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  • County prosecutor calls on public to share Minneapolis shooting evidence

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    MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota prosecutor on Friday called on the public to share with investigators any recordings and evidence connected to the fatal shooting of Renee Good as a new video emerged showing the final moments of her encounter with an immigration officer.

    What You Need To Know

    • A Minnesota prosecutor is calling on the public to share with investigators any recordings and evidence connected to the fatal shooting of Renee Good as new video emerged showing the final moments of her encounter with an immigration officer

    • The Minneapolis fatal shooting and a separate shooting in Portland, Oregon, a day later by the Border Patrol have set off protests in multiple cities.

    • The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents

    The Minneapolis fatal shooting and a separate shooting in Portland, Oregon, a day later by the Border Patrol have set off protests in multiple cities and denunciations of immigration enforcement tactics by the U.S. government. The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents.

    The reaction to the shooting has largely been focused on witness cellphone video of the encounter. A new, 47-second video that was published online by a Minnesota-based conservative news site, Alpha News, and later reposted on social media by the Department of Homeland Security shows the shooting from the perspective of ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who fired the shots.

    Sirens blaring in the background, he approaches and circles Good’s vehicle in the middle of the road while apparently filming on his cellphone. At the same time, Good’s wife also was recording the encounter and can be seen walking around the vehicle and approaching the officer. A series of exchanges occurred:

    “That’s fine, I’m not mad at you,” Good says as the officer passes by her door. She has one hand on the steering wheel and the other outside the open driver side window.

    “U.S. citizen, former f—ing veteran,” says her wife, standing outside the passenger side of the SUV holding up her phone. “You wanna come at us, you wanna come at us, I say go get yourself some lunch big boy.”

    Other officers are approaching the driver’s side of the car at about the same time and one says: “Get out of the car, get out of the f—ing car.” Ross is now at the front driver side of the vehicle. Good reverses briefly, then turns the steering wheel toward the passenger side as she drives ahead and Ross opens fire.

    The camera becomes unsteady and points toward the sky and then returns to the street view showing Good’s SUV careening away.

    “F—ing b—,” someone at the scene says.

    A crashing sound is heard as Good’s vehicle smashes into others parked on the street.

    Federal agencies have encouraged officers to document encounters in which people may attempt to interfere with enforcement actions, but policing experts have cautioned that recording on a handheld device can complicate already volatile situations by occupying an officer’s hands and narrowing focus at moments when rapid decision-making is required.

    Under an ICE policy directive, officers and agents are expected to activate body-worn cameras at the start of enforcement activities and to record throughout interactions, and footage must be kept for review in serious incidents such as deaths or use-of-force cases. The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to questions about whether the officer who opened fire or any of the others who were on the scene were wearing body cameras.

    This image from video made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross via Alpha News shows Renee Good in her vehicle in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo)

    Homeland Security says video shows self-defense

    Vice President JD Vance and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in posts on X that the new video backs their contention that the officer fired in self-defense.

    “Many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn’t hit by a car, wasn’t being harassed, and murdered an innocent woman,” Vance said. “The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self defense.”

    Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has said any self-defense argument is “garbage.”

    Policing experts said the video didn’t change their thoughts on the use-of-force but did raise additional questions about the officer’s training.

    “Now that we can see he’s holding a gun in one hand and a cellphone in the other filming, I want to see the officer training that permits that,” said Geoff Alpert, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina.

    The video demonstrates that the officers didn’t perceive Good to be a threat, said John P. Gross, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School who has written extensively about officers shooting at moving vehicles.

    “If you are an officer who views this woman as a threat, you don’t have one hand on a cellphone. You don’t walk around this supposed weapon, casually filming,” Gross said.

    Ross, 43, is an Iraq War veteran who has served in the Border Patrol and ICE for nearly two decades. He was injured last year when he was dragged by a driver fleeing an immigration arrest.

    Attempts to reach Ross at phone numbers and email addresses associated with him were not successful.

    Protesters confront law enforcement outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Adam Bettcher)

    Protesters confront law enforcement outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Adam Bettcher)

    Prosecutor asks for video and evidence

    Meanwhile, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said that although her office has collaborated effectively with the FBI in past cases, she is concerned by the Trump administration’s decision to bar state and local agencies from playing any role in the investigation into Good’s killing.

    She also said the officer who shot Good in the head does not have complete legal immunity, as Vance declared.

    “We do have jurisdiction to make this decision with what happened in this case,” Moriarty said at a news conference. “It does not matter that it was a federal law enforcement agent.”

    Moriarty said her office would post a link for the public to submit footage of the shooting, even though she acknowledged that she wasn’t sure what legal outcome submissions might produce.

    Good’s wife, Becca Good, released a statement to Minnesota Public Radio on Friday saying, “kindness radiated out of her.”

    “On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns,” Becca Good said.

    “I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are people building a better world for him,” she wrote.

    The reaction to Good’s shooting was immediate in the city where police killed George Floyd in 2020, with hundreds of protesters converging on the shooting scene and the school district canceling classes for the rest of the week as a precaution and offering an online option through Feb. 12.

    On Friday, protesters were outside a federal facility serving as a hub for the immigration crackdown that began Tuesday in Minneapolis and St. Paul. That evening, hundreds protested and marched outside two hotels in downtown Minneapolis where immigration enforcement agents were supposed to be staying. Some people were seen breaking or spray painting windows and state law enforcement officers wearing helmets and holding batons ordered the remaining group of fewer than 100 people to leave late Friday.

    Minneapolis Public Schools families, educators and students hold signs during a news conference at Lake Hiawatha Park in Minneapolis, on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement be kept out of schools and Minnesota following the killing of 37-year-old mother Renee Good by federal agents earlier on Wednesday. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)

    Minneapolis Public Schools families, educators and students hold signs during a news conference at Lake Hiawatha Park in Minneapolis, on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement be kept out of schools and Minnesota following the killing of 37-year-old mother Renee Good by federal agents earlier on Wednesday. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)

    Shooting in Portland

    The Portland shooting happened outside a hospital Thursday. A federal border officer shot and wounded a man and woman in a vehicle, identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Venezuela nationals Luis David Nico Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras. Police said they were in stable condition Friday after surgery, with DHS saying Nico Moncada was taken into FBI custody

    DHS defended the actions of its officers in Portland, saying the shooting occurred after the driver with alleged gang ties tried to “weaponize” his vehicle to hit them. It said no officers were injured.

    Portland Police Chief Bob Day confirmed that the two people shot had “some nexus” to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. Day said they came to the attention of police during an investigation of a July shooting believed to have been carried out by gang members, but they were not identified as suspects.

    The chief said any gang affiliation did not necessarily justify the shooting by U.S. Border Patrol. The Oregon Department of Justice said it would investigate.

    On Friday evening, hundreds of protesters marched to the ICE building in Portland.

    A protester yells at a Portland police officer outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

    A protester yells at a Portland police officer outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

    The biggest crackdown yet

    The Minneapolis shooting happened on the second day of the immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities, which Homeland Security said is the biggest immigration enforcement operation ever. More than 2,000 officers are taking part and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they have made more than 1,500 arrests.

    The government is also shifting immigration officers to Minneapolis from sweeps in Louisiana, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. This represents a pivot, as the Louisiana crackdown that began in December had been expected to last into February.

    Good’s death — at least the fifth tied to immigration sweeps since President Donald Trump took office — has resonated far beyond Minneapolis. More protests are planned for this weekend, according to Indivisible, a group formed to resist the Trump administration.

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    Associated Press

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  • ICE agent shoots and kills woman during Minneapolis immigration crackdown

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    MINNEAPOLIS — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a Minneapolis driver on Wednesday during the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major American city — a shooting that federal officials said was an act of self-defense but that the mayor described as reckless and unnecessary.

    What You Need To Know

    • Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot and killed a motorist acted recklessly, and he rejected federal officials’ claims that the officer had acted in self-defense

    • During a Wednesday news conference hours after the ICE officer shot the woman, an angry Frey blasted the federal immigration crackdown on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul

    • Frey accused the federal officers of “sowing chaos on our streets, and in this case, quite literally killing people” 

    • Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, during a Texas visit, described the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism” carried out against ICE officers by a woman who “attempted to run them over”

    The 37-year-old woman was shot in the head in front of a family member in a snowy residential neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, just a few blocks from some of the oldest immigrant markets and about a mile from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020.

    Her killing after 9:30 a.m. was recorded on video by witnesses, and the shooting quickly drew a crowd of hundreds of angry protesters. By evening, hundreds were there for a vigil to mourn the death and urge the public to resist immigration enforcers.

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, while visiting Texas, described the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism” carried out against ICE officers by a woman who “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”

    In a social media post, President Donald Trump made similar accusations against the woman and defended ICE’s work.

    Hours later, at an evening news conference in Minnesota, Noem didn’t back down, claiming the woman was part of a “mob of agitators.” She said the veteran officer who fired his gun had been rammed and dragged by an anti-ICE motorist in June.

    “Any loss of life is a tragedy, and I think all of us can agree that in this situation, it was preventable,” Noem said, adding that the FBI would investigate.

    But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey blasted Noem’s version of what happened as “garbage” and criticized the federal deployment of more than 2,000 officers to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul as part of the immigration crackdown.

    “What they are doing is not to provide safety in America. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust,” Frey said, calling on the immigration agents to leave. “They’re ripping families apart. They’re sowing chaos on our streets, and in this case, quite literally killing people.”

    “They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video myself, I wanna tell everybody directly, that is bullshit,” the mayor said.

    Frey said he had a message for ICE: “Get the f— out of Minneapolis.”

    People protest as law enforcement officers attend to the scene of the shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

     

    A shooting caught on video

    Videos taken by bystanders with different vantage points and posted to social media show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward and a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots into the vehicle at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.

     

    It was not clear from the videos if the vehicle made contact with the officer. The SUV then sped into two cars parked on a curb nearby before crashing to a stop. Witnesses screamed obscenities, expressing shock at what they’d seen. After the shooting, emergency medical technicians tried to administer aid to the woman.

    “She was driving away and they killed her,” said resident Lynette Reini-Grandell, who was outdoors recording video on her phone.

    The shooting marked a dramatic escalation of the latest in a series of immigration enforcement operations in major cities under the Trump administration. The death of the Minneapolis driver, whose name wasn’t immediately released, was at least the fifth linked to immigration crackdowns.

    The Twin Cities have been on edge since DHS announced Tuesday that it had launched the operation, which is at least partly tied to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. Noem confirmed Wednesday that DHS had deployed more than 2,000 officers to the area and said they had already made “hundreds and hundreds” of arrests.

    A large throng of protesters gathered at the scene after the shooting, where they vented their anger at the local and federal officers who were there, including Gregory Bovino, a senior U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official who has been the face of crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago and elsewhere.

    In a scene that hearkened back to the Los Angeles and Chicago crackdowns, bystanders heckled the officers, chanting “Shame! Shame! Shame!” and “ICE out of Minnesota,” and blew whistles that have become ubiquitous during the operations.

    Governor calls for calm

    Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he’s prepared to deploy the National Guard if necessary. He said a family member of the driver was there to witness the killing, which he described as “predictable” and “avoidable.” He also said like many, he was outraged by the shooting, but he called on people to keep protests peaceful.

