AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST
Biden's broken promise on pardoning his son Hunter is raising new questions about his legacy
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Joe Biden´s decision to go back on his word and issue a categorical pardon for his son, Hunter, just weeks before his scheduled sentencing on gun and tax convictions was a surprise that wasn't all that surprising.
Not to those who had witnessed the president´s shared anguish over his two sons after the boys survived a car crash that killed Biden's first wife and a daughter more than a half-century ago. Or to those who heard the president regularly lament the death of his older son, Beau, from cancer or voice concerns - largely in private - about Hunter´s sobriety and health after years of deep addiction.
But by choosing to put his family first, the 82-year-old president - who had pledged to restore a fractured public´s trust in the nation´s institutions and respect for the rule of law - has raised new questions about his already teetering legacy.
"This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation," Colorado's Democratic Gov. Jared Polis wrote in a post on X. He added that while he could sympathize with Hunter Biden´s struggles, "no one is above the law, not a President and not a President´s son."
Biden aides and allies had been resigned to the prospect of the president using his extraordinary power in the waning days of his presidency to ensure his son wouldn't see time behind bars, especially after Donald Trump ´s win. The president's supporters have long viewed Biden's commitment to his family as an asset overall, even if Hunter's personal conduct and tangled business dealings were seen as a persistent liability.
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Some Democrats are frustrated over Joe Biden reversing course and pardoning his son Hunter
ATLANTA (AP) - Already reeling from their November defeats, Democrats now are grappling with President Joe Biden´s pardoning of his son for federal crimes, with some calling the move misguided and unwise after the party spent years slamming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who disregarded the law.
The president pardoned Hunter Biden late Sunday evening, reversing his previous pledges with a grant of clemency that covers more than a decade of any federal crimes his son might have committed. The 82-year-old president said in a statement that his son´s prosecution on charges of tax evasion and falsifying a federal weapons purchase form were politically motivated.
"He believes in the justice system, but he also believes that politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who along with Biden and other White House officials insisted for months that Hunter Biden would not get a pardon.
That explanation did not satisfy some Democrats, angry that Biden´s reversal could make it harder to take on Trump, who has argued that multiple indictments and one conviction against him were a matter of Biden and Democrats turning the justice system against him.
"This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation," Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote of Biden on the social media platform X.
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Trump demands immediate release of Oct. 7 hostages, says otherwise there will be 'HELL TO PAY'
NEW YORK (AP) - President-elect Donald Trump is demanding the immediate release of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, saying that if they are not freed before he is sworn into office for a second term there will be "HELL TO PAY."
"Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social site.
He added that, "Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!"
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was threatening to directly involve the U.S. military in Israel´s ongoing campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Trump allies have said he hopes there will be a ceasefire and hostage release deal before he returns to office early next year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu´s office declined comment. But the country's president, Isaac Herzog, welcomed Trump's comments in a social media post.
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Hezbollah attack draws Israeli strikes on Lebanon, killing 11 people and testing ceasefire's limits
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel unleashed its largest wave of airstrikes across Lebanon since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last week, killing at least 11 people on Monday after the Lebanese militant group fired a volley of projectiles as a warning over what it said were Israeli truce violations.
The projectiles were apparently the first time that Hezbollah took aim at Israeli forces after the 60-day ceasefire went into effect last Wednesday. The increasingly fragile truce aimed to end more than a year of war between Hezbollah and Israel - part of a wider regional conflict sparked by the devastating Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
In the United States, President-elect Donald Trump demanded the immediate release of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant Hamas group in Gaza, saying on social media that if they are not freed before he takes office in January there would be "HELL TO PAY."
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was threatening to directly involve the U.S. military in Israel´s ongoing war in Gaza. The U.S. has given Israel crucial military and diplomatic support throughout the nearly 15-month conflict.
Lebanon´s Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike on the southern village of Haris killed five people and wounded two while another airstrike on the village of Tallousa killed four and also wounded two.
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Key players in Syria's long-running civil war, reignited by a shock rebel offensive
BEIRUT (AP) - Syria´s long civil war has reclaimed global attention after insurgents seized most of its largest city and dozens of nearby towns and villages.
The stunning advance on Aleppo by rebel forces came as several key players in the conflict have been distracted or weakened, triggering the heaviest clashes since a 2020 ceasefire brought relative calm to the country´s north.
Russian and Syrian forces have carried out dozens of airstrikes to try to limit the insurgents' advances, inflicting heavy casualties.
Syria's civil war started in 2011 after an uprising against President Bashar Assad's rule. Five foreign powers have a military presence in the country including the U.S., Russia and Iran. Forces opposed to Assad, along with U.S.-backed fighters, control more than a third of the country. Israel holds the Golan Heights, which it seized in its 1967 war with its Arab neighbors.
