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188jili ph Beirut: Syrian rebels announced they had gained full control over the key city of Homs early on Sunday after only a day of fighting, leaving President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule dangling by a thread as insurgents marched on the capital, Damascus. Thousands of Homs residents poured onto the streets after the army withdrew from the central city, dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad”. A giant portrait of Bashar al-Assad sits on a building in Damascus. Credit: AP Rebels fired guns into the air in celebration, and youths tore down posters of the Syrian president, whose territorial control has collapsed in a dizzying week-long retreat by the military. The fall of Homs gives the insurgents control over Syria’s strategic heartland and a key highway crossroads, severing Damascus from the coastal region that is the stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval base and air base. Homs’ capture is also a powerful symbol of the rebel movement’s dramatic comeback in the 13-year-old conflict. Swaths of Homs were destroyed by gruelling siege warfare between the rebels and the army years ago. The fighting ground down the insurgents, who were forced out. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the main rebel leader, called the capture of Homs a historic moment and urged fighters not to harm “those who drop their arms”. Syrian opposition fighters on a seized Syrian air force fighter plane at the Hama military airport on Friday. Credit: AP Rebels freed thousands of detainees from the city prison. Security forces left quickly after burning their documents. Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghani said in a statement early on Sunday that operations continued to “completely liberate” the countryside around Damascus and rebel forces were looking towards the capital. In one suburb, a statue of Assad’s father, the late former president Hafez al-Assad, was toppled and torn apart. The Syrian army said it was reinforcing around Damascus, and state television reported on Saturday that Assad remained in the city. People arrive at the Jordanian side of the border as others wait in their cars on Saturday, after a ban on crossings into Syria. Credit: Getty Images The lightning rebel advance suggests Assad’s government could fall within the next week, US and other Western officials said. Since the rebels’ sweep into Aleppo a week ago , government defences have crumbled at a dizzying speed as insurgents seized a string of major cities and rose in places where the rebellion had long seemed over. The twin threats to Damascus and the strategically vital city of Homs now pose an existential danger to the Assad dynasty’s five-decade reign over Syria and the continued influence in the country of its main regional backer, Iran. The rebels’ moves around Damascus, reported by an opposition war monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of the southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is backed by Russia and Iran, but both are bogged down in separate conflicts. Credit: Saudi Press Agency/AP The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaeda and is considered a terrorist organisation by the US and the United Nations. In their push to overthrow Assad’s government, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian Army. The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition”. Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, Pedersen said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad’s chief international backer, said he felt “sorry for the Syrian people”. In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands went to Syria’s border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country. Many shops in the city were shuttered, a resident told the Associated Press, and those still open had run out of staples such as sugar. Some were selling items at three times the normal price. “The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions. “People are worried whether there will be a battle [in Damascus] or not.” It was the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018 when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a years-long siege. The UN said it was moving non-critical staff outside the country as a precaution. Assad rumours Syria’s state media denied social media rumours that Assad had left the country, saying the president was performing his duties in Damascus. Assad has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia is busy with its war in Ukraine, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad’s forces, has been weakened by a year-long conflict with Israel. Iran has had its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes. US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that the US should avoid engaging militarily in Syria. A Syrian opposition fighter holds a rocket launcher in front of the provincial government office. Credit: AP Pedersen said a date for talks in Geneva on implementing a 2015 UN resolution calling for a Syrian-led political process would be announced later. The resolution calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with UN-supervised elections. Foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, along with Pedersen, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha summit on Saturday to discuss the situation. No details were immediately available. The insurgents’ march Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were also marching toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he said. An insurgent commander, Hassan Abdul Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus. Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani. Credit: Al Jazeera HTS controls much of north-west Syria and, in 2017, set up a “salvation government” to run daily affairs in the region. In recent years, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s image, cutting ties with al-Qaeda, ditching hardline officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance. Syria’s military, meanwhile, sent large numbers of reinforcements to defend the key central city of Homs, Syria’s third-largest, as insurgents approached its outskirts. The shock offensive began on November 27, during which rebel fighters captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central city of Hama, the country’s fourth-largest city. Opposition activists on Friday said insurgents entered Palmyra, which is home to invaluable archaeological sites that had been in government hands since being taken from the Islamic State group in 2017. To the south, Syrian troops left much of the province of Quneitra, including the main Baath City, activists said. The Syrian Observatory said government troops had withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces and were sending reinforcements to Homs, where a battle loomed. If the insurgents were to capture Homs, they would cut the link between Damascus, Assad’s seat of power, and the coastal region where the president enjoys wide support. The army said in a statement that it had carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists”. The army said it was setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area”, apparently to defend Damascus from the south. The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since the conflict broke out in March 2011. Diplomacy in Doha The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey, meeting in Qatar, called for an end to the hostilities. Turkey is the main backer of the rebels. Qatar’s top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticised Assad for failing to take advantage of the lull in fighting in recent years to address the country’s underlying problems. “Assad didn’t seize this opportunity to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people,” he said. Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised by how quickly the rebels have advanced and said there was a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity”. He said the war could “damage and destroy what is left if there is no sense of urgency” to start a political process. AP, Reuters Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter .Why Idaho parents are fighting against school vouchers again | Necochea

Poeltl, Olynyk, Mitchell return to Toronto Raptors' lineup versus MavericksBEIRUT (AP) — Insurgents' stunning march across Syria accelerated Saturday with news that they had reached the suburbs of the capital and that government forces had withdrawn from the central city of Homs. The government was forced to deny rumors that President Bashar Assad had fled the country. The loss of Homs is a potentially crippling blow for Assad. It stands at an important intersection between Damascus and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus — the Syrian leader’s base of support and home to a Russian strategic naval base. The pro-government Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third-largest city, without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies have withdrawn from the city, adding that rebels have entered parts of it. The capture of Homs is a major victory for insurgents, who have already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama , as well as large parts of the south, in a lightning offensive that began Nov. 27. Analysts said Homs falling into rebel hands would be a game-changer. The rebels' moves around Damascus, reported by the monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations. In their push to overthrow Assad's government, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian army. For the first time in the country's long-running civil war, the government now has control of only three of 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Latakia and Tartus. The U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.” Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad's chief international backer, said he feels “sorry for the Syrian people.” In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands went to Syria's border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country. Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told The Associated Press, and those still open ran out of staples such as sugar. Some were selling items at three times the normal price. “The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions. “People are worried whether there will be a battle (in Damascus) or not.” It was the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a yearslong siege. The U.N. said it was moving noncritical staff outside the country as a precaution. Syria’s state media denied social media rumors that Assad left the country, saying he is performing his duties in Damascus. He has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia, is busy with its war in Ukraine . Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad's forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria. Pedersen said a date for talks in Geneva on the implementation a U.N. resolution, adopted in 2015, and calling for a Syrian-led political process, would be announced later. The resolution calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with U.N.-supervised elections. Later Saturday, foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, along with Pederson, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha Summit to discuss the situation in Syria. No details were immediately available. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were marching toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he added. A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus. HTS controls much of northwest Syria and in 2017 set up a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s image, cutting ties with al-Qaida, ditching hard-line officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance. The shock offensive began Nov. 27, during which gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central city of Hama , the country’s fourth largest city. Opposition activists said Saturday that a day earlier, insurgents entered Palmyra, which is home to invaluable archaeological sites had been in government hands since being taken from the Islamic State group in 2017. To the south, Syrian troops left much of the province of Quneitra including the main Baath City, activists said. Syrian Observatory said government troops have withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces. The Syrian army said in a statement that it carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists." The army said it was setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area,” apparently to defend Damascus from the south. The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since conflict broke out in March 2011. The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey, meeting in Qatar, called for an end to the hostilities. Turkey is a main backer of the rebels. Qatar's top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to take advantage of the lull in fighting in recent years to address the country’s underlying problems. “Assad didn’t seize this opportunity to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people,” he said. Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised by how quickly the rebels have advanced and said there is a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity.” He said the war could “damage and destroy what is left if there is no sense of urgency” to start a political process. Karam reported from London. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.

