CNN By Will Ripley, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Abeer Salman, CNN Bethlehem, West Bank (CNN) — Church bells echo through the labyrinth-like streets of Bethlehem. With Christmas approaching, the city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank should be teeming with visitors. But this year, it is almost deserted. Local leaders made the decision last month to scale back festivities in solidarity with
Continue ReadingBy Xiaofei Xu, CNN (CNN) — Beijing recorded its longest cold wave since records began in 1951 as the biting temperatures and snowfall experienced in the Chinese capital and elsewhere began to ease. The temperature recorded at Beijing’s Nanjiao weather station rose to above zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) Sunday afternoon for the first
Continue ReadingBy LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer “ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ” led a crowd of new releases at the box office on the weekend before Christmas Monday. The DC and Warner Bros. superhero sequel starring Jason Momoa earned an estimated $28.1 million in its first three days of release in 3,706 locations in
Continue ReadingBy LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer “ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ” led a crowd of new releases at the box office on the weekend before Christmas Monday. The DC and Warner Bros. superhero sequel starring Jason Momoa earned an estimated $28.1 million in its first three days of release in 3,706 locations in
Continue ReadingBy Ashley R. Williams, CNN (CNN) — A member of a rare and endangered species related to the giraffe was recently born at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, according to zoo officials. The okapi, which zoo officials announced as a boy, was born December 17 to its mother, Kuvua, and father, Kiloro, a news
Continue ReadingBy DAVID McHUGH, ABDUL RAHMAN SHAHEEN and SHAZIA BHATTI Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Christians around the world were striving on Christmas Eve to put aside the worries and fears of an unsettled, war-torn world as they prepared to celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Before leading Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Continue ReadingBy SAGAR MEGHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As children around the world eagerly await Santa’s arrival on Christmas, the military is closely tracking his every move. Armed with radar, sensors, aircraft and Christmas spirit, the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado is reporting on the movements of Santa’s sleigh since his takeoff from
Continue ReadingBy JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — After failing to win the Premier League in the last 10 years, Manchester United announced Sunday that it had agreed to sell a minority stake in the storied club to Jim Ratcliffe in a deal that would also see the British billionaire and boyhood fan
Continue ReadingBy Cindy Von Quednow, CNN (CNN) — A mystery donation of rare Air Jordans left at an Oregon homeless shelter earlier this year led to more than $50,000 in auction proceeds returning to the organization. It all started in April, when a pair of gold shoes were anonymously dropped down a donation chute at the
Continue ReadingBy Sara Smart, CNN (CNN) — A North Dakota state lawmaker made homophobic and discriminatory remarks toward a police officer while being placed under arrest on DUI charges earlier this month, authorities said. On December 15, Republican Representative Nico Rios was arrested and issued a citation for a DUI, DUI refusal and an open container,
Continue ReadingCNN By Sara Smart, CNN (CNN) — A North Dakota state lawmaker made homophobic and discriminatory remarks toward a police officer while being placed under arrest on DUI charges earlier this month, authorities said. On December 15, Republican Representative Nico Rios was arrested and issued a citation for a DUI, DUI refusal and an open
Continue ReadingBy JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — More than a year after it was put up for sale, Manchester United said Sunday that British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had bought a minority stake in the storied Premier League club. Ratcliffe, who owns petrochemicals giant INEOS and is one of Britain’s richest people, has
Continue ReadingBy LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer It’s not a secret that Fantasia Barrino did not want to play Celie again. The “American Idol” winner hadn’t had the best time doing “The Color Purple” on Broadway. The protagonist of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel tells her story of sexual, physical and psychological abuses in the early
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — A second suspect was arrested in the alleged theft of a work by the elusive street artist Banksy of a stop sign adorned with three military drones, London police said Sunday. A man in his 40s was in custody on suspicion of theft and criminal damage, the Metropolitan police said. A suspect
Continue ReadingBy TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Erik Spoelstra was part of 12 Christmas games as a staff member, assistant coach or head coach in his first 20 seasons with the Miami Heat. And in the eight seasons that followed, the Heat played on Christmas only once. Here’s what he realized: For an
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — British Home Secretary James Cleverly is under fire for making a date rape joke at a party just hours after announcing plans to crack down on the offense. Cleverly, who oversees national security and law enforcement in England and Wales, faces a call to step down after he reportedly joked at a
Continue ReadingBy TIA GOLDENBERG, WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Fourteen Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in Gaza over the weekend, the Israeli military said Sunday, in some of the bloodiest days of battle since the ground offensive began and a sign that Hamas is still putting up a
Continue ReadingBy Sarah Dewberry, CNN (CNN) — Police in Florida have issued an arrest warrant for a man wanted in connection with a Christmas weekend shooting inside an Ocala mall that left one man dead and another injured on Saturday. Authorities issued the warrant for 39-year-old Albert J. Shell Jr. for premeditated first-degree murder and attempted
Continue ReadingBy STEPHEN GROVES and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Senate wrapped up its work for the year, Sen. Michael Bennet took to the floor of the nearly empty chamber and made a late-night plea for Congress to redouble support for Ukraine: “Understand the stakes at this moment.” It was the
Continue ReadingBy Sophie Tanno, CNN London (CNN) — Britain’s Home Secretary James Cleverly has apologized for joking about spiking his wife’s drink with a date-rape drug. According to a report in British tabloid the Sunday Mirror, Cleverly made the joke to female guests while attending a Downing Street reception earlier this month. According to the paper,
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