Japan says Trump has invited its leader to the US. It comes as ties with China are strained

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump invited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a phone call Friday to visit the United States this year, the Japanese foreign ministry said, in what would be the ultraconservative leader's first trip to the U.S.since taking office in October.

The White House is yet to confirm the call and the invitation. It comes asties between Japan and China have been strained, ramping up tensions in the region. The U.S., a close ally of Japan, is seeking to strengthen its ties with Tokyo but alsostabilize its relationship with Beijingahead of alikely trip by Trump to China in April.

Beijing staged two-daymilitary exercisesin the waters off Taiwan this week. Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister, infuriated China late last year when she said Chinese military action against Taiwan could begrounds for a Japanese military response, breaking away from former Japanese leaders' strategic ambiguity on the highly sensitive matter.

In a statement Friday, the Japanese foreign ministry said Takaichi and Trump agreed to coordinate for the visit to happen this spring. Kyodo News, Japan's news agency, suggested that Takaichi's trip could coincide with the annual cherry blossom festival in Washington.

The foreign ministry said the two leaders affirmed that they would "carve out a new chapter in the history of the Japan-U.S. alliance" in a year when the U.S. celebrates the250th anniversary of its foundingand that they would "further deepen the friendly relations" between the two nations, including economic and security cooperation.

Takaichi and Trump also agreed on their commitment to promoting cooperation among like-minded partners, including the Japan-U.S.-South Korea partnership, and to a free and open Indo-Pacific, the foreign ministry statement said.

The two exchanged views "mainly on the Indo-Pacific region," the ministry said, but it did not provide details, including whether the two discussed recent actions by Beijing in the region.

China's military drills off Taiwanalso came after the Trump administrationannounced a package of arms sales to Taiwanvalued at more than $11 billion. If approved by Congress, it would represent the largest such aid to the island ever — a move criticized sharply by China.

Beijing claims sovereignty over the self-governed island and vows to seize it — by force if necessary. The U.S. is obligated by a domestic law to provide Taiwan with sufficient hardware to deter any attack from the mainland.

Trump on Monday said he was not informed of the exercises in advance but still touted his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump met Takaichi in Tokyo in October, shortly after she took office. The two exchanged warm words, andTrump took her with himwhen he spoke to U.S. troops aboard an aircraft carrier in Japan.

After Takaichi's Taiwan comments angered Beijing, Trump called her andsaid they were "extremely good friends"and that she should call him any time, according to the Japanese leader, without disclosing if the two talked about her remarks.

byVincento Seyarto

in

January 02, 2026

Japan says Trump has invited its leader to the US. It comes as ties with China are strained

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump invited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a phone call Friday to vis...

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California ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutional, court rules

By Nate Raymond

Jan 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled that California's ban on openly carrying firearms in most parts of the state was unconstitutional.

A panel of the ​San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided 2-1 with a gun owner in ‌ruling that the state's prohibition against open carry in counties with more than 200,000 people violated U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment right ‌to keep and bear arms.

About 95% of the population in California, which has had some of the nation's strictest gun-control laws, live in counties of that size.

U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, who was appointed by Republican President Donald Trump, said the Democratic-led state's law could not stand under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 landmark gun ⁠rights ruling.

That decision, New York State Rifle & ‌Pistol Association v Bruen, was issued by the court's 6-3 conservative super-majority and established a new legal test for firearms restrictions. The test said they must be "consistent ‍with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."

VanDyke, whose opinion on Friday was joined by another Trump appointee, said the latest case "unquestionably involves a historical practice — open carry — that predates ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791."

He noted ​that more than 30 states generally allow open carry. California itself allowed citizens to carry handguns openly ‌and holstered for self-defense without penalty until 2012, he said.

"The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this Nation's history and tradition," VanDyke said.

The ruling partially reversed a 2023 decision by a lower-court judge who had rejected a 2019 challenge to the law by gun owner Mark Baird.

While the appeals court largely sided with Baird, it rejected his related challenge to California's licensing requirements in counties ⁠with fewer than 200,000 residents, which may issue open-carry permits.

Senior ​U.S. Circuit Judge N. Randy Smith, who was appointed by ​Republican former President George W. Bush, dissented, saying his colleagues "got this case half right" as all of California's restrictions complied with the Supreme Court's ruling.

Baird's lawyer had no immediate ‍comment. Spokespeople for California Attorney ⁠General Rob Bonta, whose office defended the state's ban, did not respond to a request for comment.

