
AP Trending SummaryBrief at 6:25 p.m. ESTSenior Lily Wahinekapu scored a team-high 20 points and made a crucial step-back jumper with 38 seconds remaining to help the Hawaii women’s basketball team hold off Louisiana-Monroe 69-64 today at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Freshman center Ritorya Tamilo added 12 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and three steals for Hawaii (2-1). Daejah Phillips poured in 13 points and six assists for UH, which rode its starting lineup of Wahinekapu, Phillips, Tamilo, Imani Perez and MeiLani McBee for heavy minutes. All five played at least 27 minutes with Phillips recording a game-high 33 minutes. UH led by as many as 16 points in the second half but gave up 15 points on free throws in the third quarter alone to allow the Warhawks (3-2) to get back into the game. Jakayl Johnson scored 24 of her game-high 25 points in the second half and ULM pulled within a point at 64-63 in the final minute. Wahinekapu’s jumper made it a 3-point game and Phillips grabbed a crucial offensive rebound off a Wahinekapu miss up 3 and McBee hit two free throws to put the game away. The Warhawks never led. Up next for Hawaii is Eastern Washington on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
MOSCA, Colorado — A handmade sign at the start of a long dirt road in the rural San Luis Valley indicates to visitors that they’ve arrived at the future site of Kosmos Stargazing Resort & Spa . The peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains barely make a dent in the big blue skies above the 40 acres purchased by founder and CEO Gamal Jadue Zalaquett. He aims to transform the land into a resort featuring 20 villas, a spa, a restaurant and a planetarium. “It’s a place of alignment. Kosmos is a place of connection,” Jadue Zalaquett said. “Kosmos, in a way, is a place to heal, and the San Luis Valley has a lot to do with healing.” He bought the property for $11,000 in December 2020. But with glass domes for stargazing and expensive price tags to stay the night, Jadue Zalaquett’s ambitious brainchild falls snugly into the category of “luxury ecotourism.” His site is an ideal spot for admiring constellations and distant galaxies. According to the National Park Service, the nearby Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is considered an International Dark Sky Park. Jadue Zalaquett said the area is a class two location on the Bortle dark-sky scale, which translates to “ truly dark ” skies. The resort’s planetarium will include a 1-meter telescope. In terms of getting visitors to Kosmos, “that’s gonna be the biggest attractor,” Jadue Zalaquett said. Development is still in the early stages, but it’s already garnering attention from the public: More than 12,000 Instagram users follow the resort’s page where project renderings and updates are shared. Kosmos plans to open its first villa early next year, said marketing operations manager Jennifer Geerlings. Although it’s still under construction, the resort has already booked more than 2,000 reservations, she added. “A lot of it, for some people, is the excitement of being the first to be able to stay in an experience like this,” Geerlings said in a phone interview. “There’s really no other resort that’s doing this.” While Jadue Zalaquett put about $500,000 toward getting the project off the ground, a crowdfunding campaign raised $1.9 million, Geerlings said. Donors paid a one-time fee to receive 50% discounts off their reservations for early 2025. So instead of paying the usual $700 nightly rate, they booked at $350 per night, Geerlings said. And after the campaign’s end, people continued to contribute directly via Stripe, which put total revenue from crowdfunding at more than $2 million, Jadue Zalaquett added. So why is it worth it to stay at Kosmos? For Geerlings, the answer is a combination of the villas — with their jacuzzis nestled in glass domes under the stars — and amenities like the planetarium. “You’re able to experience some of the best stargazing. The Milky Way is visible to the naked eye,” Geerlings said. “A planetarium is something that’s never been at a resort before.” In November, director of field operations Auston Duncan stepped over sagebrush and loose hardware to outline the state of construction on the project. An unfinished villa offered a hint of what’s to come. The rectangular building with exposed wooden rafters and newly-installed glass sliding doors will soon house a bedroom and a bathroom. Jeremy Stephen, the founder of Steamboat Springs-based Evolve Construction , built the villa out of hempcrete , which is made of hemp, water and lime. It works as an eco-friendly insulator, helping to mitigate heating and cooling costs and lending itself to the vision of Kosmos as a resort with sustainability in mind. On one side of the villa, a hot tub will be installed. On the other, a dome made out of glass and wood from Ekodome will cover the kitchen and loft area. The development will occur in phases. Next year, 16 stargazing villas (which hold up to four guests) and 4 galaxy villas (which hold up to eight guests) will be constructed, Geerlings said. Every stay includes an hour of a guided stargazing experience and telescope training. In 2026, the amenities will be built out. Those include the Mediterranean-style restaurant and the wellness center with spa features like hyperbaric chambers, a sauna and a cold plunge. In 2027, the planetarium will be added to the resort. To ensure dark skies, guests will park their cars and use electric golf carts to navigate the resort, Jadue Zalaquett said. He mentioned that discussions with consultants on the stargazing center included a NASA representative, who was interested in hosting a mission workshop at Kosmos next year. Both the planetarium and the spa will be open to the public, Geerlings added. All in all, it’s a bold plan. And Kosmos is looking to hire to make it happen. Right now, the business is in search of employees to lead their stargazing experiences. So far, it’s recruited a former Great Sand Dunes ranger, Geerlings said. The team is considering college students from Adams State University in Alamosa as interns. Kosmos will also need to staff resort operations, including housekeeping, security and front desk workers. “We’re gonna try and hire pretty much everyone locally,” Geerlings said. For Jadue Zalaquett, taking on an endeavor like this runs in his blood. He currently lives between Alamosa and Boulder, but Jadue Zalaquett was born in Chile and grew up in Miami. When his family migrated to Chile, they ran hotels. Several paternal relatives work as architects. However, Jadue Zalaquett didn’t initially follow the family business. Instead, he worked in technology startups for almost a decade. Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he visited the San Luis Valley. He realized that, although the Great Sand Dunes were located less than a half hour away, tourists could only choose from a few lodging options. So came the idea for Kosmos. And “here I am, back at my roots,” Jadue Zalaquett said.Black Friday Streaming Deals: Read the Fine Print First
