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Arkansas visits skidding Miami in battle of veteran coachesNoneWithout Jalen Hurts at QB, Eagles bid to wrap up NFC East vs. Cowboys

Hezbollah fires about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel in heaviest barrage in weeks BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah has fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel, wounding seven people in one of the militant group’s heaviest barrages in months. Sunday's attacks in northern and central Israel came in response to deadly Israeli strikes in central Beirut on Saturday. Israel struck southern Beirut on Sunday. Meanwhile, negotiators press on with cease-fire efforts to halt the all-out war. And Lebanon's military says an Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center in the southwest killed one soldier and wounded 18 others. Israel's military has expressed regret and said its operations are directed solely against the militants. Israel cracks down on Palestinian citizens who speak out against the war in Gaza UMM AL-FAHM, Israel (AP) — In the year since the war in Gaza broke out, Israel's government has been cracking down on dissent among its Palestinian citizens. Authorities have charged Palestinians with “supporting terrorism” because of posts online or for demonstrating against the war. Activists and rights watchdogs say Palestinians have also lost jobs, been suspended from schools and faced police interrogations. Palestinians make up about 20% of Israel's population. Many feel forced to self-censor out of fear of being jailed and further marginalized in society. Others still find ways to dissent, but carefully. Israel's National Security Ministry counters that, “Freedom of speech is not the freedom to incite.” Somalia says 24 people have died after 2 boats capsized in the Indian Ocean MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia's government says 24 people died after two boats capsized off the Madagascar coast in the Indian Ocean. Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi said 46 people were rescued. Most of the passengers were young Somalis, and their intended destination remains unclear. Many young Somalis embark every year on dangerous journeys in search of better opportunities abroad. A delegation led by the Somali ambassador to Ethiopia is scheduled to travel to Madagascar on Monday to investigate the incident and coordinate efforts to help survivors. Forecasts warn of possible winter storms across US during Thanksgiving week WINDSOR, Calif. (AP) — Forecasters in the U.S. have warned of another round of winter weather that could complicate travel leading up to Thanksgiving. California is bracing for more snow and rain while still grappling with some flooding and small landslides from a previous storm. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for California's Sierra Nevada through Tuesday, with heavy snow expected at high elevations. Thousands remained without power in the Seattle area on Sunday after a “bomb cyclone” storm system hit the West Coast last week, killing two people. Republicans lash out at Democrats' claims that Trump intelligence pick Gabbard is 'compromised' FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Republican lawmakers are pushing back against criticism from some Democrats that President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead U.S. intelligence services is “compromised” by her comments supportive of Russia and a meeting with an ally of that country. The accusation came from Sen. Tammy Duckworth. The Illinois Democrat says she has concerns about the pro-Russian views expressed by Tulsi Gabbard, who was tapped for the post of director of national intelligence. Duckworth’s comments on Sunday drew immediate backlash from Republicans. The rising price of paying the national debt is a risk for Trump's promises on growth and inflation WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has big plans for the economy. He also has big debt problem that'll be a hurdle to delivering on those plan. Trump has bold ambitions on tax cuts, tariffs and other programs. But high interest rates and the price of repaying the federal government’s existing debt could limit what he’s able to do. The federal debt stands at roughly $36 trillion, and the spike in inflation after the pandemic has pushed up the government’s borrowing costs such that debt service next year will easily exceed spending on national security. Moscow offers debt forgiveness to new recruits and AP sees wreckage of a new Russian missile KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law granting debt forgiveness to new army recruits who enlist to fight in Ukraine. The measure, whose final version appeared on a government website Saturday, underscores Russia’s needs for military personnel in the nearly 3-year-old war, even as it fired last week a new intermediate-range ballistic missile. Russia has ramped up military recruitment by offering increasing financial incentives to those willing to fight in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Security Service on Sunday showed The Associated Press wreckage of the new intermediate-range ballistic missile that struck a factory in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday. After Trump's win, Black women are rethinking their role as America's reliable political organizers ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump's victory has dismayed many politically engaged Black women, and they're reassessing their enthusiasm for politics and organizing. Black women often carry much of the work of getting out the vote, and they had vigorously supported the historic candidacy of Kamala Harris. AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters, found that 6 in 10 Black women said the future of democracy was the single most important factor for their vote this year, a higher share than for other demographic groups. But now, some Black women are renewing calls to emphasize rest, focus on mental health and become more selective about what fight they lend their organizing power to. Heavy rains in Bolivia send mud crashing into the capital, leaving 1 missing and destroying homes LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Authorities say that a landslide caused by heavy rains has flooded dozens of homes in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. It swept away a young girl, spurred evacuations and left parts of the city without electricity. Torrential rain on Saturday caused a river to spill its banks Sunday, dislodging mud from a southwestern La Paz neighborhood where low-slung, shoddily built dwellings dot the hillside. The torrent of debris and soil surged down a narrow ravine early Sunday, wrecking some two dozen homes and flooding another 40. Hours after the rain subsided, rescuers were still searching for the missing 5-year-old girl. Emergency workers saved six residents suffering from hypothermia. 'Wicked' and 'Gladiator' make gravity-defying theater debuts NEW YORK (AP) — “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” have debuted in theaters with a combined $270 million in ticket sales. Their worldwide performance breathed fresh life into global box office results that have struggled lately. Together the films turned the moviegoing weekend into one of the busiest of the year. Jon M. Chu’s lavish big-budget musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally. Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” is a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original and launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales. “Moana 2” is being released Wednesday, so it looks like Hollywood might be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday.Iran says will hold nuclear talks with France, Germany, UK on FridayFazit Founders Hope Simone Biles Wears Glitter Freckles After Taylor Swift

Aaron Rodgers celebrated his 41st birthday with the news he’s still the New York Jets’ starting quarterback. That’s hardly a surprise gift, but it ends some of the speculation that has been growing in recent days from some fans and media who were clamoring for change. “We have great belief in Aaron, we really do,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said Monday. “And we think he gives us the best opportunity to win.” That’s why the Jets aren’t turning to Tyrod Taylor at this point. Or perhaps even giving practice squad QB Adrian Martinez, the UFL’s MVP last season, a long look. The locker room, from all indications, has remained positive despite the firings of coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas a month later. And there’s still belief from his teammates that Rodgers can help them pull out some victories as the season hits the home stretch. “Aaron Rodgers is Aaron Rodgers,” linebacker Jamien Sherwood said. “At the end of the day, he’s still a Hall of Famer to all of us.” But victories have been few and far between for the struggling Jets, who fell to 3-9 on Sunday with a . It was New York’s third straight defeat and eighth in nine games. And it put the Jets perilously closer to the seemingly inevitable reality that they’ll miss the postseason for the 14th straight year, the NFL’s longest active drought. Not exactly the results the Jets and their frustrated fans expected when New York acquired Rodgers from Green Bay last year. “There are 11 guys on the field,” Rodgers said after the game. “Sometimes it’s my fault. Definitely multiple times today. And then the details aren’t there in some other spots, too.” The four-time NFL MVP has dealt with a few injuries to his left leg after coming off the torn Achilles tendon that limited him to four snaps in his Jets debut last year. That, Ulbrich said, has contributed to the struggles of Rodgers and the offense. But Rodgers headed into the game Sunday off the injury report for the first time since Week 4. Some of his scrambles provided proof he was feeling much better. But his overall play was still hurting. Rodgers was 21 of 39 for 185 yards with two touchdown passes and had an interception returned 92 yards for a score by Leonard Williams. Rodgers also failed to get the Jets in position for a winning score in the closing minutes, something he has been unable to do regularly this season. Despite all that, Ulbrich insists he doesn’t have any questions about whether Rodgers can still do the job. “I don’t,” he said, “because I see enough evidence on tape of him still being capable of playing high level football for us.” What’s working Special teams. The Jets got a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Kene Nwangwu, who was elevated from the practice squad before the game, and he also forced a fumble on a kickoff. New York signed him to the active roster Monday. The Seahawks fumbled three times on kickoffs, with the Jets recovering two, including one by kicker