Trump invited China's Xi to his inauguration even as he threatened massive tariffs on Beijing
Police say suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing wasn't a client of the insurerThe year in whoppers: The left tried to fool voters on Joe Biden’s fitness, media claimed Kamala Harris wasn’t the border czar and moreNone
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Pipeline 2024: Clinical Trials Assessment, FDA Approvals, Therapies, and Key Companies Involved by DelveInsight | Tenaya Therapeutics, Shandong Suncadia Medicine, MyoKardia, Imbria Pharma, Cytokinetics, Bristol-Myers
JERUSALEM — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital and multiple ports, while the World Health Organization's director-general said the bombardment occurred nearby as he prepared to board a flight in Sanaa, with a crew member injured. "The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media. He added that he and U.N. colleagues were safe. "We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave," he said, without mentioning the source of the bombardment. U.N. spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay later said the injured person was with the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service. Israel's army later told The Associated Press it wasn't aware that the WHO chief or delegation were at the location in Yemen. Smoke rises Thursday from the area around the International Airport after an airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen. The Israeli strikes followed several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel. The Israeli military said in a statement it attacked infrastructure used by the Iran-backed Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports in Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, along with power stations, claiming they were used to smuggle in Iranian weapons and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. Israel's military added it had "capabilities to strike very far from Israel's territory — precisely, powerfully, and repetitively." The strikes, carried out more than 1,000 miles from Jerusalem, came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad's regime and others learned" as his military has battled those more powerful proxies of Iran. The Houthi-controlled satellite channel al-Masirah reported multiple deaths and showed broken windows, collapsed ceilings and a bloodstained floor and vehicle. Iran's foreign ministry condemned the strikes. The U.S. military also targeted the Houthis in recent days. The U.N. says the targeted ports are important entryways for humanitarian aid for Yemen, the poorest Arab nation that plunged into a civil war in 2014. Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, while other missiles and drones were shot down. Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The U.N. Security Council has an emergency meeting Monday in response to an Israeli request that it condemn the Houthi attacks and Iran for supplying them weapons. Meanwhile, an Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in Gaza overnight, the territory's Health Ministry said. The strike hit a car outside Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The journalists worked for local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group. Islamic Jihad is a smaller and more extreme ally of Hamas and took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel that ignited the war. Israel's military identified four of the men as combat propagandists and said that intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad operatives found by soldiers in Gaza, confirmed that all five were affiliated with the group. Associated Press footage showed the incinerated shell of a van, with press markings visible on the back doors. The Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war. Israel hasn't allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds. Israel banned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network and accuses six of its Gaza reporters of being militants. The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its war coverage, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties from Israeli military operations. Mourners cry Thursday while they take the last look at the body of a relative, one of eight Palestinians killed, during their funeral in the West Bank city of Tulkarem. Separately, Israel's military said a 35-year-old reserve soldier was killed during fighting in central Gaza. A total of 389 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250. About 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Israel's air and ground offensive has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry. It says more than half the fatalities are women and children, but doesn't say how many of the dead were fighters. The offensive caused widespread destruction and hunger and drove around 90% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are packed into squalid camps along the coast, with little protection from the cold, wet winter. Also Thursday, people mourned eight Palestinians killed by Israeli military operations in and around Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Israeli military said it opened fire after militants attacked soldiers, and it was aware of uninvolved civilians who were harmed in the raid. Get local news delivered to your inbox!I felt I had to have sex straight after giving birth, says Ashley James as she lifts lid on health battle
