Soddies on first three-game winning streak of the season

Associated Press
Afghans fleeing Taliban appeal to Trump to exempt them from an order suspending refugee relocation
Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power appealed Wednesday to President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support U.S. troops. An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the United States since the Taliban takeover in 2021, when U.S. troops pulled out of the country after two decades.
Reuters
'Be serious', says Panama president on Trump 'invasion' question
Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino responded "be serious, be serious" on Wednesday when asked in Davos whether he was concerned the U.S. would invade after President Donald Trump said he would take back the Panama Canal. Mulino declined to answer other questions after speaking on a panel session addressing Latin America's "faultlines" at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the Swiss resort. In his inauguration speech on Monday that invoked the 19th century expansionist doctrine of "Manifest Destiny", Trump repeated his aspiration that the United States would take back the canal, which is a key route for world shipping.
USA TODAY
Cop kills driver in routine stop. Supreme Court weighs whether it's justified.
How the Supreme Court decides the civil rights issue could affect how readily judges dismiss suits against police for improper use of deadly force.
USA TODAY
Trump pledges to send military to border, brands cartels terrorists. Here's what we know.
Trump signed executive orders aimed at building military presence along the border and designating cartels as foreign terrorist groups, here's what's next.
AFP
Panama complains to UN over Trump canal threat, starts audit
Panama has complained to the United Nations over US President Donald Trump's "worrying" threat to seize the Panama Canal, even as it launched an audit of the Hong Kong-linked operator of two ports on the interoceanic waterway.The company, part of Hutchison Ports, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on either end of the canal.
USA TODAY
Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders are free. Who are they and what are their groups?
The leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers were both freed from long sentences by President Donald Trump. Who are they? And what are their groups?
AFP
EU's top diplomat backs Trump call to boost defence spending
The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Wednesday that the bloc must heed US President Donald Trump's demand to spend more on defence, as she issued a stark warning over the threat from Russia."President Trump is right to say that we don't spend enough.
CNN
Unprecedented winter storm paralyzes Gulf Coast with heavy snow and ice
A major winter storm slammed the southern US Tuesday, blanketing parts of the Gulf Coast with record-breaking snowfall in a region largely unaccustomed to extreme winter weather.
USA TODAY
Taking Ozempic for weight loss? You might find other benefits, too - and a few risks
A class of drugs designed to fight diabetes and weight loss can help with a host of other problems, but also carry some side effects.
AFP
Simmering anger as Turkey begins burying 76 fire victims
Turkey was preparing to bury its dead Wednesday a day after a huge fire killed 76 people at a ski resort hotel, as questions grew over safety measures at the luxury establishment.As the nation observed a day of mourning, dozens of families were preparing to bury their loved ones who died as the blaze ripped through the 12-storey hotel.
CNN
More than 1.4 billion people traveled internationally in 2024 as tourism returns to pre-pandemic highs
The UN’s World Tourism Organization has just released its 2024 year-in-review data. Overall, Europe was the most-visited continent, welcoming a whopping 747 million tourists last year.
NBC News
California leaders promise a quick rebuild, but that may put homes at risk of fire again
California leaders have promised a speedy rebuilding process after the fires. But experts say neighborhoods must be built differently to avoid future fires.
CNN
Melania Trump is brimming with plans for second term
First lady Melania Trump is returning to the East Wing bolstered by lessons from four years in an unelected job she has privately acknowledged was a whirlwind of responsibilities of which she was largely unaware.
Politico
Why Trump Could Regret His Jan. 6 Pardons
The potential for political backlash is real — now and in the future.
Associated Press
China's navy commissions new-generation frigate as competition rises with US and others
China's navy has commissioned a new-generation frigate as competition rises with the U.S. and other regional powers, saying the ship will “play a vital role in enhancing the overall combat effectiveness" of its forces. China already has the world's largest navy in terms of number of hulls, although its technology is sometimes seen as lagging. China's People’s Liberation Army Navy operates mainly in waters off the Chinese east coast and in the huge and strategically crucial South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety.
Politico
The Reluctant Steamroller in the White House
Trump is obsessed with asserting dominance over Hill Republicans. Except when it comes to his own agenda.
TODAY
What happens to people with disabilities in natural disasters?
Three people with disablities have died in the L.A. wildfires. Advocates say disabled people are more likely to die in disasters because of poor planning.
Associated Press
Witnesses at a Turkish ski resort stood helpless as people leaped out of a burning hotel
As flames tore through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey, friends Esra Karakisa and Halime Cetin stood helpless, paralyzed by the horror unfolding before them: people leaning out of smoke-filled rooms pleading for help and others making the harrowing decision to leap out. The fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalya, in the Koroglu mountains in Bolu province, on Tuesday left at least 76 people dead and 51 injured.
Reuters
Analysis-Japan Inc will struggle to follow SoftBank's lead and go big with Trump
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's plan to invest billions in AI in the United States shows one way to handle the new Trump administration: go big and deal with the details later. For a Japan Inc anxious about how to navigate the second term of President Donald Trump - and the threat of steep tariffs or other punitive measures - that approach may not be so easy to replicate. Son has appeared with Trump twice since the November presidential election, last month pledging to invest $100 billion in the U.S. and this week partnering with OpenAI and Oracle on a $500 billion AI infrastructure venture called Stargate.
AFP
US govt workers in diversity jobs to be put on leave as programs ordered shut
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that US federal employees working in diversity offices must be put on paid leave by Wednesday evening as the new administration of Donald Trump has ordered the programs shut."Send a notification to all employees of DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility) offices that they are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately as the agency takes steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and program," said a

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