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BRANSON, Mo. -- Branson, Missouri, draws tens of thousands of visitors each year for its museums, rides, live shows and family activities. But behind the attractions and the flashing lights, families struggle to get by.“It’s a company town, and the company is tourism,” said Kevin Huddleston of Christian Action Ministries. “Everyone works for tourism in some way. They’re not really jobs that people can raise a family on, but that’s what people are trying to do.” Huddleston runs a food bank that helps many of Branson’s families, especially through the winter months when many attractions are closed and most tourists are gone.“Our unemployment spikes to 20%,” said Bryan Stallings of the lack of jobs during the off-season in Branson. Stallings helps run the non-profit Elevate Branson, which helps families get jobs and services they need.The tourists usually come back with the warmer weather, but this year, COVID-19 came instead, skyrocketing hunger higher than ever before.“Just at the time when people were getting their callbacks to work or expecting to get their callbacks to work, they got their layoff notices this year,” said Huddleston. “So it was a double whammy.”Huddleston said his group normally serves food to about 4,000 families per month, but during the pandemic, they’ve seen more than 5,000 and 6,000 families per month. “The demand for service was unprecedented,” he said. “It was so high we had never seen the numbers we were seeing.”Aaron Taylor has visited Christian Action Ministries several times for assistance. He said standing in line is a painful reminder of his reality.“The coronavirus has completely destroyed what I came to Branson for,” said Taylor. “I came to Branson to get sober.” Taylor worked with a local hotel chain doing construction, hoping he could start a new chapter.“The day that coronavirus hit, I was laid off,” he said. “After losing my job, became homeless, lost the kids to state custody because I wasn’t able to take care of them. My kids deserve better than that.” He said places like the food bank have kept his family afloat, but now, he said he feels like he’s drowning.“It’s taken me a depression level and a shame level where I’m no longer sober, and I, for the last month, I haven’t even had the desire to be sober,” said Taylor.His struggle is not the only pain in the parking lot.“It’s gotten hard on us because there’s not a lot of income coming into the household,” said Jonathan Wayne Robinette Sr. who lives in Branson and works at a local hotel.“We have no public transpiration, we are 1,300 units short of having affordable housing, and we’re seasonal low-wage jobs because it’s based on seasonal jobs and tourism so it kind of creates this perfect storm of poverty,” said Stallings.For some, there is hope. “God willing, it gets better,” said Robinette Sr. “We just take it one day at a time.” Yet, for many in the tourist town, this pandemic has shown no mercy. “I don’t necessarily understand communities like Branson,” said Taylor. “It’s probably time for me to leave.” 3056

BONITA, Calif. (KGTV) - A nine hour standoff in Bonita has finally come to an end.Deputies have taken 37-year-old James Gilbert, who was wanted for a domestic violence incident, into custody.He has been booked into San Diego Central Jail on charges of making threats with a weapon, making terrorist threats and resisting arrest.Gilbert refused to come out of the home for hours.A San Diego Sheriff's Department SWAT team brought in two BearCats, made multiple flyovers with a helicopter and even called in a bomb squad.Two blocks of Allen School lane were blocked off all day due to the incident.Witnesses say a man believed to be the suspects brother tried running past the Sheriff's tape, ignoring deputies who tried to stop him.That man was handcuffed and taken into custody.Nearby Ella B. Allen Elementary School and Daly Academy were put on heightened security in light of the crisis. Children left the campuses safely after school let out. Deputies were able to get Gilbert out of the home shortly after 6 p.m.10News is monitoring developments in this story. 1072

BRUSSELS (AP) — Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year’s chaos for cross-border commerce and bring a measure of certainty to businesses after years of Brexit turmoil. The breakthrough on Thursday came after months of tense and often testy negotiations that whittled differences down to three key issues: fair-competition rules, mechanisms for resolving future disputes and fishing rights. In a statement from Downing Street, the Prime Minister's residence, said, "We have got Brexit done and we can now take full advantage of the fantastic opportunities available to us."Now comes the race to approve and ratify the deal before the U.K. leaves the EU’s economic structures on Jan. 1. The British and European parliaments both must hold votes on the agreement. And key aspects of the future relationship between the 27-nation bloc and its former member remain unresolved. 944

