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What Erdoğan does next

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:57:57 GMT

After two decades in power, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan consolidated his dominance over Turkish politics with victory in Sunday’s presidential election. The question now facing Turkey — and the wider world — is what the strongman leader will do next. As the head of a strategically vital NATO power, joining Europe to the Middle East, Erdoğan’s international influence is critical. At home, with an economy struggling to cope with rampant inflation, his domestic challenges are daunting. Sunday’s election represented one of the biggest threats to Erdoğan’s rule so far. He is Turkey’s most commanding leader since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the country 100 years ago — and he won, by 52 percent to 48 percent, with a campaign that reinforced his authoritarian creed. “The results show that the president can deploy identity politics to squeeze out a win despite the worst economic conditions since the 2001 financial crisis,” Emre Peker, director for Europe at the Eurasia...

Thousands evacuated as Philippines warns of possible flooding, landslides from Typhoon Mawar

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:57:57 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials began evacuating thousands of villagers, shut down schools and offices and imposed a no-sail ban Monday as Typhoon Mawar approached the country’s northern provinces a week after battering the U.S. territory of Guam. The typhoon is packing maximum sustained winds of 155 kpm (96 mph) and gusts of up to 190 kph (118 mph) but is forecast to spare the mountainous region a direct hit. Current projections show the typhoon veering northeast toward Taiwan or southern Japan. Although it’s expected to slow down considerably, authorities warned of dangerous tidal surges, flash floods and landslides as it blows past the northernmost province of Batanes from Tuesday to Wednesday. Disaster-preparedness officials said the typhoon’s course could change abruptly and there was no room for complacency. “Even if the sun is up, the weather is so unpredictable nowadays and could change anytime so we should always stay on the side of safety,” Assistant ...

As rising oceans threaten NYC, study documents another risk: The city is sinking

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:57:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — If rising oceans aren’t worry enough, add this to the risks New York City faces: The metropolis is slowly sinking under the weight of its skyscrapers, homes, asphalt and humanity itself.New research estimates the city’s landmass is sinking at an average rate of 1 to 2 millimeters per year, something referred to as “subsidence.”That natural process happens everywhere as ground is compressed, but the study published this month in the journal Earth’s Future sought to estimate how the massive weight of the city itself is hurrying things along. More than 1 million buildings are spread across the city’s five boroughs. The research team calculated that all those structures add up to about 1.7 trillion tons (1.5 trillion metric tons) of concrete, metal and glass — about the mass of 4,700 Empire State buildings — pressing down on the Earth.The rate of compression varies throughout the city. Midtown Manhattan’s skyscrapers are largely built on rock, which com...

‘He’s home’: Missing 73 years, Medal of Honor recipient’s remains return to Georgia

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:57:57 GMT

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Soldiers of the 9th Infantry Regiment made a desperate retreat as North Korean troops closed in around them. A wounded, 18-year-old Army Pfc. Luther Herschel Story feared his injuries would slow down his company, so he stayed behind to cover their withdrawal.Story’s actions in the Korean War on Sept. 1, 1950, would ensure he was remembered. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor, which is now displayed alongside his portrait at the National Infantry Museum, an hour’s drive from his hometown of Americus, Georgia. But Story was never seen alive again, and his resting place long remained a mystery. “In my family, we always believed that he would never be found,” said Judy Wade, Story’s niece and closest surviving relative.That changed in April when the U.S. military revealed lab tests had matched DNA from Wade and her late mother to bones of an unidentified American soldier recovered from Korea in October 1950. The remains belo...

Struggles continue for thousands in Florida 8 months after Hurricane Ian as new storm season looms

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:57:57 GMT

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Eight months ago, chef Michael Cellura had a restaurant job and had just moved into a fancy new camper home on Fort Myers Beach. Now, after Hurricane Ian swept all that away, he lives in his older Infiniti sedan with a 15-year-old long-haired chihuahua named Ginger.Like hundreds of others, Cellura was left homeless after the Category 5 hurricane blasted the barrier island last September with ferocious winds and storm surge as high as 15 feet (4 meters). Like many, he’s struggled to navigate insurance payouts, understand federal and state assistance bureaucracy and simply find a place to shower.“There’s a lot of us like me that are displaced. Nowhere to go,” Cellura, 58, said during a recent interview next to his car, sitting in a commercial parking lot along with other storm survivors housed in recreational vehicles, a converted school bus, even a shipping container. “There’s a lot of homeless out here, a lot of people living in tents,...

