Month: January 2024

By SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — France’s new Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné arrived in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to meet with his counterpart in a sign of support for Ukraine as Russia’s full-scale invasion nears its second anniversary. The minister reiterated on Saturday the French government’s backing of Ukraine “as long as

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British D-Day veteran Bill Gladden turned 100 on Saturday, a day after his niece threw a surprise birthday party for him. It was a big fuss he didn’t really expect, though the old soldier had tears in his eyes long before he caught sight of a cake

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is calling for calm and a readiness to accept compromises as the country faces protests by farmers angry about a plan to cut their fuel subsidies. He warned Saturday of extremists stoking rage against a backdrop of wider discontent. Farmers have blocked major

By NAJIB JOBAIN, DAVID RISING and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Health and rescue officials say more than 30 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip as concerns grow over a lack of fuel and supplies for overburdened hospitals. Rescue workers searched through the twisted rubble of a

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban says Pakistan has effectively closed a key northwestern border crossing with Afghanistan to truck drivers. Pakistani authorities began requesting passports and visas from Afghan drivers, according to a Taliban official. Truckers have for years been able to pass the border without documents so they generally

By HAU DINH and ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo has visited Vietnamese automaker VinFast’s factory and said that he would create the necessary conditions for the multinational to be able to build a plant and invest in Indonesia quickly. On a trip to the sprawling factory in the

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party will celebrate Saturday the 112th anniversary of its establishment ahead of national elections, expected to be the toughest since it came to power in 1994. Thousands of supporters are expected to convene at Mbombela Stadium in the Mpumalanga province where

MULLAN, Idaho (AP) — Authorities in Idaho on Friday located and retrieved the body of a man who was caught in an avalanche while backcountry skiing with two other men who were rescued the previous day. The two men were located after authorities received a GPS alert of a possible fatality in an avalanche near

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN Associated Press SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A prolonged dry spell is sweeping across the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir during the harshest phase of winter, leaving many people sick and farmers worried about impending water shortages. Daytime temperatures have been high­ for about a month now, while nights continue to be freezing and

By ANDREW WILKS Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey carried out airstrikes targeting Kurdish militants in neighboring Iraq and Syria on Saturday, the Turkish Defense Ministry said. This comes a day after an attack on a Turkish military base in Iraq killed nine Turkish soldiers. The defense ministry said fighter jets destroyed caves, bunkers, shelters

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Officials in Colombia say that a mudslide has killed at least 18 people and left dozens injured in the country’s west. The National Disaster Risk Management Unit said in a statement that the avalanche covered a highway on a busy municipal road in a mountainous area that connects the cities of

By ISABEL DEBRE and NAJIB JOBAIN Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — For a few hours every day or night, Dr. Suhaib Alhamss tries to sleep on a thin mattress in an operating room of the hospital he directs in the southern Gaza Strip. He’s too tired to open his eyes but too tense

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The expansive version of free speech long accepted in American society is facing more forceful competition than it has seen in a century. On college campuses, a newer version of free speech is emerging as young generations redraw the line where expression crosses into harm. Their

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In a new twist in the abortion access fight, congressional Republicans are trying to block a Biden administration spending rule that they say will cut off millions of dollars to anti-abortion counseling centers. The rule would prohibit states from sending federal funds earmarked for needy Americans to

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Just a few months after he took office, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a moratorium to halt federal executions — a stark contrast after his predecessor carried out 13 in six months. Under Garland’s watch and a president who vowed to abolish the death penalty, the Justice

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Every morning, before she’s even out of her pajamas, Rachel Goldberg-Polin tears a piece of masking tape off the roll, grabs a pen and writes the number of days her son has been held hostage in Gaza. Then she sticks the tape to her chest. Her son,

By SONIA PÉREZ D. Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo’s imminent inauguration and the unrelenting pursuit of him and his party by the Attorney General are recurring topics over dinner tables in this country, reflecting a political awakening in a population weary of corruption. Despite Arévalo’s wide margin of victory in

By TERRY TANG and NOREEN NASIR Associated Press As communities nationwide prepare this weekend to celebrate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with events ranging from parades to prayer services, some will take a cue from the slain civil rights icon’s history of protest to demonstrate against the war in Gaza and draw attention

