Biden pardons his son Hunter despite previous pledges not to
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family members.
The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after his convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.
It caps a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after his father’s 2020 victory — and casts a pall over the elder Biden's legacy. Biden, who time and again pledged to Americans that he would restore norms and respect for the rule of law after Trump's first term in office, ultimately used his position to help his son, breaking his public pledge to Americans that he would do no such thing.
In June, Biden categorically ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son, telling reporters as his son faced trial in the Delaware gun case, “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.”
As recently as Nov. 8, days after Trump’s victory, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out a pardon or clemency for the younger Biden, saying, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.”
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UN halts aid shipments through Gaza's main crossing after looting. It blames the crisis on Israel
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Sunday it is halting aid deliveries through the main cargo crossing into the war-ravaged Gaza Strip because of the threat of armed gangs who have looted convoys. It blamed the breakdown of law and order in large part on Israeli policies.
In Israel, a former defense minister and fierce critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and a hard-liner on the Palestinians — accused the government of ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza, where a military offensive continues.
The U.N. agency's decision could worsen Gaza's humanitarian crisis as a second cold, rainy winter sets in, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in squalid tent camps and reliant on international aid. Experts already warned of famine in the north, which Israeli forces have almost completely isolated since early October.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, the main aid provider in Gaza, said the route leading to the Kerem Shalom crossing is too dangerous on the Gaza side. Armed men looted nearly 100 trucks on the route in mid-November.
Kerem Shalom is the only crossing between Israel and Gaza that is designed for cargo shipments and has been the main artery for aid since the Rafah crossing with Egypt was shut in May. Last month, nearly two-thirds of aid entering Gaza came through Kerem Shalom, and in previous months it accounted for even more, according to Israeli figures.
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Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon, but tense ceasefire holds
TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli jets Sunday launched an airstrike over a southern Lebanese border village, while troops shelled other border towns and villages still under Israeli control, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported.
The attacks come days after a US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike in the village of Yaroun, nor did the Hezbollah militant group. Israel continues to call on displaced Lebanese not to return to dozens of southern villages in this current stage of the ceasefire. It also continues to impose a daily curfew for people moving across the Litani River between 5 pm and 7 am.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the Lebanese military have been critical of Israeli strikes and overflights since the ceasefire went into effect, accusing Israel of violating the agreement. The military said it had filed complaints, but no clear military action has been taken by Hezbollah in response, meaning that the tense cessation of hostilities has not yet broken down.
When Israel has issued statements about these strikes, it says they were done to thwart possible Hezbollah attacks.
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Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares steps down as carmaker continues struggle with slumping sales
NEW YORK (AP) — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is stepping down after nearly four years in the top spot of the automaker, which owns car brands like Jeep, Citroën and Ram, amid an ongoing struggle with slumping sales.
The world’s fourth-largest carmaker announced that its board accepted Tavares' resignation Sunday, effective immediately.
Stellantis noted Sunday that the process of finding a new, permanent CEO is “well under way.” In the meantime, the company says a new interim executive committee, led by chairman John Elkann, will be established.
As head of PSA Peugeot, Tavares took control of the Netherlands-based company in January 2021 — when it merged with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, creating an automotive giant that is the parent to several well-known brands today. Beyond Jeep, Citroën and Ram, the company portfolio includes Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat, Peugeot, Maserati and Opel.
Stellantis' North American operations had been the company’s main source of profits for some time, but struggles piled up this year, with the company citing rising competition and larger market changes. As a result of lofty sticker prices and fewer affordable options, many high-priced vehicles have been left unsold on dealers' lots.
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Heavy snow keeps parts of the US in a deep freeze as holiday weekend comes to a close
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Heavy snowfall and numbing temperatures kept parts of the U.S. in a deep freeze Sunday as the Thanksgiving holiday weekend drew to a close. Some snowmobilers and skiers reveled in the wintry conditions, while flinty fans hunkered down for the nighttime NFL game in Buffalo.
In the remote Tug Hill region of upstate New York, where lake-effect snow off Lake Ontario can dump several feet of snow at a time, there was up to 46 inches (117 centimeters) in the Barnes Corners area.
“We just keep digging out,” said Kevin Tyo, a local businessman. “We were out all day yesterday, plowing.” Like many locals, he has a plow attached to his truck for winter, “and I have a tractor with a bucket, and a snowblower.”
His advice? “If you’re not used to it, stay home. If you’re out, slow down.”
Lake-effect snow is caused when warm, moist air is blown across a body of water and mixes with colder, drier air, creating narrow bands of often heavy snow on land. Pileups can be quick: The U.S. military’s Fort Drum, near hard-hit Watertown, New York, issued an alert saying up to 19 inches (48 centimeters) of daytime snow could fall Sunday.
