Activist in Costa Rica denies plot to assassinate president

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (AP) – A Costa Rican activist and government critic accused of plotting to kill President Rodrigo Chaves said Wednesday that the allegations were ridiculous and politically motivated. Costa Rica’s national security chief Jorge Torres told prosecutors Tuesday that a hitman allegedly received a payment to assassinate the president.

Wall Street drifts as gold rises to another record

NEW YORK (AP) - The U.S. stock market finished its zigzag week full of tariff threats and cancellations with a quiet and tentative close. The S&P 500 closed barely changed Friday and notched a second straight week with a modest loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%. The majority of U.S. stocks fell, including Intel.

Plot to assassinate Costa Rica's president uncovered

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (AP) – Costa Rica’s national security chief on Tuesday revealed details of an alleged plot to assassinate President Rodrigo Chaves ahead of presidential and legislative elections.

10,500 flights canceled Sunday as massive winter storm sweeps across US

NASHVILLE (AP) – A massive winter storm made for a brutal travel day Sunday, with widespread cancellations and delays at some of the nation’s busiest airports. Widespread snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened nearly 180 million people – more than half the U.S. population – in a path stretching from the southern Rocky Mountains to New England.

Today in History: December 28, U.S. Afghan war formally ends

Today is Sunday, Dec. 28, the 362nd day of 2025. There are three days left in the year. Today in history: On Dec. 28, 2014, the U.S. war in Afghanistan came to a formal end after 13 years with a quiet flag-lowering ceremony in Kabul, marking the transition of fighting from U.S.-led combat troops to the country’s own security forces.

Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Morning Edition

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – American rock climber Alex Honnold ascended the Taipei 101 skyscraper on Sunday without any ropes or protective equipment. Cheers erupted from a street-level crowd as he reached the top of the spire of the 508-meter (1,667-foot) tower about 90 minutes after he started. “It was like what a view, it’s incredible, what a beautiful day,” he said afterward.

Venezuelan migrants sent to El Salvador demand justice after judge ruling

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Men who were part of the group of Venezuelan migrants that the United States government transferred earlier this year to a prison in El Salvador demanded justice on Friday, days after a federal judge in Washington ruled that the Trump administration must give them legal due process.

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

Jan. 19 – The Washington Post says Congress has dropped the ball regarding oversight of ICE, DHS. Geraldo Lunas Campos died at a Texas detention center on Jan. 3 while pleading for air as guards choked him, according to a fellow detainee. The local medical examiner’s office is considering classifying his death as a homicide, The Post reports.

Trump candidate Nasry Asfura wins Honduras presidential vote

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) – Trump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura won Honduras’ presidential election, electoral authorities said Wednesday afternoon, ending a weeks-long count that has whittled away at the credibility of the Central American nation’s fragile electoral system.