Rubio says US-Ukraine talks on Russia war were productive but much work remains in search of a deal

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — U.S. and Ukrainian officials completed roughly four hours of talks Sunday aimed at finding an endgame to the war between Russia and Ukraine, just days before a U.S. envoy is due in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters afterward that the session with the Ukrainian team in Florida was productive but work remains in the search for a peace deal.

“It’s not just about the terms that ends fighting,” Rubio said. “It’s about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity. ... I think we built on that today, but there’s more work to be done."

President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to meet with Putin in Moscow in the next few days.

Rubio, Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, represented the American side in the high-level talks, held at a sensitive time as Ukraine continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded in 2022 while dealing with a corruption scandal.

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Lawmakers voice support for congressional reviews of Trump's military strikes on boats

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack.

The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week's Washington Post report was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said attacking survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns.

“This rises to the level of a war crime if it's true,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, when asked about a follow-up strike aimed at people no longer able to fight, said Congress does not have information that happened. He noted that leaders of the Armed Services Committee in both the House and Senate have opened investigations.

“Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree that that would be an illegal act,” Turner said.

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Police search for shooter after 4 are killed, 3 of them children, in shooting in California

STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in California appealed to the public for tips, even rumors, as they searched Sunday for a suspect in the killing of three children and an adult during a mass shooting at a child's birthday party in Stockton.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County sheriff’s office.

She said investigators believe it was a “targeted incident” at a banquet hall where 100 people or more had gathered Saturday night.

Brent said the deceased were ages 8, 9, 14 and 21. Eleven people were also wounded. No one was in custody by Sunday afternoon, and she did not elaborate on why authorities believe it was intentional or who might have been targeted.

“If you have surveillance footage, if you’re a local business here, if you’re in the area, live in the area, or maybe you’ve heard rumors — please contact the sheriff’s office,” Brent said.

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Trump issues White House invitation to families of the two National Guard members who were shot

President Donald Trump on Sunday said he's invited the family of a National Guard member fatally shot last week to the White House, saying he spoke to her parents and they were “devastated.”

U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died after the Wednesday shooting in Washington, D.C., while her seriously injured colleague, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, remained in critical condition.

The president said he's discussed a White House visit for the parents of both members of the West Virginia National Guard.

“I said, ‘When you’re ready, because that's a tough thing, come to the White House. We're going to honor Sarah,” Trump told reporters. “And likewise with Andrew, recover or not.”

In recent days, local vigils in West Virginia have honored the soldiers, including one Saturday evening at Webster County High School, where Beckstrom attended classes.

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Post-Thanksgiving travelers in Chicago see flights canceled and delayed after winter storm

Travelers at the end of the Thanksgiving holiday on Sunday were finding hundreds of flights delayed and canceled in Chicago following a winter storm in the Great Lakes region, while a wintry mix of rain and snow developed in the Northeast.

In Wisconsin, utility crews worked to restore power to thousands of people, while the airport in Des Moines, Iowa, reopened on the critical travel day after a Delta Connection flight landing from Detroit slid off an icy runway. No injuries were reported, and passengers were transported to the terminal by bus.

Hundreds of churches in western Michigan told worshippers to stay home or watch services online. Up to 12 inches (about 30 centimeters) of snow had fallen since Saturday in areas close to Lake Michigan.

On Saturday, 8.4 inches (21.34 centimeters) of snow fell at Chicago's O’Hare International Airport, setting a record for the highest single calendar day snowfall in November at the airport, according to the National Weather Service. That broke the previous record of 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) on Nov. 6, 1951.

Over 270 flights into and out of O'Hare had been canceled by midafternoon, while over 1,200 had been delayed, according to the tracking site FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration said at one point on Sunday that departures to O’Hare were delayed on average by nearly an hour due to snow or ice, and that departures from the airport were delayed an average of 15 minutes.

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Netanyahu requests a pardon to end his ongoing corruption trial in Israel

TEL AVIV (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday asked the country’s president to grant him a pardon from corruption charges, seeking to end a long-running trial that has bitterly divided the nation.

Netanyahu, who has been at war against Israel’s legal system over the charges, said the request would help unify the country at a time of momentous change in the region. But it immediately triggered denunciations from opponents, who said a pardon would weaken democratic institutions and send a dangerous message that he's above the rule of law.

Netanyahu had submitted a request for a pardon to the legal department of the Office of the President, the prime minister’s office said in a statement. The president's office called it an “extraordinary request,” carrying with it “significant implications.”