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Canada's ambassador says Trudeau told Trump the Canadian border can't be compared to Mexico's
TORONTO (AP) — Canada's ambassador to the United States said Sunday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was successful in getting President-elect Donald Trump and key Cabinet nominees to understand that lumping Canada in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the U.S. is unfair.
Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador in Washington, told The Associated Press in an interview that Trudeau's dinner with Trump on Friday was a very important step in trying to get Trump to back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner.
Hillman was at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump.
Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders. He said in a social media post last Monday he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.
Hillman said Trudeau asked to see Trump in person in a phone call Monday and Trump invited him to dinner on Friday.
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Recess appointments could put Trump at odds with conservatives on the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans will control the White House and both houses of Congress come January. But President-elect Donald Trump's intent to nominate loyalists to fill key Cabinet posts has set up a possible confrontation with the Senate, which has the constitutional responsibility for “advice and consent” on presidential nominees.
Trump and his Republican allies are talking about going around the Senate and using temporary recess appointments, which last no more than two years.
Invoking that authority could result in a fight that lands at the Supreme Court. Trump might also have to claim another, never-before-used power to force the Senate into a recess, if it won't agree to one.
In its 234 years, the Supreme Court has decided only one case involving recess appointments. In 2014, the justices unanimously ruled that Democratic President Barack Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were illegal.
But they disagreed sharply over the reach of the decision. Five justices backed a limited ruling that held the Senate wasn't actually in recess when Obama acted and, in any event, a break had to be at least 10 days before the president could act on his own.
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Trump says he'll nominate Kash Patel as FBI director to remake the agency. Here's what happens next
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s stunning announcement that he will nominate Kash Patel as FBI director sets the stage for a fresh round of turbulence at a law enforcement agency tasked with protecting the homeland and investigating federal crimes.
Patel, a steadfast Trump ally with plans to shake up the bureau, is a study in contrasts from the current tight-lipped director, Christopher Wray, who preaches a “keep calm and tackle hard” mantra.
In selecting Patel late Saturday over more conventional contenders, the incoming Republican president is again testing the loyalty of Senate Republicans and their willingness to defy him.
Here's a look at what happens next:
Wray was appointed director by Trump in 2017 and technically has three years left on his 10-year tenure.
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Shopping on Shein and Temu for holiday gifts? You're not the only one.
Shopping on Temu can feel like playing an arcade game. Instead of using a joystick-controlled claw to grab a toy, visitors to the online marketplace maneuver their computer mouses or cellphone screens to browse colorful gadgets, accessories and trinkets with prices that look too good to refuse.
A pop-up spinning wheel offers the chance to win a coupon. Rotating captions warn that a less than $2 camouflage print balaclava and a $1.23 skeleton hand back scratcher are “Almost sold out.” A flame symbol indicates a $9.69 plush cat print hoodie is selling fast. A timed-down selection of discounted items adds to the sense of urgency.
Welcome to the new online world of impulse buying, a place of guilty pleasures where the selection is vast, every day is Cyber Monday, and an instant dopamine hit that will have faded by the time your package arrives is always just a click away.
By all accounts, we’re living in an accelerating age for consumerism, one that Temu, which is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, and Shein, its fierce rival, supercharged with social media savvy and an interminable assortment of cheap goods, most shipped directly from merchants in China based on real-time demand.
The business models of the two platforms, coupled with avalanches of digital or influencer advertising, have enabled them to give Western retailers a run for their money this holiday shopping season.
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AP Top 25: Ohio St, Miami, Clemson drop; Texas, Penn St, Notre Dame, Georgia in line behind Oregon
Ohio State, Miami and Clemson plunged in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday following their losses during a wild weekend, eight of the top 10 teams moved up one spot and Oregon was No. 1 for the seventh straight week.
The shakeup creates two top-five matchups in conference championship games coming up on Saturday, a day before the College Football Playoff bracket is announced. Oregon, the nation's only unbeaten team, will face No. 3 Penn State in the Big Ten game in Indianapolis. No. 2 Texas will play No. 5 Georgia in the Southeastern Conference game in Atlanta, a rematch of their top-five meeting in October won by the Bulldogs.
No. 4 Notre Dame, 11-1 and a winner of 10 straight, won't play again until the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State, which lost for the fourth straight time to Michigan and was knocked out of the Big Ten title game, dropped five spots to No. 7, behind Tennessee.
SMU is No. 8 and followed by Indiana and Boise State. The Broncos are in the top 10 for the first time since 2011 and the highest-ranked Group of Five team, two spots ahead of No. 12 Arizona State, the highest-ranked Big 12 team.
The Associated Press
