LSU coach Kim Mulkey gives her pink-sequined jacket to a fan after win over Ole Miss

NBC News
California wildfires: What we know about L.A.-area fires, what caused them, who is affected and more
Fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, a series of ferocious wildfires erupted last week and roared across the Los Angeles area.
AFP
Indonesia deforestation rose again in 2024: NGO
Deforestation in Indonesia rose again last year, a local environmental NGO said Friday based on satellite image analysis and fieldwork.The report from NGO Auriga Nusantara said 261,575 hectares of primary and secondary forests across Indonesia were lost in 2024, over four thousand more than the previous year.
Associated Press
US aid was long a lifeline for Eastern Europe. Trump cuts are sending shockwaves through the region
President Donald Trump’s abrupt freeze of U.S. foreign aid is sending shockwaves through Eastern Europe, leaving pro-democracy groups, independent media, civil society initiatives and local governments scrambling to make ends meet in a region often defined by rivalries between East and West. Eastern Europe has been a longtime geopolitical battleground where Western foreign policy interests often collide with those of Moscow or Beijing. Many fear the cessation of U.S. funds could expose Washington's allies — and create a vacuum that its foes could gladly seek to fill.
Reuters
Trump is getting the lower interest rates he demanded from everyone but the Fed
U.S. President Donald Trump is getting his wish that interest rates drop across the world, just not at home where a strong economy and uncertainty over his own policies have set the stage for the Federal Reserve to diverge from its central bank peers. The European Central Bank cut rates on Thursday, the Bank of Canada did as well on Wednesday, and the Bank of England is likely to do so next week – steps that, with the Fed in a holding pattern on rates, could strengthen the value of the dollar and further complicate Trump's trade goals by making imports cheaper and U.S. exports more expensive. ECB President Christine Lagarde noted on Thursday that renewed trade tensions could even put more pressure on lagging euro zone growth, a potential argument for even lower rates in the 20-nation bloc.
Associated Press
Fear, disease and debt afflict Venezuelans released from prison after post-election arrests
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro labeled them as terrorists on national television. Many then endured severe beatings, food deprivation and other forms of torture. More than 2,200 people were detained after Venezuela’s July presidential election, when civil unrest broke out over Maduro’s claim to victory.
Associated Press
Stock market today: Asian stocks mostly higher after Wall Street tech gains
Asia markets are mostly higher on Friday following gains on Wall Street driven by Tesla, IBM and Meta Platforms after strong profit reports. Japan's core inflation rate, a key indicator of national trends, rose to 2.5% in January, surpassing the central bank’s 2% target and paving the way for further interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, Japan’s unemployment rate for December declined to 2.4% from 2.5% in the previous month.
AFP
Germany's conservatives to seek far right support on immigration
Germany's conservative opposition leader was set Friday to again seek far-right support in parliament on the flashpoint issue of immigration, after his first effort sparked widespread condemnation and street protests.But he sparked outrage, large street protests and a chiding from his own party's veteran Angela Merkel when the CDU pushed a first motion through parliament Wednesday with backing from the AfD. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Greens and other critics condemned the move for breaking post
Associated Press
5 years after Britain left the EU, the full impact of Brexit is still emerging
On Jan. 31, 2020 at 11 p.m. London time – midnight at EU headquarters in Brussels — the U.K. officially left the bloc after almost five decades of membership that had brought free movement and free trade between Britain and 27 other European countries. For Brexit supporters, the U.K. was now a sovereign nation in charge of its own destiny. “The impact has been really quite profound,” said political scientist Anand Menon, who heads the think-tank U.K. in a Changing Europe.
Associated Press
South Carolina prepares for third execution since September
South Carolina is preparing to execute the third inmate to be put to death since September as the state goes through a backlog of prisoners who exhausted their appeals while the state couldn't find lethal injection drugs. Marion Bowman Jr.'s execution is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at a Columbia prison. Bowman, 44, was convicted of murder in the shooting death of a friend whose burned body was found in the trunk of a car.