    “They want a show. We can’t give it to them. We cannot,” the governor said during a news conference. “If you protest and express your First Amendment rights, please do so peacefully, as you always do. We can’t give them what they want.”

    Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara briefly described the shooting to reporters but, unlike federal officials, gave no indication that the driver was trying to harm anyone.

    “This woman was in her vehicle and was blocking the roadway on Portland Avenue. … At some point a federal law enforcement officer approached her on foot and the vehicle began to drive off,” the chief said. “At least two shots were fired. The vehicle then crashed on the side of the roadway.”

    There were calls on social media to prosecute the officer who shot the driver. Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said state authorities would investigate the shooting with federal authorities.

    “Keep in mind that this is an investigation that is also in its infancy. So any speculation about what has happened would be just that,” Jacobson told reporters.

    The shooting happened in the district of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who called it “state violence,” not law enforcement.

    For nearly a year, migrant rights advocates and neighborhood activists across the Twin Cities have been preparing to mobilize in the event of an immigration enforcement surge. From houses of worship to mobile home parks, they have set up very active online networks, scanned license plates for possible federal vehicles and bought whistles and other noisemaking devices to alert neighborhoods of any enforcement presence.

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    Associated Press

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  • U.S. cuts the number of vaccines recommended for every child

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    WASHINGTON  — The U.S. took the unprecedented step Monday of cutting the number of vaccines it recommends for every child — a move that leading medical groups said would undermine protections against a half-dozen diseases.

    What You Need To Know

    • The U.S. has taken the unprecedented step of dropping the number of vaccines it recommends for every child — a move that leading medical groups say would undermine protections against a half-dozen diseases

    • The overhaul to the federal vaccine schedule, announced Monday, is effective immediately and stops broadly recommending protection against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV

    • Protections against those diseases are now only recommended for certain groups deemed high-risk, or if their doctors recommend them

    • Officials say the overhaul won’t result in any families losing access or insurance coverage for vaccines, but medical experts say it creates confusion for parents and could increase preventable diseases



    The change is effective immediately, meaning that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will now recommend that all children get vaccinated against 11 diseases. What’s no longer broadly recommended is protection against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis or RSV. Instead, protections against those diseases are only recommended for certain groups deemed high risk, or when doctors recommend them in what’s called “shared decision-making.”

    Trump administration officials said the overhaul, a move long sought by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., won’t result in families who want the vaccines losing access to them, and said insurance will continue to pay. But medical experts said the decision creates confusion for parents and could increase preventable diseases.

    States, not the federal government, have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren. While CDC requirements often influence those state regulations, some states have begun creating their own alliances to counter the Trump administration’s guidance on vaccines.

    The change comes as U.S. vaccination rates have been slipping and the share of children with exemptions has reached an all-time high, according to federal data. At the same time, rates of diseases that can be protected against with vaccines, such as measles and whooping cough, are rising across the country.

    Review came at the request of President Trump

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the overhaul was in response to a request from President Donald Trump in December. Trump asked the agency to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising U.S. guidance accordingly.

    HHS said its comparison to 20 peer nations found that the U.S. was an “outlier” in both the number of vaccinations and the number of doses it recommended to all children. Officials with the agency framed the change as a way to increase public trust by recommending only the most important vaccinations for children to receive.

    “This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health,” Kennedy said in a statement Monday.

    Trump, reacting to the news on his Truth Social platform, said the new schedule is “far more reasonable” and “finally aligns the United States with other Developed Nations around the World.”

    Among those left on the recommended-for-everyone list are vaccines against measles, whooping cough, polio, tetanus, chickenpox and human papillomavirus, or HPV. The guidance reduces the number of recommended vaccine doses against HPV from two or three shots depending on age to one for most children.

    Medical experts said Monday’s changes without what they said was public discussion or a transparent review of the data would put children at risk.

    “Abandoning recommendations for vaccines that prevent influenza, hepatitis and rotavirus, and changing the recommendation for HPV without a public process to weigh the risks and benefits, will lead to more hospitalizations and preventable deaths among American children,” said Michael Osterholm of the Vaccine Integrity Project, based at the University of Minnesota.

    Dr. Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics said countries carefully consider vaccine recommendations based on levels of disease in their populations and their health systems.

    “You can’t just copy and paste public health and that’s what they seem to be doing here,” said O’Leary. “Literally children’s health and children’s lives are at stake.”

    Most high-income countries recommend vaccinations against a dozen to 15 serious pathogens, according to a recent review by the Vaccine Integrity Project, a group that works to safeguard vaccine use.

    France today recommends all children get vaccinated against 14 diseases, compared to the 11 that the U.S. now will recommend for every child under the new schedule.

    Doctors’ groups criticize decision

    The changes were made by political appointees, without any evidence that the current recommendations were harming children, O’Leary said.

    The pediatricians’ group has issued its own childhood vaccine schedule that its members are following, and it continues to broadly recommend vaccines that the Trump administration demoted.

    O’Leary singled out the flu vaccine, which the government and leading medical experts have long urged for nearly everyone starting at age 6 months. He said the government is “pretty tone deaf” for ending its recommendation while the country is at the beginning of a severe flu season, and after 280 children died from flu last winter, the most since 2009.

    Even a disease that parents may not have heard of, rotavirus, could come roaring back if vaccination erodes, he added. That diarrheal disease once hospitalized thousands of children each winter, something that no longer happens.

    The decision was made without input from an advisory committee that typically consults on the vaccine schedule, said senior officials at HHS. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the changes publicly.

    The officials added that the new recommendations were a collaborative effort between federal health agencies but wouldn’t specify who was consulted.

    Scientists at the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases were asked to present to the agency’s political leadership about vaccine schedules in other countries in December, but they were not allowed to give any recommendations and were not aware of any decisions about vaccine schedule changes, said Abby Tighe, executive director of the National Public Health Coalition, an advocacy organization of current and former CDC employees and their supporters.

    “Changes of this magnitude require careful review, expert and public input, and clear scientific justification. That level of rigor and transparency was not part of this decision,” said Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, of the American Medical Association. “The scientific evidence remains unchanged, and the AMA supports continued access to childhood immunizations recommended by national medical specialty societies.”

    Kennedy is a longtime vaccine skeptic

    The move comes as Kennedy, a longtime activist against vaccines, has repeatedly used his authority in government to translate his skepticism about the shots into national guidance.

    In May, Kennedy announced the CDC would no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women — a move immediately questioned by public health experts who saw no new data to justify the change.

    In June, Kennedy fired an entire 17-member CDC vaccine advisory committee — later installing several of his own replacements, including multiple vaccine skeptics.

    Kennedy in November also personally directed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism, without supplying any new evidence to support the change.

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  • Maduro arrives in U.S. after capture; Trump will let U.S. ‘run’ Venezuela

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    CARACAS, Venezuela — Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being captured in an audacious nighttime military operation that President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to “run” the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

    What You Need To Know

    • Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived in the U.S. to face criminal charges after being captured in a nighttime military operation that President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to “run” the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations

    • Maduro landed late Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital, Caracas

    • Venezuela’s capital remained unusually quiet Sunday with few vehicles moving around and convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses closed

    • Lawmakers from both American political parties have raised reservations to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling. Congress has not approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region

    Maduro landed late Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital, Caracas — an act that Maduro’s government called “imperialist.” The couple faces U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

    The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuela’s autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval. Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, meanwhile, demanded that the United States free Maduro and called him the country’s rightful leader as her nation’s high court named her interim president.

    Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, who didn’t give a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured, but none was killed.

    Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries.

    After arriving at a small airport in New York City’s northern suburbs, Maduro was flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armored car, was waiting to whisk him to a nearby U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office.

    A video posted on social media by a White House account showed Maduro, smiling, as he was escorted through that office by two DEA agents grasping his arms.

    Trump says U.S. will ‘run the country’

    The Trump administration promoted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the U.S. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.

    Trump claimed the U.S. government would help lead the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate visible signs of that. Venezuelan state TV aired pro-Maduro propaganda and broadcast live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.

    “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference. He boasted that this “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.”

    Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.

    The Trump administration spent months building up American forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean for allegedly ferrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. campaign began in September.

    Early morning attack

    Taking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 surrender and seizure of Panama leader Manuel Antonio Noriega following a U.S. invasion, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday. Trump said the U.S. turned off “almost all of the lights” in Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.

    Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.

    “We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again,” Caine said. “Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.”

    Multiple explosions rang out that morning, and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduro’s government accused the United States of hitting civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets. The explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard.

    Restrictions imposed by the U.S. government on airspace around Venezuela and the Caribbean expired early Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X, an announcement that suggested any further immediate major U.S. military action was unlikely. “Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly,” he posted.

    Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodríguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela’s high court ordered that she become interim president.

    “There is only one president in Venezuela,” Rodriguez said, “and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros.”

    Some streets in Caracas fill up

    Venezuela’s ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.

    Maduro took over when Chávez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gathered overwhelming evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

    Venezuela’s capital remained unusually quiet Sunday with few vehicles moving around and convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses closed. A road typically filled with runners, cyclists and other fitness enthusiasts on Sundays only had a handful of people working out the day after Maduro was deposed.

    The presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and members of the military. At a nearby plaza, only a street sweeper and a soldier stood, and across the street, a church remained close for a second day in a row.

    Caracas resident David Leal arrived to the lot where he parks vehicles for a living only to quickly realize that he would likely not see any clients for a second day.

    “People are still shaken,” Leal, 77, said.

    Questions of legality linger

    Whether the United States violated any laws, international or otherwise, was still a question early Sunday. “There are a number of international legal concepts which the United States might have broken by capturing Maduro,” said Ilan Katz, an international law analyst.

    Pope Leo XIV, who last month had expressed concern about growing U.S. threats of military intervention in Venezuela, raised alarms during his Sunday noon blessing and said the good of the Venezuelan people must prevail above everything else. History’s first U.S. pope demanded an end to violence and for Venezuela’s sovereignty to be guaranteed.

    In New York, the U.N. Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, planned to hold a meeting on U.S. operations in Venezuela on Monday morning.

    Lawmakers from both American political parties have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling. Congress has not approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

    Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”

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    Associated Press

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  • U.S. plans to ‘run’ Venezuela, Trump says, after operation to oust Maduro

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    CARACAS, Venezuela — Hours after an audacious military operation that plucked leader Nicolás Maduro from power and removed him from the country, President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States would run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Donald Trump says the United States will run Venezuela at least temporarily after an audacious military operation plucked leader Nicolás Maduro from power and removed him from the country

    • Trump on Saturday also described plans to tap Venezuela’s vast oil reserves to sell to other nations

    • The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American nation and its autocratic leader and months of secret planning

    • It resulted in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq
    • Legal experts immediately raised questions about whether the operation was lawful

    The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American nation and its autocratic leader and months of secret planning resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

    Legal experts immediately raised questions about whether the operation was lawful. Venezuela’s vice president Delcy Rodríguez demanded in a speech that the U.S. free Maduro and called him the country’s rightful leader, before Venezuela’s high court ordered her to assume the role of interim president.

    Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries.

    Maduro and his wife, seized overnight from their home on a military base, were first taken aboard a U.S. warship on their way to face prosecution for a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

    A plane carrying the deposed leader landed around 4:30 p.m. Saturday at an airport in New York City’s northern suburbs. Maduro was escorted off the jet, gingerly making his way down a stairway before being led across the tarmac surrounded by federal agents. Several agents filmed him on their phones as he walked.

