# How Ukrainian special forces secured a critical Dnipro River crossing in southern Ukraine
By **MSTYSLAV CHERNOV**
December 26, 2023. 10:29 AM EST

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**KHERSON, Ukraine (AP)** - Their first battle plan was outdated the moment the dam crumbled. So the Ukrainian special forces officers spent six months adapting their fight to secure a crossing to the other side of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine.

But it wasn't enough just to cross the river. They needed backup to hold it. And for that, they needed proof that it could be done. For one of the officers, nicknamed Skif, that meant a flag - and a photo op.

Skif, Ukrainian shorthand for the nomadic Scythian people who founded an empire on what is now Crimea, moves like the camouflaged amphibian that he is: Calculating, deliberate, until the time to strike.

He is an officer in Center 73, one of Ukraine's most elite units of special forces - frontline scouts, drone operators, underwater saboteurs. Their strike teams are part of the Special Operations Forces that run the partisans in occupied territories, sneak into Russian barracks to plant bombs and prepare the ground for reclaiming territory seized by Russia.

Their mission on the more dynamic of the two main fronts in the six-month counteroffensive reflects many of the problems of Ukraine's broader effort. It's been one of the few counteroffensive successes for the Ukrainian army.

By late May, the Center 73 men were in place along the river's edge, some of them almost within view of the Kakhovka Dam. They were within range of the Russian forces who had controlled the dam and land across the Dnipro since the first days after the February 2022 full-scale invasion. And both sides knew Ukraine's looming counteroffensive had its sights on control of the river as the key to reclaim the occupied south.

In the operation's opening days, on June 6, an explosion destroyed the dam, sending a wall of reservoir water downstream, killing untold numbers of civilians, and washing out the Ukrainian army positions.

"We were ready to cross. And then the dam blew up," Skif said. The water rose 20 meters (yards), submerging supply lines, the Russian positions and everything else in its path for hundreds of kilometers. The race was on: Whose forces could seize the islands when the waters receded, and with them full control of the Dnipro?

For most Ukrainians who see them on the streets in the nearly deserted frontline villages of the Kherson region, they are the guys in T-shirts and flip-flops - just regular people. The locals who refused to evacuate have all become accustomed to the sounds of war, so even their unnerving calm in the face of air raid alarms, nearby gunfire and artillery doesn't seem unusual.

AP joined one of the clandestine units several times over six months along the Dnipro. The frogmen are nocturnal. They transform themselves from nondescript civilians into elite fighters, some in wetsuits and some in boats. In the morning, when their operations end, they're back to anonymity.

They rarely take credit for their work and Ukrainians rarely learn about their operations. But Russian military statements gleefully and erroneously announcing the destruction of Center 73 are an indication of their effectiveness.

## JUNE 2023
The men had the most modern equipment, night-vision goggles, waterproof rifles that can be assembled in a matter of seconds, underwater breathing apparatus that produces no surface bubbles, and cloaks that hide their heat signature during nighttime raids.

It was a matter of days before the start of the counteroffensive, and Center 73 had already located the Russian positions they would seize on the Dnipro River islands. Skif's men were within earshot of the June 6 explosion that destroyed the Kakhovka Dam, flooded vast stretches of the Kherson region, and upended Skif's attack plan.

An AP investigation found Russian forces had the means, motive and opportunity to blow up the dam.

Both the Russians and Ukrainians retreated from the river to regroup - Russians to the south and Ukrainians to the north.

Abandoned homes, clubs, shops became headquarters, with banks of computer screens filling the rooms and improvised weapons workshops nearby. Always secretive, frequently changing locations, they meticulously plan every operation, they sleep only a few hours during the day with curtains closed.

They wake around sunset, load gear into a 4X4 and drive to a different point on the riverbank to scout new routes for a counteroffensive, provoke Russian forces into shooting at them to pinpoint the enemy's location, retrieve soggy caches of supplies with their boat. Periodically, they captured a Russian soldier stuck in a tree or found a clutch of landmines washed up on shore.

And they themselves were stuck. Other special forces took part in battles in eastern Ukraine, the other main front in the counteroffensive. Skif's men waited patiently for the water to subside so they could seize positions and lay the groundwork for the arrival of infantry and marines in the Kherson region.

Skif, a veteran of the 2022 battle for Mariupol who had survived 266 days as a prisoner of war, wanted to fight. He had been part of Center 73 before Mariupol and rejoined after he was freed in a POW exchange.

Ukraine created its special forces in response to Russia's lightning-fast annexation of Crimea and invasion of Donbas in 2014, a precursor to the wide-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

"We realized that we were much smaller in terms of number than our enemy," said Oleksandr Kindratenko, a press officer for Special Operations Forces. "The emphasis was placed on quality. These were supposed to be small groups performing operational or strategic tasks."

He said they were trained and equipped in part by Europeans, including those from NATO countries, but their own recent battle experience means they are now as much teachers as students.

Tasks that the unit considers routine - scouting as close to Russians as possible, planting explosives under their noses, underwater operations - most soldiers would consider high-risk. High-risk missions are practically a death wish.

Skif knew he first had to plan and persuade the generals that if his men could secure a bridgehead - a strategic crossing point - it would be worthwhile to send troops. And that would mean high-risk river missions.

"My phone book is a little graveyard," he said. "A lot of good, decent people are dead. They were killed on the battlefield. One burned to death in an armored truck. One was shot by howitzers. Somebody stepped on a landmine. Everyone died differently, and there are so many of them."

## JULY - AUGUST 2023
The water retreated in July. The Russians and Ukrainians advanced again toward the river from opposite directions, the Russians from the south and Ukrainians from the north.

Groups of Center 73 scouted and advanced along the river. The mission for Skif's unit was to reclaim an island near the dam, now a web of cracked mud and dead trees. Their network of spies in the Kherson region, as well as drones and satellite images, told them where Russian forces had re-positioned.

They disembarked the boats and moved in, walking through the bare branches of the forest through swarms of mosquitoes so loud their bodycam picked up the sound. One of the men tripped a wire connected to a grenade and flung himself as far as he could away from the Russian explosive.

Just as the shrapnel pierced his back, mayhem broke out. The injured Ukrainian crawled toward the unit's waiting boat 3 kilometers (2 miles) away, as the Russian troops who set the boobytrap rained gunfire on them. Skif's men made it to the boat, which sprang a leak, and retreated back to their side of the Dnipro. Russians established their position on the island, and it took weeks more for the Ukrainians to expel them.

Then new orders came. Go upstream and breach Russian defenses beneath a destroyed railway bridge.

The men had an often-underestimated advantage over their Russian enemy: Many Ukrainians grow up bilingual and understand Russian communications intercepted in real time, while Russian soldiers need a translator for Ukrainian.

So when Skif's unit started picking up Russian radio communications by the railway bridge, they immediately grasped how many men they were up against and the kind of munitions they would face. They made the crossing, avoided the Russians, and waited for backup,

That's when their advantage evaporated. In a single battle, the Russians sent Iskander missiles and dozens of drones, dropping hundreds of grenades.

"In the air, they had absolute dominance compared to us and they held the ground," he said.

The backup was nowhere near enough. Ukrainian forces retreated under heavy fire. More men out of commission and another difficult task ahead.

## SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2023
A lucky thing happened soon after that battle. A Russian officer who claimed he'd been opposed to the war since its beginning was sent to the front in Kherson. It was, he later said, every bit as bad as he'd feared.

He made contact with Ukrainian intelligence and said he had 11 comrades who felt similarly. The group surrendered to Skif and his men.

The Russians told Skif exactly what he needed to know about their unit on the island they were now tasked with taking, just outside the village of Krynky.

He was sure he could take the island and more with 20 experienced men. But not without the promise of sufficient backup so Ukrainian regular forces could hold the territory. Fine, his commander said. He'd get the backup - if he returned with footage of his unit in the village hoisting the Ukrainian flag.

And that's how, in mid-October, a Ukrainian drone carrying the national blue and yellow flag came to fly above Krynky at just the moment Skif and his men made their way to the occupied village across the river. They got their photo op to prove the road was cleared, sent it to the military headquarters, and established the bridgehead.

## NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2023
Multiple Ukrainian brigades were sent to hold the position and have been there ever since.

But nighttime temperatures are dipping well below freezing, and Ukrainian forces are vastly underequipped compared to the Russians nearby. Holding and advancing in winter is much harder on soldiers' bodies and their morale.

In recent weeks, Russia has sent waves of glide bombs - essentially enormous munitions retrofitted with gliding apparatus to allow them to be launched from dozens of kilometers (miles) away, as well as swarms of grenade-launching drones and Chinese all-terrain vehicles, according to the Institute for the Study of War and the Hudson Institute, two American think-tanks analyzing open-source footage from the area.

In a news conference earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the battle and acknowledged Russian forces had pulled back "several meters." But he insisted Ukrainian forces were battling pointlessly and losing far more than they gained.

"I don't even know why they're doing this," Putin said.

Despite having never fully controlled the territory during the six-month counteroffensive, Russia claims it as its own.

