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2025-01-08
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As Assad Prepares Last Stand, His Ally Iraq Rules Out Military InterventionManchester City’s crisis deepened as they surrendered a three-goal lead late in the game to draw 3-3 against Feyenoord in the Champions League. Pep Guardiola’s side at least avoided the indignity of a sixth successive defeat in all competitions but alarm bells continue to ring at the Etihad Stadium after a dramatic late capitulation. Advertisement A double from Erling Haaland – the first from the penalty spot – and a deflected effort from Ilkay Gundogan, all in the space of nine minutes either side of the break, looked to have ensured a return to winning ways. 44' ⚽️ Man City 1-0 Feyenoord 50' ⚽️ Man City 2-0 Feyenoord 53' ⚽️ Man City 3-0 Feyenoord 75' ⚽️ Man City 3-1 Feyenoord 82' ⚽️ Man City 3-2 Feyenoord 89' ⚽️ Man City 3-3 Feyenoord 🤯🤯🤯 #UCL — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 26, 2024 Advertisement Yet Guardiola was left with his head in hands as Feyenoord roared back in the last 15 minutes with goals from Anis Hadj Moussa, Sergio Gimenez and David Hancko, two of them after Josko Gvardiol errors. City almost snatched a late winner when Jack Grealish hit the woodwork but there was no masking another dispiriting result. Advertisement It was hardly the preparation City wanted for Sunday’s crunch trip to Liverpool, and the Feyenoord fans took great delight in rubbing that fact in. They sung the club anthem they share with Liverpool, You’ll Never Walk Alone, and chanted the name of their former manager Arne Slot, the current Reds boss. Guardiola arrived at the ground with a cut on the bridge of his nose and, once again, his side have been struck a nasty blow. Despite not being at their best, they had dominated early on against what seemed limited Dutch opposition. Advertisement They threatened when a Gundogan shot was deflected wide and Haaland then went close to opening the scoring when he turned a header onto the post. Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther gifted City another chance when he passed straight to Bernardo Silva but Grealish’s fierce volley struck team-mate Phil Foden. Foden forced a save from Wellenreuther but City had a moment of alarm when Igor Paixao got behind the defence only to shoot tamely at Ederson. Nathan Ake missed the target with a header but some luck finally went City’s way just before the break when Quinten Timber, brother of Arsenal’s Jurrien, was harshly adjudged to have fouled Haaland. Advertisement The Norwegian rammed home the resulting spot-kick and City returned re-energised for the second period. They won a corner when a Matheus Nunes shot was turned behind and Gundogan fired the hosts’ second – albeit with aid of a deflection – with a firm volley from the edge of the box. City turned up the heat and claimed their third soon after as Gundogan released Nunes with a long ball and his low cross was turned into the net by a sliding Haaland. It seemed City were heading for a morale-lifting victory but a couple of Gvardiol errors changed the script. The Croatian, who had a torrid time in Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing by Tottenham, first horribly misplaced a backpass and allowed Moussa to nip in and round Ederson. Ordinarily that 75th-minute reply would have been a mere consolation and City would close out the game, but Gvardiol had another moment to forget eight minutes from time. Again he gave the ball away and Feyenoord pounced. The ball was lofted into the box and Jordan Lotomba fired a shot that glanced the post and deflected across goal, where Gimenez chested in. Ederson then blundered as he raced out of his area and was beaten by Paixao, who crossed for Hancko to head into an empty net. Amid some moments of unrest in the crowd, when objects were thrown, City tried to rally in stoppage time. Grealish had an effort deflected onto the bar but the hosts had to settle for a draw.
