North America

CHICAGO, Dec 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Dense fog disrupted air traffic at Chicago’s two international airports, with hundreds of flights cancelled or delayed.

The U.S. National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook, for parts of north central Illinois, including the Chicago area, due to “significant fog risk.”

The dense fog caused more than 70 flights to be cancelled in the early morning, the Midway International Airport confirmed, on its twitter account.

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas woman who drove to Mexico to deliver Christmas gifts to a sprawling refugee camp housing people waiting for U.S. court dates said Wednesday she was detained by authorities there for two days.

Anamichelle Castellano said she and another volunteer for her nonprofit group were stopped Monday at a bridge crossing from Brownsville, Texas, to Matamoros, Mexico. She said authorities discovered a small box of ammunition inside the car she was driving, which she said was left inside by her husband.

DOVER, Del. (AP) — The remains of a 33-year-old American soldier killed in combat in Afghanistan have been returned to the United States, arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Goble of Washington Township, New Jersey, was killed Monday in a roadside bombing in northern Kunduz province. The Taliban has claimed they were behind the attack.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, said she was disturbed to hear Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell say there would be “total coordination” between the White House and the Senate over the upcoming presidential impeachment trial.

“And in fairness, when I heard that I was disturbed,” Murkowski told KTUU Tuesday before saying there should be distance between the White House and the Senate in how the trial is conducted.

SPRINGFIELD, Va. (AP) — Inside a hotel ballroom near the nation’s capital, a U.S. Army officer with battlefield experience told 120 state and local election officials that they may have more in common with the military strategists than they might think.

These government officials are on the front lines of a different kind of high-stakes battlefield — one in which they are helping to defend American democracy by ensuring free and fair elections.

“Everyone in this room is part of a bigger effort, and it’s only together are we going to get through this,” the officer said.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore could wrap up 2019 with its highest per-capita homicide rate on record as killings of adults and minors alike for drugs, retribution, money or no clear reason continue to add up and city officials appear unable to stop the violence.

BOSTON (AP) — In the throes of the Cold War, the Soviet Union was planning to test a massive nuclear bomb in the Arctic Circle.

But in a letter to then-President John F. Kennedy, a young Michigan girl was most concerned about the North Pole’s most famous resident.

“Please stop the Russians from bombing the North Pole,” 8-year-old Michelle Rochon, of Marine City, pleaded, according to news reports at the time. “Because they will kill Santa Claus.”

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — State Attorney General Dana Nessel has suspended a nearly two-year-long criminal investigation into Michigan State University’s handling of complaints against now-imprisoned serial sexual abuser Larry Nassar, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The probe, which began under Nessel’s predecessor, has resulted in charges against three former school officials. One was convicted. Two others, including former president Lou Anna Simon, were ordered to trial. Their cases will continue to be prosecuted.

DENVER (AP) — The purpose of recent nighttime drone flights over northeast Colorado has remained a mystery to authorities who are trying to learn the identities of the operators.

The drones have flown over Phillips and Yuma counties for the last week, the Denver Post reported Monday.

The Phillips County Sheriff’s Office cannot explain where the drones are coming from or who is flying them.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be planning to give him “a nice present” such as a “beautiful vase” for Christmas rather than a missile launch.

The president was asked what he will do if North Korea does conduct a long-range missile test.

The North has threatened to take unspecified action if sanctions are not eased by the end of the year, and speculation has centered on the possibility of a new missile test, possibly of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.