And Ukrainian forces and Center 73 keep fighting into the new year.

"This is our work," Skif said. "No one knows about it, no one talks about it, and we do it with little reward except to benefit our country."


# Mexico's army-run airline takes to the skies, with first flight to the resort of Tulum
December 26, 2023. 4:11 PM EST

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**MEXICO CITY (AP)** - Mexico launched its army-run airline Tuesday, when the first Mexicana airlines flight took off from Mexico City bound for the Caribbean resort of Tulum.

It was another sign of the outsized role that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has given to Mexico's armed forces. The airline's military-run holding company now also operates about a dozen airports, hotels, trains, the country's customs service and tourist parks.

Gen. Luís Cresencio Sandoval, Mexico's defense secretary, said that having all those diverse businesses run by the military was "common in developed countries."

In fact, only a few countries like Cuba, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Colombia have military-run airlines. They are mostly small carriers with a handful of prop planes that operate mostly on under-served or remote domestic routes.

But the Mexicana airline plans to carry tourists from Mexican cities to resorts like Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Zihuatanejo, Acapulco and Mazatlan. Flights appear to be scheduled every three or four days, largely on weekends.

The carrier hopes to compete mainly on price: the first 425 tickets sold offered prices of about $92 for the flight from Mexico City to Tulum, which the government claimed was about one-third cheaper than commercial airlines.

However, Mexicana's first flight didn't go according to plan. The company said Flight MXA 1788 had to be re-routed to the colonial city of Merida because of poor weather conditions in Tulum. After a wait, it finally took off again and arrived in Tulum about five hours after it took off from Mexico City, about double the usual travel time.

Mexicana also hopes to fly to 16 small regional airports that currently have no flights or very few. For those worried about being told to "Fasten your seatbelt, and that's an order," the cabin crew on the Mexicana flight appeared to be civilians. In Mexico, the air force is a wing of the army.

Sandoval said the airline began operations with three Boeing jets and two smaller leased Embraer planes, and hopes to lease or acquire five more jets in early 2024.

López Obrador called the takeoff of the first Boeing 737-800 jet "a historic event" and a "new stage," marking the return of the formerly government-run airline Mexicana, which had been privatized, then went bankrupt and finally closed in 2010.

The airline combines Lopez Obrador's reliance on the military - which he claims is the most incorruptible and patriotic arm of the government - and his nostalgia for the state-run companies that dominated Mexico's economy until widespread privatizations were carried out in the 1980s.

López Obrador recalled fondly the days when government-run firms operated everything from oil, gas, electricity and mining, to airlines and telephone service. He bashed the privatizations, which were carried out because Mexico's indebted government could no longer afford to operate the inefficient, state-owned companies.

"They carried out a big fraud," the president said at his daily morning news briefing. "They deceived a lot of people, saying these state-run companies didn't work."

In fact, the state-run companies in Mexico accumulated a well-deserved reputation for inefficiency, poor service, corruption and political control. For example, Mexico's state-run paper distribution company often refused to sell newsprint to opposition newspapers.

When the national telephone company was owned by the government, customers routinely had to wait years to get a phone line installed, and were required to buy shares in the company in order to eventually get service, problems that rapidly disappeared after it was privatized in 1990.

While unable to restore the government-run companies to their former glory, the administration depicts its efforts to recreate them on a smaller scale as part of a historic battle to return Mexico's economy to a more collectivist past.

"This will be the great legacy of your administration, and will echo throughout eternity," the air traffic controller at Mexico City's Felipe Angeles airport intoned as the first Mexicana flight took off.

López Obrador has also put the military in charge of many of the country's infrastructure building projects, and given it the lead role in domestic law enforcement.

For example, the army built both the Felipe Angeles airport and the one in Tulum.

Apart from boosting traffic at the underused Felipe Angeles airport, the army-run Mexicana apparently will provide flights to feed passengers into the president's Maya Train tourism project. The army is also building that train line, which will connect beach resorts and archaeological sites on the Yucatan Peninsula.

The army, which has no experience running commercial flights, has created a subsidiary to be in charge of Mexicana.


# Sweden moves a step closer to NATO membership after Turkey's parliamentary committee gives approval
By **SUZAN FRASER**
December 26, 2023. 1:55 PM EST

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**ANKARA, Turkey (AP)** - The Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee gave its consent to Sweden's bid to join NATO on Tuesday, drawing the previously nonaligned Nordic country closer to membership in the Western military alliance.

Sweden's accession protocol will now need to be approved in the Turkish parliament's general assembly for the last stage of the legislative process in Turkey. No date has been set.

Turkey, a NATO member, has delayed ratification of Sweden's membership for more than a year, accusing the country of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara regards as threats to its security, including Kurdish militants and members of a network that Ankara blames for a failed coup in 2016.

The Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee had begun discussing Sweden's membership in NATO last month. But the meeting was adjourned after legislators from Erdogan's ruling party submitted a motion for a postponement on grounds that some issues needed more clarification and that negotiations with Sweden hadn't "matured" enough.

On Tuesday, the committee resumed its deliberations and a large majority of legislators in the committee voted in favor of Sweden's application to join.

Briefing the committee members before the vote, Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akcapar cited steps Sweden had taken steps to meet Turkish demands, including lifting restrictions on defense industry sales and amending anti-terrorism laws in ways that "no one could have imaged five or six years ago."

"It is unrealistic to expect that the Swedish authorities will immediately fulfill all of our demands. This is a process, and this process requires long-term and consistent effort," he said, adding that Turkey would continue to monitor Sweden's progress.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström welcomed the committee's decision on a message posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

"The next step is for parliament to vote on the matter. We look forward to becoming a member of NATO," he tweeted.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also welcomed the development, saying that he counts on Turkey and Hungary "to now complete their ratifications as soon as possible. Sweden's membership will make NATO stronger."

Hungary has also stalled Sweden's bid, alleging that Swedish politicians have told "blatant lies" about the condition of Hungary's democracy. Hungary hasn't announced when the country's ratification may occur.

Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had openly linked ratification of Sweden's NATO membership to the U.S. Congress' approval of a Turkish request to purchase 40 new F-16 fighter jets and kits to modernize Turkey's existing fleet.

Erdogan also also called on Canada and other NATO allies to life arms embargoes imposed on Turkey.

The White House has backed the Turkish F-16 request but there is opposition in Congress to military sales to Turkey.

Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATO's security umbrella, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Finland joined the alliance in April, becoming NATO's 31st member, after Turkey's parliament ratified the Nordic country's bid.

NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members to expand, and Turkey and Hungary are the only countries that have been holding out.

The delays have frustrated other NATO allies who were swift to accept Sweden and Finland into the alliance.


# 6-year-old boy traveling to visit grandma for Christmas put on wrong Spirit flight
December 26, 2023. 12:12 PM EST

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**FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP)** - A 6-year-old boy who left on a flight for the Christmas holiday to visit his grandmother in southwest Florida instead was put on the wrong plane and ended up 160 miles away in Orlando, Florida.

When the grandmother, Maria Ramos, showed up on Thursday at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers to greet her grandson who was flying for the first time from Philadelphia, she was told he wasn't on the Spirit Airlines flight.

"I ran inside the plane to the flight attendant and I asked her, 'Where's my grandson? He was handed over to you at Philadelphia?' She said, 'No, I had no kids with me,'" Ramos told WINK News.

She then got a call from her grandson from the airport in Orlando, telling her that he had landed.

In a statement, Spirit Airlines said the boy was under the care and supervision of an airlines employee the entire time, even though he was incorrectly boarded on a flight to Orlando. Once the mistake was discovered, the airlines let the family know, the statement said.

"We take the safety and responsibility of transporting all of our Guests seriously and are conducting an internal investigation," the statement said. "We apologize to the family for this experience."


# Whisky wooing young Chinese away from 'baijiu' as top distillers target a growing market
December 25, 2023. 10:56 PM EST

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**BEIJING (AP)** - A distillery in southwestern China is aiming to tap a growing taste among young Chinese for whisky in place of the traditional "baijiu" liquor used to toast festive occasions.

The more than $100 million distillery owned by Pernod Ricard at the UNESCO World Heritage site Mount Emei launched a pure-malt whisky, The Chuan, earlier this month.

The French wine and spirits group says it is produced using traditional whisky-making techniques combined with Chinese characteristics including locally grown barley and barrels made with oak from the Changbai mountains in northeastern China.

"Chinese terroir means an exceptional and unique environment for aging, including the water source here - top-notch mineral water. The source of water at Mount Emei is very famous," says Yang Tao, master distiller at the distillery.

A centuries-old drink, whisky is relatively new to China, but there are already more than 30 whisky distilleries in the mainland, according to the whisky website Billion Bottle.

Whisky consumption in China, as measured by volume, rose at a 10% compound annual growth rate from 2017 to 2022, according to IWSR, a beverage market analysis firm. Sales volume is forecast to continue to grow at double digit rates through 2028, according to Harry Han, an analyst with market research provider Euromonitor International.

