A Lithuanian Orthodox worshipper lights candles before the liturgy on Orthodox Christmas Eve in the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Nation

Ohio

Suspect in Vance case behind bars

COLUMBUS — An individual accused of vandalizing the Ohio home of Vice President JD Vance and causing other property damage is behind bars pending a Friday hearing.

Twenty-six-year-old William D. DeFoor, of Cincinnati, is charged with damaging government property, engaging in physical violence against property in a restricted area and assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers after the incident around midnight Monday.

Louisiana

Violent crime fell again in 2025

NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans ended 2025 with its third year of declining violent crime rates even as armed National Guard troops patrolled the city’s streets on the orders of President Donald Trump.

On Monday, New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick touted a significant decrease in murders, armed robberies, shootings and carjackings since 2022. The armed National Guard troops have been deployed around the city’s historic French Quarter for about a week.

Massachusetts

Smart seeks to overturn conviction

BOSTON — Pamela Smart, who is serving life in prison for orchestrating the murder of her husband by her teenage student in 1990, is seeking to overturn her conviction over what her lawyers claim were several constitutional violations.

The petition for relief was filed Monday in New York, where she is being held, and in New Hampshire where she was sentenced.

WORLD

Cuba

Identities of 32 officers killed revealed

HAVANA — The Cuban government has revealed the identities of 32 military personnel killed during the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The government on Tuesday also announced two days of mourning.

The deceased include colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains, aged 26 to 60. They belonged to Cuba’s main security agencies.

Syria

Syrian forces, Kurdish fighters clash

ALEPPO — The deadliest clashes so far have erupted between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in Aleppo. Efforts to merge the Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces with the national army have shown little progress.

The SDF has tens of thousands of fighters and is the main force to be absorbed into Syria’s military. Syria’s state-run news agency on Tuesday reported casualties, including a soldier and civilians, in attacks blamed on the SDF.

Pakistan

Military warns world of Afghantistan

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military is warning that Afghanistan is becoming a “hub for terrorists.” It claims the Taliban government there is supporting groups like al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

Military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry also claims that about 2,500 foreign militants have entered Afghanistan from Syria but offers no evidence for that.