Month: December 2023

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has strongly condemned Russia’s plans to hold presidential elections on occupied Ukrainian territory in the spring. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called the planned elections “null and void” and pledged that any international observers sent to monitor them would “face criminal responsibility.” Lawmakers in Russia on Thursday set the country’s 2024 presidential

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used a speech on human rights to accuse the West of “barbarism” for its stance on the Israel-Hamas war and what he alleged was its toleration of Islamophobia. Erdogan told a packed hall in Istanbul the day before the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — John Littlejohn remembers the days when lots of people had a couple of dollars to spare to buy a copy of Street Sense, the local paper that covers issues related to the homeless and employs unhoused individuals as its vendors. Today, he’s finding fewer people are walking

By LAURA UNGAR AP Science Writer A woman whose fetus was unlikely to survive called more than a dozen abortion clinics before finding one that would take her, only to be put on weekslong waiting lists. A teen waited seven weeks for an abortion because it took her mother that long to get her an

By LAURA UNGAR AP Science Writer A woman whose fetus was unlikely to survive called more than a dozen abortion clinics before finding one that would take her, only to be put on weekslong waiting lists. A teen waited seven weeks for an abortion because it took her mother that long to get her an

By SOPHIKO MEGRELIDZE and ELISE MORTON Associated Press TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Hundreds of people have marched in Georgia’s capital to support the Caucasus region country becoming a candidate for European Union membership. The EU is expected to announce Dec. 15 whether it has decided to grant Georgia candidate status, a crucial milestone for potential

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — The four members of Maine’s congressional delegation are calling for an Army investigation into the events leading up to a mass shooting in the state. Their call follows a meeting with families affected by the killings. Army reservist Robert Card killed 18 people in a bowling

By JULIA FRANKEL, ADAM GELLER and TIM SULLIVAN Associated Press HERZLIYA, Israel (AP) — After seven weeks held hostage in the tunnels of Gaza, they are finally free to laugh and chat and play. But some of the children who have come back from captivity are still reluctant to raise their voices above a whisper.

By FARAI MUTSAKA and TSVANGIRAYI MUKWAZHI Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe is holding special elections for nine seats in Parliament after opposition lawmakers were removed from their positions and disqualified from running again. The opposition called it an illegal push by the ruling ZANU-PF party to bolster its parliamentary majority and possibly change

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he is confident that his troubled government will find a good solution to a budget crisis triggered by a court ruling last month. He promised his center-left party on Saturday that there will be no dismantling of the country’s welfare state. Leaders

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines and its treaty ally, the United States, have separately condemned a high-seas assault by the Chinese coast guard and suspected militia ships that repeatedly blasted water cannons to block three Philippine fisheries vessels from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. The noontime

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Protesters at the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit have demonstrated for imprisoned human rights activists in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, the past and current host of the negotiations. Demonstrators carried signs Saturday bearing the image of Emirati activist Ahmed Mansoor and Egyptian

By NAJIB JOBAIN, SAM MAGDY and ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip overnight into Saturday in relentless bombardments, including some of the dwindling slivers of land Palestinians had been told to evacuate to in the territory’s south. The latest strikes came a day after

ROME (AP) — A fire has broken out in a hospital on Rome’s outskirts, killing at least four people. The blaze also forced the evacuation of the St. John the Evangelist hospital in Tivoli, officials said Saturday. The Tivoli mayor’s office says patients in intensive care were transferred immediately to other hospitals via ambulance. Less-critical

By MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press The future of fossil fuels that are warming the planet are at the core of negotiations at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai. There’s a push to phase them out, but in the background of those discussions are technologies for carbon capture and carbon removal. Oil companies argue they

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — If you’re a Democrat with money to burn and friends in high places, you can spend thousands on tickets to a fundraiser with President Joe Biden. If not, keep reading to see what you’re missing. With an election year around the corner, Biden

By STEPHEN GROVES and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A deal to provide further U.S. assistance to Ukraine by year-end appears to be increasingly out of reach for President Joe Biden. The impasse is deepening in Congress despite dire warnings from the White House about the consequences of inaction as Republicans insist on

By HANNA ARHIROVA, KARL RITTER and MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press KORCZOWA, Poland (AP) — Ukrainian charities and companies supplying the country’s military warn that problems are growing as Polish truck drivers show no sign of ending a monthlong border blockade. Pickup trucks and tourniquets bound for Ukraine’s battlefield are stuck in a mileslong line. Components

