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Revealed: Killer guilty of beating two-year-old girl to death was also accused of controlling ex-girlfriend and got into prison fights while on remand By TOM RAWSTORNE Published: 15:24 GMT, 23 November 2024 | Updated: 15:26 GMT, 23 November 2024 e-mail 2 View comments Child murderer Scott Jeff, who has been found guilty of killing two-year-old Isabella Wheildon, had also been accused of controlling and coercive behaviour by a former girlfriend, the Daily Mail can reveal. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed that the 24-year-old had restricted her access to social media and kept her away from her family. The allegation emerged during legal argument in the absence of the jury so could not be reported until the end of the trial. On Friday, Jeff was found guilty of murder while Isabella's mother, Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, 24, was cleared. Both had denied the charge, but Gleason-Mitchell had admitted causing or allowing the death of a child. Details also emerged about Jeff's time on remand in prison. It was claimed that he had got in to fights, with Gleason-Mitchell's barrister telling Ipswich Crown Court that he had resorted to violence 'in a frenzy of anger'. A recorded phone conversation in prison had shown him saying that he had 'lost it' with a cell-mate and 'just f***** snapped' when 'everything went to s***'. Gleason-Mitchell's defence team also wanted to bring up evidence of him seeking cocaine while in prison on remand. Scott Jeff, who has been found guilty of the murder of two-year-old Isabella Wheildon, had also been accused of controlling and coercive behaviour by a former girlfriend Details also emerged about Jeff's time on remand in prison. It was claimed that he had got in to fights and had resorted to violence 'in a frenzy of anger' Claims made in the absence of a jury also included that Jeff had exerted control against Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, pictured with her daughter, Isabella They claimed the information about his temper and drug use was relevant to the case, and that Jeff had exerted a similar level of control against Gleason-Mitchell. But judge Mr Justice Garnham ruled that the information could not be put to the jury, partly due to inconsistencies in her evidence. He said, for instance, that she had continued to have access to the internet through an Amazon tablet while with Jeff, even when her phone was broken. The judge also ruled that evidence of Jeff losing his temper did not suggest who was responsible for Isabella's injuries. It can also today be revealed how Gleason-Mitchell had been suspended from her job as a nursery nurse for pushing a child. She had been working at Busy Bees nursery in Sandy, Bedfordshire for five months when the alleged incident took place in July 2022. She was immediately suspended and the incident referred to the local authority. It ordered an internal investigation which found no evidence to support the claim and Gleason-Mitchell was allowed to resume work. 'I was told that Chelsea was suspended because a child went home and told her mother that Chelsea had hit her,' a former colleague told this newspaper. 'I heard that Chelsea's reasoning for that was that she was not hitting her but that when they put them to bed they would tap their bottoms.' A jury convicted Scott Jeff, 24, of the murder of two-year-old Isabella Wheildon after deliberating for just over seven hours It can also be revealed that Gleason-Mitchell had been suspended from her job at Busy Bees nursery in Sandy, Bedfordshire for allegedly pushing a child in July 2022 Police mugshots of Gleason-Mitchell and Scott Jeff as both await sentence for their crimes A source from the nursery insisted that the allegation had not involved hitting or smacking a child – but pushing one. She added that the original investigation had been reviewed following Gleason-Mitchell's arrest and that no other complaints had been received and that there were no concerns about her work. Read More BREAKING NEWS Boyfriend, 24, is found guilty of murdering two-year-old girl as cruel mother watched on Gleason-Mitchell's two-year-old daughter Isabella attended the same nursery in Sandy along with her mother, under an arrangement whereby staff are offered reduced fees. She quit her job in April of last year, having split up with the father of her child, Thomas Wheildon. Within weeks she had begun a relationship with Scott Jeff and the couple left Bedfordshire for East Anglia, where Isabella was subjected to weeks of abuse that led to her death. Ipswich Crown Court heard Gleason-Mitchell described as a 'vulnerable' individual with 'intellectual struggles'. The colleague, who worked with her at a previous nursery, described Gleason-Mitchell as 'odd'. 'The DBS checks are run but they're crying out for people to work with children,' she said. Isabella, pictured here on a swing with her mother Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, was found dead at a homeless unit in Ipswich, Suffolk Within weeks of beginning a relationship Jeff and Gleason-Mitchell left Bedfordshire for East Anglia, where Isabella was subjected to weeks of abuse that led to her death 'She was awkward and giggled over anything. She had a nervous disposition about her. I found her uncomfortable to be around so I made a point of not being friendly with her. 'She made my skin crawl and she made me feel on edge. I was annoyed by her. There was constant giggling.' And she added: 'Chelsea would not do much. She would just sit with a baby in her lap and have a cuddle all day. We would have to pull her up on that. 'The job is not just about cuddles. It's about safeguarding and cleaning and preparing meals. 'I never saw her being rough with any of the children. All I can remember is her sitting down with a baby in her lap.' Amazon Share or comment on this article: Revealed: Killer guilty of beating two-year-old girl to death was also accused of controlling ex-girlfriend and got into prison fights while on remand e-mail Add commentUniversity accused of ‘attributing inherited guilt’ over slavery links
