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UNDATED (AP) — Revelers around the globe are bidding farewell to a turbulent 2018. South Koreans entered 2019 with hopes of peace with North Korea. Fast food chain Five Guys charged over $400 a person in Dubai for a view of the fireworks. Residents, tourists and protesters shared the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Brazilians made offerings to a sea goddess. Rain didn't stop crowds from packing New York's Times Square, where they will watch Snoop Dogg and Sting.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats have unveiled a package of bills that would re-open the federal government without approving funding for President Donald Trump's border wall with Mexico, establishing an early confrontation that will test the new power dynamic in Washington. The House is preparing to vote as soon as the new Congress convenes Thursday, as one of the first acts after Democrats take control, according to an aide who was not authorized to discuss the plan and spoke on condition of anonymity.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Human feces, overflowing garbage, illegal off-roading and other damaging behavior in fragile areas were beginning to overwhelm some of the West's iconic national parks on Monday. The partial government shutdown has left the areas open to visitors but with little staff on duty. Said Dakota Snider, who lives and works in Yosemite Valley: "It's a free-for-all." Yosemite National Park officials announced closings of some overwhelmed campgrounds and public areas within the park.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he hopes to talk more with President Donald Trump into 2019, but also warns Washington not to test North Koreans' patience with sanctions and pressure. During his New Year's speech, Kim said he's ready to meet with Trump but the North will be forced to take a different path if the U.S. misjudges North Koreans' patience by making unilateral demands and pushing sanctions.
LAUREL, Md. (AP) — A tiny, icy world a billion miles beyond Pluto is getting a New Year's Day visitor. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is set to fly past the mysterious orb nicknamed Ultima Thule at 12:33 a.m. Tuesday. It will be humanity's most distant exploration of another world, coming 3½ years after New Horizons' swing past Pluto. This time, the drama will unfold 4 billion miles from Earth, so far away it will be 10 hours before flight controllers know whether the spacecraft survived the encounter.
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