"We see huge potential for whisky here in China. It is a product which is developing very nicely, very strongly," said Alexandre Ricard, chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard. "We do believe that the Chinese have developed a real taste, particularly for malt whisky."

Raymond Lee, founder of the Single Malt Club China, a whisky trading and distribution company in Beijing, said whisky has become more popular as the economy has grown.

"As the economy develops and personal income increases, many people are pursuing individuality. In the past we all lived the same lives. When your economic conditions reach a certain level, you will start to seek your own individuality. Whisky caters just to the consumption mindset of these people. And its quality is very different from that of other alcoholic drinks," he says.

On a recent Friday night at a bar in Beijing, 28-year-old Sylvia Sun, who works in the music industry, was enjoying a whisky on the rocks.

"The taste of it lingers in your mouth for a very long time. If I drink it, I will keep thinking about it the rest of tonight," she said.

"Now the country is more and more open, and there are increasing opportunities to go abroad, and they have absorbed different kinds of cultures. They also have the courage to try new things. When they try something new - for example whisky - they realize that it's very different from China's baijiu. Whisky may be easier for them to accept," Lee said.


# First Amendment claim struck down in Project Veritas case focused on diary of Biden's daughter
By **LARRY NEUMEISTER**
December 25, 2023. 7:22 PM EST

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Criminal prosecutors may soon get to see over 900 documents pertaining to the alleged theft of a diary belonging to President Joe Biden's daughter after a judge rejected the conservative group Project Veritas' First Amendment claim.

Attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said on behalf of the nonprofit Monday that attorneys are considering appealing last Thursday's ruling by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan. In the written decision, the judge said the documents can be given to investigators by Jan. 5.

The documents were produced from raids that were authorized in November 2021. Electronic devices were also seized from the residences of three members of Project Veritas, including two mobile phones from the home of James O'Keefe, the group's since-fired founder.

Project Veritas, founded in 2010, identifies itself as a news organization. It is best known for conducting hidden camera stings that have embarrassed news outlets, labor organizations and Democratic politicians.

In written arguments, lawyers for Project Veritas and O'Keefe said the government's investigation "seems undertaken not to vindicate any real interests of justice, but rather to stifle the press from investigating the President's family."

"It is impossible to imagine the government investigating an abandoned diary (or perhaps the other belongings left behind with it), had the diary not been written by someone with the last name 'Biden,'" they added.

The judge rejected the First Amendment arguments, saying in the ruling that they were "inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent." She also noted that Project Veritas could not claim it was protecting the identity of a confidential source from public disclosure after two individuals publicly pleaded guilty in the case.

She was referencing the August 2022 guilty pleas of Aimee Harris and Robert Kurlander to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. Both await sentencing.

The pleas came two years after Harris and Kurlander - two Florida residents who are not employed by Project Veritas - discovered that Ashley Biden, the president's daughter, had stored items including a diary at a friend's Delray Beach, Florida, house.

They said they initially hoped to sell some of the stolen property to then-President Donald Trump's campaign, but a representative turned them down and told them to take the material to the FBI, prosecutors say.

Eventually, Project Veritas paid the pair $20,000 apiece to deliver the diary containing "highly personal entries," a digital storage card with private family photos, tax documents, clothes and luggage to New York, prosecutors said.

Project Veritas was not charged with any crime. The group has said its activities were newsgathering and were ethical and legal.

Two weeks ago, Hannah Giles, chief executive of Project Veritas, quit her job, saying in a social media post she had "stepped into an unsalvageable mess - one wrought with strong evidence of past illegality and post financial improprieties." She said she'd reported what she found to "appropriate law enforcement agencies."

Lichtman said in an email on behalf of Project Veritas and the people whose residences were raided: "As for the continued investigation, the government isn't seeking any prison time for either defendant who claims to have stolen the Ashley Biden diary, which speaks volumes in our minds."


# The imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny resurfaces with darkly humorous comments
December 26, 2023. 6:24 AM EST

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**MOSCOW (AP)** - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Tuesday released a sardonic statement about his transfer to a Arctic prison colony nicknamed the "Polar Wolf," his first appearance since associates lost contact with him three weeks ago.

Navalny, the most prominent and persistent domestic foe of President Vladimir Putin, is serving a 19-year sentence on an extremism conviction. He had been incarcerated in central Russia's Vladimir region, about 230 kilometers (140 miles) east of Moscow, but supporters said he couldn't be found beginning on Dec. 6.

They said Monday that he had been traced to a prison colony infamous for severe conditions in the Yamalo-Nenets region, about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow.

"I am your new Santa Claus," Navalny said in a tweet, referring to his location above the Arctic Circle in the prison in the town of Kharp.

The region is notorious for long and severe winters. The town is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Vorkuta, whose coal mines were among the harshest of the Soviet Gulag prison-camp system.

Navalny, who is noted for sharply humorous comments, said he was in a good mood after being transported to the new prison, but suggested the northern winter darkness is discouraging: "I don't say 'Ho-ho-ho,' but I do say 'Oh-oh-oh' when I look out of the window, where I can see night, then the evening, and then the night again."

Prisoner transfers in Russia often result in contact with inmates being lost for weeks. Navalny's supporters contend the transfer was arranged to keep Navalny out of sight amid Putin's announcement that he will run for another term as president in the March election.

Navalny has been behind bars in Russia since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption and organized major anti-Kremlin protests.

He has since received three prison terms and spent months in isolation in Penal Colony No. 6 for alleged minor infractions. He has rejected all charges against him as politically motivated.


# Court reverses former Nebraska US Rep. Jeff Fortenberry's conviction of lying to federal authorities
By **STEFANIE DAZIO**
December 26, 2023. 4:38 PM EST

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**LOS ANGELES (AP)** - An appellate court on Tuesday reversed a 2022 federal conviction against former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, ruling that he should not have been tried in Los Angeles.

Fortenberry was convicted in March 2022 on charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser. He resigned his seat days later following pressure from congressional leaders and Nebraska's GOP governor.

In its Tuesday ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote that the trial venue of Los Angeles was improper because Fortenberry made the false statements during interviews with federal agents at his home in Lincoln, Nebraska, and in his lawyer's office in Washington.

"Fortenberry's convictions are reversed so that he may be retried, if at all, in a proper venue," the decision said.

A federal jury in Los Angeles found the nine-term Republican guilty of concealing information and two counts of making false statements to authorities. He vowed to appeal from the courthouse steps.

Fortenberry and his wife, Celeste Fortenberry, praised the court's decision.

"We are gratified by the Ninth Circuit's decision," Jeff Fortenberry said in a statement. "Celeste and I would like to thank everyone who has stood by us and supported us with their kindness and friendship."

Thom Mrozek, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, noted that the appellate court left a path open for future proceedings against Fortenberry.

"The ruling does not preclude a retrial on the charges that then-Congressman Fortenberry made multiple false statements to federal agents," Mrozek said in a statement. "We are evaluating potential next steps before deciding how best to move forward."

Patricia Hartman, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, declined to comment on the ruling's potential impact for federal prosecutors in Washington.

"We cannot comment on matters where we don't have charges filed," she said in an email Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nebraska did not immediately return a phone message.

Fortenberry was charged after denying to the FBI that he was aware he had received illicit funds from Gilbert Chagoury, a Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent.

At trial, prosecutors presented recorded phone conversations in which Fortenberry was repeatedly warned that the contributions came from Gilbert Chagoury, a Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent. The donations were funneled through three strawmen at the 2016 fundraiser in Los Angeles.

The case stemmed from an FBI investigation into $180,000 in illegal campaign contributions to four campaigns from Chagoury, who lived in Paris at the time. Chagoury admitted to the crime in 2019 and agreed to pay a $1.8 million fine.

It was the first trial of a sitting congressman since Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio, was convicted of bribery and other felony charges in 2002.


# For a new generation of indie rock acts, country music is king
By **MARIA SHERMAN**
December 26, 2023. 11:30 AM EST

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**LOS ANGELES (AP)** - Singer-songwriter Mitski's "My Love Mine All Mine," plays out like a whispered dirge.

The song is gothic lounge music for a listener who only has about two minutes to have their heart broken - a silky soft slow burn stacked with a choir, organ, bass and most critically, pedal steel guitar, the kind favored by country and western purists.

In no way does that description scream "mainstream hit," and yet, for 12 weeks, it has been on the Billboard Hot 100, an unusual metric of success for a wholly independent artist. And for 10 weeks, her indie rock-meets-chamber pop-meets-country held the No. 1 position on Billboard's TikTok trending chart.

Mitski is not from the American South, though her discography has long considered small town U.S.A. and she relocated to Nashville a few years ago to mine the geography's humanity. ("Valentine, Texas" from last year's "Laurel Hell" album is an example, but there are many.)

She is, of course, not the first indie artist to explore weeping Americana sounds. Many of the leading acts in contemporary indie rock pull from the South - like Mitski - or hail from there, like soloists Angel Olsen and Waxahatchee, or groups like Plains, Wednesday and two-thirds of the Grammy-nominated band boygenius. Lucinda Williams ' "too country for rock 'n' roll, too rock 'n' roll for country" style is a clear predecessor; and every few generations, it seems like a great new band pulls from alt-country's narrative specificity.

