There's no legal or historical precedent for closing U.S. borders to the world's 1.6 billion Muslims, but neither is there any Supreme Court case that clearly prevents a president or Congress from doing so.

Legal experts are divided over how the high court would react to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's call for a temporary halt to Muslims entering the United States.

Street artist Banksy has taken on the migrant crisis in a new mural at a migrant camp in France.

The elusive graffiti artist has depicted the late Apple guru Steve Jobs — whose biological father was from Syria — carrying a black garbage bag and an early model of the Macintosh computer.

Nicki Minaj promised to keep boyfriend Meek Mill on the straight and narrow as a judge threatened jail over his latest parole infractions.

Minaj testified Thursday in Philadelphia, after a defense lawyer said the couple was seriously discussing marriage. The 33-year-old Minaj disclosed only that they were living together, but conceded she might have more influence over the rapper than his parole officer.

Israel's state-owned electric utility says Egyptian natural gas companies will pay it compensation of $1.76 billion for halting gas supplies.

Egypt stopped selling natural gas to Israel in 2012 after months of attacks on a pipeline by militants in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. The Israeli electric company sued the Egyptian providers EGPC and EGAS for $4 billion in damages. The company said it suffered heavy damages after gas supplies were halted and that it was forced to buy more expensive fuel to generate electricity, raising its costs

Volkswagen car sales in Britain dropped by 20 percent in November compared to the same time last year following the company's admission it had cheated on U.S. diesel emissions tests.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says there were 12,958 Volkswagen registrations last month in the U.K., compared to 16,196 in November 2014. Volkswagen admitted in September it had installed a device in computer software that allowed it to rig emission tests.

A suicide bomber targeted Shiite Muslims taking part in an annual pilgrimage in Baghdad on Monday, killing nine people and wounding another 21, Iraqi security officials said.

The attack targeted a checkpoint along a route used by Shiite pilgrims in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of al-Shaab. Four soldiers who were guarding the route were among the dead.

President Barack Obama recognized 17 Americans with the nation's highest civilian award on Tuesday, including giants of the entertainment industry such as Barbra Streisand and Steven Spielberg, baseball legends Willie Mays and Yogi Berra, and politicians and activists, including a Japanese-American civil rights leader.

"Today we celebrate some extraordinary people: innovators, artists and leaders who contribute to America's strength as a nation," Obama said.

NATO member Turkey on Tuesday shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border, an act President Vladimir Putin said would have "serious consequences" for ties between two key protagonists in the Syria war.

The Turkish army said the plane was shot down by two F-16s after violating Turkish airspace 10 times within a five-minute period, an account challenged by Moscow which said it was over Syria.

Hizbullah condemned Monday a bill approved by the U.S. Senate to block its financing, describing it as "a new crime by American institutions against our people and nation."

The party said in a statement that the "American aggression" the group is facing is the price for "resisting all evil projects against our holy places, rights, nations and people."

Hundreds of people were gathered at a New Orleans playground for a music video shoot when two groups in the crowd opened fire on each other, wounding 16 people in the shocking Sunday evening violence, police said.

Police were on their way to break up a big crowd at Bunny Friend Playground when gunfire erupted at the park in the city's 9th Ward, the police said in a statement Sunday.