MOSCA, Colorado — A handmade sign at the start of a long dirt road in the rural San Luis Valley indicates to visitors that they’ve arrived at the future site of . The peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains barely make a dent in the big blue skies above the 40 acres purchased by founder and CEO Gamal Jadue Zalaquett. He aims to transform the land into a resort featuring 20 villas, a spa, a restaurant and a planetarium. “It’s a place of alignment. Kosmos is a place of connection,” Jadue Zalaquett said. “Kosmos, in a way, is a place to heal, and the San Luis Valley has a lot to do with healing.” He bought the property for $11,000 in December 2020. But with glass domes for stargazing and expensive price tags to stay the night, Jadue Zalaquett’s ambitious brainchild falls snugly into the category of “luxury ecotourism.” His site is an ideal spot for admiring constellations and distant galaxies. According to the National Park Service, the nearby is considered an International Dark Sky Park. Jadue Zalaquett said the area is a class two location on the Bortle dark-sky scale, which translates to “ ” skies. The resort’s planetarium will include a 1-meter telescope. In terms of getting visitors to Kosmos, “that’s gonna be the biggest attractor,” Jadue Zalaquett said. Development is still in the early stages, but it’s already garnering attention from the public: More than 12,000 Instagram users follow where project renderings and updates are shared. Kosmos plans to open its first villa early next year, said marketing operations manager Jennifer Geerlings. Although it’s still under construction, the resort has already booked more than 2,000 reservations, she added. “A lot of it, for some people, is the excitement of being the first to be able to stay in an experience like this,” Geerlings said in a phone interview. “There’s really no other resort that’s doing this.” While Jadue Zalaquett put about $500,000 toward getting the project off the ground, raised $1.9 million, Geerlings said. Donors paid a one-time fee to receive 50% discounts off their reservations for early 2025. So instead of paying the usual $700 nightly rate, they booked at $350 per night, Geerlings said. And after the campaign’s end, people continued to contribute directly via Stripe, which put total revenue from crowdfunding at more than $2 million, Jadue Zalaquett added. So why is it worth it to stay at Kosmos? For Geerlings, the answer is a combination of the villas — with their jacuzzis nestled in glass domes under the stars — and amenities like the planetarium. “You’re able to experience some of the best stargazing. The Milky Way is visible to the naked eye,” Geerlings said. “A planetarium is something that’s never been at a resort before.” In November, director of field operations Auston Duncan stepped over sagebrush and loose hardware to outline the state of construction on the project. An unfinished villa offered a hint of what’s to come. The rectangular building with exposed wooden rafters and newly-installed glass sliding doors will soon house a bedroom and a bathroom. Jeremy Stephen, the founder of Steamboat Springs-based , built the villa out of , which is made of hemp, water and lime. It works as an eco-friendly insulator, helping to mitigate heating and cooling costs and lending itself to the vision of Kosmos as a resort with sustainability in mind. On one side of the villa, a hot tub will be installed. On the other, a dome made out of glass and wood from will cover the kitchen and loft area. The development will occur in phases. Next year, 16 stargazing villas (which hold up to four guests) and 4 galaxy villas (which hold up to eight guests) will be constructed, Geerlings said. Every stay includes an hour of a guided stargazing experience and telescope training. In 2026, the amenities will be built out. Those include the Mediterranean-style restaurant and the wellness center with spa features like hyperbaric chambers, a sauna and a cold plunge. In 2027, the planetarium will be added to the resort. To ensure dark skies, guests will park their cars and use electric golf carts to navigate the resort, Jadue Zalaquett said. He mentioned that discussions with consultants on the stargazing center included a NASA representative, who was interested in hosting a mission workshop at Kosmos next year. Both the planetarium and the spa will be open to the public, Geerlings added. All in all, it’s a bold plan. And Kosmos is looking to hire to make it happen. Right now, the business is in search of employees to lead their stargazing experiences. So far, it’s recruited a former Great Sand Dunes ranger, Geerlings said. The team is considering college students from Adams State University in Alamosa as interns. Kosmos will also need to staff resort operations, including housekeeping, security and front desk workers. “We’re gonna try and hire pretty much everyone locally,” Geerlings said. For Jadue Zalaquett, taking on an endeavor like this runs in his blood. Related Articles He currently lives between Alamosa and Boulder, but Jadue Zalaquett was born in Chile and grew up in Miami. When his family migrated to Chile, they ran hotels. Several paternal relatives work as architects. However, Jadue Zalaquett didn’t initially follow the family business. Instead, he worked in technology startups for almost a decade. Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he visited the San Luis Valley. He realized that, although the Great Sand Dunes were located less than a half hour away, tourists could only choose from a few lodging options. So came the idea for Kosmos. And “here I am, back at my roots,” Jadue Zalaquett said.T-Mobile Gets Downgrade By KeyBanc: Retail’s Neutral
Insurgents reach gates of Syria’s capital, threatening to upend decades of Assad rule BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian opposition war monitor and a pro-government media outlet say government forces have withdrawn from much of the central city of Homs. The pro-government Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third-largest city, without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies have withdrawn from the city, adding that rebels have entered parts of it. Losing Homs is a potentially crippling blow for Syria’s embattled leader, Bashar Assad. An archbishop's knock formally restores Notre Dame to life as winds howl and heads of state look on PARIS (AP) — France’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral has formally reopened its doors for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019. The five-year restoration is widely seen as a boost for French President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious timeline, and brings a welcome respite from his domestic political woes. World leaders, dignitaries, and worshippers gathered on Saturday evening for the celebrations under the cathedral's soaring arches. The celebration was attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including President-elect Donald Trump, Britain’s Prince William, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. For Catholics, Notre Dame’s rector said the cathedral “carries the enveloping presence of the Virgin Mary, a maternal and embracing presence.