Israel’s president taps opposition candidate Eisenkot to form a government, in setback for Netanyahu
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Saturday night that he was giving opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to form a governing coalition following elections on Oct. 27.
Eisenkot, a former military chief who ran as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is now a step closer to ousting Israel’s longest-serving premier.
“This is the time to establish a national emergency government. I will do anything possible to prove us worthy,” Eisenkot posted on his X account just after the presidential announcement.
He has up to six weeks to form a coalition, a challenging task in a deeply divided country reeling from the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and the three years of wars that have followed in Gaza and beyond.
In discussions with the president this week, representatives from most of Israel’s main parties recommended Eisenkot be tasked with assembling a new government. But putting together the parliamentary majority needed remains fraught and any possible coalition would require candidates to make tough compromises that could outrage their own voters.
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UFC's Dana White says he will meet with Trump Monday over offer to be White House press secretary
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has offered the job of White House press secretary to his friend and UFC boss Dana White, an announcement unconventional even for the norm-busting president. White said Saturday that he plans to meet with Trump on Monday at the White House.
Trump, while he was at his golf club in Florida, posted on social media that he made the offer to “the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior” to become the Republican president's chief spokesperson.
White, who was in London on Saturday for a boxing event, was asked at a news conference about Trump's post and responded by saying that he planned to fly to Washington right after and meet with Trump on Monday.
When asked how he would balance the job with the current positions he has in the fighting world, White seemed confused by the question and then said, “Yeah, I got a lot of jobs already.”
He declined to say what conversations he'd had with Trump but said, “I'm sure I'll have more to talk about after that.”
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Polish gunman who killed 6 people in Krakow has 'ultranationalistic' views, authorities say
KRAKOW, Poland (AP) — A Polish man with far-right views drove into a busy central square in Krakow on Saturday and opened fire, killing six people and injuring 15 others before police shot and wounded him, authorities said.
The attack, which Poland’s defense minister described as an “act of terror,” happened in Main Square, which is in the heart of Krakow’s Old Town and is a major tourist hub in the country’s second-largest city.
The 25-year-old attacker drove to multiple spots in the square and opened fire at each stop with an automatic weapon, authorities said. Although they didn’t release his name, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the man holds “very radical” and “ultranationalistic” views.
"Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies,” Kierwiński said at a news conference.
Hours after the attack, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said authorities found the bodies of three of the suspect's close family members — two women and a man — inside of his home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, a city about 150 kilometers (93 miles) northeast of Krakow.
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Trump’s grip on his party is in question as Republicans reel from the midterm wipeout
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans aren't holding back.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described this week's elections as an “extinction-level event” for the GOP. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz likened it to a “Watergate-level repudiation.” Former Vice President Mike Pence called it a “reckoning.”
For all the apocalyptic talk emerging from a midterm that relegated Republicans to their thinnest ranks on Capitol Hill in decades, there's little agreement on how the party should move forward.
A return to the bedrock fiscal and national security conservatism that defined Republicans under President Ronald Reagan risks alienating the more hard-line conservatives welcomed into the party under President Donald Trump under the “Make America Great Again” banner.
But leaning even further into Trump's coarse brand of politics could lead to more voter rejection.
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US military says it fired on commercial vessel in Gulf of Oman after it attempted to breach blockade
JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Central Command said late Saturday it disabled a St. Kitts-flagged ship after it ignored multiple warnings and attempted to leave the region after visiting an Iranian port.
U.S. forces have been enforcing a naval blockade on Iran for months in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial strategic waterway for global shipping, including of oil. The last confirmed U.S. strike on a cargo vessel was nearly a month ago in the Gulf of Oman.
Saturday’s disclosure comes in the wake of at least two instances in which U.S. Central Command did not announce military strikes it has taken in the region and officials at the command declined to confirm strikes when asked about local reports of explosions.
Iran state media also reported on Saturday evening the sound of explosions on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as several explosions in the port of Jask. It wasn’t immediately clear what the cause of the explosions was and the U.S. military didn't immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.
The Iranian military said late Saturday that two tankers had hit mines in the Hormuz area and caught fire. It did not identify the tankers’ flags or destinations.
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House Democrats will start their majority focused on boosting healthcare and ending the Iran war
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democratic leaders are placing an early emphasis on healthcare as they discuss their immediate priorities upon the swearing-in of the new Congress on Jan. 3.
Early votes in the House next year are expected to focus on boosting Medicaid and restoring an enhanced tax subsidy that is designed to lower the cost of Affordable Care Act health plans for millions of enrollees.
Democrats are also promising swift action on legislation to stop the war with Iran and to reverse some of President Donald Trump'strade tariffs.
“We’re going to get out of the gate fast,” said New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader who is in line to become the next House speaker.
