Trump threatens 100% tariff on the BRIC bloc of nations if they act to undermine US dollar

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100% tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar.

His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRIC alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining.

While the U.S. dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed up with America’s dominance of the global financial system.

The dollar represents roughly 58% of the world’s foreign exchange reserves, according to the IMF and major commodities like oil are still primarily bought and sold using dollars. The dollar's dominance is threatened, however, with BRICS' growing share of GDP and the alliance's intent to trade in non-dollar currencies — a process known as de-dollarization.

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Emboldened 'manosphere' accelerates threats and demeaning language toward women after US election

CHICAGO (AP) — In the days after the presidential election, Sadie Perez began carrying pepper spray with her around campus. Her mom also ordered her and her sister a self-defense kit that included keychain spikes, a hidden knife key and a personal alarm.

It’s a response to an emboldened fringe of right-wing “manosphere” influencers who have seized on Republican Donald Trump ’s presidential win to justify and amplify misogynistic derision and threats online. Many have appropriated a 1960s abortion rights rallying cry, declaring “Your body, my choice” at women online and on college campuses.

For many women, the words represent a worrying harbinger of what might lie ahead as some men perceive the election results as a rebuke of reproductive rights and women’s rights.

“The fact that I feel like I have to carry around pepper spray like this is sad,” said Perez, a 19-year-old political science student in Wisconsin. “Women want and deserve to feel safe.”

Isabelle Frances-Wright, director of technology and society at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank focusing on polarization and extremism, said she had seen a “very large uptick in a number of types of misogynistic rhetoric immediately after the election,” including some “extremely violent misogyny.”

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Young men swung to the right for Trump after a campaign dominated by masculine appeals

WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, Pat Verhaeghe didn’t think highly of Donald Trump as a leader.

Then Verhaeghe began seeing more of Trump’s campaign speeches online and his appearances at sporting events.

There was even the former president’s pairing with Bryson DeChambeau as part of the pro golfer’s YouTube channel series to shoot an under-50 round of golf while engaging in chitchat with his partner.

“I regret saying this, but a while ago I thought he was an idiot and that he wouldn’t be a good president,” said the 18-year-old first-time voter. “I think he’s a great guy now.”

Verhaeghe isn't alone among his friends in suburban Detroit or young men across America. Although much of the electorate shifted right to varying degrees in 2024, young men were one of the groups that swung sharply toward Trump.

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After entering Aleppo, Syrian insurgents advance to a nearby province. Assad says he'll defeat them

BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of Syrian insurgents took over most of Aleppo on Saturday, establishing positions in the country's largest city and controlling its airport before expanding their shock offensive to a nearby province. They faced little to no resistance from government troops, according to fighters and activists.

A war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized control of Aleppo International airport, the first international airport to be controlled by insurgents. The fighters claimed they seized the airport and posted pictures from there.

Thousands of fighters also moved on, facing almost no opposition from government forces, to seize towns and villages in northern Hama, a province where they had a presence before being expelled by government troops in 2016. They claimed Saturday evening to have entered the city of Hama.

The swift and surprise offensive is a huge embarrassment for Syria's President Bashar Assad and raises questions about his armed forces' preparedness. The insurgent offensive launched from their stronghold in the country's northwest appeared to have been planned for years. It also comes at a time when Assad's allies were preoccupied with their own conflicts.

In his first public comments since the start of the offensive, released by the state news agency Saturday evening, Assad said Syria will continue to "defend its stability and territorial integrity against terrorists and their supporters.” He added that Syria is able to defeat them no matter how much their attacks intensify.

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An Israeli strike in Gaza kills World Central Kitchen workers. Israel says 1 was an Oct. 7 attacker

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip on Saturday killed five people, including employees of World Central Kitchen. The charity said it was “urgently seeking more details” after Israel's military said it targeted a WCK worker who was part of the Hamas attack that sparked the war.

WCK said it was “heartbroken” and it had no knowledge anyone in the car had alleged ties to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, adding it was “working with incomplete information.” It said it was pausing operations in Gaza. It had suspended work earlier this year after an Israeli strike killed seven of its workers.

The Israeli military in a statement said the alleged Oct. 7 attacker took part in the assault on the kibbutz of Nir Oz, and it asked “senior officials from the international community" and the WCK to clarify how he had come to work for the charity.

The family of the man named by Israel, Ahed Azmi Qdeih, rejected the allegations as “false accusations,” and confirmed in a statement he had worked with the charity. Israel named him as Hazmi Kadih.

The strike highlighted the dangerous work of delivering aid in Gaza, where the war has displaced much of the 2.3 million population and caused widespread hunger.

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Lebanese fishermen hope ceasefire with Israel means normal life returning

TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brought hope for normality back to many in southern Lebanon on Friday, including fishermen who long launched their wooden-hulled single-engine boats into the Mediterranean at dawn.

