January 2, 2025 5:13 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities say the highly decorated soldier inside a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks that exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas shot himself in the head just before detonation. The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people but virtually no damage to the hotel. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger likely planned a more damaging attack but the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force from the crudely built explosive. Livelsberger was an active-duty member of the elite Green Berets. The Pentagon said he had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks, and was on approved leave when he died.
January 2, 2025 5:04 am
SOUTH BEAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man and woman were found dead in the garage of their home just before 3 p.m. on New Year’s Eve in an apparent murder-suicide. Police were called to the home just before 3 p.m. Tuesday. Sources say they found two people shot in the garage. The Beaver County Coroner said Joyce Kostandin, 41, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest. John Kostandin, 48, died from a self-inflicted gunshot. State police are continuing to investigate.
January 2, 2025 5:10 am
President Joe Biden is bestowing the second highest civilian award on Liz Cheney and Bennie Thompson — the lawmakers who led the congressional investigation into the violent Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot by Donald Trump’s supporters. Trump has said both should be jailed. Biden will award the Presidential Citizens Medal to 20 people Thursday, including Americans who fought for marriage equality, a pioneer in treating wounded soldiers, and former Sens. Ted Kaufman of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut, two of the president’s longtime friends and allies.
January 2, 2025 5:14 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, in a message to conservative supporters rallying outside his Seoul residence, vowed to “fight to the end” against “anti-state forces,” while his legal team warned that police officers attempting to detain him could face arrest by his presidential security service or even civilians. Yoon’s statement came as the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials prepares to execute a detainment warrant against him that was issued by a Seoul court. The warrant was issued after Yoon evaded multiple requests to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his office, hindering an investigation into whether his short-lived power grab on Dec. 3 amounted to rebellion.
January 2, 2025 5:42 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Wayne Osmond, a singer, guitarist and founding member of the million-selling family act The Osmonds, has died. He was 73. Sibling Merrill Osmond posted on his Facebook page that Wayne died this week at a Salt Lake City hospital after suffering a “massive stroke.” Wayne Osmond was the second oldest of nine children raised in a Mormon household in Ogden, Utah. The siblings’ musical career began in the late 1950s when Wayne, Alan, Merrill and Jay formed a barbershop quartet. The Osmonds were known for such 1970s teen hits as “One Bad Apple,” “Yo-Yo” and “Down By the Lazy River.”
January 1, 2025 8:22 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A U.S. Army veteran driving a pickup truck that bore the flag of the Islamic State group has wrought carnage on New Orleans’ raucous New Year’s celebration. He killed 15 people as he steered around a police blockade and slammed into revelers before being shot dead by police. The FBI says it is investigating early Wednesday’s attack as a terrorist act and does not believe the driver acted alone. President Joe Biden says the FBI found videos that the driver had posted to social media hours before the attack in which he said he was inspired by the Islamic State group and expressed a desire to kill. The FBI has identified the driver as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar. Authorities say the driver went around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic and protect Bourbon Street revelers.
January 1, 2025 4:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) — From Sydney to Mumbai to Paris to Rio de Janeiro, communities around the world are welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges. Auckland became the first major city to celebrate. Countries in the South Pacific Ocean were the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball dropped in Times Square in New York. Conflict muted acknowledgements of 2025 in places like the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine. American Samoa will be among the last to welcome the New Year, a full 24 hours after New Zealand.
January 1, 2025 4:12 am
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump calls his Mar-a-Lago resort the “center of the universe.” Famous figures such as Elon Musk, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pop up at events held daily at the opulent club. Over the weekend, Mike Love of the Beach Boys performed the band’s hits under a tent at Mar-a-Lago as Trump wandered through the crowd and swung his fists to the music. Sightings of those passing through offer a glimpse into the workings of Trump’s incoming White House, how he is setting priorities for his administration and what some VIPs are doing to curry favor.
January 1, 2025 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has imposed sanctions on two groups linked to Russian and Iranian disinformation campaigns targeting this year’s election. Treasury officials announced the actions Tuesday, saying the two groups sought to spread false claims designed to stoke political tension and undermine the candidates ahead of November’s vote. Officials say the Russian organization worked with Russian military intelligence and used artificial intelligence to create fake videos about American candidates. The Iranian group is accused of working at the direction of Iran’s military to spread disinformation aimed at inciting voters. Both countries have rejected accusations that they sought to meddle with the election.
January 1, 2025 4:05 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Grieving relatives of people killed in a plane crash in South Korea have visited the site to pay respects to their loved ones on New Year’s Day. Only two of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air survived when it crashed in Muan International Airport in southern South Korea on Sunday. The bereaved families visited the site on Wednesday for the first time since the crash. They took turns laying white flowers and bowed deeply before a memorial table where food was placed. The food included “ddeokguk,” a Korean rice cake soup eaten on New Year’s Day.
