AP News Summary at 11:55 p.m. EST
By AP
The world welcomes 2025 with light shows, embraces and ice plunges
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — From Sydney to Mumbai to Nairobi, communities around the world are welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges. Auckland became the first major city to celebrate. Countries in the South Pacific Ocean were the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball drop in Times Square in New York. Conflict muted acknowledgements of 2025 in places like the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine. American Samoa will be among the last to welcome the New Year, a full 24 hours after New Zealand.
A new year dawns on a Middle East torn by conflict and change
DAMASCUS (AP) — The streets were buzzing with excitement in Damascus as Syrians welcomed in a new year that seemed to many to bring a promise of a brighter future after the unexpected fall of Bashar Assad’s government weeks earlier. While Syrians in the capital looked forward to a new beginning after the ousting of Assad, the mood was more somber along Beirut’s Mediterranean promenade. That’s where residents shared cautious hopes for the new year, reflecting on a country still reeling from war and ongoing crises. The last year was a dramatic one in the Middle East, bringing calamity to some and hope to others.
Nearly all of Puerto Rico is without power on New Year’s Eve
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A blackout has hit nearly all of Puerto Rico as the U.S. territory prepares to celebrate New Year’s. More than 1.3 million clients were without electricity early on Tuesday and officials say it could take up to two days to restore power. The private company that oversees electricity transmission and distribution says it appears the outage was caused by a failure in an underground power line. Puerto Rico continues to struggle with chronic power outages blamed on a crumbling power grid that was razed by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm in September 2017.
Trump says he is planning to attend Jimmy Carter’s funeral
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he’s planning to attend the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter. Asked about it as he walked into a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump responded, “I’ll be there.” Trump said he’d rather not say if he’d spoken to members of Carter’s family. Funeral services honoring Carter, who died Sunday at age 100, will be held in Georgia and Washington, beginning Jan. 4 and concluding Jan. 9. Wearing a tuxedo as he entered the festivities Tuesday night, Trump took a few minutes of questions from reporters on various topics and said he thought 2025 would be a “great year.”
Jimmy Carter sought to expand democracy worldwide long after he left the White House
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Jimmy Carter helped expand democracy around the world long after he left the White House. His efforts gave rise to the Carter Center, which promotes fair elections as a vehicle for peace. It has monitored 125 elections in 40 countries and three tribal nations since it first started the work in 1989. David Carroll is head of the center’s democracy program. He says the former president had moral authority and credibility as someone who had both won and lost elections. That was essential to the trust people placed in him. Carter died Sunday at 100.
Chief Justice John Roberts defends judicial independence, says it is under threat in several ways
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts issued a defense Tuesday of judicial independence, which he said is under threat from intimidation, disinformation and the prospect of public officials defying court orders. Roberts decried officials across the political spectrum who have raised the possibility of defying court orders and said other branches of government must be willing to enforce court orders even if they are unpopular or mark a defeat for a presidential administration. He laid out his concerns in an annual report released as Donald Trump prepares to start another term as president with an ambitions agenda that could end up before the Supreme Court.
US imposes sanctions on Russian and Iranian groups over disinformation targeting American voters
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has imposed sanctions on two groups linked to Russian and Iranian disinformation campaigns targeting this year’s election. Treasury officials announced the actions Tuesday, saying the two groups sought to spread false claims designed to stoke political tension and undermine the candidates ahead of November’s vote. Officials say the Russian organization worked with Russian military intelligence and used artificial intelligence to create fake videos about American candidates. The Iranian group is accused of working at the direction of Iran’s military to spread disinformation aimed at inciting voters. Both countries have rejected accusations that they sought to meddle with the election.
US and Boeing investigators examine the site of a deadly South Korean plane crash
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A team of U.S. investigators including representatives from Boeing have examined the site of a plane crash that killed 179 people in South Korea. Authorities meanwhile are conducting safety inspections on all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines. All but two of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 operated by budget airline Jeju Air died in Sunday’s crash. The plane was seen having an engine trouble and preliminary examinations also say the pilots received a bird strike warning from the ground control center and issued a distress signal as well. But many experts say the landing gear issue was likely the main cause of the crash.
Woman burned to death in New York subway is identified as 57-year-old from New Jersey
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police say they’ve identified the woman who died earlier this month after being set on fire while asleep in a New York subway train. The victim is 57-year-old Debrina Kawam of New Jersey. She had worked at the pharmaceutical giant Merck from 2000 until 2002, but New York’s social services department said she recently had briefly been in a city homeless shelter. Thirty-three-year-old Sebastian Zapeta has been indicted on murder and arson charges in her Dec. 22 death. He hasn’t entered a plea. Police identified
Blake Lively sues ‘It Ends With Us’ director Justin Baldoni alleging harassment and smear campaign
Actor Blake Lively has sued the director of the film “It Ends With Us” alleging harassment on the set and a coordinated campaign to smear her reputation. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday, just hours after the director, Justin Baldoni, and several others tied to the film filed their own lawsuit against The New York Times, alleging it coordinated with Lively to smear them. Lively’s suit filed in federal court in New York says the director schemed with publicists to plant negative stories about her. Baldoni’s suit says it was Lively and the Times that engaged in a scheme to smear his reputation. The Times said it stands by its reporting.
