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TULTEPEC, Mexico (AP) — Twenty-six people have been killed in a powerful chain-reaction explosion at Mexico's best-known fireworks market. The market was bustling with shoppers stocking up on fireworks to celebrate Christmas and New Year's when the blast occurred. It's the third devastating explosion to rock the market in roughly a past decade.
BERLIN (AP) — Tensions are expected to flare in Germany following the country's first mass casualty attack by Islamic extremists. The country last year admitted almost a million migrants, and already far-right groups are using the attack to point a finger at Chancellor Angela Merkel. A German of Arab descent says "it will get only worse now" and that he'll "get more hostile looks." The Islamic state group has claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 12 and injured almost 50.
HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama has designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing. The move appears to be an effort to keep President-elect Donald Trump's hands tied when it comes to offshore drilling. Trump has said he intends to use all available fuel reserves for energy self-sufficiency and is filling his Cabinet with nominees deeply opposed to Obama's environmental actions.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco has named a new police chief who officials and community activists hope can restore trust in a department reeling from racially-charged scandals. The black police veteran from Los Angeles pledged today to work with rank-and-file officers to move the department forward. San Francisco's last police chief was forced to resign after a young black woman was shot dead as police tried to pull her from a stolen car. Also this year, officers were found to be using racial and homophobic slurs in text messages.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — New census figures show a cluster of Western states are bucking the trend of sluggish population growth -- with Utah leading the pack. The state that's long had the country's highest birth rate grew just over 2 percent from July 2015 to July 2016, followed closely by Nevada, Idaho and Florida. Washington, Oregon and Colorado also took top percentage-growth spots.
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