Paris Some are wearing hard work boots, most are wearing jeans, and one is singing while carrying a white construction helmet under his arm. They are gathered in the church hall in front of the altar, and their music starts out softly before sweeping through the Gothic-style church and up to the high stone ceiling. Though the team of architects, stonemasons, archaeologists, art historians, art conservators, and others have assisted in rebuilding Paris Notre-Dame cathedral after a fire destroyed the famous French Gothic masterpiece over five years ago, the 80-member choir has joined together for more than just singing. "It felt natural to start a choir with hundreds of people working to rebuild a structure so closely tied to French art, history, and culture," said Stephanie Duchne, a chem...

Washington Many Justice Department career lawyers were relieved when Matt Gaetz abruptly withdrew as President-elect Donald Trump's choice for attorney general on Thursday. However, a few hours later, Trump nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a staunch supporter of the former president who supported his false claims regarding the 2020 election and claimed that awful individuals in the department were attempting to gain notoriety by attacking Donald Trump and using our legal system as a weapon. It is now hoped that Todd Blanche, the president-elect's defense attorney and Trump's choice for the crucial No. 2 job at the Justice Department, will help shield the department's career civil servants from Trump's fury. His prior experience as a career federal prosecutor in the So...

Former Oklahoma U.S. Senator Fred Harris, a populist and presidential candidate who supported Democratic Party reforms during the turbulent 1960s, passed away on Saturday. He was ninety-four. The Associated Press received confirmation of Harris's passing from his wife, Margaret Elliston. Although his cause of death was not immediately known, he had been a resident of Corrales, New Mexico, since 1976. Early this morning, Fred Harris died quietly from natural causes. He was ninety-four. He was a great, well-liked individual. In a text message, Elliston stated that his memory is a blessing. Harris was elected to the Senate in 1964 to fill a vacancy and served for eight years. In 1976, he made an unsuccessful attempt to become president. As the Democratic National Committee's chairman in 1969 ...

In what Israel described as an antisemitic murder, a missing Israeli-Moldovan rabbi was discovered dead in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday. The killing of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, who has been missing in the Gulf state since Thursday, was described by the Israeli government as a "criminal antisemitic terrorist event." According to a statement made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his nation "will deal with the criminals responsible for his death to the fullest extent of the law." Suspicions that Kogan had been abducted were immediately raised by his disappearance. He represented Chabad Lubavitch, a prominent New York-based Orthodox Jewish Hasidic organization, in Abu Dhabi. We regret to inform you that Rabbi Zvi Kogan, the Chabad-Lubavitch envoy to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, ...

LAS VEGAS Under the brilliant lights of Sin City, Max Verstappen secured his fourth Formula 1 world championship on Saturday night, solidifying his place among the sport's luminaries. With two races and a "sprint" left in the 2024 season, the 27-year-old Red Bull driver only needed to finish ahead of his only championship challenger, McLaren's Lando Norris, to remove him from contention and win the trophy. Norris came in sixth, and he came in fifth. Verstappen joins a select group of drivers that includes Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Alain Prost, and Juan Manuel Fangio as the sixth driver in Formula One history to win four world titles. Man, oh God. Verstappen stated over team radio, still in his car, "What a season." Four times! Many thanks... We made it throug...

Jordan's AMMAN According to official media and a security source, a shooting near the Israeli embassy in neighboring Jordan left one shooter dead and three police officers wounded on Sunday. According to state news agency Petra, which cited public security, police shot a shooter who had opened fire on a police patrol in Amman's Rabiah neighborhood. They also said that investigations were still on. Mohamed Momani, the minister of government communications for Jordan, called the shooting a terror assault that targeted the nation's public security services. Investigations into the attack are underway, he added in a statement. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots, prompting Jordanian police to block off a section close to the tightly guarded embassy. According to two witnesses, police and amb...

The friendly, easygoing host of Wheel of Fortune, Love Connection, and Scrabble, Chuck Woolery, who subsequently turned into a right-wing podcaster who attacked liberals and accused the government of lying about COVID-19, has passed away. He was eighty-three. Woolery passed away at home in Texas with his wife, Kristen, by his side, according to an email received early Sunday by Woolery's friend and podcast co-host, Mark Young. According to Young, life would not be the same without Chuck, who was a cherished brother and friend and a strong believer. Woolery received a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978 and was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 for his matinee idol appearance, coiffed hair, and ease with clever humor. During his 11-year tenure as presenter of TV's Lo...

A Civil Air Patrol aircraft crashed in Colorado on Saturday while conducting a training flight, leaving two people dead and one injured, according to authorities. The Larimer County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Saturday night that the collision on Storm Mountain, which is approximately 80 miles north of Denver, was reported just after 11 a.m. All three passengers were discovered by responding deputies, two of whom were subsequently pronounced deceased, according to the report. According to the sheriff's office, the aircraft, which belonged to the Thompson Valley Composite Squadron, crashed in Larimer County while conducting aerial photography as part of a regular training operation. The deceased were identified by Governor Jared Polis as aerial photographer Jay Rhoten and pilot Sus...

Kansas City, Missouri. With a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit on Saturday, the Orlando Pride won their first National Women's Soccer League title thanks to a goal from Barbra Banda in the 37th minute. Banda dribbled into the right side of the box, dribbled by a defender, kicked the ball with her left foot on the ground, and kicked it past the goalie. She scored in every round of the playoffs, becoming her the first player in the NWSL to do so. The VAR ruled that the play was fair even though the Pride's Angelina almost received a push call before giving it to Banda. The Spirit (20-7-2) had two more shots on goal, outshot the Pride 25-9, maintained possession 58% of the time, and dominated the game. In the 47th minute, Rosemonde Kouassi headed a ball from a distance of roughly ten ...

Pam Bondi, the attorney general of Florida, had to decide in 2013 whether to join other state attorneys general's investigations into Trump University, where students paid up to $35,000 for business programs that detractors said were fraudulent. Bondi and Kamala Harris, the attorney general of California at the time, refused to participate in the inquiry despite student accusations of exploitation. Both claimed that the money affected their office's choice, despite having accepted campaign donations from Donald Trump. The two former state attorneys general have since taken diametrically opposed political trajectories. In the 2020 and 2024 elections, Harris criticized Trump, portraying him as a threat to democracy and a commercial scam.It was earlier this month that Trump was reelected. Ove...