By ZEKE MLLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of people who were convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, the White House said Friday, in his latest round of executive clemencies meant to rectify racial disparities in the justice system.
Continue ReadingBy MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s defense spending would increase more than 16% next year under a record military budget that is intended to accelerate the deployment of long-range cruise missiles that can hit targets in China or North Korea. The budget adopted by the Cabinet on Friday also will further fortify
Continue ReadingBy Alex Marquardt, Priscilla Alvarez and Donald Judd, CNN Washington (CNN) — The United Nations Security Council on Friday approved a resolution that calls for humanitarian pauses between Israel and Hamas, increased aid to Gaza and the creation of conditions that will allow for a sustainable end to fighting, ending days of closed-door negotiations. The
Continue ReadingBy KAREL JANICEK Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — People in the Czech capital were trying to come to grips Friday with the worst mass shooting in the country’s history that left 14 dead and dozens injured. Political leaders, students, friends of the vicitms, and others came together to light candles to mourn the victims at
Continue ReadingBy MARIAM FAM Associated Press It’s normally a moment of pure joy for the Rev. Khader Khalilia: the excitement, the giggles, the kisses, as his young daughters — in their Christmas pajamas — open their gifts. But this year, just the thought of it fills Khalilia with guilt. “I’m struggling,” said the Palestinian American pastor
Continue ReadingBy JIWON SONG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean religious sect leader whose sex crimes were featured in the popular Netflix series “In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal” has been sentenced to 23 years in prison. The Daejeon District Court in central South Korea said Friday that it handed
Continue ReadingBy Samantha Waldenberg, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden will commute the sentences of 11 people serving “disproportionately long sentences for non-violent drug offenses” on Friday, according to a White House official. “I am commuting the sentences of 11 people who are serving disproportionately long sentences for non-violent drug offenses. All of them would have
Continue ReadingBy RAHMA NURJANA Associated Press PADANG, Indonesia (AP) — Volcanic ash spewing from Indonesia’s Mount Marapi shut down airports and blanketed nearby communities on Sumatra island Friday. The nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) volcano in the Agam district of West Sumatra province is about 113 kilometers (70 miles) north of Minangkabau International Airport in Padang, the provincial
Continue ReadingBy HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.N. atomic agency and outside experts say North Korea may have started operating a light-water reactor at its main nuclear complex in a possible attempt to establish a new facility to produce bomb fuels. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General says his agency has
Continue ReadingBy ALEXANDRA OLSON AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The holiday travel rush hit its peak Friday as mild weather and lower flight cancelation rates raised hopes for merrier drivers and airline passengers than last year. U.S. airlines are predicting a blockbuster holiday season and have projected confidence they can handle the crowds after
Continue ReadingBy MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court in a surprise ruling has ordered the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and one of his party deputies on bail in a case involving the revelation of official secrets after his ouster last year. But Khan is currently serving a three-year sentence
Continue ReadingMADRID (AP) — Lucky holders of 20-euro tickets with the number 88008 are celebrating after winning 400,000 euros ($440,000) each in the top prize of Spain’s huge Christmas lottery. People across the country tuned into the television, radio and internet from early morning as children from Madrid’s San Ildefonso school begin singing out the prize-winning
Continue ReadingBy FATIMA HUSSEIN and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to sign a new executive order aimed at targeting financial facilitators of the Russian defense industry. The order to be signed later on Friday comes as the Kremlin is trying to restock the Russian military’s depleted arsenal after nearly
Continue ReadingPARIS (AP) — India has invited French President Emmanuel Macron to be the chief guest at the country’s national day celebrations next month. Macron’s office on Friday described the invite as a powerful gesture for the two nations’ ties. The visit for Republic Day on Jan. 26 will be Macron’s third to India as president.
Continue ReadingCNN By Ivana Kottasová, CNN Near Prague, Czech Republic (CNN) — Prague was in shock and mourning Friday after a gunman killed 14 people and injured 25 more at Charles University, the deadliest peacetime attack in the history of the Czech Republic. The brutal incident on Thursday was also the first-ever school or college shooting
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — A storm has brought heavy rain and strong winds across northern Europe, bringing down trees and prompting warnings of flooding on the North Sea coast. A woman in Belgium was fatally injured by a falling Christmas tree, while another tree killed a person in the Netherlands. The 20-meter Christmas tree collapsed onto
Continue ReadingBy Catherine Nicholls, CNN London (CNN) — Alex Batty, a British boy who was found in France after going missing for six years, says it feels “surreal” to be back with his grandmother in the United Kingdom. In an interview with The Sun newspaper published Thursday, Batty – who is now 17 – said: “Every
Continue ReadingBy WILL GRAVES AP National Writer There were jitters, of course. Considering all that happened, how could there not be? When Simone Biles walked onto the floor at a suburban Chicago arena in late July for her first gymnastics competition in two years, she knew plenty of people were wondering how it was going to
Continue ReadingCNN By Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The Detroit News reviewed a recording of a call former President Donald Trump made to two Michigan county officials in 2020, urging them not to certify the election results from Detroit. The call was previously known and reported by CNN – and condemned at the time by election
Continue ReadingBy KAREL JANICEK Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — Three foreign nationals were among the 25 people wounded when a student opened fire at a university in the Czech capital, Prague, shooting dead 14 people before killing himself, authorities said Friday. It was the worst mass shooting in Czech history. Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said police
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