Putin apologizes for 'tragic incident' but stops short of saying Azerbaijani plane was shot down MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. He stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible. The Kremlin said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike as the plane attempted to land on Wednesday. Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.” The Kremlin also says Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are jointly investigating the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. Israel detains the director of one of northern Gaza's last functioning hospitals during a raid DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza's Health Ministry says Israel’s army has detained the director of one of northern Gaza's last functioning hospitals. The announcement on Saturday came after health officials said Israeli troops stormed the hospital and forced many staff and patients outside and told them to strip in winter weather. Israel’s military alleges the hospital director is a suspected Hamas operative and says it detained over 240 others. It acknowledges it ordered people outside and that special forces entered the hospital. It says it “eliminated” militants who fired at its forces. Kamal Adwan officials have denied that Hamas operates in the hospital. Abortions are up in the US. It's a complicated picture as women turn to pills, travel Even with abortion bans in place in most Republican-controlled states, the number of people obtaining them has grown slightly. That's part of a complicated picture of the impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade two and a half years ago. Abortion pills are more common now. So is traveling to other states for care, often on journeys hundreds of miles long. Public support for the right to abortion has also increased since before the ruling. That's been reflected in most ballot measures to add the right to abortion to state constitutions being adopted. Drought, fires and deforestation battered Amazon rainforest in 2024 BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The Amazon rainforest staggered through another difficult year in 2024. A second year of record drought contributed to wildfires that worsened deforestation across the massive forest, which spans Brazil, Peru, Colombia and other Latin American nations and is a critical counterweight to climate change. There were some bright spots. Both Brazil and Colombia reported lower levels of deforestation compared to prior years. Experts say Amazon countries need to do more to strengthen cross-border collaboration and that the global community who reap the benefits of commodities from the rainforest also need to pitch in. Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied by daily combat losses and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk. Some want to stay in the region at all costs. Others question the value of having gone in at all. Battles are so intense that commanders are unable to evacuate their dead. Lags in communication and poorly timed operations have cost lives and commanders say they have little way to counterattack. The overstretched Ukrainians have lost more than 40% of the territory they won in the lightning incursion that seized much of Kursk in August. Afghan forces target Pakistan in retaliation for deadly airstrikes Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says its forces hit several points inside Pakistan in retaliation for deadly airstrikes. Pakistan last Tuesday launched an operation to destroy a training facility and kill insurgents in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province. The strikes killed dozens of people. The ministry said Saturday that its forces hit points “serving as centers and hideouts for malicious elements and their supporters who organized and coordinated attacks in Afghanistan.” Pakistan accuses the Taliban of not doing enough to combat cross-border militant activity, a charge the Taliban government denies. Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who instituted economic reforms, cremated in New Delhi NEW DELHI (AP) — Manmohan Singh, the former Indian prime minister widely regarded as the architect of the country’s economic reform program, has been cremated after a state funeral. The veteran leader, who was also credited for a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, died late Thursday at age 92. Singh’s body was taken Saturday to the headquarters of his Congress party in New Delhi, where party leaders and activists paid tributes to him and chanted “Manmohan Singh lives forever.” Later, his body was transported to a crematorium ground for his last rites as soldiers beat drums. A mild-mannered technocrat, Singh was prime minister for 10 years until 2014. Sweden embarks on a sober search for more cemetery space in case of war GOTHENBURG, Sweden (AP) — Burial associations in Sweden are looking to acquire enough land for something they hope they’ll never have to do. And that's to bury thousands of people in the event of war. The search follows new crisis preparedness guidelines from the country's civil defense agency and the military. The issue is seen in a new light after Russia's invasion of Ukraine led formerly neutral Sweden to join NATO. Sweden and Finland sent out updated civil preparedness guides in November with instructions on how to survive in war. The guides are similar to those in Denmark and Norway, though they don't mention Russia by name. Olivia Hussey, star of the 1968 film 'Romeo and Juliet,' dies at 73 LONDON (AP) — Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” has died, her