′′ Trump is welcomed by Macron to Paris with presidential pomp and joined by Zelenskyy for their talks PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed Donald Trump to Paris with a full dose of presidential pomp. And they held a hastily arranged meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a day that's mixing pageantry with attention to pressing global problems. The president-elect's visit to France is part of a global a celebration of the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral five years after a devastating fire. Macron and other European leaders are trying to win Trump’s favor and persuade him to maintain support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion. Trump isn't back in office but he's already pushing his agenda and negotiating with world leaders NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is making threats, traveling abroad, and negotiating with world leaders. He has more than a month-and-a-half to go before he’s sworn in for a second term. But the president-elect is already moving aggressively to not only fill his Cabinet and outline policy goals, but also to try to achieve his priorities. In recent days, Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, two of the country’s largest trading partners. That led to emergency calls and a visit. And he's warned of “ALL HELL TO PAY” if Hamas doesn't release the hostages still being held captive in Gaza. South Korea's president avoids an impeachment attempt over short-lived martial law SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol has avoided an opposition-led attempt to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of martial law. Most of Yoon's ruling party lawmakers boycotted a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny a two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers. The scrapping of the motion is expected to intensify protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea. A survey suggests a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative People Power Party. But the party also apparently fears losing the presidency to liberals. Days after gunman killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO, police push to ID him and FBI offers reward NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly four days after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police still do not know the gunman’s name or whereabouts or have a motive for the killing. But they have made some progress in their investigation into Wednesday's killing of the leader of the largest U.S. health insurer, including that the gunman likely left New York City on a bus soon after fleeing the scene. The also found that the gunman left something behind: a backpack that was discovered in Central Park. Police are working with the FBI, which on Friday night announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. UnitedHealthcare CEO's shooting opens a door for many to vent frustrations over insurance The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO has opened the door for many people to vent their frustrations and anger over the insurance industry. The feelings of exasperation, anger, resentment, and helplessness toward insurers aren’t new. But the shooting and the headlines around it have unleashed a new wave of patients sharing such sentiments and personal stories of interactions with insurance companies. Conversations at dinner tables, office water coolers, social gatherings and on social media have pivoted to the topic. Many say they hope the new amplified voices can bring about change for companies often accused of valuing profits over people. 2 Pearl Harbor survivors, ages 104 and 102, return to Hawaii to honor those killed in 1941 attack PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The bombing of Pearl Harbor 83 years ago launched the United States into World War II. Two survivors have returned to the Hawaii military base for a remembrance ceremony on the attack's anniversary. Both are over 100 years old. They joined active-duty troops, veterans and members of the public for an observance hosted by the Navy and the National Park Service. A third survivor was planning to join them but had to cancel due to health issues. The bombing killed more than 2,300 U.S. servicemen. An explosion destroys an apartment block in a Dutch city, killing at least 3 and injuring others THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An explosion and fire has rocked a neighborhood in the Dutch city of The Hague, killing three people and injuring other people and destroying several apartments. The cause of the disaster is unclear. Emergency authorities said four people were rescued from the rubble and taken to the hospital. The mayor said rescuers were no longer looking for survivors but for eventual bodies, but could not specify how many people might still be unaccounted for. Residents of the northeastern neighborhood of Mariahoeve in The Hague heard a huge bang and screams before dawn. Dutch authorities have deployed a specialized urban search and rescue team to find victims. How 'Mufasa' rose with Aaron Pierre and Blue Ivy's voices along with new Lin-Manuel Miranda music SAN DIEGO (AP) — When Aaron Pierre was cast as Mufasa, the weight of following in the late James Earl Jones’ legendary footsteps was enough to rattle any actor. But instead of letting the pressure roar too loudly, he harnessed his nerves to breathe fresh life into his young lion character. Pierre found parallels between himself and his character while filming his leading role in “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which opens in theaters Dec. 20. He took the reigns as the new voice of Mufasa after Jones played the iconic King Mufasa in both the 1994 and 2019 versions of Disney’s “The Lion King.” The prequel offers a fresh exploration into Mufasa’s origin story.None
An Israeli airstrike flattened a multistory building in central Gaza, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens more, according to Palestinian medical officials, after strikes Thursday across the Gaza Strip killed at least 28 others. The latest deadly strike hit the urban Nuseirat refugee camp just hours after U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters in Jerusalem that the recent ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for a potential deal to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the deadly strike in Nuseirat. Israel says it is trying to eliminate Hamas, which led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza . The Israeli military says Hamas militants hide among Gaza’s civilian population. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine in some of the hardest-hit parts of the territory. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 250 others were taken hostage. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Here's the latest: UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations chief has a message for Israel: Stop the attacks on Syria. Secretary-General António Guterres is particularly concerned about several hundred Israeli airstrikes on several Syrian locations and stresses “the urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts throughout the country," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday. The Israeli military said Tuesday it carried out more than 350 strikes in Syria over the previous 48 hours, hitting “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country to stop them from falling into the hands of extremists. Israel also acknowledged pushing into a buffer zone inside Syria following last week’s overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The buffer zone was established after Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1973 war. Dujarric said Guterres condemns all actions violating the 1974 ceasefire agreement between the two countries that remains in force. And the U.N. chief calls on the parties to uphold the agreement and end “all unauthorized presence in the area of separation” and refrain from any action undermining the ceasefire and stability in the Golan Heights, the spokesman said. DAMASCUS, Syria — Mohammad Salim Alkhateb, an official with the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces — an internationally backed group of the opposition in exile — said his group wants to see a transitional government formed via a United Nations-backed process in