## A WORLD INTERESTED IN COUNTRY
Interestingly, indie rock's current adoption of country comes at a time of increased global interest in country music. According to the Midyear Music Report for data and analytics platform Luminate, country music experienced its biggest streaming week ever this year, a whopping 2.26 billion.

The genre has historically been enjoyed by English-speaking Americans, but their reporting shows growth in non-Anglophonic territories such as Philippines, Indonesia, India, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, and Vietnam.

In March 2023, Spotify launched a new playlist dedicated to the phenomenon of country-influence in indie rock titled "Indie Twang." It's curated by Carla Turi, Spotify's folk and acoustic music editor, who says the playlist was the result of conversations dating back to summer 2022, when they noticed growing "country influence in indie rock," as she calls it. It's a legacy that extends to the late 2010s when country iconography started cropping up in spaces not-traditionally considered country: everything from Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" to Mitski's 2018 album "Be the Cowboy."

"I also think, through the lockdown we experienced in 2020, listeners sort of emerged craving more organic-sounding music as a way to connect with others," she continued. The indie twang playlist was born out of all of that, amplified by successful indie artists like Ethel Cain and Plains.

"I'm seeing this space as a kind of movement, rather than a trend," she adds. "The sound will always have its peaks and valleys. I do think that the fanbase, overall, continues to grow. I think that this sort of surge of Americana and singer-songwriter music here in the States has shifted listening habits across the entire country."

## AN ALTERNATIVE STATE OF MIND
In 2023, these indie artists offer an alternative to the pop-country acts dominating mainstream charts like Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, and Jason Aldean. The movement is led by female performers, for one, and artists who don't immediately fit into a traditional genre format.

They also offer an alternative to traditional images of indie rock: instead of shying away from their geographic identities - like moving to New York and smoothing out to "y'alls" and "ma'ams" from their speech and music - they're embracing them. Banjos and lap steel abound. Songs about God, rural roads, trucks, guns, humidity, and crickets do, too.

Like Turi, Jess Williamson of Plains sees the connection to country music from a more traditional indie rock audience as a post-COVID-19 lockdown revelation. "We saw people leaving cities, moving to smaller towns and out to the country. We saw people in cities baking bread, starting herb gardens, craving something simple, nostalgic, and that feels good," she said.

"On tour, we covered 'Goodbye Earl' by the Chicks, everyone is singing along, and that's the least cool s--- I can imagine. People are through being cool and are embracing who we are and what we really like. And for a lot of people, that's country music."

She says she had to leave the South in order to return to it and fully appreciate her love for both it and country music, the way "Texans leave and then immediately get a tattoo of the state of Texas," she says, laughing.

## KEEPING IT CLOSE TO HOME
Karly Hartzman, frontperson of the Ashville band Wednesday, has never left North Carolina. "I think where we live is inseparable from our music at this point. Of course, we are influenced by country music, but country music sounds and feels the way it does because of the environment it's made in. A great country song feels like where it's from," she says.

Wednesday's 2023 full-length "Rat Saw God" made AP's best albums of the year list for its alt-country rock sensibility, where pulling the listener into the quiet parts of a Carolinas hometown is as much a part of the sonic fabric as lap steel or guitar fuzz or a poetic line sung out of key.

Hartzmann adds that the complications of living in the South are "the stereotypes ... which are founded of course. The politics, the racism, and the inequity," she says. "I'm strongly against leaving this place 'cause I disagree with the politics of those in power, though. It's invigorating cause I feel empowered to fight against that (expletive), especially for those who are unable to do that themselves here."

She says the South is her "favorite place on Earth" - beyond its influential music - but the appeal to stick around and create there is economic, too, which may have an impact on indie artists pulling from country sounds.

"I think affordability is a big factor for people trying to make it from their hometowns now instead of moving to big cities," she says. "The internet makes that possible, obviously."

It also means, for listeners on an Indie Twang playlist, or those at a rock club in a major city or a honky tonk in a small town, new approaches to familiar Southern sounds are more accessible than ever before.


# Baltimore's new approach to police training looks at the effects of trauma, importance of empathy
By **LEA SKENE**
December 26, 2023. 9:36 AM EST

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**BALTIMORE (AP)** - A three-minute viral video shows an irate Baltimore police officer berating a teenager because he ignored orders to stop skateboarding and called the officer "dude."

"Obviously your parents don't put a foot in your butt quite enough because you don't understand the meaning of respect," he shouted at the skateboarder, who remained relatively calm.

That 2007 interaction cost the officer his job. But as policing evolves, others are learning from his mistakes.

The Baltimore Police Department recently started requiring its members to complete a program on emotional regulation that uses video as a learning tool and teaches them the basics of brain science by examining the relationship between thoughts, feelings and actions. It's a far cry from traditional police training.

In a city whose embattled police force has long struggled to earn public trust, especially since Freddie Gray's 2015 death from spinal injuries sustained in police custody, department leaders are demonstrating their willingness to think outside the box. The approach could become more common as agencies nationwide dedicate more resources to addressing mental health challenges among officers and preventing negative public interactions.

Baltimore's program is overseen by the anti-violence organization Roca, which works primarily with at-risk youth from the city's poorest and most violent neighborhoods - a population that has more in common with police officers than some might think, according to Roca staff. The organization has provided a curriculum for the eight-hour Rewire4 course, which is now required of all Baltimore police officers. Other law enforcement agencies along the East Coast have also adopted the program, including the Boston Police Department.

"In the streets, we look at some police officers like they're crazy, and they look at us like we're crazy," said James "JT" Timpson, a Baltimore resident who helps lead the Roca Impact Institute. "But we're both experiencing the same thing, which is trauma."

Understanding that common ground helps officers relate to members of the public, said Maj. Derek Loeffler, who oversees training and education for the Baltimore Police Department.

Officers in the course were asked to describe some of their most memorable calls for service. One officer recalled a case where three children were found decapitated, comparing the scene to something out of a horror movie. She said the images will haunt her forever.

"It takes a toll," instructor Lt. Lakishia Tucker told the class. "This stuff ain't normal that we see, that we deal with, that we handle on a daily basis."

Police officers are human underneath the uniform, she said, and experiencing repeated trauma can result in hypervigilant behavior.

Instructors played the 2007 viral video as an example of what happens when a person gets triggered and starts operating in survival mode, which they called "bottom brain" because it activates neurological pathways associated with fear and stress responses. The "top brain," however, is where reason prevails, leading to slower, more careful decision-making.

The training, which was observed by an Associated Press reporter, presented a series of practices rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy, a type of psychotherapy aimed at strengthening healthy neurological pathways in the brain through awareness and repetition. "Flex your thinking" and "Label your feelings" are among the skills presented. Participants can also sign up to receive key lesson reminders via text messages from Roca staff after the training.

The Rewire4 curriculum is a modified version of what the organization's outreach workers use in their interactions with at-risk youth. Roca, which was founded in Massachusetts over three decades ago, opened an office in Baltimore in 2018. It has since provided hundreds of young men with life-coaching services, job opportunities and behavioral health tools aimed at preventing the rapidly escalating conflicts that so often turn deadly.

Exposing police to similar tools could help reduce police violence, avoid unfavorable headlines and build community trust, organizers said.

"Today is an invitation for you to learn something that can help you personally and professionally," Tucker told the class of officers. "Law enforcement is different today. Every single thing is being recorded."

The increased prevalence of body cameras and cellphones means officers are facing more pressure to stay calm even when they get triggered.

During the class, instructors talked about how to avoid a "bottom brain" reaction, in part by approaching others with empathy.

"We have to learn how to separate the person from the behavior," Tucker said.

That could mean dismantling stereotypes, such as assuming everyone in a certain neighborhood is a drug dealer, said Sgt. Amy Strand, another instructor.

"I like to twist it and say, what about us?" she said, describing how some people assume all police officers are corrupt and aggressive. "We get it dealt to us, so let's not deal it out to everybody else. Give some grace."

The Baltimore Police Department recently started administering the training amid a slew of other reform efforts dating back years. In the wake of Gray's death, Justice Department investigators uncovered a pattern of unconstitutional policing practices, especially against Black residents. That led to a 2017 federal consent decree mandating a series of court-ordered changes.

Soon thereafter, several officers were indicted on federal racketeering charges as the Gun Trace Task Force corruption scandal reverberated through the department, further fracturing public trust. In recent months, the department received criticism after two police shootings in adjacent neighborhoods.

Sgt. Maria Velez, the third instructor, said the career brings its challenges, but she still wants to help people. She asked her colleagues to think about their reasons for joining the police force.

"This is more than just a job. You have a calling for this, something inside of you that makes you want to get up every single day and push through adversity," she said. "Everyone here is still choosing to show up, regardless of what's happened."


