Zelenskyy says Ukraine faces a stark choice and risks losing American support over US peace plan

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his country in an address Friday that it could face a pivotal choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs, as leaders discuss a U.S. peace proposal seen as favoring Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, cautiously welcomed the U.S. plan to end Moscow’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine, which contains many of the Kremlin’s longstanding demands while offering limited security guarantees to Ukraine. Putin said it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement," while accusing Ukraine of opposing the plan and being unrealistic.

The plan foresees Ukraine handing over territory to Russia — something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out — while reducing the size of its army and blocking its coveted path to NATO membership.

Zelenskyy, in his address hours earlier, did not reject the plan outright, but insisted on fair treatment while pledging to “work calmly” with Washington and other partners in what he called “truly one of the most difficult moments in our history.” He said he spoke for almost an hour Friday with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll about the peace proposal.

“Currently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest,” Zelenskyy said in the recorded speech. “Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.”

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Proposed peace plan for Ukraine leaves country in a delicate position between US and Russia

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An American proposal to end the war in Ukraine puts the country in a delicate diplomatic position — caught between placating its most important ally, the United States, and not capitulating to Russia, its much larger neighbor that launched a full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.

The 28-point peace plan was crafted by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and the Kremlin, without Ukraine's involvement. It acquiesces to many Russian demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including giving up large pieces of territory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the proposal late Friday, saying it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement” if the U.S. can get Ukraine and its European allies to agree.

Striking a diplomatic tone Thursday in his nightly address to the nation, Zelenskyy said his country needs a peace that ensures Russia does not invade again. He said he would work with the European Union and the Americans.

Here's a look at key elements of the proposal and the context surrounding them.

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Trump and Mamdani go from adversaries to allies after White House meeting

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday met the man who had proudly proclaimed himself “Donald Trump's worst nightmare,” but he seemed to find the opposite.

The Republican president and New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani were warm and friendly, speaking repeatedly of their shared goals to help Trump's hometown rather than their combustible differences.

Trump, who had in the past called Mamdani a "100% Communist Lunatic" and a “total nut job," spoke openly of how impressed he was with the man who had called his administration “authoritarian.”

“I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually," Trump said of the democratic socialist as Mamdani stood next to him in the Oval Office.

The meeting offered political opportunities for both men. For Mamdani, a sit-down offered the state lawmaker — who until recently was relatively unknown — the chance to go head-to-head with the most powerful person in the world.

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Khashoggi's widow and Democrats demand release of call transcript with Trump and Saudi crown prince

WASHINGTON (AP) — The widow of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi called Friday for the release of the transcript of a 2019 phone call that President Donald Trump had with Mohammed bin Salman, joining Democratic lawmakers who are raising questions about whether Trump personally benefitted from his embrace of the Saudi crown prince.

Hanan Elatr Khashoggi appeared on Capitol Hill on Friday morning on the heels of Trump's dismissal of U.S. intelligence findings that Prince Mohammed most likely had culpability in the October 2018 slaying of her husband. Trump also lavished the Saudi ruler this week with some of Washington's highest honors for a foreign dignitary, deepening the business and military relationship between the two nations.

Saudi intelligence officials and a forensic doctor killed and dismembered Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

“There is no justification to kidnap him, torture him, to kill him and to cut him to pieces,” Hanan Elatr Khashoggi said Friday during an emotional news conference. “This is a terrorist act.”

The demand in Congress for the Trump administration to release the call transcripts is being led Rep. Eugene Vindman, a freshman Democrat from Virginia who was deputy legal adviser to the National Security Council during Trump’s first term.

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Supreme Court meets to weigh Trump's birthright citizenship restrictions, blocked by lower courts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is meeting in private Friday with a key issue on its agenda — President Donald Trump ’s birthright citizenship order declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.

The justices could say as soon as Monday whether they will hear Trump’s appeal of lower court rulings that have uniformly struck down the citizenship restrictions. They have not taken effect anywhere in the United States.

If the court steps in now, the case would be argued in the spring, with a definitive ruling expected by early summer.

The birthright citizenship order, which Trump signed on the first day of his second term in the White House, is part of his administration's broad immigration crackdown. Other actions include immigration enforcement surges in several cities and the first peacetime invocation of the 18th century Alien Enemies Act.

The administration is facing multiple court challenges, and the high court has sent mixed signals in emergency orders it has issued. The justices effectively stopped the use of the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without court hearings, while they allowed the resumption of sweeping immigration stops in the Los Angeles area after a lower court blocked the practice of stopping people solely based on their race, language, job or location.

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Officer acquitted in death of Ta'Kiya Young, a pregnant Black mother accused of shoplifting

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio police officer who shot and killed Ta'Kiya Young, a pregnant Black mother who had been accused of shoplifting, was acquitted on all counts Friday, including murder.

Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb had faced up to life in prison if convicted. Young’s grandmother collapsed into sobs at the decision, shouting “It’s not right! This is not right!” The judge then told Grubb he was free to go.

Sean Walton, an attorney for the Young family, called it “an American tragedy,” the outcome of a dual system of justice in the U.S. He vowed to keep pursuing a lawsuit against the township and police chief, while Ta'Kiya's grandmother Nadine Young raises her great-grandsons, now 8 and 5.

“It's also heartbreaking because what it does is it normalizes the behavior like that Connor Grubb exhibited that day, and that is not normal,” Walton said. “If you look at these recent police killings in Columbus, you have officers who have an irrational fear with no weapons involved or folks doing very minimal behavior that they escalate into a murder.”

Defense attorney Mark Collins said Grubb and his family are relieved, but that it's wrong to suggest the officer was untouched by the death of Young and her unborn daughter.

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Gunmen abduct more than 200 schoolchildren and 12 teachers in attack on Nigerian Catholic school

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Gunmen attacked a Catholic boarding school in a western region of Nigeria and abducted more than 200 schoolchildren Friday, the Christian Association of Nigeria said, in the latest in a spate of abductions in Africa’s most populous country.

The attack and abductions took place at St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in the Agwara local government’s Papiri community. Attackers seized 215 pupils and students as well as 12 teachers, said Daniel Atori, a spokesperson for the Niger state chapter of CAN.

“I just got back to the village tonight after I visited the school where I also met with parents," said Atori in a statement, adding the association is working "to ensure our children’s safe return.”

The Niger State Police Command said the abductions took place in the early hours, and that military and security forces have since been deployed to the community. It described St. Mary’s as a secondary school, which in Nigeria would serve children between the ages of 12 and 17.

A satellite image shows that the school compound is attached to an adjoining primary school, with more than 50 classroom and dormitory buildings. It's located near a major road linking the towns of Yelwa and Mokwa.

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Trump administration sues California over giving in-state tuition to immigrants in US illegally

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration has sued California for providing in-state college tuition, scholarships, and state-funded financial aid to students who aren't legally in the United States.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleges the practice harms U.S. citizens and encourages illegal immigration. Among the defendants are the state, top state officials, and the state's two public university systems, the University of California and California State.

President Donald Trump's administration has filed similar lawsuits against policies in other states, including Illinois, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Kentucky and Texas. Half the country now has similar laws to California's.

In June, after the administration sued, Texas ended its decades-old law. And Florida last year scrapped its law that allowed in-state tuition for high school graduates who weren't in the country legally.

Supporters of the state tuition breaks argue that they don’t violate federal law if they provide the same rates to U.S. citizens in the same circumstances — meaning they are residents of the state and graduates of one of its high schools. The California Dream Act also allows such students to apply for state-funded financial aid.

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Torrential rains return to Southern California, prompting flash flood warnings before moving east

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The third storm in just over a week drenched Southern California on Friday and prompted some local flooding but caused no major widespread damage before heading east into the mountains and south toward Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula.

The series of storms put Southern California on track for near-record November rainfall, the National Weather Service said. The region has received copious amounts of rain since Nov. 13, more than four times the normal amount that typically falls during the month in downtown Los Angeles, according to weather service reports.

Residents were warned before dawn Friday of flash flooding of streets, creeks and streams and possible mudslides in parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties. Some vehicles were stuck in floodwaters near Culver City before dawn, the weather service reported.

In coastal Huntington Beach, rainwater rushed through streets like a stream, and one neighborhood flooded after a local pond overflowed, spilling water into the streets and trapping parked cars.

By midday, the rain had passed through the coastal region and the sun was shining as the storm shifted east over the mountains, dropping about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of snow in the resort community of Big Bear with the potential for more into Saturday, said Sebastian Westerink, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego.

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More swings hit Wall Street, but this time stocks finish higher

NEW YORK (AP) — More swings hit Wall Street on Friday, except the U.S. stock market finished higher this time.

After bobbing up and down through the morning, the S&P 500 took off and rallied nearly 2% before finishing with a gain of 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 493 points, or 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.9%.

It was a fitting finish for a week that left the S&P 500 just 4.2% below its record but also forced investors to stomach the sharpest hour-to-hour swings since a sell-off in April. The jarring moves are testing investors following a monthslong and remarkably smooth surge for stocks, and they come down to two basic questions, neither of which has been answered yet.

Have prices for Nvidia, bitcoin and other stars of Wall Street shot too high? And is the Federal Reserve done with its cuts to interest rates, which would boost the economy and prices for investments?

On the second question, financial markets found some assurance from a speech by the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Markets perked up immediately after John Williams told a conference in Chile that he sees “room for a further adjustment” to interest rates.

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