Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Morning Edition

HONG KONG (AP) – A Hong Kong court heard arguments Monday about the sentencing of democracy advocate and onetime-media magnate Jimmy Lai, whose conviction under a national security law could land him in prison for the rest of his life. Lai founded the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper and was an outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist Party.

How NATO works at a time of Trump's Greenland threats

BRUSSELS (AP) – President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to seize control of Greenland are straining relations with U.S. allies in NATO and have sparked a warning that doing so by force could spell the end of the world’s biggest security alliance.

Paramount's next target in hostile takeover bid of Warner Bros. is a board of its own making

NEW YORK (AP) – Paramount Skydance is taking another step in its hostile takeover bid of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying Monday that it will name its own slate of directors before the next shareholder meeting of the Hollywood studio.

Editorials from New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

Trump's list of targeted opponents grows longer

ATLANTA (AP) – Donald Trump promised in his second inaugural address to fairly apply the law, unlike how he said he’d been treated by federal authorities.  “The vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end,” he declared on Jan. 20, 2025.

 

Young Americans rejecting the Democratic and Republican parties

WASHINGTON (AP) – Americans are increasingly rejecting the two major political parties, according to new polling. Just under half, 45%, of U.S. adults now identify as independents, a new Gallup survey found. That’s a substantial shift from 20 years ago, when closer to one-third of Americans said they didn’t identify with the Democrats or Republicans.

Iran's leadership under pressure as protests continue

LONDON (AP) – Iran’s leadership is under incredible pressure as the largest protests in years against the Islamic theocracy shake the country.  Government hard-liners have threatened to attack the U.S. military and archrival Israel over support for the demonstrators, though for now President Donald Trump says Iran has signaled it wants to negotiate with Washington.

 

Crowd yells 'cowards!' after federal agents crash into a car

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Federal officers fired tear gas Monday to break up a crowd of whistle-blowing bystanders in Minneapolis who showed up to see the aftermath of a car crash involving immigration agents, just a few blocks from where a woman was fatally shot last week.

Here's how AP reports on the death toll from Iran's protests

The difficulty of tracking the death toll from Iran’s nationwide protests has been compounded by the government’s decision to cut off the internet and international calling to the country, but some information has still been getting out.