Whether Diontae Johnson turns a corner, becomes a distraction or is released isn't clear, but the Ravens are trying to carry on as usual.In the weeks since Republicans decisively won the White House as well as both chambers of Congress, Democrats and pundits alike have voiced countless theories for their defeat. However, the even more critical question is, where do Democrats go from here? Do Democrats double down on the “resistance” that has defined the party for the better part of a decade? Or do Democrats try a different approach and return to the center in order to win back millions of voters who have abandoned the party? Ever since 2016, the Democratic Party’s platform can almost entirely be defined by one word: resistance. Whatever President-elect Donald Trump supported, Democrats rejected and organized in resistance to, often at the expense of formulating their own competing policies. Now, with the politics of resistance soundly rejected, if Democrats want to remain politically viable, they need to return to the center and develop policies for actual issues. They need a specific agenda to address inflation, create jobs, and better manage the economy. This should include a strong position on border security with a viable pathway to citizenship for migrants already here, instead of the open border advocacy that the resistance wing, led by the progressive “Squad” loudly called for during Trump’s first term. On the economy, Democrats should reject progressives’ preference for overbearing taxes and an expansive welfare state. Instead, moderate Democrats must work with the GOP to achieve less regulations, agree to job-boosting tax cuts, and cutting inflationary yet wasteful government spending. To be clear, the 2024 election exposed the hollowness of resistance politics. Voters made it clear that they want elected officials who will address the actual issues, not those who are defined solely by what – or who – they oppose. Indeed, rather than articulating an agenda to address voters’ concerns about the economy, cost of living, immigration, or crime, Democrats – and Vice President Kamala Harris in particular – almost entirely campaigned on the need to stop Trump, lest his “fascism” destroy our democracy. Yet as we saw, this was a costly mistake. Trump won because voters felt he had actual solutions to kitchen-table issues, and Democrats’ appeals largely fell flat with moderate and swing voters. Put another way, as Brett Stephens noted in the New York Times, adherence to resistance politics “led Democrats astray...It distracted them from the task of developing superior policy responses to the valid public concerns he was addressing.” Fortunately for Democrats, they should look to the past to develop a roadmap for the party’s future. Four decades ago, also in the wake of a devastating election loss – former Vice President Walter Mondale’s in 1984 – Democrats, led by then-Governor Bill Clinton, created the Democratic Leadership Council to bring the party back to the center and push back against the growing influence of the party’s left-wing. The DLC advocated for policies that many leftwing Democrats today would shudder at – balancing the budget, welfare reform, and a tougher stance on crime – but that was what Democrats needed then, and that is what they need now. In that same vein, what made the DLC effective was its focus on commonsense values that appealed to the majority of Americans – smaller government, fiscal responsibility, safe cities, and border security. Comparatively, the resistance playbook seeks to divide Americans via progressive identity politics, promotion of an unpopular “woke” agenda, and a refusal to compromise on solutions to challenges facing all Americans. The fact that Donald Trump won the popular vote with one of – if not the – most racially diverse coalition assembled by a Republican in decades underscores the ineffectiveness of progressives’ resistance platform, as well as its toxicity to the Democratic Party as a whole. To that end, the dangers to Democrats posed by progressive-led resistance politics are backed by the data. Beginning in 2016, progressives have driven Democrats significantly further to the left than the average American voter, risking the overall party’s viability should they continue diverging. An analysis from the Financial Times shows that in the last eight years, Democrats hard left turn on supporting increased immigration has taken them nearly 60-points to the left of the average voter. Related Articles Opinion Columnists | California’s political clout will fade as