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[newsverse]

FBI Director Wray says he intends to resign at end of Biden’s term in January

Updated 12:35 AM GMT+5, December 12, 2024

WASHINGTON (NV) — FBI Director Christopher Wray told the bureau workforce Wednesday that he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January, an announcement that came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the job.

Wray said at a town hall meeting that he would be stepp..read more

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Wind-driven California wildfire prompts evacuations as it burns near Malibu’s Pepperdine University

Updated 9:21 PM GMT+5, December 10, 2024 MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of Southern California residents were under evacuation orders Tuesday as firefighters battled a wind-driven wildfire in Malibu that burned near seaside mansions and Pepperdine University, where students sheltering at the school’s library watched as the blaze intensified and the sky turned deep red.

“Just seeing the flames grow and seeing that bright red color of fire just get brighter and brighter and brighter — it was so scary,” student Gabrielle Salgado told ABC 7. The university later said the worst of the fire had pushed past campus.

It was not immediately known how the blaze, named the Franklin Fire, started but Los Angeles County Fire Department officials estimated that nearly 3 square miles (7.7 square kilometers) of trees and dry brush had burned and structures were threatened. The fire burned amid dangerous fire conditions because of notorious Santa Ana winds expected to last into Wednesday. The evacuation order encompassed about 6,000 people and more than 2,000 structures, ABC 7 reported, attributing that information to fire officials.

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Trudeau says Americans are realizing Trump’s tariffs on Canada would make life a lot more expensive

Updated 12:37 PM GMT+5, December 10, 2024

TORONTO (NV) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that Americans “are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive” and said he will retaliate if Donald Trump goes ahead with them.

Trump later responded by calling Canada a state and Trudeau the governor.

Speaking at an event put on by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Trudeau also said dealing with Trump will be “a little more challenging” than the last time because Trump’s team is coming in with a much clearer set of ideas of what they want to do right away than after his first election win in 2016.

The U.S. president-elect has threatened to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico unless they stem the flow of migrants and drugs.

“Trump got elected on a commitment to make life better and more affordable for Americans, and I think people south of the border are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive,” Trudeau said. On the weekend, Trump appeared in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where the president-elect said he can’t guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers.

[newsverse]

Israeli warplanes pound Syria as troops reportedly advance deeper into the country

Updated 6:04 PM GMT+5, December 10, 2024 DAMASCUS, Syria (NV) — Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country, a Syrian opposition war monitor said Tuesday. Israel denied its forces were advancing toward Damascus after they pushed into a buffer zone inside Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.

Associated Press reporters in the capital heard heavy airstrikes overnight and into Tuesday on the city and its suburbs. Photographs circulating online showed destroyed missile launchers, helicopters and warplanes.

There was no immediate comment from the insurgent groups — led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – that have taken control of much of the country. Their lightning advance brought an end to the Assad family’s half-century rule after nearly 14 years of civil war. There are concerns over what comes next. Syrian government loses control after rebels storm the capital

Life in the capital is slowly returning to normal after the overthrow of Assad, who fled the country over the weekend and has been granted political asylum in Russia.

Private banks reopened on instructions from the Central Bank, said Sadi Ahmad, who runs a branch in the upscale Abu Rummaneh neighborhood. He said all his employees returned to work.

Shops also reopened in the city’s ancient Hamidiyeh market, where armed men and civilians could be seen buying things like perfume and ice cream. A clothing shop owner, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, said he hoped vendors would no longer have to pay bribes to security officials.

At Bakdash, a famous ice cream shop, a poster outside read: “Welcome to the rebels of free Syria. Long live free Syria.”

“Damascus is more beautiful now,” said Maysoun Qurabi, who was shopping in the market. “It has a soul, and people feel at ease and secure.” Under Assad, she said, “people were hungry and scared. The regime was strong.

[newsverse]

Elon Musk warns Republicans against standing in Trump’s way — or his

Updated 10:01 AM GMT+5, December 10, 2024 DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A week after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, Elon Musk said his political action committee would “play a significant role in primaries.”

The following week, the billionaire responded to a report that he might fund challengers to GOP House members who don’t support Trump’s nominees. “How else? There is no other way,” Musk wrote on X, which he rebranded after purchasing Twitter and moving to boost conservative voices, including his own.

And during his recent visit to Capitol Hill, Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy delivered a warning to Republicans who don’t go along with their plans to slash spending as part of Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency.

“Elon and Vivek talked about having a naughty list and a nice list for members of Congress and senators and how we vote and how we’re spending the American people’s money,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. Trump’s second term comes with the specter of the world’s richest man serving as his political enforcer. Within Trump’s team, there is a feeling that Musk not only supports Trump’s agenda and Cabinet appointments, but is intent on seeing them through to the point of pressuring Republicans who may be less devout.

