Xi’s Tough Talk on Taiwan Backfires, as Tsai Support Surges

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to push Taiwanese closer to unification with a new year speech mixing carrots and sticks. That hasn’t panned out. Instead, his independence-leaning Taiwanese counterpart, Tsai Ing-wen, has enjoyed a surge in support following a brutal drubbing of her political party in local elections last year, according…

Flights Canceled, Offices Close Amid Frigid Midwest Weather

By BLAKE NICHOLSON , Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A deadly arctic deep freeze enveloped the Midwest with record-breaking temperatures on Wednesday, triggering widespread closures of schools and businesses, and the canceling of more than 1,500 flights from Chicago’s airports. The cold even prompted the U.S. Postal Service to suspend mail delivery to a…

Firefighters Search Mud After Brazil Dam Collapse; 58 Dead

By MARCELO SILVA DE SOUSA and PETER PRENGAMAN , Associated Press BRUMADINHO, Brazil (AP) — Firefighters on Monday carefully moved over treacherous mud, sometimes walking, sometimes crawling, in search of survivors or bodies, four days after a dam collapse that buried mine buildings and surrounding neighborhoods with iron ore waste. The confirmed death toll rose…