long as population growth remains slow Opinion Columnists | Here’s to hoping Trump delivers on some of his Libertarian promises Opinion Columnists | Grand DOGE promises of massive cuts to the federal government are unlikely to materialize Opinion Columnists | Republican populism goes all in for the Nanny State Opinion Columnists | After botched Gaetz nomination, Trump should pivot on Cabinet picks As John Burn-Murdoch wrote, the data “suggests that Trump’s election radicalized the left, not the right.” And while this analysis was done prior to the 2024 election, there is little reason to believe Democrats have made up the lost ground. The first step for Democrats’ new approach should be to move back to where the average voter is. They can start by committing to working with centrist Republicans for commonsense solutions to the problems we face. Doing so is also smart politically. Working with – rather than against – Trump, will benefit Democrats if his second term does in fact produce a strong economy, secure borders, a more stable geopolitical environment, and overall prosperity. Ultimately, where Democrats go from here remains to be seen, but the 2024 election was a stinging rebuke of a party with little to offer aside from stubborn opposition to Donald Trump. If Democrats want to avoid being consigned to minority status for years to come, it is critical that they shun calls to double down on the politics of resistance and begin offering genuine, centrist solutions that address Americans’ concerns. Douglas Schoen is a longtime Democratic political consultant.
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US stocks rose Monday, with the Dow finishing at a fresh record as markets greeted Donald Trump's pick for treasury secretary, while oil prices retreated on hopes for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The Dow climbed one percent to a second straight all-time closing high on news of the selection of hedge fund manager Scott Bessent to lead the critical economic policy position. A widely respected figure on Wall Street, Bessent is seen as being in favor of growth and deficit reduction policies and not known overly fond of trade tariffs. The market "breathed a sigh of relief" at Bessent's selection, said Art Hogan from B. Riley Wealth Management. But after an initial surge Monday, the gains in US equities moderated somewhat. While investors are enthusiastic about the possibility of tax cuts and regulatory relief under Trump, "we do have to face the potential for tariffs being a negative as well as a very tight market around immigration, which is not positive for the economy," Hogan said. Earlier, equity gains were limited in Europe as growth concerns returned to the fore with Germany's Thyssenkrupp announcing plans to cut or outsource 11,000 jobs in its languishing steel division. Currently around 27,000 people are employed in the steel division, which has been battered by high production costs and fierce competition from Asian rivals. Elsewhere, crude oil prices fell decisively as Israel's security cabinet prepared to decide whether to accept a ceasefire in its war with Hezbollah, an official said Monday. The United States, the European Union and the United Nations have all pushed in recent days for a truce in the long-running hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which flared into all-out war in late September. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Israeli official told AFP the security cabinet "will decide on Tuesday evening on the ceasefire deal." And bitcoin's push toward $100,000 ran out of steam after coming within a whisker of the mark last week, on hopes that Trump would enact policies to bring the cryptocurrency more into the mainstream. Bitcoin was recently trading under $96,000, having set a record high of $99,728.34 Friday -- the digital currency has soared about 50 percent in value since Trump's election. This week's data includes a reading of consumer confidence and an update of personal consumption prices, a key inflation indicator. Those reporting earnings include Best Buy, Dell and Dick's Sporting Goods. New York - Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 44,736.57 (close) New York - S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 5,987.37 (close) New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.3 percent at 19,054.84 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,291.68 (close) Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 7,257.47 (close) Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 19,405.20 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 38,780.14 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 19,150.99 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,263.76 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0495 from $1.0418 on Friday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2564 from $1.2530 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.23 yen from 154.78 yen Euro/pound: UP at 83.51 pence from 83.14 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.2 percent at $68.94 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.9 percent at $73.01 per barrel bur-jmb/dwNone
