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MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has echoed U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim the conflict in Ukraine could have been prevented had he been in the White House in 2022. He also said Moscow is ready for talks with the U.S. on a broad range of issues. In an interview Friday with Russian state TV, Putin praised Trump as a “clever and pragmatic man” focused on U.S. interests. The Russian leader said that along with the Ukrainian conflict, Russia and the U.S. have a lot of other things on their agenda, including nuclear arms control and economic issues.

(AP) — Economic losses from hurricanes and other natural disasters soared in the U.S. last year and were above average globally, reflecting another year of costly severe storms, floods and droughts. Damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton helped push total economic losses from natural disasters in the U.S. to $217.8 billion last year, an 85.3% increase from 2023, according to insurance broker Aon PLC. The hurricanes, deadly floods in Spain and other natural disasters drove worldwide economic losses to $368 billion last year, according to Aon. That’s a 7.3% decline from 2023, but about 14% higher than the annual average going back to 2000.

The Jeff Davis Parish Police Jury pushed discussion over a price increase request made by Waste Connection trash pick-up service to next month’s agenda meeting.

(The Center Square) — Louisiana's gambling industry wrapped up December with mixed performance across its various gaming sectors, according to the latest data from the Louisiana State Police.