    He was then flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armored car, was waiting to whisk him to a nearby U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office.

    A video posted on social media by a White House account showed Maduro, smiling, as he was escorted through that office by two DEA agents grasping his arms.

    He was expected to be detained while awaiting trial at a federal jail in Brooklyn.

    Move lacks congressional approval

    The legal authority for the incursion, done without congressional approval, was not immediately clear, but the Trump administration promoted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the U.S. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.

    Trump claimed the U.S. government would help run the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate signs of that. Venezuelan state TV continued to air pro-Maduro propaganda, broadcasting live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.

    “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference where he boasted that this “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.”

    Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, that painted the regime as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.

    Trump posted a photo on social media showing Maduro wearing a sweatsuit and a blindfold on board the USS Iwo Jima.

    Early morning attack

    The operation followed a monthslong Trump administration effort to push the Venezuelan leader, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September.

    Maduro had decried prior military operations as a thinly veiled effort to topple him from power.

    Taking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 surrender and seizure of Panama leader Manuel Antonio Noriega following a U.S. invasion, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday as Trump said the U.S. turned off “almost all of the lights” in the capital city of Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.

    Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.

    “We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again,” Caine said. “Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.”

    Early Saturday, multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduro’s government accused the U.S. of hitting civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.

    The assault lasted less than 30 minutes, and the explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard. Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, the country’s vice president, without giving a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured but none were killed.

    Video obtained from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape as repeated muted explosions illuminated the night sky. Other footage showed cars passing on a highway as blasts illuminated the hills behind them. The videos were verified by The Associated Press.

    Smoke was seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas, while another military installation in the capital was without electricity.

    Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodriguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela’s high court ordered that she assume the interim role.

    “There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros,” Rodriguez said.

    Government supporters burn a U.S. flag in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

    Some streets in Caracas fill up

    Venezuela’s ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.

    Maduro took over when Chávez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gathered overwhelming evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

    In a demonstration of how polarizing a figure Maduro is, people variously took to the streets to protest his capture and celebrate it.

    At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro’s return.

    “Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!” the crowd chanted. “We are here, Nicolás Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!”

    Earlier, armed people and uniformed members of a civilian militia took to the streets of a Caracas neighborhood long considered a stronghold of the ruling party.

    In other parts of the city, the streets remained empty hours after the attack. Some areas remained without power, but vehicles moved freely.

    “How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking down at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared, many families couldn’t sleep.”

    In Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!”

    In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, center, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)

    In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, center, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)

    Questions of legality

    Some legal experts raised immediate concerns about the operation’s legality.

    The U.N. Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, planned to hold a meeting on U.S. operations in Venezuela on Monday morning, according to a council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a meeting not yet made public.

    Lawmakers from both political parties in Congress have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling near the Venezuelan coast. Congress has not specifically approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

    Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”

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  • Cities around world welcome 2026 with thunderous fireworks, heightened security

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    NEW YORK — From Sydney to Paris to New York City, crowds rang in the new year with exuberant celebrations filled with thunderous fireworks or light shows, while others took a more subdued approach.

    As the clock struck midnight in Japan, temple bells rang and some climbed mountains to see the year’s first sunrise, while a light show with somersaulting jet skis twinkled in Dubai. The countdown to 2026 was projected onto the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, while in Moscow people celebrated in the snow.

    In New York City’s Times Square, revelers braved frigid temperatures to celebrate with the famed New Year’s Eve ball drop.

    In Rio de Janeiro, revelers packed more than 4 kilometers (2 1/2 miles) of the city’s Copacabana Beach for concerts and a 12-minute fireworks show, despite high tides that had both organizers and tourists worried and large waves that rocked barges carrying fireworks.

    Other events were more subdued. Hong Kong held limited celebrations following a recent fire at an apartment complex that killed 161 people. Australia saluted the new year with defiance less than a month after its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.

    Ball drop in New York City

    Crowds bundled up against the chilly temperatures cheered and embraced as the New Year’s Eve ball covered in more than 5,000 crystals descended down a pole and confetti rained down in Times Square.

    Revelers wearing tall celebratory hats and light-up necklaces had waited for hours to see the 12,350-pound (5,602-kilograms) ball drop. The festivities also included Tones and I performing John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

    The television hosts interviewed visitors who were attending from such places as Florida, Mexico and South Korea, and read people’s wishes for the new year.

    After the ball dropped it rose again, sparkling in red, white and blue, to mark the country’s upcoming 250th birthday.

    Police in the city had planned additional anti-terrorism measures at the ball drop, with “mobile screening teams.” It was not in response to a specific threat, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

    Fireworks burst over the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the New Year celebrations in Sydney, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

    More security in Sydney

    A heavy police presence monitored crowds watching fireworks in Sydney. Many officers openly carried rapid-fire rifles, a first for the event, after two gunmen targeted a Hannukah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, killing 15.

    An hour before midnight, victims were commemorated with a minute of silence, and the crowd was invited to show solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community.

    New South Wales Premier Chris Minns had urged residents not to stay away from festivities, saying extremists would interpret smaller crowds as a victory: “We have to show defiance in the face of this terrible crime.”

    Shadows of war and disasters

    Indonesia scaled back festivities in solidarity with communities devastated by floods and landslides in parts of Sumatra a month ago that killed over 1,100. Fireworks on the tourist island of Bali were replaced with traditional dances.

    Hong Kong rang in 2026 without fireworks over Victoria Harbor after the massive fire in November. Facades of landmarks were turned into countdown clocks and a light show at midnight.

    And in Gaza, Palestinians said they hope the new year brings an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

    “The war humiliated us,” said Mirvat Abed Al-Aal, displaced from the southern city of Rafah.

    A light show is projected on the Arc de Triomphe as fireworks explode during New Year celebrations on the Champs Elysees in Paris, France, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

    A light show is projected on the Arc de Triomphe as fireworks explode during New Year celebrations on the Champs Elysees in Paris, France, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

    Around Europe

    Pope Leo XIV closed out the year with a plea for the city of Rome to welcome foreigners and the fragile. Fireworks erupted over European landmarks, from the Colosseum in Rome to the London Eye.

    In Paris, revelers converged around the glittering Champs-Élysées avenue. Taissiya Girda, a 27-year-old tourist from Kazakhstan, expressed hope for a calmer 2026.

    “I would like to see happy people around me, no war anywhere,” she said. “Russia, Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, I want everybody to be happy and in peace.”

    In Scotland, where New Year’s is known as Hogmanay, First Minister John Swinney urged Scots to follow the message of “Auld Lang Syne” by national poet Robert Burns and show small acts of kindness.

    Greece and Cyprus turned down the volume, replacing traditional fireworks with low-noise pyrotechnics in capitals. Officials said the change was intended to make celebrations more welcoming for children and pets.

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  • Winter storm packing snow, winds descends on Great Lakes and Northeast

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    A wild winter storm brought strong winds, heavy snow and frigid temperatures to the Great Lakes and Northeast on Tuesday, a day after a bomb cyclone barreled across the Midwest and left tens of thousands of customers without power.

    What You Need To Know

    • A wild winter storm is bringing strong winds, heavy snow and frigid temperatures to the Great Lakes and Northeast

    • The storm forecast for Tuesday follows a bomb cyclone that hit the northern U.S. and left tens of thousands without power

    • Tens of thousands of customers were without power early Tuesday, with Michigan hardest hit

    • The National Weather Service predicts snow squalls and gusty winds for the Eastern U.S. New York’s governor warned of whiteout conditions in parts of the state

    The storm hit parts of the Plains and Great Lakes on Monday with sharply colder air, strong winds and a mix of snow, ice and rain, leading to treacherous travel. Forecasters said it intensified quickly enough to meet the criteria of a bomb cyclone, a system that strengthens rapidly as pressure drops.

    Nationwide, more than 120,000 customers were without power Tuesday morning, nearly a third of them in Michigan, according to Poweroutage.us.

    As the storm moved into Canada, the National Weather Service predicted more inclement weather conditions for the Eastern U.S., including quick bursts of heavy snow and gusty winds known as snow squalls. Blustery winds were expected to add to the arctic chill, with low temperatures dipping below freezing as far south as the Florida panhandle, the agency said.

    Some areas in western and upstate New York saw a foot or more of snow Monday and their totals could reach up to 3 feet this week, forecasters said. Strong winds on Monday, including an 81 mph gust in Buffalo, New York, knocked down trees and wires across the region, the National Weather Service said.

    “At this point, the worst does seem to be over, and we are expecting conditions to improve especially by later today,” said Andrew Orrison, a Weather Service meteorologist in College Park, Maryland.

    Videos on social media show people struggling to walk in the windy conditions and a waterway in downtown Buffalo clogged with tree branches and other debris stemming from a windblown surge from Lake Erie.

    Just south of Buffalo in Lackawanna, Diane Miller was caught on video being blown off the front steps of her daughter’s house and landing in some bushes. She wasn’t seriously hurt.

    “I opened her door and the wind caught me, and I went flying,” Miller told WKBW-TV.

    Winds were expected to decrease in speed Tuesday, but there could still be whiteout conditions in some areas, forecasters said.

    “If you’re in an impacted area, please avoid all unnecessary travel,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned said in a post on the social platform X.

    The fierce winds on Lake Erie sent water surging toward the basin’s eastern end near Buffalo while lowering water on the western side in Michigan to expose normally submerged lakebed — even the wreck of a car and a snowmobile.

    Kevin Aldrich, 33, a maintenance worker from Monroe, Michigan, said he has never seen the lake recede so much and was surprised Monday to spot remnants of piers dating back to the 1830s. He posted photos on social media of wooden pilings sticking up several feet from the muck.

    “Where those are at would typically be probably 12 feet deep,” or 3.6 meters, he said. “We can usually drive our boat over them.”

    Waves on Lake Superior had been expected to reach 20 feet on Monday, sending all but one cargo ship into harbors for shelter, according to MarineTraffic.com.

    Dangerous wind chills across parts of North Dakota and Minnesota plunged as low as minus 30 F, or minus 34 C, on Monday. And in northeast West Virginia, rare nearly hurricane-force winds were recorded on a mountain near Dolly Sods, according to the National Weather Service.

    On the West Coast, strong Santa Ana winds with isolated gusts topping 70 mph brought down trees in parts of Southern California where recent storms had saturated the soil. Downed powerlines forced the shutdown of a freeway north of Los Angeles for several hours on Monday. Wind advisories had expired by evening, but blustery conditions were expected through Saturday, along with thunderstorms.

    Rain on New Year’s Day could potentially soak the Rose Parade in Pasadena for the first time in about two decades.

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  • Russia strikes Ukraine’s capital a day before Zelenskyy-Trump meeting

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital with ballistic missiles and drones on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 27, a day before talks between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States, authorities said.

    What You Need To Know

    • Russia struck Ukraine’s capital with missiles and drones in an attack that killed at least one person

    • The barrage came a day before the leaders of Ukraine and the United States meet.

    • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack “really shows that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin doesn’t want peace”

    • Authorities said that Saturday’s assault hit residential buildings and energy infrastructure in Kyiv, and Moscow said the strike was in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.