Lisa Simpson once said during an episode of “The Simpsons:” What could be more exciting than the savage ballet that is pro football? On Monday night, the entire Simpsons universe gets to experience it in a way not many could have imagined. The prime-time matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys will also take place at Springfield’s Atoms Stadium as part of “The Simpsons Funday Football” alternate broadcast. The altcast will be streamed on ESPN+, Disney+, and NFL+ (on mobile devices). ESPN and ABC have the main broadcast, while ESPN2 will carry the final “ManningCast” of the regular season. The replay will be available on Disney+ for 30 days. Globally, more than 145 countries will have access to either live or on replay. “We’re such huge football fans, and the Simpsons audience and the football audience, I feel, are like the same audience of just American families and football. And the Simpsons are so much a part of the DNA of the American family and culture that for us to, like, mush them together in this crazy video game, it’s so fun,” said Matt Selman, executive producer of “The Simpsons.” While the game is the focal point, the alternate broadcast, in some ways, will resemble a three-hour episode of “The Simpsons.” It starts with Homer eating too many hot dogs and having a dream while watching football. Homer joins the Cowboys in the dream while Bart teams up with the Bengals. Lisa and Marge will be sideline reporters. “That’s the beginning of the story, and the story continues through the entire game until Homer wakes up from his dream at the end of the game. It is like a complete story, and the NFL game will happen in between. It’s just going to be an amazing presentation with tons of surprises,” said Michael “Spike” Szykowny, ESPN’s VP of edit and animation. This is the second year ESPN has done an alternate broadcast for an NFL game. It used the characters from “Toy Story” for last year’s Sunday morning game from London between the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars. “The Simpsons” has featured many sports-themed episodes during its 35 seasons. Even though “Homer at the Bat” remains the consensus favorite sports episode for many Simpsons fans, there have been football ones such as “Bart Star” and “Lisa The Greek.” There also was a Super Bowl-themed one after Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl 33 between Denver and Atlanta in 1999. Even though “The Simpsons” remains a staple on Fox’s prime-time schedule, it is part of the Disney family after their acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019. All 35 seasons are on Disney+. The show’s creators have worked with ESPN and the NFL to make sure the look and sound is definitely Simpsonsesque. The theme song is a mash-up of “The Simpsons” opening and “Monday Night Football’s” iconic “Heavy Action.” There have also been pre-recorded skits and bits to use during the broadcast featuring Simpson’s legendary voices Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, and Yeardley Smith. The telecast will be entirely animated, with the players’ movements in sync with what is happening in real-time on the field. That is done through player-tracking data enabled by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats system and Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology. While Next Gen Stats tracks where players are on the field with a tracking chip in the shoulder pads, there is skeletal data tracking and limb tracking data — which uses 29 points per player — to get closer to the player’s movements. The other data tracking will allow Beyond Sports and Disney to add special characters to the game. For example, there might be a play where Lisa catches the ball and goes 30 yards instead of Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins. “Lisa is much smaller than the rest of the players. So, in real life, the ball would go over her head, but now, with data processing, we can take the ball and make it go exactly into her hands. So for the viewer, it still looks believable, and it all makes sense,” said Beyond Sports co-founder Nicolaas Westerhof. The other major challenge is making “The Simpsons” two-dimensional cartoon characters into 3-D simulations. Szykowny and his team worked to make that a reality over the past couple of months. “That’s a big leap of faith for them to say, hey, we trust you to make our characters 3-D and work with it. Our ESPN creative studio team has done a wonderful job,” Szykowny said. Lisa, Krusty, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph will be with Bart and the Bengals; while Carl, Barney, Lenny and Moe join up with with Homer and the Cowboys. The broadcast will also feature ESPN personalities Stephen A. Smith, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. ESPN’s Drew Carter, Mina Kimes and Dan Orlovsky will call the game from Bristol, Connecticut, and also be animated. They will wear Meta Quest Pro headsets to experience the game from Springfield using VR technology. For Kimes, being part of the broadcast and being an animated Simpsons character is a dream come true. She is a massive fan of the show and has a framed photo of Lisa Simpson — who she said is a personal hero and icon — as part of her backdrop when she makes appearances on ESPN NFL shows from her home in Los Angeles. “I didn’t have any input, and I didn’t see anything beforehand, so I wasn’t sure if it would look like me, but it kind of does, which is very funny,” said Kimes, who drew Simpsons characters