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidates will cross paths again in Iowa just days after a fractious debate and as the countdown to the caucuses nears the one-month mark. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will make their case —

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press CASPAR BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A welding hammer strapped to her wrist, Joy Hollenback slipped on blue fins and swam into the churning, chilly Pacific surf one fall morning to do her part to save Northern California’s vanishing kelp forests. Hollenback floated on the swaying surface to regulate her breathing

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Behind bars in penal colonies or in self-exile abroad, Russian opposition figures vow they will still put up a fight against President Vladimir Putin as he seeks yet another term in office in an election in March. Although they believe Putin will be declared the winner

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and DÁNICA COTO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A century-old territorial dispute is boiling over between neighbors Guyana and Venezuela. It’s steeped in patriotism and deepened by the discovery of oil. The Venezuelan government is seizing on the disagreement to boost support ahead of a presidential election among a population

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Two of Houston’s most powerful and longest serving political titans are facing off in a mayoral runoff election to see who will lead the nation’s fourth largest city. Voters in Saturday’s election are choosing between U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire. Houston,

By SETH BORENSTEIN, DAVID KEYTON and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Protests aimed at pressuring nations to move decisively to stop climate change were expected to be their most intense yet on Saturday, a “Global Day of Action” with events at United Nations-led talks in Dubai and around the world.

By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court has put on hold a judge’s ruling that approved an abortion for a pregnant woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis. The order Friday throws into limbo an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S. The

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations Security Council took no immediate action at a closed emergency meeting requested by Guyana following Venezuela’s recent referendum claiming the vast oil- and mineral-rich Essequibo region that makes up a large part of its neighbor. But diplomats said the widespread view of

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A win in Iowa for Nikki Haley doesn’t necessarily mean a win in the state’s Republican presidential caucuses. Haley says, “We just need to have a good showing in Iowa.” The former South Carolina governor was answering a question during a town hall event Friday

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a story published December 7, 2023, about a cash payment program for Californians leaving prison, The Associated Press used incorrect pronouns for Carmen Garcia. The proper pronoun is she, not he.

Associated Press Attorneys for Amazon have asked a federal judge to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against the e-commerce giant. It argues the agency is attacking policies that benefit consumers and competition. Amazon’s response Friday came more than two months after the federal agency — joined by 17 states — filed the historic

The Associated Press Three University of Nevada, Las Vegas, faculty members died this week and another was critically injured when a lone gunman walked onto campus and opened fire in a building housing the business school. The shooting stoked fear on the 30,000-student campus just miles from the Las Vegas Strip where the deadliest mass

MIAMI (AP) — Max Strus didn’t win a Larry O’Brien Trophy during his time in Miami. He won an Emmy instead. Strus, who left the Heat for the Cleveland Cavaliers last summer as a free agent, received his Emmy statuette for being part of a show detailing his path to the NBA and Miami. The

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, facing scrutiny for his decadelong friendship with the embattled founder of an anti-child-trafficking organization, announced Friday he will not seek reelection in 2024. The Republican had previously announced in September that he would seek a fourth term. Reyes is now

DALLAS (AP) — Flight attendants at Southwest Airlines are saying no to a contract offer hammered out by their union and the airline. The Transport Workers Union Local 556 announced the results Friday. Union President Lyn Montgomery says they’ll go back to the bargaining table. Southwest is also negotiating with pilots, who have tried twice

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana secretary of state is appealing a ruling that a law stipulating voting requirements for a candidate’s party affiliation is unconstitutional. The decision lifted the hopes of a U.S. Senate hopeful who wants to run as a Republican. The Indiana attorney general’s office filed the notice of appeal Friday on behalf

By TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville Police say they have “exhausted all available investigative avenues” in the hunt for the person who leaked pages from a school shooter’s journals to a conservative commentator. The department sent an email on Friday announcing the findings. It says investigators determined two detectives took photos

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Fox News is pushing back against a former reporter’s lawsuit saying he was targeted and fired for challenging false claims about the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The network argued Friday that Jason Donner had not shown he faced illegal discrimination. The nation’s

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts Saturday in their latest three-way talks on the North Korean nuclear threat and other regional challenges. The meeting in Seoul comes at a time when tensions on the Korean Peninsula

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities say 11 people are dead following a clash between gunmen from a criminal gang and residents of a small farming community in central Mexico. Police in the State of Mexico, which abuts Mexico City, say the clash occurred Friday in the hamlet of Texcaltitlan. The community is about 80