Englishman Keinan Davis scored with 14 minutes remaining for Udinese to draw 1-1 at Empoli in Italy's Serie A and snap the visitors' three-game losing streak. The former Watford and Aston Villa striker rose to head home a near-post corner with 76 minutes gone on Monday (Tuesday AEDT). Pietro Pellegri put Empoli ahead midway through the first half with his third goal in three games. The on-loan Torino striker had endured a lean season, but a goal in the 1-0 win over Como was followed by another in the 1-1 draw with Lecce before the international break. The result was the first point in four games for Udinese, after consecutive defeats to Atalanta, Juventus and Venezia, and meant that both sides retained their mid-table positions. Udinese were ninth and Empoli 10th in the standings. In the night's other match, Venezia missed a chance to move off the foot of the table when they went down at home to Lecce 1-0. Venezia were dominant for most of the game, with Gaetano Oristanio and Jay Idzes hitting the woodwork, and Wladimiro Falcone outstanding in the Lecce goal. But the home side paid for its profligacy after 70 minutes. Antonino Gallo's sublime cross from the left was met by Patrick Dorgu at the far post and he steered the ball into the far corner to give Lecce all three points. Lecce, who started the night only two places above bottom side Venezia, jumped into 15th place.NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising toward records Tuesday after Donald Trump’s latest talk about tariffs created only some ripples on Wall Street, even if they could roil the global economy were they to take effect. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% and was on track to top its all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 81 points, or 0.2%, to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher, with less than an hour remaining in trading. Stock markets abroad were down, but mostly only modestly, after President-elect Trump said he plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office. Stock indexes were down 0.1% in Shanghai and nearly flat in Hong Kong, while Canada's main index edged down by just 0.1%. Trump has often praised the use of tariffs , but investors are weighing whether his latest threat will actually become policy or is just an opening point for negotiations. For now, the market seems to be taking it more as the latter. Unless the United States can prepare alternatives for the autos, energy products and other goods that come from Mexico, Canada and China, such tariffs would raise the price of imported items all at once and make households poorer, according to Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi, economists at High Frequency Economics. They would also hurt profit margins for U.S. companies, while raising the threat of retaliatory tariffs by other countries. General Motors sank 8.2%, and Ford Motor fell 2.6% because both import automobiles from Mexico. Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and other Mexican beer brands in the United States, dropped 3.9%. Beyond the pain such tariffs would cause U.S. households and businesses, they could also push the Federal Reserve to slow or even halt its cuts to interest rates. The Fed had just begun easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high a couple months ago to offer support to the job market . While lower interest rates can boost the overall economy and prices for investments, they can also offer more fuel for inflation. “Many” officials at the Fed's last meeting earlier this month said they should lower rates gradually, according to minutes of the meeting released Tuesday afternoon. Unlike tariffs in Trump's first term, his proposal from Monday night would affect products across the board. Trump’s tariff talk came almost immediately after U.S. stocks rose Monday amid excitement about his pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. The hope was the hedge-fund manager could steer Trump away from policies that balloon the U.S. government deficit, which is how much more it spends than it takes in through taxes and other revenue. The talk about tariffs overshadowed another set of mixed profit reports from U.S. retailers that answered few questions about how much more shoppers can keep spending. They’ll need to stay resilient after helping the economy avoid a recession, despite the high interest rates instituted by the Fed to get inflation under control. Kohl’s tumbled 17.6% after its results for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. CEO Tom Kingsbury said sales remain soft for apparel and footwear. A day earlier, Kingsbury said he plans to step down as CEO in January. Ashley Buchanan, CEO of Michaels and a retail veteran, will replace him. Best Buy fell 4.7% after likewise falling short of analysts’ expectations. Dick’s Sporting Goods topped forecasts for the latest quarter thanks to a strong back-to-school season, but its stock lost an early gain to fall 1.4%. A report on Tuesday from the Conference Board said confidence among U.S. consumers improved in November, but not by as much as economists expected. J.M. Smucker jumped 5.4% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after topping analysts' expectations for the latest quarter. CEO Mark Smucker credited strength for its Uncrustables, Meow Mix, Café Bustelo and Jif brands. Big Tech stocks also helped prop up U.S. indexes. Gains of 2.8% for Amazon and 2% for Microsoft were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. In the bond market, Treasury yields rose following their big drop from a day before driven by relief following Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.30% from 4.28% late Monday, but it’s still well below the 4.41% level where it ended last week. In the crypto market, bitcoin continued to pull back after topping $99,000 for the first time late last week. It's since dipped back toward $91,600, according to CoinDesk. It’s a sharp turnaround from the bonanza that initially took over the crypto market following Trump’s election. That boom had also appeared to have spilled into some corners of the stock market. Strategists at Barclays Capital pointed to stocks of unprofitable companies, along with other areas that can be caught up in bursts of optimism by smaller-pocketed “retail” investors. AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