NBC News
What are Black Hawk helicopters and how are they used? What to know after the D.C. aircraft crash
The military helicopter that collided with a regional jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in a crash that killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft, was a UH-60 Black Hawk, considered the “workhorse” of U.S. Army aviation.
AFP
Japan sinkhole grows to almost Olympic pool length
Emergency workers in Japan began building a ramp Friday to try and reach a 74-year-old truck driver who has not been heard from since his vehicle was swallowed by a sinkhole this week.As the sinkhole has expanded, heavy chunks of asphalt have occasionally fallen in, preventing rescue workers from going near the chasm.
NBC News
What we know after American Airlines plane crashes with Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C.
An American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter collided over Washington, D.C., Wednesday night. All 67 people aboard the aircraft are presumed dead.
Reuters
Jews in Australia up security, conceal identity after spate of antisemitic attacks
Jewish students in Sydney returned to school on Friday with a heightened security presence, days after police said they foiled a planned antisemitic attack in the city using a trailer filled with explosives. A spate of attacks in recent months have alarmed the country's Jews, drawn criticism from Israel and placed pressure on the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who faces re-election in polls that must be held by May. Antisemitic graffiti was sprayed on three sites including the Mount Sinai College in the city's east early on Thursday, one of almost a dozen incidents in the city in recent months that police say appeared to be coordinated.
TODAY
What is the healthiest coffee creamer? A dietitian shares her No. 1 pick
What to look for on coffee creamer ingredients label and the healthiest coffee creamer brands. Plus a homemade coffee creamer recipe.
Associated Press
Grim memories resurface after DNA advances lead to arrest of suspect in Hawaii teen's 1977 murder
Former Hawaii lawmaker Suzanne Chun Oakland remembers arriving at school one morning in 1977 to an eerie buzz. The 15-year-old had met up with girlfriends as usual before class at Honolulu's McKinley High School when she learned a student named Dawn Momohara had been found dead on the second floor of a school building. “I don’t know how we got word of it, but everything spread really quickly,” Chun Oakland said.
Associated Press
After the initial ecstasy of freedom, released Israeli hostages face a long road to recovery
When Ilana Gritzewsky returned to Israel after being held captive in Gaza for 55 days in November 2023, she had so much adrenaline coursing through her body she couldn’t sleep for two days. “You don’t understand that it’s really over," Gritzewsky recalled. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is underway and hostages are being released in stages.
Associated Press
Midair collision kills 67 people in the deadliest US air disaster in almost a quarter century
A midair collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft, officials said, as they scrutinized the actions of the military pilot in the country's deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century. At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the American Airlines regional jet late Wednesday while it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport, just across the river from Washington, officials said Thursday. President Donald Trump told a White House news conference that no one survived.
AFP
Thousands of protesters call for VP Duterte impeachment
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Manila on Friday, urging the Philippine House of Representatives to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte.House of Representatives member Percival Cendana, who backs one of the impeachment complaints, joined Friday's rally and urged his colleagues to move fast.
Associated Press
US aid agency is in upheaval during foreign assistance freeze and staff departures
Trump administration changes have upended the U.S. agency charged with providing humanitarian aid to countries overseas, with dozens of senior officials put on leave, thousands of contractors laid off, and a sweeping freeze imposed on billions of dollars in foreign assistance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the pause on foreign assistance Thursday, saying “the U.S. government is not a charity.” Aid organizations say the funding freeze — and deep confusion over what U.S.-funded programs must stop work as a result — has left them agonizing over whether they could continue operating programs such as those providing round-the-clock nutritional support to extremely malnourished infants and children, knowing that closing the doors means that many of those children would die.
Associated Press
The DNC's outgoing chair says Democrats should have stuck with Joe Biden in 2024
As the Democratic National Committee prepares to elect a new chair, its departing leader says Democrats should have stuck with Joe Biden in the 2024 race. In an interview with The Associated Press, Jaime Harrison reflected on why his party lost to President Donald Trump and what might have happened had former Vice President Kamala Harris had more time to campaign after Biden ended his reelection bid following a disastrous debate performance. The next DNC chair, Harrison said, needs to insist that the party not be a “rubber stamp” to its presidential candidate.

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