Here´s a look at the key players:
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Police say a Hawaii woman who disappeared went to Mexico and is not considered missing
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Hawaii woman who disappeared after landing in Los Angeles three weeks ago was seen crossing into Mexico alone with her luggage and no longer is considered missing, police said Monday.
Hannah Kobayashi, 30, wanted to go off the grid and walked into the tunnel that leads to Mexico at about noon on Nov. 12, the day after her family reported her missing, according to police. There is no evidence she´s being trafficked or a victim of foul play, officials said, citing surveillance video from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection that they reviewed late Sunday.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief of Police Jim McDonnell said Kobayashi appeared unharmed and that the case is now classified as a "voluntary missing person."
"We´ve basically done everything we can do at this point. She´s left the country and in another nation now," he said, adding that if she returns to the U.S., law enforcement will be notified.
McDonnell said she has a right to her privacy, but urged her to reach out to her family or law enforcement.
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Woman driving drunk who killed bride still in her wedding dress sentenced to 25 years in prison
A woman who admitted to drinking and who was driving well over twice the speed limit when she smashed into a golf cart, killing a bride who had just got married at a South Carolina beach, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison.
Jamie Lee Komoroski pleaded guilty at the Charleston County courthouse to reckless homicide, felony DUI causing death and two counts of felony DUI causing great bodily injury before her sentencing.
Also hurt in the 2023 crash was the groom, Aric Hutchinson, who cried in court as he recalled the last moments he spent with Samantha Miller - some of their only moments as husband and wife.
"On the golf cart, she told me she didn´t want the night to end and I kissed her on the forehead and then the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital," Hutchinson said.
Komoroski, 27, was sentenced to the maximum of 25 years in prison for felony DUI causing death by Judge Deadra Jefferson. She also was sentenced to 15 years in prison for each count of felony DUI causing great bodily injury and 10 years for reckless homicide. The sentences will all run at the same time.
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Delaware judge reaffirms ruling that invalidated massive Tesla pay package for Elon Musk
DOVER, Del. (AP) - A Delaware judge has reaffirmed her ruling that Tesla must revoke Elon Musk´s multibillion-dollar pay package
Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick on Monday denied a request by attorneys for Musk and Tesla´s corporate directors to vacate her ruling earlier this year requiring the company to rescind the unprecedented pay package.
McCormick also rejected an equally unprecedented and massive fee request by plaintiff attorneys, who argued that they were entitled to legal fees in the form of Tesla stock valued at more than $5 billion. The judge said the attorneys were entitled to a fee award of $345 million.
The rulings came in a lawsuit filed by a Tesla stockholder who challenged Musk´s 2018 compensation package.
McCormick concluded in January that Musk engineered the landmark pay package in sham negotiations with directors who were not independent. The compensation package initially carried a potential maximum value of about $56 billion, but that sum has fluctuated over the years based on Tesla´s stock price.
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What is 'lake-effect snow'? Warm air from large bodies of water is the key ingredient
When towns along the Great Lakes get buried in drifts of blowing snow, like several have over the past few days, weather experts start talking about the "lake effect."
Lake-effect snow often occurs in relatively narrow bands that dump copious amounts of snow. The weather phenomenon can drastically increase snowfall totals, and it may slam one area and leave another just miles away untouched.
Over the weekend, parts of upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan saw nearly 4 feet (1.2 meters) of lake-effect snow.
Here's a look at how it works:
In the United States, the lake effect typically begins when cold air - often from Canada - blows in over the Great Lakes' warmer waters.
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Cyber Monday shoppers expected to set a record on the year's biggest day for online shopping
Consumers in the United States are scouring the internet for online deals as they look to take advantage of the post-Thanksgiving shopping marathon with Cyber Monday.
Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of many people's regular routines and the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday - a term coined in 2005 by the National Retail Federation - has become the biggest online shopping day of the year, thanks to the deals and the hype the industry has created to fuel it.
Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping, expects consumers to spend a record $13.2 billion on Monday, 6.1% more than last year. That would make it the season's - and the year's - biggest - shopping day for e-commerce.
Online spending is expected to peak between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday night, per Adobe - reaching an estimated $15.7 million spent every minute.
For several major retailers, a Cyber Monday sale is a dayslong event that began over the Thanksgiving weekend. Amazon kicked off its sales event right after midnight Pacific time on Saturday. Target's two days of discount offers on its website and app began overnight Sunday. Walmart rolled out its Cyber Monday offers for Walmart+ members on Sunday afternoon and opened it up to all customers three hours later, at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