the wake of Bashar Assad ouster. It is not yet clear if Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main rebel group now in control of Syria, will pursue such a process. The insurgents have said an interim government headed by Mohammad al-Bashir, who is also the head of the “salvation government” of HTS in its former stronghold in northern Syria, will oversee the country until March but have not made clear how the transition to a new, fully empowered government would take place. “The transitional governing body should be formed in Geneva to have international legitimacy,” said Alkhateb, who is now in Damascus. “The transitional governing body, whatever its form, whether it is the ‘salvation government’ or any other, what matters is that it has international recognition.” Alkhateb said that the unexpectedly rapid fall of Damascus and departure of Assad after opposition forces launched their offensive had created confusion and a governance vacuum. A day before the insurgents pushed into Damascus, diplomats from countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Iran and Russia met in Qatar to discuss the situation in Syria. Alkhateb said that they had discussed a scenario in which the rebels would halt their advance, keeping the territory they had captured so far in the north — including Syria’s largest city, Aleppo — and the opposition and Assad’s government would go to Geneva for talks on a political settlement to the conflict. However, he noted, “there were no Syrians in that meeting.” Assad fled to Russia before the rebel forces arrived in Damascus but has not officially announced his resignation, which is “why we are living in a vacuum rather than a political transition,” Alkhateb said. He added that creating a professional army should be a priority of the transitional government. “We do not want a civilian who was trained during the revolution to carry military weapons to become the military,” he said. Israel bombed hundreds of military sites in Syria this week in a wave of airstrikes that destroyed “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the wave of airstrikes in neighboring Syria was necessary to keep the weapons from being used against Israel following the Syrian government’s stunning collapse . WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says Austin Tice, an American journalist missing in Syria for 12 years, “is a top priority for this president.” During a briefing with reporters on Thursday, Jean-Pierre said of Tice, “There is no indication that he is not alive. There’s also no indication about his location or condition.” “What our goal is, is to bring him home. And so, we hope certainly that he is alive and, as we have stated many times before, we are talking through this with the Turks and we want to do everything we can to bring him home,” she said. BEIRUT — Amnesty International said Thursday that four Israeli airstrikes between September and October that killed at least 49 civilians in Lebanon “must be investigated as war crimes.” The rights organization said in a new report that the four strikes targeted homes in the Bekaa Valley, northern and eastern Lebanon, and municipal offices in the south. “These four attacks are emblematic of Israel’s shocking disregard for civilian lives in Lebanon and their willingness to flout international law,” said Amnesty International’s Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns. The rights group said this report was part of its ongoing investigation into violations of the laws of war in Lebanon. Amnesty International investigated four Israeli airstrikes, including one on Sept. 29 in al-Ain that killed all nine members of the same family. On Oct. 21, a strike in Baalbek city in eastern Lebanon killed six members of the same family. Another on Oct. 14 in the village of Aitou in northern Lebanon killed 23 displaced people, including a 5-month-old baby. A fragment from the attack site in Aitou was identified by an Amnesty weapons expert as likely part of a Mk-80 series aerial bomb, weighing at least 500 pounds. These munitions are primarily supplied to Israel by the United States, Amnesty said. The fourth strike Amnesty investigated was the strike that hit the municipal headquarters in Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, on Oct. 16, killing 11 civilians including the mayor. “The air strike took place without warning, just as the municipality’s crisis unit was meeting to coordinate deliveries of aid, including food, water and medicine, to residents and internally displaced people who had fled bombardment in other parts of southern Lebanon,” Amnesty said. The rights group said it interviewed survivors and witnesses, examined evidence, and found no military targets near the sites of the four strikes. The Israeli military gave no warnings and did not respond to Amnesty’s inquiries, the group said. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike hit the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 25 Palestinians and wounding dozens more, Palestinian medics said, just hours after President Joe Biden’s national security adviser raised hopes about a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. Photos from the scene of the blast that circulated on social media showed a completely collapsed building with people walking through its mangled and charred remains, smoke rising from piles of belongings strewn over the rubble. Officials at two hospitals in the Gaza Strip, al-Awda Hospital in the north and al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, reported they received a combined total of 25 bodies from an Israeli strike on a multistory residential building in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp. Palestinian medics also reported that over 40 people, most of them children, were receiving treatment at the two hospitals. The al-Aqsa Hospital said that the Israeli attack also damaged several nearby houses in Nuseirat. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the deadly strike. Israel is trying to eliminate Hamas, which led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza . The Israeli military says Hamas militants hide among Gaza’s civilian population. Israel’s war against Hamas has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. The U.N. says Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order after Israel repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, make it extremely difficult to operate in the territory. UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. food agency is trying to deal with massive needs in Syria not only from escalating war-related food insecurity and an upsurge in displaced people fleeing Lebanon but also the dramatically new environment following the ouster of Bashar Assad, a senior U.N. official says. “It’s a triple crisis and the needs are going to be massive,” said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, in an interview with The Associated Press late Wednesday. The WFP estimated that 3 million people in Syria were “acutely food insecure” and very hungry. However, that estimate was made before the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon pushed many Syrian refugees back to their home country, plus the instability caused by the overthrow of Assad. Due to funding cuts, the WFP had been targeting only 2 million of those people, he said. Because WFP has been working in Syria during the 13-year civil war, he said, it has pre-positioned food in the country. It has 500 staff in seven offices nationwide and has operated across conflict lines, across borders, and with