The 2022 Supreme Court ruling has prompted court cases nationwide challenging modern firearm restrictions, including in ⁠California.

A 9th Circuit panel in September 2024 upheld a California law that prohibits people with concealed-carry permits from carrying firearms ‌at several categories of "sensitive places" like bars, parks, zoos, stadiums and museums.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond ‌in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Cynthia Osterman)

byVincento Seyarto

in

January 02, 2026

California ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutional, court rules

By Nate Raymond Jan 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled that California's ban on openly carry...

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Who is Christian Sturdivant, the teen accused of plotting terror attack on New Year's Eve?

A North Carolina teenager who the FBI says planned to carry out aNew Year's Eveattack inspired by theIslamic Statewas on an agency watchlist for years before his arrest on Dec. 31.

Christian Sturdivant, an 18-year-old Burger King worker, was arrested and charged with plotting a "potential terrorist attack" on a grocery store and fast food restaurant in his suburban Charlotte hometown of Mint Hill, authoritiesannouncedon Jan. 2.

Sturdivant "pledged his loyalty to ISIS" and intended to become a martyr "to support the murder, torture andextreme violencethat ISIS represents," according to FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle.

Barnacle said that the North Carolina teen's affiliation with the extremist group represents "the very real threat posed by people who self-radicalize online."

It wasn't immediately clear if Sturdivant had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

Here's what we know about Sturdivant.

More:FBI says it foiled 'potential terrorist attack' on New Year's Eve

What charges is Christian Sturdivant facing?

Sturdivant is charged with attempting to provide material support for a foreign terrorist organization. The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, officials said.

"He was preparing for jihad and innocent people were going to die, and we are very, very fortunate they did not," said Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Was Christian Sturdivant known to authorities?

Sturdivant's arrest comes about three years after another alleged plot first landed him on an FBI watchlist.

In January 2022, Sturdivant first made online contact with a member of ISIS based in Europe, according to federal court filings in the Western District of North Carolina.

The ISIS member told Sturdivant to "dress all in black, knock on people's doors, and attack them with a hammer," a criminal complaint says. The teen left his house dressed in black to "kill his neighbor with a hammer and knife," but his grandfather restrained him and brought him home, court filings say.

Sturdivant underwent psychiatric care and had his social media access restricted, Barnacle said. Sturdivant's grandfather also secured knives that were in the home, he said.

Before the attempted attack, Sturdivant pledged "Bayat," or oath of allegiance, to ISIS, according to the FBI.

The United States launched airstrikes in Nigeria against Islamic State militants on Christmas Day after President Donald Trump threatened in November to go into the country "guns-a-blazing" over what he called a "mass slaughter" of Christians.
See the impact on residents, who inspect the damage in Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria.

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See the impact of Trump's Christmas Day airstrikes in Nigeria

The United Stateslaunched airstrikes in Nigeriaagainst Islamic State militants on Christmas Day after PresidentDonald Trumpthreatened in November to go into the country "guns-a-blazing" over what he called a"mass slaughter" of Christians.See the impact on residents, who inspect the damage in Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria.

How did alleged New Year's Eve plot come about?

Sturdivant had been planning the alleged New Year's Eve plot for about a year and was planning to attack people with knives and hammers, Ferguson said.

Authorities say they became aware of the threat after Sturdivant − a "prolific poster" on social media − shared his plans online with FBI agents posing as ISIS supporters.

Among the evidence found by authorities under Sturdivant's bed: knives, hammers and notes detailing his plans, Ferguson said.

Social media account inspired by ISIS chief leader

FBI investigators tracking Sturdivant's online activities linked him to a social media account with the display name "Abu-Bakr-Al-Amriki," court filings say. The account published multiple posts showing support for ISIS.

The display name is an apparent homage to ISIS' leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who became infamous worldwide after he proclaimed himself caliph in 2014, led ISIS to capture large swathes of Iraq and Syria and imposed in the region a fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic Shari'a law to carry out mass killings.

Al-Amriki is Arabic for "the American" or "of America." The display name, FBI investigators say, signalled Sturdivant's aspirations to be an American al-Baghdadi.

Al-Baghdadi died by suicide in October 2019 during a U.S. military operation.

What did Sturdivant say online?

The North Carolina teen repeatedly posted online in favor of ISIS and jihad, court filings show. Among his posts was a photo showing military-style gloves with a reference to a chapter of the Quran that refers to war with enemies of Islam, the records say.