# Beyoncé's childhood home in Houston burns on Christmas morning
December 26, 2023. 9:11 AM EST

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**HOUSTON, Texas (AP)** - Beyoncé's childhood home caught fire early on Christmas morning, though the family living there escaped safely.

The fire was reported at about 2 a.m. Monday and the Houston Fire Department arrived on the scene of the two-story brick house within three to five minutes, the Houston Chronicle reported.

"We had it contained in about 10 minutes," Houston Fire Department District Chief Justin Barnes told the newspaper.

Beyoncé Knowles' family bought the home on the 2400 block of Rosedale in 1982 and Beyoncé lived there until she was 5 years old. She was seen taking photos of the property when she was in her hometown for her Renaissance World Tour.

The home in the historic Riverside Terrace neighborhood was built in 1946.

A message sent to Beyoncé's publicist was not immediately returned late Monday.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation.


# Subscription-based care moves beyond peddling birth control and helping with hair loss
By **TOM MURPHY**
December 26, 2023. 9:17 AM EST

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Need help losing weight or handling depression? How about a pill that lowers cholesterol and treats erectile dysfunction?

Online subscription services for care have grown far beyond their roots dealing mainly with hair loss, acne or birth control. Companies including Hims & Hers, Ro and Lemonaid Health now provide quick access to specialists and regular prescription deliveries for a growing list of health issues.

Hims recently launched a weight-loss program starting at $79 a month without insurance. Lemonaid began treating seasonal affective disorder last winter for $95 a month. Ro still provides birth control, but it also connects patients trying to have children with regular deliveries of ovulation tests or prenatal vitamins.

This Netflix-like approach promises help for two common difficulties in the U.S.: access to health care and prescription refills. But it also stirs concern about care quality.

"This isn't medicine. This is selling drugs to consumers," said Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman, who studies pharmaceutical marketing at Georgetown.

The online providers say they screen their patients carefully and send customers elsewhere if they can't help them. They also think they've tapped a care approach that patients crave.

"The growth we've seen on our platform is a testament to how people are looking to get the care they need," Hims spokeswoman Khobi Brooklyn said.

The publicly traded Hims has topped 1.4 million subscribers this year. It expects to pull in at least $1.2 billion in annual sales by 2025.

That pales compared to the $300 billion-plus in annual revenue generated by health care giants like CVS Health. But Hims' 2025 projection is more than eight times what the company brought in at the start of the decade.

Subscription-based health care has been around for years, particularly in primary care, where patients can pay monthly fees to gain better access to doctors. The e-commerce giant Amazon recently entered that niche with a subscription plan that gives some customers access to virtual and in-person care.

Online versions of subscription-based care started growing after the COVID-19 pandemic made Americans more comfortable with telemedicine. That has led to a surge of investor money flowing to companies providing this care, said Dr. Ateev Mehrotra, a Harvard researcher who studies consumer health care.

Many condition-specific plans offer patients regular visits with a health care provider and then recurring prescriptions for a monthly fee.

That simplicity can be attractive, Mehrotra noted.

"You can just get the care you need and move on with life just as you pay for Netflix or whatever," he said.

Hims debuted weight loss earlier this month after starting a heart health program last summer that includes the combination pill treatments.

Its rival Ro added weight loss last year to a lineup that also includes treatment plans for eczema, excessive sweating and short eyelashes, among other issues.

Lemonaid offers treatment plans for insomnia and high blood pressure. It also touts cholesterol management for $223 a year without insurance. That includes provider visits, lab work and prescriptions for generic medicines.

These companies still push sexual health help, especially on social media. But broader growth remains a priority.

Hims says in a regulatory filing that it sees significant future opportunities in menopause, post-traumatic stress disorder and diabetes.

Ro CEO Zach Reitano noted in an interview earlier this year that his company's obesity treatments are "upstream" to other chronic diseases. He said patients who want help losing weight also care about improving their overall health.

Reitano told The Associated Press he thought one of the health care system's biggest problems was that "it is not built around what patients want."

Subscriptions, whether for medicine or meal kits, offer predictable costs and may seem like good deals at first. But customer enthusiasm can fade, and companies may feel pressure to find new business, said Jason Goldberg, chief commerce strategy officer at Publicis Groupe.

The approach also comes with reputational baggage.

RobRoy Chalmers turned to Hims for help with erectile dysfunction. But the Seattle artist decided to cancel his subscription and cut costs after a few months.

He kept receiving bills after he thought he stopped the subscription. He said he emailed and called customer service. He didn't get a response until he criticized Hims on social media.

"The amount of effort I needed to go through for them to make good was too much," he said. "This is every subscription-based company in my mind."

Fugh-Berman worries mainly about care quality. She noted that talk therapy can be as effective as prescriptions for some conditions.

"Mental health care should never just be about drugs," she said.

She also noted that a diagnosis can change over time. Patients on regular medications must be monitored in case the drug causes problems like higher blood pressure.

Lemonaid Health does that, according to Dr. Matthew Walvick, the company's top medical official. He said Lemonaid routinely follows up with patients to monitor for side effects and update their medical history.

Brooklyn said Hims' program for mental health care includes psychiatry and talk therapy.

Representatives of both companies say they also encourage patients to get in-person help when needed.

Mehrotra worries more broadly. He noted that overall patient health may get overlooked when customers come to these companies with a specific condition or medicine in mind.

Someone visiting a primary care doctor for birth control may also get screened for depression, he noted.

"These companies are very solution-oriented," Mehrotra said. "They're not thinking about that comprehensive care."

Walvick said Lemonaid collects an extensive patient medical history that delves into issues like smoking or drug use to offer "the best possible comprehensive care."

Brooklyn said Hims & Hers provides access to safe care for many issues but shouldn't replace a primary care doctor. She added that every part of the health care system should be focused on improving access.

"The traditional health care system in the U.S. has always been slow to adapt to our changing society's needs," she said.


# Biden orders strikes on an Iranian-aligned group after 3 US troops wounded in drone attack in Iraq
By **AAMER MADHANI**, **ZEKE MILLER**, and **QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA**
December 26, 2023. 12:35 PM EST

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**WASHINGTON (AP)** - U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the United States military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq.

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier Monday. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, under an umbrella of Iranian-backed militants, claimed credit for the attack that utilized a one-way attack drone.

Iraqi officials said that U.S. strikes targeting militia sites early Tuesday killed one militant and wounded 18. They came at a time of heightened fears of a regional spillover of the Israel-Hamas war.

Iran announced Monday that an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus killed one of its top generals, Seyed Razi Mousavi, who had been a close companion of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the former head of Iran's elite Quds Force. Soleimani was slain in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in January 2020.

Iranian officials vowed revenge for the killing of Mousavi, but didn't immediately launch a retaliatory strike. The militia attack Monday in northern Iraq was launched prior to the strike in Syria that killed Mousavi.

Biden, who was spending Christmas at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, was alerted to the attack by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan shortly after it occurred Monday and ordered the Pentagon and his top national security aides to prepare response options to the attack on an air base used by American troops in Irbil.

Sullivan consulted with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Biden's deputy national security adviser, Jon Finer, was with the president at Camp David and convened top aides to review options, according to a U.S. official, who wasn't authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity.

Within hours, Biden convened his national security team for a call in which Austin and Gen. CQ Brown, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed Biden on the response options. Biden opted to target three locations used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, the official said.

The U.S. strikes were carried out at about 4:45 a.m. Tuesday in Iraq, less than 13 hours after the U.S. personnel were attacked. According to U.S. Central Command, the retaliatory strikes on the three sites "destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants."

"The President places no higher priority than the protection of American personnel serving in harm's way," Watson said. "The United States will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing should these attacks continue."

The latest attack on U.S. troops follows months of escalating threats and actions against American forces in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the devastating war in Gaza.

The dangerous back-and-forth strikes have escalated since Iranian-backed militant groups under the umbrella group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Syria began striking U.S. facilities Oct. 17, the date that a blast at a hospital in Gaza killed hundreds. Iranian-backed militias have carried out more than 100 attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria since the start of the Israel-Hamas war more than two months ago.

In November, U.S. fighter jets struck a Kataib Hezbollah operations center and command and control node, following a short-range ballistic missile attack on U.S. forces at Al-Assad Air Base in western Iraq. Iranian-backed militias also carried out a drone attack at the same air base in October, causing minor injuries.

The U.S. has also blamed Iran, which has funded and trained the Hamas group, for attacks by Yemen's Houthi militants against commercial and military vessels through a critical shipping choke point in the Red Sea.

The Biden administration has sought to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spiraling into a wider regional conflict that either opens up new fronts of Israeli fighting or draws the U.S. in directly. The administration's measured response - where not every attempt on American troops has been met with a counterattack - has drawn criticism from Republicans.

The U.S. has thousands of troops in Iraq training Iraqi forces and combating remnants of the Islamic State group, and hundreds in Syria, mostly on the counter-IS mission. They have come under dozens of attacks, though as yet none fatal, since the war began on Oct. 7, with the U.S. attributing responsibility to Iran-backed groups.

"While we do not seek to escalate conflict in the region, we are committed and fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities," Austin said in a statement.

