Pipeline protesters unfurl banner at game

Pipeline protesters unfurl banner at game

MINNEAPOLIS

Protesters trying to stymie the Dakota Access oil pipeline sneaked up on a truss connected to the roof and rappelled down to unfurl a huge banner inside U.S. Bank Stadium during the Minnesota Vikings’ season finale against the Chicago Bears.

Play was not interrupted on the field during Sunday’s game, but eight rows of fans seated below the banner were cleared as a precaution. The two protesters – a man and a woman – were later arrested on trespassing charges, Minneapolis police spokesman Officer Corey Schmidt said.

The banner urged Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank to divest from the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline. Opponents contend the pipeline could affect drinking water and Native American artifacts.

Chicago ends year with 762 homicides

chicago

One of the most violent years in Chicago history ended Sunday with a sobering tally: 762 homicides, the most in two decades in the city and more than New York and Los Angeles combined.

The nation’s third-largest city also saw 1,100 more shooting incidents than it did in 2015, according to statistics released by the Chicago Police Department.

Police and city officials have lamented the flood of illegal guns into the city, and the crime statistics appeared to support their claims: Police recovered 8,300 illegal guns in 2016, a 20 percent increase from the previous year.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a news conference Sunday that Chicago was among many U.S. cities that have seen a spike in violence, including in attacks on police. He said anger at police has left criminals “emboldened” to violent crimes.

Despite truce, many flee fighting in Syria

BEIRUT

Hundreds of civilians fled a mountainous region outside the Syrian capital on Sunday, where government forces were battling several insurgent groups, including an al-Qaida-linked outfit excluded from a recent nationwide cease-fire.

The Syrian military said some 1,300 people fled the Barada Valley region since Saturday. The region has been the target of days of airstrikes and shelling despite the truce, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey and appears to be holding in other parts of the country, despite some reports of fighting.

The truce went into effect early Friday, and the government and the opposition are expected to meet for talks in Kazakhstan this month.

North Korea leader hints of long-range missile test launch

TOKYO

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hinted Sunday that Pyongyang may ring in the new year with another bang – the test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

In his annual New Year’s address, Kim said that after testing what the North claims was its first hydrogen bomb last year, preparations for launching an intercontinental ballistic missile have “reached the final stage”

Kim did not explicitly say an ICBM test, which if successful would be a big step forward for the North, was imminent. But he has a birthday coming up Jan. 8, and last year Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test on Jan. 6.

Kim threatened in the address to boost his country’s military capabilities further unless the U.S. ends war games with rival South Korea. But he also said efforts must be made to defuse the possibility of another Korean war and stressed the importance of building the economy under a five-year plan announced in May.

Associated Press