Tiger Woods Bows Out of 2024 Hero World ChallengeThe 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: 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-Peirre 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. JERUSALEM — Paraguay reopened its embassy in Jerusalem Thursday, becoming one of a small handful of nations to recognize the city as Israel’s capital and marking a diplomatic victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel’s international isolation has increased as the war in Gaza drags on, and Paraguay was the first country to move its embassy to Jerusalem since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that kickstarted the war. The United States, Honduras, Guatemala, Kosovo, and Papua New Guinea are among the few countries with Jerusalem embassies. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967 but it wasn’t recognized by the international community, and most countries run their embassies out of Tel Aviv. Spirits were high at the ceremony marking the embassy’s inauguration Thursday, with Netanyahu and Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar lavishing praise on Paraguayan President Santiago Pena. “My good friend Santiago,” said Netanyahu, addressing Pena. “We’re a small nation. You’re a small nation. We suffered horrible things but we overcame the odds of history...we can win and we are winning.” Paraguay had an embassy in Jerusalem in 2018, under Former President Horacio Cartes. That embassy was moved back to Tel Aviv by Cartes’ successor, Mario Abdo Benitez, prompting Israel to close its embassy in Asuncion. Saar said Israel and Paraguay shared a “friendship based not only on interests but also values and principles.” He and the Paraguayan foreign minister, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, signed a series of bilateral agreements and Saar said he would soon visit Asunción with a delegation from the Israeli private sector. “Israel is going to win and the countries we are standing next to Israel, we are going to win," Pena said. 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. UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved resolutions Wednesday demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and backing the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban . The votes in the 193-nation world body were 158-9 with 13 abstentions to demand a ceasefire now and 159-9 with 11 abstentions to support the agency known as UNRWA. The votes culminated two days of speeches overwhelmingly calling for an end to the 14-month war between Israel and the militant Hamas group . General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they reflect world opinion. There are no vetoes in the assembly. Israel and its close ally, the United States, were in a tiny minority speaking and voting against the resolutions.Should you bet on Gustav Nyquist to find the back of the net when the Nashville Predators and the Dallas Stars go head to head on Thursday at 8:00 PM ET? In the piece below, we dissect all the stats you need to know before making any bets. Sign up for ESPN+ today to watch 1,000+ out-of-market NHL games, ESPN+ Hockey Night & more. Odds to score a goal this game: +390 (Bet $10 to win $39.00 if he scores a goal) Place your bets on any NHL matchup at BetMGM. Sign up today using our link. Catch NHL action all season long on Fubo. Catch NHL action all season long on Max. Bet on this or any NHL matchup at BetMGM. Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. 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To lure Juan Soto, Mets created a video of his statue outside Citi Field next to Tom Seaver'sThe 21-year-old Colombia international was sent off 32 minutes into a 3-0 defeat in the Premier League at St. James’ Park on Thursday after appearing to stamp on defender Fabian Schar, prompting a furious reaction from Villa head coach Unai Emery, who later indicated that the club would appeal. However, Villa said Friday night that its bid was unsuccessful and the forward will now serve a three-match ban for violent conduct. “Aston Villa can confirm that our decision to appeal Jhon Duran’s red card in our match with Newcastle United has been rejected," a statement on Villa’s official X account read. "The player will now miss our next three matches.” Duran will miss Premier League games against Brighton and Leicester, followed by Villa's FA Cup third-round match with West Ham on Jan. 10. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerWGO INVESTOR NEWS: Winnebago Industries, Inc. Investors that Suffered Losses Are Encouraged to ...Independent evaluation recognizes Ochsner Digital Medicine for superior hypertension management
