AP National

Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A ban on New Zealanders wearing or displaying symbols of gang affiliation in public has taken effect, with police officers arresting a man for breaking the law three minutes later. The prohibition on displaying gang insignia anywhere outside private homes, including on clothing or in vehicles, is among

Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia and China on Wednesday opposed a U.S.-led campaign to transform the Kenya-led multinational force in Haiti helping police to tackle escalating gang violence into a U.N. peacekeeping mission. The two allies called a U.N. Security Council meeting as gangs have intensified attacks, shooting at four aircraft which has

AP Technology Writer U.S. regulators want a federal judge to break up Google to prevent the company from continuing to squash competition through its dominant search engine after a court found it had maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade. The proposed breakup floated in a 23-page document filed late Wednesday by the U.S.

AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Percival Everett’s “James,” a daring reworking of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” has won the National Book Award for fiction. Jason De León’s “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling” won for nonfiction, where finalists included Salman Rushdie’s memoir about his brutal stabbing

Associated Press/Report for America A federal judge has signed off on a settlement agreement Wednesday in a class action lawsuit alleging that an algorithm designed to score rental applicants discriminated on the basis of race and income. Plaintiffs argue that the algorithm designed by SafeRent Solutions unfairly discriminated against Black and Hispanic applicants with housing

DALLAS (AP) — The family of a man shot and killed by a Dallas police officer who said she mistook his apartment for her own has been awarded nearly $100 million in a federal civil trial. Capping a three-day trial, the jury on Wednesday found that now-former officer Amber Guyger used excessive force in the

NEW YORK (AP) — A former doctor has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing multiple patients, including children, over the span of years in the New York area. Darius A. Paduch, a former urologist, was sentenced Wednesday. He had been found guilty in May following a trial where 11

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Health Secretary Patrick Allen is leaving after less than two years on the job. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made the announcement Wednesday, saying Allen would be stepping down at the end of the day. She did not give a reason for his departure. He is the latest

Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers have rubber-stamped a new team of policy commissioners for the next five years to head one of the bloc’s most rightward-leaning executive branches ever. The lawmakers ended a week of bickering on Wednesday over the of 26 nominees to the new European Commission. Since Nov. 4, they’ve

Associated Press A Philadelphia jury has awarded $11 million to a man whose holstered Sig Sauer pistol went off by itself while he was going down the stairs. Wednesday’s jury award was the second major verdict this year against the embattled gun manufacturer over its P320 model. The jury concluded that New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer

Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Thousands of University of California workers on Wednesday began a two-day strike to protest what they say are unfair bargaining tactics by the university system. The university denies the allegations. The strike by 37,000 service and patient care workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — An Indian national who survived a treacherous trek across the U.S.-Canada border in blizzard conditions has testified that he got separated from a family of four shortly before they froze to death. Yash Patel took the stand Wednesday in the trial of Indian national Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel and Steve Shand.

Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (AP) — A study of access to polls during elections has found systemic barriers to voting on tribal lands contribute to substantial disparities in turnout. Released Tuesday by the Brennan Center for Justice, the study examines 21 states with federally recognized tribal lands that have a population of at least

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson declared that lawmakers and staff will have to use the restroom corresponding with their biological sex. It is a statement directed at Sarah McBride, the first transgender person to be elected to to Congress, months before she is set to arrive on Capitol Hill. The statement

Nvidia has once again turned out quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street’s forecasts. The company has seen soaring demand for its semiconductors, which are used to power artificial intelligence applications. Revenue nearly doubled in the latest quarter from the same period a year earlier, Nvidia said Wednesday. The company expects further strong revenue growth in

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Marquette University has selected Kimo Ah Yun as its new president. Ah Yun has been serving as the school’s acting president since June, when President Michael Lovell died in Rome after a three-year battle with cancer. The university announced Ah Yun’s appointment as president on Wednesday. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says money available to help communities hit by disasters has shrunk after back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton. Deanne Criswell warned during a Senate hearing Wednesday that the funding problems might jeopardize the ability to respond to new disasters in the future. The

DELTONA, Fla. (AP) — Two central Florida parents were charged criminally after a mother pushed a middle school resource deputy and the father punched the law enforcement officer in the face. Authorities said Wednesday that the parents in Deltona, Florida, were charged with battery on a law enforcement agent and armed robbery because the father

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has been notably quiet since the Democrats’ gut-wrenching defeat at the polls. After warning voters for years that a Donald Trump win would be calamitous for American democracy, Biden has gone largely silent on his concerns about what lays ahead for America and he has yet to

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man who was arrested for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot has been convicted of planning to kill federal law enforcement agents. The U.S. attorney’s office in Knoxville says Edward Kelley was found guilty Wednesday of conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The founder of Archegos Capital Management, a hedge fund, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for his conviction in a securities and market manipulation fraud that prosecutors say cost global investment banks billions of dollars. Bill Hwang was told the length of his prison term Wednesday in

Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican legislators have given final approval to a series of political power moves that would weaken the incoming governor and other Democratic elected officials. The Senate voted Wednesday along party lines for a measure that would alter yet again how the State Board of Elections is appointed.

