Guatemala says it is moving embassy in Israel to Jerusalem

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The president of Guatemala says the Central American country will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Guatemala was one of nine nations that voted earlier this week with the United States when the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution denouncing President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said on his official Facebook account Sunday that after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he decided to instruct his foreign ministry to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The resolution passed at the U.N. declared the U.S. action on Jerusalem "null and void." The 128-9 vote was a victory for Palestinians, but fell short of the total they had predicted. Thirty-five nations abstained and 21 stayed away from the vote.

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North Korea calls latest UN sanctions 'an act of war'

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Sunday called the latest U.N. sanctions to target the country "an act of war" that violates its sovereignty, and said it is a "pipe dream" for the United States to think it will give up its nuclear weapons.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea on Friday in response to its latest launch of a ballistic missile that Pyongyang says can reach anywhere on the U.S. mainland. The resolution was drafted by the United States and negotiated with the North's closest ally, China.

"We define this 'sanctions resolution' rigged up by the U.S. and its followers as a grave infringement upon the sovereignty of our Republic, as an act of war violating peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and the region and categorically reject the 'resolution,'" North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the sanctions are tantamount to a "complete economic blockade" of North Korea.

"If the U.S. wishes to live safely, it must abandon its hostile policy towards the DPRK and learn to co-exist with the country that has nuclear weapons and should wake up from its pipe dream of our country giving up nuclear weapons which we have developed and completed through all kinds of hardships," said the statement, carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

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Shoppers spending more may make a merry season for retailers

NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers who are feeling good about the economy and spending more than expected on items like kitchen gadgets, toys and coats could make this the best holiday season in several years.

That's good news for retailers, some of which have had few reasons of late to be merry. But there's no question that stores need to keep adapting to how people shop as spending moves online. Customer sentiment could shift again based on how they feel the tax overhaul is affecting them. Tax cuts mean some shoppers may have more money in their pockets, but they could opt to save it instead of spend it.

Experts have issued rosy forecasts for the season. Shoppers seem to be in the mood as unemployment is at 17-year low and consumer sentiment has reached its highest level since 2000.

"I feel confident and optimistic about spending this year," said Jorge Nova of Miami as the shopping began on Thanksgiving weekend, when he lined up at Best Buy and bought a 65-inch TV. "I don't really have a clear budget. It's been a good year for me."

Shoppers are spending at a pace not seen since the Great Recession, says Craig Johnson, president of retail consulting group Customer Growth Partners. Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist at the National Retail Federation, predicts retail sales will meet or exceed the trade group's holiday forecast. That could mark the best performance since 2014. And Tom McGee, CEO of the International Council of Shopping Centers, believes mall traffic and sales were higher than last year as shoppers bought electronics, clothing and toys.

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Trump sends Christmas greetings to US troops abroad

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump opened his first Christmas Eve in office by offering season's greetings to U.S. troops stationed around the world and chatting up children who called into a Defense Department program that tracks Santa Claus' flight path.

"Today and every day, we're incredibly thankful for you and for your families," Trump told the troops via video hook-up from his Florida estate, where he is spending the holidays with his family. "Your families have been tremendous. Always underappreciated, the military families. The greatest people on Earth."

Trump briefly addressed members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard stationed in Qatar, Kuwait and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and patrolling the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East.

Vice President Mike Pence rallied U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan during a surprise visit last week.

Trump complimented each branch of the armed forces, starting with the Army's "Iron Brigade" combat team in Kuwait, which he said is performing a "vital mission" by partnering with the Iraqi, Kuwaiti, Saudi Arabian and Jordanian armies, and providing force protection in Syria and Iraq.

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White Christmas on its way for Northeast, Midwest

CHICAGO (AP) — If you live in the Northeast or Midwest, you're not dreaming: It's probably going to be a white Christmas.

But the trade-off is hazardous driving conditions across New England and the Great Plains. Out west, the Rocky Mountains have been pounded this weekend.

The storm system attacking the Mississippi River and to the east started in Nebraska, swept across Iowa and will dump several inches of snow on Chicago. Aside from a lake-effect dump of as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters), accumulation in the nation's third-largest city will be slightly less than predicted, said Ricky Castro, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. It's headed for the East Coast Sunday night to dump more through midday on Christmas.

It's a welcome site for snow-lovers in a season short on the white stuff — just over 2 inches (5 centimeters) previously in Chicago, Castro said.