At least 1 dead after violent 2-car crash in Pomona

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:57:57 GMT

At least one person was killed after a violent two-car crash in Pomona Sunday night, authorities announced.  Calls about the crash near the intersection of East Bonita Avenue and North Garey Avenue came in just before 9 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  At the scene, firefighters found two people trapped in their vehicle and requested additional ambulances. At least one person was taken to the hospital.  Video of the wreckage showed severe damage to both vehicles, one of which had overturned. First responders on the scene of a fatal two-car crash in Pomona on May 28, 2023. (Key News)Wreckage seen to two vehicles after crash in Pomona May 28, 2023 (Key News)Wreckage seen to two vehicles after crash in Pomona May 28, 2023 (Key News)Details about the crash are limited, but authorities said that Garey Avenue will be completely shut down between Bonita and Harrison avenues while the Pomona Police Department investigates. Motorists were encouraged ...

Japón advierte que destruirá cualquier misil norcoreano que entre en su territorio

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:57:57 GMT

(CNN) — El Ministerio de Defensa de Japón advirtió este lunes que destruirá cualquier misil norcoreano que entre en su territorio, después de que Pyongyang notificara al país sus planes de lanzar un “satélite” entre el 31 de mayo y el 11 de junio.“Tomaremos medidas destructivas contra los misiles balísticos y de otro tipo que se confirme que aterrizan en nuestro territorio”, dijo el Ministerio de Defensa de Japón en un comunicado.El secretario jefe del Gabinete japonés, Hirokazu Matsuno, también declaró este lunes que cualquier lanzamiento de misiles norcoreanos disfrazado de “satélite” es una “amenaza” para la seguridad del país.Si Corea del Norte sigue adelante con su plan de lanzar un misil, violaría las resoluciones del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU y sería una “grave provocación”, declaró Matsuno a los periodistas.Corea del Norte asegura que está lista para lanzar el primer satélite espía, reportan medios estata...

Former Steelers, Jets running back Le’Veon Bell says he smoked marijuana before games

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:57:57 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Former Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell says he smoked marijuana before playing some NFL games during his career.“That’s what I did,” Bell told Barstool Sports’ “Steel Here” podcast which was published Friday. “When I was playing football, I smoked, bro. Even before the games, I’d smoke and I’d go out there and run for 150 (yards), two (touchdowns).”Jersey Jerry, who co-hosts the podcast with Kevin Adams, then asked: “In the NFL?”“Yeah,” said the 31-year-old Bell, who hasn’t played in the league since the 2021 season.Bell was suspended twice for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy while he played for the Steelers. He began his professional career in Pittsburgh in 2013 and became one of the league’s most dynamic and productive players. Bell was a one-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection as a dual threat out of the Steelers’ backfield.He sat out the 2018 season because of a cont...

French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz ready to get started at Roland Garros

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:57:57 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, two men expected to go far at the French Open, make their 2023 Roland Garros debuts on Monday against a pair of opponents who never have played a Grand Slam match.Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain ranked No. 1 who won the U.S. Open in September, faces Flavio Cobolli, an Italian who is ranked 159th. Djokovic, who won two of his 22 major championships in Paris, takes on Aleksander Kovacevic, an American ranked 114th.Asked to compare the Alcaraz of today to the Alcaraz of a year ago, his coach, 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, began by saying: “As a person, I would say he’s more mature.”And then Ferrero added: “As a player, I think he grows up, like, super fast on the court. He can, let’s say, read the matches a little bit better.”Djokovic begins his bid to break the men’s record he currently shares with Rafael Nadal by earning Grand Slam trophy No. 23. Djokovic also can become the only man with at least three titles f...

Four dead after tourist boat capsizes in storm on Italian lake

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:57:57 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Italian firefighters said Monday that they have recovered four bodies from a northern Italian lake after a tourist boat capsized in a sudden, violent storm.Divers searched overnight after a whirlwind overturned the boat carrying more than 20 tourists and crew Sunday evening. The final body was recovered early Monday.Firefighters said 19 people were saved. Many reportedly managed to swim to shore, or were picked up by other boats.Firefighter video released Sunday showed pieces of wood floating in the lake as a helicopter flew overhead.The whirlwind was part of a storm system that hit Lombardy Sunday evening, forcing delays at Milan’s Malpensa airport.The Associated Press