Netanyahu says deal to release hostages held in Gaza has been reached after last minute snags
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached, after his office said earlier there were last minute snags in finalizing a ceasefire that would pause 15 months of war.
Netanyahu said he would convene his security Cabinet later Friday, and then the government to approve the long-awaited hostage deal.
Netanyahu's pre-dawn statement appeared to clear the way for Israeli approval of the deal, which would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and see dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The deal would also allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to the remains of their homes in Gaza.
Israeli airstrikes, meanwhile, killed at least 72 people in the war-ravaged territory on Thursday.
Netanyahu said he had instructed a special task force to prepare to receive the hostages returning from Gaza, and that their families were informed the deal had been reached.
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Palestinians in Gaza are eager to return home in a ceasefire but many will find nothing left
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are eager to leave miserable tent camps and return to their homes if a long-awaited ceasefire agreement halts the Israel-Hamas war, but many will find there is nothing left and no way to rebuild.
Israeli bombardment and ground operations have transformed entire neighborhoods in several cities into rubble-strewn wastelands, with blackened shells of buildings and mounds of debris stretching away in all directions. Major roads have been plowed up. Critical water and electricity infrastructure is in ruins. Most hospitals no longer function.
And it's unclear when — or even if — much will be rebuilt.
The agreement for a phased ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas-led militants does not say who will govern Gaza after the war, or whether Israel and Egypt will lift a blockade limiting the movement of people and goods that they imposed when Hamas seized power in 2007.
The United Nations says that it could take more than 350 years to rebuild if the blockade remains.
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AP Exclusive: Egypt's chief diplomat urges Israel and Hamas to enact ceasefire 'without any delay'
NEW ADMINISTRATIVE CAPITAL, Egypt (AP) — Egypt’s chief diplomat on Thursday called on Israel and Hamas to implement a Gaza ceasefire plan “without any delay,” raising pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the deal.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty delivered the message at a sensitive time in efforts to end a devastating 15-month conflict. A day after President Joe Biden and other international mediators announced the ceasefire agreement, Netanyahu insisted there still was no deal.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Abdelatty declined to comment on Netanyahu’s claims that Hamas has “reneged” on certain pledges in the agreement. But he said a deal had been reached thanks to “deep involvement” by American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, including officials from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
“We have a deal. What’s very important is to start implementation,” Abdelatty said from the foreign ministry's headquarters in The New Administrative Capital, a newly built sprawling city about 45 kilometers (28 miles) east of Cairo that houses government offices.
“What we are doing now is to push for final approval and implementation, without any delay.”
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Biden won't enforce TikTok ban, official says, leaving fate of app to Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden won't enforce a ban on the social media app TikTok that is set to take effect a day before he leaves office on Monday, a U.S. official said Thursday, leaving its fate in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump.
Congress last year, in a law signed by Biden, required that TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance divest the company by Jan. 19, a day before the presidential inauguration. The official said the outgoing administration was leaving the implementation of the law — and the potential enforcement of the ban — to Trump.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal Biden administration thinking.
Trump, who once called to ban the app, has since pledged to keep it available in the U.S., though his transition team has not said how they intend to accomplish that.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration and be granted a prime seating location on the dais as the president-elect's national security adviser signals that the incoming administration may take steps to "keep TikTok from going dark.”
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China's population falls for a third straight year, posing challenges for its government and economy
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China's population fell last year for the third straight year, its government said Friday, pointing to further demographic challenges for the world's second most populous nation, which is now facing both an aging population and an emerging shortage of working age people.
China's population stood at 1.408 billion at the end of 2024, a decline of 1.39 million from the previous year.
The figures announced by the government in Beijing follow trends worldwide, but especially in East Asia, where Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and other nations have seen their birth rates plummet. China three years ago joined Japan and most of Eastern Europe among other nations whose population is falling.
The reasons are in many cases similar: Rising costs of living are causing young people to put off or rule out marriage and child birth while pursuing higher education and careers. While people are living longer, that's not enough to keep up with rate of new births.
Countries such as China that allow very little immigration are especially at risk.
