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Sheinbaum touts 'good relationship' with US in party anniversary

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, fresh from a meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday, touted her country’s “good relationship” with the U.S. in a political rally to commemorate her party’s anniversary.

Reiterating her comments in Washington, Sheinbaum said she’s “convinced” that the USMCA trade agreement will remain in ...Read more

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Hegseth defends decision to kill survivors in Caribbean strike

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth doubled down on deadly U.S. airstrikes against alleged drug-running boats off the Venezuelan coast, saying he would have made the same call as the admiral who ordered survivors to be killed.

The nearly two dozen strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific have come under bipartisan scrutiny, but recent reports ...Read more

Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News/TNS

Slotkin forms legal defense fund amid Trump attacks, FBI inquiry

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WASHINGTON ― Michigan U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin has formed a legal defense fund as she braces for a possible federal probe following her video last month reminding members of the military and intelligence communities they may refuse illegal military orders.

The move by the Michigan Democrat follows news that the FBI's counterterrorism division...Read more

Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

Activists honor Scientologist Lisa McPherson 30 years after her death

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TAMPA, Fla. — Thirty years ago, Lisa McPherson died after spending 17 days in the care of the Church of Scientology at its Fort Harrison Hotel in downtown Clearwater. Throughout the more than two-week period, caretakers logged McPherson’s behavior as she experienced a mental breakdown and became physically ill.

On Dec. 5, 1995, they took ...Read more

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MLK Day, Juneteenth cut from national parks' free days; Trump's birthday added

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ATLANTA — The Trump administration has altered which days national parks will allow free entry for residents and citizens next year.

The change means Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, among others, will no longer be fee-free days. Visitors will now be able to enjoy free admission on President Donald Trump’s birthday, which is also ...Read more

Jo Ann Boyce, Clinton 12 member and civil rights trailblazer, dies at 84

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LOS ANGELES — The night before she first walked into Clinton High School in 1956, Jo Ann Allen beamed over her outfit with the excitement of any teenager starting ninth grade.

Her grandmother had sewn the dress — white with a careful trim, pleats and a wide-pressed collar. With her best friend Gail Ann Epps Upton, she buzzed about clothes, ...Read more

Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Europe faces most difficult moment in bid to avoid split with US

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The message couldn’t have been clearer. In a 33-page National Security Strategy signed by President Donald Trump, the White House said Europe risked being wiped away unless it changed its culture and politics.

For Britain’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, the timing of their key ally’s latest ...Read more

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Hong Kong holds legislative election as city mourns deadly blaze

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Hong Kong is holding a general election Sunday for its legislature, days after the city’s deadliest fire in nearly eight decades stoked a level of public anger not seen since major street protests about six years ago.

The city’s 4 million eligible voters will choose 90 Legislative Council members from 161 government-vetted candidates, who ...Read more

Calvin B. Alagot/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Christmas Tree Lane will light up on Saturday, carrying on beloved tradition in fire-ravaged Altadena

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LOS ANGELES — Rising from the ashes, the Altadena Christmas Tree Lane Association’s Winter Festival is gearing up for a record crowd today as it celebrates its 105th anniversary of lighting a near mile of deodar cedars along Santa Rosa Avenue, aka Christmas Tree Lane.

The iconic street escaped major damage from the Eaton fire in January, ...Read more

Elizabeth Flores/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Flight carrying federal detainees leaves Minnesota as ICE activity escalates

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MINNEAPOLIS — About a dozen detainees were led out onto the snowy tarmac at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Friday.

The group of mostly Hispanic men were shackled at the hands, waist and feet by authorities who emerged from white vans bearing the Department of Homeland Security logo.

Each detainee ascended a staircase ramp to ...Read more

Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

After a decade off, Florida resumes bear hunting this weekend. Here's what to expect

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Hunters will fan out across Florida beginning Saturday as the first sanctioned hunt of black bears in a decade kicks off amid sharply divided public opinion and efforts by humane advocates to cajole — and even pay — sportsmen not to shoot the state’s largest land mammal.

Through a lottery system, state wildlife officials...Read more

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Venezuela's Machado expected at Oslo Nobel event in person

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María Corina Machado, the laureate of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, is set to arrive in Oslo to receive her award in person on Wednesday.

“I’ve been in touch with Machado last night and she confirms she will be in Oslo for the ceremony” on Dec. 10, the director of Norway’s Nobel Institute, Kristian Berg Harpviken, said by text ...Read more

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Doctors rail against weakening hepatitis B vaccine recommendation

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WASHINGTON — The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to approve new recommendations delaying the child hepatitis B vaccine for infants Friday, providing a win for the Make America Healthy Again movement while troubling many health officials in Baltimore and across the nation.

If enacted, the new policies would have the Centers ...Read more

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French, German and UK leaders to meet Zelenskyy on Monday

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The leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London on Monday to discuss U.S. efforts to reach a peace deal after Russia carried out another round of massive attacks.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced the meeting on Saturday in a post on social media in which he condemned the ...Read more

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Hong Kong election chief urges public to vote on Sunday

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Hong Kong’s election chief has urged the public to vote in Sunday’s legislative election after some called for it to be postponed in the wake of the city’s deadliest fire in decades, RTHK reported.

Appearing on the broadcaster on Saturday, David Lok, head of the Electoral Affairs Commission, said the date of Hong Kong’s election couldn�...Read more

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Alarm grows in Europe over what is seen as Trump's 'betrayal' of Ukraine

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WASHINGTON — A renewed push by the Trump administration to settle Russia's war in Ukraine is jolting European governments that are fearful Washington is laying the groundwork for an ultimatum to Kyiv on Moscow's terms.

The flurry of diplomatic engagements has left Ukrainian and European diplomats alarmed that President Donald Trump and his ...Read more

Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota districts work to take the trauma out of school shooter drills

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DULUTH, Minn. – A couple of minutes into a recent school lockdown drill, a group of 11th-graders huddled in the back of a darkened classroom in complete silence.

The door handle suddenly jiggled, cracking through the quiet and sending a tremor through the students.

Lee Kruger’s international studies class at Duluth East High School had ...Read more

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Trump's national security strategy veers inward in telling shift

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WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy codifies the disruptive foreign policies he’s pursued since taking office — including railing against allies as often as traditional foes — but also veers inward with an emphasis on domestic and culture war issues.

Unlike previous national security documents, the one ...Read more

'A bit like poker,' California's wet winter brings La Niña/El Niño confusion

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LOS ANGELES — Californians can be excused for being confused about the weather forecast.

Scientists in October said La Niña had arrived, which many associate with dry conditions, particularly in the Southland.

But we have instead experienced a very wet season — at least so far — with rain bringing much-needed moisture to the brush, ...Read more

Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune/TNS

Minneapolis police blows budget by $19.6 million; council leaders call it 'mismanagement'

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis Police Department is expected to end the year $19.6 million over budget, which Police Chief Brian O’Hara largely attributes to the hiring of 162 aspiring police officers.

The agency’s overspending of its $230 million budget is expected to be a hot topic during a Monday budget committee meeting. Council Vice ...Read more