Is Enron back? If it's a joke, some former employees aren't laughing HOUSTON (AP) — Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in corporate fraud and greed in America after it went bankrupt in 2001, is coming back. But the infamous company's return seems to be an elaborate joke. If its return is comedic, some former Enron employees who lost everything in the company’s collapse aren’t laughing. They're angry at a publicity stunt they say minimizes what they went through. Enron was once the nation’s seventh-largest company, but it went bankrupt amid massive accounting fraud. On Monday, a company representing itself as Enron announced it was relaunching as a “company dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.” But a paper trail of legal documents points to the comeback being parody and performance art. Authorities fear a Pennsylvania woman was swallowed by a sinkhole while looking for her cat Authorities fear a grandmother who disappeared while looking for her cat may have been swallowed up by a sinkhole that recently opened up in a western Pennsylvania village. Crews lowered a pole camera with a sensitive listening device into the hole in Marguerite on Tuesday morning but detected nothing. A second camera lowered into the hole showed what could be a shoe. Police say the family of 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard called police at about 1 a.m. to say she hadn't been seen since going out Monday evening to search for Pepper, her cat. They found her 5-year-old granddaughter in her parked car near the manhole-sized opening. It’s not clear what happened to Pepper. Texans' Azeez Al-Shaair suspended 3 games without pay after violent hit on Trevor Lawrence HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s Azeez Al-Shaair was suspended by the NFL without pay for three games for repeated violations of player safety rules following his hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, which led to a concussion. Al-Shaair’s punishment was announced by NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan. In his letter to Al-Shaair, he noted that he has had multiple offenses for personal fouls and sportsmanship-related rules violations in recent seasons. Runyan says “video shows you striking the head/neck area of Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence after he clearly goes down in a feet-first slide.” Last 2 defendants in Atlanta's Young Thug trial are acquitted of murder and gang charges ATLANTA (AP) — The long-running gang and racketeering trial in Atlanta that led rapper Young Thug to plead guilty in October has ended with a jury finding the last two defendants not guilty of racketeering, murder and gang-related charges. Deamonte Kendrick, who raps as Yak Gotti, was acquitted of all charges and Shannon Stillwell was found guilty only of a gun possession charge. Jury selection in the trial began nearly two years ago after prosecutors indicted 28 defendants. They said YSL was a criminal gang co-founded by Grammy-winning Young Thug. The Atlanta-born rapper’s given name is Jeffery Williams. He was released on probation after pleading guilty to gang, drug and gun charges. Great Lakes region braces for more snow while cleaning up after lake-effect storms Cleanup work is continuing around parts of the Great Lakes region socked by lake-effect snowstorms that dropped several feet of snow over the weekend. Forecasters are warning that another storm system could add a few more inches and maybe even more later this week. Many school districts in western Pennsylvania remained closed Tuesday as the storms were finally slowing after several days of lake-effect snow that also fell on parts of western New York, Ohio and Michigan. Snow totals since Thanksgiving in some places are nearing six feet. New women's baseball league names 97-year-old AAGPBL alum honorary chair on advisory board Former baseball pitcher Maybelle Blair will be an honorary chair on the advisory board of the Women’s Professional Baseball League, which last month announced plans to launch in 2026 as a six-team circuit for female players. The 97-year-old Blair helped inspire the baseball film “A League of Their Own” with her play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She will chair a board of women who have worked in sports and business. The list includes a leader from the upstart Professional Women’s Hockey League, a longtime ESPN executive, and baseball pitcher and six-time World Cup winner Ayami Sato. Search suspended for man believed to have gone overboard from cruise ship off California's coast SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says it has suspended the search for a man believed to have gone overboard from a cruise ship as it was returning to San Francisco after a voyage to Ensenada, Mexico. The Ruby Princess arrived in San Francisco at 6:50 a.m. Monday following the five-day trip. Officials searched the ship several times for the missing passenger. They also scoured CCTV videos, but there was no sign of the man. Princess Cruises says the 72-year-old American citizen was traveling alone. The Coast Guard began aerial searches that were suspended around 5:30 p.m. Chicago house party shooting kills 3 men and wounds five other people, police say CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police say eight people were shot at a house party, three of them fatally. Others fled as gunfire erupted. Police Chief of Patrol Jon Hein says officers responded Monday afternoon to the “social gathering” at a home in the city's southwest Chicago Lawn neighborhood. He says four men and four women between the ages of 20 and 35 were shot. Police say a 26-year-old man and two other men were pronounced dead. A 27-year-old woman was in critical condition, a 24-year-old woman was in serious condition and three other shooting victims were in good condition. Philadelphia ready to go the distance with RockyFest week dedicated to 'Rocky' movies PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rocky Balboa fans are ready to go the distance to honor Philly’s favorite fictional fighter almost 50 years after the first movie launched the enduring series of an underdog boxer persevering despite the odds. The city Rocky called home at last has a week dedicated to the box office heavyweight champion of the world a year after the inaugural Rocky Day was held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps. RockyFest officially opened Tuesday and a series of events dedicated to the movies series are set to be held around the city. Kendrick Lamar tops Apple Music's 2024 song chart and women make history NEW YORK (AP) — Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” topped Apple Music’s global song chart in 2024 as the giant music streamer released year-end lists Tuesday and provided listeners with data on their own most listened-to tunes. “Not Like Us” is Lamar’s first-ever No. 1 on the year-end global songs chart. He’s followed by Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” in second, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” in third, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” in fourth and Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” in fifth. Of the 100 songs included on the list, 39 are from female-identifying artists, a record first in the global chart’s 7-year history. In November, Apple Music named Billie Eilish its artist of the year.