    Explosions boomed across Kyiv as the attack began in early morning and continued for hours.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared to meet with President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday for further talks on ending the nearly four-year war. Zelenskyy told reporters that he and Trump plan to discuss several matters including security guarantees and territorial issues in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

    “This attack is Russia’s answer on our peace efforts. It really shows that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin doesn’t want peace,” Zelenskyy said after stopping in Canada to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Carney announced $1.8 billion worth of economic assistance to Ukraine that helps unlock financing from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for reconstruction and development.

    “The barbarism that we saw overnight, the attack of Kyiv, shows just how important that we stand with Ukraine during this difficult time,” Carney said.

    A rescue worker puts out a fire of a house destroyed after a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

    Apartment buildings hit

    The Russian Defense Ministry said that it carried out a “massive strike” overnight, using “long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air and sea, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles” and drones. It said it targeted energy infrastructure facilities used by Ukraine’s forces and military-industrial enterprises.

    But several residential buildings were struck.

    The ministry said the strike was in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.

    Earlier on Saturday, the ministry said air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Krasnodar and Adygeya overnight. On Saturday afternoon, the ministry said 147 more drones were shot down over a number of Russian regions.

    Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses intercepted more than 20 drones “flying towards” the Russian capital on Saturday. He didn’t report any damage or casualties. It wasn’t immediately clear whether those were included in the Defense Ministry’s count.

    Russia claims territorial gains

    In what could be viewed as an effort to further ramp up pressure on Ukraine before the Zelenskyy-Trump talks, the Kremlin on Saturday night released a video of Putin in military fatigues receiving reports from top military officials in an unidentified military command post.

    Russia’s General Staff chief, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, reported to Putin that the Russian troops have taken full control of Myrnohrad in the Donetsk region — Russia uses the old Soviet name of the city, Dimitrov — the city of Huliaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region, and a few other settlements.

    Putin said that ”if Kyiv authorities are not willing to end the matter peacefully, we will achieve all the goals we have in the special military operation by military means.”

    Ukraine’s General Staff rejected these claims as “not supported by facts.” It said that the situation in Huliaipole is “difficult, but the defensive operation in the city is ongoing.” In Myrnohrad, the situation remains “challenging.”

    “The senior political leadership of the aggressor state has once again resorted to spreading false claims about significant ‘successes’ by the Russian army on the battlefield,” the General Staff said in an online statement.

    Poland on alert

    Poland scrambled fighter jets and closed airports in Lublin and Rzeszow near the border with Ukraine for several hours during the Russian attacks, the country’s armed forces command said on social media. There was no violation of Polish airspace, it said.

    Civil aviation authority Pansa later said the airports had resumed operations. It was unclear what caused the alert in Poland when the Russian attacks were focused on Kyiv, which is far from the border.

    Russia targeted Ukraine with 519 drones and 40 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said. The main target was energy and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said. In some districts of the region there is no electricity or heating because of the attacks, he said.

    Man killed in attack

    More than 10 residential buildings were damaged, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on social media.

    Olena Karpenko, 52, said she heard a man as he burned to death. “His scream is still in my ears. I can’t believe it,” she said, weeping.

    Karpenko said they heard a explosion at the nearby thermal power plant, followed by a stronger blast that shook the windows of her home. Then came the strike on her building.

    Two children were among those wounded in the attack, which hit seven locations across the capital, the head of the Kyiv Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on social media.

    A body was found under the rubble of one damaged building, he said. It wasn’t immediately clear if that person was the man who burned to death.

    A fire broke out in an 18-story residential building in the Dnipro district, and emergency crews rushed to contain the flames. A 24-story residential building in the Darnytsia district was also hit, Tkachenko said, and more fires broke out in the Obolonskyi and Holosiivsky districts.

    In the wider Kyiv region, the strikes hit industrial and residential buildings, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service. In the Vyshhorod area, emergency crews rescued one person found under the rubble of a destroyed house.

    Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said on X on Saturday evening that the Russian attack caused “extensive power outages” in Kyiv, saying that hundreds of thousands of customers remained without power.

    Security guarantees prioritized

    Zelenskyy told reporters he would aim to ensure there were “ as few unresolved issues as possible ” in talks with Trump, while respecting Ukraine’s red lines.

    Speaking by audio note in a Whatsapp chat with journalists, Zelenskyy said he would prioritize discussing security guarantees for Ukraine. He has said that in the draft peace plan, the U.S. has committed to providing guarantees that mirror the NATO alliance’s Article 5, which means an attack on Ukraine would trigger a collective military response from the U.S. and its allies.

    But key details must be worked out in a bilateral agreement.

    Territorial concessions are the most sensitive of issues the two leaders will discuss.

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  • A look back at pop culture in 2025

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    From a wedding engagement that blew up the internet to the final chapter of one of TV’s most beloved franchises, 2025 was a huge year for pop culture that was chock-full of surprises.

    What You Need To Know

    • From a wedding engagement that blew up the internet to the final chapter of one of TV’s most beloved franchises, 2025 was a huge year for pop culture that was chock-full of surprises

    • The White Lotus” entranced millions of viewers, and the year saw some special movie releases, including “Sinners,” “Wicker for Good” and “KPop Demon Hunters”

    • An Instagram post revealing the engagement between pop star Taylor Swift and tight end Travis Kelce earned more than 30 million likes in less than 24 hours

    • A moment captured on the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert, when a CEO was seen embracing his date, who was not his wife, went viral
    • The fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” gave fans one more look at the “Upside Down”

    The year kicked off with a bang in Bangkok, as the third season of HBO Max’s hit show “The White Lotus” entranced millions of viewers with its story of meditation and murder. 

    2025 was the year of streaming content. According to an Associated Press poll, 70% of adults chose to watch movies in the comfort of their own homes instead of in theaters, which comes as no surprise to film correspondent John Horn. 

    “Ticket prices are really high,” Horn said. “If you take a family of four, especially in a city like Los Angeles or New York, it’s a hundred bucks.”

    Between that and the amount of pre-movie ads theaters show, Horn said, a film this year had to be really special to get audiences to venture out. 

    2025 did have some very special films, like Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners”; the sequel to last year’s holiday hit, “Wicked for Good”; and the Netflix animated movie that took the world by storm, “KPop Demon Hunters.” 

    This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande in a scene from “Wicked for Good..” (Universal Pictures via AP)

    The “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack also went viral, with each of its 12 original songs going platinum.

    Another astronomical musical achievement was Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album. Her tour grossed more than $400 million, becoming the highest-grossing country tour in history. 

    An Instagram post revealing the engagement between pop star Taylor Swift and tight end Travis Kelce earned more than 30 million likes in less than 24 hours.

    Another musical milestone came in a moment captured on the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert, when it showed a CEO embracing his date, who was not his wife. The incident resulted in both resigning from their roles. 

    Tragedy hit Hollywood when Rob Reiner, director of “When Harry Met Sally” and “The Princess Bride,” and his wife were killed in their home. 

    And in the legal spotlight, rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was found guilty of two counts in a sex-related felony case.

    Only display Labubu dolls are left at the Pop Mart store at American Dream mall in East Rutherford, N.J., on Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

    Only display Labubu dolls are left at the Pop Mart store at American Dream mall in East Rutherford, N.J., on Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

    In the world of pop culture, a creature named Labubu became a top trend thanks in part to celebrity endorsements from Rihanna and Kim Kardashian and an appearance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

    Also seen at the parade — and on breakfast cereal boxes and footwear — was “Stranger Things.” The fifth and final season of the Netflix hit gave fans one more look at the “Upside Down.” Nearly 40% of U.S. households binged all four of the first episodes within 48 hours of release. 

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    Alex Cohen

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  • Pope Leo XIV urges faithful on Christmas to shed indifference to suffering

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    VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day message on Thursday urged the faithful to shed indifference in the face of those who have lost everything, such as in Gaza, those who are impoverished, such as in Yemen, and the many migrants who cross the Mediterranean Sea and the American continent for a better future.

    What You Need To Know

    • Pope Leo XIV, during his first Christmas Day message, has urged the faithful to shed indifference toward those who are suffering

    • The first U.S. pontiff highlighted the suffering in Gaza, Yemen, and that of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea and the American continent

    • Addressing 26,000 people from St. Peter’s Square, he called for peace, justice, and stability in troubled regions like Lebanon, Ukraine, and Syria

    • The pope emphasized that everyone can contribute to peace through humility and responsibility, and he received especially warm cheers when he made his greetings in his native English and Spanish, the language of his adopted country of Peru, where he served as a missionary and then as archbishop

    The first U.S. pontiff addressed some 26,000 people from the loggia overlooking St. Peter’s Square for the traditional papal “Urbi et Orbi” address, Latin for “To the City and to the World,” which serves as a summary of the woes facing the world.

    While the crowd gathered under a steady downpour during the papal Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, the rain had subsided by the time Leo took a brief tour of the square in the popemobile, then spoke to the crowd from the loggia.

    Leo revived the tradition of offering Christmas greetings in multiple languages abandoned by his predecessor, Pope Francis. He received especially warm cheers when he made his greetings in his native English and Spanish, the language of his adopted country of Peru where he served first as a missionary and then as archbishop.

    Someone in the crowd shouted out “Viva il papa!” or ”Long live the pope!” before he retreated into the basilica. Leo took off his glasses for a final wave.

    Pope Leo XIV waves before delivering the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for ‘to the city and to the world’ ) Christmas’ day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

    Leo surveys the world’s distress

    During the traditional address, the pope emphasized that everyone could contribute to peace by acting with humility and responsibility.

    “If he would truly enter into the suffering of others and stand in solidarity with the weak and the oppressed, then the world would change,” the pope said.

    Leo called for “justice, peace and stability” in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Israel and Syria, prayers for “the tormented people of Ukraine,” and “peace and consolation” for victims of wars, injustice, political instability, religious persecution and terrorism, citing Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso and Congo.

    The pope also urged dialogue to address “numerous challenges” in Latin America, reconciliation in Myanmar, the restoration of “the ancient friendship between Thailand and Cambodia,” and assistance for the suffering of those hit by natural disasters in South Asia and Oceania.

    “In becoming man, Jesus took upon himself our fragility, identifying with each one of us: with those who have nothing left and have lost everything, like the inhabitants of Gaza; with those who are prey to hunger and poverty, like the Yemeni people; with those who are fleeing their homeland to seek a future elsewhere, like the many refugees and migrants who cross the Mediterranean or traverse the American continent,” the pontiff said.

    He also remembered those who have lost their jobs or are seeking work, especially young people, underpaid workers and those in prison.

    Fithful display an Ukrainian flag as they wait Pope Leo XIV's Urbi et Orbi (Latin for 'to the city and to the world' Christmas' ) day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

    Fithful display an Ukrainian flag as they wait Pope Leo XIV’s Urbi et Orbi (Latin for ‘to the city and to the world’ Christmas’ ) day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

    Peace through dialogue

    Earlier, Leo led the Christmas Day Mass from the central altar beneath the balustrade of St. Peter’s Basilica, adorned with floral garlands and clusters of red poinsettias. White flowers were set at the feet of a statue of Mary, mother of Jesus, whose birth is celebrated on Christmas Day.

    In his homily, Leo underlined that peace can emerge only through dialogue.

    “There will be peace when our monologues are interrupted and, enriched by listening, we fall to our knees before the humanity of the other,” he said.

    He remembered the people of Gaza, “exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold” and the fragility of “defenseless populations, tried by so many wars,’’ and of “young people forced to take up arms, who on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them, and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths.’’

