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Getting trapped in quicksand is a corny peril of old movies and TV shows, but it really did happen to one unfortunate hiker in Utah's Arches National Park.
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San Mateo County is looking for volunteers to help with next year’s Point in Time count, which is a census of so…
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to hold urgent talks with leaders from about 30 countries. The meeting, scheduled for Thursday, aims to support Kyiv's efforts to secure fair terms in a peace agreement ending the war with Russia. Leaders from Germany, Britain, and France are expected to participate via video link. Zelenskyy indicated the talks were hastily arranged amid U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a swift settlement. Meanwhile, Ukraine launched a significant drone attack overnight, affecting flights in Moscow and other Russian cities. Peace talks are at a critical moment, according to European leaders.
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Denmark is planning to follow Australia in introducing stricter restrictions for younger teens to access social media. The Danish government announced last month that it had secured an agreement by three governing coalition and two opposition parties in parliament to ban access to social media for anyone younger than 15. The proposed law could take effect by mid-2026. It's not yet clear how the restrictions would be enforced. Many social media platforms already ban children younger than 13 from signing up, but officials say these restrictions don’t always work. Danish authorities report 98% of children younger than 13 have profiles on at least one platform.
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World shares are mixed after the U.S. stock market again approached its record high following the Federal Reserve’s cut in its main interest rate. U.S. futures and oil prices fell. The rate cut was widely expected, but comments by the Fed encouraged hopes for more cuts in 2026. Some Asian technology companies saw sharp declines after Oracle, a bellwether in the artificial intelligence sector, reported weaker than expected earnings. Its shares sank 11.5% in aftermarket trading. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.7% and ended just shy of its all-time high set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.
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Today is Thursday, Dec. 11, the 345th day of 2025. There are 20 days left in the year.
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VERONA, Italy (AP) — Verona’s ancient Roman Arena will receive a modern facelift and become more accessible to people with disabilities ahead of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, where it will host both the Olympic closing ceremony and the Paralympic opening ceremony.
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The heirs of an 83-year-old Connecticut woman are suing ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its business partner Microsoft for wrongful death. They claim the artificial intelligence chatbot intensified her son’s “paranoid delusions” and helped direct them at his mother before he killed her. Police said Stein-Erik Soelberg, 56, a former tech industry worker, fatally beat and strangled his mother, Suzanne Adams, and killed himself in early August. The lawsuit claims OpenAI designed a defective product that validated a user's paranoid delusions, leading him to kill his own mother.
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to stop deploying California National Guard troops in Los Angeles. A judge in San Francisco on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction sought by California officials to end the deployment and return the remaining troops to the state's command. But he put the decision on hold until Monday. The White House suggested the administration will appeal. The Trump administration ordered the deployment of thousands of troops to Los Angeles in June over Gov. Gavin Newsom's objections following clashes between immigration officers and protesters. California officials argued that conditions in Los Angeles had since changed. The administration said the Guard was still needed to protect federal personnel and property.
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OSLO, Norway (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared in public for the first time in 11 months Thursday after a daring escape from her homeland when she emerged from a hotel balcony in Norway’s capital and waved to an emotional crowd of supporters cheering for the n…
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Tens of thousands of residents in western Washington are facing potential evacuation orders as another round of heavy rain drops on the region. The rain is threatening to bring catastrophic flooding as rivers near historic levels. Days of seemingly unrelenting heavy rain have already triggered rescues and road closures. Gov. Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide emergency, saying, “lives will be at stake in the coming days.” In Skagit County, a major agricultural region north of Seattle, those within the Skagit River’s floodplain have already been ordered to evacuate.
Travelers who are now able to come to the United States without a visa might soon need to provide social media, email, and family history details to the Department of Homeland Security. The Trump administration has increased monitoring of international travelers. And now, Customs and Border Protection is proposing collecting five years of social media data from travelers from about roughly 40 mostly European and Asian countries who can now come to the U.S. for tourism or business for three months without visas. The public has 60 days to comment on these proposed changes.