when she was a kid. “To see the actual staff turn me into one was a dream.” Even though the Bengals (4-8) and Cowboys (5-7) have struggled this season, Selman thinks both teams have personalities that appeal to “The Simpsons” universe. “We were just so lucky also that the Cowboys are sort of like a Homer Simpson-type team, American team, and Mike McCarthy might be a Homer-type guy, one might imagine,” he said. ”And then you have Joe Burrow on the other side who is a cool young, spiky-haired, blonde bad boy -- he’s like Bart. And that fits our character archetypes so perfectly. “If Homer is mad at Bart and has a hot dog dream while watching ’Monday Night Football’, and then it’s basically McCarthy versus Burrow, Homer versus Bart, and that’s the simple father versus son strangling — Homer strangling Bart dynamic that has been part of the show for 35 years. I don’t know if that would have worked as well if it was like Titans versus Jacksonville. We would have found something. We would have made it work.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflJeremy Barousse is trying to keep everyone calm. The head of an East San Jose immigrant rights nonprofit remembers the last time Donald Trump threatened mass deportations: distraught parents choosing relatives or friends to care for their children if they were swept up in ICE raids; school principals reporting classrooms half empty as terrified students refused to leave their parents’ sides; and dozens of undocumented immigrants lining up outside his office before 8 a.m. every morning hoping for legal advice protecting them from deportation. That was the winter of 2018, and aside from sporadic arrests of those with criminal records, their worst fears never materialized. This time, though, with Trump taking office again in January and confirming this past week that he intends to declare a national emergency and use the military to roundup millions of undocumented immigrants, deportation fears are reaching new levels. “We’re hoping that that doesn’t become a reality,” said Barousse, director of policy for Amigos de Guadalupe that provides immigration, education and other services in the largely Latino Mayfair neighborhood and is nonetheless helping train residents what to do in case of ICE raids. “We’re preparing for the worst-case scenario. But then also, we don’t want to contribute to the panic.” Congressman-elect Sam Liccardo, San Jose’s mayor during Trump’s first term, said just the fear of deportations alone is hurting the immigrant community. “The disruption to the daily lives of millions of families is real, whether he carries out his threat or not,” Liccardo said in an interview from Washington, D.C., where he was moving into his new offices last week. And while the Bay Area is lucky to have a network of nonprofits supporting the immigrant community, he said, “the second coming of Trump has many inevitable challenges, and we won’t be able to mitigate them all.” An operation to remove the estimated 11 million to 13 million undocumented immigrants living within the United States — which Trump says he will start on “day one” — seems a Herculean task for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that has deported from the nation’s interior no more than 237,000 in a single year. That was the high in 2009 under President Obama, after gaining momentum from 9/11. During Trump’s first term, ICE deportations — not including border operations — peaked in 2018 at 96,000, according to ICE data. To achieve Trump’s deportation goals would require more than $300 billion over four years, estimates the American Immigration Council, including new agents and judges and other staffing, and 1,000 new immigration courtrooms, and scores of new detention centers. ACLU lawyers are already concerned that the recently shuttered federal Dublin Women’s Prison in the East Bay could be converted into one of those detention facilities — an easy drop-off spot for Bay Area roundups. But how much is Trumpian hyperbole and how much is reality? Last year, Trump’s former immigration adviser Stephen Miller, now his incoming deputy policy chief, told the New York Times that “Trump will unleash the vast arsenal of federal powers to implement the most spectacular migration crackdown.” But earlier this week, Trump’s new “border czar” Thomas Homan told Fox News that “It’s not going to be a massive sweep of neighborhoods,” adding that “public safety threats and national security threats will be the priority.” Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, says that those with criminal histories make up only a fraction of the total, and “if the Trump administration truly wants to deport millions of people, it is going to have to go after people who don’t have criminal records.” And that means ICE agents will likely focus on community arrests — especially in the Bay Area’s sanctuary cities that aren’t handing people over to ICE, he said. So which immigrant groups might be most vulnerable to the new administration? ICE agents will likely start with the “low-hanging fruit,” Reichlin-Melnick said — immigrants already in the system with a paper trail. An estimated 1.3 million people living here who may have missed a court hearing or lost their court cases and re-entered the country, or those given “administrative grace” to stay — perhaps to care for an ill child who is a