Daily briefing

Nation

Florida

GOP chair won't resign over allegation

FORT LAUDERDALE -- The chair of Florida's Republican Party says he will not resign over a woman's allegation that he raped her. Christian Ziegler said in a Saturday email to supporters that he is innocent.

A Sarasota woman says Ziegler forced his way into her apartment in October and raped her. The two had known each other for 20 years. Ziegler told detectives the sex was consensual. His wife, Bridget Ziegler, told detectives the three once had group sex.

Iowa

Officials leave pro-DeSantis super PAC

DES MOINES -- Three senior members of a super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have left the group.

Kristin Davison parted ways Saturday with Never Back Down just after she took over leading the group less than two weeks ago. Also leaving were communications director Erin Perrine and director of operations Matt Palmisano, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Louisiana

New congressional map to be drawn

BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana lawmakers now have until the end of January to draw and pass new congressional boundaries to replace the current map that a federal judge says dilutes the power of the state's Black voters.

Louisiana's current GOP-drawn map has white majorities in five of six districts -- despite Black people accounting for one-third of the state's population.

World

Japan

Search continues in Osprey crash

TOKYO -- Japanese authorities handed over pieces of the wreckage from an U.S. Air Force Osprey that crashed off southwestern Japan to the U.S. military on Sunday, as the search continued for seven missing servicemembers.

The wreckage had been collected by a ship from the regional coast guard headquarters and by fishers.

Philippines

Suspected bomb kills 4 worshipers

MANILA -- The Philippine president blamed "foreign terrorists" for a bomb blast that killed four people Sunday, wounded dozens of other Catholic worshipers in the south and sparked a security alarm, including in the capital, Manila, where state forces were put on alert.

The suspected bomb, which the police said was made from a mortar round, went off and hit students and teachers who attended a Mass in a gymnasium at Mindanao State University, Taha Mandangan, the campus security chief, said.

Belgium

Climate activists hold protest march

BRUSSELS -- Thousands of people have marched through the center of Brussels in a boisterous rally highlighting the dangers of climate change, as the COP28 climate summit draws to an end in the United Arab Emirates.

"We must save our planet. It's the only one where there's beer," read one sign at the head of the parade, led by a brass band. But the message of the Great Climate March was serious: Act now to stop the world from destroying itself.