Immigration enforcement surge begins in Charlotte, North Carolina, officials confirm
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Federal officials have started a surge of immigration enforcement in Charlotte, North Carolina. Agents were seen making arrests on Saturday. Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin says the move aims to ensure public safety. Local officials including Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles are criticizing the arrests, saying they cause unnecessary fear. Residents of North Carolina's largest city are reporting agents seeking to arrest people outside businesses and in front yards. Observers say they have seen an increase in stops by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents since Friday.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine is working on a prisoner exchange with Russia
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia, potentially bringing home 1,200 Ukrainian prisoners. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this on Sunday, following progress in negotiations. Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Secretary, said Saturday that talks mediated by Turkey and the UAE focused on activating agreements brokered in Istanbul. These agreements set rules for large swaps. Meanwhile, Russian drone strikes damaged energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region overnight into Sunday. Ukraine’s air force reported shooting down 139 drones. Ukrainian forces also struck a major oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region.
Trump says stopping suspected drug boats doesn't work. But the US reports record cocaine seizures
MIAMI (AP) — President Donald Trump has justified American military strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs by saying the longtime U.S. strategy of interdicting such vessels has been a major failure. Trump’s comments came around the same time that the U.S. Coast Guard announced a record year for cocaine seizures. That milestone, however, hasn't stopped the Republican president from upending decades of U.S. counternarcotics policy with a series of military strikes in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Veterans of the drug war say U.S. resources would be better spent doubling down on the traditional approach of interdicting drug boats.
Trump, like Biden before him, finds there's no quick fix on inflation
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s problems with fixing the high cost of living might be giving voters a feeling of déjà vu. Just like President Joe Biden, Trump says lower prices are just around the corner. But Biden-era officials say that argument doesn't work with impatient voters. Republicans pushed the case that Biden’s policies made inflation worse. Democrats are using that same framing today. They say Trump's tariffs are getting passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices and that mass deportations have made the construction of homes more expensive. Trump says Republicans need to do a better job explaining his policies. But he also blames Biden for the economic problems.
Voters in Virginia and New Jersey send a message: It's Trump's economy now
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) — The economy and rising prices were high on the minds of voters on Election Day, and those concerns contributed to a Democratic sweep of statewide offices in Virginia and New Jersey. The voting pattern in two traditionally Republican counties in each state is evidence of how strongly Democrats campaigned on pocketbook issues. Spotsylvania County in Virginia and Morris County in New Jersey backed Donald Trump and Republican candidates for governor in earlier elections. This month, voters in those counties went with Democrats up and down the ballot. With congressional midterm elections in 2026, the November results have sent a message to conservatives who hold power in Washington.
First strong winter rains soak Gaza's makeshift shelters
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Parts of Gaza's huge Muwasi tent camp are struggling after winter's first major rainfall. Residents faced flooding and damaged infrastructure on Saturday after two years of war. They tried to dig trenches to keep water out of their tents while rain soaked their belongings. Strong winds can also topple tents and make it hard to gather food and supplies. The United Nations earlier this year said Muwasi was sheltering up to 425,000 displaced Palestinians. The Israeli defense body says it is allowing in winterization materials, but aid organizations warn these efforts are insufficient. Some people tried to shelter in destroyed buildings at risk of collapse.
The unpopular and politically weak 90-year-old Palestinian leader struggles for a role in Gaza
CAIRO (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas turns 90 on Saturday, still holding power in parts of the West Bank but weakened and unpopular. Critics say his long tenure without elections has left Palestinians leaderless during an existential crisis. Hopes for a Palestinian state, central to Abbas' agenda, seem dimmer than ever. Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza is seen by many as genocide, a claim Israel denies. Abbas' Palestinian Authority is sidelined in Gaza, and critics fear Palestinians will have little voice in their future. An October poll found 80% of Palestinians want Abbas to resign.
Trump pardons Jan. 6 rioter for gun offense and woman convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has issued two pardons related to the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, including for a woman convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents who were investigating a tip that she may have been at the Capitol. In a separate case, Trump issued a second pardon for a Jan. 6 defendant who had remained behind bars despite the sweeping grant of clemency for Capitol rioters because of a separate conviction for illegally possessing firearms. It’s the latest example of Trump’s willingness to use his constitutional authority to help supporters who were scrutinized as part of the Biden administration’s massive Jan. 6 investigation that led to charges against more than 1,500 defendants.
Disability rights activist and author Alice Wong dies at 51
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Alice Wong, an activist and author who championed the rights of people with disabilities, has died. She was 51. Close friend Sandy Ho says Wong died of infection Friday in a hospital in San Francisco. Wong was born with muscular dystrophy. She used a power wheelchair and an assistive breathing device. Ho remembered her as a funny person and humorous writer who wanted people with disabilities to have independence and a voice for themselves.
Homeland Security agents surge into North Carolina's largest city. Here's what to know
U.S. immigration agents are targeting North Carolina’s largest city over objections from local leaders, prompting activists, elected officials and community groups to monitor any sweeps and support vulnerable Charlotte residents. President Donald Trump’s administration confirmed Saturday that a surge of immigration enforcement in Charlotte had begun. Agents were seen making arrests in multiple locations. It’s the latest step in the Trump administration’s strategy of putting immigration agents or the military on the streets of some of America’s largest cities run by Democrats. The push has caused fear and anxiety, especially among people who don’t have legal status in the U.S., and sparked a number of lawsuits.