Another post showed a ballistic vest with a caption reading: "Islam is on the rise. May Allah curse the crusade coalition." And in December, one of his posts showed two Jesus figurines and the caption: "May Allah curse the cross worshipers."

FBI agents became more directly involved after they say Sturdivant posted a photo that authorities interpreted as a signal that he would stage an attack around Christmas. The post was on Dec. 11.

"I will do jihad soon," the FBI says Sturdivant told undercover agents on Dec. 13. In other exchanges, the 18-year-old told agents that for a year he had been planning an attack in a public place on "Christian pagans and lgbtq."

There have been a few notable terrorist attacks during the holiday season, including a 2016 attack in Berlin that left 12 dead and dozens injured after a man drove a truck through a Christmas market. The driver, Anis Amri, hadpledged allegianceto ISIS.

Contributing by Jeanine Santucci

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Who is Christian Sturdivant, teen terror suspect accused of NYE plot?

byVincento Seyarto

in

January 02, 2026

Who is Christian Sturdivant, the teen accused of plotting terror attack on New Year's Eve?

A North Carolina teenager who the FBI says planned to carry out aNew Year's Eveattack inspired by theIslamic Statewas...

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Minnesota child care centers accused of wrongdoing were operating as expected, report says

Minnesota child care centers at the heart of widespread fraud allegations fueled by a viral video were operating as expected when visited by investigators, the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families said in a news release Friday.

"Children were present at all sites except for one – that site, was not yet open for families for the day when inspectors arrived," the agency said.

The agency gathered evidence and initiated further review, noting the investigation into four centers was ongoing, the report stated.

The report comes days afterYouTube content creator Nick Shirley, who has created anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim videos in the past, posted a viral video in which he claimed to find widespread fraud at Somali-run child care centers.

Thevideo, which includes limited evidence for the creator's allegations, has received 3 million views on YouTube as of Friday and gained traction after being reposted by Vice President JD Vance and former Department of Government Efficiency le ader Elon Musk.

The conservative activist's 42-minute video posted the day after Christmas quickly spread, promptingstepped up immigration enforcement,frozen federal fundsand morebiting rhetoricagainst the Somali community from President Donald Trump.

The state Department of Children, Youth, and Families on Friday warned distribution of "unvetted or deceptive claims and misuse of tip lines can interfere with investigations, create safety risks for families, providers, and employers, and has contributed to harmful discourse about Minnesota's immigrant communities."

"DCYF remains committed to fact-based reviews that stop fraud, protect children, support families, and minimize disruption to communities that rely on these essential services," the report said.

After the video's release, Health and Human Services froze all child care payments to the state for review, as the FBI and Department of Homeland Security investigate allegations of fraud. CNN on Friday reached out to the FBI and DHS for comment on the preliminary state findings.

HHS, through a spokesperson, did not respond directly to the state findings Friday and reiterated its call for a more robust verification process to prevent fraud. "The onus is on the state to provide additional verification," said Andrew Nixon, HHS deputy assistant secretary for media relations.

The Trump administration has given Minnesota officials until next Friday to provide verifying information about providers and parents who receive federal funds for child care, according to an email sent Friday by DCYF to child care providers shared with The Associated Press. CNN has reached out to HHS and state officials for clarification.

In addition to demanding a state audit of the Minnesota day care centers featured in the video, Health and Human Services secretary Jim O'Neill said the agency would now require justification and receipts or photo evidence for all payments to states from the department's Administration of Children and Families.

At issue in allegations made in the controversial video were funds from theChild Care Assistance Program– known as CCAP – for 2025.

The report listed the amount of CCAP funding the centers in the video received in fiscal 2025, ranging from $470,000 to $3.6 million, and totaling over $17 million.

One center mentioned in the video has been closed since 2022, the report said.

CCAP does not take applications directly from day care centers. Instead, qualified working parents and other eligible caregivers who make less than the program's income limitapplydirectly to the state for assistance, which is paid to the day care center.

The accusations leveled in the video were the most recent in a series of fraud scandals involving state social service programs that provided meals for needy children during the pandemic, Medicaid housing assistance and other safety nets which benefit needy families.

The scandals go back nearly a decade and include allegations of fraud in the Somali community focused onFeeding Our Future, a nonprofit prosecutors said falsely claimed to provide meals to needy children during the Covid-19 pandemic. Federal charges were brought against dozens of people — most of them Somali — beginning in 2022.

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byVincento Seyarto

in

January 02, 2026

Minnesota child care centers accused of wrongdoing were operating as expected, report says

Minnesota child care centers at the heart of widespread fraud allegations fueled by a viral video were operating as expected when visited b...