The legislative flurry carries enormous stakes for Democrats as they seek to translate their sweeping victories in the midterms — their numbers will exceed 250 in the 435-member House — into achievements that deliver on their promises to lower the cost of living.
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Melania Trump and LSU announce $7.2 million to endow scholarships for former foster care students
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Melania Trump on Saturday announced that Louisiana State University has raised $7.2 million to provide scholarships through her “Fostering the Future” program to LSU students who were formerly in foster care.
"This achievement will give young people from foster care an anchor of stability, a strong educational foundation and a chance to build a wonderful life,” she said at an event with LSU President Wade Rousse and some of the donors.
The $7.2 million in private donations will fund a permanent endowment for the scholarships, speakers said. MMR Group Inc., an electrical contracting company based in Baton Rouge, committed $5 million, with members of the LSU Foundation raising an additional $2.2 million, they said.
The first lady later attended a college football game between ranked regional rivals, No. 15 LSU and No. 9 Alabama, another participant in the scholarship program.
“As adults, we have a moral obligation to our children, especially those in foster care. But, as you know, we must act to truly make a difference. The foster care community doesn’t need words,” she added. She concluded her brief remarks with, "Now, let’s go and enjoy the game.”
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Judge wants former US attorney to investigate whether the government misled her in Trump golf case
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge said Saturday she intends to appoint an ex-top federal prosecutor in the nation's capital during President Donald Trump's first term to investigate whether she was purposefully misled by lawyers and administration officials in a lawsuit challenging one of his prized Washington construction projects, the renovation of a historic public golf course along the Potomac River.
Jessie Liu, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, would examine whether officials with the Interior Department and the National Park Service and attorneys with the Department of Justice violated ethics or misled U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes during the course of the case that was initiated in February by the DC Preservation League and two golfers.
The Republican administration plans to close the East Potomac Golf Course and park on Nov. 15 with the intention of constructing a “World Class, championship-level golf course that is capable of hosting major events." An injunction issued by Reyes last month temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging any additional trees on the course and the administration must give 10 days’ notice in writing before making any “irreparable modification” to any “forms or features” of the course while the lawsuit is active.
Reyes is giving each side a chance to be heard on her plan to name Liu as special master in the case. They must do so in writing by Friday, when the next court hearing in the dispute is scheduled.
Reyes, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, wants to know whether federal officials lied about the extent of renovation plans during months of hearings. She also wants to know if they were truthful about various steps they took, including cutting hundreds of trees early last month. She announced during a hearing Oct. 30 that she was starting a formal investigation of the government's conduct. Earlier in the case, she had rejected numerous motions from the plaintiffs to step in, saying she trusted the government attorneys.
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Airstrikes kill more than 2 dozen people near Yemen's capital, Houthis say
CAIRO (AP) — Airstrikes hit homes in a village near Yemen's capital, Sanaa, on Saturday, killing at least 27 people and wounding 36 others, mostly women and children, a spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi-run Health Ministry said.
Speaking to The Associated Press, Anees al-Asbahi said the death toll is expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue and accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out the strikes on al-Shariya. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesperson, claimed in a statement later Saturday that the group had carried out attacks against Saudi Arabia in response to the strikes on the village as well as another deadly attack Friday on a market in southwestern Yemen.
The AP could not independently verify the Houthis' claims, and Saudi Arabia’s Information Ministry did not immediately reply to AP requests for comment.
Saturday's toll reflected the rapid worsening of Yemen’s civil war, where a yearslong truce fell apart over the summer. Fighting has escalated between the Iranian-backed Houthis — who control Sanaa, the north and the west of the country — and their Saudi-backed opponents based in the south and east.
On Friday, an airstrike in a market in southern Yemen killed at least 30 people, according to Houthi officials. The Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed military each blamed the other for that strike.
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Strong earthquake shakes central Japan, shattering store windows and injuring at least 22
TOKYO (AP) — A strong earthquake shook central Japan early Sunday, shattering store windows, causing people to flee buildings and leaving at least 22 people injured, according to local media.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency put the quake’s magnitude at 5.7, while the U.S. Geological Survey reported it at magnitude 5.5. Smaller aftershocks were reported.
A wide area near Aichi Prefecture was affected, including the city of Hamamatsu, the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara and nearby prefectures of Yamanashi, where Mount Fuji is located, as well as Gifu.
Japanese TV footage showed shattered store windows and scattered shards of glass on the streets. A bookstore was left with mounds of books that had flown off the shelves. The injuries included people who fell from stairs while they were trying to flee.
The quake, which struck at 1:04 a.m., was located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) below the earth's surface in Shizuoka Prefecture. Aichi and Shizuoka are neighboring regions. They are far enough from Tokyo that the quake was not felt there. The most violent shaking was felt in Aichi, according to official seismic assessments.
