‘Skywalker’ rises again; ‘Little Women’ go big at box office
By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer
“Star Wars” was still rising at the box office, while “Little Women” opened big. Studio estimates Sunday showed that “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” brought in $72 million over the weekend to remain the top-earning movie, well ahead of second-place “Jumanji: The Next Level.” Director Greta Gerwig’s re-imagining of the literary classic “Little Women” had a $16.5-million weekend and a five-day total of $29 million since its Christmas opening, a major performance for a smaller-audience film with a budget dwarfed by the top two. The drama is gaining momentum as an awards-season favorite.

Taliban council agrees to cease-fire in Afghanistan
By KATHY GANNON and RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press
The Taliban say the ruling council has agreed to a temporary cease-fire nationwide, without saying when it would begin. It provides a window during which a peace agreement with the United States could be signed. A peace deal would allow Washington to bring home its troops from Afghanistan and end its 18-year military engagement there, America’s longest. The U.S. wants any deal to include a promise from the Taliban that Afghanistan would not be used as a base by terrorist groups. The U.S. currently has an estimated 12,000 troops in Afghanistan. The duration of the cease-fire announced Sunday was not specified but it is being suggested it would last for 10 days.

US strikes hit Iraq militia blamed in contractor’s death
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press
The U.S. says it has carried out military strikes in Iraq and Syria targeting a militia blamed for an attack that killed an American contractor. Defense spokesman Jonathan Hoffman says U.S. forces conducted “precision defensive strikes” against five sites of Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Iraqi militia. The U.S. blames the militia for a rocket barrage Friday that killed a U.S. contractor in northern Iraq. Iraq’s Joint Operations Command says American airstrikes killed four militia fighters.

2 dead, 1 hurt in shooting at church near Fort Worth, Texas
First responders say two people were killed in a shooting at a church near Fort Worth, Texas, and a third person has been taken to a hospital. MedStar Mobile Healthcare spokeswoman Macara Trusty told the Associated Press on Sunday that one person died at the church in White Settlement, about 8 miles west of Fort Worth and another died en route to a hospital.

5 stabbed at Hanukkah celebration in rabbi’s New York home
By RYAN TARINELLI and JUSTIN MADDEN Associated Press
Authorities say five people were stabbed when a man attacked a Hanukkah celebration north of New York City. The town of Ramapo’s police chief says New York City police located a vehicle and possible suspected wanted in connection with the Saturday night stabbings in Monsey. Public records show the attack took place at the home of a rabbi who leads an adjacent synagogue. Monsey is one of several Hudson Valley towns that has received an influx of Hasidic Jews. Jewish communities in the New York City metropolitan region have been shaken by a string of recent attacks targeting Jews.

Trump faces raft of foreign policy challenges in new year
By DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press
President Donald Trump will start the new year knee-deep in foreign policy challenges. At the same time, he’ll have to deal with a likely impeachment trial in the Senate and his campaign for reelection. Trump says he believes his impeachment him will help him win re-election. But it could lessen the time, focus and political clout he needs to resolve complex global issues like North Korea’a nuclear provocations. Trump also is facing simmering tensions with Iran, fallout from his decision to reduce troops in Syria, ongoing unease with Russia and Turkey, and questions about the future of U.S.-Taliban talks.