all different parties, he said. Skau said Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main rebel group now in control of Syria, has promised to provide security for WFP warehouses. Humanitarian aid supplies had been looted at U.N. warehouses in the disorder after Assad fell. “We’re not really up and running in Damascus because of the continued kind of uncertainty there,” he said. WFP initially thought of relocating non-essential staff but the situation in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, has been “quite calm and orderly," he said. In the short term, Skau said, “what we’re seeing is that markets are disrupted, the value of the currency dropped dramatically, food prices are going up, transport lines don’t work,” and it’s unclear who will stamp required papers for imports and exports. This means that a bigger humanitarian response is needed initially, he said, but in the next phase, the U,N. will be looking at contributing to Syria’s recovery, and ultimately the country will need reconstruction. Skau said he expects a new funding appeal for Syria and urged donors to be generous. JERUSALEM — President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters in Jerusalem on Thursday that Israel’s ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for another deal to end the war in Gaza. He plans to travel next to Qatar and Egypt — key mediators in the ceasefire talks — as the Biden administration makes a final push on negotiations before Donald Trump is inaugurated. Sullivan said “Hamas’ posture at the negotiating table did adapt” after Israel decimated the leadership of its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and reached a ceasefire there. “We believe it puts us in a position to close this negotiation,” he said. Sullivan dismissed speculation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was waiting for Trump to take office to finalize a deal. He the U.S. believes there are three American hostages still alive in Gaza, but it’s hard to know for sure. He also said “the balance of power in the Middle East has changed significantly” since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, especially with the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally of Hezbollah and Iran. “We are now faced with a dramatically reshaped Middle East in which Israel is stronger, Iran is weaker, its proxies decimated, and a ceasefire that is new and will be lasting in Lebanon that ensures Israel’s security over the long term,” he said. KHIAM, Lebanon — An Israeli strike killed at least one person Thursday in the Lebanese border town of Khiam, the Health Ministry said, less than a day after Israeli troops handed the hilltop village back to the Lebanese army in coordination with U.N. peacekeepers, Khiam is the first Lebanese town Israel has pull out of since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants began two weeks ago, and marks an important test of the fragile truce . Lebanon's Health Ministry and state news agency did not provide details on who was killed, and did not report airstrikes elsewhere on Thursday. The Israeli military said the airstrike in Khiam targeted Hezbollah fighters. Lebanese troops deployed in the northern section of the town on Thursday morning and were coordinating with U.N. peacekeepers to finalize Israel’s withdrawal before fully entering into other neighborhoods. An Associated Press reporter who visited Khiam on Thursday observed widespread destruction, with most houses reduced to rubble. Entire neighborhoods were flattened, with collapsed walls and debris scattered across the streets. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, sharply criticized Israel for striking the town less than 24 hours after the Lebanese army returned, saying it was “a violation of the pledges made by the parties that sponsored the ceasefire agreement, who must act to curb Israeli aggression.” The truce was brokered by the U.S. and France. Israel has previously said the ceasefire deal allows it to use military force against perceived violations. Near-daily attacks by Israel during the ceasefire, mostly in southern Lebanon, have killed at least 29 people and wounded 27 others. Khiam, which sits on a ridge less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the border with Israel, saw some of the most intense fighting during the war. The Lebanese army was clearing debris and reopening roads in the northern section of the town. Civilian access to other areas remained challenging as the army clears roads and works alongside the U.N. peacekeepers to ensure the area is free of unexploded ordnance. AQABA, Jordan -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is urging the many players in Syria to avoid taking any steps that could lead to further violence. Blinken spoke to reporters in Jordan on Thursday shortly after meeting King Abdullah II as he opened a trip in the region to discuss Syria's future after former President Bashar Assad's ouster. Blinken will next visit Turkey, a NATO ally and a main backer of Syrian rebel groups. Blinken called this “a time of both real promise but also peril for Syria and for its neighbors.” He said he was focused on coordinating efforts in the region “to support the Syrian people as they transition away from Assad’s brutal dictatorship” and establish a government that isn’t dominated by one religion or ethnic group or outside power. Blinken was asked about Israel’s incursion into a buffer zone that had been demilitarized for the past half century. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the move is temporary and defensive, but also indicated Israel will remain in the area for a long time. Blinken declined to say whether the U.S. supports the move, but said the U.S. would be speaking to Israel and other partners in the region. “I think, across the board, when it comes to any actors who have real interests in Syria, it’s also really important at this time that, we all try to make sure that we’re not sparking any additional conflicts,” he said. ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, arrived in Damascus on Thursday, according to Turkish media reports. Kalin was seen arriving at the Umayyad Mosque to pray, surrounded by a large crowd, according to video shown on Turkish television. The visit is highly symbolic. Turkish officials, who supported the opposition against Syria’s government, had predicted at the start of the civil war in 2011 that President Bashar Assad’s government would fall, allowing them to pray at the Umayyad Mosque. AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is renewing calls for Syria’s new leadership to respect women and minority rights, prevent extremists from gaining new footholds in the country and keeping suspected chemical weapons stocks secure as he makes his first visit to the Mideast since the weekend ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad . Making his 12th trip to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war erupted lasted year but amid fresh concerns about security following the upheaval in Syria, Blinken emphasized Thursday to Jordan’s King Abdullah II U.S. “support for an inclusive transition that can lead to an accountable and representative Syrian government chosen by the Syrian people,” the State Department said. Blinken also repeated the importance the outgoing Biden administration puts on respect for human rights and international law, the protection of civilians and stopping terrorist groups from reconstituting. Blinken met with the monarch and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Aqaba