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Iran is poised to ‘quite dramatically’ increase stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium, official saysMerus announces First Patient Dosed in Phase 2 Trial of Petosemtamab in 3L+ mCRCThe developer of recently-announced virtual pet simulator game Catly has responded to allegations that the game's trailer and marketing was produced using generative AI, saying that no such technology was used in its announcement at The Game Awards, nor in the game itself. In a statement shared with IGN, a PR representative authorized to speak on behalf of developer SuperAuthenti said that generative AI was not used to produce the trailer, nor the game. Furthermore, the representative said the developer was "very surprised by such speculations," adding that "We do not think there are any existing AI tools that can produce a video like that. Industry experts have echoed this opinion." The PR representative also showed IGN a version of the trailer from The Game Awards that showed in-progress shots interspersed alongside the final version, which did seem to confirm the lack of AI use in the actual trailer production. Additionally, the PR representative said that other allegations suggesting that Catly was a blockchain game were similarly unfounded. They said that there has been "zero blockchain technology" involved in Catly or the company behind it, SuperAuthenti, and similarly there are no NFTs. "Our company/project has never issued any blockchain currency and any NFTs. Our company does not and has never owned any blockchain currency and NFTs." The spokesperson confirmed to IGN that Catly is being made in Unreal Engine 5, and said the developer uses "various software" to produce hyperrealistic fur and hair. Assertions that Catly was using generative AI technology began to circulate almost immediately after its trailer debuted at The Game Awards last week. The trailer itself featured hyperrealistic cats with brightly colored fur and features bounding around a fantasy playspace and interacting with a human wearing various detailed, high fashion outfits. The art style present was flagged by many critics as reminiscent of the hyperrealistic style often produced by generative AI. That said, Catly's statement is consistent with the current reality that game trailers of this quality are not within the reach of current generative AI technology without significant, obvious artifacting and other issues. However, others pointed out that while the trailer may be legit, the other aspects of Catly's promotion are still giving some off vibes. For instance, the game's Steam description awkwardly reads, "A Cat Open World, with Beautiful Cats. Hyperrealism, Actions, Cuddle, Speed, Islands, Fashion, Dreams, Snow, Robots, Plants -- all with and via Cats." And a few of the game's promotional art pieces had odd details similar to AI artifacting, such as the odd paws and nose of this cat: And the text on the wall inside the right-hand side of the building in this image: Others from the official Catly website that appear to raise even more questions about their veracity. Notably, the Catly website was down as recently as Friday, and remained offline over the weekend through today when we reached out to SuperAuthenti to ask about it. The website has since been reinstated, but a number of the old images have been removed. While SuperAuthenti confirmed to me that it did not use generative AI in either the trailer or the game itself, it did not respond to my question about its promotional images on Steam or on its website. As for web3, speculation of the game's ties to the technology surfaced as individuals unearthed the studio co-founder, Kevin Yeung's, . Additionally, the game's Steam page features a glowing quote from League of Legends and Arcane producer Thomas Vu, who himself is a prominent web3 investor. However, it also contained a quote from Hearthstone and Marvel Snap creator Ben Brode, who has taken to Bluesky to say that he's heard nothing about either AI generation or web3 involved in Catly, and that his interest is sincere. "I saw 20 [minutes] or so of gameplay footage a few months back and thought it looked cool so they asked me for a quote," . For now, it does seem that SuperAuthenti is telling the truth about the Catly trailer at The Game Awards, though the question of whether or not, or how much, generative AI has been used in Catly's overall development and promotion remains to be seen. Generative AI is becoming an increasingly popular tool for game companies, too. Call of Duty for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in late 2023, and fans . EA said in September that . Unfortunately, as the technology becomes both more prevalent and more complex, it seems likely it will become increasingly difficult to tell the difference between AI-generated and human-crafted work. In Catly's case, we'll have to wait for 2025 to find out more about what exactly is behind those hauntingly rainbow cat eyes from the trailer.
As more cars with empty driver seats are hitting our streets, there are growing safety questions about how humans and robots are “sharing” the road. As of the end of October, Waymo says it’s providing more than 150,000 paid trips weekly in its self-driving cars covering one million miles. That is triple the number of weekly rides compared to June 2024. While Waymo has expanded to four cities, Phoenix has the largest operating area at 315 square miles. As the company scales up, so do safety concerns and questions about how often humans intervene in ‘fully autonomous’ rides. Waymo vs. semi Truck driver Shabani Kwizera uses a loading dock next to a central Phoenix Waymo hub. He posted to TikTok about a semi crash with a Waymo last month in the driveway to the complex. “[The tractor trailers] stop right here to check on the traffic,’ Kwizera said on the video panning the camera to the center of the driveway. “These Waymos came from the back and to the right side. The driver didn't see it by the time he was turning - the Waymo was on the blind side.” Kwizera said the truck smashed the Waymo as it turned right. The autonomous car had black scrape marks across its front, driver-side panel. Based on what he witnessed, Kwizera said a human driver would have accommodated for the truck’s turning radius and blind spot. “They're going to give us space so we can turn, but what happened with Waymo is they do not give us space,” he said. Phoenix police told ABC15 they investigated this crash. Federal auto safety investigation The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into 31 reports of crashes and alleged traffic violations involving Waymos. In letters to the self-driving car company last spring, federal safety regulators asked for extensive documentation. One NHTSA letter said the autonomous vehicles had “unexpected driving behaviors” that “may increase the risk of crash, property damage, and injury.” The letters also described “collisions with clearly visible objects that a competent driver would be expected to avoid.” “The industry had been getting pretty much of a pass on all the annoyances and problems and loose ends,” said Phil Koopman, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University who’s studied self-driving car safety for 25 years. He is closely watching the federal investigation and Waymo’s two voluntary recalls earlier this year after crashes in the Phoenix area. “People could no longer say, well, nothing's going wrong. Leave us alone. You're getting in the way of progress,” said Koopman. Waymo’s website says the company is “on a mission to be the world's most trusted driver.” The company has multiple analyses of vehicle safety. Waymo’s latest data showed the first 25 million miles of operation, showing the fully autonomous vehicles had 81% fewer airbag deployment crashes, fewer injury-causing crashes, and 57% fewer police-reported crashes compared to human driving the same distance in the cities where Waymo operates. Koopman says statistically we may not know if Waymos are safer than human drivers until the self-driving cars hit one billion miles. “We're going to start to see the rare events matter more and have more concern about the safety kind of events,” Koopman said. “What we've seen is they make robot mistakes.” In social media videos now part of the federal investigation, Waymos appear to make unexpected maneuvers including cutting off a bus that had the right of way, swerving side to side behind a landscaping truck, driving into a closed construction zone, and blocking a major intersection. Professor Koopman explained autonomous cars use machine learning based on examples. “What if it sees something it doesn't know as an example?” Koopman said. “Not only does it not know what to do, it often has false confidence and just makes something up and just does something crazy.” Waymo’s remote assistance Joel Ricks Johnson, an Arizona YouTuber, said he has documented more than 170 Waymo rides. One video, which has more than 500,000 views, shows a Waymo “going rogue” when it encounters traffic cones. “The car tried to make a right turn, and it just couldn't quite do it because there were cones in the lane,” Johnson said. During the incident three years ago, Johnson said he called rider support from the back seat of the robo-car. On its blog, Waymo describes its fleet response system as phone-a-friend. Employees use their computers to connect with the car and remotely check the on-board cameras and sensors. The car can prompt human remote assistance operators with multiple-choice questions to provide a better context of the situation. The remote assistance team can also give the vehicle a trajectory to follow. Johnson said in his case, “It was kind of like humans fighting with robot, and then it actually just got stuck in high-speed traffic.” Waymo then sent a human roadside assistance technician to the scene to take over driving, but as the technician approached, Johnson said the Waymo car started to drive away. “Waymo tried to run,” Johnson said on the video. He estimates that roadside assistance has been called for his Waymo trips 4-5 times over 2,400 miles of travel. “I don't know if I'm exactly representative of the normal, typical rider,” Johnson said. The ABC15 Investigators emailed Waymo asking more about remote assistance operations and the frequency of human interventions. The company declined to let us view its remote assistance operations. A Waymo spokesperson would not provide information on how many humans help the cars explaining it’s not a strict ratio. Instead, he wrote, “Waymo sets expectations for service quality based on rapid response times, and we adjust and maintain the workforce necessary to meet those standards.” Waymo did not expound on those standards. Johnson said Waymo has been “cagey about statistics” and it’s not entirely clear in all cases when human intervention is occurring on a robo-taxi ride. “You can kind of tell sometimes if the car gets into a weird situation, there are little pointers here and there, like if the hazard lights turn on, if the steering looks weird, if the planned path gets really short,” Johnson said. Johnson said overall he feels very safe. “My mission is to document autonomous vehicle progress over time,” the YouTuber added. He said he pays for all his own rides. ABC15 is committed to finding the answers you need and holding those accountable. Submit your news tip to Investigators@abc15.com Waymo representative told ABC15 the autonomous driver does improve over time using artificial intelligence and operational improvements, and “it can solve more ambiguous scenarios independently and needs less help.” A Waymo spokesperson also told ABC15 the company is complying with the NHTSA investigation. NHTSA officials declined an interview request because the agency generally does not comment on an open investigation, but a spokesperson did send this statement: "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s approach to advanced vehicle technologies prioritizes safety across multiple areas including data collection and analysis, research, rulemaking, and enforcement. "NHTSA has leveraged its authority in unprecedented ways to help assure the safety of vehicles with advanced technologies, including launching a first-of-its-kind Standing General Order requiring crash reporting and initiating a demonstration program designed to enhance public safety and transparency of ADS deployments. The Standing General Order also requires reporting of certain crashes involving vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems. "NHTSA will continue to hold manufacturers accountable for any products that introduce an unreasonable risk to safety. The agency has opened multiple investigations into several manufacturers regarding potential safety defects in ADS systems, which have led to recalls of several ADS systems." Do you have a self-driving vehicle video or story to share? You can reach ABC15 Senior Investigator Melissa Blasius by email at melissa.blasius@abc15.com or call 602-803-2506. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @MelissaBlasius or Facebook. Latest ABC15 investigations: AZ dentist’s license suspended after he allegedly used household pliers on tooth Anne Ryman Mother of murdered teen discusses killer’s sentencing, daughter's legacy Adam Mintzer REPORT: Phoenix PD shot a woman with a serious mental illness at her mom's door Melissa Blasius Will DOJ still seek Phoenix PD oversight? ABC15 learns feds still investigating Dave BiscobingJERUSALEM (AP) — Israel approved a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting linked to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. In the hours leading up to the Cabinet meeting, Israel carried out its most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs and issued a record number of evacuation warnings. At least 24 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities, as Israel signaled it aims to keep pummeling Hezbollah in the final hours before any ceasefire takes hold. Israel's security Cabinet approved the ceasefire agreement late Tuesday after it was presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said. U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, called the agreement “good news” and said his administration would make a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza. An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bring peace to the Middle East, but neither he nor Netanyahu have proposed a postwar solution for the Palestinian territory, where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable. Still, any halt to the fighting in Lebanon is expected to reduce the likelihood of war between Israel and Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and Hamas and exchanged direct fire with Israel on two occasions earlier this year. Netanyahu presented the ceasefire proposal to Cabinet ministers after a televised address in which he listed a series of accomplishments against Israel’s enemies across the region. He said a ceasefire with Hezbollah would further isolate Hamas in Gaza and allow Israel to focus on its main enemy, Iran, which backs both groups. “If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack,” he said. “For every violation, we will attack with might.” Netanyahu's office later said Israel appreciated the U.S. efforts in securing the deal but "reserves the right to act against every threat to its security.” It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides’ compliance. But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Biden said Israel reserved the right to quickly resume operations in Lebanon if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the truce, but that the deal "was designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.” Hezbollah has said it accepts the proposal, but a senior official with the group said Tuesday that it had not seen the agreement in its final form. “After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told the Al Jazeera news network. “We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state.” of Lebanon, he said. “Any violation of sovereignty is refused.” Even as Israeli, U.S, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah’s military capabilities. An Israeli strike on Tuesday leveled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city’s downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs killed at least one person and wounded 13, it said. Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure. Israel also struck a building in Beirut's bustling commercial district of Hamra for the first time, hitting a site that is around 400 meters (yards) from Lebanon’s Central Bank. There were no reports of casualties. The Israeli military said it struck targets in Beirut and other areas linked to Hezbollah's financial arm. The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead. Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel. Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a major presence, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where the U.N. peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, is headquartered. UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate. The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometers (miles) from the Israeli border. Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border. Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since. Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes. More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members. Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country’s north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon. ___ Chehayeb and Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press reporters Lujain Jo and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed.
FIUGGI, Italy (AP) — Foreign ministers from the world’s leading industrialized nations expressed cautious optimism Monday about possible progress on a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The top diplomats met for the final time before a new U.S. administration takes office with wars raging in the Mideast and Ukraine. “Knock on wood,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said as he opened the Group of Seven meeting outside Rome. “We are perhaps close to a ceasefire in Lebanon," he said. "Let's hope it's true and that there's no backing down at the last-minute.” A ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon was foremost on the agenda of the G7 meeting in Fiuggi, outside Rome, that gathered ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, in the last G7 encounter of the Biden administration. For the first time, the G7 ministers were joined by their counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, the so-called “Arab Quintet,” as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League. “Everyone favors a ceasefire in both scenarios,” Tajani told reporters, adding that Italy had offered to take on an even greater peacekeeping role in Lebanon to oversee any ceasefire deal. As the ministers arrived in Italy, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Mike Herzog, told Israeli Army Radio on Monday a ceasefire deal to end fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah could be reached “within days.” Several Arab ministers reiterated calls for a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza during a G7-affiliated conference in Rome. “We need a ceasefire, a permanent ceasefire. That will stop the killings and stop the destruction and restore a sense of normalcy to life,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told the conference. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, for his part, reaffirmed that Cairo would host a minister-level conference next Monday on mobilizing international aid for Gaza. The so-called “Quintet” has been working with the U.S. to finalize a “day after” plan for Gaza. There is some urgency to make progress before the Trump administration takes over in January. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pursue a policy that strongly favors Israel over the aspirations of the Palestinians. Tajani added another item to the G7 agenda last week after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief. Italy is a founding member of the court and hosted the 1998 Rome conference that gave birth to it. But Italy’s right-wing government has been a strong supporter of Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, while also providing humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza. The Italian government has taken a cautious line, reaffirming its support and respect for the court but expressing concern that the warrants were politically motivated. The United States, Israel's closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Tajani acknowledged consensus hadn't been reached among the G7 members but hoped for agreement to have a unified position. He noted that all sides need Netanyahu to make any deal. “We can also not agree with how his government has led the reaction after the massacre of Oct. 7, but now we have to deal with Netanyahu to arrive at peace in Lebanon, peace in Palestine,” Tajani said. Nathalie Tocci, director of the Rome-based Institute for International Affairs think tank, warned that inserting the ICC warrant into the G7 agenda was risky, since the U.S. is the lone member that is not a signatory to the court and yet tends to dictate the G7 line. “If Italy and the other (five G7) signatories of the ICC are unable to maintain the line on international law, they will not only erode it anyway but will be acting against our interests,” Tocci wrote in La Stampa daily this weekend, recalling Italy’s recourse to international law in demanding protection for Italian U.N. peacekeepers who have come under fire in southern Lebanon. The other major talking point of the G7 meeting is Ukraine , and tensions have only heightened since Russia attacked Ukraine last week with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strike was retaliation for Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory. The G7 has been at the forefront of providing military and economic support for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and G7 members are particularly concerned about how a Trump administration will change the U.S. approach. Trump has criticized the billions of dollars that the Biden administration has poured into Ukraine and has said he could end the war in 24 hours, comments that appear to suggest he would press Ukraine to surrender territory that Russia now occupies. “It’s hugely important that this G7, that all colleagues across the G7 continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it lasts,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said as he arrived. He announced new sanctions on vessels of Russia's “shadow fleet” of ships that are evading sanctions to export Russian oil. “And we are confident that Ukraine can have the funds and the military equipment and kit to get through 2025,” Lammy said. The G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, the second of the Italian presidency after ministers gathered in Capri in April , is being held in the medieval town of Fiuggi southeast of Rome, best known for its thermal spas. On Monday, which coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ministers were attending the inauguration of a red bench meant to symbolize Italy’s focus on fighting gender-based violence. Over the weekend, tens of thousands of people marched in Rome to protest gender-based violence , which in Italy so far this year has claimed the lives of 99 women, according to a report last week by the Eures think tank.
