California Gov. Gavin Newsom says there's no imminent threat to the state from Iran. ABC News says the FBI warned California that Iran had aspired to send drones to the West Coast in retaliation for war. The FBI later released text of the alert, which noted that the information was based on "unverified information." The White House now says, "No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists." Newsom says California and various agencies plan for worst-case scenarios. Police in Los Angeles and San Francisco say they are monitoring world events for any risks.
U.N.-backed investigators say Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have carried out a campaign in the city of el-Fasher in the Darfur region that shows "hallmarks of genocide" against non-Arab communities. The fact-finding mission says the group inflicted mass killings and starvation-like siege conditions that targeted the Zaghawa and Fur people. U.N. officials say thousands of civilians were killed and many others disappeared after the city fell to the paramilitary forces in late October. The team's report describes executions, rape, torture, abductions and selective targeting of women and girls. It said the violence looks planned, not chaotic. It calls for accountability and stronger civilian protection as the war spreads.
By JOSEPH FALZETTA and ADLAI COLEMAN Associated Press
The top U.N. human rights body has accused both the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces of detaining tens of thousands of people without charge since Sudan's civil war began in 2023. Some of those prisoners have now been released, among them detainees from neighboring South Sudan. While they are relieved to have escaped the horrific conditions of their imprisonment, they face a long and likely circuitous journey home, trying to get back to South Sudan through a region riddled with conflict.