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Prominent Jan. 6 defendants plan march to Capitol to mark 5 years since attack

Washington —The former leader of the far-right group the Proud Boys and other defendants convicted for crimes connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol are set to return to Washington, D.C., for a march markingfive years since the attack.

The event is billed as a memorial march honoring Ashli Babbitt and four others who died on or after Jan. 6. Babbitt, a supporter of President Trump's, was shot and killed by a U.S. Capitol Police officer while a mob attempted to breach the Speaker's Lobby outside the House chamber nearly five years ago. Brian Sicknick, a U.S. Capitol Police officer whodied after suffering two strokesafter he defended the Capitol during the assault, is also set to be honored.

Among those promoting the march is Enrique Tarrio, the former head of the Proud Boys who wasconvicted of chargesincluding seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6 attack andsentenced to 22 years in prison. Tarrio was among the more than 1,500 defendants convicted of Jan. 6-related crimes whoreceived clemencyfrom President Trump on his first day back in the White House in January 2025.

Tarrio announced the event on social media,writing on Xon Dec. 22 that it will be a "PATRIOTIC and PEACEFUL march."

"If you have any intention of causing trouble we ask that you stay home. This event will focus on one thing and one thing only…HER memory," Tarrio said, referencing Babbitt.

The march is set to begin at 11:45 a.m. at the Ellipse in front of the White House and end at the Capitol, according to Tarrio. The route follows the path that a mob of Mr. Trump's supporters took on Jan. 6 nearly five years ago. The presidentgave a speechto those gathered at the Ellipse to protest the results of the 2020 election and urged his supporters to march down to the Capitol, where the House and Senate convened to certify the election results.

Mr. Trump told the crowd that they would be "marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard" and urged them to "fight like hell."

Alsopromoting the marchis Guy Reffitt, who was a member of the far-right militia group the Texas Three Percenters. He wasconvicted of five chargesstemming from the Capitol attack andsentenced to 87 months in prisonbefore he was pardoned by Mr. Trump.

The march involving Tarrio and Reffitt will be taking place alongside a hearing led by Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson and members of the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack. Thompson chaired the panel, whichconcluded its work in late 2022andrecommended that Mr. Trump be prosecutedfor his conduct surrounding the riots.

The presidentfaced four criminal chargesbrought by former special counsel Jack Smith related to his alleged efforts to subvert the transfer of power after the 2020 election, but thecase was dismissedafter he won reelection in 2024.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffriessaid Mondaythat the hearing will examine "ongoing threats to free and fair elections posed by an out-of-control Trump administration, expose the election deniers who hold high-level positions of significance in the executive branch and detail the threats to public safety posed by the hundreds of violent felons who were pardoned on the President's first day in office."

"In the years since that disgraceful day, far-right Republicans in Congress have repeatedly attempted to rewrite history and whitewash the events of January 6th. Our country has been indelibly scarred," Jeffries, of New York, wrote in a letter to House Democrats.

Mr. Trump has downplayed the events of Jan. 6,calling it a "day of love,"and defended those who were charged for their conduct during the assault. More than 140 police officers wereinjured in the Capitol attack.

Video footage from the assault showed Babbitttrying to climb througha broken window as protesters attempted to gain entry into the Speaker's Lobby. Lawmakers had gathered in the chamber to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election and were evacuated as the mob of demonstrators breached the Capitol building.

Babbitt's familyfiled a $30 million wrongful death lawsuitagainst the U.S. government in January 2024, which the Trump administrationagreed to settlefor $5 million. Many of Mr. Trump's supporters and Capitol rioters have claimed that the police used unnecessary force against those who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The U.S. Capitol Policeconducted an internal investigationinto the fatal shooting and concluded that the officer involved, Michael Byrd, acted lawfully and within department policy. The department said he potentially saved members of Congress and staff from "serious injury and possible death" from the rioters who had forced their way into the Capitol.

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byVincento Seyarto

in

January 02, 2026

Prominent Jan. 6 defendants plan march to Capitol to mark 5 years since attack

Washington —The former leader of the far-right group the Proud Boys and other defendants convicted for crimes connected t...

Read More

California ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutional, court rules

By Nate Raymond

Jan 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled that California's ban on openly carrying firearms in most parts of the state was unconstitutional.

A panel of the ​San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided 2-1 with a gun owner in ‌ruling that the state's prohibition against open carry in counties with more than 200,000 people violated U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment right ‌to keep and bear arms.