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Ukraine to give revised peace plans to US as Kyiv readies for more talks with its coalition partners
U.S. President Donald Trump says he and European leaders have discussed proposals to end the war in Ukraine, adding that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “has to be realistic” about his country’s position on a peace plan. The leaders of Germany, Britain and France spoke to Trump by phone Wednesday and requested a meeting this weekend with the U.S. and Ukraine, the U.S. president said. Earlier, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was expected to give its latest peace proposals to U.S. negotiators on Wednesday, ahead of his urgent talks Thursday with leaders from about 30 countries supporting Kyiv’s effort to end the war with Russia on acceptable terms. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about whether that had happened.
A judge has ruled that secret grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 sex trafficking case can be made public. The judge Wednesday joined two other judges in granting the Justice Department's requests to unseal material from investigations into the late financier's sexual abuse. U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman in New York reversed his earlier decision to keep the material under wraps, citing a new law that requires the government to open its files on Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell. The judge previously cautioned that the 70 or so pages of grand jury materials slated for release are hardly revelatory. On Tuesday, another Manhattan federal judge ordered the release of records from Maxwell's 2021 case.
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Some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges have been enrolling record numbers of low-income students as campuses prioritize economic diversity in the wake of a ban on affirmative action. Students from lower economic rungs remain in the minority on elite campuses, but some schools have accelerated efforts to reach a wider swath of the country. College officials have been steering more financial aid to students whose families are not among the highest earners and seeking out students in poorer areas. Several elite colleges have new freshman classes with more low-income students than ever, including Princeton, Johns Hopkins and MIT.
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The Senate is poised to reject legislation to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits for millions of Americans. Thursday's planned vote is a potentially unceremonious end to a monthslong Democratic effort to prevent the COVID-era subsidies from expiring on Jan. 1. Despite a bipartisan desire to continue the credits, Republicans and Democrats have never engaged in meaningful or high-level negotiations on a solution. Instead, the Senate is expected to vote on two partisan bills and defeat them both — essentially guaranteeing that many who buy their health insurance on the ACA marketplaces could see a steep rise in costs at the beginning of the year.
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lawyers for the 22-year-old Utah man charged with killing Charlie Kirk are due in court Thursday as they push to further limit media access in the high-profile criminal case.
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Trump says the US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela
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Some of the most recognizable artwork depicting the American West is heading to auction at Christie’s, where dozens of pieces from billionaire Bill Koch’s collection are expected to fetch at least $50 million.
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Defense attorneys and prosecutors are set to choose the jurors who will decide whether a Wisconsin judge accused of helping a Mexican immigrant dodge federal officers broke the law. Federal prosecutors charged Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan in April with obstruction and concealing an individual to prevent arrest. She could face up to six years in prison if convicted on both counts. Jury selection for her trial is set to begin Thursday. Opening statements are set for Monday. Dugan has maintained she was acting within her authority when she led the man out of her courtroom through a private doorway when she learned agents were in the courthouse looking to arrest him.
A federal judge in New York has granted the Justice Department’s request to publicly release grand jury transcripts and other material from the sex trafficking case involving Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend and confidant.
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A new wave of immigration enforcement is dividing families inside the U.S. Federal officials and their local law enforcement partners are detaining tens of thousands of asylum-seekers and migrants. And Trump’s top border team plans to keep ‘full speed ahead.’ Detainees are repeatedly moved, then deported. Or they are held in poor conditions for weeks or months before asking to go home. The federal government was holding an average of more than 66,000 people during the first half of November, the highest on record. Three families separated by migration enforcement in recent months told The Associated Press that their existence is anguished without knowing if they will see their loved ones again.
The language of politicians has become more vulgar in recent years. Leaders in both parties are openly using vulgarities. President Trump recently referred to alleged drug smugglers with an expletive during a Cabinet meeting. Vice President JD Vance and former Vice President Kamala Harris have also used to coarse language in public. Experts say this shift reflects changes in political discourse, increased media coverage, and social media's influence. On social media or other digital platforms, posts or video clips that evoke the strongest emotions are often rewarded with the most engagement.
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Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore has been jailed, according to court records. He was detained on Wednesday, just hours after he was fired for what the university said was an “inappropriate relationship with a staff member.” According to the Washtenaw County Jail, the 39-year-old Moore had been booked into the facility as of Wednesday evening. The jail’s records did not provide any information about why Moore was detained or whether any court appearances were scheduled. In response to media inquiries about Moore, Pittsfield Township Police Department said officers took a person into custody after investigating an alleged assault. The police statement did not mention anyone by name.