"It's a more wintry feel for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with a cold week ahead," Castro said.

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Putin foe clears first step in bid for Russian presidency

MOSCOW (AP) — Hundreds of supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny nominated him for president Sunday, allowing Navalny to file the endorsement papers required for his candidacy and putting pressure on the Kremlin to allow him to run.

Navalny, the most formidable foe President Vladimir Putin has faced during 18 years in power, is prohibited from seeking political office because of a criminal conviction that is largely viewed as retribution. However, he could enter the race, if he gets special dispensation or the conviction is thrown out.

About 800 Navalny supporters assembled in a giant tent for the formal endorsement meeting held in Moscow's snow-covered Silver Forest. His allies said multiple meeting venues refused to host the gathering.

Ivan Zhdanov, who chaired the meeting, joked that the riverside event ended up being convened at a place where the address is "Silver Forest, Beach Number 3."

"Has everyone got their swimming trunks?" Zhdanov asked the participants.

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NORAD takes calls from kids around the world awaiting Santa

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AP) — Hundreds of volunteers at an Air Force base in Colorado were answering questions on Sunday from eager children who wanted to know where Santa was on his Christmas Eve travels. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump also pitched in and took calls for the NORAD Tracks Santa program from their Florida estate.

It is the 62nd year for the wildly popular program run by the U.S. and Canadian militaries.

Some key facts about the program:

HOW TO GET NORAD UPDATES:

The toll-free telephone number for NORAD tracks Santa is 877-Hi NORAD or 877-446-6723. About 1,500 volunteers answer the phones in shifts throughout Christmas Eve.

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Jerusalem violence, rain put damper on Bethlehem Christmas

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — It was a subdued Christmas Eve in the historic birthplace of Jesus on Sunday, with spirits dampened by cold, rainy weather and recent violence sparked by President Donald Trump's recognition of nearby Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Crowds were thinner than previous years as visitors, particularly Arab Christians living in Israel and the West Bank, appeared to be deterred by clashes that have broken out in recent weeks between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces. Although there was no violence Sunday, Palestinian officials scaled back the celebrations in protest.

Claire Degout, a tourist from France, said she would not allow Trump's pronouncement, which has infuriated the Palestinians and drawn widespread international opposition, affect her decision to celebrate Christmas in the Holy Land.

"The decision of one man cannot affect all the Holy Land," she said. "Jerusalem belongs to everybody, you know, and it will be always like that, whatever Trump says."

Trump abandoned decades of U.S. policy on Dec. 6 by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and saying he would move the American Embassy to the holy city.

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Sheriff Tony Estrada, another kind of Arizona lawman

NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — Sheriff Tony Estrada is a different kind of Arizona lawman.

Born in Nogales, Mexico, Marco Antonio Estrada was raised just north of the U.S. border, giving him a unique perspective on issues related to it and strong opinions about treatment of immigrants.

Pointedly, the white-haired, 74-year-old Spanish-speaker has said he's "not a fan" of President Donald Trump, his proposed border wall or his hardline immigration policies.

Estrada has become an even harsher critic during the president's first months in office as detentions of migrants away from the border have soared. Arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose officers pick up people for deportation, surged 40 percent from the same period a year earlier.

As a lawman, Estrada said he opposes illegal immigration and has long ensured his deputies turn over to federal authorities those people they find to be in the country illegally. At the Santa Cruz County Jail he runs, immigrants who have been charged with or convicted of crimes are regularly held overnight or over the weekend for federal agencies.

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Obituary project makes homicide victims more than just stats

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — It was a bloody day in Philadelphia: five people shot or stabbed dead. One of the shooting victims was Trina Singleton's 24-year-old son, Darryl.

In this city of 1.6 million people that tallied 269 homicides last year, Darryl's death on Sept. 13, 2016, earned him a few lines near the end of a newspaper story, his loss overshadowed by the death of a 21-year-old cousin of rap star Meek Mill.

"He was totally overlooked," Trina Singleton said. "There were so many people shot that day, he was a number."

Now a new website is working to show that Darryl and victims like him are more than statistics. Since the Philadelphia Obituary Project went live in June, it has posted more than 30 in-depth obituaries of city homicide victims from the past 18 months.

"We want to talk about the lives of the people, not their deaths. To dignify them. To humanize them," said Cletus Lyman, a city lawyer who has spent more than $10,000 to fund the project. "We want to complete the picture and show the community that we're losing real people."