Associated Press

FILE - Poland President Andrzej Duda speaks at an event in support of tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050 during at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Poland’s president says he intends to veto a spending bill which includes money for public media and raises for teachers, dealing a blow to the new pro-European Union government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. President Andrzej Duda said Saturday, Dec. 23 he would veto the bill that includes 3 billion zlotys ($762 million) for public media and would propose a bill of his own. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, file)

Polish president tangles with new government in battle over control of state media

Liquidation gives the state news groups, their employees more protection from the political dispute

FILE - Poland President Andrzej Duda speaks at an event in support of tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050 during at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Poland’s president says he intends to veto a spending bill which includes money for public media and raises for teachers, dealing a blow to the new pro-European Union government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. President Andrzej Duda said Saturday, Dec. 23 he would veto the bill that includes 3 billion zlotys ($762 million) for public media and would propose a bill of his own. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, file)
Celine Dion has announced she is cancelling her “Courage” world tour as she continues to receive treatment for a rare neurological disorder. Dion gestures as she performs at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Sunday, July 31, 2016.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Celine Dion has lost control of her muscles due to illness, says her sister

Celine Dion’s sister says the Grammy Award-winning singer is facing further challenges…

Celine Dion has announced she is cancelling her “Courage” world tour as she continues to receive treatment for a rare neurological disorder. Dion gestures as she performs at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Sunday, July 31, 2016.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, in Durham, N.H. Trump is facing criticism for repeatedly harnessing rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler to argue that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country. Trump insists he had no idea that one of the world’s most reviled and infamous figures once used similar words. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha, File)

Trump says he didn’t know his immigration rhetoric echoes Hitler

Trump has also pleaded ignorance in other cases, including not knowing of Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke

FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, in Durham, N.H. Trump is facing criticism for repeatedly harnessing rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler to argue that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country. Trump insists he had no idea that one of the world’s most reviled and infamous figures once used similar words. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha, File)
Israeli reservist Igor Tudoran, 27, wounded in the war with Hamas, sits in his room at Sheba hospital’s rehabilitation division, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. Tudoran was wounded in the Gaza Strip when a missile fired by militants in Gaza slammed into his tank. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

The number of wounded Israeli soldiers is mounting, representing a hidden cost of war

Given the large numbers of wounded, advocates worry the country is not prepared to address their needs

Israeli reservist Igor Tudoran, 27, wounded in the war with Hamas, sits in his room at Sheba hospital’s rehabilitation division, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. Tudoran was wounded in the Gaza Strip when a missile fired by militants in Gaza slammed into his tank. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
FILE - This Oct. 29, 2002 file photo shows The Smothers Brothers, Tom Smothers, left, and Dick Smothers at the Kennedy Center in Washington for the Mark Twain Prize for Humor Award ceremony honoring Bob Newhart. Tom Smothers, half of the Smother Brothers and the co-host of one of the most socially conscious and groundbreaking television shows in the history of the medium, has died, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023 at 86.. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson, File)

Comedian Tom Smothers, one-half of the Smothers Brothers, dies at 86

The brothers had seemed unlikely to make television history

FILE - This Oct. 29, 2002 file photo shows The Smothers Brothers, Tom Smothers, left, and Dick Smothers at the Kennedy Center in Washington for the Mark Twain Prize for Humor Award ceremony honoring Bob Newhart. Tom Smothers, half of the Smother Brothers and the co-host of one of the most socially conscious and groundbreaking television shows in the history of the medium, has died, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023 at 86.. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson, File)
FILE - A sign for The New York Times hangs above the entrance to its building, Thursday, May 6, 2021 in New York. The New York Times filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023 seeking to end the practice of using published material to train chatbots. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

The New York Times sues OpenAI, Microsoft over use of its stories for training

The Times says it’s never given permission to anyone to use its content for generative AI purposes

FILE - A sign for The New York Times hangs above the entrance to its building, Thursday, May 6, 2021 in New York. The New York Times filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023 seeking to end the practice of using published material to train chatbots. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
A line of Spirit Airlines jets sit on the tarmac at Orlando International Airport on May 20, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. A 6-year-old boy who left on a flight for the Christmas holiday to visit his grandmother was put on the wrong plane. When the grandmother, up on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023 at the airport in Fort Myers to greet her grandson who was flying for the first time from Philadelphia, she was told he wasn’t on the Spirit Airlines flight. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)