citizen — and already check in regularly with ICE. Exactly how many undocumented immigrants with criminal histories are living in the country is less certain, although ICE i s keeping track of more than 650,000 of them — some of whom may be in prison, have pending criminal charges or are awaiting immigration proceedings. During the February 2018 raids in Northern California that then-Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf forewarned , ICE announced the arrest of 232 people over four days, including some for violent and sexual offenses. Criminals, however, already are the priority of ICE agents. Prisoners and inmates handed over for deportation have long made up 4 of 5 ICE arrests, according to the American Immigration Council. Although California’s state prisons are allowed to release undocumented prisoners to federal ICE agents when they complete their sentences, local police and sheriffs across the state, whose inmates often have committed lesser offenses, for the most part , are not. As Santa Clara County Sheriff Bob Jonsen puts it: “We haven’t done it. We won’t do it and we’ll continue to stay strong on that front.” The targets of raids will likely be workplaces such as construction sites, restaurants and farms with the largest number of undocumented immigrants in one place that ICE “can arrest in a splashy operation to send a message,” Reichlin-Melnick says. While about 60% of farmworkers have work permits, the remaining 40% are undocumented, making them vulnerable to deportation. Unless they are picked up for criminal offenses, however, they are rarely targeted, often “because of pressure from the business community,” he said. Farmers have been big supporters of Trump. President Obama granted them special status in 2012 as part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Most are in their 20s and 30s now, with work permits they renew every two years. More than half a million live in the United States, including about 183,000 in California. Trump tried to shut the program down during his first term, but the U.S. Supreme Court blocked him in January 2020. A new conservative majority could rule in his favor this time. “ I’m definitely more worried now,” said Fernando Hernandez, 35, a hardware technician at Google who has been here since he was 5. “It feels like Trump’s got more of a chip on his shoulder this time around.” Including DACA holders, some 1.5 to 2 million people hold some form of temporary status that allows foreigners confronting armed conflicts, natural disasters or other extreme temporary conditions at home to live in the U.S. temporarily. California is home to nearly 70,000 TPS holders, including those from El Salvador and Nicaragua. Bay Area nonprofits are hearing from asylum seekers, who recently crossed the border illegally and are fighting their cases in immigration court. “ICE is not going to be arresting those people,” Reichlin-Melnick says. “They have already been arrested. They are already checking in with ICE.” And the Trump administration cannot ramp up deportations of people already in the system, he said, without increasing the number of immigration judges. Bay Area News Group reporter Grace Hase contributed to this story.
Deflating Boobs, Shrinking Butts and Little Lips: The De-Kardashian-ification of AmericaInsurgents reach gates of Syria’s capital, threatening to upend decades of Assad rule BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian opposition war monitor and a pro-government media outlet say government forces have withdrawn from much of the central city of Homs. The pro-government Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third-largest city, without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies have withdrawn from the city, adding that rebels have entered parts of it. Losing Homs is a potentially crippling blow for Syria’s embattled leader, Bashar Assad. An archbishop's knock formally restores Notre Dame to life as winds howl and heads of state look on PARIS (AP) — France’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral has formally reopened its doors for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019. The five-year restoration is widely seen as a boost for French President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious timeline, and brings a welcome respite from his domestic political woes. World leaders, dignitaries, and worshippers gathered on Saturday evening for the celebrations under the cathedral's soaring arches. The celebration was attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including President-elect Donald Trump, Britain’s Prince William, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. For Catholics, Notre Dame’s rector said the cathedral “carries the enveloping presence of the Virgin Mary, a maternal and embracing presence.