Steven Spielberg reveals how 'Star Wars' creator George Lucas helped him make 'Jurassic Park' and 'Schindler's List' in the same year

AFP
Georgia's new president sworn in amid political showdown
Georgia inaugurated a ruling party loyalist as president in the midst of a political showdown on Sunday, moments after Tbilisi's outgoing pro-EU leader declared herself the "only legitimate president". Outgoing head of state Salome Zurabishvili and protesters have declared Kavelashvili "illegitimate", demanding a re-run of the October general elections that they say the ruling Georgian Dream party rigged.
AFP
All but two feared dead after South Korea plane crashes with 181 aboard
A Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea crashed on arrival Sunday, smashing into a barrier and bursting into flames, leaving all but two feared dead.Video showed the Jeju Air plane from Bangkok landing on its belly at Muan International Airport, skidding off the runway as smoke streamed out from the engines, before crashing into a wall and exploding in flames.
Reuters
New Georgian president sworn in; predecessor says he is not legitimate leader
TBILISI (Reuters) -Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, was sworn in as president of Georgia on Sunday amid a political crisis after the government froze European Union application talks in a move that sparked major protests. Outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU opponent of the ruling party, said in a defiant speech to supporters outside the presidential palace that she was leaving the residence, but that Kavelashvili had no legitimacy as president, which is a mostly ceremonial position. Zourabichvili says that Kavelashvili was not duly picked, as the lawmakers who chose him were elected in an October parliamentary election that she says was marked by fraud.
Associated Press
Croatia holds a presidential election with the incumbent NATO and EU critic considered favorite
Croatia’s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, is running for reelection in the Adriatic Sea state, but is unlikely to get an outright majority in the first round of voting on Sunday. President Zoran Milanović, who is often compared to Donald Trump for his combative style of communication with political opponents, faces seven other contenders, including Dragan Primorac, the candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union. The two are expected to face off in the second round on Jan. 12 if no contender gets more than 50% of the vote, according to pre-election polls.
CNN
More than 100 dead after South Korean jet crash-lands at airport. Here’s what we know
Scores of people were killed on Sunday when a passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in southwestern South Korea, with the aircraft careening down the runway on its belly before bursting into flames.
Associated Press
A suicide bomber kills a police officer and wounds another in southern Iran
A suicide bomber killed a local police officer and wounded another in a southern Iranian port city, home to a large Sunni Muslim community, local media said Sunday. The hard-line Javan Daily, a newspaper close to the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard, said the attacker stopped Capt. Mojtaba Shahid’s car Saturday evening in Bandar Lengeh in the province of Hormozgan before detonating his vest. The city, some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of the capital Tehran, has no recent history of militancy.
CNN
Severe weather threat moves east after tornado-spawning storms pummel Texas and Mississippi, leaving at least 2 dead
The severe weather threat is moving to the Southeast and East Coast after fierce tornado-spawning storms pummeled Texas and Mississippi, tearing through homes and leaving at least two people dead.
AFP
Croatia elects president as incumbent looks favourite
Croatians went to the polls Sunday to elect a new president, with the outspoken incumbent Zoran Milanovic appearing to be the favourite in opinion polls.Milanovic is backed by 37 percent of the electorate while Primorac had the support of 20 percent, according to an opinion poll released Friday.
CBS News
Maria Muñoz murder case: A look at the evidence
The evidence presented at Joel Pellot's murder trial tells a different story from what he told police happened the day his wife Maria died.
CBS News
How a Texas mom became a witness in her own death investigation
Prosecutors believed Maria Muñoz's death was suspicious, but they weren't sure if she had died by suicide, from an accidental overdose or if she had been murdered.
CBS News
Prosecutors vow to seek justice after Texas wife's suspicious death
The women, who dubbed themselves "Maria's Team," were convinced the young Laredo wife and mother's death was not an accident.
CBS News
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CBS News
Wife of slain Austin jeweler says daughter-in-law got away with murder
Jaclyn Edison, who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in the assassination plot, served 120 days in jail. She tells "48 Hours" her sentence is appropriate for her involvement.
Reuters
Croats vote to elect new president
Polling stations across Croatia opened at 0600 GMT on Sunday to elect the country's new president, a mainly ceremonial office, in a race where candidates from the two biggest parties are the main contenders. Around 3.8 million Croats are eligible to cast votes for one out of a total of eight candidates, three of whom are women, ranging from left to the right on the political spectrum. Incumbent President Zoran Milanovic, the opposition Socialist Democrats' candidate, will run for a second term.
CBS News
Why did someone want Ted and Corey Shaughnessy dead?
When wealthy Austin jewelers Corey and Ted Shaughnessy are attacked by intruders in their own home, investigators initially wondered if it was a robbery gone wrong. The answer was more sinister than anyone could have expected.
Associated Press
Belgium will ban sales of disposable e-cigarettes in a first for the EU
Belgium will ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes as of Jan. 1 on health and environmental grounds in a groundbreaking move for European Union nations. Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke said the inexpensive e-cigarettes had turned into a health threat since they are an easy way for teenagers to be drawn into smoking and get hooked on nicotine. “Disposable e-cigarettes is a new product simply designed to attract new consumers,” he said in an interview.
Associated Press
Bolivia's former leader Evo Morales seeks a political comeback from his stronghold in the tropics
LAUCA Ñ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia's former leader Evo Morales has a campaign pitch for 2025 that has worked elsewhere: Other politicians of recent years have brought you nothing but misery. The country's first Indigenous president, Morales is credited with spreading the wealth of a commodities boom and ushering in a rare stretch of social and economic stability during his nearly 14 years in office. A bitter political battle is looming between Morales, 65, and his former economy minister and once-protégé, President Luis Arce, over who will lead their long-dominant leftist Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, into the August 2025 election.
NBC News
Utah authorities seek those responsible for damaging panel of ancient outdoor engravings
Authorities this week said they want to find anyone involved in the installation of climbing bolts at the site of an ancient outdoor engraving in northeastern Utah.
AFP
One dead in Ecuador, Peru ports closed amid massive waves
Massive waves of up to 13 feet (four meters) are pummeling the coasts of Ecuador and Peru, leaving scores of ports closed and at least one person dead on Saturday, authorities said.Waves were hitting 13 feet in Peru and nearly seven feet in Ecuador.
AFP
North Korea calls for 'toughest' US strategy at party meeting
North Korea will launch its "toughest" ever strategy to counter the United States, state media said Sunday, reporting on a key year-end party meeting overseen by leader Kim Jong Un. The nuclear-armed state held a five-day party meeting last week as part of a drive to chart the country's course for 2025, the official Korean Central News Agency reported in a lengthy English dispatch."The US is the most reactionary state that regards anti-communism as its invariable state policy," the report said.

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