    Thousands of people packed the basilica for the pope’s first Christmas Day Mass, holding aloft their smartphones to capture images of the opening procession.

    This Christmas season marks the winding down of the Holy Year celebrations, which will close on Jan. 6, the Catholic Epiphany holiday marking the visit of the three wise men to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

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  • U.S. regulators approve Wegovy pill for weight loss

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    U.S. regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity.

    What You Need To Know

    • U.S. regulators have approved a pill version of the weight-loss drug Wegovy

    • This gives Novo Nordisk an edge over Eli Lilly, whose similar drug is still under review

    • Both pills mimic a hormone that controls appetite

    • The Wegovy pill is expected to be available within weeks

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval handed drugmaker Novo Nordisk an edge over rival Eli Lilly in the race to market an obesity pill. Lilly’s oral drug, orforglipron, is still under review.

    Both pills are GLP-1 drugs that work like widely used injectables to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of fullness.

    In recent years, Novo Nordisk’s injectable Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound have revolutionized obesity treatment globally and in the U.S., where 100 million people have the chronic disease.

    The Wegovy pills are expected to be available within weeks, company officials said. Availability of oral pills to treat obesity could expand the booming market for obesity treatments by broadening access and reducing costs, experts said.

    About 1 in 8 Americans have used injectable GLP-1 drugs, according to a survey from KFF, a nonprofit health policy research group. But many more have trouble affording the costly shots.

    “There’s an entire demographic that can benefit from the pills,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, a Massachusetts General Hospital obesity expert. “For me, it’s not just about who gets it across the finish line first. It’s about having these options available to patients.”

    The Novo Nordisk obesity pill contains 25 milligrams of semaglutide. That’s the same ingredient in injectables Wegovy and Ozempic and in Rybelsus, a lower-dose pill approved to treat diabetes in 2019.

    In a clinical trial, participants who took oral Wegovy lost 13.6% of their total body weight on average over about 15 months, compared with a 2.2% loss if they took a placebo, or dummy pill. That’s nearly the same as injectable Wegovy, with an average weight loss of about 15%.

    Chris Mertens, 35, a pediatric lung doctor in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, joined the Novo Nordisk trial in 2022 and lost about 40 pounds using the Wegovy pill. The daily medication worked to decrease his appetite and invasive thoughts of food, he said.

    “If there were days where I missed a meal, I almost didn’t realize it,” Mertens said.

    Participants in a clinical trial who took the highest dose of Lilly’s orforglipron lost 11.2% of their total body weight on average over nearly 17 months, compared with a 2.1% loss in those who took a placebo.

    Both pills resulted in less weight loss than the average achieved with Lilly’s Zepbound, or tirzepatide, which targets two gut hormones, GLP-1 and GIP, and led to a 21% average weight loss.

    All the GLP-1 drugs, oral or injectable, have similar side effects, including nausea and diarrhea.

    Both daily pills promise convenience, but the Wegovy pill must be taken with a sip of water in the morning on an empty stomach, with a 30-minute break before eating or drinking.

    That’s because Novo Nordisk had to design the pill in a way that prevented the drug from being broken down in the stomach before it could be absorbed by the bloodstream. The drugmaker added an ingredient that protects the medication for about 30 minutes in the gut and makes it easier to take effect.

    By contrast, Lilly’s orforglipron has no dosing restrictions. That drug is being considered under the FDA’s new priority voucher program aimed at cutting drug approval times. A decision is expected by spring.

    Producing pills is generally cheaper than making drugs delivered via injections, so the cost for the new oral medications could be lower. The Trump administration earlier this year said officials had worked with drugmakers to negotiate lower prices for the GLP-1 drugs, which can cost upwards of $1,000 a month.

    The company said the starting dose would be available for $149 per month from some providers. Additional information on cost will be available in January.

    It’s not clear whether daily pills or weekly injections will be preferred by patients. Although some patients dislike needles, others don’t seem to mind the weekly injections, obesity experts said. Mertens turned to injectable Zepbound when he regained weight after the end of the Wegovy pill clinical trial.

    He said he liked the discipline of the daily pill.

    “It was a little bit of an intentional routine and a reminder of today I’m taking this so that I know my choices are going to be affected for the day,” he said.

    Dr. Angela Fitch, an obesity expert and chief medical officer of knownwell, a health care company, said whatever the format, the biggest benefit will be in making weight-loss medications more widely accessible and affordable.

    “It’s all about the price,” she said. “Just give me a drug at $100 a month that is relatively effective.”

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  • 2025: Weather in Review

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    As we close out 2025, here’s a look back at the wild weather experienced this year. From snow to wildfires to tornadoes to flooding, 2025 will be one for the record books.

    What You Need To Know

    • Record snow fell in southern states, including Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, in January

    • A tornado outbreak in May saw an EF3 in St. Louis and an EF4 in south-central Kentucky

    • For the first time in a decade, no hurricane made landfall in the United States



    It didn’t take long into the New Year for Mother Nature to become active.

    First big storm of the season Jan 3. to Jan 6

    On Jan. 3, a storm system moved onshore along the West Coast, producing snow in the mountains of Washington and Montana. The southern side of the storm produced severe weather, including the first tornado of the year in Northern California.

    As it moved east across the Great Plains and Midwest on Jan. 4 and 5, it intensified and pulled in moisture from the Gulf. Parts of Kansas, including the Kansas City metro, saw upwards of 12 to 18 inches of snow, nearly a season’s worth in one storm.

    The St. Louis metro accumulated 8 to over 12 inches, with Weldon Spring, Mo. being the big winner. The snow was so intense at one point, thunder snow was reported.


    Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport received 8 inches of snow, a new daily record, leading to canceled flights. At the height of the storm, the pressure dropped to 976 millibars, equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane.

    The southern side of the system on Jan. 5 produced severe weather in the Lower Mississippi River Valley, with 17 tornado reports and dozens of wind reports.

    The storm pushed east and was along the East Coast by Jan. 6. From Virginia to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, snow accumulated. Richmond, Va. experienced blizzard conditions leading to water outages, which took at least three days to fully restore.

    Southern snow Jan. 21 to 22

    Snow in the south happens, but it’s usually a few flakes, not half a foot or more. A large southern storm system brought big snows to states like Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida in late January. Pensacola, Florida, shattered its two-day snowfall record, accumulating 8.9 inches of snow.

    New Orleans was transformed into a winter wonderland, with snowball fights captured on Bourbon Street. For the first time it their history, the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, La., issued blizzard warnings.

    People walk around on Bourbon Street as snow falls in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

    Snow wasn’t the only big weather event in January.

    Los Angeles wildfires

    The Santa Ana winds led to dangerous fires across California. 14 fires burned throughout the entire month, with the Pacific Palisades and the Eaton fires as the two largest. Tens of thousands of structures were damaged or destroyed, and fatalities are estimated in the hundreds.

    A car travels down East Mendocino Street as a wildfire burns in the hills near Eaton Canyon, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

    May 15 to 16 tornado outbreak

    Spring saw bouts of severe weather, with several storms producing destructive tornadoes. 

    In May, a deadly tornado outbreak hit the Midwest and Ohio River Valley, with more than 60 tornadoes reported. An EF3 tornado, with estimated winds of 150 mph, touched down in the Greater St. Louis area on May 16, bringing destruction across the northern part of the city and killing four people.

    Damage in the St. Louis metro after an EF3 tornado touched down on May 16, 2025. (Pic: NWS St. Louis)

    The same storm system produced a large EF4-rated tornado, with winds estimated at 170 mph, across south-central Kentucky. This long-tracked tornado caused 19 fatalities and billions of dollars in damage.

    Texas Hill Country flooding

    Turning to summer—During the early morning hours of July 4, the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry combined with Pacific moisture, producing heavy thunderstorms across the Texas Hill Country. Rainfall totals ranged from 8 to over 20 inches in just a few hours, leading to the dramatic rise of the Guadalupe River.

    Camp Mystic stands next a creek that feeds into the Guadalupe River, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Hunt, Texas, after flash flooding swept through the area. (AP Photo/Eli Hartman)

    One of the worst-hit areas was in Kerrville, Texas, where Camp Mystic, a girl’s summer camp along the river, flooded. The water rose so quickly that the camp did not have time to evacuate. Twenty-five campers and two teenage counselors perished during the devastating floods.

    Tampa hits 100 degrees

    2025 saw its fair share of weather records shattered. On July 28, the Tampa International Airport recorded the first triple-digit temperature since records began in 1890. The area hit 100 degrees!

    Hurricane season 

    Speaking of numbers… This was the first time in a decade that no hurricane had made landfall in the United States. However, in late August, Hurricane Erin brought dangerous surf and rip currents to the East Coast.

    Numerous houses along North Carolina’s Outer Banks fell into the sea because of coastal flooding and erosion.

    Five homes collapsed Tuesday in Buxton along North Carolina’s Outer Banks. (Spectrum News 1/Lauren Howard)

    Although no hurricane made landfall in the U.S., Hurricane Melissa made history as the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane and made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with winds of 185 mph. The storm killed over 100 people and caused at least $10 billion in damage. 

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Meteorologist Stacy Lynn

    Source link

  • 2025: Weather in Review

    [ad_1]

    As we close out 2025, here’s a look back at the wild weather experienced this year. From snow to wildfires to tornadoes to flooding, 2025 will be one for the record books.

    What You Need To Know

    • Record snow fell in southern states, including Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, in January

    • A tornado outbreak in May saw an EF3 in St. Louis and an EF4 in south-central Kentucky

    • For the first time in a decade, no hurricane made landfall in the United States



    It didn’t take long into the New Year for Mother Nature to become active.

    First big storm of the season Jan 3. to Jan 6

    On Jan. 3, a storm system moved onshore along the West Coast, producing snow in the mountains of Washington and Montana. The southern side of the storm produced severe weather, including the first tornado of the year in Northern California.

    As it moved east across the Great Plains and Midwest on Jan. 4 and 5, it intensified and pulled in moisture from the Gulf. Parts of Kansas, including the Kansas City metro, saw upwards of 12 to 18 inches of snow, nearly a season’s worth in one storm.

    The St. Louis metro accumulated 8 to over 12 inches, with Weldon Spring, Mo. being the big winner. The snow was so intense at one point, thunder snow was reported.


    Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport received 8 inches of snow, a new daily record, leading to canceled flights. At the height of the storm, the pressure dropped to 976 millibars, equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane.

    The southern side of the system on Jan. 5 produced severe weather in the Lower Mississippi River Valley, with 17 tornado reports and dozens of wind reports.

    The storm pushed east and was along the East Coast by Jan. 6. From Virginia to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, snow accumulated. Richmond, Va. experienced blizzard conditions leading to water outages, which took at least three days to fully restore.

    Southern snow Jan. 21 to 22

    Snow in the south happens, but it’s usually a few flakes, not half a foot or more. A large southern storm system brought big snows to states like Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida in late January. Pensacola, Florida, shattered its two-day snowfall record, accumulating 8.9 inches of snow.

    New Orleans was transformed into a winter wonderland, with snowball fights captured on Bourbon Street. For the first time it their history, the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, La., issued blizzard warnings.

    People walk around on Bourbon Street as snow falls in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

    Snow wasn’t the only big weather event in January.

    Los Angeles wildfires

    The Santa Ana winds led to dangerous fires across California. 14 fires burned throughout the entire month, with the Pacific Palisades and the Eaton fires as the two largest. Tens of thousands of structures were damaged or destroyed, and fatalities are estimated in the hundreds.