The clashes put the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in a delicate position. He came to power in 2022 with the backing of a coalition of Iranian-backed parties, some of which are associated with the same militias launching the attacks on U.S. bases.

A group of Iranian-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces were key in the fight against Islamic State militants after the extremist group overran much of Iraq in 2014. The PMF is officially under the command of the Iraqi army, but in practice the militias operate independently.

In a statement Tuesday, Sudani condemned both the militia attack in Irbil and the U.S. response.

Attacks on "foreign diplomatic mission headquarters and sites hosting military advisers from friendly nations ... infringe upon Iraq's sovereignty and are deemed unacceptable under any circumstances," the statement said.

However, it added that that the retaliatory strikes by the U.S. on "Iraqi military sites" - referring to the militia - "constitute a clear hostile act." Sudani said some of those injured in the strikes were civilians.


# Imprisoned Russian politician Navalny is now in a penal colony near the Arctic Circle
December 25, 2023. 11:31 AM EST

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**MOSCOW (AP)** - Associates of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Monday that he has been located at a prison colony above the Arctic Circle nearly three weeks after contact with him was lost.

Navalny, the most prominent foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism. He had been imprisoned in the Vladimir region of central Russia, about 230 kilometers (140 miles) east of Moscow, but his lawyers said they had not been able to reach him since Dec. 6.

His spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, said he was located in a prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow.

Navalny is "fine - at least as much as possible after such a long stage" and a lawyer visited him, Yarmysh told The Associated Press.

The region is notorious for long and severe winters. The town is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Vorkuta, whose coal mines were among the harshest of the Soviet Gulag prison-camp system.

"It is almost impossible to get to this colony; it is almost impossible to even send letters there. This is the highest possible level of isolation from the world," Navalny's chief strategist, Leonid Volkov, said on X.

Transfers within Russia's prison system are shrouded in secrecy and inmates can disappear from contact for several weeks. Navalny's team was particularly alarmed when he could not be found because he had been ill and reportedly was being denied food and kept in an unventilated cell.

Yarmysh said the transfer was connected with the campaign for the Russian presidential election in March. While Putin's reelection is all but certain, given his overwhelming control over the country's political scene and a widening crackdown on dissent, Navalny's supporters and other critics hope to use the campaign to erode public support for the Kremlin leader and his military action in Ukraine.

"They deliberately sent him to this particular colony precisely in order to isolate Alexei as much as possible, so as not to give him any opportunity to communicate with the outside world," she said. "This is all happening precisely because Alexei, despite the fact that he is in prison, is still the main opponent of Vladimir Putin ... It is not surprising that they began to transfer him to another colony right now, so that he could not interfere with Putin's campaign."

Navalny has been behind bars in Russia since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption and organized major anti-Kremlin protests.

He has since received three prison terms and spent months in isolation in Penal Colony No. 6 for alleged minor infractions. He has rejected all charges against him as politically motivated.


# Ikuzo! Ottawa's roster brings international flavor to newly launched women's pro hockey league
By **JOHN WAWROW**
December 26, 2023. 9:10 AM EST

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"Ikuzo!" as they'd say in Japan. Or how about "Pojďme!" or "Útra fel!" in Czech or Hungarian.

The roster of Ottawa's new Professional Women's Hockey League team has such an array of international talent that defenseman Jincy Roese said one way to spur the bonding experience was having everyone learn how to say "Let's go!" in various languages.

"Oh, my gosh, it's so cool," said Roese, a U.S. national team player from O'Fallon, Missouri. "A lot of us are foreigners. I don't think anyone is local to Ottawa, even. But it's cool to experience different cultures. ... And we just have these conversation point to go off which has really helped foster a good team environment."

The PWHL is awaiting rights clearances to unveil the nicknames of its original six franchises in kicking off its inaugural season starting Jan. 1. For now, perhaps Ottawa can go by "The Ambassadors."

The team features the league's most diverse roster with 11 Canadians, seven Americans, two Czechs, a German, Hungarian and Japan's Akane Shiga.

Even coach Carla MacLeod has international connections. The former Canadian national team player also doubles as head coach of the fast-developing Czech Republic women's national team, and was an assistant on Japan's 2014 Olympic team.

"The vision of this league has always been one to be the best leagues in the world. In order to do that, you have to have the world involved," MacLeod said. "For us, it was a no-brainer to go down that path."

Most of the PWHL's 139 rostered players hail from the sport's two global powers, with 76 from Canada and 50 from the U.S. Next in line are five players from the Czech Republic and two from Sweden. Aside from Ottawa, teams also feature players from Finland, France, Austria and Switzerland.

Ottawa, so far, is more the exception than the rule. And the challenge for the newly launched PWHL in becoming the world's top pro women's league will be expanding its international reach, much like the NHL did with the influx of Europeans in the late 1970s and Russians a decade later.

Ottawa general manager Michael Hirshfeld focused on attracting players outside of North America by taking into account the diverse population of Canada's capital as a way to attract fans. Hirshfeld also understood how Ottawa isn't a hotbed for developing players in comparison to Toronto, Minnesota, or Boston's hub of women's college programs.

"We always felt that we were going to be a little bit disadvantaged to those other teams because they have so many homegrown players," Hirshfeld said. "And so our niche, we thought, was the European angle."

And yes, they need at least one translator.

While the European players are mostly fluent in English, Shiga is not. The team has leaned on Madoka Suzuki, a Japanese-born member of Ottawa's Carleton University's men's hockey program, to help in the interim.

"Akane's become the most beloved player on the team," Hirshfeld said. "They're all learning Japanese so they can talk to her."

The common connection of being new to Ottawa is also helping bond players.

"It's a fresh slate for all of us," said Brianne Jenner, who grew up outside of Toronto. "We're all kind of bonded by making Ottawa home and making that dressing room ours and that culture ours, and figuring out what our identity is going to be."

Katerina Mrazova is already feeling at home in Ottawa, where she represented the Czech Republic at the 2013 women's world championships.

"Everyone's bringing their culture, but at the same time, it's amazing to see and learn from different countries," the 31-year-old Mrazova said. "I'm really happy to see that everyone is having such fun and supporting each other. That's a big thing on our team."

The makeup of the PWHL's five other teams varies. Minnesota leads the league with 18 Americans, 11 of whom are from "State of Hockey," while Toronto features 21 Canadians. New York has 14 Canadians and seven Americans.

New York was the PWHL's only team to reach across the border during the league's free agency period by signing Americans Alex Carpenter and Abby Roque, and Canadian Micah Zandee-Hart. New York's roster also features the league's only player from France in Chloe Aurard, who completed her five-year career at Northeastern in March with 89 goals and 204 points in 167 games.

"It's evolving everywhere," Aurard said of the women's game. "To be drafted in this league is huge. And I really hope to be an example for future French players."

MacLeod thinks the mix of styles her Ottawa players bring are an advantage, because it will allow the team to develop and sport as a whole to grow.

"I've had the unique experience of coaching different countries to learn how great the players are," MacLeod said. "And when you blend them in with those top North American players, everyone's rising. And I think it's going to be great for our game."


# Canada announces temporary visas for people in Gaza with Canadian relatives
December 21, 2023. 4:21 PM EST

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**OTTAWA, Ontario (AP)** - People in the Gaza Strip who have Canadian relatives may apply for temporary visas to Canada, the country's immigration minister said Thursday. However, the federal government cannot guarantee safe passage out of the besieged Palestinian territory.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller expects the program to be up and running by Jan. 9. Until now, the government has focused on getting 660 Canadians, permanent residents and their spouses and children out of Gaza.

Miller said the government will start accepting applications for people with extended family connections to Canada, including parents, grandparents, siblings and grandchildren.

He said people will be offered three-year visas if they meet eligibility and admissibility criteria.

Miller said he's not sure how many people will be able to come to Canada under the program, but he expects the number will be in the hundreds.

Miller said it's been difficult to get Canadians out of Gaza. "We have limited ability," he said.


# Hornets' Miles Bridges denied access to Canada for NBA game due to legal problems, AP source says
By **STEVE REED**
December 18, 2023. 6:38 PM EST

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**CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)** - Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges has been denied entrance to Canada due to his past legal problems and will not be available to play Monday night in Toronto against the Raptors, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The person said Bridges was turned away at the border. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly on the matter.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford would not comment on the reason for Bridges' absence when he spoke to reporters before Monday's game.

"The only thing I'm going to say is neither Miles nor (rookie center Nathan Mensah from Ghana) will be here with us tonight," Clifford said. "That's all I'm going to say."

Bridges is currently serving three years of probation after pleading no contest in exchange for no jail time in the June 2022 domestic violence case involving the mother of his two children, who accused Bridges of assaulting her in front of them. He must adhere to a 10-year criminal protection order for the woman, weekly narcotics and marijuana testing, and restitution, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

Bridges most recently turned himself in on Oct. 13 after an arrest warrant was issued for an alleged protection order violation.

