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Benedict XVI, reluctant pope who chose to retire, dies at 95
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was a reluctant pope who never wanted to be pontiff. So it should have come as little surprise that with a few words uttered in Latin on a Vatican holiday in 2013, Benedict ended it all. He announced that he would become the first pope in 600 years to resign. His dramatic exit paved the way for Pope Francis’ election and created the unprecedented arrangement of two popes, living side-by-side in the Vatican gardens. And it likely won’t be a one-off, given that Francis himself has said Benedict “opened the door” for other popes to follow suit. The Vatican announced Saturday that Benedict, the former Joseph Ratzinger, had died at age 95.
Suspect in Idaho killings plans to waive extradition hearing
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A suspect arrested in connection with the slayings of four University of Idaho students plans to waive his extradition hearing so he can be quickly brought to Idaho to face murder charges. That is according to his defense attorney. Authorities in eastern Pennsylvania arrested Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a 28-year-old Ph.D. student at Washington State University, on Friday. Kohberger defense attorney Jason LaBar said Saturday that Kohberger is eager to be exonerated, and said people should wait to pass judgment until after a fair trial. Prosecutor Bill Thompson said during a press conference Friday that investigators believe Kohberger broke into the University of Idaho students’ home “with the intent to commit murder.”
Ukraine conflict casts shadow on Russia as it enters 2023
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s New Year’s address to the nation usually is rather anodyne and backed with a soothing view of a snowy Kremlin. Putin lashed out at the West and Ukraine this year with Russian soldiers in the background. The conflict in Ukraine cast a long shadow as Russia entered 2023. Cities curtailed festivities and fireworks. Moscow announced special performances for soldiers’ children featuring the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus. An exiled Russian news outlet unearthed a video of Volodymyr Zelenskyy who is now Ukrainian president and depised by the Kremlin telling jokes on a Russian state television New Year’s show just a decade ago. Putin spoke in a nine-minute video shown on state television on Saturday.
Revelers throng to New Year’s parties after COVID hiatus
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Revelers in major city centers across Europe and the Middle East are ushering in 2023 with countdowns and fireworks. Children crowded a metro station in Kharkiv, Ukraine, to meet with St. Nicholas and enjoy a special performance ahead of the new year. French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a televised address in which he vowed to continue supporting Ukraine. As Russian attacks continue to target Ukrainian power supplies, leaving millions without electricity, no big celebrations were planned in Kyiv. In Istanbul, Christians at a Catholic Church prayed for the new year and marked Pope Benedict XVI’s passing at age 95 on Saturday.
Taxes fall, wages rise and jaywalking OK’d by new state laws
Taxes will be falling and wages rising as new laws take effect Sunday in numerous states. The new year will bring higher minimum wages in 23 states. More than a dozen states will enact tax cuts. The January list of new laws also includes several affecting personal liberties. Alabama will become the 25th state to allow concealed handguns without a permit. In California, police will no longer be able to stop pedestrians for jaywalking, unless they are in immediate danger of being hit by a vehicle.
Arizona governor’s tenure defined by push right, Trump feud
PHOENIX (AP) — Republican Doug Ducey spent his eight years as Arizona governor outmaneuvering Democrats to advance GOP priorities and he reshaped the state in a decisively conservative direction. Ducey, who leaves office on Monday, cut taxes, expanded school choice, restricted abortion and built a makeshift wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Yet he’s ending his two terms with a limited national profile and the enmity of GOP foot soldiers who are angry that he refused to overturn the 2020 election to keep Donald Trump in power. Democrat Katie Hobbs is set to become governor, but a Republican-controlled legislature will limit her ability to undo much of what Ducey enacted.
New York OKs human composting law; 6th state in US to do so
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed a law making her state the sixth in the nation to allow human composting as a method of burial. Hochul signed the law Saturday. The move legalizes natural organic reduction, popularly known as human composting, following after Washington state, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont and California. New York investor Howard Fischer is one supporter who sees human composting as an eco-friendly way to return his remains to the earth as fresh, fertile soil when he dies. Critics like the New York State Catholic Conference, representing the state’s bishops, oppose the burial method as “inappropriate” for humans.
Afghan war orphan remains with Marine accused of abduction
An Afghan refugee family alleges a U.S. Marine abducted their baby. But two months after an AP report on the high-stakes legal fight over the child raised alarms at the highest levels of government, from the White House to the Taliban, the baby remains with U.S Marine Corps Major Joshua Mast and his family. The Masts claim in court documents that they legally adopted the child and that the Afghan couple’s accusations are “outrageous” and “unmerited.” Now the U.S. government has tried to intervene, saying the adoption should have never been granted.
‘Atmospheric river’ dumps heavy rain, snow across California
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A powerful storm is bringing drenching rain or heavy snowfall to much of California as the state gets ready to usher in a new year. Flooding and rock slides have closed portions of roads in northern California. In the high Sierra Nevada, as much as 2 feet of snow could accumulate into early Sunday. Chains or four-wheel drive are being required for vehicles on many roads through the mountains. The National Weather Service in Sacramento says the atmospheric river storm is pulling in a long and wide plume of moisture from the Pacific Ocean. One ski resort south of Lake Tahoe closed a chair lift because of flooding.
Barbara Walters, dead at 93, was cultural fixture, TV icon
NEW YORK (AP) — Barbara Walters was that rarest of TV personalities: a cultural fixture. For more than a half-century, she was on the air, placing in front of her audience world figures, big shots and celebrities whose names and faces might have changed from year to year. But hers never did. She first found her way to prominence in a visually oriented business where, typically, women were adornments or otherwise secondary. Walters death at age 93 was announced Friday. Late in her career, she gave infotainment a new twist with “The View,” which she considered the “dessert’ of her career.
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