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. military should stay out of the escalating conflict in Syria as a shock opposition offensive closes in on the capital, declaring in a social media post, "THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.” With world leaders watching the rapid rebel advance against Syria's Russian- and Iranian-backed president, Bashar Assad, President Joe Biden's national security adviser separately stressed that the Biden administration had no intention of intervening. “The United States is not going to ... militarily dive into the middle of a Syrian civil war," Jake Sullivan told an audience in California. He said the U.S. would keep acting as necessary to keep the Islamic State — a violently anti-Western extremist group not known to be involved in the offensive but with sleeper cells in Syria's deserts — from exploiting openings presented by the fighting. Insurgents’ stunning march across Syria sped faster Saturday, reaching the gates of Damascus and government forces abandoning the central city of Homs. The government was forced to deny rumors that Assad had fled the country. Trump's comments on the dramatic rebel push were his first since Syrian rebels launched their advance late last month. They came while he was in Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral . In his post, Trump said Assad did not deserve U.S. support to stay in power. Assad's government has been propped up by the Russian and Iranian military, along with Hezbollah and other Iranian-allied militias, in a now 13-year-old war against opposition groups seeking his overthrow. The war, which began as a mostly peaceful uprising in 2011 against the Assad family's rule, has killed a half-million people, fractured Syria and drawn in a more than a half-dozen foreign militaries and militias. The insurgents are led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham , which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist group and says has links to al-Qaida, although the group has since broken ties with al-Qaida. The insurgents have met little resistance so far from the Syrian army, the Russian and Iranian militaries or allied militias in the country. The Biden administration says Syrian opposition forces' capture of government-held cities demonstrates just how diminished those countries are by wars in Ukraine , Gaza and Lebanon. “Assad’s backers — Iran, Russia and Hezbollah — have all been weakened and distracted," Sullivan said Saturday at an annual gathering of national security officials, defense companies and lawmakers at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. “None of them are prepared to provide the kind of support to Assad that they provided in the past,” he later added. The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria, including U.S. forces working with Kurdish allies in the opposition-held northeast to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group. Gen. Bryan Fenton, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, said he would not want to speculate on how the upheaval in Syria would affect the U.S. military’s footprint in the country. “It’s still too early to tell,” he said. What would not change is the focus on disrupting IS operations in Syria and protecting U.S. troops, Fenton said during a panel at the Reagan event. Syrian opposition activists and regional officials have been watching closely for any indication from the incoming Trump administration, in particular on how the U.S. would respond to the rebel advances against Assad. Robert Wilkie, Trump's defense transition chief and a former secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, said during the same panel that the collapse of the “murderous Assad regime” would be a major blow to Iran's power. The United Nations' special envoy for Syria called Saturday for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition” in Syria. In his post, Trump said Russia “is so tied up in Ukraine” that it “seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years.” He said rebels could possibly force Assad from power. The president-elect condemned the overall U.S. handling of the war but said the routing of Assad and Russian forces might be for the best. “Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!” he wrote in Saturday's post. An influential Syrian opposition activist in Washington, Mouaz Moustafa, interrupted a briefing to reporters to read Trump’s post and appeared to choke up. He said Trump’s declaration that the U.S. should stay out of the fight was the best outcome that the the Syrians aligned against Assad could hope for. Rebels have been freeing political detainees of the Assad government from prisons as they advance across Syria, taking cities. Moustafa pledged to reporters Saturday that opposition forces would be alert for any U.S. detainees among them and do their utmost to protect them. Moustafa said that includes Austin Tice , an American journalist missing for more than a decade and suspected to be held by Assad. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham renounced al-Qaida in 2016 and has worked to rebrand itself, including cracking down on some Islamic extremist groups and fighters in its territory and portraying itself as a protector of Christians and other religious minorities. While the U.S. and United Nations still designate it as a terrorist organization, Trump's first administration told lawmakers that the U.S. was no longer targeting the group's leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani. ___ Copp reported from Simi Valley, California. 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A Biden official appears to be signaling support for key parts of Robert F. Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again agenda on his way out the door. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf voiced support for several MAHA priorities to incentivize healthy eating and eliminate harmful ingredients from the nation’s food supply during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on Dec. 5. Califf and Senate lawmakers zeroed in on the role processed foods play in contributing to the nation’s growing chronic disease and obesity epidemics, a bipartisan concern Kennedy brought to the top of voters’ minds while on the campaign trail. (RELATED: RFK’s Calls To Ban One Of Big Pharma’s Most Powerful Tools Rattle Drugmakers Despite Uncertain Political Prospects) “What’s going on here is that the food industry has figured out that there’s a combination of sweet carbohydrates and salt that goes to our brains — and I think it’s addictive,” Califf told lawmakers during the hearing. “ I think it’s the same neural circuits that are involved in opioid addiction and other kinds of addiction that we have.” 🚩 FDA Commissioner Robert Califf Says Ultra-Processed Foods are Engineered to Be Addictive, GLP-1 Drugs Interrupt That Craving ‘Circuit’ “What’s going on here is that the food industry has figured out that there’s a combination of sweet, carbohydrate, and salt that goes to our... pic.twitter.com/ORLjYM0Gkb — Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) December 8, 2024 “If you’ve ever tried to eat one potato chip, it’s almost impossible. There’s a reason for this,” Califf added. Califf and lawmakers’ recognition of the potential harms to human health posed by processed foods, seen in their discussions on banning artificial food dyes and limiting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to healthy foods during the Senate hearing, points to the growing momentum of Trump and Kennedy’s MAHA agenda that lawmakers on Capitol Hill are also getting behind. “Sen. Tuberville is a long-time fan of RFK Jr.’s health agenda and is 100% supportive of his efforts, along with President Trump, to Make America Healthy Again,” a spokesperson for Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who sits on the Senate HELP Committee, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement. Califf and his counterpart, FDA deputy commissioner for human foods Jim Jones, told lawmakers that the agency will decide on a petition to order a nationwide ban of Red Dye 3, an artificial food dye under scrutiny from Kennedy and MAHA activists, in the coming weeks. The FDA banned Red Dye 3 for use in cosmetics and skincare products in 1990 after scientific studies revealed the synthetic dye caused cancer in laboratory animals, but has defended the synthetic dye as safe to ingest. “Red [Dye No.] 3 has been known to cause cancer [when used in] cosmetics, but we still allow it to be put into our food. I don’t understand that,” Tuberville told Califf during the hearing. Time to hold the FDA accountable for this madness. There’s no red #3 allowed in my lipstick, but it’s allowed to be served to cancer patients (Ensure) and children (Nesquick). https://t.co/H84G9C6SyW — Vani Hari (@thefoodbabe) December 6, 2024 Democratic New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, published a letter on Dec. 5 calling on the FDA to ban Red Dye 3 from the food supply. “There is simply no reason for this chemical to be in our food except to entice and mislead consumers by changing the color of their food so it looks more appealing,” Pallone wrote. The color additive, made from petroleum to give food and beverages a bright cherry red color, is used in thousands of U.S. food products, including Halloween candy , certain brands of saffron rice and mashed potatoes . The Biden administration is rushing to ban indefensible and neurodegenerative food colorings before the term ends. All credit should be going to @realDonaldTrump and @RobertKennedyJr for bringing these no-brainer health issues to top of national agenda. In addition to... https://t.co/Pprq6JKyOE — Calley Means (@calleymeans) December 7, 2024 Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation in October 2023 to ban Red Dye 3 and other food additives linked to cancer last year, making California the first state in the country to ban the synthetic dye. The European Union, Australia, New Zealand and Japan have banned Red Dye 3 for food use with some of these countries carving out exceptions for its use in cherry products, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy organization petitioning the FDA to ban the synthetic dye. Kennedy has described these synthetic dyes as “chemical poisons.” Though the FDA considers these artificial ingredients safe to ingest, many have been linked to cancer and hyperactivity and behavioral issues in children, according to an array of scientific studies. “If just one of them [color additives] can cause all these problems, imagine what they’re doing in combination,” Kennedy said in a video posted to X on Sept. 25. “If we took all of these chemicals out, our nation would get healthier immediately.” “President Trump and I are going to stop the mass poisoning of American children.” Dr. Marty Makary, Trump’s nominee to lead the FDA, has echoed Kennedy’s concerns about the dangers of food additives contributing to the nation’s chronic disease epidemic. “We’ve got food dyes, some of which cause anxiety and depression. The body is reacting with an inflammation that is constant makes people feel sick,” Makary told Fox Business on Oct. 2. “We’ve got to talk about our poisoned food supply.” Makary’s skepticism on the safety of the 36 FDA-approved color additives in the food supply, some of which are either prohibited or require a warning label in other countries, could lead the FDA to reexamine the potential harms of these artificial ingredients in the food supply under his tenure, which would likely garner support from lawmakers. “Scientific studies that have integrity will have to guide future