The warrant had originally been issued on Jan. 2, but had not previously been served until October, just before the NBA season. Per court documents, Bridges "unlawfully" and "knowingly" violated the protection order.

That case is still pending.

Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said they do not provide details on specific individual cases, but anybody seeking entry into the country must "demonstrate they meet the requirements to enter."

"Admissibility is decided case-by-case and based on the information made available at the time of entry," Purdy said in an email to the AP. "Several factors are used in determining if an individual is admissible to Canada, including involvement in criminal activity, human rights violations, organized crime, security, health or financial reasons."

Bridges was suspended by the NBA for the first 10 games of the season after sitting out all of last season. He is averaging 19.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game since his return from suspension in 12 starts.

Bridges' absence means the Hornets will be severely shorthanded for a second straight game as they look to snap a four-game losing streak.

"It's all hands on deck," Clifford said.

When they hosted Philadelphia on Saturday, the Hornets were without three starters in LaMelo Ball (right ankle), Gordon Hayward (illness) and Mark Williams (back), plus two key reserves in P.J. Washington (left shoulder) and Cody Martin (left knee). The Hornets lost guard Terry Rozier in the third quarter when he caught an elbow to the nose.

Without those players, the Hornets lost 135-82, their worst loss in franchise history. Charlotte's only win in its past seven games was a home victory over Toronto on Dec. 8.

Rozier and Washington were both set to return Monday against the Raptors, the Hornets announced.

Clifford said he shared a positive message with his players at Monday morning's shootaround.

"We are obviously super (undermanned) here," Clifford said, "and we can win tonight."


# Hilary Knight scores in OT to lift US women past Canada 3-2 in Rivalry Series
December 14, 2023. 11:01 PM EST

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**KITCHENER, Ontario (AP)** - Captain Hilary Knight scored on a power play 28 seconds into overtime to give the United States women's hockey team a 3-2 victory over Canada on Thursday night and a 3-0 lead in the seven-game Rivalry Series.

Knight beat goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens with a one-timer after Emily Clark took a penalty late in the third.

Murphy and Kirsten Simms also scored for the Americans and Aerin Frankel made 32 saves.

"I thought our team got stronger as the game went on," U.S. coach John Wroblewski said. "We had a lot of youth and speed out there tonight and I'm proud of how we worked."

Danielle Serdachny and Clark scored for Canada and Desbiens stopped 19 shots.

The Americans opened the series last month with a 3-1 victory in Tempe, Arizona, and a 5-2 decision in Los Angeles. They've now won four straight against Canada dating to their 6-3 victory in the gold-medal game in April in the world championships.

The teams will meet in Sarnia, Ontario on Saturday before the series shifts to Saskatchewan for games in Saskatoon on Feb. 7 and Regina on Feb. 9. Game 7 is set for St. Paul. Minnesota., on Feb. 11.


# Mexico closes melon-packing plant implicated in cantaloupe Salmonella outbreak that killed 8 people
December 15, 2023. 2:38 PM EST

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**MEXICO CITY (AP)** - Mexico's Health Department on Friday ordered the temporary closure of a melon-packing plant implicated in salmonella infections that killed five people in Canada and three in the United States.

The department did not name the company involved, but Canada's Public Health Agency linked the outbreak to Malichita and Rudy brand cantaloupes.

Mexico did not say what violations were found at the plant in the northern border state of Sonora, and said testing was being done to find the source of the contamination.

Inspectors took samples of water and swiped surfaces at the plant to look for traces of salmonella bacteria.

Since October, at least 230 people in the U.S. and 129 in Canada have been sickened in this outbreak.

The cantaloupes implicated in this outbreak include two brands, Malichita and Rudy, that are grown in the Sonora area.

The fruit was imported by Sofia Produce LLC, of Nogales, Arizona, which does business as TruFresh, and Pacific Trellis Fruit LLC, of Los Angeles. So far, more than 36,000 boxes or cases of cantaloupe have been recalled.

Health officials are warning consumers, retailers and restaurants not to buy, eat or serve cantaloupe if they don't know the source.


# Canadian police charge man accused of selling deadly substance with 14 new murder charges
By **ROB GILLIES**
December 12, 2023. 12:48 PM EST

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**TORONTO (AP)** - Canadian police said Tuesday they are charging a man with 14 counts of second-degree murder along with the previously announced 14 charges of aiding suicide for allegedly selling lethal substances on the internet to people at risk of self harm.

An international investigation is underway following the arrest in Canada earlier this year of Kenneth Law, who was initially charged with two counts of counseling and aiding suicide.

Canadian police say Law, from the Toronto area, used a series of websites to market and sell sodium nitrite, a substance commonly used to cure meats that can be deadly if ingested. He is accused of shipping them to people in more than 40 countries.

British police said they are investigating the deaths of 88 people in the U.K. linked to the websites. Authorities in the United States, Italy, Australia and New Zealand also have launched investigations.

York Regional Police Inspector Simon James announced the new charges against Law, and said all charges that he faces relate to the same 14 victims in the Canadian province of Ontario, who were between the ages of 16 and 36. More than one victim is below the age of 18. Police declined to name the victims.

"We are aware of other of police investigations in other jurisdictions outside of the province of Ontario and we are aware of other police investigations in other countries outside Canada," James said.

Britain's National Crime Agency has previously said it has identified 232 people in the United Kingdom who bought products from the websites in the two years up to April, 88 of whom died. The agency said it was investigating whether any crimes had been committed in the U.K.

Law is in custody in Canada and is next court date is Dec. 19. His lawyer said his client will be pleading not guilty to the new murder charges.

"One of the challenges that we face is that a number of these sites are located in other countries where Canadian law does not apply," James said.

It is against the law in Canada for someone to recommend suicide, although assisted suicide has been legal since 2016 for people aged at least 18. Any adult with a serious illness, disease or disability may seek help in dying, but they must ask for that assistance from a physician.


# Deaths from tainted cantaloupe increase to 3 in U.S. and 5 in Canada
By **JONEL ALECCIA**
December 7, 2023. 6:19 PM EST

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A salmonella outbreak tied to tainted cantaloupe has now killed eight people - three in the U.S. and five in Canada, health officials reported Thursday.

Dozens more illnesses were reported by both countries. In the U.S., at least 230 people have been ill in 38 states and 96 have been hospitalized since mid-November, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The tainted cantaloupe was also shipped to Canada, where 129 cases have been reported, including 44 hospitalizations, health officials reported.

Many of the people who fell ill reported eating pre-cut cantaloupe in clamshell packages and trays sold in stores. Consumers should not buy, eat or serve cantaloupe, if they don't know the source, the CDC said.

New recalls of whole and pre-cut fruit have been added to a growing list, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. Last week, Cut Fruit Express initiated a recall of cantaloupe chunks and fruit mixes containing cantaloupe. On Tuesday, TGD Cuts, LLC launched a recall of specific fresh fruit cup, clamshell and tray products that contained cantaloupe from the company TruFresh.

Health officials are still working to determine whether additional products are linked to the illnesses.

Salmonella can cause serious illness in young children, people older than 65 and those with weakened immune systems.


# Canadian National purchase of Iowa railroad will add 275 miles of track to North American network
December 6, 2023. 6:05 PM EST

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WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) - Canadian National is buying a small railroad in Iowa to expand its network in the United States.

CN announced the agreement to buy Iowa Northern Railway Wednesday, but didn't disclose financial terms. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board must approve the transaction next year before it can be completed.

Iowa Northern has about 275 miles of track serving a mix of agricultural and industrial shippers in the state. Iowa Northern Chairman Daniel Sabin said he believes CN will maintain his railway's commitment to providing reliable service while helping connect shippers with bigger markets.

CN CEO Tracy Robinson said the deal should strengthen the Montreal-based railroad. CN is already one of North America's six biggest railroads with more than 18,000 miles of track across Canada and the United States.

"By enabling all of us to play an even more important role in this critical supply chain and densifying our southern network, we are accelerating sustainable, profitable growth," Robinson said.


# At tribal summit, Biden says he's working to 'heal the wrongs of the past' and 'move forward'
By **COLLEEN LONG**, **SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN**, and **HALLIE GOLDEN**
December 6, 2023. 3:52 PM EST

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**WASHINGTON (AP)** - President Joe Biden told Native American nations gathered for a summit Wednesday that his administration was working to heal the wrongs of the past as he signed an executive order that seeks to make it easier for Indigenous peoples to access federal funding, and have greater autonomy over how to spend it.

Biden also threw his support behind a request to allow Haudenosaunee Confederacy to compete under its own flag in the 2028 Olympics in lacrosse, a sport they invented.

Historically, federal policies attacked Native people's rights to self-governance and caused lasting economic damage. Biden said the actions at the summit were "key steps" that would help usher in an new era of tribal sovereignty. "A new era grounded in dignity and respect that recognizes your fundamental rights to govern and grow on your own terms," he said.

"It's hard work to heal the wrongs of the past and change the course, and move forward," Biden said.

Yurok Tribal Council Member Phillip Williams described Biden's speech as inspirational.

