South Korea's impeached President Yoon detained in massive law-enforcement effort

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was detained in a massive law enforcement operation at the presidential compound Wednesday, defiantly insisting the anti-corruption agency didn’t have the authority to investigate his actions but saying he complied to prevent violence.

In a video message recorded before he was escorted to the headquarters of the anti-corruption agency, Yoon lamented the “rule of law has completely collapsed in this country.”

Yoon, the country’s first sitting president to be apprehended, had been holed up in the Hannam-dong residence in the capital, Seoul, for weeks while vowing to “fight to the end” the efforts to oust him. He has justified his declaration of martial law Dec. 3 as a legitimate act of governance against an “anti-state” opposition employing its legislative majority to thwart his agenda.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials said Yoon was brought into custody about five hours after investigators arrived at the presidential compound and about three hours after they successfully entered the residence, in their second attempt to detain him over his imposition of martial law.

A series of black SUVs, some equipped with sirens, were seen leaving the presidential compound with police escorts. Yoon was later seen stepping out of a vehicle after arriving at the agency’s office in the nearby city of Gwacheon. Following the questioning, Yoon was expected to be sent to a detention center in Uiwang, near Seoul.

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Hegseth confronts allegations of misconduct as senators grill Trump's choice for Pentagon chief

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, vowed Tuesday to foster a “warrior culture” at the Pentagon and confronted allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking and questions about his derisive views of women in combat during a heated Senate confirmation hearing.

Hegseth repeatedly deflected the various misconduct allegations and instead focused on his own military experience in the Army National Guard as senators determine whether the combat veteran and former TV news show host is fit to lead the U.S. military.

“It’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent,” Hegseth said in his opening remarks.

Asked directly about the sexual assault allegation, Hegseth dismissed it as a “smear campaign," as he did in response to a rapid-fire series of questions about his personal behavior and complaints of drinking on the job. He has vowed not to drink alcohol if he is confirmed to lead the Pentagon. But pressed about his marital infidelity, Hegseth acknowledged, “I am not a perfect person.”

Senators spent hours probing the concerns surrounding Hegseth, with the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee acknowledging the “unconventional” choice. But Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., compared Hegseth to Trump himself, and said he will “bring energy and fresh ideas to shake up the bureaucracy.”

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Dire fire warning for LA area pushed back as winds ease

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Easing winds delivered a brief but much-needed reprieve to firefighters Tuesday as they battled two massive blazes burning in the Los Angeles area, and the National Weather Service pushed back its unusually dire warning of critical fire weather until early the following day.

Forecasters said the winds were below danger levels in the evening, but they were expected to strengthen overnight with potentially fire-fueling gusts. Red flag warnings remained in effect from Central California to the Mexican border until late afternoon Wednesday.

Winds increased Tuesday but not to the near-hurricane-force levels that were predicted to happen earlier in the day. Still the danger was not over, officials said.

“Key message: We are not out of the woods yet,” the National Weather Service in Los Angeles said in a post on social media. “The winds underperformed today, but one more enhancement could happen tonight-tomorrow.”

This round of Santa Ana winds was not expected to be as mighty as last week, but they could carry fire-sparking embers for miles and stoke new outbreaks in a region where at least 25 people have already been killed.

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SEC sues Elon Musk, saying he didn't disclose Twitter ownership on time before buying it

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued billionaire Elon Musk, saying he failed to disclose his ownership of Twitter stock in a timely manner in early 2022, before buying the social media site.

As a result, the SEC alleges, Musk was able to underpay “by at least $150 million” for shares he bought after he should have disclosed his ownership of more than 5% of Twitter’s shares. Musk bought Twitter in October 2022 and later renamed it X.

Musk started amassing Twitter shares in early 2022, and by March of that year, he owned more than 5%. At this point, the complaint says, he was required by law to disclose his ownership, but he failed to do so until April 4, 11 days after the report was due.

Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, said in a statement that the lawsuit “is an admission by the SEC that they cannot bring an actual case" since Musk has “done nothing wrong." He called the lawsuit a “sham.”

"As the SEC retreats and leaves office — the SEC’s multi-year campaign of harassment against Mr. Musk culminated in the filing of a single-count ticky tack complaint against Mr. Musk under Section 13(d) for an alleged administrative failure to file a single form — an offense that, even if proven, carries a nominal penalty," Spiro added.

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Top DC prosecutor: Trump pardons couldn't erase impact of Capitol riot convictions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pardoning rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol four years ago can't erase the truth about what happened that day, the top federal prosecutor for Washington, D.C., said Tuesday as he prepares to leave office.

“There is no undoing these prosecutions,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves told The Associated Press. “The vindication of the rule of law is something that has already occurred. And no one can take that away.”

