said Wednesday that al-Zubaidi, had been due to take a flight to Saudi Arabia with other council officials but did not join them.The legitimate government and the coalition received intelligence indicating that al-Zubaidi had moved a large force including armored vehicles, combat vehicles, heavy and light weapons, and ammunition, al-Malki said. Al-Zubaidi fled to an unknown location. What is happening today in the southern governorates after the rebellion of Aidarus al-Zubaidi, and despite all the sincere efforts made by our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Presidential Leadership Council to prevent reaching this stage, is not what we wished to reach, and we are not happy with what has happened, said Abdualla al-Alimi, vice President of the Presidential Leadership Council on X.On Sunday, Saudi-backed forces spread across the port city of Mukalla, retaking the capital of Hadramout province following days of Saudi airstrikes. Saudi Arabia in recent weeks has bombed STC positions and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons. After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said Saturday it had withdrawn its forces.Yemen, on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula off East Africa, borders the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The war there has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the worlds worst humanitarian disasters.___Khaled reported from Cairo, and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 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 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

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)2026-01-07T04:19:04Z TOKYO (AP) Global shares traded mixed Wednesday, calming somewhat from the buzz set off by recent record rallies on Wall Street, while investors attention turned to global interest rates and uncertainty caused by developments in Venezuela. Frances CAC 40 shed 0.3% to 8,213.78 in early trading, while the DAX in Germany gained 0.4% to 24,993.97. Britains FTSE 100 slipped 0.6% to 10,067.95. U.S. futures were mixed. The contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up nearly 0.1%. That for the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%. Japans Nikkei 225 lost 1.1% to finish at 51,961.98, a day after setting a record. Chinas decision late Tuesday to ban exports to Japan of goods that might be used for military purposes hit energy Relations between Japan and China have worsened after Japans Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in early November its military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its sovereign territory. Last week, China staged military drills around Taiwan. Elsewhere in Asia, South Koreas Kospi gained 0.6% to 4,551.06. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 8,695.60. Hong Kongs Hang Seng declined 0.9% to 26,458.95, while the Shanghai Composite added less than 0.1% to 4,085.77. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on Global uncertainty continues to deepen, Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank in Singapore said in a commentary, citing the capture of Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro by U.S. forces in a weekend raid. The rally spurred by buying of technology shares may have run its course, analysts said. Tech appetite is weaker in Asia, Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote, said in a report. It increasingly feels like good news is no longer generating the same euphoria seen over the past three years. The tech rally is showing signs of fatigue, supporting rotation trades a trend further reinforced by geopolitical headlines. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6%, setting a record on just the third trading day of the year. The Dow added 1% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.6%. This week will bring reports on the U.S. jobs market, including updates on job openings and overall employment.The U.S. Federal Reserve will be analyzing such data for its next meeting in late January. The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate three times late in 2025. Wall Street expects the Fed to hold interest rates steady at its January meeting.In other trading early Wednesday, the price of benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 65 cents to $56.48 per barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 47 cents to $60.23 per barrel.In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 156.55 Japanese yen from 156.68 yen. The euro cost $1.1684, down from $1.1689. The price of gold fell 0.5%, while silver gave up 2.3%. ___Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama YURI KAGEYAMA Kageyama covers Japan news for The Associated Press. Her topics include social issues, the environment, businesses, entertainment and technology. twitter instagram facebook mailto

