Catholic News 2

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) -- For most of the past decade, Egypt has been a quiet partner with Israel in a blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip that has stifled the economy and largely blocked its 2 million people from moving in and out of the territory. But after a three-year crackdown, there are signs that Egypt is easing the pressure in a step to repair its shattered ties with the Islamic militant group....

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- "I was betrayed," lamented Madino Dhurow of her return to Somalia from the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab, where she lived for 12 years. She said she was assured safety and support back home but she found those promises to be empty....

CHICAGO (AP) -- The fury of the winter storm that swept into the northern Great Plains on Christmas Day weakened heading into Tuesday, but thousands remained without power in the Dakotas and Michigan....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S.-Russian talks on their separate fights against the Islamic State group are improving and becoming more frequent, American officials said, with each side trading information in real time and even outlining some of their strategic objectives in the months ahead. The progress dispels the notion that ties between the former Cold War foes are "frozen."...

HONOLULU (AP) -- Putting 75 years of resentment behind them, the leaders of the United States and Japan are coming together at Pearl Harbor for a historic pilgrimage to the site where the bloodshed of the surprise attacks drew America into World War II....

SOCHI, Russia (AP) -- Rescue workers on Tuesday found a flight recorder from the Russian plane that crashed into the Black Sea over the weekend, the defense ministry said....

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Amid population declines for many wildlife species in Africa, conservationists are sounding alarm bells for the cheetah, the fastest animal on land....

CHICAGO (AP) -- The fury of the winter storm that swept into the northern Great Plains on Christmas Day was weakening Monday evening, but blowing and drifting snow continued to hamper travel in many areas....

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- With somewhere around 4,000 artists and staff, the Mansudae Art Studio, a huge complex of nondescript concrete buildings on a sprawling, walled-off campus with armed guards in the heart of Pyongyang, churns out everything from watercolor tigers to mosaics so large they seem to depict a race from another, taller planet....

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Days after the United Nations voted to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, Donald Trump questioned its effectiveness Monday, saying it's just a club for people to "have a good time."...