′′ Trump is welcomed by Macron to Paris with presidential pomp and joined by Zelenskyy for their talks PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed Donald Trump to Paris with a full dose of presidential pomp. And they held a hastily arranged meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a day that's mixing pageantry with attention to pressing global problems. The president-elect's visit to France is part of a global a celebration of the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral five years after a devastating fire. Macron and other European leaders are trying to win Trump’s favor and persuade him to maintain support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion. Trump isn't back in office but he's already pushing his agenda and negotiating with world leaders NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is making threats, traveling abroad, and negotiating with world leaders. He has more than a month-and-a-half to go before he’s sworn in for a second term. But the president-elect is already moving aggressively to not only fill his Cabinet and outline policy goals, but also to try to achieve his priorities. In recent days, Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, two of the country’s largest trading partners. That led to emergency calls and a visit. And he's warned of “ALL HELL TO PAY” if Hamas doesn't release the hostages still being held captive in Gaza. South Korea's president avoids an impeachment attempt over short-lived martial law SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol has avoided an opposition-led attempt to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of martial law. Most of Yoon's ruling party lawmakers boycotted a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny a two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers. The scrapping of the motion is expected to intensify protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea. A survey suggests a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative People Power Party. But the party also apparently fears losing the presidency to liberals. Days after gunman killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO, police push to ID him and FBI offers reward NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly four days after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police still do not know the gunman’s name or whereabouts or have a motive for the killing. But they have made some progress in their investigation into Wednesday's killing of the leader of the largest U.S. health insurer, including that the gunman likely left New York City on a bus soon after fleeing the scene. The also found that the gunman left something behind: a backpack that was discovered in Central Park. Police are working with the FBI, which on Friday night announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. UnitedHealthcare CEO's shooting opens a door for many to vent frustrations over insurance The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO has opened the door for many people to vent their frustrations and anger over the insurance industry. The feelings of exasperation, anger, resentment, and helplessness toward insurers aren’t new. But the shooting and the headlines around it have unleashed a new wave of patients sharing such sentiments and personal stories of interactions with insurance companies. Conversations at dinner tables, office water coolers, social gatherings and on social media have pivoted to the topic. Many say they hope the new amplified voices can bring about change for companies often accused of valuing profits over people. 2 Pearl Harbor survivors, ages 104 and 102, return to Hawaii to honor those killed in 1941 attack PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The bombing of Pearl Harbor 83 years ago launched the United States into World War II. Two survivors returned to the Hawaii military base on Saturday for a remembrance ceremony on the attack's anniversary. Both are over 100 years old. They joined active-duty troops, veterans and members of the public for an observance hosted by the Navy and the National Park Service. A third survivor was planning to join them but had to cancel due to health issues. The bombing killed more than 2,300 U.S. servicemen. An explosion destroys an apartment block in a Dutch city, killing at least 3 and injuring others THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An explosion and fire has rocked a neighborhood in the Dutch city of The Hague, killing three people and injuring other people and destroying several apartments. The cause of the disaster is unclear. Emergency authorities said four people were rescued from the rubble and taken to the hospital. The mayor said rescuers were no longer looking for survivors but for eventual bodies, but could not specify how many people might still be unaccounted for. Residents of the northeastern neighborhood of Mariahoeve in The Hague heard a huge bang and screams before dawn. Dutch authorities have deployed a specialized urban search and rescue team to find victims. How 'Mufasa' rose with Aaron Pierre and Blue Ivy's voices along with new Lin-Manuel Miranda music SAN DIEGO (AP) — When Aaron Pierre was cast as Mufasa, the weight of following in the late James Earl Jones’ legendary footsteps was enough to rattle any actor. But instead of letting the pressure roar too loudly, he harnessed his nerves to breathe fresh life into his young lion character. Pierre found parallels between himself and his character while filming his leading role in “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which opens in theaters Dec. 20. He took the reigns as the new voice of Mufasa after Jones played the iconic King Mufasa in both the 1994 and 2019 versions of Disney’s “The Lion King.” The prequel offers a fresh exploration into Mufasa’s origin story.