AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST

Rubio says US-Ukraine talks on Russia war were productive but much work remains in search of a deal

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — U.S. and Ukrainian officials completed roughly four hours of talks Sunday aimed at finding an endgame to the war between Russia and Ukraine, just days before a U.S. envoy is due in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters afterward that the session with the Ukrainian team in Florida was productive but work remains in the search for a peace deal.

“It’s not just about the terms that ends fighting,” Rubio said. “It’s about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity. … I think we built on that today, but there’s more work to be done.”

President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to meet with Putin in Moscow in the next few days.

Rubio, Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, represented the American side in the high-level talks, held at a sensitive time as Ukraine continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded in 2022 while dealing with a corruption scandal.

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Lawmakers voice support for congressional reviews of Trump’s military strikes on boats

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack.

The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week’s Washington Post report was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said attacking survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns.

“This rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, when asked about a follow-up strike aimed at people no longer able to fight, said Congress does not have information that happened. He noted that leaders of the Armed Services Committee in both the House and Senate have opened investigations.

“Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree that that would be an illegal act,” Turner said.

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Post-Thanksgiving travelers in Chicago see hundreds of flights canceled and delayed after snowstorm

CHICAGO (AP) — Don Herrian was among the crowds of travelers at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Sunday hoping to make it back home after Thanksgiving as hundreds of flights were delayed and canceled following a winter storm in the Great Lakes region.

“It is what it is,” Herrian said. “It’s congested but that’s expected due to the snow, the delays and the holidays.”

The 76-year-old retiree from Ardmore, Oklahoma, had visited his daughter and her family in Indianapolis. He said his first flight was three hours late, and his connecting flight to Oklahoma City from Chicago was already running another two hours behind.

“I just hope I get home tonight,” he said.

On Saturday, 8.4 inches (21.34 centimeters) of snow fell at O’Hare, setting a record for the highest single calendar day snowfall in November at the airport, according to the National Weather Service. That broke the previous record of 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) on Nov. 6, 1951.

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Investigators urge witnesses of the deadly shooting at a child’s party in California to come forward

STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in California urged witnesses of a deadly shooting at a child’s birthday party to come forward as the search for a suspect stretched into another day.

Three children ages 8, 9 and 14 and a 21-year-old were killed Saturday when gunfire broke out at a banquet hall in Stockton where at least 100 people were gathered, San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow said. Detectives believe the gunfire continued outside and there may have been multiple shooters.

Eleven people were also wounded, with at least one in critical condition, he said. No one was in custody by Sunday evening, and the sheriff urged anyone with information to contact his office with tips, cellphone video or witness accounts.

“This is a time for our community to show that we will not put up with this type of behavior, when people will just walk in and kill children,” Withrow said. “And so if you know anything about this, you have to come forward and tell us what you know. If not, you just become complacent and think this is acceptable behavior.”

Sheriff’s spokesperson Heather Brent said earlier that investigators believe it was a “targeted incident.” Officials did not elaborate on why authorities believe it was intentional or who might have been targeted. She said investigators would welcome any information, “even rumors.”

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Vote count under way in Honduras to elect new president in a close race after Trump’s intervention

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Poll workers began tallying Hondurans’ votes Sunday evening as the country moved to elect a new president only days after U.S. President Donald Trump intervened in a close race by endorsing a candidate and announcing that he would pardon a former president.

Voting was extended an hour beyond the original closing time in many locations to accommodate remaining voters. No major voting problems were initially reported by electoral authorities.

In addition to a new president, voters were casting ballots for a new Congress, as well as hundreds of local positions.

Among the five presidential candidates on the ballot, polls indicated three had a chance to win and were finishing in close competition. They are:

1. Rixi Moncada, who served as finance and later as defense secretary in the current administration of President Xiomara Castro and is running for the social democrat LIBRE or Liberty and Re-foundation party. Moncada is promising to “democratize” an economy still defined by extreme wealth and poverty.

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Netanyahu requests a pardon to end his ongoing corruption trial in Israel

TEL AVIV (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday asked the country’s president to grant him a pardon from corruption charges, seeking to end a long-running trial that has bitterly divided the nation.

Netanyahu, who has been at war against Israel’s legal system over the charges, said the request would help unify the country at a time of momentous change in the region. But it immediately triggered denunciations from opponents, who said a pardon would weaken democratic institutions and send a dangerous message that he’s above the rule of law.

