Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — It was during the pandemic when the Rev. Kira Austin-Young and her puppet-maker husband, Michael Schupbach, were going a little stir-crazy that they came up with the idea. Instead of a star or some stylized humanoid angel to top their Christmas tree, why not create a biblically accurate angel?
Continue ReadingBy Priscilla Alvarez and Tierney Sneed, CNN Washington (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s team is assessing multiple options to fulfill his long-promised pledge to end birthright citizenship, according to two sources familiar with the discussions, teeing up a legal fight with the expectation that the Supreme Court would ultimately have to rule on the matter.
Continue ReadingVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has called for a ceasefire on all war fronts in his Sunday prayer ahead of Christmas celebrations, condemning the “cruelty” of bombing schools and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza. Francis said, “Let the weapons fall silent and let the Christmas carols ring out!” He delivering his blessing from indoors
Continue ReadingCNN By Oren Liebermann, CNN (CNN) — Two US Navy pilots ejected safely after their fighter jet was shot down over the Red Sea on Saturday in an apparent friendly fire incident, US Central Command said in a statement. The pilots were recovered, and one of the crew members sustained minor injuries, according to initial
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte (AP) — When Cyclone Chido ravaged Mayotte’s fragile infrastructure, it also exposed deep-seated tensions between the island’s residents and its large migrant population. Thousands of people who have entered the island illegally bore the brunt of the storm that tore through the Indian Ocean archipelago — France’s poorest territory. Authorities in
Continue ReadingKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones have struck a major Russian oil terminal for the second time in just over a week, according to the Russian local governor, as part of what he called a “massive” cross-border attack on fuel and energy facilities that Kyiv says supply Moscow’s military. The strikes came days after Russia
Continue ReadingThe Associated Press Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, which they view as increasingly leaning too far to the right given its owner’s support of President-elect Donald Trump, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms. The platform
Continue ReadingBy Catherine Nicholls, CNN (CNN) — At least 32 people were killed in crowd crushes at two separate charity events in Nigeria on Saturday, police say. Some 22 people were killed at an event held in a community center in Okija in the southeastern state of Anambra, state police said on Sunday. The event was
Continue ReadingBy Eric Levenson, CNN (CNN) — Paul Kemp, a 64-year-old who lives outside Portland, Oregon, bought his son Nathan his first rifle for his 16th birthday over a decade ago. Nathan had notched his first hunting kill, a squirrel, at age 7, and the Kemp family enjoyed their time hunting together over the ensuing years.
Continue ReadingBy Kaanita Iyer, CNN Washington (CNN) — As Joe Manchin prepares to leave Congress after nearly 15 years, the West Virginia senator — who left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent earlier this year — is further distancing himself from his former party, calling the Democratic brand “toxic.” “The D-brand has been so
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A prominent Lebanese politician has met with the insurgent who led the overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar Assad, and both expressed hope Sunday for a new era in relations between their countries. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt was a longtime critic of Syria’s involvement in Lebanon and blamed Assad’s father for
Continue ReadingBy Thomas Lake, CNN (CNN) — It was near the end of an unusual day for the four Patterson children when the deputies came to arrest their mother. The sheriff’s deputies approached the house, a tidy split-level outside Blue Ridge, Georgia, with chickens roaming the front yard and yellow flowers blooming along the front steps.
Continue ReadingBy Gregory Krieg and Arit John, CNN (CNN) — The question has loomed over Democrats and their allies since Donald Trump was elected to a second term: Do party leaders and liberal, pro-democracy activists have the juice to launch a passionate, organized opposition to Trump and the Republican congressional trifecta? The early takes, in the
Continue ReadingBy Edward Szekeres, Sophie Tanno, Lucas Lilieholm and Inke Kappeler, CNN (CNN) — Authorities in Germany face growing accusations they could have done more to prevent a deadly Christmas market attack as a judge ordered the suspect to be held in pre-trial detention following a late-night court appearance on Saturday. Taleb Al Abdulmohsen is accused
Continue ReadingBy Soph Warnes, CNN (CNN) — This year, 45 countries in the United Nations held national elections to decide their top leadership. Of those, only four selected a woman to become head of state or government, according to CNN’s analysis of International Foundation for Electoral Systems data. While the US had the opportunity to elect
Continue ReadingMUGLA, Turkey (AP) — An ambulance helicopter has crashed in southwestern Turkey, killing all four people on board. Two pilots, one doctor and one health care worker were taking off Sunday morning from the city of Mugla on their way to pick up a patient in the neighboring province of Antalya. The helicopter hit the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The death toll from stampedes during two Christmas charity events in Nigeria has increased from 13 to 32, police said Sunday. The victims, including at least four children, collapsed during crowd surges as people grew desperate for food items while the country grapples with the worst cost-of-living crisis in
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — German authorities said they received tipoffs last year about the suspect in a car attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg as more details emerged on Sunday about the five people killed. Authorities have identified the suspect as a Saudi doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had
Continue ReadingBy Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — For Ivanka Trump’s entire adult life, she worked for her father. When Donald Trump was a real estate mogul, she was designing his next hotel. When he was on a reality TV show, she was in his television boardroom. When he was running for office, she was on the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Sunday killed at least 22 people, including five children, Palestinian medical officials said, while Gaza’s small Christian community celebrated a pre-Christmas Mass. Israeli authorities allowed a rare Gaza visit by the leader of the Catholic Church in the
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