    A car travels down East Mendocino Street as a wildfire burns in the hills near Eaton Canyon, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

    May 15 to 16 tornado outbreak

    Spring saw bouts of severe weather, with several storms producing destructive tornadoes. 

    In May, a deadly tornado outbreak hit the Midwest and Ohio River Valley, with more than 60 tornadoes reported. An EF3 tornado, with estimated winds of 150 mph, touched down in the Greater St. Louis area on May 16, bringing destruction across the northern part of the city and killing four people.

    Damage in the St. Louis metro after an EF3 tornado touched down on May 16, 2025. (Pic: NWS St. Louis)

    The same storm system produced a large EF4-rated tornado, with winds estimated at 170 mph, across south-central Kentucky. This long-tracked tornado caused 19 fatalities and billions of dollars in damage.

    Texas Hill Country flooding

    Turning to summer—During the early morning hours of July 4, the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry combined with Pacific moisture, producing heavy thunderstorms across the Texas Hill Country. Rainfall totals ranged from 8 to over 20 inches in just a few hours, leading to the dramatic rise of the Guadalupe River.

    Camp Mystic stands next a creek that feeds into the Guadalupe River, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Hunt, Texas, after flash flooding swept through the area. (AP Photo/Eli Hartman)

    One of the worst-hit areas was in Kerrville, Texas, where Camp Mystic, a girl’s summer camp along the river, flooded. The water rose so quickly that the camp did not have time to evacuate. Twenty-five campers and two teenage counselors perished during the devastating floods.

    Tampa hits 100 degrees

    2025 saw its fair share of weather records shattered. On July 28, the Tampa International Airport recorded the first triple-digit temperature since records began in 1890. The area hit 100 degrees!

    Hurricane season 

    Speaking of numbers… This was the first time in a decade that no hurricane had made landfall in the United States. However, in late August, Hurricane Erin brought dangerous surf and rip currents to the East Coast.

    Numerous houses along North Carolina’s Outer Banks fell into the sea because of coastal flooding and erosion.

    Five homes collapsed Tuesday in Buxton along North Carolina’s Outer Banks. (Spectrum News 1/Lauren Howard)

    Although no hurricane made landfall in the U.S., Hurricane Melissa made history as the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane and made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with winds of 185 mph. The storm killed over 100 people and caused at least $10 billion in damage. 

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

    [ad_2]

    Meteorologist Stacy Lynn

    Source link

  • 2025: Weather in Review

    [ad_1]

    As we close out 2025, here’s a look back at the wild weather experienced this year. From snow to wildfires to tornadoes to flooding, 2025 will be one for the record books.

    What You Need To Know

    • Record snow fell in southern states, including Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, in January

    • A tornado outbreak in May saw an EF3 in St. Louis and an EF4 in south-central Kentucky

    • For the first time in a decade, no hurricane made landfall in the United States



    It didn’t take long into the New Year for Mother Nature to become active.

    First big storm of the season Jan 3. to Jan 6

    On Jan. 3, a storm system moved onshore along the West Coast, producing snow in the mountains of Washington and Montana. The southern side of the storm produced severe weather, including the first tornado of the year in Northern California.

    As it moved east across the Great Plains and Midwest on Jan. 4 and 5, it intensified and pulled in moisture from the Gulf. Parts of Kansas, including the Kansas City metro, saw upwards of 12 to 18 inches of snow, nearly a season’s worth in one storm.

    The St. Louis metro accumulated 8 to over 12 inches, with Weldon Spring, Mo. being the big winner. The snow was so intense at one point, thunder snow was reported.


    Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport received 8 inches of snow, a new daily record, leading to canceled flights. At the height of the storm, the pressure dropped to 976 millibars, equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane.

    The southern side of the system on Jan. 5 produced severe weather in the Lower Mississippi River Valley, with 17 tornado reports and dozens of wind reports.

    The storm pushed east and was along the East Coast by Jan. 6. From Virginia to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, snow accumulated. Richmond, Va. experienced blizzard conditions leading to water outages, which took at least three days to fully restore.

    Southern snow Jan. 21 to 22

    Snow in the south happens, but it’s usually a few flakes, not half a foot or more. A large southern storm system brought big snows to states like Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida in late January. Pensacola, Florida, shattered its two-day snowfall record, accumulating 8.9 inches of snow.

    New Orleans was transformed into a winter wonderland, with snowball fights captured on Bourbon Street. For the first time it their history, the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, La., issued blizzard warnings.

    People walk around on Bourbon Street as snow falls in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

    Snow wasn’t the only big weather event in January.

    Los Angeles wildfires

    The Santa Ana winds led to dangerous fires across California. 14 fires burned throughout the entire month, with the Pacific Palisades and the Eaton fires as the two largest. Tens of thousands of structures were damaged or destroyed, and fatalities are estimated in the hundreds.

    A car travels down East Mendocino Street as a wildfire burns in the hills near Eaton Canyon, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

    May 15 to 16 tornado outbreak

    Spring saw bouts of severe weather, with several storms producing destructive tornadoes. 

    In May, a deadly tornado outbreak hit the Midwest and Ohio River Valley, with more than 60 tornadoes reported. An EF3 tornado, with estimated winds of 150 mph, touched down in the Greater St. Louis area on May 16, bringing destruction across the northern part of the city and killing four people.

    Damage in the St. Louis metro after an EF3 tornado touched down on May 16, 2025. (Pic: NWS St. Louis)

    The same storm system produced a large EF4-rated tornado, with winds estimated at 170 mph, across south-central Kentucky. This long-tracked tornado caused 19 fatalities and billions of dollars in damage.

    Texas Hill Country flooding

    Turning to summer—During the early morning hours of July 4, the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry combined with Pacific moisture, producing heavy thunderstorms across the Texas Hill Country. Rainfall totals ranged from 8 to over 20 inches in just a few hours, leading to the dramatic rise of the Guadalupe River.

    Camp Mystic stands next a creek that feeds into the Guadalupe River, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Hunt, Texas, after flash flooding swept through the area. (AP Photo/Eli Hartman)

    One of the worst-hit areas was in Kerrville, Texas, where Camp Mystic, a girl’s summer camp along the river, flooded. The water rose so quickly that the camp did not have time to evacuate. Twenty-five campers and two teenage counselors perished during the devastating floods.

    Tampa hits 100 degrees

    2025 saw its fair share of weather records shattered. On July 28, the Tampa International Airport recorded the first triple-digit temperature since records began in 1890. The area hit 100 degrees!

    Hurricane season 

    Speaking of numbers… This was the first time in a decade that no hurricane had made landfall in the United States. However, in late August, Hurricane Erin brought dangerous surf and rip currents to the East Coast.

    Numerous houses along North Carolina’s Outer Banks fell into the sea because of coastal flooding and erosion.

    Five homes collapsed Tuesday in Buxton along North Carolina’s Outer Banks. (Spectrum News 1/Lauren Howard)

    Although no hurricane made landfall in the U.S., Hurricane Melissa made history as the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane and made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with winds of 185 mph. The storm killed over 100 people and caused at least $10 billion in damage. 

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Meteorologist Stacy Lynn

    Source link

  • Senate confirms Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to be NASA administrator on Wednesday, placing him atop the agency after a monthslong saga where President Donald Trump revoked his nomination as part of a feud with tech billionaire Elon Musk.

    What You Need To Know

    • Jared Isaacman confirmed as NASA administrator by bipartisan Senate vote

    • President Trump initially revoked Isaacman’s nomination due to a feud with Elon Musk

    • Isaacman promises to bring a business-minded approach to NASA


    Isaacman, who has promised to bring a business-minded approach to the space agency, was confirmed in a bipartisan vote, 67-30.

    He will take over after an unusual confirmation process upended by the Republican president’s oscillating and at times tumultuous relationship with prominent tech leaders who backed his campaign, most notably Musk, the Tesla CEO who is a close ally of Isaacman.

    Trump picked Isaacman last year but withdrew the nomination in May after feuding with Musk over the administration’s policies on issues such as electric vehicles and the performance of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

    Musk was the largest contributor of donations to Trump’s 2024 campaign and after the administration took office, he assembled a team for DOGE that blitzed through the federal government’s departments, contracts and critical infrastructure. The monthslong operation led to major cuts to federal contracts focused on foreign aid, global health and mass layoffs of federal workers.

    But the effort did not lead to significant reductions in the federal budget deficit, the stated goal. Musk also feuded with some senior Cabinet officials and, eventually, Trump himself. Musk is also CEO of the space flight company SpaceX and has ambitions for humans to colonize space.

    Trump nominated Isaacman for the job again in November. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had been serving as NASA’s interim administrator until a permanent head was in place.

    The mysterious turnabout from Trump

    Isaacman is the founder of Shift4 Payments, a payment processing and technology solutions company based in Pennsylvania. He is also the co-founder of Draken International, a Florida-based aerospace company. He has done business with Musk’s Starlink and other ventures tied to the fellow billionaire.

    During Isaacman’s second confirmation hearing in December, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., pressed Isaacman to “explain what happened to make President Trump reconsider the decision to pull your nomination and what assurances you may have provided with Elon Musk and SpaceX would not create a significant conflict of interest in this role.”

    Isaacman replied that he “wouldn’t even want to begin to speculate why the president nominated and then renominated me.” He said he pledged to be free of conflicts of interest in his role. In a June letter, Isaacman had promised to resign from his private sector posts should he be confirmed as NASA administrator.

    Republicans have welcomed some of Isaacman’s proposals and some new senators strongly advocated for his confirmation. But many Democrats balked at Isaacman and Trump’s plans, including the proposed costs of some projects and overall priorities for the agency.

    “For nearly 70 years, the United States has been at the forefront of space exploration. President Trump knows how critical it is to reinvigorate NASA as we aim to reach new heights in the greatest frontier ever known, and that’s why he chose exactly the right man for the job,” Sen. Tim Sheehy, an aerial firefighter, former Navy SEAL and close ally of Isaacman, said in a statement.

    Sheehy, R-Mont. added that he was confident Isaacman “will work tirelessly to ensure America wins the 21st century space race.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Authorities say they will release person of interest in Brown shooting

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    PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A person of interest detained after a Brown University shooting that killed two students and injured nine will be released after law enforcement authorities determined there was no basis to keep the individual in custody, officials said Sunday night.

    What You Need To Know

    • Officials in Providence say they will release a person of interest detained in a Brown University shooting that killed two students and injured nine

    • Officials made the disclosure at a hastily convened news conference on Sunday night, more than 12 hours after revealing that they had detained a person in connection with the attack

    • Saturday’s attack set off hours of chaos across the Ivy League campus as hundreds of officers searched for the shooter and urged students and staff to shelter in place

    The disclosure, made at a hastily convened late night news conference, represents a dramatic setback in an investigation into killings that set off hours of chaos on the Ivy League campus and unravels progress that authorities thought they had made earlier in the day when they detained a man at a Rhode Island hotel in connection with the attack.

    No current suspect in deadly shooting

    The release of the lone person of interest leaves law enforcement without any known suspect, with officials pledging to redouble efforts in the investigation by canvassing for video surveillance that could help pinpoint the killer’s identity.

    “We have a murderer out there,” said Attorney General Peter Neronha, while Providence Mayor Brett Smiley acknowledged that ”the news is likely to cause fresh anxiety for our community.”

