AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST

Pope calls for nations to overcome divisions in Christmas address as communities celebrate worldwide

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis in his traditional Christmas message on Wednesday urged “all people of all nations” to find courage during this Holy Year “to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions” plaguing the world, from the Middle East to Ukraine, Africa to Asia.

The pontiff’s “Urbi et Orbi” — “To the City and the World” — address serves as a summary of the woes facing the world this year. As Christmas coincided with the start of the 2025 Holy Year celebration that he dedicated to hope, Francis called for broad reconciliation, “even (with) our enemies.”

“I invite every individual, and all people of all nations … to become pilgrims of hope,” the pope said from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to throngs of people below.

The pope invoked the Holy Door of St. Peter’s, which he opened on Christmas Eve to launch the 2025 Jubilee, as representing God’s mercy, which he said tears down walls of division and dispels hatred.

He called for arms to be silenced in war-torn Ukraine and in the Middle East, singling out Christian communities in Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as Lebanon and Syria. Francis repeated his calls for the release of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

___

Azerbaijani airliner crashes in Kazakhstan, killing 38 with 29 survivors, officials say

An Azerbaijani airliner with 67 people onboard crashed Wednesday near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, killing 38 people and leaving 29 survivors, a Kazakh official said.

Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbaev disclosed the figures while meeting with Azerbaijani officials, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

The Embraer 190 was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus when it was diverted and attempted an emergency landing 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau, Azerbaijan Airlines said.

Speaking at a news conference, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, but said that the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course.

“The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing,” he said.

___

Fate of Trump’s Cabinet picks unclear as Republicans prepare to take power in Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet is still unclear after Republican senators spent much of December carefully dodging questions about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’s views on vaccines, accusations of sexual misconduct against Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard’s 2017 meeting with then-President Bashar Assad of Syria.

While some GOP senators have indicated they are all-in for Trump’s picks, others have withheld support, for now, especially on some of his more controversial nominees. The dynamic is injecting uncertainty into the process as Republicans prepare to take the Senate majority in January with a four-seat margin and as Trump aggressively challenges them to confirm his Cabinet immediately.

It’s not unusual for senators to wait until after confirmation hearings to publicly announce a decision. But Republicans are under more pressure than usual as Trump and his allies make clear that they will confront senators who don’t fall in line.

“You only have control of the Senate because of Donald Trump,” the president-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr., warned during a media appearance this month. “Without that, you’d be relegated to insignificance.”

There has been one casualty of the process so far — former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who withdrew from contention as attorney general after senators relayed private concerns. But Trump has enthusiastically stood by the rest, including Kennedy for secretary of Health and Human Services, Hegseth for secretary of Defense and Gabbard for director of national intelligence.

___

Trial of man accused in Trump assassination attempt in Florida pushed back to September

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man accused of attempting to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump in South Florida won’t be tried until September 2025, a federal judge ruled this week.

Ryan Routh’s trial will begin Sept. 8 instead of the previously scheduled Feb. 10, 2025 start date, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said in an order released on Monday.

Routh, 58, a Hawaii resident, has pleaded not guilty.

Routh’s attorneys had asked the judge to delay the trial until no earlier than next December, saying they needed more time to review the evidence against him and decide whether to mount an insanity defense.

Routh owned 17 cellphones and numerous other electronic devices, and there are hundreds of hours of police body camera and surveillance videos that have been provided to the defense, Routh’s attorneys argued during a hearing two weeks ago in Fort Pierce, Florida.

___

A baby froze to death overnight in Gaza as Israel and Hamas trade accusations of ceasefire delays

JERUSALEM (AP) — A baby girl froze to death overnight in Gaza, while Israel and Hamas accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts that could wind down the 14-month war.

The 3-week old baby was the third to die from the cold in Gaza’s tent camps in recent days, doctors said, deaths that underscore the squalid conditions, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crammed into often ramshackle tents after fleeing Israeli offensives.

Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.

The offensive has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands are packed into tent camps along the coast as the cold, wet winter sets in. Aid groups have struggled to deliver food and supplies and say there are shortages of blankets, warm clothing and firewood.

Israel has increased the amount of aid it allows into the territory, reaching an average of 130 trucks a day so far this month, up from around 70 a day in October and November. Still, the amount remains well below than previous months and the United Nations says it is unable to distribute more than half the aid because Israeli forces deny permission to move within Gaza or because of rampant lawlessness and theft from trucks.

___

An Israeli soldier who died 417 days after his Oct. 7 wounds has become a symbol of sacrifice

MODIIN, Israel (AP) — For more than 400 days after being critically wounded during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, Yona Brief tried to recover. But after losing both legs and enduring medically induced comas, the combat medic died in late November.

The dual Israeli-American citizen has come to symbolize the sacrifice by hundreds of fallen soldiers in what many in Israel see as a war for the country’s survival.