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Trump offered a bountiful batch of campaign promises that come due on Day 1
WASHINGTON (AP) — After Donald Trump becomes president again on Monday, he is on the hook for achieving a hefty chunk of his promises even before the day is out. One of those promises is to make you dizzy.
“Your head will spin when you see what’s going to happen," he said of Day 1.
Steady yourself. This is some of what the Republican promised voters he would get done on his first day in office:
— Launch the largest deportation in U.S. history to remove all people in the country illegally.
— Close the border.
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Texas judge says states can revive challenge to abortion pill access nationwide
The Texas judge who previously halted approval of the nation’s most common method of abortion ruled Thursday that three states can move ahead with another attempt to roll back federal rules and make it harder for people across the U.S. to access the abortion drug mifepristone.
Idaho, Kansas and Missouri requested late last year to pursue the case in federal court in Amarillo, Texas, after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling finding that abortion opponents who first filed the case lacked the legal right to sue.
The only federal judge based in Amarillo is Matthew Kacsmaryk, a nominee of former President Donald Trump who in recent years ruled against the Biden administration on several issues, including immigration and LGBTQ protections.
The states want the federal Food and Drug Administration to prohibit telehealth prescriptions for mifepristone and require that it be used only in the first seven weeks of pregnancy instead of the current limit of 10 weeks. They also want to require three in-person doctor office visits instead of none to get the drug.
That's because, the states argue, efforts to provide access to the pills “undermine state abortion laws and frustrate state law enforcement,” according to court documents.
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Ash and other dangers mean LA area residents who fled fires a week ago won't be going home soon
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It has been more than a week since two massive fires forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes in the Los Angeles area, and officials said Thursday residents won't be going home soon. As the search continues for human remains in the leveled neighborhoods, properties also face new dangers with burned slopes at risk of landslides and the charred debris laden with asbestos and other toxins.
More than 80,000 people are still under evacuation orders, and many do not know what, if anything, is left of their houses, apartments and possessions. Scores of people have gathered at checkpoints to plead with police and soldiers restricting access to their neighborhoods.
Officials said they understand their frustration, but they asked residents for patience as hazardous materials teams and cadaver dogs comb the sites block by block. They said it will be a week or more before people can go back.
“The properties have been damaged beyond belief,” Los Angeles County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella said at a briefing. “They are full of sediment, debris, silt and hazardous materials.”
Hillsides have become unstable behind some damaged homes, and a small landslide in Pacific Palisades this week sent debris into the streets, he added.
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David Lynch, visionary filmmaker behind 'Twin Peaks' and 'Mulholland Drive,' dies at 78
David Lynch, the filmmaker celebrated for his uniquely dark and dreamlike vision in such movies as “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive” and the TV series “Twin Peaks,” has died just days before his 79th birthday.
His family announced the death in a Facebook post on Thursday.
"There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole,’” the family's post read. “It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
The cause of death and location was not immediately available. Last summer, Lynch had revealed to Sight and Sound that he was diagnosed with emphysema and would not be leaving his home because of fears of contracting the coronavirus or “even a cold.”
“I’ve gotten emphysema from smoking for so long and so I’m homebound whether I like it or not,” Lynch said, adding he didn’t expect to make another film.
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'Mr. Baseball' Bob Uecker, Brewers announcer, dies at 90
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Bob Uecker, who parlayed a forgettable playing career into a punch line for movie and TV appearances as “Mr. Baseball” and a Hall of Fame broadcasting tenure, has died. He was 90.
The Milwaukee Brewers, whose games Uecker had broadcast for over half a century, announced his death Thursday morning while calling it “one of the most difficult days in Milwaukee Brewers history.” In a statement released by the club, Uecker’s family said he had battled small cell lung cancer since early 2023.
“Bob was the genuine item: always the funniest person in any room he was in, and always an outstanding ambassador for our national pastime,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “We are grateful for this baseball life like no other, and we will never forget him.”
Uecker was best known as a colorful comedian and broadcaster whose sense of humor and self-deprecating style earned him fame and affection beyond his .200 batting average.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Uecker was a beloved member of the community and a pillar of the sport. He broadcast Brewers games for the last 54 seasons.
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