actions,” Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson told the DCNF in a statement in response to whether the FDA should reevaluate the health risks of artificial food ingredients. “Returning integrity to research should be the top priority.” A Tuberville spokesperson told the DCNF the Alabama Republican would be supportive of banning additional color additives if the FDA determines they are dangerous to human health. Califf also voiced support for limiting SNAP benefits to healthy foods during the Senate hearing, a top priority on Kennedy and MAHA activists’ agenda during the second Trump administration. Roughly one in eight Americans use SNAP to pay for groceries, leading to the U.S. government subsidizing billions in junk food and soda purchases annually despite more than 40% of Americans being obese. Nearly 25% of SNAP spending goes toward junk food and roughly 10% of all SNAP purchases are for soda — the largest commodity purchased by SNAP users — according to a 2016 USDA study. ( RELATED: Trump, RFK Jr’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Pledge Signals Major Shift In GOP Priorities ) “There’s also some evidence to suggest that even in the same neighborhood, families that use SNAP benefits versus those who don’t, the SNAP benefit purchases are generally less healthy than those who don’t use SNAP benefits,” Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine told Califf during the hearing. Califf agreed, telling lawmakers that reforming SNAP benefits “would be one of the most important things” the federal government could do to combat the obesity and chronic disease epidemics. “The U.S. government has the purchasing power, so why not purchase healthy food,” Califf added. Kennedy, MAHA activists and some Republican lawmakers’ push to end SNAP benefits for processed foods could face opposition from agriculture interests and major food corporations whose processed food products receive billions of dollars in annual SNAP purchases. Republican Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen has introduced legislation to exclude soda and junk food from SNAP purchases, but the bill has not cleared the House Agriculture Committee. Brecheen plans to reintroduce the legislation during the upcoming Congress, which could be more receptive to reforming SNAP given Kennedy’s prior advocacy on the issue. “Isn’t it time to reevaluate whether taxpayers should be required to fund these products through SNAP, given their detrimental health effects,” Brecheen told the DCNF in a statement. “ If someone wants to buy junk food on their own dime, that’s up to them. But what we’re saying is, don’t ask the taxpayer to pay for it and then also expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab for the resulting health consequences.” That’s why our office is planning on reintroducing the Healthy SNAP Act next year to address the obesity epidemic and rein in reckless spending. American taxpayer dollars should not be spent on junk foods that provide no nutritional value to our citizens. @calleymeans https://t.co/pjKV5dLlhd — Congressman Josh Brecheen (@RepBrecheen) December 4, 2024 Kennedy and MAHA activists efforts to curtail SNAP benefits for processed foods could also face obstacles given his distance from the center of food policy within the federal bureaucracy. Though Trump promised to let Kennedy “go wild on food” while on the campaign trail, Kennedy’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services places him outside the agency responsible for administering SNAP and writing dietary guidelines: the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Brooke Rollins, Trump’s nominee to lead the USDA, does not appear to have taken a position on reforming SNAP benefits. The Trump-Vance transition team did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment about whether the incoming administration is planning to crack down on artificial food dyes and reform SNAP benefits. A Kennedy spokesperson also did not respond to requests for comment. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org .Scheifele scores as the Jets beat the Blackhawks 4-2 in Sorensen's first gamePeggy Sue Martinez has worked for almost a decade with a security workers union in Los Alamos to send Christmas presents to young children at two Española schools. Over that time, she has seen the kids' needs increase "drastically." "The needs are more basic," she said. Martinez, an Española city councilor, goes to James H. Rodriguez Elementary School and Los Niños Kindergarten Center each year before the holidays and speaks with kids who have been identified as the students most in need. In past years, she said, many children would say they need a pair of shoes or a jacket, "but now they need both shoes and a jacket," she said, "and socks and underwear ... and they have siblings who need the same." She added, "These kids aren’t afraid to say in front of their peers that they need socks, and why do you think that is? Because they’re not the only ones." Martinez said the International Guards Union of America Local 69 provided gifts — shoes, coats, socks and even some laptop computers — to 70 students this year. They plan to increase the program in hopes of providing for up to 200 children in 2025. "These aren't just toys — we are trying to affect their daily needs," Martinez said. "And the needs are there." Several local government officials, leaders of aid programs and organizers of holiday charity efforts that serve the Española