Xi’s Tough Talk on Taiwan Backfires, as Tsai Support Surges

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to push Taiwanese closer to unification with a new year speech mixing carrots and sticks. That hasn’t panned out. Instead, his independence-leaning Taiwanese counterpart, Tsai Ing-wen, has enjoyed a surge in support following a brutal drubbing of her political party in local elections last year, according…

Flights Canceled, Offices Close Amid Frigid Midwest Weather

By BLAKE NICHOLSON , Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A deadly arctic deep freeze enveloped the Midwest with record-breaking temperatures on Wednesday, triggering widespread closures of schools and businesses, and the canceling of more than 1,500 flights from Chicago’s airports. The cold even prompted the U.S. Postal Service to suspend mail delivery to a…