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Trump says the US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela
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President Donald Trump says the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro. Using U.S. forces to take control of a merchant ship is incredibly unusual and marks the Trump administration’s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro. The seizure Wednesday was led by the U.S. Coast Guard and supported by the Navy. That's according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Video posted to social media by Attorney General Pam Bondi shows people fast-roping from a helicopter to the deck and later moving around with their weapons drawn.
Residents of western Washington state are packing up valuables and preparing to flee as heavy rain causes rivers to rise. An atmospheric river is swelling rivers toward record levels, with major flooding expected in areas like the Skagit River, north of Seattle. On Wednesday, dozens of vehicles were backed up at a sandbag-filling station in the town of Mount Vernon. Authorities warned residents within the river's 100-year floodplain to be ready to evacuate. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide emergency. The weather service expects several days of heavy rainfall along the coast.
AP
Residents of western Washington state began packing up and fleeing rising rivers as heavy rain causes rivers to rise. An atmospheric river is swelling rivers toward record levels, with major flooding expected in areas like the Skagit River, north of Seattle. On Wednesday, dozens of vehicles were backed up at a sandbag-filling station in the town of Mount Vernon. Authorities warned residents within the river's floodplain to be ready to evacuate. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide emergency. The weather service expects several days of heavy rainfall along the coast.
AP
Federal health officials have expanded an outbreak of infant botulism tied to ByHeart baby formula to include any illnesses reported since the company began production in 2022. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that at least 51 babies in 19 states have been sickened since 2023. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said new cases include any infants with botulism who consumed ByHeart formula since the product's release. The outbreak was announced on Nov. 8. ByHeart recalled all of its products sold in the U.S. and around the world on Nov. 11.
President Donald Trump says the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro. Using U.S. forces to seize an oil tanker is incredibly unusual and marks the Trump administration's latest push to increase pressure on Maduro. Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that "other things are happening," but he didn't offer additional details. The seizure was led by the U.S. Coast Guard and supported by the Navy. That's according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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San Mateo County is looking for volunteers to help with next year’s Point in Time count, which is a census of sorts of all the people in the county who are homeless.
Three suspected package thieves were arrested by police in San Mateo on Wednesday after allegedly leading cops on a vehicle pursuit and being caught with multiple packages in their backseat, the department said.
President Donald Trump says the US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro. It marks the Trump administration’s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro.
AP
President Donald Trump says the U.S. has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid mounting tensions with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. It’s the Trump administration’s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the U.S. The seizure was led by the U.S. Coast Guard and supported by the Navy. That's according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Trump has previously said land attacks are coming soon but has not offered any details on location.
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Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado makes first public appearance in 11 months hours after Nobel ceremony.
AP
As President Donald Trump announced a $12 billion farm aid package this week to help U.S. farmers hurt by tariffs, he placed responsibility for the U.S. agricultural trade deficit on former President Joe Biden. It is true that there was an agricultural trade surplus when Trump entered the White House in 2017 that has since become a significant deficit. However, according to experts, it is a massive oversimplification to blame any one administration or policy.
AP
LONDON (AP) — Writer Sophie Kinsella, whose effervescent rom-com “Confessions of a Shopaholic” sparked a millions-selling series, died Wednesday, her family said. She was 55 and had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
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RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Two adjacent four-story buildings collapsed overnight in the Moroccan city of Fez, killing 22 people in the second fatal collapse there this year, authorities said Wednesday.
The following are names of those recorded deceased in San Mateo County on 12/9/25 to 12/10/25:
AP
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prison officials say the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch is fit to stand trial on federal sex trafficking charges after he was hospitalized with Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia and a traumatic brain injury.
AP
Oil companies have offered $300 million for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico in the first offshore lease sale for the region since 2023. Wednesday's Department of Interior auction was the first of 30 sales planned for the Gulf under Republican efforts to ramp up U.S. fossil fuel production. The sale came after President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans to allow new drilling off Florida and California for the first time in decades, drawing pushback from critics worried about impacts on tourism. Wednesday’s sale was mandated by the sweeping tax-and-spending bill approved by Republicans over the summer. Thirty companies submitted bids, including industry giants Chevron, Shell and BP.