Graves helped lead the largest investigation in Justice Department history, overseeing hundreds of cases against rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His successor, whoever that will be, may preside over an abrupt end to that work.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to pardon Capitol rioters when he returns to the White House next week, but Graves said pardons can't undo “the record that was built through these prosecutions and the accountability that has already been imposed.”

“There will always be a public record of what occurred on January 6th, and people who care to know the facts will be able to find out the facts,” Graves said.

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Hamas OKs draft agreement of a Gaza ceasefire and the release of some hostages, officials say

CAIRO (AP) — Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediators from the United States and Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to bring them a step closer to ending 15 months of war.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks.

“I believe we will get a ceasefire,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a speech Tuesday, asserting it was up to Hamas. “It’s right on the brink. It’s closer than it’s ever been before,” and word could come within hours, or days.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end to the war and secure the release of dozens of hostages captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered it. Nearly 100 people are still captive inside Gaza, and the military believes at least a third are dead.

Any deal is expected to pause the fighting and bring hopes for winding down the most deadly and destructive war Israel and Hamas have ever fought, a conflict that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

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Biden moves to lift state sponsor of terrorism designation for Cuba, part of deal to free prisoners

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden notified Congress of his intent to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, the White House announced, as part of a deal facilitated by the Catholic Church to free political prisoners on the island.

Senior U.S. administration officials, who previewed the announcement on the condition of anonymity, said ”many dozens" of political prisoners and others considered by the U.S. to be unjustly detained would be released by the end of the Biden administration at noon on Jan. 20.

The U.S. would also ease some economic pressure on Cuba, as well as a 2017 memorandum issued by then-President Donald Trump toughening U.S. posture toward Cuba.

“In taking these steps to bolster the ongoing dialogue between the government of Cuba and the Catholic Church, President Biden is also honoring the wisdom and counsel that has been provided to him by many world leaders, especially in Latin America, who have encouraged him to take these actions, on how best to advance the human rights of the Cuban people,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The Cuban foreign ministry on Tuesday said that the government informed Pope Francis it will release 553 people who had been convicted of different crimes. It said that they will be gradually released, as the authorities analyze the legal and humanitarian ways to make it happen.

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Obesity won't be solely defined by BMI under new plan for diagnosis by global experts

A group of global experts is proposing a new way to define and diagnose obesity, reducing the emphasis on the controversial body mass index and hoping to better identify people who need treatment for the disease caused by excess body fat.

Under recommendations released Tuesday night, obesity would no longer be defined solely by BMI, a calculation of height and weight, but combined with other measurements, such as waist circumference, plus evidence of health problems tied to extra pounds.

Obesity is estimated to affect more than 1 billion people worldwide. In the U.S., about 40% of adults have obesity, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The whole goal of this is to get a more precise definition so that we are targeting the people who actually need the help most,” said Dr. David Cummings, an obesity expert at the University of Washington and one of the 58 authors of the report published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.

The report introduces two new diagnostic categories: clinical obesity and pre-clinical obesity.

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Chemicals in sewage sludge fertilizer pose cancer risk, EPA says

Harmful chemicals in sewage sludge that is spread on pasture land as fertilizer are causing cancer, the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. The risk is highest for people who regularly consume milk, beef and other products from farms where it is spread. The risk is “several orders of magnitude” above what it considers acceptable, the agency said.

When cities and towns treat sewage, they separate the liquids from the solids and treat the liquid. The solids need to be disposed of and can make a nutrient-rich sludge often spread on farm fields. The agency now says those solids often contain toxic, lasting PFAS that treatment plants cannot effectively remove.

When people eat or drink foods containing these “forever” chemicals, the compounds accumulate in the body and can cause kidney, prostate and testicular cancer. They also harm the immune system and childhood development.

Most at risk are people who drink one quart of milk per day from dairy cows raised on pasture with the biosolids, eat one or two servings of fish a week from a lake contaminated by runoff, or drink PFAS-laden water, the draft risk assessment said. The EPA looked at farmers and those living nearby who regularly consumed these products over years — not the broader general public.

Organic farms aren't allowed to use the sludge, so the findings could reassure consumers who purchase organic grass-fed beef, although farms that transitioned to being organic may have had it applied earlier.

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'Nobody's dying': A look inside how a senior home evacuated before burning down in LA wildfire

Flush with her $1.25 winnings at the bingo tables, Sharon Tanner retired to a room off the dining hall to discuss the top worry for the residents council at her senior living community: what to do about people leaving their laundry in the washing machines and dryers.

Dinner service at the Terraces at Park Marino in Pasadena, California, was about half over, and residents were gathering in the lobby for the night’s movie feature: “Scent of a Woman." Tanner and Carlene Sutherland, the council vice president and secretary, were discussing the laundry scofflaws when something caught their attention.

“I smell smoke,” Tanner said.

“So do I,” remarked Sutherland.

High above in the surrounding hills, a fire was burning. But staff had decided they were in no immediate danger, and the women figured they were smelling a distant fire.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025