Valley have noted what appears to be an increase in need in recent years amid inflation, increasing housing costs and a continuing opioid epidemic that has wracked the region. The number of kids who receive gifts through the Northern New Mexico Toy Drive has swelled to 7,200 this year from 2,500 in 2021, and an annual Christmas shopping spree organized by Española police served more children than ever. Organizers of the Empty Stocking Fund, a holiday project of The Santa Fe New Mexican and the Santa Fe Community Foundation, hope to raise a record $475,000 this year to meeting a growing demand in Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties for funds to cover costs like car repairs, past due rent and utility bills. Española Social Services Director Michelle Fraire — who began in the position earlier this year — confirmed what others have noticed. "We are seeing a high increase in children needing necessities," Fraire said. "They need clothing for school, laptops to do schoolwork; college students we hear from need food, groceries, etc." The city launched its social services department earlier this year with funding from opioid lawsuit settlements in an effort to combat increases in homelessness and addiction. Fraire has organized several fairs that bring state agencies like the Department of Health, along with a host of providers, to help connect people with support services and, ideally, housing. The city held such a fair Dec. 16 at the Española Pathways Shelter. Fraire said more than 40 people attended. Leaders of other initiatives noted higher need this year as well. The Española Firefighters Union raised $7,000 to split among seven people who are battling breast cancer, Assistant Fire Chief John Wickersham said. The cash is meant to help offset some of the expenses of cancer treatment, which can be financially devastating for families, he added. "There is an increased need throughout the Valley that we can see," Wickersham said, noting the union has seen rising numbers of applicants for the funds in recent years. Wickersham noted the high price tags for health care and other costs often associated with cancer treatment like travel. Meanwhile, Española police officers participating in Shop with a Cop accompanied a record 134 kids on a trip to the local Walmart store, where each child was given $100 to spend. Police Chief Mizel Garcia said the department also gave out 300 stockings after the event. Children from the Española Valley are referred to the Shop with a Cop program through the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department and other agencies. Garcia aims to continue growing the program, which he said can help mend relationships with police, especially for children who are in state custody or have had negative experiences with law enforcement. Wendy Croze, a program manager for Las Cumbres Community Services' Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program, said there has been an uptick in Española in recent years of grandparents taking in grandchildren, largely because of drug addiction. With families who take in grandchildren — or even neighbors, in one case — "it's very common that there is already financial need," Croze said. "Many had to retire from their jobs early in order to take care of young children who are now older," she said. "And so the need for food is enormous." Food Depot Executive Director Jill Dixon said the Santa Fe-based regional food bank serves nine counties, and about 20% of the food it distributes goes to Rio Arriba County, where estimates in recent years have shown more than 20% of the population experiences food insecurity. The Food Depot has seen an increase in need for fresh, nutritious foods in particular. A newsletter the organization published in recent months says about 30% of people who struggle with access to nutritious food do not qualify for food benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Dixon said the regional food bank often sees people using food pantries on an intermittent basis, such when they are hit with expensive emergencies like unexpected medical bills or car trouble. The organization in December 2022 opened a "no-cost grocery store" in Española called Casita de Comida that allows people to shop, free of charge, through a selection of about 60 items. The pantry, which is growing and moving to a location on La Joya Street, currently serves about 360 families per month. Dixon hopes to expand it to serve about 100 more families in the next year. High rates of food insecurity are not limited to the Española Valley, she said, noting the need has been "holding steady" across The Food Depot's service territory for several years. She pointed to inflation in 2023 amid the evaporation of support and protections that helped many families through the coronavirus pandemic. "We just saw the need explode all over again," she said. "Everything is expensive," Dixon said. "It's just gotten incredible, and we've seen housing costs just skyrocket in basically every community that we serve. When you see housing, you know, eating up 30% to 50% of your earnings, there just isn't any room for error." People who don't frequent food pantries sometimes find themselves there when they suddenly discover they need new tires or a mammogram, she said, or perhaps because of the extra expenses associated with the holidays. "And that's what we're here for," she said. "But systemically, we have some pretty big problems to address."