January 27, 2025 5:29 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Tens of thousands of Palestinians are returning to the most heavily destroyed part of the Gaza Strip. Israel lifted its closure of northern Gaza on Monday for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas in accordance with a fragile ceasefire. Massive crowds of people carrying their belongings on foot stretched along a main highway running next to the coast in a stunning reversal of the mass exodus from the north at the start of the war, which many Palestinians had feared Israel would make permanent. Palestinians who have been sheltering in squalid tent camps for over a year are eager to return to their homes — even knowing that they have likely been damaged or destroyed.
January 27, 2025 5:04 am
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The White House is claiming victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the U.S., hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime U.S. partner. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a late Sunday statement that the “Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay.” Leavitt said the tariff orders — which would have put in place 25% tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, which would be raised to 50% in one week — will be “held in reserve, and not signed.”
January 27, 2025 5:06 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rain has fallen around Southern California and is expected to aid firefighters mopping up multiple wildfires. But potentially heavy downpours on charred hillsides could bring new troubles such as toxic ash runoff. Los Angeles County crews spent much of the past week removing vegetation, shoring up slopes and reinforcing roads in devastated areas of the Palisades and Eaton fires. The National Weather Service reported rain showers Sunday and said most of the region is likely to get less than an inch of precipitation. But there is a threat of localized cloudbursts causing mud and debris to flow down hills. Rain is expected to increase throughout Sunday and could last into Tuesday. Flood watches have been issued for some burn areas.
January 27, 2025 3:48 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s superstars are tumbling as a competitor from China threatens to upend the artificial-intelligence frenzy they’ve been feasting on. The S&P 500 fell 1.9% Monday. Big Tech stocks took some of the heaviest losses, with Nvidia down 18%, and they dragged the Nasdaq composite down 3.7%. Besides chip companies, utilities hoping to electrify power-hungry AI datacenters also tumbled. Stocks outside of AI-related industries held up much better, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 243 points. A Chinese company called DeepSeek said it had developed a large language model that can compete with U.S. giants at perhaps a fraction of the cost.
January 27, 2025 5:29 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The first report on last month’s Jeju Air crash in South Korea has confirmed traces of bird strikes in the plane’s engines, though officials haven’t determined the cause of the accident that killed all but two of the 181 people on board. The preliminary accident report released Monday said feathers and bird blood stains were found in both engines. It says a DNA analysis determined they belonged to migratory ducks. The report also says the plane’s black boxes stopped recording about 4 minutes before the crash.
January 27, 2025 3:31 pm
OSWIECIM, Poland (AP) — Auschwitz survivors have warned of the rising antisemitism and hatred in the modern world as they gathered with world leaders and European royalty on the 80th anniversary of the death camp’s liberation. In all, 56 survivors gathered under a huge tent on Monday set up over a gate and railway tracks at the site of the former camp. Many participants believe it will be the last major observance with any notable number of survivors. The numbers have dwindled sharply over the years; 200 attended the 75th anniversary. (Photo: AP)
January 26, 2025 8:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory. That’s according to an assessment released Saturday pointing the finger at China even while acknowledging the spy agency has “low confidence” in its own conclusion. The finding isn’t the result of any new intelligence, and the report was completed at the behest of the Biden administration and former CIA Director William Burns. It was declassified and released Saturday on the orders of President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency, John Ratcliffe, who was sworn in Thursday as director. (Photo: AP)
January 26, 2025 8:09 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rain falling on Southern California is expected to aid firefighters mopping up multiple wildfires. But potentially heavy downpours on charred hillsides could bring new troubles such as toxic ash runoff. Los Angeles County crews spent much of the past week removing vegetation, shoring up slopes and reinforcing roads in devastated areas of the Palisades and Eaton fires. The National Weather Service says most of the region is likely to get less than an inch of precipitation. But there is a threat of localized cloudbursts causing mud and debris to flow down hills. Rain is expected to increase throughout Sunday and could last into Tuesday. Flood watches have been issued for some burn areas. (Photo: AP)
January 26, 2025 8:06 am
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump says he would like to see Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip, potentially moving out enough of the population to “clean out” the area to create a virtual clean slate. He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday that he has discussed his vision on a call with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak Sunday with Egypt’s president. Trump also says he has ended his predecessor’s hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. That lifts a pressure point meant to reduce civilian casualties during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza that is now halted by a tenuous ceasefire.
January 26, 2025 8:07 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has prevented thousands of Palestinians from returning to the northern Gaza Strip as it accused Hamas of violating a fragile ceasefire by changing the order of hostages it has released. Local health officials said Sunday that Israeli forces fired on the crowds, killing two people and wounding seven. In a separate development, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that most of Gaza’s population should be at least temporarily resettled elsewhere, including in Egypt and Jordan, in order to “just clean out” the war-ravaged enclave. Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians themselves have previously rejected such a scenario, fearing Israel might never allow the refugees to return.
