AP-Newswatch

Gaza death toll exceeds 20,000 as Israel expands ground war against Hamas

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Health officials in Hamas-run Gaza say the Palestinian death toll there has surpassed 20,000. That figure was released Friday. It is the latest indication of the staggering cost of the war as Israel expands its ground offensive and ordered tens of thousands more people to leave their homes. The deaths amount to nearly 1% of the territory’s prewar population. They are just one measure of the devastation wrought by the conflict that over 11 weeks has displaced nearly 85% of Gaza’s people and leveled wide swaths of the tiny coastal enclave. The U.N. and other agencies said Thursday that more than half a million people in Gaza are starving in describing the crisis caused by Israel’s bombardment and siege on the territory in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

UN approves watered-down resolution on aid to Gaza without call for suspension of hostilities

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council has adopted a watered-down resolution calling for immediate speeded-up aid deliveries to hungry and desperate civilians in Gaza – but without the original call for an “urgent suspension of hostilities” between Israel and Hamas. Friday’s long-delayed vote in the 15-member council was 13-0 with the United States and Russia abstaining. The vote came immediately after the United States vetoed a Russian amendment that would have restored a call to immediately suspend hostilities. The U.S. abstention on the resolution avoided a second U.S. veto of a Gaza resolution following Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attacks inside Israel. A relieved U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council after the resolution’s adoption: “This was tough, but we got there.”

Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge tumbles in November as prices continue to ease

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of prices fell last month, another sign that inflation is easing and that consumers should expect to see lower interest rates in 2024. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that U.S. consumer prices slid 0.1% last month from October and rose 2.6% from November 2022. The month-over-month drop was the largest since April 2020 when the economy was reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. The numbers show somewhat more progress against inflation than economists had expected. Inflation is steadily moving down to the Fed’s year-over-year target of 2% and appears to be clearing the way for Fed rate cuts in 2024.

Some Catholic bishops reject Pope’s stance on blessings for same-sex couples. Others are confused

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Some Catholic bishops say they will not follow the Vatican’s new direction on allowing blessings for same-sex couples. Others have fiercely criticized it, with one bishop describing the new policy as a hidden “evil.” The strong reactions show how Pope Francis’ move to make the church a more welcoming place for the LGBTQ+ community continues to spark resistance and rebellion among traditionalist Catholic leaders. Bishops in Poland, Kazakhstan, Zambia, Malawi and elsewhere say they would not allow priests to give blessings to same-sex couples and are pushing back against the new policy approved this week by Pope Francis.

Punishing their own but passing few laws, a Congress in chaos leaves much to do in 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — This Congress started with showy bluster, a bitter 15-round, multi-day spectacle to elect a House speaker who vowed to “never quit,” and then did just that. Lawmakers went on to punish their own colleagues with censures and expulsion, launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and barely keep federal offices from shuttering. So far, it’s among the most do-nothing sessions of Congress in recent times. Next year is expected to be more of the same. That’s worrying ahead of a presidential election year and as wars rage in Ukraine and the Middle East. One scholar said the U.S. needs a functioning Congress as “the place” where Americans go to work out their differences.

Police video shows police knew Maine shooter was a threat. They also felt confronting him was unsafe

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Police in Maine feared that confronting an Army reservist prior to the worst mass shooting in state history would “throw a stick of dynamite on a pool of gas,” according to footage released by law enforcement. The videos were released to the Portland Press Herald and then sent to The Associated Press on Friday. Robert Card, a 40-year-old Army reservist, committed the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history when he killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar on Oct. 25 in Lewiston. Card’s body was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound two days after the shootings. Reports soon began to emerge that he had spent two weeks in a psychiatric hospital months before the attacks.

Biden pardons thousands convicted of marijuana charges on federal lands and in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has pardoned thousands of people who were convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia. The White House says his action Friday is his latest round of executive clemencies meant to rectify racial disparities in the justice system. Biden is also granting clemency to 11 people serving what the White House called “disproportionately long” sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. Biden says these steps would help make the “promise of equal justice a reality.” Biden is reiterating his call on governors and local leaders to take similar steps to erase marijuana convictions.

The war took away their limbs. Now bionic prostheses empower wounded Ukrainian soldiers

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s war on Ukraine has created a massive need for prosthetic limbs. An estimated 20,000 Ukrainians had amputations since the war started in February 2022, many of them soldiers who lost arms or legs due to blast wounds. Only a small number of them has been able to receive bionic prostheses, which are more advanced and can provide greater mobility than the traditional prosthetic limbs. Alexis Cholas lost his right arm as a volunteer combat medic near the front lines in eastern Ukraine. That ended his career as a surgeon. But thanks to a new bionic arm, he’s now able to work as a rehab specialist, helping other amputees.

Busiest holiday travel season in years is off to a smooth start with few airport delays

NEW YORK (AP) — The holiday travel rush is hitting its peak as mild weather and lower flight cancelation rates raise hopes for merrier drivers and airline passengers than last year. U.S. airlines are predicting a blockbuster holiday season and have projected confidence they can handle the crowds after hiring thousands of pilots, flight attendants and other workers, seeking to avoid the delays and suspensions that marred travel last year. Airlines have canceled just 1.2% of U.S. flights so far this year, the lowest in five years, but bad weather is always a threat. Heavy storms hit the West Coast in the U.S. and storm brought heavy rain and strong winds across northern Europe overnight and into Friday.

Gymnastics star Simone Biles named AP Female Athlete of the Year a third time after dazzling return

American gymnast Simone Biles is the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for 2023. This is the third time Biles has won the award. The 26-year-old dazzled in her return to competition following a two-year break after the 2020 Olympics. She won a record eighth U.S. national title in August and added a sixth world all-around gold medal in October. Biles is eyeing a return to the Olympics in Paris next summer. Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark finished second in the voting, followed by Aitana Bonmati of Spain’s World Cup champion soccer team.