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NoneBiden will attend Trump’s inauguration in January, says White HouseDAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Nate Santos had 24 points in Dayton's 86-62 victory against Lehigh on Saturday. Santos shot 8 for 11 (6 for 6 from 3-point range) and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line for the Flyers (8-2). Malachi Smith added 17 points while shooting 5 for 8 (3 for 4 from 3-point range) and 4 of 7 from the free-throw line while they also had nine assists. Enoch Cheeks shot 5 for 7, including 4 for 6 from beyond the arc to finish with 14 points. Keith Higgins Jr. led the Mountain Hawks (3-6) in scoring, finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds. Joshua Ingram added nine points for Lehigh. Nasir Whitlock finished with nine points. Dayton took the lead with 18:32 remaining in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 41-25 at halftime, with Smith racking up 10 points. Santos scored 15 points in the second half to help lead the way as Dayton went on to secure a victory, outscoring Lehigh by eight points in the second half. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Remembering Manmohan Singh: Architect of India's Economic Reforms
Before we start, I have to admit to a personal bias that may color this story: I’ve been a fan of Guy Pearce since first seeing him in 1997’s L.A. Confidential . So knowing that he’s been popping up on the 2024 movie schedule in movies like The Convert and The Brutalist has pleased my cinephile heart to no end. However, after learning the story of how a random Warner Bros. executive allegedly blocked Pearce from ever working again with Christopher Nolan , I have to say my blood is a bit boiled. What’s more, I can double down on that anger, as the Australian actor’s recent interview with Vanity Fair also revealed that he came really close to playing a role in Batman Begins . “But Mike,” you’re probably about to ask your screen, “surely a studio executive wouldn’t have it out for the man who starred in Memento ?” Allow Guy Pearce himself to prove you wrong, courtesy of the following quote: ...there was an executive at Warner Bros. who quite openly said to my agent, “I don’t get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to employ Guy Pearce.” As you’d expect, and as the Prometheus actor admitted, this supposed “No Guy Pearce” sign on the WB gates meant that he was theoretically barred from quite a few movies. Theoretically, if true, this could explain how Warner Bros. passed on an L.A. Confidential sequel . As for reuniting Pearce with Christopher Nolan, the pair might have missed out on making anything Batman Begins to Tenet . I don't know that for sure, as this unnamed exec may have left at some earlier point during that metaphorical exclusion period. Are you ready for the knife in this story to be twisted in a very special way? Guy Pearce’s proposed role in the 2005 Batman reboot was revealed in this same interview, and as the Iron Man 3 thespian admitted, that decision was made at a pretty late stage of the game: Yes. They flew me to London, to discuss the Liam Neeson role for Batman, and I think it was decided on my flight that I wasn’t going to be in the movie. So I get there and Chris is like “hey, you want to see the Batmobile and get dinner? I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit furious to hear this, especially since Pearce was on an airplane to take a meeting for the role! While Liam Neeson ’s Henri Ducard/Ra's al Ghul was certainly a welcomed casting in Batman Begins , it still doesn’t change the fact that the exclusion of Guy Pearce from consideration was, to put it mildly, quite unfair. Though I suppose it all worked out in the end if you really think about it. If Mr. Pearce had starred in that Christopher Nolan comic book hit, he may not have played Aldrich Killian in Shane Black’s Iron Man 3. Which might have also seen the actor unavailable to star in his entry on the Alien movie timeline, Prometheus , as he’d have had to reappear in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises . CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News If there’s any sort of silver lining to this horrible story, it’s the fact that it’s perhaps one of the best things to come out of Christopher Nolan’s 2021 breakup with Warner Bros . Guy Pearce acknowledged that himself in this interview, closing the entire affair with the sentiment that maybe it’s time for him and his Memento director to reunite. As luck would have it, Christopher Nolan’s next movie is gearing up to shoot early next year - and considering how large his casts can get, I’m sure there’s room to get the band back together. For now though, you can catch Guy Pearce and Christopher Nolan's sole film together, Memento , for free on Pluto TV and Tubi.Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen have targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and multiple ports. The World Health Organization’s director-general said the bombardment on Thursday took place just “meters away” as he was about to board a flight in Sanaa. He says a crew member was hurt. The strikes followed several days of Houthi attacks and launches setting off sirens in Israel. Israel's military says it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa, power stations and ports. The Israeli military later said it wasn’t aware that the WHO chief was at the location in Yemen. An uneasy calm settles over Syrian city of Homs after outbreak of sectarian violence HOMS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s new security forces checked IDs and searched cars in the central city of Homs a day after protests by members of the Alawite minority erupted in gunfire and stirred fears that the country’s fragile peace could break down. A tense calm prevailed Thursday after checkpoints were set up throughout the country’s third-largest city, which has a mixed population of Sunni and Shia Muslims, Alawites and Christians. The security forces are controlled by the former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the charge that unseated former President Bashar Assad. The US says it pushed retraction of a famine warning for north Gaza. Aid groups express concern. WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say they asked for — and got — the retraction of an independent monitor's warning of imminent famine in north Gaza. The internationally Famine Early Warning System Network issued the warning this week. The new report had warned that starvation deaths in north Gaza could reach famine levels as soon as next month. It cited what it called Israel's “near-total blockade” of food and water. The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Jacob Lew, criticized the finding as inaccurate and irresponsible. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds the famine-monitoring group, told the AP it had asked for and gotten the report's retraction. USAID officials tell The Associated Press that it had asked the group for greater review of discrepancies in some of the data. Powerful thunderstorms rumble across Texas, delaying holiday travel DALLAS (AP) — Severe thunderstorms are firing up in parts of Texas and could trigger high winds, hail and potential tornadoes. More than 100 flights were delayed and dozens more were canceled Thursday at airports in Dallas and Houston. The National Weather Service says the greatest weather risk stretched from just east of Dallas, and between Houston and portions of southern Arkansas and western Louisiana. The risk includes the possibility of tornadoes and wind gusts between 60 and 80 miles per hour, and large hail. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for several counties in southeast Texas, including the Houston area. Trump has pressed for voting changes. GOP majorities in Congress will try to make that happen ATLANTA (AP) — Republicans in Congress plan to move quickly in their effort to overhaul the nation’s voting procedures, seeing an opportunity with control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. They want to push through long-sought changes such as voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements. They say the measures are needed to restore public confidence in elections. That's after an erosion of trust that Democrats note has been fueled by false claims from Donald Trump and his allies of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Democrats say they are willing to work with the GOP but want any changes to make it easier, not harder, to vote. Americans are exhausted by political news. TV ratings and a new AP-NORC poll show they're tuning out NEW YORK (AP) — A lot of Americans, after an intense presidential election campaign, are looking for a break in political news. That's evident in cable television news ratings and a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll found nearly two-thirds of Americans saying they've found the need recently to cut down on their consumption of political and government news. That's particularly true among Democrats following President-elect Donald Trump's victory, although a significant number of Republicans and independents feel the same way. Cable networks MSNBC and CNN are really seeing a slump. That's also happened in years past for networks that particularly appeal to supporters of one candidate. Aviation experts say Russia's air defense fire likely caused Azerbaijan plane crash as nation mourns Aviation experts say that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured. Azerbaijan is observing a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday for the victims of the crash. Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons yet unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball. Ukraine's military intelligence says North Korean troops are suffering heavy battlefield losses KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's military intelligence says North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in Russia's Kursk region and face logistical difficulties as a result of Ukrainian attacks. The intelligence agency said Thursday that Ukrainian strikes near Novoivanovka inflicted heavy casualties on North Korean units. Ukraine's president said earlier this week that 3,000 North Korean troops have been killed and wounded in the fighting in the Kursk region. It marked the first significant estimate by Ukraine of North Korean casualties several weeks after Kyiv announced that North Korea had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help it in the almost 3-year war. Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez, citing 'emotional toll,' seeks sentencing delay in wake of wife's trial NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is asking a federal judge to delay his end-of-January sentencing on bribery charges, saying his family would suffer a “tremendous emotional toll” if the New Jersey Democrat was sentenced during his wife's trial. His lawyers told Judge Sidney H. Stein in a letter that Nadine Menendez would face a jury that might find it impossible not to hear about her husband's sentencing if it occurred eight days into her trial. The 70-year-old Menendez was convicted in July of 16 charges, including bribery. His wife, whose trial was postponed when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, faces much of the same evidence as her husband. How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The benchmark index posted its first back-to-back annual gains of more than 20% since 1998. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing. But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin and gold surged and “Roaring Kitty” reappeared to briefly reignite the meme stock craze.