HERNANDO, Miss. (AP) — A man arrested in August after a 15-hour police standoff in Chicago is being returned to Mississippi. Joshua Zimmerman escaped from the jail in DeSoto County, Mississippi, about two months before he was captured at a restaurant a few blocks from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Zimmerman was wearing street

Associated Press OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (AP) — A supplier of fuel for nuclear power plants announced a $60 million expansion in Tennessee on Wednesday, promising to resume and grow its manufacturing of high-tech centrifuges there to enrich uranium at its facility in Ohio. The expansion by Centrus Energy at its massive facility in Oak Ridge

Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Religious communities are increasingly seeking to invest in companies that match their faith values and ethical concerns, but experts say the financial market lags in providing the appropriate options. A conference in London on Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 11-12) sought to bridge that gap by bringing together financial

Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed a line of guitars, following up on the Bibles, sneakers, watches, photo books and cryptocurrency ventures launched during his third White House campaign. Trump on Wednesday posted to Truth Social a photo of himself holding what he said was a “Limited Edition ‘45’ Guitar,”

AP Pro Football Writer Donald Trump and the National Football League had an adversarial relationship during his first term in the White House. Now, players are breaking out the ‘Trump dance’ to celebrate sacks and scores. It involves swaying one’s hips slowly and swinging the arms back and forth like Trump has long done on

SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico state auditor has identified multiple instances of wasteful spending and improper use of public funds at Western New Mexico University. The Office of the State Auditor made public its findings Tuesday, saying that university management and regents failed to uphold their fiduciary responsibilities. The review cited hundreds

Tenor Jonas Kaufmann canceled his appearance in the new production of Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” opening the season at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala on Dec. 7. The 55-year-old will be replaced by Brian Jagde as Alvaro in a cast that includes Anna Netrebko as Leonora and Ludovic Tézier as Don Carlo. Kaufmann attributed his

Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Leaders from southern African countries have resolved to extend the mandate of a regional force fighting rebels in eastern Congo for another year. The leaders were meeting in Zimbabwe on Wednesday under the banner of the 15-member Southern African Development Community, or SADC, ahead of the expiry of the

AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The holiday season really kicks off when the massive helium balloons start floating through New York. For the second year in a row, Thursday’s parade starts at 8:30 a.m. Eastern and will be on NBC, available with an antenna or through cable and satellite providers. For cord cutters,

Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Workers hired for an electric vehicle battery production complex in Kentucky have launched a campaign to join the United Auto Workers. The union is trying to expand its foothold in the South and among battery factories. The BlueOval SK complex is a joint venture between Ford and SK On

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that his employment minister is leaving his post after weeks of questions about his past claims of Indigenous identity. Trudeau said in a statement Wednesday that Randy Boissonnault would step away from his Cabinet position immediately to “focus on clearing the allegations made against

AP Baseball Writer Chris Sale was one of the ace left-handers Tarik Skubal idolized as a teenager. Now the two will be linked forever after winning their first Cy Young Awards on Wednesday. Skubal was a unanimous pick for the American League honor following a brilliant season with the Detroit Tigers. Sale’s selection in the

Chronicle of Philanthropy Total contributions to donor-advised funds dropped 21.7% in 2023, while grants made to charities from those funds declined 1.4%, according to a new report by the National Philanthropic Trust. The 2024 DAF Report looked at the DAF landscape using data for the 2023 fiscal year. While contributions to and grants awarded from

Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Republican-dominated North Carolina legislature has completed its override of Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of legislation that addresses both private school scholarship grants and immigration. The Senate voted on Wednesday to enact the bill despite Cooper’s objections, one day after the House conducted a similar vote. Republicans hold veto-proof

Associated Press Philadelphia’s mass transit system has reached a tentative contract deal with its largest workers union. The agreement announced Wednesday averts a strike that could have seen thousands of employees walk off the job. The one-year deal between the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and Transport Workers Union Local 234 calls for union members to

Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal appeals court says it is ending a dispute over whether the state or the city will control the airport board in Mississippi’s capital of Jackson. The ruling Tuesday appears to clear the way for a board appointed mostly by the state. Some Jackson residents sued the state

LONDON (AP) — Metal lockers that once held the sweat-stained shirts and muddy cleats of some of the world’s greatest soccer players are up for auction. Sotheby’s is selling 24 lockers from the dressing room of storied club Real Madrid. Used by the team between 2002 and 2022, they were removed from the Santiago Bernabéu