family said on social media. She was 73. Hussey died on Friday, “peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones,” a statement posted to her Instagram account said. Hussey was 15 when director Franco Zeffirelli cast her in his adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy. “Romeo and Juliet” won two Oscars and Hussey won a Golden Globe for best new actress for her part as Juliet, opposite British actor Leonard Whiting. Decades later, the pair brought a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures over nude scenes in the film they said they were coerced to perform. The case was dismissed by a Los Angeles County judge in 2023. Winning ticket for $1.22 billion lottery jackpot sold in California, Mega Millions says At least one Mega Millions player has plenty of dough to ring in the New Year after drawing the winning number. After three months without anyone winning the top prize in the lottery, a ticket worth an estimated $1.22 billion was sold in California for the drawing Friday night. The California Lottery said the winning ticket was sold at Circle K (Sunshine Food and Gas) on Rhonda Rd. in Cottonwood. The winning ticket matched the white balls 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and the gold Mega Ball 6. The identity of the winner or winners was not immediately known. The estimated jackpot was the fifth-highest ever for Mega Millions.ACCUSED assassin Luigi Mangione is in for a culture shock contrary to his glamorous "old money" upbringing as he prepares to spend his first Christmas inside a prison hellhole, an expert has said. Mangione , the man charged with executing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson , is facing two separate indictments related to the cold-hearted, calculated December 4 shooting in Midtown Manhattan . After being extradited from Pennsylvania to New York on December 19, Mangione was immediately turned over to FBI officials. Federal prosecutors unsealed a four-count indictment charging Mangione, 26, with murder through the use of a firearm, stalking, and firearm offenses. Mangione now finds himself jailed in the notorious federal lockup in Brooklyn - the Metropolitan Detention Center - a place he "never expected to himself in," a prison expert said. 'HELL ON EARTH' "Luigi, he's like right now, his mind is a little f**ked up. He never thought that he'd be in the feds," prison expert Larry Levine, founder of Wall Street Prison Consultants, told The U.S. Sun. Read more in The U.S. Sun "He's acclimating himself to his new surroundings. His lawyers are thanking God he's in New York, and they don't have to travel to Pennsylvania to visit him. So, he's just adjusting to where he's at. "He'll be there for a week or so, maybe two weeks. Then maybe in a month, they'll move him where Diddy is. "But [Diddy] can handle his s**t. I just know [Mangione] is f**king scared, and now they're probably trying to force-feed him. "They're gonna offer him psych meds. He's gonna be like a f**king zombie. That's a given." Most read in The US Sun You're talking old, old, million old money. Now he can have cheese crackers, and maybe a bottle of a plastic bottle of soda. Levine, who served 10 years in federal prison on racketeering, securities fraud, obstruction of justice, and narcotics trafficking charges, said Mangione is in a situation unlike anything he's experienced before. The Metropolitan Detention Center is plagued with inmate death and violence, rodents, raw sewage, understaffing, and a deteriorating infrastructure. Cameron Lindsay, a former warden at the infamous federal building, told The New York Times in 2019 that the site is "one of the most trouble, if not the most troubled facility in the Bureau of Prisons." 'OLD MONEY' WEALTH Mangione was born to a prominent, well-established Italian-American family in Baltimore, Maryland . Nicholas Mangione Sr., the family patriarch and the young Mangione's grandfather, left his 10 kids and 37 grandchildren an extensive multi-million dollar real estate portfolio, including country clubs, nursing homes, and a radio station. Luigi Mangione came from a privileged upbringing , attending the prestigious high school Gilman School in Baltimore, where tuition is currently $37,690 per year. He was on the wrestling and soccer teams and was valedictorian of his graduating class of 2016. After high school, he continued his academic success, attending the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate and graduate studies. Then, after college, Mangione landed several internships with tech companies and found a job as a software engineer at TrueCar, an online marketplace based in Santa Monica, California . The perks of his job allowed Mangione to work remotely, and he eventually found himself living in a shared space in a high-rise apartment in Honolulu, Hawaii , where he paid about $2,000 per month. During a trip to Thailand in April, Mangione boasted to another traveler that he was making "lawyer money" as a coder for TrueCar and claimed to have $6 million in his bank account thanks to his wealthy family, according to TMZ . 'DIFFERENT LIFE, DIFFERENT WORLD' However, Mangione's elite lifestyle was upended when he was arrested on December 9 at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 280 miles west of where he allegedly assassinated the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare . "You're talking old, old million, old money," Levine told The U.S. Sun. "Now he can have cheese crackers and maybe a bottle of a plastic bottle of soda. "He'll buy a honey bun. It's like all knock-offs, too. They don't sell the real s**t in the feds. "What is it called, Mrs. Freshly - I never heard of it until I went in. I saw it once at a $.99 store. "So, he'll be eating like off-brand, knock-off convenience, snacks, and s**t when he finally gets to get that." Levine added, "So, different life, different world, you know. It's not like he's in the state where you can buy your own TV set. "He's gonna have to deal with inmates, and he's not gonna be making the decisions. "So yeah, that's a mindf**k." 