Rescuers in Turkey and war-ravaged Syria are searching through the frigid night, hoping to pull more survivors from the rubble. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake early Monday killed more than 4,000 people and toppled thousands of buildings. It brought even more misery to a wide region transformed by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis. Survivors cried out for help from within mountains of debris as first responders contended with rain and snow. Seismic activity continued to rattle the region, including another jolt nearly as powerful as the initial quake. Several countries pledged aid as first responders raced against the elements to reach survivors.
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The U.S. abortion debate is shifting to funding as states take control of policymaking. Liberal cities and states are funding efforts to provide access to abortion, while Republican-led states are seeking new ways to financially support anti-abortion centers. Just months after Kansas voters affirmed abortion rights in August, the state's Republican-controlled Legislature is considering millions of dollars in state funds for such centers and millions more in income tax credits to their donors. Supporters say the effort to financially support the centers shows the anti-abortion movement is addressing the social and financial needs of women and families. Critics say the efforts fall short of what’s necessary.
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Republican lawmakers are accusing China of deliberately surveilling sensitive U.S. military sites with a suspected spy balloon. And they say the Biden administration has given Beijing an intelligence opening by not downing the balloon during its high-altitude drift through American airspace. Democrats are defending Biden and they note that there were similar incursions while Donald Trump was president. A missile from an F-22 fighter jet downed the balloon on Saturday off the South Carolina coast. A U.S. official tells The Associated Press that those involved in the recovery of the balloon are planning to take it to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, for further analysis.
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Amid high egg prices, social media users are claiming that common chicken feed products are preventing their own hens from laying eggs. Some have gone a step further to suggest that feed producers intentionally made their products deficient to stop backyard egg production and force consumers to buy eggs at inflated prices. But experts say high egg prices are caused by bird flu and inflation. And while feed quality can affect egg production, there are more mundane explanations for backyard flock owners’ reported low egg yields, including environmental reasons like cold weather or insufficient light, rather than a broad conspiracy.
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