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January 15, 2024
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January 15, 2024
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January 15, 2024

Donald Trump’s grip on Republican politics is put to the test in ice-cold Iowa’s leadoff caucuses

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Voting is set to begin in icy Iowa as former President Donald Trump eyes a resounding victory. The Iowa caucuses begin Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern. The caucuses are the opening contest in the months-long Republican presidential primary process. Trump began his day jabbing at his rivals on his Truth Social platform. Polls suggest Trump enters the day with a massive lead in Iowa. Trump’s onetime chief rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is fighting for second place in what could make or break his campaign. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley stands in DeSantis’ way. The former South Carolina governor is the only woman in the race. Haley and DeSantis have multiples stops scheduled ahead of voting on the coldest Iowa caucus day ever.

Election results tell you who won and lost. AP VoteCast tells you why

WASHINGTON (AP) — When the dust settles from the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, the returns will reveal who had Republican caucusgoers’ vote. But the results from Monday won’t shed much light on the types of people who voted or what was on their minds as they cast their ballots. That’s where AP VoteCast comes in. AP VoteCast was launched in 2018 and is a comprehensive survey that tells the story behind the election results. It’s a detailed snapshot of the American electorate that helps explain who voted, who didn’t vote, what issues they care about, how they feel about the candidates and why they voted the way they did.

Arctic freeze continues to blast huge swaths of the US with sub-zero temperatures

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A dangerous Arctic blast will continue sweeping across the U.S. and prolong a bitter cold that has set record-low temperatures in parts of the country and threatens to further disrupt daily life, including an NFL playoff game and the first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest in Iowa. The National Weather Service says wind chills are expected to push down temperatures through at least midweek, possibly to 30 degrees below zero from the Northern Rockies to northern Kansas and into Iowa, testing the hardiness of voters willing to brave the deep chill on Monday. Arctic storms have left at least four dead and knocked out electricity to tens of thousands in the Northwest, brought snow to the South and walloped the Northeast with blizzard conditions.

Houthi rebels strike a U.S.-owned ship off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, raising tensions

JERUSALEM (AP) — Houthi rebels fired a missile, striking a U.S.-owned ship Monday just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden. Monday’s attack on the Gibraltar Eagle came less than a day after Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea. The Houthis later claimed the attack that further escalated tensions gripping the region after American-led strikes on the rebels. The rebel group’s attacks have roiled global shipping, amid Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as they target a crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onward to Europe.

UN agency chiefs say Gaza needs more aid to arrive faster. They warn of famine and disease

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The heads of three major U.N. agencies are warning that Gaza urgently needs more aid or its desperate population will suffer widespread famine and disease. That call came Monday as authorities in the enclave reported that the death toll in the Israel-Hamas war had surpassed 24,000. The U.N. agency chiefs didn’t directly point a finger at Israel. But they said aid delivery is hobbled by the opening of too few border crossings, a slow vetting process for trucks and goods going into Gaza and continuing fighting. Israel plays a deciding factor in all of those things. Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza was sparked by the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack. The conflict has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe that has displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population.

MLK Jr. holiday celebrations are planned across the nation, but winter storm is limiting some

ATLANTA (AP) — Communities across the nation were celebrating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday with events ranging from prayer services to parades, but a winter storm is limiting some activities. President Joe Biden was spending the holiday volunteering at Philabundance, a hunger relief organization in Philadelphia. Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to be in South Carolina to give the keynote address for the state NAACP’s “King Day at the Dome.” In Atlanta, the King Center’s annual commemorative service was being held at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King served as pastor. Meanwhile, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis is closed because of icy roads. It will still hold a virtual celebration in honor of what would have been King’s 95th birthday.

Ukraine says it shot down 2 Russian command and control aircraft in a significant blow to Moscow

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s military chief says that the Ukrainian air force has shot down a Russian early warning and control plane that can spot targets up to 650 kilometers (400 miles) away and a key command center aircraft that relays information to troops on the ground. Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi didn’t say on Monday how or where the aircraft were brought down. But Ukraine has received sophisticated air defense systems from its Western allies. The hits would be a significant blow for the Kremlin’s forces and a landmark feat for Ukraine in the almost two-year war. The planes are key tools in helping orchestrate Russian battlefield movements in Ukraine. There was no immediate official comment from Moscow.

What a new leader means for Taiwan and the world

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s incoming president is promising continuity. The question is what that will bring, not only for Taiwan but also for China, the United States and others with an interest in the island of 23 million people that supplies many of the world’s advanced semiconductors. Lai Ching-te has pledged to continue the policies of his predecessor, who built up the military and strengthened ties with the U.S. He has also pledged to do a better job of addressing domestic issues such as affordable housing and economic inequality. The new administration will have to manage relations with China, the U.S. and a divided legislature.

A quiet Dutch village holds clues as European politics veer to the right

SINT WILLEBRORD, The Netherlands (AP) — Voters across the Netherlands have veered far to the right politically. The shift has been triggered by economic and cultural anxieties that have whipped up fears about immigrants. It’s an extreme example of a trend being felt across the continent that could tilt the outcome of this year’s European Union parliamentary election. In the quiet Dutch village of Sint Willebrord, nearly three out of four voters chose a virulently anti-migrant, anti-Muslim party in an election last year that shattered the Netherlands’ image as a welcoming, moderate country. Analysts say far-right parties are primed to gain influence over EU policies affecting everything from civil rights to gender issues to immigration.

Fueled by unprecedented border crossings, a record 3 million cases clog US immigration courts

MIAMI (AP) — Immigration courts are buckling under an unprecedented 3 million pending cases, most of them newly arrived asylum-seekers. The number of migrants trying to fight their deportation in front of U.S. judges has grown by 50% in less than a year. Judges, attorneys and migrant advocates worry that’s rendering an already strained system unworkable, as it often takes several years to grant asylum-seekers a new stable life and to deport those with no right to remain in the country. In Miami, with the largest backlog, so many migrants seek help navigating the complex legal system that Catholic Legal Services has had to pivot to teaching them how to self-petition and represent themselves before judges.