SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jeffrey R. Holland, a high-ranking official in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was next in line to become the faith’s president, has died. He was 85.

Holland died early Saturday morning from complications associated with kidney disease, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced on its website.

Holland, who died in Salt Lake City, led a governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which helps set church policy while overseeing the many business interests of what is known widely as the Mormon church.

He was the next longest-tenured member of the Quorum of the Twelve after President Dallin H. Oaks, making him next in line to lead the church under a long-established succession plan.

Henry B. Eyring, who is 92 and one of Oaks’ two top counselors, is now next in line for the presidency.

Holland had been hospitalized during the Christmas holiday for treatment related to ongoing health complications, the church said. Experts on the faith pointed to his declining health in October when Oaks did not select Holland as a counselor. He attended several church events that month in a wheelchair.

His death leaves a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve that Oaks will fill in coming months, likely by calling a new apostle from a lower-tier leadership council. Apostles are all men in accordance with the church’s all-male priesthood.

Holland grew up in St. George, Utah, and worked for many years in education administration before his call to join the ranks of church leadership. He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University, the Utah-based faith’s flagship school, from 1980 to 1989 and was a commissioner of the church’s global education system.

Under his leadership, the Provo university worked to improve interfaith relations and established a satellite campus in Jerusalem. The Anti-Defamation League later honored Holland with its Torch of Liberty Award for helping foster greater understanding between Christian and Jewish communities.

Holland is widely remembered for a 2021 speech in which he called on church members to take up metaphorical muskets in defense of the faith’s teachings against same-sex marriage. The talk, known colloquially as “the musket fire speech,” became required reading for BYU freshmen in 2024, raising concern among LGBTQ+ students and advocates.

Holland was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Terry Holland. He is survived by their three children, 13 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

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This story has been corrected to show that Holland was preceded in death by his wife.

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Associated Press Writer Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared Saturday that his country “is willing to do whatever it takes” to end its war with Russia ahead of a meeting Sunday in Florida with President Donald Trump.

In a series of posts on X, the Ukrainian leader said, “If the whole world – Europe and America – is on our side, together we will stop Putin,” but, “if anyone – whether the U.S. or Europe – is on Russia’s side, this means the war will continue.”

“There are no other options here. And this is a risk for all countries in the world. Because Russia will not stop, regardless of any agreements, any eloquent messages from them. They will not stop at Ukraine,” Zelenskyy warned. He is set to meet with Trump in Florida on Sunday, where Zelenskyy said he will share a 20-point peace proposal to end the conflict with Russia. 

The posts came after Russia launched a fresh overnight attack against Kyiv involving hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles. Zelenskyy said the attack put the “true attitude” of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle on display.

ZELENSKYY SAYS HE WILL MEET WITH TRUMP ‘BEFORE THE NEW YEAR’ 

The overnight blitz in Ukraine’s capital left at least one person dead and 27 injured, local authorities told the Associated Press. 

“Another Russian attack is still ongoing: since last night, there have been almost 500 drones – a large number of ‘shaheds’ – as well as 40 missiles, including Kinzhals. The primary target is Kyiv – energy facilities and civilian infrastructure,” Zelenskyy wrote on X on Saturday morning. “Regrettably, there have been hits, and ordinary residential buildings have been damaged. Rescuers are searching for a person trapped under the rubble of one of them.” 

“There have been many questions over the past few days – so where is Russia’s response to the proposals to end the war offered by the United States and the world? Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals and ‘shaheds’ speak for them. This is the true attitude of Putin and his inner circle,” Zelenskyy added. “They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering and increase their pressure on others around the world.”

Zelenskyy also said Saturday that, “If Russia turns even the Christmas and New Year period into a time of destroyed homes and burned apartments, of ruined power plants, then this sick activity can only be responded to with truly strong steps.” 

“The United States has this capability. Europe has this capability. Many of our partners have this capability. The key is to use it,” he declared. 

US OFFICIALS TOUT PROGRESS IN TALKS TO REACH ‘LASTING AND DURABLE PEACE’ BETWEEN UKRAINE, RUSSIA 

Zelenskyy added in another X post later Saturday morning that, “Ukraine did not start this war. Russia started it.”

“Ukraine supported President Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire. Ukraine has agreed to many different compromises, and this is documented in our draft agreements, in our 20-point plan. Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war. For us, priority number one – or the only priority – is ending the war,” Zelenskyy continued.