[newsverse]

Details emerge about suspect charged with murder in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO

ALTOONA, Pa. (NV) — After UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was gunned down on a New York sidewalk, police searched for the masked gunman with dogs, drones and the city’s extensive surveillance system. Investigators analyzed DNA samples, fingerprints and internet addresses. Police went door to door looking for witnesses.

When an arrest came five days later, those sprawling investigative efforts shared credit with an alert civilian’s instincts. A customer at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania noticed another patron who resembled the man in the oblique security-camera photos that New York police had publicized.

Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, was arrested Monday in the killing of Brian Thompson, who headed one of the United States’ largest medical insurance companies. Mangione remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. By late evening, prosecutors in Manhattan had added a charge of murder, according to an online court docket. He is expected to be extradited to New York eventually.

[newsverse]

Ousted Syrian leader Assad flees to Moscow after fall of Damascus, Russian state media say

DAMASCUS, Syria (NV) — Ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally, Russian media said Sunday, hours after a stunning rebel advance seized control of Damascus and ended his family’s 50 years of iron rule.

Thousands of Syrians poured into streets echoing with celebratory gunfire and waved the revolutionary flag in scenes that recalled the early days of the Arab Spring uprising, before a brutal crackdown and the rise of an insurgency plunged the country into a nearly 14-year civil war.

The swiftly moving events raised questions about the future of the country and the wider region.

“Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East,” President Joe Biden said, crediting action by the U.S. and its allies for weakening Syria’s backers — Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. He called the fall of Assad a “fundamental act of justice” but also a “moment of risk and uncertainty,” and said rebel groups are “saying the right things now” but the U.S. would assess their actions. Russia requested an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council to discuss Syria, according to Dmitry Polyansky, its deputy ambassador to the U.N., in a post on Telegram.

[newsverse]

Zelenskyy open to Western troops providing security for end to war in Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (NV) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that he’s open to the potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to guarantee the country’s security as part of a broad effort to end the almost three-year war with Russia.

The deployment would be a step toward Ukraine joining NATO, Zelenskyy said in a post on his Telegram channel.

“But before that, we must have a clear understanding of when Ukraine will be in the European Union and when Ukraine will be in NATO,” Zelenskyy said.

His proposals tread a delicate diplomatic path amid international efforts to find a way of ending Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II at a time when Russia has gained an upper hand in the fighting.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is seeking to bring about a ceasefire and met with Zelenskyy in Paris on Saturday. But Zelenskyy said Monday that he would approach outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden about Ukraine’s possible NATO membership because he’s still in office, while Trump doesn’t yet have “legal rights” to decide on the matter. He wants to have a cease-fire,” Trump said of Zelenskyy in comments to the New York Post published Sunday. “He wants to make peace. We didn’t talk about the details.

[newsverse]

A passenger tries to divert a domestic flight in Mexico to the United States

MEXICO CITY (NV) — A passenger on a domestic flight in Mexico on Sunday tried to divert an aircraft to the United States by force, Volaris airlines said in a statement on X.

The crew managed to detain him and all those aboard the flight are safe, according to the company which is one of the country’s main airlines.

The plane was diverted to Guadalajara in central Mexico, where the person was handed over to authorities.

Other passengers later continued to their destination of Tijuana on the border with the U.S.

Volaris said it has become a plaintiff to ensure that the passenger faces the full weight of the law.

[newsverse]

Lara Trump stepping down as RNC co-chair and addressing speculation about Florida Senate seat

Lara Trump will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee as she considers a number of potential options with her father-in-law, President-elect Donald Trump, set to return to the White House.

Among those possibilities is replacing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump tapped to be the next secretary of state. If Rubio is confirmed, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will choose who takes the seat through the remainder of Rubio’s term, which expires in 2026.

“It is something I would seriously consider,” she told The Associated Press in an interview. “If I’m being completely transparent, I don’t know exactly what that would look like. And I certainly want to get all of the information possible if that is something that’s real for me. But yeah, I would 100% consider it.”

Elected as RNC co-chair in March, Lara Trump was a key player in the Republicans retaking the White House and control of the Senate while maintaining a narrow House majority. What she does next could shape Republican politics, given her elevated political profile and her ties to the incoming president. The idea of placing a Trump family member in the Senate has been lauded in some Republican circles. Among the people pushing for her to replace Rubio is Maye Musk, mother of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

More election coverage

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Syrian prime minister says government is still functioning but foreign and domestic challenges loom

DAMASCUS, Syria (NV) — Syria’s prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers are still working from offices in Damascus after rebels entered the capital over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad. Streams of refugees crossed back into Syria from neighboring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future.