“He became a symbol of ‘Don’t quit,’” said his mother, Hazel. His father, David, compared him to the oil that lit the candelabra in the Hannukah story, miraculously burning longer than expected, according to Jewish tradition.

More than 800 Israeli soldiers have been killed since Hamas’ attack, about 300 of them on the initial day and the rest in Gaza or in the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Thousands of others have been wounded, many of them seriously. The war in Gaza has killed nearly 45,000 Palestinians, while over 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to local health officials.

Serving in Israel’s military is compulsory for most Jews. Soldiers’ service is revered, and Israelis see their sacrifice as deeply moving. Public opinion in previous wars has often been swayed by high soldier casualties.

___

US census data shows how Middle Eastern and Hispanic residents differ in racial identity

As the U.S. Census Bureau gets public feedback about how it should tally people into new race and ethnicity groups, the agency has released new research reflecting how U.S. residents from different backgrounds regard their racial and ethnic identities.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government changed how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity to more accurately count residents who identify as Hispanic and of Middle Eastern and North African heritage. Before this year, the categories hadn’t been changed in 27 years.

Under the revisions, questions about race and ethnicity that previously were asked separately on forms will be combined into a single question. That will give respondents the option to pick multiple categories at the same time, such as “Black,” “American Indian” and “Hispanic.” Research has shown that large numbers of Hispanic people aren’t sure how to answer the race question when that question is asked separately because they understand race and ethnicity to be similar and they often pick “some other race” or do not answer the question.

A Middle Eastern and North African category also was added to the choices available for questions about race and ethnicity. People descended from places such as Lebanon, Iran, Egypt and Syria had been encouraged to identify as white, but now will have the option of identifying themselves in the new group.

Results from the 2020 census, which asked respondents to write in their backgrounds on the form, suggest that more than 3.1 million U.S. residents identify as Middle Eastern and North African, otherwise known as MENA.

___

Russia targets Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Christmas Day

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a massive missile and drone barrage targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Wednesday, striking a thermal power plant and prompting Ukrainians to take shelter in metro stations on Christmas morning.

The strikes on Ukrainian fuel and energy sources included 78 air, ground, and sea-launched missiles as well as 106 Shaheds and other types of drones, Ukraine’s air force said. It claimed to have intercepted 59 missiles and 54 drones, with 52 more drones being jammed.

“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane?” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X. “They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine.”

In Russia, meanwhile, one woman died and three people were wounded after falling debris from a downed drone sparked a fire in a shopping mall in the city of Vladikavkaz. The head of Russia’s republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Gov. Sergey Menyaylo, said security footage showed that the explosion took place outside the Alania Mall Wednesday morning.

At least one person was killed in Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Dnipro region, Vice Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said on Telegram, adding that heating was disrupted for 155 residential buildings. He also said 500,000 people in the Kharkiv region were without heat.

___

Taliban say Pakistani airstrikes killed 46 people in eastern Afghanistan, mostly women and children

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s airstrikes on eastern Afghanistan killed 46 people, mostly women and children, a Taliban government official said Wednesday, raising fears of further straining relations between the two neighbors.

Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, said those killed in the strikes that targeted four locations in Barmal, a district in the province of Paktika, were refugees, adding that six others were also wounded.

This comes a day after Pakistani security officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with regulations, told The Associated Press that Tuesday’s operation was to dismantle a training facility and kill insurgents in Paktika.

Earlier Wednesday, Mohammad Khurasani, the spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed in a statement that 50 people, including 27 women and children, died in the strikes. He said they were “unarmed refugees” who fled to Afghanistan because of Pakistan’s offensive in the northwest.

The TTP — a separate group but also a close ally of the Afghan Taliban — also shared photos, alleging they were of children killed during the Pakistani operation.

___

Blake Lively’s claims that movie co-star launched smear campaign gets support in publicist’s suit

NEW YORK (AP) — Blake Lively’s claims that “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni unleashed a smear campaign against her have gained support from a new lawsuit that Baldoni’s former publicist filed against him.

The lawsuit was lodged Tuesday in New York state court in Manhattan by Stephanie Jones, who began representing Baldoni in 2017. It said the actor and his movie production company, Wayfarer, expanded their contract in 2020, agreeing to pay a $25,000 monthly fee.

The lawsuit alleged that Baldoni, 40, and Wayfarer last August, when the film was released, teamed up with publicists to try to “bury” and “destroy” Lively amid fears that allegations of misogynistic and toxic on-set behavior as the romantic drama was made might harm his reputation and career.

Jones sought unspecified damages from the defendants, including Jennifer Abel, a former employee who she says carried out the campaign to damage Lively and muddy the reputation of Jones.

The lawsuit alleges that Abel was fired after Jones learned on Aug. 21 that Abel had “stolen more than 70 proprietary and sensitive business documents and additional client leads” from Jonesworks as Abel prepared to leave the firm to start her own publicity company, taking along Baldoni and Wayfarer as clients.

The Associated Press