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Sunday marks 100 days that Israel and Hamas have been at war. The war already is the longest and deadliest between Israel and the Palestinians since Israel’s establishment in 1948, and the fighting shows no signs of ending. Israel declared war in response to Hamas’ cross-border attack

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, MATTHEW LEE and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration keeps pressing Israel to reengage with Palestinians as partners once fighting in Gaza is over and support their eventual independence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps saying no. Even on actions to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians, the

By JIM SALTER and CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brutally cold weather could prove a deadly challenge Saturday amid a continuing wave of Arctic storms that has hammered much of the country with blinding snow, freezing rain and whipping winds. Governors from New York to Louisiana declared states of emergency ahead of

By DAN IKPOYI and CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian children with amputated limbs are getting help to walk again and fight social stigma through the support of a group that has given free artificial limbs to more than 500 children. One such child is 10-year-old Princess, whose leg was injured in

By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s two main drug cartels have long taken their deadly rivalry with them as they expand into distant markets from Asia to Australia to Africa. But never before have they done so with such massive street gang violence and a state of emergency as erupted this

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer Generations of Americans have held firm to a version of free speech that makes room for even the vilest of views. It’s girded by a belief that the good ideas rise above the bad, that no one should be punished for voicing an idea — except in rare cases

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — After almost five years of engagement and a postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has married longtime partner Clarke Gayford in a private ceremony. Details of the event have been closely held by the pair, but the ceremony was staged at a luxury

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Everyone has ended up walking away a winner at the American Film Institute Awards. The annual invite-only luncheon honored 10 films and 10 television shows on Friday. Stars at the event included Margot Robbie, Meryl Streep and Leonardo DiCaprio. Most appeared in a

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of an inmate who is scheduled to be the first person executed with nitrogen gas.  Kenneth Eugene Smith is scheduled to be executed Jan. 25 by nitrogen hypoxia. Alabama attempted to put Smith to death by lethal injection in 2022. The lethal injection

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A Russian billionaire who accused Sotheby’s of teaming up with a Swiss art dealer to cheat him of tens of millions of dollars became tearful while testifying in court and calling for more transparency in the art market. The emotional moment came Friday as Dmitry Rybolovlev

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from Starbucks in a dispute with the National Labor Relations Board over workers who were trying to unionize a store in Memphis, Tennessee. Starbucks fired seven employees in Memphis in February 2022, citing safety. But the labor board intervened and asked a federal

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal prosecutors have urged a judge to reject former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin’s attempt to overturn his civil rights conviction in the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin filed his motion in November, saying new evidence shows that he didn’t cause Floyd’s death, and alleging ineffective counsel

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — In what would be an overhaul to Louisiana’s unique open “jungle primary” system, which has been used for most of the past 50 years, lawmakers during next week’s special session may consider shifting the state toward a closed primary. Opponents argue the change would result

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press A jailed member of the Proud Boys extremist group has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for his role in a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol. Court records show that U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly sentenced Kansas native William Chrestman on Friday to four years and

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN and SIMINA MISTREANU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The polls have opened in Taiwan as the island’s voters choose a new president in an election that could chart the trajectory of relations with China over the next four years. At stake is the peace and stability of the 110-mile-wide strip of

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles man accused of killing his wife and her parents and then stuffing their dismembered body parts into trash bags has pleaded not guilty to murder. Samuel Haskell entered pleas Friday in Los Angeles. Prosecutors say that last November, Haskell killed his wife, Mei Haskell, and her parents at

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — MyPillow chief executive and prominent election denier Mike Lindell said Friday that Fox News has stopped running his company’s commercials, disputing the network’s assertion that it is simply because he hasn’t paid his bills. Lindell went public by tweeting that that Fox, which had been one of

By DIDI TANG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with a senior Chinese diplomat as the Biden administration seeks to mitigate tensions over Taiwan as the island holds its presidential election. Blinken sat down Friday with Liu Jianchao, the Chinese Communist Party’s international minister. Hours later, he met with

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate; Governor J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill. ___ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn. ___ CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Gov. Chris Sununu, R-N.H __ CNN’s “State of the Union” — DeSantis;