before traveling to Turkey for talks with Turkish officials on the situation in Syria and the urgency of securing a long-elusive deal to release hostages and end the fighting in Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian territory since October 2023. Abdullah told Blinken that “the first step to reach comprehensive regional calm is to end the Israeli war on Gaza." GENEVA — The U.N. envoy for Syria is calling on authorities to save evidence from detention centers that were a hub of “unimaginable barbarity” that Syrians have faced for many years and cooperate with international investigators looking into such crimes. Geir Pederson referred to new images from the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital, Damascus, after President Bashar Assad fled Syria as armed groups stormed in to overthrow his government over the weekend. “The images from Saydnaya and other detention facilities starkly underscore the unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured and reported for years,” Pedersen said in a statement. Documentation and testimonies “only scratch the surface of the carceral system’s horrors,” he added. Pedersen urged authorities to cooperate with U.N. bodies like an independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which was created in 2011, and an independent group known as the IIIM that was set up five years later to also compile evidence of crimes. ROME — Leaders of the Group of 7 industrialized nations offered their full support for an inclusive political transition in Syria and invited all parties to preserve the country’s territorial integrity. In a message released by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office, the leaders said they were ready to support a transition that “leads to a credible government, inclusive and not sectarian, that guarantees respect for the state of law, universal human rights, including rights for women, (and) the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities.” The leaders also underlined the importance that ousted President Bashar Assad’s government is held responsible for crimes, citing “decades of atrocities.” They said they would also cooperate with groups working to prohibit chemical weapons “to secure, declare and destroy” remaining chemical arms in Syria. Italy currently holds the rotating presidency of the G-7, which also includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States. JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it struck Hamas militants in two locations in the southern Gaza Strip who planned to hijack aid convoys. Palestinian Health officials had earlier said that the two strikes killed 15 men who were part of local committees established to secure aid deliveries. The committees have been organized in cooperation with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza. It was not possible to independently confirm either account of the strikes, which occurred overnight into Thursday. Israel has long accused Hamas of hijacking humanitarian aid deliveries, while U.N. officials have said there is no systemic diversion of aid . U.N. agencies and aid groups say deliveries are held up by Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid and movement within Gaza, as well as the breakdown of law and order more than 14 months into the war between Israel and Hamas. Israel has repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, which maintained internal security before the war. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, the main aid provider in Gaza, said a U.N. convoy of 70 trucks carrying humanitarian aid in southern Gaza “was involved in a serious incident,” resulting in just one of the trucks reaching its destination. It did not provide further details on the incident but said the same route had been used successfully two days earlier. Israel’s offensive, launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, leaving the territory heavily reliant on international food aid. DAMASCUS, Syria — An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus over the weekend, overthrowing President Bashar Assad and ending his family’s 54-year rule. As video emerged online of Timmerman on Thursday, he was initially mistaken by some for Austin Tice, an American journalist who went missing in Syria 12 years ago. In the video, Timmerman could be seen lying on a mattress under a blanket in what appeared to be a private house. A group of men in the video said he was being treated well and would be safely returned home. The Biden administration is working to bring Timmerman home, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Aqaba, Jordan, without offering details, citing privacy. Timmerman later gave an interview with the Al-Arabiya TV network, saying he had illegally crossed into Syria on foot from the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle seven months ago, before being detained. He said he was treated well in detention but could hear other men being tortured. AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Jordan on his 12th visit to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year and his first since the weekend ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad that has sparked new fears of instability in a region wracked by three conflicts despite a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. Blinken was meeting in Aqaba with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Thursday before traveling to Turkey for talks with Turkish officials on Friday. The meetings will focus largely on Syria but also touch on long-elusive hopes for a deal to end the fighting in Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian territory since October 2023. Blinken is the latest senior U.S. official to visit the Middle East in the five days since Assad was deposed as the Biden administration navigates more volatility in the region in its last few weeks in office and as President-elect Donald Trump has said the U.S. should stay out of the Syrian conflict. Other include national security adviser Jake Sullivan and a top military commander who traveled there as the U.S. and Israel have launched airstrikes to prevent the Islamic State militant group from reconstituting and prevent materiel and suspected chemical weapons stocks from falling into militant hands. Blinken “will discuss the need for the transition process and new government in Syria to respect the rights of minorities, facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance, prevent Syria from being used as a base of terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors, and ensure that chemical weapons stockpiles are secured and safely destroyed,” the State Department said. The U.S. would be willing to recognize and fully support a new Syrian government that met those criteria. U.S. officials say they are not actively reviewing the foreign terrorist organization designation of the main Syrian rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, which was once an al-Qaida affiliate, but stressed they are not barred from speaking to its members. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces will remain in a Syrian buffer zone until a new force on the other side of the border can guarantee security. After the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israeli forces pushed into a buffer zone that had been established after the 1973 Mideast war. The military says it has seized additional strategic points nearby. Israeli officials have said the move is temporary, but Netanyahu’s conditions could take months or even years to fulfill as Syria charts its post-Assad future, raising the prospect of an open-ended Israeli presence in the country. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Thursday that Assad’s overthrow by jihadi rebels created a vacuum on the border. “Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7th style attacks,” it said, referring to Hamas’ 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there. “That is why Israeli forces entered the buffer zone and took control of strategic sites near Israel’s border.” The statement added that “this deployment is temporary until a force that is committed to the 1974 agreement can be established and security on our border can be guaranteed.” The buffer zone is adjacent to the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed. The international community, except for the United States, views the Golan as occupied Syrian territory. JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said Thursday that the attacker who fatally shot a 12-year-old Israeli boy in the occupied West Bank overnight turned himself in to authorities. The attacker opened fire on a bus near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit, critically wounding the boy, who hospital authorities pronounced dead in the early morning. Three others were wounded in the attack, paramedics said. The shooting took place just outside Jerusalem in an area near major Israeli settlements. JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Indonesian government has evacuated 37 citizens from Syria following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government, officials said Thursday. The evacuees were taken by land from Damascus to Beirut, where they boarded three commercial flights to Jakarta, said Judha Nugraha, director of citizen protection at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The Indonesian Embassy in Damascus said all 1,162 Indonesian citizens in Syria were safe. Indonesian Ambassador to Syria Wajid Fauzi said the situation in Syria has gradually returned to normal. “I can say that 98% of people’s lives are back to normal, shops are open, public transportation has started running,” Fauzi said, adding that most Indonesian nationals living in Syria had chosen to stay. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian medical officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 28 people in the Gaza Strip, including seven children and a woman. One of the strikes overnight and into Thursday flattened a house in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies at the hospital’s morgue. Two other strikes killed 15 men who were part of local committees established to secure aid convoys . The committees were set up by displaced Palestinians in coordination with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. The Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis received the bodies and an AP reporter counted them. The hospital said eight were killed in a strike near the southern border town of Rafah and seven others in a strike 30 minutes later near Khan Younis. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 people. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. The U.N. says Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order after Israel repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, make it extremely difficult to operate in the territory.Breaking Down Drake’s Streaming Fraud Allegations Over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’: Analysis
On Thursday, ( ) stock earned an upgrade to its , from 78 to 82. This exclusive rating from Investor's Business Daily measures price action with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The rating shows how a stock's price performance over the trailing 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in our database. History reveals that the best stocks often have an RS Rating north of 80 as they launch their biggest runs. Is CAE stock A Buy? CAE stock has been rallying in the last two weeks. The defense and security stock is trying to complete a cup without handle with a 25.04 . See if the stock can break out in volume at least 40% higher than normal. Earnings grew -8% last quarter, up from -13% in the prior report. Revenue also increased, from 6% to 8%. CAE stock earns the No. 32 rank among its peers in the Aerospace/Defense industry group. ( ), ( ) and ( ) are among the top 5 highly rated stocks within the group. For more industry news, check out " ."LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Voters dejected by the presidential election results need to find a way to give back and remain involved, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Clinton presidential library. The former president urged audience members in a packed theater to remain engaged and find ways to communicate with those they disagree with despite a divisive political time. The two spoke about a month after former President Donald Trump's win over Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election. “We’re just passing through, and we all need to just calm down and do something that builds people up instead of tears them down,” Bill Clinton said. Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state who was defeated by Trump in the 2016 election, said she understands the next couple of years are going to be challenging for voters who don't agree with the decisions being made. "In addition to staying involved and staying aware, it’s important to find something that makes you feel good about the day because if you’re in a constant state of agitation about our political situation, it is really going to shorten your life," she said. The Clintons spoke during a panel discussion with journalist Laura Ling, who the former president helped free in 2009 when she was detained in North Korea with another journalist. The event was held as part of a weekend of activities marking the 20th anniversary of the Clinton Presidential Library's opening in Little Rock. The library is preparing to undergo an update of its exhibits and an expansion that will include Hillary Clinton's personal archives. Hillary Clinton said part of the goal is to modernize the facility and expand it to make it a more open, inviting place for people for convene and make connections. When asked about advice he would give for people disappointed by the election results, Bill Clinton said people need to continue working toward bringing people together and improving others' lives. “If that's the way you keep score, then you ought to be trying to run up the score,” he said. “Not lamenting the fact that somebody else is winning a different game because they keep score a different way." “And in addition, figure out what we can do to win again,” Hillary Clinton added, eliciting cheers. The program featured a panel discussion with cast members of the hit NBC show “The West Wing” and former Clinton White House staffers. The weekend amounted to a reunion of former Clinton White House staffers, supporters and close friends, including former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and adviser James Carville. McAuliffe said he and Carville ate Friday at Doe's Eat Place, a downtown restaurant that was popular with Clinton aides and reporters during Clinton's 1992 White House run. He said he viewed the library and its planned expansion as important for the future. “This is not only about the past, but it's more importantly about the future," McAuliffe said. “We just went through a very tough election, and people are all saying we've got to get back to the Clinton model.”
