AP-Newswatch

US defense secretary, Israeli leaders discuss more targeted approach in Gaza

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed with Israeli leaders ways to scale back major combat operations in Gaza but said Washington was not imposing a timetable despite international calls for a cease-fire. Austin and other U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concern about the large number of civilian deaths in Gaza, even while underscoring American backing for Israel’s campaign aimed at crushing Hamas. Neither side elaborated Monday on what needed to change on the ground for a shift to more precise operations after weeks of devastating bombardment and a ground offensive. Austin said, “This is Israel’s operation. I’m not here to dictate timelines or terms.”

Fears of Houthi attacks are rerouting commercial ships away from the Red Sea

LONDON (AP) — The attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have scared off some of the world’s top shipping companies and oil giants. That has effectively rerouted global trade away from a crucial artery for consumer goods and energy supplies athat is expected to trigger delays and rising prices. BP said Monday that it’s “decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea” including shipments of oil, liquid natural gas and other energy supplies. Oil prices rose partly over market nerves about attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis. They’ve targeted container ships and oil tankers in a narrow waterway that connects to the Red Sea, where an estimated 10% of the world’s trade passes through.

Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples if they don’t resemble marriage

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples. The Vatican issued a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office was released Monday. It elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals and published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn’t confuse the ritual with the sacrament of marriage.

36 days at sea: How these castaways survived hallucinations, thirst and desperation

FASS BOYE, Senegal (AP) — Too often migrants disappear without a trace and witnesses. While accurate figures on the number of deaths do not exist, entire boats have gone missing in the Atlantic, becoming what are known as “invisible shipwrecks.” When bodies do wash ashore, they are often buried in unmarked graves. Spanish authorities routinely fly over a massive area of the Atlantic between West Africa and the Canary Islands looking for lost migrants. But the vast distances, volatile weather conditions and relatively small boats mean they are easily missed. Dozens who were rescued in August after 36 days at sea in a boat told the AP they survived without food and water and watched others die. They saw cargo ships pass by but no one came to their rescue.

Some Trump fake electors from 2020 haven’t faded away. They have roles in how the 2024 race is run

VIRGINIA CITY, Nev. (AP) — The man who will oversee elections in one rural county in Nevada next year is scheduled to be arraigned Monday along with five fellow Republicans on charges that they submitted false paperwork claiming Donald Trump had won the state in 2020. Jim Hindle said he has no plans to step down from his post in Storey County. He’s not alone. Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania also have Republicans who have been swept up in the fake electors scheme and continue to play roles in elections in their communities next year. Michigan is a rare example where one elector has been barred from running an election in the wake of the allegations.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, to lie in repose

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court will lie in repose at the Supreme Court on Monday. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, an Arizona native who served as an unwavering voice of moderate conservatism for more than two decades, died Dec. 1 at age 93. Her casket will be carried by Supreme Court police officers and honorary pallbearers to the court’s Great Hall, where it will be placed near a 1999 portrait of O’Connor. C-SPAN will broadcast a private ceremony held just before the hall is open to the public, and people can pay their respects from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

AP Sports Story of the Year: Realignment, stunning demise of Pac-12 usher in super conference era

Conference realignment and the downfall of the Pac-12 is The Associated Press Sports Story of the Year. Over a span of six weeks this past summer, the Pac-12 was ripped apart and redistributed by its competitors. Oregon and Washington are going to the Big Ten along with Southern California and UCLA. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are going to the Big 12. Stanford and California will join the Atlantic Coast Conference. College sports is heading toward a super conference era. Realignment has laid bare the importance of revenue and the bottom line.

Storm batters Northeastern US with rain and wind, knocking out power and flooding roads

NEW YORK (AP) — A storm moving up the East Coast has brought heavy rain and high winds to the Northeast, flooding roads, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, and forcing flight cancelations and school closings. The National Weather Service says more than 5 inches of rain have fallen in parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. More than 500,000 power outages have been reported from Virginia to Maine. Wind gusts of nearly 70 mph were recorded in southeastern New England. The weather service issued flood warnings for the New York City area and swaths of Pennsylvania and New England.

A gloomy mood hangs over Ukraine’s soldiers as war with Russia grinds on

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A gloomy mood hangs over Ukraine’s soldiers nearly two years after Russia invaded their country. Ukrainian soldiers remain fiercely determined to win, despite a disappointing counteroffensive this summer and signs of wavering financial support from allies. But as winter approaches, they worry that Russia is better equipped for battle and are frustrated about being on the defensive again in a grueling war. Some doubt the judgment of their leaders. Discontent among Ukrainian soldiers — once extremely rare and expressed only in private — is now more common and out in the open. Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, and the two countries are essentially in a stalemate along the front line.

Love it or hate it, self-checkout is here to stay. But it’s going through a reckoning

NEW YORK (AP) — The promise of self-checkout has meant that customers can avoid long lines by scanning and bagging their own items, workers can be freed of doing those monotonous tasks themselves and retailers can save on labor costs. But it has also meant customers griping about clunky technology, workers having to stand around and monitor both humans and machines, and retailers contending with theft. Now, self-checkout faces a reckoning of sorts just as retailers are in the midst of their busiest time of the year. This past fall, Walmart removed self-checkout kiosks in three stores in Albuquerque, New Mexico. To reduce wait times, Target is now limiting the number of items to 10 that shoppers can scan in a handful of stores nationwide.