The sun rises above the bell tower of the Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Bogota and Primate of Colombia in Bogota, Colombia, on Wednesday. The Associated Press

Nation

District of Columbia

US strikes Hezbollah centers in Iraq

WASHINGTON — A major Iranian-backed militant group in Iraq warned it may strike additional U.S. targets after U.S. warplanes killed multiple militants in response to the first use of short-range ballistic missiles against U.S. forces at Al-Asad Air Base Monday.

U.S. fighter jets struck a Kataib Hezbollah operations center and a Kataib Hezbollah command and control node near Al Anbar and Jurf al Saqr, south of Baghdad, on Tuesday, two defense officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide additional sensitive details of the attacks.

Alaska

3 dead, 3 missing after landslide

JUNEAU — Three people were killed and three were missing after a landslide barreled down a heavily forested, rain-soaked mountainside and smashed into homes in a remote fishing community in southeast Alaska.

The slide — estimated to be 450 feet wide — occurred about 9 p.m. Monday during a significant rain and windstorm near Wrangell, an island community of 2,000 people.

Colorado

Top court to hear Trump ballot appeal

DENVER — The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear appeals from both a liberal group that sought to disqualify Donald Trump and the former president himself after a state judge ruled that Trump “engaged in insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021, but can still appear on the state’s ballot.

Oral arguments will take place Dec. 6, the court announced.

World

China expanding mosque crackdown

The Chinese government has expanded its campaign of closing mosques to regions other than Xinjiang, where for years it has been blamed for persecuting Muslim minorities, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday.

Authorities have closed mosques in the northern Ningxia region as well as Gansu province, which are home to large populations of Hui Muslims, as part of a process known officially as “consolidation,” according to the report, which draws on public documents, satellite images and witness testimonies.

South Korea

Military: North fires missile toward sea

SEOUL — North Korea performed a suspected failed missile test on Wednesday night, South Korea’s military said, hours after Seoul said it would resume front-line aerial surveillance in response to the North’s recent spy satellite launch.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a brief statement it detected the missile launch from the North’s capital region. It said the missile was fired toward the North’s eastern waters but that the launch was believed to have ended in failure.

Thailand

US, Philippines conduct joint patrols

BANGKOK — The United States and the Philippines are conducting joint air and maritime patrols in the South China Sea, which come as the two countries step up cooperation in the face of growingly aggressive Chinese activity in the area.

The Philippine Air Force said Wednesday its aircraft had taken part in joint patrols the day before in the vicinity of Batanes, which is only about 125 miles from Taiwan.