Exela Technologies, Inc. to Host Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference CallRavens' running game was crucial in a big win over the Chargers, especially on 4th down
NoneGEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman (AP) — Noah Farrakhan scored 24 points and sealed the victory with a jump shot with 46 seconds left as Hampton defeated Duquesne 64-59 on Monday. Farrakhan also had five rebounds for the Pirates (3-4). Daniel Johnson shot 4 for 6, including 1 for 3 from beyond the arc to add nine points. Jake DiMichele led the Dukes (0-6) in scoring, finishing with 13 points. Jakub Necas added nine points for Duquesne. Story continues below video The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
NoneJust when the Dallas Mavericks look ready to turn the corner, an injury to Luka Doncic could potentially derail their progress. Doncic is dealing with a strained wrist and the Mavericks expect he’ll be out of action for one week. Dallas will put its three-game winning streak on the line when it visits the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Denver also appears to be on the ascent, with six victories in its last eight games. However, it has been without the reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic, for the last three games due to a personal matter. Jokic’s availability is still up in the air, as the Nuggets list him as questionable on the injury report. While it’s always difficult to make projections on a game when teams aren’t at full strength, the props market is an excellent option for determining which teammates will likely step up in the absence of a star player. Mavericks vs. Nuggets odds Mavericks analysis The Mavericks are notorious for their slow starts, so it wasn’t entirely surprising to see their record fall to 5-7. However, most would say the combination of Doncic and Kyrie Irving are two of the most unguardable players in the league. Thus, it would only be a matter of time before Dallas would regain its stride. While the NBA season can be long and arduous, there are always a few games throughout the campaign that take on another level of importance. For Dallas, its away victory (121-119) over the Thunder offered a similar significance because heading into the game, OKC had the best record in the West at 11-2. Dallas followed up that performance with a 131-91 demolition over the New Orleans Pelicans. If you overlook this Mavericks team, you do so at your peril. The underlying metrics suggest they’re still very much a legitimate contender that can challenge and come out of the West. Nuggets analysis Denver rebounded from a 0-2 start to win seven of its next eight games. However, it’s 1-2 in the last three games with Jokic sidelined. Jokic is having another MVP-caliber season, averaging a triple-double with 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 11.7 assists. Per Basketball-Reference, Jokic also leads the league with a 33.3 Player Efficiency Rating and Win Shares per 48 minutes (.323). Thus, the Nuggets don’t have anywhere close to a ready-made replacement that can fill Jokic’s shoes. Although some felt Denver didn’t do enough in the offseason when building its roster, the Russell Westbrook experiment seems to work better than we might have anticipated. Westbrook can still fill up the stats sheet, averaging 10.8 points, six assists and 4.5 rebounds. He recently recorded his 200th triple-double—the most in NBA history. Forward Peyton Watson and guard Julian Strawther have also developed nicely off the bench, with both players averaging 9.5 points. Like the Mavericks, the Nuggets will be just fine, but both teams would do well to have their star players back on the court. Mavericks vs. Nuggets pick Picking a side in this contest wouldn’t be easy, considering these teams are two of my favorites to watch. Therefore, I’m happy to remain neutral by targeting a player in the props market. When they landed Klay Thompson over the summer, the Mavericks saw an opportunity to add a knockdown shooter . Although Thompson is averaging a career-low with 14 points, he’s also attempting his fewest shots per game (12.6). Doncic and Irving are ball-dominant players, so with one out of the lineup, Thompson figures to get more touches. Betting on the NBA? The Nuggets are also a team Thompson can thrive against because they’re a bottom-10 defense. He’s averaging 20.3 points In his last 13 games when facing teams that this profile. Thompson’s scoring prop is available at 16.5, which feels short given the opponent. It’s worth noting that he’s coming off a 19-point effort against the Pelicans. Lastly, he’s had three games this season in which he produced back-to-back efforts of 17 or more points. I expect that trend to continue Friday night. THE PICK: Klay Thompson Over 16.5 points (-113, FanDuel ) Why Trust New York Post Betting Michael Arinze handicaps most major sports for the New York Post. He’s cashed two 15-leg teasers in his betting career as well as a 12-leg parlay that included eight Little League World Series games. More recently, he accurately picked finalists in the 2024 European Championships and Copa America.
On Your Marks: Liberia Marathon to Set New RecordsThe Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 surged to record highs on Tuesday despite inflammatory remarks from President-elect Donald Trump about tariffs, but shipping stocks were not so fortunate. In fact it was hard to find any green numbers in the shipping space when trading closed in New York on Tuesday afternoon, as listed companies fell into the red across multiple operating sectors.