AP News Summary at 11:57 p.m. EST
By AP
Plane burst into flames after skidding off runway at an airport in South Korea, killing at least 85
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A passenger plane has burst into flames after it skid off a runway at a South Korean airport and slammed into a concrete fence when its front landing gear apparently failed to deploy, killing at least 85 people, in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters. The National Fire Agency said rescuers raced to pull people from the Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 people at the airport in the town of Muan, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) south of Seoul. At least 85 people died in the fire, the agency said. Emergency workers pulled out two people, both crew members.
Trump appears to side with Musk, tech allies in debate over foreign workers roiling his supporters
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump appears to be siding with Elon Musk and his other backers in the tech industry as a dispute over immigration visas has divided his supporters. Trump, in an interview with the New York Post on Saturday, praised the use of visas to bring skilled foreign workers to the U.S. The issue has become a flashpoint among his conservative base. Trump said he has “always liked the visas,” and is a “believer” in the program, though in the past he has criticized it.
Tornadoes touch down in Texas and Mississippi, killing 2 and injuring 6 others
HOUSTON (AP) — At least two people have died and six more are injured after several tornadoes touched down in Texas and Mississippi, damaging homes and flipping vehicles. The National Weather Service says Saturday’s tornadoes touched down north and south of Houston, damaging and destroying homes. A spokesperson for the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office says one person died in the Liverpool area, located south of Houston. Four people also suffered injuries that weren’t considered critical. Mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in Katy and Porter Heights, where the doors of a fire station were blown in. In Mississippi, a person died in Adams country and two were hurt in Franklin County. About 71,000 utility customers were without power.
Putin apologizes for ‘tragic incident’ but stops short of saying Azerbaijani plane was shot down
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. He stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible. The Kremlin said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike as the plane attempted to land on Wednesday. Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.” The Kremlin also says Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are jointly investigating the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
Israel detains the director of one of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals during a raid
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel’s army has detained the director of one of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals. The announcement on Saturday came after health officials said Israeli troops stormed the hospital and forced many staff and patients outside and told them to strip in winter weather. Israel’s military alleges the hospital director is a suspected Hamas operative and says it detained over 240 others. It acknowledges it ordered people outside and that special forces entered the hospital. It says it “eliminated” militants who fired at its forces. Kamal Adwan officials have denied that Hamas operates in the hospital.
Syria’s embassy in Lebanon suspends services as Lebanon hands over former Syrian army officers
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s embassy in Lebanon has suspended consular services a day after two relatives of deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad were arrested at the Beirut airport with allegedly forged passports. Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities have handed over dozens of Syrians — including former officers in the Syrian army under Assad — to the new Syrian authorities, a war monitor and Lebanese officials said. At the same time, hundreds of protesters convened by Kurdish women’s groups participated in a demonstration in the northeastern city of Hasaka to demand women’s rights in the new Syria, amid ongoing clashes between Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed armed groups.
Abortions are up in the US. It’s a complicated picture as women turn to pills, travel
Even with abortion bans in place in most Republican-controlled states, the number of people obtaining them has grown slightly. That’s part of a complicated picture of the impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade two and a half years ago. Abortion pills are more common now. So is traveling to other states for care, often on journeys hundreds of miles long. Public support for the right to abortion has also increased since before the ruling. That’s been reflected in most ballot measures to add the right to abortion to state constitutions being adopted.
15 hurt in Florida when train hits fire truck that drove onto tracks after another train passed
Three firefighters and a dozen passengers have been injured in Florida after a fire truck drove around the crossing arms into the path of a high-speed passenger train after waiting for a freight train to pass. A person familiar with the details of the crash described what happened at 10:45 a.m. Saturday in crowded downtown Delray Beach. The Delray Beach Fire Rescue said via social media that three Delray Beach firefighters were in stable condition. Twelve people from the train were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The fire truck was torn in two, and debris from the crash spread over several hundred feet.
Nasty norovirus is back in full force with US cases of the stomach virus surging
The latest government data shows that cases of a fast-spreading stomach bug are surging in parts of the United States. The most recent numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show there were 91 outbreaks of norovirus reported during the week of Dec. 5. Data from recent years show a maximum of 65 outbreaks reported during that same week in December. Infection is characterized by sudden vomiting and diarrhea. Outbreaks are often seen on cruise ships, in living situations like nursing homes and jails, along with other places where people are close together.
Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied by daily combat losses and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk. Some want to stay in the region at all costs. Others question the value of having gone in at all. Battles are so intense that commanders are unable to evacuate their dead. Lags in communication and poorly timed operations have cost lives and commanders say they have little way to counterattack. The overstretched Ukrainians have lost more than 40% of the territory they won in the lightning incursion that seized much of Kursk in August.