    Despite an enhanced police presence at Brown, officials are not recommending another shelter-in-place order like the one that followed the Saturday afternoon shooting, when hundreds of officers searched for the shooter and urged students and staff to shelter in place. The lockdown, which stretched into the night, was lifted early Sunday, but authorities had not yet released information about a potential motive.

    On Sunday morning, officials took into custody a person of interest at a Hampton Inn hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, about 20 miles from Providence. Two people familiar with the matter identified that individual as a 24-year-old man from Wisconsin, though authorities never released the individual’s name.

    “I’ve been around long enough to know that sometimes you head in one direction and then you have to regroup and go in another and that’s exactly what has happened over the last 24 hours or so,” Neronha said.

    He said that “certainly there was some degree of evidence that pointed to the individual” who’d been taken into custody but “that evidence needed to be corroborated and confirmed. And over the last 24 hours leading into just very, very recently, that evidence now points in a different direction.”

    Shooting occurred during busy period on campus

    The shooting occurred during one of the busiest moments of the academic calendar, as final exams were underway. Brown canceled all remaining classes, exams, papers and projects for the semester and told students they could leave campus, underscoring the scale of the disruption and the gravity of the attack.

    As police scoured the area for the shooter, many students remained barricaded in rooms while others hid behind furniture and bookshelves. One video showed students in a library shaking and wincing as they heard loud bangs just before police entered the room to clear the building.

    University President Christina Paxson teared up while describing her conversations with students both on campus and in the hospital.

    “They are amazing and they’re supporting each other,” she said at a news conference. “There’s just a lot of gratitude.”

    The gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building, firing more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told AP. Two handguns were recovered when the person of interest was taken into custody and authorities also found two loaded 30-round magazines, the official said. One of the firearms was equipped with a laser sight that projects a dot to aid in targeting, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity.

    One student of the nine wounded students had been released from the hospital, said Paxson. Seven others were in critical but stable condition, and one was in critical condition.

    Durham Academy, a private K-12 school in Durham, North Carolina, confirmed that a recent graduate, Kendall Turner, was critically wounded. The school said her parents were with her.

    “Our school community is rallying around Kendall, her classmates, and her loved ones, and we will continue to offer our full support in the days ahead,” the school said.

    Community comes together to remember victims

    On Sunday evening, city leaders, residents and others gathered at a park to honor the victims. The event originally was scheduled as a Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah lighting.

    “For those who know at least bit of the Hanukkah story, it is quite clear that if we can come together as a community to shine a little bit of light tonight, there’s nothing better that we can be doing,” Mayor Brett Smiley said at a news conference earlier in the day.

    Smiley said he visited some wounded students and was inspired by their courage, hope and gratitude. One told him that active shooting drills done in high school proved helpful.

    “The resilience that these survivors showed and shared with me, is frankly pretty overwhelming,” he said.

    Exams were underway when the shooting began

    Investigators were not immediately sure how the shooter got inside the first-floor classroom at the Barus & Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and physics department. The building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices, according to the university’s website.

    Engineering design exams were underway. Outer doors of the building were unlocked but rooms being used for final exams required badge access, Smiley said.

    Emma Ferraro, a chemical engineering student, was in the lobby working on a final project when she heard loud pops. Once she realized they were gunshots, she darted for the door and into a nearby building where she waited for hours.

    Surveillance video released by police showed a suspect, dressed in black, walking from the scene.

    Former ‘Survivor’ contestant left the building just before shooting

    Eva Erickson, a doctoral candidate who was the runner-up earlier this year on the CBS reality competition show “Survivor,” said she left her lab in the engineering building 15 minutes before shots rang out.

    The engineering and thermal science student shared candid moments on “Survivor” as the show’s first openly autistic contestant. She was locked down in the campus gym following the shooting and shared on social media that the only other member of her lab who was present was safely evacuated.

    Brown senior biochemistry student Alex Bruce was working on a final research project in his dorm across the street from the building when he heard sirens outside.

    “I’m just in here shaking,” he said, watching through the window as officers surrounded his dorm.

    Brown, the seventh-oldest higher education institution in the U.S., is one of the nation’s most prestigious colleges, with roughly 7,300 undergraduates and more than 3,000 graduate students.

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  • Suspect in shooting of National Guard members charged with first-degree murder

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    WASHINGTON — Charges against the man accused of shooting two National Guard members have been upgraded to first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia announced Friday.

    What You Need To Know

    • Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, has announced upgraded charges against a man accused of shooting two National Guard members

    • The charges are now first-degree murder after the death of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom

    • Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were critically injured in Wednesday’s shooting

    • President Donald Trump announced Thursday evening that Beckstrom had died

    Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24 were hospitalized in critical condition after the Wednesday afternoon shooting near the White House. Trump announced Thursday evening that Beckstrom had died.

    U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said the charges against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan War, now include one count of first-degree murder, three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.

    Beckstrom and Wolfe were deployed with the West Virginia National Guard as part of President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting mission that federalized the D.C. police force. The president has also deployed National Guard members to Democratic-run cities — from Chicago to Los Angeles — to assist with his mass deportation efforts.

    This combo from photos provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, show National Guard members, from left, Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and Specialist Sarah Beckstrom. (U.S. Attorney s Office via AP)

    Trump called the shooting a “terrorist attack” and criticized the Biden administration for enabling Afghans who worked with U.S. forces during the Afghanistan War to enter the U.S. The president has said he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and expel millions of immigrants from the country.

    In an interview on Fox News, Pirro said there are “many charges to come” beyond the upgraded murder charge. She said her heart goes out to the family of Beckstrom, who volunteered to serve and “ended up being shot ambush-style on the cold streets of Washington, D.C., by an individual who will now be charged with murder in the first degree.”

    Pirro declined to discuss the suspect’s motive, saying officials have been working around the clock on that question. Investigators are continuing to execute warrants in the state of Washington, where Lakanwal lived, and other parts of the country, she said.

    Wolfe remains in “very critical condition,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Friday. He ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in recognition of Beckstrom’s death

    “These two West Virginia heroes were serving our country and protecting our nation’s capital when they were maliciously attacked,” Morrisey said. “Their courage and commitment to duty represent the very best of our state.”

    Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021

    Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said. Lakanwal applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his asylum was approved under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement.

    Lakanwal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 80 miles north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former landlord, Kristina Widman.

    Lakanwal had briefly worked as an independent contractor for Amazon Flex, which allows people to use their own cars to deliver packages, a company spokesperson shared with The Associated Press. Lakanwal delivered packages from the end of July to the end of August and hadn’t been active since.

    Mohammad Sherzad, a neighbor of Lakanwal’s in Bellingham, told the AP in a phone interview Friday that Lakanwal was polite, quiet and spoke very little English.

    Sherzad said he attended the same mosque as Lakanwal and had heard from other members that Lakanwal was struggling to find work. Some of his children attended the same school as Lakanwal’s children, Sherzad said.

    “He was so quiet and the kids were so polite, they were so playful. But we didn’t see anything bad about him. He was looking OK,” Sherzad said. Sherzad said Lakanwal “disappeared” about two weeks ago.

    In his address to the troops Thursday, Trump said that Lakanwal “went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts.”

    People who knew Lakanwal say he served in a CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before immigrating to the United States. Lakanwal worked in one of the special Zero Units in the southern province of Kandahar, according to a resident of the eastern Afghan province of Khost who identified himself as Lakanwal’s cousin. He said Lakanwal was originally from the province and that his brother had worked in the unit as well.

    The cousin spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said Lakanwal had started out working as a security guard for the unit in 2012 and was later promoted to become a team leader and a GPS specialist. A former official from the unit, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said Lakanwal’s brother was a platoon leader.

    Zero Units were paramilitary units manned by Afghans but backed by the CIA that also served in front-line fighting with CIA paramilitary officers. Activists had attributed abuses to the units. They played a key role in the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the country, providing security around Kabul International Airport as the Americans and withdrew from the country.

    Beckstrom ‘exemplified leadership, dedication, and professionalism’

    Beckstrom had enlisted in 2023, the same year she graduated high school, and served with distinction as a military police officer with the 863rd Military Police Company, the West Virginia National Guard said in a statement.

    “She exemplified leadership, dedication, and professionalism,” the statement said, adding that Beckstrom “volunteered to serve as part of Operation D.C. Safe and Beautiful, helping to ensure the safety and security of our nation’s capital.”

    The president called Beckstrom an “incredible person, outstanding in every single way.”

    On Wednesday night, Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who had entered under the Biden administration initiative that brought roughly 76,000 people to the country, many of whom had worked as interpreters and translators.

    The program has faced intense scrutiny from Trump and others over allegations of gaps in the vetting process, even as advocates say there was extensive vetting and the program offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.

    The director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph Edlow said in a statement that the agency would take additional steps to screen people from 19 “high-risk” countries “to the maximum degree possible.”

    Edlow didn’t name the countries. But in June, the administration banned travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access from seven others, citing national security concerns.

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  • Afghan national is suspect in National Guard ambush shooting

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    WASHINGTON — An Afghan national who worked with the CIA in his native country and immigrated to the U.S. in 2021 drove from Washington state to shoot two West Virginia National Guard members deployed in Washington, D.C., just blocks from the White House, U.S. officials said Thursday.

    What You Need To Know

    • An Afghan national has been accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members just blocks from the White House in a brazen act of violence

    • The guard members had deployed to the nation’s capital and were shot Wednesday afternoon

    • The FBI director and Washington’s mayor say the guard members were hospitalized in critical condition

    • The suspect who is in custody also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening

    The suspect had worked in a special CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before emigrating from Afghanistan, according to two sources who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, and #AfghanEvac, a group that helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the two-decade war.

    Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, declined to provide a motive for Wednesday afternoon’s brazen act of violence, which comes as the presence of troops in the nation’s capital and other cities around the country has become a political flashpoint.

    Pirro identified the guard members at a news conference as Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. The West Virginia National Guard said both had been deployed in D.C. since August. Both remained hospitalized in critical condition on Thursday.

    Pirro said that the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, launched an “ambush-style” attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. The suspect currently faces charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Pirro said that “it’s too soon to say” what the suspect’s motives were.

    The charges could be upgraded, Pirro said, adding: “We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge.”

    The rare shooting of National Guard members on American soil, on the eve of Thanksgiving, comes amid court fights and a broader public policy debate about the Trump administration’s use of the military to combat what officials cast as an out-of-control crime problem.

    The Trump administration quickly ordered 500 more National Guard members to Washington.

    The suspect who was in custody also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

    Suspect worked with CIA during Afghanistan War

    A resident of the eastern Afghan province of Khost who identified himself as Lakanwal’s cousin said Lakanwal was originally from the province and that he and his brother had worked in a special Afghan Army unit known as Zero Units in the southern province of Kandahar. A former official from the unit, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said Lakanwal was a team leader and his brother was a platoon leader.

    The cousin spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said he had last spoken to Lakanwal about six months ago. He said both brothers had moved to the United States in 2021. He said Lakanwal had started out working as a security guard for the unit in 2012, and was later promoted to become a team leader and a GPS specialist.

    Zero Units were paramilitary units manned by Afghans but backed by the CIA and also served in front-line fighting with CIA paramilitary officers. Activists had attributed abuses to the units. They played a key role in the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the country, providing security around Kabul International Airport as the Americans and others fell back during the Taliban offensive that seized the country.