"It felt like our highest official in the land acknowledges the crimes of the past," he said. "His contribution to society is to help to heal the tribal nations."

Biden signed the order as members of his administration and tribal nation leaders stood behind him on stage at the Department of the Interior. The order in part creates a clearinghouse for Native American and Alaska native tribes to find and access grants and it requests that federal agencies ensure that funding is accessible and equitable. It also gives them more authority over how to spend the money.

That news was welcomed by Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, who said the funding they get from the federal government to help the hundreds of thousands of people on their reservation that extends across Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, can be difficult to spend.

"There's so much policies and things that are attached to it and requirements that are attached to it that sometimes it's just overwhelming to try to get it done," he said.

Tyson Johnston, self governance executive director for the Quinault Indian Nation in northwest Washington state, who is responsible for coordinating the relocation of their villages in the face of dangerous sea level rise, highlighted the importance of this type of autonomy when it comes to climate change.

In July, the Biden administration announced $120 million in grant funding for tribes in the U.S. to boost their resiliency to climate change.

"All of us are going to have different adaptation strategies and different priorities moving forward. So boxing us in and keeping us in kind of bureaucratic red tape is really not going to work if we want to continue to make meaningful change," he said.

Biden hosted the summit in person last year and virtually the year before. This year, White House officials said, the goal was to provide an opportunity for tribal leaders to have more meaningful conversations directly with members of Biden's Cabinet.

While the federal government has an obligation to consult with tribal governments, some Native American and Alaska Native leaders have complained that federal agencies often treat the process as a check-the-box practice despite efforts by Haaland to make changes.

From Nevada to Alaska, permitting decisions over mining projects, oil and gas development and the preservation of sacred areas, for example, have highlighted what some leaders say are shortcomings in the process.

The Democratic administration also announced more than 190 agreements that allow tribes to manage federal lands, waters and natural resources and a new study to help better interpret and tell the history of Native Americans, particularly during periods of federal reform.

"Yes, there are parts of our history that are painful, but there are also those that we celebrate and that show our resilience, strength and our contributions," said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna.

Biden said he was throwing his support behind the effort to allow the confederacy to play under its own flag at the Los Angeles Olympics. The International Olympic Committee would have to make an exception to a rule permitting only teams playing as part of an official national Olympic committee to compete in the Games. The Haudenosaunee have competed as their own team at a number of international events since 1990.

The Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Organization, established in 1983, is among the best in the world. The confederacy is made up of six different nations, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas and Tuscarora Nation. It spans the border between the U.S. and Canada.

"Their circumstances are unique," Biden said. "They should be granted an exception to field their own team at the Olympics."

The Department of the Interior is also working on final revisions to a rule overhauling how human remains, funerary objects and sacred objects are repatriated. The new rules streamline the requirements for museums and federal agencies to identify possible items for repatriation.

Officials also announced that the White House Council on Native American Affairs, which is co-chaired by Haaland and Tanden, has published a guide outlining best practices and procedures for the management, treatment and protection of sacred sites. The document was recently finalized after taking into account feedback from tribal leaders.

In Nevada, Arlan Melendez, chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, said Tuesday that promises about meaningful consultation haven't materialized as several tribes have fought to halt construction of one of the largest lithium mines in the world. The tribes say the mine is being built illegally near the sacred site of an 1865 massacre along the Nevada-Oregon line.

"Consultation has to happen in the early stages," he said. "If you do consultation after the project is already rolling, it doesn't do you so much good at that point. So we are little bit disappointed in them."


# Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow jumps bail and moves to Canada
By **KANIS LEUNG**
December 4, 2023. 11:08 PM EST

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**HONG KONG (AP)** - One of Hong Kong's best-known pro-democracy activists who moved to Canada to pursue her studies said she would not return to the city to meet her bail conditions, becoming the latest politician to flee Hong Kong under Beijing's crackdown on dissidents.

Agnes Chow, a famous young face in the city's once-vibrant pro-democracy movement, was arrested in 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was enacted following 2019 anti-government protests. She was released on bail but also served more than six months in jail in a separate case over her role in the protests.

After Chow was released from prison in 2021, she had to regularly report to the police. She said in an Instagram post on Sunday night that the pressure caused her "mental illnesses" and influenced her decision not to return to the city.

Many of her peers have been jailed, arrested, forced into self-exile or silenced after the introduction of the security law in 2020.

The suppression of the city's pro-democracy movement highlights that freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to China in 1997 have been eroded drastically. Both Beijing and Hong Kong governments have hailed the security law for bringing back stability to the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

Chow said the authorities in July offered to return her passport so she could pursue studies in Canada under the condition that she traveled to mainland China with them. She agreed, she said, and her trip in August included a visit to an exhibition on China's achievements and the headquarters of tech giant Tencent. The authorities later returned her passport.

After considering the situation in Hong Kong, her safety and her health, Chow said she "probably won't return" to the city again.

"I don't want to be forced to do things that I don't want to do anymore and be forced to visit mainland China again. If it continues, my body and my mind will collapse even though I am safe," she wrote.

Chow told TV Tokyo on Monday that she was still weighing her next steps, including the option of seeking asylum in Canada, the broadcaster reported. Asked whether she would take up political activism there, she said she wanted to do something in Hong Kong's interest, TV Tokyo said.

Hong Kong police on Monday "strongly condemned" Chow's move, without naming her, saying it was "against and challenging the rule of law."

"Police urge the woman to immediately turn back before it is too late and not to choose a path of no return. Otherwise, she will bear the stigma of 'fugitive' for the rest of her life," the police said in a statement.

The police did not respond to questions from The Associated Press on Chow's mainland China trip.

Asked about Chow's case at a daily briefing, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Hong Kong is a law-based society and no one has a privilege beyond law. Any illegal acts will be punished, he said.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said during a weekly briefing on Tuesday that police had given Chow lenient treatment but were deceived. Lee said those who supported offering her leniency "must find this utterly disappointing" and that police would learn from their experiences and continue to safeguard law and order.

He said some residents had underestimated the threat posed by foreign forces to national security and that Hong Kong's own national security law, scheduled to be completed next year, must proceed with "full strength." Similar legislative efforts were shelved in 2003 after fears about lost freedoms sparked a massive protest.

The Hong Kong government also strongly condemned Chow's acts in a statement and said her credibility had gone "bankrupt."

"Unless fugitives surrender themselves, otherwise they would be pursued for life," it wrote.

Chow rose to fame with other prominent young activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law as a student leader, including in pro-democracy protests in 2014.

She co-founded the now-defunct pro-democracy party Demosisto with Wong and Law, but the party was disbanded on June 30, 2020, the same day the security law was enacted.

Wong is now in custody and faces a subversion charge that could result in life imprisonment if convicted. Law fled to Britain and the police in July offered a reward of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,600) for information leading to his arrest.


# Canadian mining company starts arbitration in case of closed copper mine in Panama
December 1, 2023. 6:17 PM EST

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**PANAMA CITY (AP)** - Canada's First Quantum Minerals Ltd. announced Friday it has requested arbitration proceedings to fight a Panamanian decision to halt a major open-pit copper mine concession in Panama or obtain damages.

First Quantum said one arbitration was requested under the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement. It has also started proceedings before the International Court of Arbitration, which would meet in Miami, Florida, the company said in a statement.

In a historic ruling on Tuesday, Panama's Supreme Court declared that legislation granting the mine a 20-year concession was unconstitutional. That decision was celebrated by thousands of Panamanians activists who had argued the project would damage a forested coastal area and threaten water supplies.

First Quantum said it requested arbitration from the international panel on Wednesday and that it had initiated proceedings under the free trade agreement even before the court ruling. It did not say what remedy or damages it was seeking, but did say it was open to talks.

First Quantum's subsidiary, Cobre Panama, "reiterates that transparency and compliance with the law has always been fundamental for the development of its operations and remains open to constructive dialogue in order to reach consensus," the company said.

The mine, which would be closed by the court ruling, has been an important economic engine for the country since the mine began large-scale production in 2019.

But moves this year to grant the company the 20-year concession triggered massive protests that paralyzed the Central American nation for over a month, mobilizing a broad swath of society, including Indigenous communities, who said the mine was destroying key ecosystems.

The company has said the mine generates 40,000 jobs, including 7,000 direct jobs, and that it contributes the equivalent of 5% of Panama's GDP.

The firm said it would take time to properly close the mine.

"The Court's decision does not take into account a planned and managed closure scenario, in which key environmental measures are required to be implemented to maintain the environmental safety of the site during this process," including water treatment and the storage of mine tailings.

Panama two weeks ago received an initial payment of $567 million from First Quantum under the new contract that was finalized in October. Due to the legal dispute, the amount went directly to a restricted account.

The contract also stipulated that Panama would receive at least $375 million annually from the mining company, an amount that critics considered meager.

Cobre Panama published a scathing statement on Wednesday saying the Supreme Court decision will likely have a negative economic impact and warned that lack of maintenance of drainage systems in the mines could have "catastrophic consequences."

The move also "puts at risk" all of Panama's other business contracts, the company said.