Israeli police inspect a bus following an incident in which it hit ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrators blocking a road during a protest against army recruitment in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)2026-01-07T09:48:47Z JERUSALEM (AP) Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged calm after a bus driver ran over and killed a teenage boy Tuesday night during a protest in Jerusalem against a law seeking to draft the ultra-Orthodox community into Israels military. I call for restraint to prevent the mood from becoming further inflamed so that, heaven forbid, we do not have additional tragedies, Netanyahu said in a statement early Wednesday, adding that the death would be thoroughly investigated. The incident killed yeshiva student Yosef Eisenthal. Video from the protest obtained by The Associated Press showed a public bus dragging him for meters before running him over as onlookers jostled and screamed. Police officers arrested and questioned the bus driver, who told investigators he was attacked by protesters before hitting the boy, Israels police spokesperson said. Protesters had been blocking the road and acting violently toward police officers, throwing eggs and other objects at them, the spokesperson said.The violence reflected growing tensions between the Israeli authorities and the ultra-Orthodox, known as Haredim, as the government mulls plans to draft them into the military. When Israel was founded in 1948, a small number of gifted ultra-Orthodox scholars were granted exemptions from the draft, which is compulsory for most Jews in the country. But with a push from politically powerful religious parties, those numbers have swelled over the decades. There is support for rolling back the ultra-Orthodox exemption among many secular Israelis, especially those who have served multiple rounds of duty in the latest war between Israel and the Palestinian militant Hamas group in Gaza.Measures to draft the ultra-Orthodox have been met with staunch opposition and occasional violence from religious protesters who claim serving in the military will destroy their way of life. The pushback has created a political problem for Netanyahu, who relies on the support of religious parties in the Israeli Parliament. JULIA FRANKEL Frankel, based in Jerusalem, has reported from across Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Her reporting focuses on war, human rights, displacement and criminal justice. twitter mailto

Actor Brigitte Bardot's coffin is carried into Notre-Dame de l'Assomption church for her funeral ceremony, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 in Saint-Tropez, southern France. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)2026-01-07T05:07:02Z PARIS (AP) Brigitte Bardots funeral was being held on Wednesday with a private service and a public homage in Saint-Tropez, the French Riviera resort where she lived for more than half a century after retiring from movie stardom at the height of her fame.The animal rights activist and far-right supporter died Dec. 28 at age 91 at her home in southern France. She died from cancer after undergoing two operations, her husband, Bernard dOrmale, said in an interview with Paris Match magazine released Tuesday evening. She was conscious and concerned about the fate of animals until the very end, he said.Residents and admirers applauded the funeral convoy as the coffin of Bardot, once one of the worlds most photographed women and a defining screen siren of the 1960s, was being carried through the towns narrow streets.A service started to the sound of Maria Callas Ave Maria at the Notre-Dame-de-lAssomption Catholic Church in the presence of Bardots husband, son and grandchildren, as well as guests invited by the family and the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals. Hundreds of people gathered in the small town to follow the farewell on large screens set up at the port and on two plazas. After the church service, Bardot is to be buried in the strictest privacy at a cemetery overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Saint-Tropez town hall. She had long called Saint-Tropez her refuge from the celebrity that once made her a household name.A public homage will take place at a nearby site for admirers of the woman whose image once symbolized Frances postwar liberation and sensuality.Brigitte Bardot will forever be associated with Saint-Tropez, of which she was the most dazzling ambassador, the town hall said last week. Through her presence, personality and aura, she marked the history of our town. Bardot settled decades ago in her seaside villa, La Madrague, and retired from filmmaking in 1973 at age 39, during an international career that spanned more than two dozen films. She later emerged as an animal rights activist, founding and sustaining a foundation devoted to the protection of animals.While she withdrew from the film industry, she remained a highly visible and often controversial public figure through decades of militant animal rights activism and links with far-right politics.She will be buried in the so-called marine cemetery, where her parents are also interred. The cemetery, overlooking the Mediterranean sea, is also the final resting place of several cultural figures, including filmmaker Roger Vadim, Bardots first husband, who directed her breakout film And God Created Woman, a role that made her a worldwide star. SYLVIE CORBET Corbet is an Associated Press reporter based in Paris. She covers French politics, diplomacy and defense as well as gender issues and breaking news. twitter THOMAS ADAMSON Adamson is a foreign reporter based in Paris for The Associated Press. He covers European politics, culture and style. He has reported across the continent in an over two-decade career. twitter mailto

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