    Lakanwal, 29, entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said. Lakanwal applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his asylum was approved under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement.

    The initiative brought roughly 76,000 people to the U.S., many of whom had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators. It has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and his allies, congressional Republicans and some government watchdogs over allegations of gaps in the vetting process and the speed of admissions, even as advocates say there was extensive vetting and the program offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.

    Lakanwal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 79 miles north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former landlord, Kristina Widman.

    Prior to his 2021 arrival in the United States, the suspect worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar,” John Ratcliffe, the spy agency’s director, said in a statement. He did not specify what work Lakanwal did, but said the relationship “ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation” of U.S. servicemembers from Afghanistan.

    Kandahar in southern Afghanistan is in the Taliban heartland of the country. It saw fierce fighting between the Taliban and NATO forces after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 following the al-Qaida attacks on Sept. 11. The CIA relied on Afghan staff for translation, administrative and front-line fighting with their own paramilitary officers in the war.

    Wednesday night, in a video message released on social media, President Donald Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who entered under the Biden administration.

    “If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” he said, adding that the shooting was “a crime against our entire nation.”

    Attack being investigated as terrorist act

    FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism. Agents have served a series of search warrants, with Patel calling it a “coast-to-coast investigation.”

    Pirro said: “We have been in constant contact with their families and have provided them with every resource needed during this difficult time.”

    Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser interpreted the shooting as a direct assault on America itself, rather than specifically on Trump’s policies.

    “Somebody drove across the country and came to Washington, D.C., to attack America,” Bowser said. “That person will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

    Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of the suspect’s name. It is Lakanwal, not Lakamal or Lakanmal. (Nov. 27, 2015)

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  • Authorities: 2 National Guard members critically wounded in DC shooting

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    Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article reported that West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said the two National Guard members had died. Morrisey later said his office had received “conflicting reports” about the soldiers’ conditions. FBI Director Kash Patel said they remain in critical condition. (Nov. 26, 2025)

    WASHINGTON — Two West Virginia National Guard members who deployed to the nation’s capital were critically injured in a shooting Wednesday just blocks from the White House, authorities said.

    What You Need To Know

    • Two West Virginia National Guard members who deployed to the nation’s capital were critically injured in a shooting Wednesday just blocks from the White House, authorities said
    • FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters after Morrisey’s social media posts that the National Guard troops remained in critical condition

    • West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in a an earlier social media post, “It is with great sorrow that we can confirm both members of the West Virginia National Guard who were shot earlier today in Washington, DC have passed away from their injuries”
    • But shortly afterward, Morrisey wrote, “We are now receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information”
    • A suspect who is in custody also was shot and has injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, an Associated Press source said

    FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters that the National Guard troops remain in critical condition.

    Earlier in the day, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in a social media post, “It is with great sorrow that we can confirm both members of the West Virginia National Guard who were shot earlier today in Washington, DC have passed away from their injuries.”

    But shortly afterward, Morrisey wrote, “We are now receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information.”

    A suspect who was in custody also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

    Two law enforcement officials and a person familiar with the matter said the suspect was believed to be an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in September 2021 and has been living in Washington state.

    The suspect has been identified by law enforcement officials as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, but authorities were still working to fully confirm his background, they said. The people could not discuss details of an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

    Hours later, in a video message, President Donald Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who entered under the Biden administration.

    One of the soldiers was shot in the head, according to a person familiar with the details of the incident who also spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

    Officials said the soldiers were “targeted” by a lone shooter around 2:15 p.m. at 17th Street NW and I Street NW, roughly two blocks from the White House. There are no other suspects, Carroll said.

    “A suspect came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged it at the National Guard members,” said Jeffery Carroll, an executive assistant chief with the Metropolitan Police Department. 

    Other National Guard members responded “within moments” to the scene and subdued the suspect, Carroll said. 

    A motive is not yet clear, Carroll added. Authorities are investigating.

    Trump, who is in Florida for Thanksgiving, warned in a statement on social media that the “animal” who shot the guardsmen “will pay a very steep price.”

    “God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!”

    The Trump administration quickly ordered 500 more National Guard members to Washington following the shooting. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Trump asked him to send the extra troops.

    In Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Vice President JD Vance urged “everybody who’s a person of faith” to pray for the two guardsmen. 

    “I think it’s a somber reminder that soldiers, whether they’re active duty, reserve or National Guard, our soldiers are the sword and the shield of the United States of America,” Vance said as he delivered a Thanksgiving message to troops.

    Social media video shared in the immediate aftermath showed first responders attempting CPR on one of the soldiers and treating the other on a glass-covered sidewalk. Other officers could be seen steps away restraining an individual on the ground.

    Stacy Walters said she was in a car near the scene when she heard two gunshots and saw people running. Almost instantly, law enforcement swarmed the area. “It’s such a beautiful day. Who would do this, and we’re getting ready for the holidays?”

    Emergency medical responders transported all three people to a hospital, according to Vito Maggiolo, the public information officer for DC Fire and Emergency Services.

    The presence of the National Guard in the nation’s capital has been a flashpoint issue for months, fueling a court fight and a broader public policy debate about the Trump administration’s use of the military to combat what officials cast as an out-of-control crime problem.

    Trump issued an emergency order in August that federalized the local police force and sent in National Guard troops from eight states and the District of Columbia. The order expired a month later, but the troops remained.

    The soldiers have patrolled neighborhoods, train stations and other locations, participated in highway checkpoints and also have been assigned to trash pickup and to guard sports events.

    Last week, a federal judge ordered an end to the deployment but also put her order on hold for 21 days to allow the Trump administration time to either remove the troops or appeal the decision.

    More than 300 West Virginia National Guard members were deployed to Washington in August. Last week, about 160 of them volunteered to extend their deployment until the end of the year while the others returned to West Virginia just over a week ago.

    Editor’s Note: This article was updated to correct Jeffery Carroll’s title. It previously referred to him as the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department. He is the executive assistant chief. (Nov. 26, 2025) 

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  • Officials set to meet in Geneva as Ukraine’s allies push back on U.S. peace plan

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s Western allies rallied around the war-torn country on Saturday as they pushed to revise a U.S. peace plan seen as favoring Moscow despite its all-out invasion of its neighbor. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed Ukrainians “will always defend” their home.

    What You Need To Know

    • Ukraine’s Western allies have rallied around the country as they push to revise a U.S. peace plan seen as favoring Moscow

    • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed Ukrainians “will always defend” their home

    • A Ukrainian delegation, joined by France, Germany, and the U.K., is preparing for talks with Washington in Switzerland on Sunday

    • The U.S. plan suggests Ukraine hand over territory to Russia, which Kyiv has ruled out.

    A Ukrainian delegation, bolstered by representatives from France, Germany and the U.K., is preparing for direct talks with Washington in Switzerland on Sunday.

    The 28-point blueprint drawn up by the U.S. to end the nearly four-year war sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals, with Zelenskyy saying his country could face a stark choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.

    Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. proposal was not his “final offer.”

    “I would like to get to peace. It should have happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened,” Trump said. “One way or the other, we have to get it ended.”

    The U.S. plan foresees Ukraine handing over territory to Russia, something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out, while reducing the size of its army and blocking its coveted path to NATO membership. It contains many of Moscow’s long-standing demands, while offering limited security guarantees to Kyiv.

    On Saturday, leaders of the European Union, Canada and Japan issued a joint statement welcoming U.S. peace efforts, but pushed back against key tenets of the plan.

    “We are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable. We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,” the statement said. It added that any decisions regarding NATO and the EU would require the consent of member states.

    The leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. met during the day on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss ways to support Kyiv, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters at the summit that “wars cannot be ended by major powers over the heads of the countries affected,” and insisted Kyiv needed robust guarantees.

    French President Emmanuel Macron said the U.S. peace plan for Ukraine “requires broader consultation” because “it stipulates many things involving Europeans,” like Russia’s frozen assets and Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Europe’s security issues must also be taken into account, Macron said, adding: “We want a robust and lasting peace.”

    Merz and Macron said that envoys from Germany, France, the U.K. and the EU will join Ukrainian negotiators as they meet a U.S. delegation in Geneva on Sunday to discuss Washington’s proposal. Zelenskyy confirmed the meeting on Saturday, after Trump set a deadline for Kyiv to respond to the plan by next Thursday.

    Among those expected to represent Washington are Trump’s Army secretary, Dan Driscoll, and Marco Rubio, who serves as both national security adviser and secretary of state, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to publicly discuss the American participants before the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity. Driscoll presented the U.S. plan to Ukrainian officials this week.

    European leaders have long warned against rushing a peace deal, seeing their own future at stake in Ukraine’s fight to beat back Russia, and insist on being consulted in peace efforts.

    Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike on Ternopil, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlad Kravchuk)

    ‘Quite a way from a good outcome’

    Kyiv’s key allies in Europe reiterated their reservations about the Kremlin’s readiness to end the war.

    “Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but their actions never live up to their words,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters ahead of the G20 summit, days after a Russian strike on western Ukraine killed over two dozen civilians.

    European leaders have long accused Russia of stalling diplomatic efforts in the hope of overwhelming Ukraine’s much smaller forces on the battlefield. Kyiv has repeatedly accepted U.S. ceasefire proposals this year, while Moscow has held out for more favorable terms.

    “An end to the war can only be achieved with the unconditional consent of Ukraine,” Merz said during G20 summit briefing, adding that he had told Trump in a long phone call on Friday that Europe needed to be a part of any peace process, and that Russia had previously failed to keep its promises to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

    “From my perspective, there is currently a chance to end this war,” Merz added. “But we are still quite a way from a good outcome for everyone.”

    EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that a key principle for Kyiv’s European allies was “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”

    Zelenskyy defiant as Ukraine remembers Soviet-era famine

    Zelenskyy, in a video address published Saturday, said Ukrainian representatives at the Geneva talks “know how to protect Ukrainian national interests and exactly what is needed to prevent Russia from carrying out” another invasion. “Real peace is always based on security and justice,” he added.

    Nine officials are to take part in the talks, including Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andrii Yermak and top envoy Rustem Umerov, according to a statement posted on the Ukrainian presidency’s website, which also stated that the negotiators are empowered to deal directly with Russia.

    On Saturday, Ukraine commemorated the “great famine” that Soviet leader Josef Stalin imposed in the early 1930s, which led to millions of deaths.

    “We all know how and why millions of our people died, starved to death, and millions were never born. And we are once again defending ourselves against Russia, which has not changed and is once again bringing death,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram marking Holodomor Memorial Day.

    “We defended, defend, and will always defend Ukraine. Because only here is our home. And in our home, Russia will definitely not be the master,” he added.

    Drones hit Russian refinery

    A nighttime Ukrainian drone strike hit a fuel refinery in southern Russia, killing two people and injuring two more, a local official said. The attack on the Samara region in the latest of Kyiv’s long-range strikes against Russian oil infrastructure, which it says fuels the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

    Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev did not immediately name the site that was targeted or detail any damage. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

    Russian air defenses overnight shot down 69 Ukrainian drones over Russia and occupied Crimea, including 15 flying over the province of Samara, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow. The nighttime strikes forced at least five Russian airports to temporarily halt or restrict operations, and cut off power to some 3,000 households in the southern city of Rylsk, according to Russian officials.

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