PRESIDENT-ELECT

Trump says U.S. should not intervene in Syrian conflict

WASHINGTON>> President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria amid an insurgent offensive that has reached the suburbs of the capital, declaring in a social media post, “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.”

Trump argued that Syrian President Bashar Assad did not deserve U.S. support to stay in power.

Assad is allied with Russia and Iran, and the Biden administration, which considers the Syrian rebels leading the offensive to be aligned with terrorist organizations, has suggested that their fast-moving advances toward Damascus demonstrate just how distracted those countries are by the war in Ukraine and other conflicts.

The Biden administration also has said it is not backing the offensive and has not suggested the U.S. military will intervene.

MINNESOTA

Ruby slippers from ‘Wizard of Oz’ auctioned for $28M

minneapolis>> A pair of iconic ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” and stolen from a museum nearly two decades ago fetched $28 million in an auction.

Heritage Auctions had estimated that they would fetch $3 million or more. Online bidding opened last month and by Friday had reached $1.55 million, or $1.91 million including the buyer’s premium, a commission that the buyer pays, said Robert Wilonsky, a vice president with the Dallas-based auction house. More than 800 people were tracking the slippers, and the company’s web page for the auction had hit nearly 43,000 page views by Thursday, he said.

— Denver Post wire services