AP-Newswatch

Israel confirms Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in Gaza

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military confirms that Hamas’ top leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by its forces in Gaza. Troops appeared to have run across him in a battle on Wednesday, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was the man Israel has hunted for more than a year. Authorities conducted DNA tests on a body to determine if it was him. Sinwar was one of the chief architects of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. In northern Gaza on Thursday, an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians killed at least 15 people, including five children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Who was Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader Israel says it killed?

BEIRUT (AP) — Yahya Sinwar masterminded an attack on Israel that shocked the world, unleashing a still-widening catastrophe with no end in sight. In Gaza, no figure loomed larger in determining the war’s trajectory than the 61-year-old Hamas leader. Obsessive, disciplined and dictatorial, he was a rarely seen veteran militant who learned Hebrew over years spent in Israeli prisons and who carefully studied his enemy. On Thursday, Israel said troops in Gaza had killed Sinwar. There was no immediate comment from Hamas of his death.

Panel looking into Trump assassination attempt says Secret Service needs ‘fundamental reform’

WASHINGTON (AP) — An independent panel investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally says the Secret Service needs fundamental reform” and new leadership that “another Butler can and will happen again” without major changes in how candidates are protected. The review faulted the Secret Service for poor communications that day and failing to secure the building where the gunman took his shots. It also found more systemic issues at the agency such as a failure to understand the unique risks facing Trump and a culture of doing “more with less.” The 52-page report issued Thursday recommended bringing in new, outside leadership and refocusing on its protective mission.

His country trained him to fight. Then he turned against it. More like him are doing the same

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. (AP) — The number of U.S. service members and veterans who radicalize make up a tiny fraction of a percentage point of the millions and millions who have honorably served their country. But an Associated Press investigation has found that people with military backgrounds have been radicalizing at a faster rate than the general population. The investigation also found that extremist plots involving people with military backgrounds were more likely to involve weapons training or firearms than those plots that didn’t include someone with a military background. A Department of Defense official said it is “committed to understanding the root causes of extremism and ensuring that it does not gain a foothold within the Department.”

Death of ex-One Direction member Liam Payne at 31 shocks fans around the world

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Fans, music industry figures and fellow musicians are paying tribute to former One Direction member Liam Payne. The singer died aged 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. Buenos Aires police said Payne fell from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel on Wednesday, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.” Payne was known as the tousle-headed, sensible one of the quintet that went from TV talent show “The X Factor” to a huge international following of swooning fans. The circumstances surrounding Payne’s sudden death remain uncertain. A Buenos Aires security official said on condition of anonymity that initial autopsy results indicated that Payne suffered hemorrhages and multiple traumatic injuries.

Prosecutors ask Massachusetts’ highest court to allow murder retrial for Karen Read

BOSTON (AP) — Prosecutors called on the highest court in Massachusetts not to support dropping two charges against Karen Read who is accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend based. Read is accused of ramming into John O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him for dead in a snowstorm in January 2022. Read’s attorneys argue she is being framed and that someone else is responsible for O’Keefe’s death. A judge declared a mistrial after jurors couldn’t reach agreement on her case and a second trial on the same charges is set to begin in January.

Adult day centers offer multicultural hubs for older people of color

BERGENFIELD, N.J. (AP) — Adult day centers are the most racially diverse long-term care setting in the U.S. They also serve the least amount of people of all long-term care settings, in part because of the cost and limited insurance coverage options. Federal Medicare, the largest insurer of older adults, doesn’t cover day centers. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows 60% of people who use adult day centers identify as people of color. Many centers tailor their offerings to the foods, traditions and cultures of their clientele and serving as key resource hubs to older people of color and immigrants.

Mitzi Gaynor, star of ‘South Pacific,’ dies at 93

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor-dancer Mitzi Gaynor has died at age 93. Gaynor starred as Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film of “South Pacific” and appeared in other musicals with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly in the 1950s and early 1960s. She starred in the musicals “Golden Girl,” “The I Don’t Care Girl” and Bloodhounds of Broadway.” Gaynor, among the last survivors of the so-called golden age of the Hollywood musical, died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, her long-time managers Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press. In the all-star “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” Gaynor danced with Donald O’Connor but was overshadowed by a rising star, Marilyn Monroe.