- Monday, 29 December 2025
AP
TikTok dismisses calls for Chinese owners to sell stakes
TikTok was dismissive Wednesday of reports that the Biden administration was calling for its Chinese owners to sell their stakes in the popular video-sharing app, saying such a move wouldn’t help protect national security.
Late-winter storm pummels Northeast with heavy, wet snow
A winter storm dumped heavy, wet snow in parts of the Northeast on Tuesday, causing tens of thousands of power outages, widespread school closings, dangerous driving conditions and a plane to slide off a taxiway.
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India enthuses over Oscars for ‘Naatu Naatu,’ elephant doc
India celebrated its two historic Academy Awards with enthusiasm befitting the high-energy best original song “Naatu Naatu.” The dance anthem from the blockbuster Telugu-language action epic “RRR” is the first from an Indian film to earn a nomination and win and has dazzled audiences everywhere with its energetic tempo and choreography.
‘Naatu Naatu’ wins Oscar, gets music spotlight back on India
M.M. Keeravani has brought the spotlight back to India after a historic Oscar musical win. Keeravani won the best original song for his joyously energetic anthem “Naatu Naatu” from the film “RRR.” The music was written by Keeravani and the lyrics by Chandrabose.
As Biden weighs Willow, he blocks other Alaska oil drilling
As President Joe Biden prepares a final decision on the huge Willow oil project in Alaska, his administration announced he will prevent or limit oil drilling in 16 million acres in Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.
From wine country to London, bank’s failure shakes worldwide
From winemakers in California to startups across the Atlantic Ocean, companies are scrambling to figure out how to manage their finances after their bank suddenly shut down Friday. The meltdown means distress not only for businesses but also for all their workers whose paychecks may get tied up in the chaos.
Trump invited to testify before NY grand jury, lawyer says
Former President Donald Trump has been invited to testify before a New York grand jury that has been investigating hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign, according to one of his lawyers.
Volunteers in mountain towns dig out snow-stuck Californians
After a blizzard swept through Southern California mountains, 79-year-old Alan Zagorsky found himself shut inside his home with snow blocking the door and stairways leading out.
US to relax COVID testing rules for travelers from China
The Biden administration is preparing to relax COVID-19 testing restrictions for travelers from China as soon as Friday, according to two people familiar with the decision.
4 kidnapped Americans crossed into Mexico for health care
By ALFREDO PEÑA and MATTHEW BARAKATCIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — Four Americans who traveled to Mexico last week to seek health care got caught in a deadly shootout and were kidnapped by heavily armed men who threw them in the back of a pickup truck, officials from both countries said Monday.The four were traveling Friday in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates. They came under fire shortly after entering the city of Matamoros from Brownsville, at the southernmost tip of Texas near the Gulf coast, the FBI said in a statement Sunday.“All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men,” the FBI said. The bureau is offering a $50,000 reward for the victims’ return and the arrest of the kidnappers.Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, said she has been in contact with the FBI and local officials after learning that her younger brother, Zindell Brown, is one of the four victims.“This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from,” she said in a phone interview. “To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.”Zalandria Brown said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, and two friends had accompanied a third friend who was going to Mexico for a tummy tuck surgery. A doctor who advertises such surgeries in Matamoros did not answer calls seeking comment.Brown said the group was extremely close and they all made the trip in part to help split up the driving duties. They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, she added, and her brother had expressed some misgivings.“Zindell kept saying, ‘We shouldn’t go down,’” Brown said.A video posted to social media Friday showed men with assault rifles and tan body armor loading the four people into the bed of a white pickup in broad daylight. One was alive and sitting up, but the others seemed either dead or wounded. At least one person appeared to lift his head from the pavement before being dragged to the truck.The scene illustrates the terror that has prevailed for years in Matamoros, a city dominated by factions of the powerful Gulf drug cartel who often fight among themselves. Amid the violence, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared in Tamaulipas state alone.Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday that “there was a confrontation between groups, and they were detained,” without offering details. He originally said the four Americans came to Mexico to buy medications.Tamaulipas’ chief prosecutor, Irving Barrios, told reporters that a Mexican woman died in Friday’s shootings. He did not specify whether she was killed in the same gunfight where the kidnapping took place.A woman driving in Matamoros who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal said she witnessed what appeared to be the shooting and abduction.The white minivan was hit by another vehicle near an intersection, then gunfire rang out, the woman said. Another SUV rolled up, and several armed men hopped out.“All of a sudden they (the gunmen) were in front of us,” she said. “I entered a state of shock, nobody honked their horn, nobody moved. Everybody must have been thinking the same thing, ‘If we move they will see us, or they might shoot us.’”She said the gunmen forced a woman, who was able to walk, into the back of a pickup. Another person was carried to the truck but could still move his head.“The other two they dragged across the pavement, we don’t know if they were alive or dead,” she said.Mexican authorities arrived minutes later.Zindell Brown’s family asked people to share any relevant information with local authorities. O’dell William Brown, his father, said the family is still searching for answers.“I don’t know which way to go right now,” he said. “We don’t know what’s what.”Shootouts in Matamoros were so bad on Friday that the U.S. Consulate issued an alert about the danger and local authorities warned people to shelter in place. It was not immediately clear how the abductions may have been connected to that violence.U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement Monday the Americans were kidnapped at gunpoint and an “innocent” Mexican citizen died in the attack. He said various U.S. justice agencies were working with their Mexican counterparts to recover the missing persons.Authorities have provided no other details about the victims.President Joe Biden had been informed of the situation, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. She declined to answer other questions, citing privacy concerns.Victims of violence in Matamoros and other large border cities of Tamaulipas often go uncounted because the cartels have a history taking bodies of their own with them. Local media often avoid reporting on such episodes out of safety concerns, creating an information vacuum.The State Department warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Tamaulipas. However U.S. citizens who live in Brownsville or elsewhere in Texas frequently cross to visit family, attend medical appointments or shop. It’s also a crossing point for people traveling deeper into Mexico.As the headquarters of the Gulf cartel, Matamoros was once relatively calm. For years, a night out in the city was part of the “two-nation vacation” for spring breakers flocking to Texas’ South Padre Island.But increased cartel violence over the past 10 to 15 years frightened away much of that business. Sometimes U.S. citizens are swept up in the fighting.Three U.S. siblings disappeared near Matamoros in October 2014 while visiting their father and were later found shot to death and burned. Their parents said they had been abducted by men dressed in police gear identifying themselves as “Hercules,” a tactical security unit in the city.
Snow blankets Northeast as cleanup begins from deadly storm
Cleanup began in battered parts of the South and Midwest after a sprawling storm system produced ferocious winds and heavy snow that caused widespread damage and multiple deaths before racing through the Northeast on Saturday.
Meteorologist: West Coast snowfall is ‘once in a generation’
ortland, Oregon received nearly a foot of snow in a single day in what proved to be its second-snowiest day in history. Mountainous areas of California experienced nearly unprecedented snowfall accumulations - more than 40 feet since the start of the season.
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Biden administration releases new cybersecurity strategy
The U.S. government plans to expand minimum cybersecurity requirements for critical sectors and to be faster and more aggressive in preventing cyberattacks before they can occur, including by using the military, law enforcement and diplomatic tools, according to a Biden administration strategy document released Thursday.
Carbon dioxide emissions reached a record high in 2022
Communities around the world emitted more carbon dioxide in 2022 than in any other year on records dating to 1900, a result of air travel rebounding from the pandemic and more cities turning to coal as a low-cost source of power.
To the rooftops: Staggering snowfall in California mountains
Emergency crews in California scrambled Wednesday to shuttle food and medicine to mountain communities stranded by back-to-back winter storms that have dumped so much snow some residents can barely see out their windows.