AP
NEW YORK (AP) — The Bronx man charged with shooting Jets player Kris Boyd appeared in a New York City court late Tuesday, a day after authorities tracked him down at an apartment complex in the Buffalo area.
Mega billionaire Elon Musk said his efforts leading the Department of Government Efficiency were only "somewhat successful" and he would not do it over again. Musk made his remarks in a friendly interview with his aide and conservative influencer Katie Miller, who is married to White House adviser Stephen Miller. Musk still broadly defended President Donald Trump's controversial pop-up agency that Musk left in the spring before it shuttered officially last month. But Musk acknowledged how difficult it is to remake the federal government quickly and how much his businesses suffered because of his DOGE work and its lack of popularity. Musk is the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and also owns the social media platform X.
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An infant botulism outbreak has sickened at least 39 babies across the U.S. and underscored the crucial role of a medication that treats the rare disease. BabyBIG, an IV drug, is made from blood plasma donated by a small group of scientists and other volunteers. It was the brainchild of the late Dr. Stephen Arnon. He was a California scientist who first identified the form of botulism that affects babies under age 1 and then spent his 45-year career figuring out how to treat it. It took 15 years and $10.6 million to develop the treatment licensed in 2003.
AP
The Trump administration is adding another militarized zone to the southern U.S. border to support border security operations — this time in California. The Department of Interior on Wednesday said it would transfer jurisdiction along most of California’s international border with Mexico to the Navy. Since April, large swaths of border have been designated militarized zones, empowering U.S. troops to apprehend immigrants and others accused of trespassing on Army, Air Force or Navy bases. The military strategy was pioneered in April along a 170-mile (275-kilometer) stretch of the border in New Mexico and later expanded to portions of the border in Texas and Arizona.
AP
The House votes to pass a sweeping defense policy bill that authorizes $900 billion in military programs. The bill includes a pay raise for troops and an overhaul of how the Department of Defense buys weapons. It comes at a time of increasing friction between the Republican-controlled Congress and how President Donald Trump’s administration has handled the military. The White House has signaled “strong support” for the must-pass legislation and says it is in line with Trump’s national security agenda. Yet tucked into the over-3,000-page bill are several measures that push back on the Department of Defense.
AP
The Federal Reserve reduced its key interest rate for the third time in a row Wednesday but signaled that it may leave rates unchanged in the coming months. Chair Jerome Powell signaled at a news conference that the Fed would likely hold off on further rate cuts in the coming months while it evaluated the health of the economy. And in a set of quarterly economic projections, Fed officials signaled they expect to lower rates just once next year. Wednesday’s cut reduced the rate to about 3.6%, the lowest it has been in nearly three years.
Ukraine to give revised peace plans to US as Kyiv readies for more talks with its coalition partners
Ukrainian officials are expected to present new peace proposals to U.S. negotiators Wednesday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says this comes ahead of urgent talks on Thursday with leaders from about 30 countries supporting Ukraine's efforts to end Russia's nearly 4-year-old full-scale invasion. Zelenskyy has expressed readiness to hold a presidential election within three months if safety and legal conditions are met. This follows comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that questioned Ukraine's democracy. Meanwhile, military aid for Ukraine has declined, with European support uneven. The Kiel Institute reports a significant drop in aid this year compared to previous years.
AP
Travelers who are now able to come to the United States without a visa might soon need to provide social media, email, and family history details to the Department of Homeland Security. The Trump administration has increased monitoring of international travelers. And now, Customs and Border Protection is proposing collecting five years of social media data from travelers from about roughly 40 mostly European and Asian countries who can now come to the U.S. for tourism or business for three months without visas. The public has 60 days to comment on these proposed changes.
AP
Charli XCX is making a trip to the Sundance Film Festival in January. The pop singer-songwriter appears in three films premiering at the 2026 festival, including a mockumentary that she produced and stars in. Programmers on Wednesday unveiled a lineup of 90 feature films set for the festival…
After repeated criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said elections could be held within months, if security is ensured. But what does this mean, and why is it difficult to hold elections in Ukraine?
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