A 6-year-old boy traveling alone for Christmas was put on the wrong Spirit flight

A 6-year-old boy who left on a flight for the Christmas holiday…

A line of Spirit Airlines jets sit on the tarmac at Orlando International Airport on May 20, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. A 6-year-old boy who left on a flight for the Christmas holiday to visit his grandmother was put on the wrong plane. When the grandmother, up on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023 at the airport in Fort Myers to greet her grandson who was flying for the first time from Philadelphia, she was told he wasn’t on the Spirit Airlines flight. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)
Former President Donald Trump listens as he speaks with reporters while in flight on his plane after a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, in Waco, Texas, on March 25 while en route to West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Prosecutors seek to bar Trump from injecting politics into trial

The Supreme Court declined last week to get involved in the dispute for now

Former President Donald Trump listens as he speaks with reporters while in flight on his plane after a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, in Waco, Texas, on March 25 while en route to West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building of the Al Nawasrah family destroyed in an Israeli strike in Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Dec. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Israeli forces bombard central Gaza in move to expand ground offensive

Israel’s offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history

Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building of the Al Nawasrah family destroyed in an Israeli strike in Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Dec. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
A nativity scene decorated to honor the victims in Gaza is displayed in Manger Square, near the Nativity Church, which is traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023. Bethlehem is having a subdued Christmas after officials in Jesus’ traditional birthplace decided to forgo celebrations due to the Israel-Hamas war. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

On Christmas Eve, Israel-Hamas war halts celebrations in Bethlehem

‘This year, without the Christmas tree and without lights, there’s just darkness,’ said one monk

A nativity scene decorated to honor the victims in Gaza is displayed in Manger Square, near the Nativity Church, which is traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023. Bethlehem is having a subdued Christmas after officials in Jesus’ traditional birthplace decided to forgo celebrations due to the Israel-Hamas war. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Deanna Dezern, 83, walks inside her home in Tamarac, Fla., Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. Dezern is among the first in the country to receive the robot ElliQ, whose creators, Intuition Robotics, and senior assistance officials say is the only device using artificial intelligence specifically designed to lessen the loneliness and isolation experienced by many older Americans. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Chatty robot artificial intelligence helping seniors fight loneliness

Electronic companion ElliQ responds to your conversational interests, light or deep

Deanna Dezern, 83, walks inside her home in Tamarac, Fla., Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. Dezern is among the first in the country to receive the robot ElliQ, whose creators, Intuition Robotics, and senior assistance officials say is the only device using artificial intelligence specifically designed to lessen the loneliness and isolation experienced by many older Americans. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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How to wade through drama and taste some togetherness this holiday season

Experts offer tips on how to make yours a holly, jolly Christmas with the family

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FILE - Nirvana band members Krist Novoselic, from left, Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain pose after receiving the award for best alternative video for “In Bloom” at the 10th annual MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 2, 1993, in Universal City, Calif. A federal appeals court has revived a child sexual exploitation lawsuit filed by the man who appeared naked as a 4-month-old infant on the 1991 cover of Nirvana’s album “Nevermind.” Spencer Elden’s lawsuit against the grunge rock group was dismissed last year but a the court in California revived it on Thursday and sent it back to a lower court. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Nirvana naked baby album cover lawsuit revived by U.S. court

Lawsuit alleges Spencer Elden has suffered ‘permanent harm’ from photo taken when he was a baby

FILE - Nirvana band members Krist Novoselic, from left, Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain pose after receiving the award for best alternative video for “In Bloom” at the 10th annual MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 2, 1993, in Universal City, Calif. A federal appeals court has revived a child sexual exploitation lawsuit filed by the man who appeared naked as a 4-month-old infant on the 1991 cover of Nirvana’s album “Nevermind.” Spencer Elden’s lawsuit against the grunge rock group was dismissed last year but a the court in California revived it on Thursday and sent it back to a lower court. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
Dallas Stars centre Radek Faksa (12) knocks Vancouver Canucks right wing Conor Garland, to the ice as they compete for a loose puck in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Duchene scores with 9.2 seconds left in OT, Stars edge Canucks 4-3

Vancouver gave up lead late in third period

Dallas Stars centre Radek Faksa (12) knocks Vancouver Canucks right wing Conor Garland, to the ice as they compete for a loose puck in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Mushrooms grow on a fallen Noble fir tree in the Willamette National Forest, Ore., Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. Scientists are investigating what they say is a new, woefully underestimated threat to the world’s plants: climate change-driven extreme heat. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)

Extreme heat poses extreme threat to trees and plants of Pacific Northwest

High-heat instances can pose greater risk to plant life than typical low-moisture droughts

Mushrooms grow on a fallen Noble fir tree in the Willamette National Forest, Ore., Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. Scientists are investigating what they say is a new, woefully underestimated threat to the world’s plants: climate change-driven extreme heat. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
This image released by A24 shows Harris Dickinson in a scene from “The Iron Claw.” (Brian Roedel/A24 via AP)

REVIEW: A bulked-up Zac Efron comes off the top rope in wrestling biopic

“The Iron Claw” a tragic, true-life tale of the Von Erich Texas wrestling family

This image released by A24 shows Harris Dickinson in a scene from “The Iron Claw.” (Brian Roedel/A24 via AP)
People take images as the night sky is illuminated caused by the eruption of a volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland seen from the capital city of Reykjavik, Monday Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)

A volcano erupts in southwestern Iceland and spews magma in a spectacular show of Earth’s power

A volcano has erupted in southwestern Iceland, sending a flash of light…

People take images as the night sky is illuminated caused by the eruption of a volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland seen from the capital city of Reykjavik, Monday Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
Carol Todd holds a photo of her late teenage daughter Amanda Todd, who died by suicide in 2012, and the necklace she was wearing in the school photo, outside B.C. Supreme Court after sentencing for the Dutch man who was accused of extorting and harassing her daughter, in New Westminster, B.C., on Friday, October 14, 2022. Todd said she had kept the necklace and “A” pendant stored away since her death and took it out for the first time in a decade to wear it to the sentencing. A British Columbia judge has sentenced Aydin Coban to 13 years in prison for tormenting Amanda Todd before she died by suicide. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Amanda Todd tormenter’s sentence cut to 6 years by Dutch court

Aydin Coban had been sentenced to 13 years in B.C. for cyberbullying young teen

Carol Todd holds a photo of her late teenage daughter Amanda Todd, who died by suicide in 2012, and the necklace she was wearing in the school photo, outside B.C. Supreme Court after sentencing for the Dutch man who was accused of extorting and harassing her daughter, in New Westminster, B.C., on Friday, October 14, 2022. Todd said she had kept the necklace and “A” pendant stored away since her death and took it out for the first time in a decade to wear it to the sentencing. A British Columbia judge has sentenced Aydin Coban to 13 years in prison for tormenting Amanda Todd before she died by suicide. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
While some are welcoming the Vatican’s declaration on blessings for same-gender couples as a sign of progress, other Canadian Catholics see the document as cementing the church’s existing position: that romantic relationships between people of the same gender are lesser than those of their heterosexual counterparts. Pope Francis delivers a speech during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Andrew Medichini

Vatican same-sex blessing not the blessing some were looking for

‘A blow’: Some LGBTQ+ Catholics disappointed in pope’s statement on blessing couples

While some are welcoming the Vatican’s declaration on blessings for same-gender couples as a sign of progress, other Canadian Catholics see the document as cementing the church’s existing position: that romantic relationships between people of the same gender are lesser than those of their heterosexual counterparts. Pope Francis delivers a speech during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Andrew Medichini
FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in the city center of Munich, Germany, Dec. 16, 2020. Apple plans to suspend sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 versions of its popular Apple Watch for online U.S. customers beginning Thursday afternoon, Dec. 21, 2023, and in its stores on Sunday, Dec. 24. The move stems from an October decision from the International Trade Commission restricting Apple’s watches with a Blood Oxygen feature as part of an intellectual property dispute with medical technology company Masimo. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

Apple to stop selling watches in U.S. due to international patent dispute

Latest Apple Watches will no longer be available online tomorrow and in stores on Sunday

FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in the city center of Munich, Germany, Dec. 16, 2020. Apple plans to suspend sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 versions of its popular Apple Watch for online U.S. customers beginning Thursday afternoon, Dec. 21, 2023, and in its stores on Sunday, Dec. 24. The move stems from an October decision from the International Trade Commission restricting Apple’s watches with a Blood Oxygen feature as part of an intellectual property dispute with medical technology company Masimo. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)