Anders Carlson. Quinnen Williams also blocked an extra point. About the only thing that didn’t go right for the Jets’ special teams unit was Carlson having an extra point of his own blocked. What needs help Everything else. The offense finally had a fast start with three touchdowns in New York’s first four drives, but the Jets didn’t score again after that. The defense had some stops but was called for penalties in some big spots, helping extend drives for Seattle. Stock up LT Olu Fashanu. In his second start in place of the injured Tyron Smith, Fashanu excelled by allowing no pressures in 42 pass blocking snaps, according to Next Gen Stats. The first-rounder out of Penn State is likely to start at left tackle the rest of the season. “The more ops to play, the better he gets,” Ulbrich said. “He just builds on each performance and in both phases, both in the run game and pass protection, so, just so excited about the future this guy has.” Stock down Rodgers. He has thrown for 2,627 yards and 19 touchdowns with eight interceptions, but his 6.3 yards-per-pass attempt is the lowest of his career as a starter. Rodgers also has had the ball five times with a chance to lead the Jets to a victory in their final possession. They’re 0-5 in those situations. Injuries CB Sauce Gardner (hamstring) and RT Morgan Moses (shoulder) left the game with injuries and Ulbrich had no immediate updates on either. ... LB C.J. Mosley is getting closer to returning from the herniated disk in his neck that has sidelined him for five games. Key number 12 — That’s how many accepted penalties the Jets had against the Seahawks, with four coming on Seattle’s go-ahead touchdown drive. They actually had a fifth after the score for unsportsmanlike conduct, but it was offset by the same call on Seattle. What’s next Rodgers and the Jets look to end their three-game skid when they travel to Miami to face the AFC East rival Dolphins next Sunday. ___ AP NFL:Florida knocks No. 9 Ole Miss out of College Football Playoff contentionCracks emerge in Trump's MAGA coalition

Paul Keating has emerged as a significant winner from the sale of Boost Mobile, with the former prime minister set to pocket at least $40 million from the telco tie-up. Telstra on Monday announced it would acquire Boost Mobile in a deal understood to be worth just under $140 million in cash, a move that will enable Telstra to spruik low-cost prepaid plans amid an ongoing cost-of-living crunch. Former prime minister Paul Keating was the initial funder of Boost Mobile. Credit: Louie Douvis Keating holds a 29 per cent stake in Boost Mobile and remains one of the company’s largest shareholders. He was the sole investor when he co-founded the business in 2000 with entrepreneur Peter Adderton, who retains a 32 per cent stake. Other shareholders include skateboarder Peter Hill and his brother Stephen Hill, as well as former Boost Mobile chief executive Paul O’Neile. The acquisition, expected to be completed this month, will see Boost Mobile employees integrated into Telstra and no changes for Boost’s thousands of prepaid customers. The companies had been partnered for 13 years, with Telstra responsible for most of the operational parts of Boost’s business, including network access and customer service, while Boost was responsible for branding and marketing. “Boost Mobile has been a fantastic partner of Telstra, this acquisition cements just how much we value the Boost brand,” Telstra executive Brad Whitcomb said. Boost Mobile chairman Peter Adderton owns about a third of the company he founded with Keating in 2000. “We know Boost branded products are a fantastic option for those seeking more affordable mobile connectivity, and we are committed to providing that choice in the market.”The Reform UK leader pushed back against reports suggesting that legal action would be the next step, saying he would make a decision in the next couple of days about his response if there is no apology for the “crazy conspiracy theory”. Mr Farage also said the party has “opened up our systems” to media outlets, including The Daily Telegraph and The Financial Times, in the interests of “full transparency to verify that our numbers are correct”. His remarks came after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused Mr Farage of “fakery” in response to Reform claiming they had surpassed the Tories in signed-up members. Mrs Badenoch said Reform’s counter was “coded to tick up automatically”. A digital counter on the Reform website showed a membership tally before lunchtime on Boxing Day ticking past the 131,680 figure declared by the Conservative Party during its leadership election earlier this year. Mr Farage, on whether he was threatening legal action or not, told the PA news agency: “I haven’t threatened anything. I’ve just said that unless I get an apology, I will take some action. “I haven’t said whether it’s legal or anything.” He added: “All I’ve said is I want an apology. If I don’t get an apology, I will take action. “I will decide in the next couple of days what that is. So I’ve not specified what it is.” Mr Farage, on the move to make membership data available to media organisations, said: “We feel our arguments are fully validated. “She (Mrs Badenoch) has put out this crazy conspiracy theory and she needs to apologise.” The accusations of fraud and dishonesty made against me yesterday were disgraceful. Today we opened up our systems to The Telegraph, Spectator, Sky News & FT in the interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct. I am now demanding @KemiBadenoch apologises. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) December 27, 2024 On why Mrs Badenoch had reacted as she did, Mr Farage said: “I would imagine she was at home without anybody advising her and was just angry.” Mr Farage, in a statement issued on social media site X, also said: “The accusations of fraud and dishonesty made against me yesterday were disgraceful. “Today we opened up our systems to The Telegraph, Spectator, Sky News and FT in the interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct. “I am now demanding Kemi Badenoch apologises.” A Conservative Party source claimed Mr Farage was “rattled” that his Boxing Day “publicity stunt is facing serious questions”. They added: “Like most normal people around the UK, Kemi is enjoying Christmas with her family and looking forward to taking on the challenges of renewing the Conservative Party in the New Year.” Mrs Badenoch, in a series of messages posted on X on Thursday, said: “Farage doesn’t understand the digital age. This kind of fakery gets found out pretty quickly, although not before many are fooled.” There were 131,680 Conservative members eligible to vote during the party’s leadership election to replace Rishi Sunak in the autumn. Mrs Badenoch claimed in her thread that “the Conservative Party has gained thousands of new members since the leadership election”. Elsewhere, Mr Farage described Elon Musk as a “bloody hero” and said he believes the US billionaire can help attract younger voters to Reform. Tech entrepreneur Mr Musk met Mr Farage earlier this month at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, amid rumours of a possible donation to either Mr Farage or Reform. Mr Farage told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: “The shades, the bomber jacket, the whole vibe. Elon makes us cool – Elon is a huge help to us with the young generation, and that will be the case going on and, frankly, that’s only just starting. “Reform only wins the next election if it gets the youth vote. The youth vote is the key. Of course, you need voters of all ages, but if you get a wave of youth enthusiasm you can change everything. “And I think we’re beginning to get into that zone – we were anyway, but Elon makes the whole task much, much easier. And the idea that politics can be cool, politics can be fun, politics can be real – Elon helps us with that mission enormously.”

MAGA Republicans and their billionaire backers like Elon Musk have finally honed-in on a ten-point formula that works for obtaining political and economic power. And they are never going to ditch it. Pandering conspiracy theories to high school grads rather than trying to impress college grads with knowledge of history and science is one key. Those blue-collar kids never paid much attention to social studies during their 12-year ordeal in school. Education was too boring compared to skating the internet on their phones during class. They want crazy gossip, and the more the better. Falsely blaming others for exhibiting one’s own manifest faults works extremely well too. This is called “projecting” in the parlance of psychology and “smearing” in communist political science. Doing this upsets Democrats to no end and causes them to swoon with great anxiety and lose sight of any reasonable path to success. Lying is the new truth-telling. We told the truth for 400 years on the North American continent and this people are clearly getting tired of it. No fun at all. Very slow path to power. We also covered up the flesh in public places, and men and women are so over that too. Republicans will steadfastly keep AR-15s legal for the many mentally unstable citizens of our country to purchase and utilize at their own pleasure. Those violence-minded folks provide almost nightly entertainment for law-abiding citizens looking for ever-more insane true-crime stories and reality TV. All this anti-civic entertainment in turn is necessary for preventing America from returning to serious participation in democracy on any level of government. Why participate if you are just going to get shot to bits when you step out in public? In addition, all the blood and guts make us want to lean on Republican despots, authoritarians, dictators, and tyrants for security because they are the only ones who can fix things. They create the problems for sure, but then they alone can solve the problems. Republicans will continue to elaborate the political philosophy of autocracy and monarchy. This is the idea that one human being is just so much more special than others that he must make all the laws instead of Congress making them. Furthermore, his DNA is the key to keeping stability in the nation, so it is clearly best for him to pass on the reins of government to his first-born son and establish a hereditary-style government. Making barrels of money and thus becoming an untouchable celebrity is the only cherished path to personal success for Republicans today, and even a few Democrats. Encouraging everybody to become a gold digger by investing in new kinds of currency and supporting wild new technologies is the perfect answer to the plodding, science-based small-business capitalism that built this country. That is so passe. We must also turn America into a false advertising mecca. If propaganda works in Republican politics, it surely works just as well in