Netanyahu is the only sitting prime minister in Israeli history to stand trial, after being charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases accusing him of exchanging favors with wealthy political supporters. He hasn't been convicted of anything.

Netanyahu rejects the allegations and has described the case as a witch hunt orchestrated by the media, police and judiciary.

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Pope Leo XIV calls on Lebanese leaders to be true peacemakers as he seeks to bring message of hope

BEIRUT (AP) — Pope Leo XIV challenged Lebanon’s political leaders on Sunday to be true peacemakers and put their differences aside, as he sought to give Lebanon’s long-suffering people a message of hope and bolster a crucial Christian community in the Middle East.

Leo arrived in Beirut from Istanbul on the second leg of his maiden voyage as pope. He came to encourage the Lebanese people to persevere at a precarious moment for the small Mediterranean country as it faces economic uncertainty, deep political divisions and fears of a new war with Israel.

Leo is fulfilling a promise of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who had wanted to visit Lebanon for years but was unable to because of its many crises and as his health worsened.

Lebanon’s political system, based on sectarian power-sharing, has been prone to deadlock with lengthy power vacuums and regular stalemates over controversial issues, including the investigation into the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion.

Most recently, the country has been deeply split over calls for Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group and political party, to disarm after fighting a war with Israel last year that left the country deeply damaged.

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A Border Patrol-led immigration crackdown is coming to southeast Louisiana. Here's what to know

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Around 250 federal border agents are expected to launch a monthslong immigration crackdown on Monday in southeast Louisiana and into Mississippi dubbed “Swamp Sweep.”

The deployment, which aims to arrest 5,000 people, is centered in liberal New Orleans and is the latest federal immigration enforcement operation to target a Democratic-run city as President Donald Trump's administration pursues its mass deportation agenda.

Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who has led aggressive operations in Chicago, Los Angeles and Charlotte, North Carolina, is expected to helm the campaign.

Many in the greater New Orleans area, particularly in Latino communities, have been on edge since the planned operations were reported earlier this month, even as Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he welcomes the federal agents.

Here's what to know about “Swamp Sweep.”

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Georgia up to No. 3 behind Ohio State, Indiana in Top 25 shuffle as Oregon, Texas Tech also climb

Texas A&M fell out of the top five of The Associated Press college football poll for the first time in two months Sunday, Texas Tech notched its highest ranking in 17 years and a season-high four teams from Group of Five conferences are ranked as the top five got a shuffle with a week to go before the postseason bracket is set.

No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana, the only remaining unbeatens, are the top two teams for a seventh straight poll heading into their Big Ten title game clash on Saturday. No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Oregon each moved up a spot, and Texas Tech's No. 5 ranking is its best since it spent three weeks at No. 2 in November 2008.

Mississippi remained No. 6 and was followed by Texas A&M, which slipped four spots after its 10-point loss at Texas. Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Alabama rounded out the top 10 for the third straight week.

The weekend results created two top-10 matchups in conference championship games this Saturday. Besides the Big Ten showdown, Georgia and Alabama will play for the Southeastern Conference crown. The other Top 25 matchup pits Texas Tech against No. 11 BYU in the Big 12. The Atlantic Coast Conference game matches No. 16 Virginia against a Duke team that is 7-5 and received no votes in Sunday's poll.

No. 12 Miami and No. 13 Vanderbilt traded places in the rankings. The Hurricanes, who finished the regular season with a 31-point road win over Pittsburgh, are the highest-ranked ACC team and hope to receive a College Football Playoff at-large bid. Vanderbilt slipped despite beating Tennessee by 21 points on the road.

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AI-assisted shopping is the talk of the holiday shopping season

NEW YORK (AP) — Major retail chains and tech companies are offering new or updated artificial intelligence tools in time for the holiday shopping season, hoping to give consumers an easier gift-buying experience and themselves an augmented share of online spending.

Although AI-powered purchases are in early stages, the shopping assistants and agents rolled out by the likes of Walmart, Amazon and Google can do more than the chatbots of holidays past. The latest versions were designed to provide personalized product recommendations, track prices and to place some orders through unscripted “conversations” with customers.

Those features are on top of shopping updates from AI platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Gemini. In one of the season's most talked-about launches, Google this month introduced an AI agent that can be instructed to call local stores to ask if a desired product is in stock.

San Francisco software company Salesforce estimated that AI would influence $73 billion, or 22%, of all global sales in one way or another from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving through Monday after the holiday, according to Caila Schwartz, Salesforce’s director of consumer insights.

The figure, which stood at $60 billion a year ago, encompasses everything from a ChatGPT query to AI-supplied gift suggestions on a retailer’s website, Schwartz said.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025