Netanyahu had submitted a request for a pardon to the legal department of the Office of the President, the prime minister’s office said in a statement. The president’s office called it an “extraordinary request,” carrying with it “significant implications.”

Netanyahu is the only sitting prime minister in Israeli history to stand trial, after being charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases accusing him of exchanging favors with wealthy political supporters. He hasn’t been convicted of anything.

Netanyahu rejects the allegations and has described the case as a witch hunt orchestrated by the media, police and judiciary.

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Trump issues White House invitation to families of the two National Guard members who were shot

President Donald Trump on Sunday said he’s invited the family of a National Guard member fatally shot last week to the White House, saying he spoke to her parents and they were “devastated.”

U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died after the Wednesday shooting in Washington, D.C., while her seriously injured colleague, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, remained in critical condition.

The president said he’s discussed a White House visit for the parents of both members of the West Virginia National Guard.

“I said, ‘When you’re ready, because that’s a tough thing, come to the White House. We’re going to honor Sarah,” Trump told reporters. “And likewise with Andrew, recover or not.”

In recent days, local vigils in West Virginia have honored the soldiers, including one Saturday evening at Webster County High School, where Beckstrom attended classes.

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A Border Patrol-led immigration crackdown is coming to southeast Louisiana. Here’s what to know

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Around 250 federal border agents are expected to launch a monthslong immigration crackdown on Monday in southeast Louisiana and into Mississippi dubbed “Swamp Sweep.”

The deployment, which aims to arrest 5,000 people, is centered in liberal New Orleans and is the latest federal immigration enforcement operation to target a Democratic-run city as President Donald Trump’s administration pursues its mass deportation agenda.

Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who has led aggressive operations in Chicago, Los Angeles and Charlotte, North Carolina, is expected to helm the campaign.

Many in the greater New Orleans area, particularly in Latino communities, have been on edge since the planned operations were reported earlier this month, even as Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he welcomes the federal agents.

Here’s what to know about “Swamp Sweep.”

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Georgia up to No. 3 behind Ohio State, Indiana in Top 25 shuffle as Oregon, Texas Tech also climb

Texas A&M fell out of the top five of The Associated Press college football poll for the first time in two months Sunday, Texas Tech notched its highest ranking in 17 years and a season-high four teams from Group of Five conferences are ranked as the top five got a shuffle with a week to go before the postseason bracket is set.

No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana, the only remaining unbeatens, are the top two teams for a seventh straight poll heading into their Big Ten title game clash on Saturday. No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Oregon each moved up a spot, and Texas Tech’s No. 5 ranking is its best since it spent three weeks at No. 2 in November 2008.

Mississippi remained No. 6 and was followed by Texas A&M, which slipped four spots after its 10-point loss at Texas. Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Alabama rounded out the top 10 for the third straight week.

The weekend results created two top-10 matchups in conference championship games this Saturday. Besides the Big Ten showdown, Georgia and Alabama will play for the Southeastern Conference crown. The other Top 25 matchup pits Texas Tech against No. 11 BYU in the Big 12. The Atlantic Coast Conference game matches No. 16 Virginia against a Duke team that is 7-5 and received no votes in Sunday’s poll.

No. 12 Miami and No. 13 Vanderbilt traded places in the rankings. The Hurricanes, who finished the regular season with a 31-point road win over Pittsburgh, are the highest-ranked ACC team and hope to receive a College Football Playoff at-large bid. Vanderbilt slipped despite beating Tennessee by 21 points on the road.

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AI-assisted shopping is the talk of the holiday shopping season

NEW YORK (AP) — Major retail chains and tech companies are offering new or updated artificial intelligence tools in time for the holiday shopping season, hoping to give consumers an easier gift-buying experience and themselves an augmented share of online spending.

Although AI-powered purchases are in early stages, the shopping assistants and agents rolled out by the likes of Walmart, Amazon and Google can do more than the chatbots of holidays past. The latest versions were designed to provide personalized product recommendations, track prices and to place some orders through unscripted “conversations” with customers.

Those features are on top of shopping updates from AI platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Gemini. In one of the season’s most talked-about launches, Google this month introduced an AI agent that can be instructed to call local stores to ask if a desired product is in stock.

San Francisco software company Salesforce estimated that AI would influence $73 billion, or 22%, of all global sales in one way or another from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving through Monday after the holiday, according to Caila Schwartz, Salesforce’s director of consumer insights.

The figure, which stood at $60 billion a year ago, encompasses everything from a ChatGPT query to AI-supplied gift suggestions on a retailer’s website, Schwartz said.