During the last two months of its year fighting Hezbollah, Israel imposed a siege on southern Lebanon that kept hundreds of fishermen at this ancient Phoenician port, upending their lives and the industry.

While far less important than destruction and displacement, the port siege cut many off from the key ingredients for traditional Lebanese dishes like sayadiyeh — fish and rice boiled in fish sauce — or fish that is fried, grilled and eaten with hummus dip and tabbouleh or fattoush salads.

The loss of red mullet and sea bream damaged a link to the past for many Lebanese heartbroken over the destruction of their homeland. Now, in a tiny way, the possibility of renewed fishing on Lebanon's southern coast is fueling hope for a brighter future.

On Friday, a few boats went out close to shore as fishermen in the port worked on the nets of small boats painted white, blue or red.

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Heavy snow blankets parts of the US during busy holiday travel weekend

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The first big snowfall of the season blanketed towns along Lake Erie on Saturday in the middle of the hectic holiday travel and shopping weekend, and numbing cold and heavy snow were forecast to persist into next week and cause hazards in the Great Lakes, Plains and Midwest regions.

The heavy snow led to a state of emergency declaration in parts of New York and a disaster declaration in Pennsylvania, with officials warning of dangerous conditions for Thanksgiving travelers trying to return home.

“Travel will be extremely difficult and hazardous this weekend, especially in areas where multiple feet of snow may accumulate very quickly,” the National Weather Service said.

Part of I-90 in Pennsylvania was closed, as were westbound lanes of the New York Thruway heading toward Pennsylvania. Nearly 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow fell in parts of New York, Ohio and Michigan, and 29 inches (73 centimeters) was recorded in Pennsylvania’s northwestern tip.

The city of Erie, Pennsylvania, said travel was being limited to emergency responders and essential employees and cases of medical emergency until further notice due. The snow and slippery conditions resulted in vehicles getting stuck and blocking intersections and streets, officials said, and people were urged to shelter in place and allow crews to clear neighborhoods during a lull in the storm.

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Southwest Airlines says it is ending cabin service earlier to reduce chance of injury

Southwest Airlines says it is ending its cabin service earlier on its flights starting next month.

Beginning on Dec. 4, a company spokesperson said, flight attendants will begin preparing the cabin for landing at an altitude of 18,000 feet (5,486 meters) instead of 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). The change in procedure is designed to “reduce the risk of in-flight turbulence injuries” for crew members and passengers, the company said.

For passengers, that means they will need to do the usual pre-landing procedures — such as ensuring their seatbelts are fastened and returning their seats to an upright position — earlier than before.

While turbulence-related fatalities are quite rare, injuries have piled up over the years. More than one-third of all airline incidents in the United States from 2009 through 2018 were related to turbulence, and most of them resulted in one or more serious injuries but no damage to the plane, the National Transportation Safety Board reported.

In May, a 73-year old man died on board a Singapore Airlines flight when the plane hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean.

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What to know about the plastic pollution crisis as treaty talks conclude in South Korea

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — The world’s nations will wrap up negotiating a treaty this weekend to address the global plastic pollution crisis.

Their meeting concludes Sunday or early Monday in Busan, South Korea, where many environmental organizations have also flocked to push for a treaty to address the volume of production and toxic chemicals used in plastic products.

Greenpeace said it escalated its pressure Saturday by sending four international activists to Daesan, South Korea, who boarded a tanker headed into port to load chemicals used to make plastics.

Graham Forbes, who leads the Greenpeace delegation in Busan, said the action is meant to remind world leaders they have a clear choice: Deliver a treaty that protects people and the planet, or side with industry and sacrifice the health of every living person and future generations.

Here’s what to know about plastics:

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Romania's parliamentary vote risks being overshadowed by presidential race chaos

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Hundreds of protesters gathered in Bucharest after a far-right populist unexpectedly won the first round of a presidential race, plunging Romania into turmoil just days before the country holds parliamentary elections. “Better to be dead than a fascist,” one placard reads.

Sunday's ballot will determine a new government and prime minister to lead the European Union and NATO member country. However, the vote is sandwiched between the two rounds of the presidential race and is overshadowed by controversies and chaos following the outcome of the first vote.

Despite polling at less than 10% before the first round, a far-right politician who has praised Romanian fascist leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin won the most votes in the Nov. 24 ballot. Calin Georgescu is due to face reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party in a Dec. 8 runoff.

“He’s pro-Russia, pro-Putin, and we, the people — and especially the young people — we are supporting democracy,” said Sebastian Marin, an 18-year-old student who attended a protest on Wednesday in the capital. “It’s really important for people to mobilize.”

Georgescu's success, which many have attributed to his rapid rise in popularity on the social media platform TikTok, has triggered nightly protests throughout Romania by those who oppose his past remarks and view him as a threat to democracy.

News from © The Associated Press, 2024