Troops going to Gambia:

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh declared a 90-day state of emergency two days before he’s supposed hand over power to the winner of last month’s election, as West African nations prepared to send a military force to remove him from power. In a speech on state TV late Tuesday, Jammeh said the measure was necessary because of the “unprecedented and extraordinary amount of interference” in the Dec. 1 ballot. He also cited the Supreme Court’s inability to hear his petition disputing the outcome of the vote. The winner of the vote, Adama Barrow, who’s in neighboring Senegal, is preparing for his planned inauguration on Thursday, according to a statement. Regional heads of state have pledged to attend the ceremony.

Czech boars still radioactive:

PRAGUE — An agency in the Czech Republic says about a half of all wild boars in the country’s southwest are radioactive and considered unsafe for consumption due to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. It says the animals remain contaminated nearly 31 years after the Chernobyl disaster.

Tajani to head EU parliament:

BRUSSELS — Antonio Tajani of the EPP Christian Democrat group was elected president of the European Parliament on Tuesday in a daylong polling series during which he defeated his socialist opponent. Tajani’s victory gives the Christian Democrat group all the biggest jobs in the EU, with Donald Tusk as Council President and Jean-Claude Juncker as Commission chief.

Rolls to pay $808 million:

LONDON — Jet engine maker Rolls-Royce has agreed to pay $808 million to settle bribery and corruption charges brought by authorities in Britain, the U.S. and Brazil.

Rolls-Royce said in a statement that the “voluntary agreements” will result in the suspension of prosecution.

Abortion at lowest rate:

The rate of abortions in the United States has fallen to its lowest level since the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, according to a report out today from the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. In 2014, there were 14.6 abortions per every 1,000 women ages 15 through 44 in the United States, down considerably from a peak of 29.3 abortions per 1,000 in the early 1980s. Those numbers suggest abortions are about half as common today as they were in the early 1980s.

Gitmo promise unkept:

WASHINGTON — The White House said Tuesday that the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba will still be open when President Barack Obama leaves office, conceding that a core campaign promise will go unfulfilled. Over the weekend, the U.S. transferred 10 low-level detainees from Guantanamo to Oman. That lowered the number of detainees to 45, with a few more releases expected in the administration's final days.

Napolitano fighting cancer:

SAN FRANCISCO — University of California President Janet Napolitano, a former U.S. Homeland Security secretary, has been undergoing cancer treatment for five months and has been hospitalized after suffering complications, the school system said Tuesday. The UC Office of the President said Napolitano, 59, was diagnosed last August but did not say what type of cancer she has or respond to inquiries seeking further details.

Ex-Philly mob boss dies:

PHILADELPHIA — Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, whose reign over the Philadelphia Mafia in the 1980s was one of the bloodiest in its history, has died at a federal medical center in North Carolina, a prison spokeswoman said Tuesday. He was 87.

High court protesters arrested:

WASHINGTON — A Supreme Court spokeswoman says 18 demonstrators have been arrested outside the court during a protest against the death penalty. The protest on Tuesday marked 40 years since the first person was executed after the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976.

U.S. pays $500 million to U.N.:

With just three days until President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, the State Department Tuesday announced a half-billion dollar contribution to the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund, part of $3 billion the U.S. has promised to the fund under President Obama. That’s on top of another $500 million transferred last year, meaning the United States has now sent $1 billion to the fund.