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Ex-aide says Netanyahu tasked him with making a plan to evade responsibility for Oct. 7 attack
Crews dig into Pennsylvania nursing home rubble to see if a gas leak caused deadly blast
BRISTOL — Construction crews worked to clear the collapsed walls and roof from a Pennsylvania nursing home Wednesday to help investigators find the cause of an explosion that killed a resident and employee, and set off a dramatic evacuation amid falling debris and shooting flames. The Tuesday afternoon blast sent...
Photos of Christmas celebrations around the world
From Bethlehem to Beijing, people around the world are celebrating the Christmas season. A polar bear mascot boards an elevator during holiday revelry. Swimmers plunge into frigid waters off Northern Ireland for a charity event. Singers fill a stadium in Indonesia. Associated Press photographers have captured diverse, mesmerizing images such...
Thousands flock to Bethlehem to revive Christmas spirit after 2 years of war in Gaza
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Thousands of people flocked to Bethlehem’s Manger Square on Christmas Eve as families heralded a much-needed boost of holiday spirit. The giant Christmas tree that was absent during the Israel-Hamas war returned on Wednesday. The city where Christians believe Jesus was born had cancelled Christmas celebrations...
Average U.S. long-term mortgage rate ticks down to 6.18% this week
WASHINGTON — The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ticked down modestly this week, remaining in the same narrow range of the past two months. The average long-term mortgage rate fell to 6.18% from 6.21% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday. A year ago, the rate averaged...
Gallery: Photos from Dec. 24, 2025
Christmas looks a little different around the world — but the joy, light and celebration feel the same everywhere. From snowy city squares to sun-soaked celebrations, traditions shine in every corner of the globe. Different cultures, shared joy — as Christmas is celebrated around the world....
Powerful holiday storm lashes Southern California and threatens mudslides in fire-scarred areas
A powerful winter storm swept across Southern California on Wednesday, with heavy rain threatening mudslides in areas scorched by wildfires, bringing near white-out snow conditions in the mountains and hazardous travel for millions of holiday drivers. Forecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned about...
3 arrested in $14 million gift card fraud scheme that hit shoppers across Texas
DALLAS — What looked like ordinary gift cards on store racks across Texas were quietly turning into empty plastic. State investigators say a months-long scheme drained millions from unsuspecting shoppers — until it ended with three arrests this week. The Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center has arrested three men accused...
Suspect in national guard shooting faces new federal charges that allow death penalty discussions
WASHINGTON — A man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House has been charged in a complaint with federal firearms charges in connection with the ambush on Nov. 26 that fatally wounded one of the West Virginia National Guard members and seriously injured the second. Rahmanullah...
Zelenskyy says he’s open to a free economic zone in Ukraine’s east but it must be put to a vote
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized, free economic zone monitored by international forces....
What’s open and what’s closed on Christmas Day?
From department stores to grocery stores, most retailers across the U.S. close early on Christmas Eve and shut their doors entirely on Christmas Day — while others opt to cut back hours. But there’s also a handful of businesses that will be open during the holiday. Before you run out...
An explosion in Moscow kills 2 police officers and a bystander
MOSCOW — An explosion in Moscow on Wednesday killed three people, including two police officers, Russian investigators said, days after a car bomb killed a high-ranking general not far away. The two traffic police officers were approaching a suspicious individual when a device detonated, Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said...
China’s military buildup makes U.S. vulnerable, Pentagon report says
WASHINGTON — The Chinese military is in the midst of a “historic military buildup” that has made the U.S. homeland “increasingly vulnerable,” according to the latest edition of a Pentagon report on the capabilities of the Chinese military, presenting a challenge to President Donald Trump’s plans for new limitations on...
U.S. bars 5 Europeans it says pressured tech firms to censor American viewpoints online
WASHINGTON — The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not name those he said fell foul of a new visa policy announced in May to...
Trump administration moves to overhaul how H-1B visas are granted, ending lottery system
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it was replacing its longstanding lottery system for H-1B work visas with a new approach that prioritizes skilled, higher-paid foreign workers. The change follows a series of actions by the Trump administration aimed at reshaping a visa program that critics say...
New oral weight loss medication expected to be cheaper and more accessible
A pill version of the GLP-1 weight-loss drug Wegovy is expected to debut in the U.S. in early January. But how will the pills stack up against the already widely used injectables? Doctors in Western Pennsylvania said the pills will be a welcome addition to GLP-1 drug options for their...
Voluminous new Epstein document release includes multiple Trump mentions, but little revelatory news
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department has released tens of thousands more documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, a tranche that included multiple mentions of President Donald Trump but added little new revelatory information to the long-anticipated public file on the late financier and convicted sex offender. The release is the...
Student loan borrowers in default may see wages garnished in 2026
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it will begin garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers who are in default early next year. The department said it will send notices to approximately 1,000 borrowers the week of January 7, with more notices to come at an increasing...
Investigators sift through wreckage after 2 killed in Pa. nursing home explosion
BRISTOL — Construction crews and drones searched the rubble of a Pennsylvania nursing home Wednesday, a day after a powerful explosion killed at least two people, collapsed part of the building and left several residents unaccounted for. Emergency responders from across the region dug through debris and evacuated residents amid...
Controversial ’60 Minutes’ segment on Trump immigration policy leaks online
A controversial news segment that was abruptly pulled from the television show “60 Minutes,” appears to have been leaked online this week after the last minute decision to pull the story exploded into public debate about journalistic independence. The segment featured interviews with migrants who were sent to the notorious...
Federal judge says Trump administration must restore disaster money to Democratic states
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to reallocate federal Homeland Security funding away from states that refuse to cooperate with certain federal immigration enforcement. U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy’s ruling on Monday solidified a win for the coalition of 12 attorneys general that sued...
Supreme Court keeps Trump’s National Guard deployment blocked in the Chicago area, for now
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area to support its immigration crackdown. The justices declined the Republican administration’s emergency request to overturn a ruling by U.S. District Judge April Perry that had blocked the deployment...
Medicaid paid more than $207 million for dead people. A new law could help fix that
WASHINGTON — Medicaid programs made more than $200 million in improper payments to health care providers between 2021 and 2022 for people who had already died, according to a new report from the independent watchdog for the Department of Health and Human Services. But the department’s Office of Inspector General...
Yemen’s sides agree to release 2,900 detainees in war’s largest exchange
CAIRO — Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have reached an agreement to free 2,900 detainees held during the 11-year civil war, according to Saudi and Houthi officials. Saudi Ambassador Mohamed AlJabir said in a statement on X that the agreement was signed under the supervision of...
U.S. strikes another alleged drug-smuggling boat in eastern Pacific
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said Monday that it had conducted another strike against a boat it said was smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one person. In a social media post, U.S. Southern Command said, “Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in...
Ex-aide says Netanyahu tasked him with making a plan to evade responsibility for Oct. 7 attack
JERUSALEM — A former close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that immediately following the October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, the Israeli leader instructed him to figure out how the premier could evade responsibility for the security breach. Former Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein,...