“For us, the priority is peace. We need to be strong at the negotiating table. To be strong, we need the support of the world: Europe and the United States. And this includes air defenses – which are currently insufficient, weaponry – which is currently insufficient, and money – thankfully, there is now a European decision, but, frankly, there is a constant shortage of funds, in particular for the production of weapons and, most importantly, drones,” he said.

Trump, ahead of the meeting with Zelenskyy, has said he will call the final shots on a peace deal to end the conflict.

“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump told Politico Friday. “So we’ll see what he’s got.” 

The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that it carried out a “massive strike” overnight, using “long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air, and sea, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles” and drones, on energy infrastructure facilities “used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” as well as “Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises.” 

The ministry said the strike came in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.

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Earlier on Saturday, the ministry said its air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Krasnodar and Adygeya overnight. 

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancey and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Istanbul, Turkiye – Turkish authorities and Libyan officials are conducting an investigation into the crash of a private jet that killed Libya’s army chief, Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, and seven other people near Ankara.

The probe, coordinated by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, is focusing on technical evidence, flight recordings, crew activity and aircraft maintenance, officials said. The French civil aviation investigations agency, BEA, has announced that it will participate in the probe.

General al-Haddad had been received in Ankara on Tuesday for talks with his Turkish counterpart, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, and Defence Minister Yasar Guler.

According to officials, the French-made Dassault Falcon 50 took off from Ankara Esenboga Airport at 2:17pm on Tuesday, heading back to Libya, reported an electrical malfunction 16 minutes later and requested an emergency return.

Radar contact was lost shortly after at 2:41 pm (17:41 GMT) while the aircraft was descending towards the runway.

Officials said there was only a two-minute window between the emergency alarm and the crash.

The probe’s many factors

The forensic examination of the bodies of General al-Haddad and his military companions was completed early on Saturday and they have been repatriated to Libya after a ceremony in their honour at an airbase outside Ankara.

The site of Tuesday’s crash – near Kesikkavak village in Haymana district, roughly 70km (43 miles) south of Ankara – has been sealed off by Turkish security forces. All wreckage, including the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, or “black boxes”, has been secured and transported for analysis, according to authorities.

As part of the prosecutor-led investigation, specialists are examining air traffic control recordings, radar data and airport security camera footage.

Authorities have also requested communication logs between the pilots and the control tower and are reviewing the crew’s rest periods, medical history and records of meals or medication taken before the flight.

Maintenance logs and documentation related to the aircraft’s most recent checks are also under scrutiny to identify any possible technical lapses.

Fuel samples have been taken from both the wreckage and airport tanks to rule out contamination or incorrect fuel use, while local weather data from the time of the crash has been requested.

If evidence points to a structural failure or design flaw, investigators said, the inquiry could be expanded to include manufacturers and maintenance contractors.

International rules and reporting timeline

Gursel Tokmakoglu, former head of the Turkish air force’s intelligence agency, said the crash should be viewed as an international case, given the number of actors involved.

“The Libyan government chartered an aircraft from a foreign country. The aircraft was manufactured in another country. The pilots were from elsewhere. The passengers were Libyan, and the crash happened in Turkiye,” he said.

“If you also consider insurance companies and international aviation bodies, this is clearly a multinational incident.”

Earlier, Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu had announced that the black boxes may be sent to another country for further analysis, raising some questions about why analysis could not be done in either Turkiye or Libya.

Tokmakoglu said Turkiye could either examine the black boxes domestically or send them abroad for further analysis.

“Transferring the recorders can help ensure greater transparency and a clearer understanding of what happened, especially in a case involving so many international stakeholders,” he said.

Tokmakoglu noted that according to preliminary findings, the aircraft transmitted the 7700 emergency “squawk” code, which indicates an emergency that requires immediate attention, and the crew reported an electrical malfunction.

However, he added, it would be premature to assume that the electrical malfunction was the cause of the aircraft’s crash.

“In aviation, an electrical failure can trigger other problems,” he said, likening such a situation to “being admitted to intensive care for heart failure but dying later from a lung infection”.

Aviation industry analyst Guntay Simsek told Al Jazeera, citing his own sources, that there are no indications so far that the crash was caused by an external factor such as an explosion, adding that the technical investigation remains ongoing.

The probe starting immediately is within general best practices after a crash, aviation industry analyst Guntay Simsek said, pointing to ICAO regulations that govern aircraft accident investigations, which require a preliminary report within 30 days and a final report within 12 months.