But there were already signs of the difficulties ahead for the rebel alliance now in control of much of the country, which is led by a former senior al-Qaida militant who severed ties with the extremist group years ago and has promised representative government and religious tolerance.

The rebel command said Monday they would not tell women how to dress. It is strictly forbidden to interfere with women’s dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty,” the General Command said in a statement on social media.

Meanwhile, some key government services had shut down as state workers ignored calls to return to their jobs, a U.N. official said, causing issues at airports and borders and slowing the flow of humanitarian aid.

[newsverse]

"Is Elon Musk's 'xAI' (his latest AI technology initiative) a step forward for humanity or a greater risk? What's your take?"

[newsverse]

Syria latest: Syrians celebrate in the streets as Russian media says Assad has arrived in Moscow

Syrians poured into streets in celebration on Sunday after a stunning rebel advance reached the capital, ending the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule. Russian state news agencies were reporting that President Bashar Assad and his family had arrived in Moscow and were given asylum. Russia said Assad left the country after negotiations with rebel groups and that he had given instructions to transfer power peacefully.

Joyful crowds gathered in central squares in Damascus, waving the Syrian revolutionary flag. Others ransacked the presidential palace and residence.

Abu Mohammed al-Golani, a former al-Qaida commander who cut ties with the group years ago leads the biggest rebel faction in Syria and is poised to chart the country’s future.

He made his first public appearance since fighters entered the Damascus suburbs Saturday, at the capital’s sprawling Umayyad Mosque, and called himself by his given name, Ahmad al-Sharaa. He said Assad’s fall was “a victory to the Islamic nation. The rapidly developing events have shaken the region. Lebanon said it was closing all its land border crossings with Syria except for one that links Beirut with Damascus. Jordan closed a border crossing with Syria, too. Israel has issued warnings to villages in southern Syria and its forces seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights.

[newsverse]

Trump says he can’t guarantee tariffs won’t raise US prices and won’t rule out revenge prosecutions

WASHINGTON Donald Trump said he can’t guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers and he suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned.

The president-elect, in a wide-ranging interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere.

Trump often mixed declarative statements with caveats, at one point cautioning “things do change.”

A look at some of the issues covered.

[newsverse]

Russia’s has used its hypersonic Oreshnik missile for the first time. What are its capabilities?

The silent black-and-white surveillance camera video of the Russian missile attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro was brief but chilling: Six huge fireballs pierced the darkness and slammed into the ground at astonishing speed.

Within hours of the Nov. 21 attack on the military facility, Russian President Vladimir Putin took the rare step of speaking on national TV to boast about the new, hypersonic missile. He warned the West that its next use could be against Ukraine’s NATO allies who allowed Kyiv to use their longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia.

Putin said the missile was called the “Oreshnik” — Russian for “hazelnut tree.”

A look at the weapon, how it fits into Moscow’s battle plan and what political message Russia wants to send by using it.

[newsverse]

Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syria’s Assad?

(BEIRUT) Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader whose stunning insurgency toppled Syria’s President Bashar Assad, has spent years working to remake his public image, renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance. As he entered Damascus behind his victorious fighters Sunday, he even dropped his nom de guerre and referred to himself with his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa. The extent of that transformation from jihadi extremist to would-be state builder is now put to the test.

Insurgents control Damascus, Assad has fled into hiding, and for the first time after 50 years of his family’s iron hand, it is an open question how Syria will be governed.

[newsverse]

Search for UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killer yields evidence, but few answers

NEW YORK—They have seen him smiling on a hostel security camera, but don’t know his name. They found the backpack he discarded while fleeing, but don’t know where he’s gone.

As the search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer goes on, investigators are reckoning with a tantalizing dichotomy: They have troves of evidence, but the shooter remains an enigma.

Police don’t know who he is, where he is, or why he did it, though they are confident it was a targeted attack instead of a random act.

“The net is tightening,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday.

Hours after he spoke, police divers were seen searching a pond in Central Park, where the killer fled after the shooting. Officers have been scouring the park for days for any possible clues and found his bag there Friday.

Late Saturday, police released two additional photos of the suspected shooter that appeared to be from a camera mounted inside a taxi. The first shows him outside the vehicle and the second shows him looking through the partition between the back seat and the front of the cab. In both, his face is partially obscured by a blue, medical-style mask. Retracing the gunman’s steps using surveillance video, police say, it appears he left the city by bus soon after the shooting Wednesday morning outside the New York Hilton Midtown. He was seen on video at an uptown bus station about 45 minutes later, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.