AP-Newswatch

In Israel, Blinken looks to planning for post-war Gaza as bombardment, fighting continue to rage

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is holding talks in Israel as he seeks a plan for Gaza’s post-war future. Israeli troops meanwhile pushed ahead in the beleaguered territory where heavy bombardment and fighting shook refugee camps and hampered efforts to get relief to the population. The U.N. says Israel had repeatedly rejected planned convoys of medicine and other supplies to northern Gaza. Those killed in latest strikes include seven members of the family of a well-known dentist in Gaza. Nine Israeli soldiers also died. Blinken is also trying to prevent an all-out war between Israel and Lebanon’s militant group Hezbollah. It said its drones targeted the Israeli army northern command in the town of Safed — deeper into Israel than previous fire.

Airlines say they found loose parts in door panels during inspections of Boeing Max 9 jets

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal investigators are learning more about how a door panel flew off an Alaska Airlines jetliner last week. National Transportation Safety Board officials said Monday that the door panel slid up before flying off the plane. And they’re looking into whether four bolts that were supposed to help hold the panel in place might have been missing when the plane took off. Those comments came after Alaska Airlines and United Airlines reported finding loose parts in the panels — or door plugs — of some other Boeing 737 Max 9 jets. The findings are putting more pressure on Boeing to address safety concerns. The aircraft maker has called an online meeting for all employees Tuesday to talk about safety.

Twisted metal, rushing wind: A narrowly avoided disaster as jet’s wall rips away at 3 miles high

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The loud boom startled passenger Kelly Bartlett, and the roaring wind that followed left her unnerved. But it wasn’t until a shaken teenager slid into the airline seat next to her that Bartlett realized how close the Alaska Airlines flight had come to disaster. The flight had part of its fuselage blow out three miles above Oregon on Friday. The damage created a powerful vacuum that sucked cellphones and the teen’s shirt out of the plane. Luckily passengers were still wearing seatbelts, and they remained surprisingly calm during the emergency landing. Federal officials said the pilots and flight attendants did a heroic job of landing the plane with no one suffering a serious injury.

Explosion at historic Texas hotel injures 21 and scatters debris in downtown Fort Worth

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Authorities say an explosion at a historic Texas hotel on Monday injured 21 people and trapped some in the basement before they were found by rescue crews. One person was in critical condition. Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Craig Trojacek says investigators are confident the blast was “some kind of gas explosion.” He says the blast flung doors and entire sections of wall onto the road in front of the 20-story hotel, where rescue crews found several people trapped in the basement. The Sandman Signature in the heart of downtown Fort Worth was undergoing construction. The hotel is in a busy area of downtown about one block from the Fort Worth Convention Center.

South Korea’s parliament passes landmark ban on production and sales of dog meat

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s parliament has passed a landmark ban on production and sales of dog meat, as public calls for a prohibition have grown sharply over concerns about animal rights and the country’s international image. Some angry dog farmers say they plan to challenge the bill’s constitutionality and hold protest rallies, a sign of continued heated debate over the ban. The bill would make slaughtering, breeding and sales of dog meat for human consumption illegal from 2027 and punishable by 2-3 years in prison. It doesn’t provide any penalties for eating dog meat. Most South Koreans think dog meat should be banned, and a majority no longer eat it.

Gabriel Attal is France’s youngest-ever and first openly gay prime minister

PARIS (AP) — Gabriel Attal has been named as France’s youngest-ever prime minister as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a fresh start for the rest of his term amid growing political pressure from the far right. Attal, who’s 34, is France’s first openly gay prime minister. He rose to prominence as the government spokesman and education minister. His predecessor resigned Monday following political turmoil over an immigration law that strengthens the government’s ability to deport foreigners. Macron will name a new government in the coming days. Macron has shifted rightward on security and migration issues as his far-right rival Marine Le Pen has gained political influence.

Sprawling storm wallops US with tornado reports, damage and heavy snow, closing roads and schools

A sprawling storm has hit the South with strong thunderstorms and tornado warnings that blew roofs off homes and tossed about furniture in the Florida Panhandle and brought cities across the Midwest to a standstill with more than half of foot of snow. The National Weather Service says a storm with 55 mph winds and hail moved through the Florida Panhandle and into parts of Alabama and Georgia by sunrise Tuesday, along with at least several reports of radar-confirmed tornadoes. Up to a foot of snow could blanket a broad area stretching from southeastern Colorado all the way to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The weather has already affected campaigning for Iowa’s Jan. 15 precinct caucuses.

Earth shattered global heat record in ’23 and it’s flirting with warming limit, European agency says

Earth shattered global annual heat records last year and it’s flirting with the warming threshold that nations wanted to stay within to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. That’s according to Copernicus, the European climate agency, which reported Tuesday that 2023 was 1.48 degrees Celsius (2.66 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. That’s just a whisker below the 1.5-degree threshold nations agreed to try to stay within at the Paris climate talks in 2015. And Copernicus said this January is on track to be so warm that the world will go past that 1.5-degree threshold for the first time over a 12-month period. Climate scientists say it’s imperative that humans continue trying to hold down warming.

Michigan overpowers Washington 34-13 as Jim Harbaugh delivers a national title

HOUSTON (AP) — Jim Harbaugh and No. 1 Michigan completed a three-year climb to a national championship by beating No. 2 Washington 34-13 Monday night in the College Football Playoff title game. Blake Corum ran for 134 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Wolverines. Michigan was undeterred by suspensions and a sign-stealing case that shadowed the program much of the season. The Wolverines sealed their first national title since 1997 when Corum blasted in from the 1-yard line with 3:37 left. Harbaugh delivered the title so many expected when he took over a struggling powerhouse in 2015.