'LIFE BEHIND BARS' Levine compared Mangione's living conditions in the Metropolitan Detention Center to "living in your bathroom." "You know, if he's living in a cell like Diddy was for a while, you know how big those cells are? Picture living in your bathroom with no TV, no computer as well," Levine said. "That's what his cell life will be like. You got nothing to read. "Here's your Bible, though. So, he'll be reading the Bible, he'll be getting discovery, but what real discovery is there. "He didn't commit a sophisticated crime. So, they'll give him discovery, 'We found this, and we found that this were his movements,' for the next whatever period of time. "The guy already admitted that he did it, so you know what kind of big investigation do you need on that." 'HUMAN PING-PONG BALL' On Monday, Mangione pleaded not guilty to 11 state criminal counts, including a first-degree murder that brands him as a terrorist. A grinning Mangione appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court, where his attorney raised issues with the New York City Police Department's "staged" perp walk of her client. "He's a young man, and he's being treated like a human ping-pong ball by two warring jurisdictions here," defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo argued. "They're treating him like a human spectacle." Agnifilo questions Mayor Eric Adam 's presence at the December 19 perp walk, where dozens of heavily armed police officers and FBI officials waited for Mangione to arrive at a heliport near Wall Street. "What was the New York City mayor doing at this press conference - that is utterly political," the attorney added. "The New York City mayor should know more than anyone the presumption of innocence." Despite her concerns, Judge Gregory Carro assured Agnifilo that Mangione would receive a fair trial, saying, "We will carefully select a jury." READ MORE SUN STORIES Mangione's next court date in state court is scheduled for February 21. Before then, he is expected to appear in federal court on January 18. BRIAN Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot to death in Manhattan in an execution-like killing. Here is everything we know about Thompson's murder so far. Monday, December 2 - Thompson travels from his home in Minnesota to New York City for an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan. Wednesday, December 4, 6:45 am - Thompson walks from his hotel across the street to the New York Hilton Midtown and is murdered by a masked shooter . The execution was caught on surveillance, and the suspect was seen biking away toward Central Park. Cops spark a citywide search for the assassin. 11:30 am - Cops released disturbing images of the execution, offered a reward for information, and made a desperate plea for New Yorkers to keep their eyes out. 12:00 pm - Thompson's estranged wife Paulette revealed her husband had been threatened before he was shot. 2:45 pm - Cops released more eerie images of the suspect ordering at Starbucks that partially revealed his face. The U.S. Sun confirmed the coffee shop was just two blocks away from the shooting, but it's unclear when he stopped by. December 5, 6 am - Reports claim the words "deny," "dispose," and "defend" were engraved on live rounds and shell casings left behind by the assassin. These words echo the book Delay, Deny, Defend, which is about the failings of the healthcare industry. The author of the book had no comment on the reports. 8 am - Cops raid a hostel in the Upper West Side of New York City where the suspect is said to have stayed. It's believed he wore a mask for most of the time he was there. 11 am - A person of interest in Thompson's murder is pictured . He's wearing a hood in the photo, but his full face could be seen breaking into a beaming grin. Still, no arrests have been made in the investigation. Afternoon - Law enforcement confirms the suspect arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus on November 24. It's also confirmed that the suspect dropped a burner cell phone near the scene of the shooting. December 6, 3 pm - Police announce they believe the killer has left New York City via interstate bus. They release more surveillance footage that shows him taking a taxi to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station. December 9 - Luigi Mangione, 26, is arrested as a "strong person of interest" at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was carrying a three-page manifesto, fake IDs, and a gun similar to the one used in Thompson's murder.
The Washington Commanders put kicker Austin Seibert on injured reserve Tuesday, just over 48 hours since he missed an extra point that would have tied the score with 21 seconds left against Dallas. Seibert also missed a field-goal attempt and another extra point in the loss to the Cowboys. He missed the previous two games with a right hip injury but said afterward he was fine and made the decision to play. The Commanders filled that roster spot by signing running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. off their practice squad. Austin Ekeler had a concussion and Brian Robinson Jr. sprained an ankle Sunday. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl