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AP PHOTOS: 2023 was marked by coups and a Moroccan earthquake on the African continent

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:54:59 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Reports of gunfire in the capital, followed by a television announcement that the president has been deposed by mutinous soldiers. The increasingly familiar storyline unfolded again this year in Africa — first in Niger and then in Gabon.The resurgence of military coups renewed concerns about democracy backsliding on the continent and also underscored shifting regional alliances at a time when international peacekeeping efforts waned.Two thousand twenty-three also brought utter devastation when a rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco in September, damaging thousands of villages in the mountains south of Marrakech and killing nearly 3,000 people.The earthquake and several aftershocks left people and animals buried underneath mud and cinderblock for days as crews raced up narrow, windy roads to supply rescue and aid efforts. Morocco ultimately accepted search-and-rescue assistance from only four countries — Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the United ...

China says a US Navy ship ‘illegally intruded’ into waters in the South China Sea

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:54:59 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese military said that an American naval ship had “illegally intruded” on Monday into waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, the site of a hot territorial dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.A Chinese naval force was mobilized to track the USS Gabrielle Giffords during the operation, according to a statement from the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater. The U.S. Navy did not respond immediately to a request for comment.Chinese and Philippine naval and coast guard ships have confronted each other repeatedly around the Second Thomas Shoal in recent months as China tries to prevent the Philippines from resupplying and repairing a rusting warship that it intentionally ran aground in 1999 to serve as a military outpost.Dwarfed by China’s military might, the Philippines has sought America’s help, agreeing to an expansion of the U.S. military presence in the country earlier this year and launching joint sea and air patrols...

Suspected DUI driver plows into garages in Orange County

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:54:59 GMT

Police in Anaheim detained a man who may have been under the influence of alcohol and or drugs when he crashed a pickup truck into several detached garages, causing heavy structural damage Sunday evening.  Crews with the Anaheim Fire Department responded to reports of the crash at 419 Cliftwood Avenue at around 6 p.m. “We were called for a vehicle that obviously lost control driving down this residential street,” AFD Capt. Ryan Lazar told an independent news agency. “It went through one garage and lodged into a second detached garage.”  Anaheim fire crews on the scene of a crash involving a suspected DUI driver on Dec. 3, 2023. (OnScene.TV)Anaheim fire crews on the scene of a crash involving a suspected DUI driver on Dec. 3, 2023. (OnScene.TV)Anaheim police seen giving a field sobriety test to the driver of a pickup that crashed into several detached garages on Dec. 3, 2023. (OnScene.TV)Anaheim police seen talking to the driver of a pickup truck that crashed into seve...

Residents livid after vacant West Hollywood home burns on Thanksgiving

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:54:59 GMT

Residents in a West Hollywood neighborhood are demanding answers and action from city officials after a massive fire on Thanksgiving Night destroyed a vacant home that’s reportedly been used as a drug den by homeless people for months.  Neighbors said they have been complaining about the property on North Sierra Bonita Avenue for some time and that, so far, the city has refused to take any meaningful action.  People who live near the dilapidated home said they feel unsafe and that calls made to police and deputies about homeless individuals trespassing on the property have not helped.  According to Gwyn Ashley, who lives nearby, community members had contacted the city of West Hollywood about the homeless problem and fire hazard months ago and nothing was done about the issue.  An image taken from video of a massive fire in a vacant house in West Hollywood on Nov. 23, 2023. (Marty Hubbard)An image taken from video of a massive fire in a vacant house in West Hollywood ...

Jordan Love throws 3 TD passes, Packers beat Chiefs 27-19 for 3rd straight win

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:54:59 GMT

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jordan Love showed the Kansas City Chiefs just how much he’s learned since the last time he faced them.Love connected with Christian Watson on two of his three touchdown passes and the resurgent Green Bay Packers won their third straight game, 27-19 over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.This marked the first time Love had faced the Chiefs since a 13-7 loss at Kansas City two years ago in his first career start, after a positive COVID-19 test sidelined Aaron Rodgers. “Obviously I’ve had this game circled for a long time,” Love said. “This was my first start and I obviously didn’t play how I wanted to the first game. To be able to see these guys and get the victory is huge.”The Packers scored touchdowns on three of their first four drives and never trailed, with their defense making two big stops in the last 5 1/2 minutes. Green Bay knocked down Mahomes’ pass into the end zone on the game’s final play.Since losin...

11 bodies recovered after volcanic eruption in Indonesia, and 12 climbers are still missing

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:54:59 GMT

PADANG, Indonesia (AP) — The bodies of 11 climbers were recovered Monday a day after a furious eruption of the Mount Marapi volcano as Indonesian rescuers searched for 12 apparently still missing.Marapi has stayed at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011, a level indicating above normal volcanic activity and prohibiting climbers or villagers within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the peak, said Hendra Gunawan, the head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.“This means that there should be no climbing to the peak,” Gunawan said, adding that climbers were only allowed below the danger zone, “but sometimes many of them broke the rules to fulfill their satisfaction to climb further.”About 75 climbers had started their way up the nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) mountain on Saturday and became stranded. Eight of those rescued Sunday were rushed to hospitals with burns and one also had a broken limb, said Hari Agustian, an official at the local Sear...

Defending champion Chiefs look vulnerable as they lose ground in AFC with loss to Packers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:54:59 GMT

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs still can’t seem to put together a strong performance on both sides of the ball.The defending Super Bowl champions suddenly look vulnerable as they’ve fallen behind three other teams in the race for the AFC’s top playoff seed.The Chiefs started slowly for a second straight week and lost 27-19 to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night for their third defeat in five games.Kansas City fell a game behind Baltimore and Miami and a half-game behind Jacksonville, which hosts Cincinnati Monday night, in the race for the AFC’s best record and lone first-round bye.Catching up to the other AFC heavyweights could prove challenging.A defense that has ranked among the league’s best all season kept taking hits Sunday rather than dishing them out. Linebacker Drue Tranquill left with a concussion in the first quarter and safety Bryan Cook was carted off the field with an ankle injury in the second half.If either...

Maryland U.S. Senate candidates show mutual disregard at Prince George’s Co. candidate forum

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:54:59 GMT

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks speaks at a Democratic Senate candidate forum in Bladensburg on Sunday as businessman Juan Dominguez (center) and U.S. Rep. David Trone listen. Photo by Josh Kurtz. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks speaks at a Democratic Senate candidate forum in Bladensburg on Sunday as businessman Juan Dominguez (center) and U.S. Rep. David Trone listen. Photo by Josh Kurtz. Maryland’s leading Democratic Senate candidates met in a public forum for the first time Sunday afternoon, broadly agreeing on a range of topics, including immigration policy, LGBTQ+ rights, education spending and economic priorities.But the 90-minute discussion generated some surpris...

Brisbane mayor quits 2032 Olympic organizing committee, condemns stadium costs

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:54:59 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has quit the inter-governmental committee charged with organizing the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, calling it a “pointless talkfest” and “dysfunctional farce.”It’s the first significant split for the organizers of the bid which was selected in 2021 by the International Olympic Committee to host the 2032 Games. The so-called Leaders’ Forum comprises representatives from all three levels of government and other agencies and is designed to deliver the Olympics and create a legacy for Queensland. Its brief is to work with the Queensland state government of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to “progress the significant venues, villages and transport infrastructure” for the Games.But Schrinner said the group was only being used to “placate key stakeholders while all the real decisions were made by the state government behind closed doors.“The reality is we always wanted to be team players. The state government wanted ...

Pilots flying tourists over national parks face new rules. None are stricter than at Mount Rushmore

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:54:59 GMT

Fewer planes and helicopters will be flying tourists over Mount Rushmore and other national monuments and parks as new regulations take effect that are intended to protect the serenity of some of the most beloved natural areas in the United States.The air tours have pitted tour operators against visitors frustrated with the noise for decades, but it has come to a head as new management plans are rolled out at nearly two dozen national parks and monuments. One of the strictest yet was recently announced at Mount Rushmore and Badlands National Park, where tour flights will essentially be banned from getting within a half mile of the South Dakota sites starting in April. “I don’t know what we’re going to be able to salvage,” complained Mark Schlaefli, a co-owner of Black Hills Aerial Adventures who is looking for alternative routes. The regulations are the result of a federal appeals court finding three years ago that the National Park Service and the Federal Aviation Administration fa...