About 95% of the population in California, which has had some of the nation's strictest gun-control laws, live in counties of that size.

U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, who was appointed by Republican President Donald Trump, said the Democratic-led state's law could not stand under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 landmark gun ⁠rights ruling.

That decision, New York State Rifle & ‌Pistol Association v Bruen, was issued by the court's 6-3 conservative super-majority and established a new legal test for firearms restrictions. The test said they must be "consistent ‍with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."

VanDyke, whose opinion on Friday was joined by another Trump appointee, said the latest case "unquestionably involves a historical practice — open carry — that predates ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791."

He noted ​that more than 30 states generally allow open carry. California itself allowed citizens to carry handguns openly ‌and holstered for self-defense without penalty until 2012, he said.

"The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this Nation's history and tradition," VanDyke said.

The ruling partially reversed a 2023 decision by a lower-court judge who had rejected a 2019 challenge to the law by gun owner Mark Baird.

While the appeals court largely sided with Baird, it rejected his related challenge to California's licensing requirements in counties ⁠with fewer than 200,000 residents, which may issue open-carry permits.

Senior ​U.S. Circuit Judge N. Randy Smith, who was appointed by ​Republican former President George W. Bush, dissented, saying his colleagues "got this case half right" as all of California's restrictions complied with the Supreme Court's ruling.

Baird's lawyer had no immediate ‍comment. Spokespeople for California Attorney ⁠General Rob Bonta, whose office defended the state's ban, did not respond to a request for comment.

The 2022 Supreme Court ruling has prompted court cases nationwide challenging modern firearm restrictions, including in ⁠California.

A 9th Circuit panel in September 2024 upheld a California law that prohibits people with concealed-carry permits from carrying firearms ‌at several categories of "sensitive places" like bars, parks, zoos, stadiums and museums.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond ‌in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Cynthia Osterman)

byVincento Seyarto

in

January 02, 2026

California ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutional, court rules

By Nate Raymond Jan 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled that California's ban on openly carry...

Read More

Oregon Woman Claims Fertility Clinic Inseminated Her Mom with Wrong Man's Sperm in $17 Million Lawsuit

NEED TO KNOW

• An Oregon woman is alleging that her mother was mistakenly inseminated with another man's sperm

• The now 44-year-old woman and her parents are suing the clinic after discovering two years ago that her father is not her biological dad

• They are requesting $17 million in damages

An Oregon woman is alleging that her mother was mistakenly inseminated with another man's sperm.

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the now 44-year-old woman — identified in the lawsuit as A.P. — is joined by her biological mother, known as C.W., and her father by marriage and birth, known as K.W., in suing Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and Providence Health & Services of Oregon for $17 million.

The threesome claims that C.W. and K.W. sought out fertility care and family planning at OHSU after being referred by their physician. However, they claim that during the process, the clinic mixed up K.W.'s sperm with another man's – known as R.W. in the lawsuit — and mistakenly gave her the wrong person's sperm.The Oregonianwas first to report the news.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

C.W. and K.W. welcomed their daughter A.P. in December 1981 and raised her as their biological child, never thinking that something had happened at the hospital. R.W. and his partner also became pregnant and welcomed their child in November 1981.

A.P. did not discover that her father is not K.W. until two years ago, when she underwent genetic testing. According to the lawsuit, more genetic testing revealed that her biological father is R.W.

Now, the family claims that K.W. was "stripped entirely" of his biological fatherhood of his firstborn baby with his wife, C.W., and says he is permanently reminded of the violation against his family.

C.W. claims she was also stripped of the bond of creating a shared life with her husband, and had to "bear the humiliation, discomfort, and physical distress" of carrying a pregnancy to term with another man's semen specimen. She says she suffered a "severe invasion of her personhood."

The family claims that A.P. is the "product of nonconsensual birth" and will endure doubt, frustration and confusion for the rest of her life. They also allege that the hospital knew of the mistake and "concealed the use of R.W.'s genetic material" and has refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing.

Now, they are requesting $17 million in damages from the hospital. OSHU declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.

Read the original article onPeople

byVincento Seyarto

in

January 02, 2026

Oregon Woman Claims Fertility Clinic Inseminated Her Mom with Wrong Man's Sperm in $17 Million Lawsuit

NEED TO KNOW An Oregon woman is alleging that her mother was mistakenly inseminated with another man's sperm The now 44-year-old woman...

Read More