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BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — The little town of Bethlehem has been less crowded this year. Only about half of last year's crowd of pilgrims has turned out in the biblical town for Christmas Eve celebrations at the traditional birthplace of Jesus. Analysts blame this summer's war in Gaza. A Palestinian host welcomed members of Gaza's tiny Christian community, who were permitted to cross through Israel to the West Bank.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of U.S. Central Command says the extremist group Islamic State is attempting to exploit the crash of a Jordanian warplane in Syria. Gen. Lloyd Austin says IS did not shoot down the plane. But he confirms its fighters did capture the pilot. Austin says the U.S. will support efforts to recover the pilot.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in Northern California say two people have been killed in the crash of a small plane not far from an airport in the Sierra Nevada foothills. It happened Wednesday about 40 miles southeast of Sacramento.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Families have eagerly greeted crewmembers of the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (PEH'-leh-loo), which arrived on Christmas Eve at Naval Base San Diego after a six-month deployment in the western Pacific. It was the final homecoming for the Peleliu, which will be decommissioned in March after 34 years in service and more than a million miles.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — It's a harmless holiday hoax and increasingly high tech. Volunteers at the North American Aerospace Defense Command are pretending to monitor Santa Claus as he makes his storybook Christmas Eve flight. So far, NORAD says it used the heat signature from Rudolph's nose to "track" St. Nick. NORAD says it's attracted around 1.6 million Facebook "likes."
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