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PALERMO, Calif. (AP) — Two children were wounded in a shooting Wednesday at a small religious K-8 school in Northern California and the shooter died from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot, sheriff’s officials said. The children’s conditions were not immediately known. The shooting occurred Wednesday afternoon at the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists, a private, K-8 school in Palermo, a community of 5,500 people about 65 miles (104 km) north of Sacramento. Related Articles National News | Abandoned mines in the US pose dangers to people and property when land gives way National News | Dog food recalled in 7 states for salmonella risk after puppy litter gets sick, FDA says National News | White House says at least 8 US telecom firms, dozens of nations impacted by China hacking campaign National News | Powell: Fed’s independence from politics is vital to its interest rate decisions National News | United Healthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New York Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said the 911 calls reported “an individual on campus who had fired shots at students,” and said that the shooter did not appear to have a connection to the school. The motive was not immediately known, he continued. One student was flown to a nearby hospital, Honea said. Authorities rushed students to the Oroville Church of the Nazarene to be reunited with their families, the sheriff’s office said. The school has been open since 1965 and caters to fewer than three dozen children, according to its website.Stock market today: Nasdaq hits a record as Wall Street drifts ahead of Federal Reserve's meetingPep Guardiola’s side at least avoided the indignity of a sixth successive defeat in all competitions but alarm bells continue to ring at the Etihad Stadium after a dramatic late capitulation. A double from Erling Haaland – the first from the penalty spot – and a deflected effort from Ilkay Gundogan, all in the space of nine minutes either side of the break, looked to have ensured a return to winning ways. Yet Guardiola was left with his head in hands as Feyenoord roared back in the last 15 minutes with goals from Anis Hadj Moussa, Sergio Gimenez and David Hancko, two of them after Josko Gvardiol errors. City almost snatched a late winner when Jack Grealish hit the woodwork but there was no masking another dispiriting result. It was hardly the preparation City wanted for Sunday’s crunch trip to Liverpool, and the Feyenoord fans took great delight in rubbing that fact in. They sung the club anthem they share with Liverpool, You’ll Never Walk Alone, and chanted the name of their former manager Arne Slot, the current Reds boss. Guardiola arrived at the ground with a cut on the bridge of his nose and, once again, his side have been struck a nasty blow. Despite not being at their best, they had dominated early on against what seemed limited Dutch opposition. They threatened when a Gundogan shot was deflected wide and Haaland then went close to opening the scoring when he turned a header onto the post. Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther gifted City another chance when he passed straight to Bernardo Silva but Grealish’s fierce volley struck team-mate Phil Foden. Foden forced a save from Wellenreuther but City had a moment of alarm when Igor Paixao got behind the defence only to shoot tamely at Ederson. Nathan Ake missed the target with a header but some luck finally went City’s way just before the break when Quinten Timber, brother of Arsenal’s Jurrien, was harshly adjudged to have fouled Haaland. The Norwegian rammed home the resulting spot-kick and City returned re-energised for the second period. They won a corner when a Matheus Nunes shot was turned behind and Gundogan fired the hosts’ second – albeit with aid of a deflection – with a firm volley from the edge of the box. City turned up the heat and claimed their third soon after as Gundogan released Nunes with a long ball and his low cross was turned into the net by a sliding Haaland. 44' ⚽️ Man City 1-0 Feyenoord50' ⚽️ Man City 2-0 Feyenoord53' ⚽️ Man City 3-0 Feyenoord75' ⚽️ Man City 3-1 Feyenoord82' ⚽️ Man City 3-2 Feyenoord89' ⚽️ Man City 3-3 Feyenoord 🤯🤯🤯 #UCL — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 26, 2024 It seemed City were heading for a morale-lifting victory but a couple of Gvardiol errors changed the script. The Croatian, who had a torrid time in Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing by Tottenham, first horribly misplaced a backpass and allowed Moussa to nip in and round Ederson. Ordinarily that 75th-minute reply would have been a mere consolation and City would close out the game, but Gvardiol had another moment to forget eight minutes from time. Again he gave the ball away and Feyenoord pounced. The ball was lofted into the box and Jordan Lotomba fired a shot that glanced the post and deflected across goal, where Gimenez chested in. Ederson then blundered as he raced out of his area and was beaten by Paixao, who crossed for Hancko to head into an empty net. Amid some moments of unrest in the crowd, when objects were thrown, City tried to rally in stoppage time. Grealish had an effort deflected onto the bar but the hosts had to settle for a draw.
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