Republican business and banking. Marketing departments must build fantastic new fantasy worlds through advertising campaigns in order to marginalize the competition and become a monopoly in the industry. Those monopolies can then more easily use the Citizens United decision to purchase the budding new Republicans they want to see governing things on national and local levels. Religion must maintain all the doctrines that theologists and politicians cooked up during the Dark Ages to make the Roman Catholic church the ruler of all of Europe. Citizens must be charmed into swallowing them whole, never bothering to digest them, for that might cause alarm and insight. Protestant churches must also move forward toward to an authoritarian system of church government that will allow them to quickly marshal their members to support Republican candidates on the national, state, and local levels. Republicans must double-down on the idea that childless cat ladies are a problem. Those who avoid child-rearing do not understand the imperative of the aristocratic class and the monarchy to produce heirs to pass along their wealth to. Besides, child rearing in the commoner class is meritorious because it populates the underclass that must do the economic bidding of the Republican aristocracy. If DNA works in aristocracy and monarchy, it also works in race relations. White DNA is much superior to off-white or colored DNA. That’s just obvious to every MAGA cheerleader. Besides, colored folk tend toward communism, and that must be stopped.

Iran said on Sunday that it would hold nuclear talks in the coming days with the three European countries that initiated a censure resolution against it adopted by the UN’s atomic watchdog. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the meeting of the deputy foreign ministers of Iran, France, Germany and the United Kingdom would take place on Friday, without specifying a venue. “A range of regional and international issues and topics, including the issues of Palestine and Lebanon, as well as the nuclear issue, will be discussed,” the spokesman said in a foreign ministry statement. Baghaei described the upcoming meeting as a continuation of talks held with the countries in September on the sidelines of the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On Thursday, the 35-nation board of governors of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution denouncing Iran for what it called a lack of cooperation. The move came as tensions ran high over Iran’s atomic programme, which critics fear is aimed at developing a nuclear weapon — something Tehran has repeatedly denied. In response to the resolution, Iran announced it was launching a “series of new and advanced centrifuges”. Centrifuges enrich uranium transformed into gas by rotating it at very high speed, increasing the proportion of fissile isotope material (U-235). “We will substantially increase the enrichment capacity with the utilisation of different types of advanced machines,” Behrouz Kamalvandi, Iran’s atomic energy organisation spokesman, told state TV. The country, however, also said it planned to continue its “technical and safeguards cooperation with the IAEA”. During a recent visit to Tehran by IAEA head Rafael Grossi, Iran agreed to the agency’s demand to cap its sensitive stock of near weapons-grade uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity. – ‘Doubts and ambiguities’ – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in power since July and a supporter of dialogue with Western countries, has said he wants to remove “doubts and ambiguities” about his country’s nuclear programme. In 2015, Iran and world powers reached an agreement that saw the easing of international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. But the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and reimposed biting economic sanctions, which prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments. On Sunday afternoon, the United Kingdom confirmed the upcoming meeting between Iran and the three European countries. “We remain committed to taking every diplomatic step to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, including through snapback if necessary,” London’s Foreign Office said. The 2015 deal contains a “snapback” mechanism that can be triggered in case of “significant non-performance” of commitments by Iran, allowing many sanctions to be reimposed. Ali Vaez, an Iran expert with the International Crisis Group think tank, told AFP that Friday’s meeting was set to happen earlier, but “those plans were derailed as a result of Iran-Israel tensions” over the Gaza war. Though the parties will be meeting “without knowing what the incoming Trump administration wants to do”, Vaez said that “after a lose-lose cycle of mutual escalation, now both sides are back to realising that engagement might be the least costly option.” Tehran has since 2021 decreased its cooperation with the IAEA by deactivating surveillance devices monitoring the nuclear programme and barring UN inspectors. At the same time, it has increased its stockpiles of enriched uranium and the level of enrichment to 60 percent. That level is close, according to the IAEA, to the 90 percent-plus threshold required for a nuclear warhead, and substantially higher than the 3.67 percent limit it agreed to in 2015. With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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