Black and white Miami Dolphins players and coach Brian Flores have released a video on social media saying they’ll protest racial injustice by remaining in their locker room during the national anthem. The two-minute, 15-second video featured nearly 20 players trading stern rhymes about the nation’s social protest movement. The NFL plans to play the national anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — the Black national anthem — before every game this weekend, including the Dolphins’ opener Sunday at New England. Players have been asked several times this week by reporters whether they’ll stand or kneel for the songs.Players took the league's owners to task for efforts being made by the league to promote social justice. "This attempt to unify only creates more divide. So we'll skip this song and dance, and as a team we'll stay inside," the Dolphins combined to say, adding that owners are offering "fluff" and "empty gestures" to their cause. 959

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Pilgrims from around the world flocked to Bethlehem on Monday for what was believed to be the biblical West Bank city's largest Christmas celebrations in years.Hundreds of locals and foreign visitors milled in Manger Square as bagpipe-playing Palestinian Scouts paraded past a giant Christmas tree. Crowds flooded the Church of the Nativity, venerated as the traditional site of Jesus's birth, and waited to descend into the ancient grotto.Palestinian Tourism Minister Rula Maaya said all Bethlehem hotels were fully booked, and the city was preparing to host an "astounding" 10,000 tourists overnight."We haven't seen numbers like this in years," she said, adding that the 3 million visitors to Bethlehem this year exceeded last year's count by hundreds of thousands.Solemn-faced nuns and enthused tourists crossed themselves and bowed over their rosaries as they entered the church, the air thick with incense.Linda Selbmann, 24, of Chemnitz, Germany, said she had long dreamed of celebrating Christmas in Bethlehem."It's wild to be in the place it all began," she said, sipping Turkish coffee in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary cradling the infant Jesus.The Christmas festivities traditionally bring a boost of holiday cheer to Christians in the Holy Land, whose numbers have shrunk over the decades relative to the general population and now make up just a minority.As the sun set on Manger Square, the enormous Christmas tree lit up and the city's ancient passageways shone with colored string lights and flashing crosses. Choirs sang classic carols and hymns, their voices echoing throughout the plaza.Palestinian youths peddled Santa hats to tourists and shop windows bearing signs reading "Jesus Is Here" displayed olivewood Nativity scenes and other souvenirs.Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, entered Bethlehem after crossing an Israeli military checkpoint from Jerusalem.At a midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, Pizzaballa addressed a packed house of worshippers and dignitaries that included Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.Pizzaballa said the recent restoration of the church was a metaphor for recent events in the region."The mosaics were splendid, but covered by a layer of dirt," he said at the start of his homily."This last year was terrible," said Pizzaballa, referring to the upsurge in violence between Israelis and Palestinians, "so we all tend to think that all is dirty. But if you remove this layer of dirt we see how wonderful the mosaics are.""Since it's Christmas, we have to be positive," the archbishop said.Palestinian security personnel and vehicles stationed around the square reminded visitors that amid the merriment, they couldn't quite escape the city's political reality. Bethlehem is located in the Palestinian-controlled area of the West Bank, and much of the city lies behind Israel's separation barrier."Last year things were worse because the injustice was so obvious," said Maaya, the tourism minister, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, incensing the Palestinians and igniting clashes. "But this year doesn't feel so different. We are still occupied, and we always have problems," she said.Monjed Jadou, a Bethlehem resident, said that although he noticed an impressive number of foreigners in the square, the crowds of Palestinian visitors appeared thinner than usual."Security is tighter around here than it's been in a while, and the streets feel less safe. I think people are afraid," he said, adding that his friends from the West Bank city of Ramallah decided not to come because the Israeli army had been blocking roads around the city.The West Bank has seen a spike in violence in recent weeks, set off by a pair of deadly shootings targeting Israeli soldiers and settlers claimed by the Islamic militant group Hamas. Israel has ratcheted up security at checkpoints as it presses on with its manhunt for suspected Palestinian assailants.Other visitors seemed unconcerned by recent violence in the area."This has been No. 1 on my bucket list," said Yohannes Denu, 42, of Los Angeles. "There's no better place to be as a Christian, it takes me back to all the rich stories I heard growing up. To be at the center of my faith, it's joyous, it's unbelievable."In anticipation of the midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, the climax of Christmas Eve celebrations, Palestinians and pilgrims huddled in groups, some singing "Silent Night" and carrying candles."This is a day of celebration," Maaya said. "And we have hope that one day we'll be able to celebrate like everyone else." 4740

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