PWHL did Ottawa Charge no favours by booking CTC game when it did

Foul-tasting, smelly, scaly, and hard: residents fed up with water quality

xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence ( ) company, has raised USD 6 billion in new capital, according to a regulatory filing. The equity financing came from 97 investors and includes stakes as small as USD 77,593, as stated in the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. The filing did not disclose the identities of the investors. Furthermore, the company has not provided specific information regarding its valuation or revenue figures. xAI’s Latest Funding The funding comes as xAI seeks to bolster its presence in the AI industry by expanding its Memphis, Tennessee, supercomputer to accommodate at least one million graphics processing units (GPUs). Earlier reports indicate that existing investors, including Valor Equity Partners, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Qatar Investment Authority, participated in the funding round. Since its inception last year, xAI has launched its generative AI model, Grok, which powers features on X. The company reportedly plans to use funds from this round to purchase 100,000 chips from Nvidia. Series B Funding This new funding brings xAI’s total capital raised to USD 12 billion, adding to the USD 6 billion tranche secured earlier in May. The company stated that the Series B funding will be used to bring its first products to market, build advanced infrastructure, and accelerate research and development of future technologies. “Our Series B funding round of USD 6 billion with participation from key investors including Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Kingdom Holding, amongst others,” the company announced in May. “xAI is primarily focused on the development of advanced AI systems that are truthful, competent, and maximally beneficial for all of humanity. The company’s mission is to understand the true nature of the universe,” the company said in a blog post. The Grok AI Model xAI’s flagship product, a chatbot called Grok, is available to paying users of X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. In August, the company released Grok-2, a frontier language model with state-of-the-art reasoning capabilities. This release introduced two models: Grok-2 and Grok-2 Mini. In November, xAI launched the API Public Beta, offering programmatic access for developers to build applications using Grok foundation models via the newly released API. Grok AI Chatbot Now Accessible to All X Users xAI has rolled out its AI chatbot, Grok, to all users on the social platform X (formerly Twitter), previously available only to Premium subscribers of X’s higher-tier plans, X Premium and X Premium+. Free users can send up to 10 messages every two hours, after which they will be prompted to upgrade to a paid subscription. They can also analyse three images per day. As of this writing, is providing access only to the assistant Grok-2, and the image generator Grok 2+ Aurora. There is also a fun mode which users can enable. xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence ( ) company, has raised USD 6 billion in new capital, according to a regulatory filing. The equity financing came from 97 investors and includes stakes as small as USD 77,593, as stated in the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. The filing did not disclose the identities of the investors. Furthermore, the company has not provided specific information regarding its valuation or revenue figures. xAI’s Latest Funding The funding comes as xAI seeks to bolster its presence in the AI industry by expanding its Memphis, Tennessee, supercomputer to accommodate at least one million graphics processing units (GPUs). Earlier reports indicate that existing investors, including Valor Equity Partners, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Qatar Investment Authority, participated in the funding round. Since its inception last year, xAI has launched its generative AI model, Grok, which powers features on X. The company reportedly plans to use funds from this round to purchase 100,000 chips from Nvidia. Series B Funding This new funding brings xAI’s total capital raised to USD 12 billion, adding to the USD 6 billion tranche secured earlier in May. The company stated that the Series B funding will be used to bring its first products to market, build advanced infrastructure, and accelerate research and development of future technologies. “Our Series B funding round of USD 6 billion with participation from key investors including Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Kingdom Holding, amongst others,” the company announced in May. “xAI is primarily focused on the development of advanced AI systems that are truthful, competent, and maximally beneficial for all of humanity. The company’s mission is to understand the true nature of the universe,” the company said in a blog post. The Grok AI Model xAI’s flagship product, a chatbot called Grok, is available to paying users of X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. In August, the company released Grok-2, a frontier language model with state-of-the-art reasoning capabilities. This release introduced two models: Grok-2 and Grok-2 Mini. In November, xAI launched the API Public Beta, offering programmatic access for developers to build applications using Grok foundation models via the newly released API. Grok AI Chatbot Now Accessible to All X Users xAI has rolled out its AI chatbot, Grok, to all users on the social platform X (formerly Twitter), previously available only to Premium subscribers of X’s higher-tier plans, X Premium and X Premium+. Free users can send up to 10 messages every two hours, after which they will be prompted to upgrade to a paid subscription. They can also analyse three images per day. As of this writing, is providing access only to the assistant Grok-2, and the image generator Grok 2+ Aurora. There is also a fun mode which users can enable.