Associated Press GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Guyana, marking the first visit by an Indian leader in more than 50 years to the South American country with diaspora ties. Guyana serves as headquarters for the 15-member Caribbean trade bloc known as Caricom, and Modi was expected to meet

Associated Press McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Texas is offering a parcel of rural ranchland along the U.S.-Mexico border to use as a staging area for potential mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump. The property is located in rural Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley. Republican Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham sent a letter on

Associated Press If you have an avid cook or food lover in your life, your holiday gifting opportunities are vast and deep. There are authentic ingredients and creative concoctions in brick-and-mortar shops and online. The global pantry beckons. And in many cases the packaging is gorgeous. Many small and affordable luxury foods can be tucked

Associated Press It’s holiday season, but that doesn’t have to mean waiting in long lines for big sales to buy the hottest toy or newest game system for the kids in your life. Gift hours of reading pleasure with books. In “I Like Your Chutzpah,” Suzy Ultman teaches young readers 12 Yiddish words. “Bog Myrtle”

AP Lifestyles Writer Hollywood to fashion, dogs to sports. Coffee table books are great options for holiday gifts. That’s especially true for gift recipients with specific interests. And it’s also true if you’re stumped on what to buy as a gift. Large-format, visually driven books are abundant at holiday time. This year, for instance, publisher

Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana’s plan to make all public school classrooms in the state post the Ten Commandments remains on hold under a federal appeals court ruling in New Orleans. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to pause an order by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles in Baton Rouge. DeGravelles

Russia has sent a gift of more than 70 animals to North Korea for the Pyongyang Zoo, including bears, yaks, ducks and cockatoos. A Russian government statement says the animals were flown to Pyongyang aboard a government plane, and escorted by a group of officials and experts from the Moscow Zoo. Russia’s Natural Resources Minister

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. decision to provide Ukraine with antipersonnel land mines expands the use of a weapon that the international community has long condemned because of its danger to innocent civilians. And it reflects another in a long line of American policy shifts on the controversial issue in the past 30

Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Democrat Marcy Kaptur has won another term in the U.S. House after defeating a Republican state lawmaker endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump. Kaptur’s winning margin in final results certified Wednesday averted an automatic recount in her northwest Ohio race. Fourth-term state Rep. Derek Merrin had been endorsed by

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Ethics Committee Republicans voted Wednesday against releasing the panel’s long-running investigation into President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the top Democrat on the panel said. The outcome, however, is only a temporary reprieve for Gaetz, who faces allegations of sexual misconduct, as he works

Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Leaders of the main opposition parties in Congo have called for nationwide protests against President Felix Tshisekedi’s plans to draft a new constitution. Last month,  he announced that a national commission will be set up next year to draft a new constitution for the Central African country, raising concern

LONDON (AP) — The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, says he will wrap up his official duties in early January amid an abuse scandal in the Church of England. Welby resigned last week after an investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president says the government is investigating an alleged ransomware hack of her administration’s legal affairs office after what appeared to be samples of personal information from a database of government employees were posted online. The website Cybernews said a group called Ransomhub had posted a sampling of apparently hacked government

Associated Press Two former Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation judgment against Rudy Giuliani have asked a judge to penalize him even more. They say the former attorney for Donald Trump continues to spread false ballot fraud allegations about their actions during the 2020 presidential election. Attorneys for Ruby Freeman and her

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has appointed sanitation chief Jessica Tisch as police commissioner. A city government stalwart and ex-NYPD official, she’ll be just the second woman in the high-profile, high-pressure post. The move announced Wednesday comes at a critical time for the nation’s largest police department, shoring

MACON, Ga. (AP) — One Georgia city will welcome 2025 with a larger-than-average bang. The Macon-Bibb County Commission on Tuesday approved a plan to implode a vacant 16-story hotel at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Macon-Bibb County spent $4.5 million last year to buy the hotel in a federal bankruptcy proceeding. Media outlets report that

NEW YORK (AP) — A promotional video for a rebrand of British luxury car brand Jaguar is being criticized online for showing models in brightly colored outfits — and no car. The rebrand, which includes a new logo, is slated to launch Dec. 2 during the Miami Art Week, when the company will unveil a

TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AP) — The parents of an 18-year-old who was killed in a hail of gunfire at Tuskegee University are suing the school in a wrongful death lawsuit. Tamika and Larry Johnson’s son, La’Tavion Johnson, was shot and killed while attending a party on campus Nov. 10. At least 16 others were injured. The

NEW YORK (AP) — A piece of conceptual art consisting of a simple banana, duct-taped to a wall, sold for $6.2 million at an auction in New York on Wednesday, with the winning bid coming from a prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur. “Comedian,” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was a phenomenon when it debuted in 2019 at

HELSINKI, Finland (AP) — Finnish authorities say they have opened an investigation into the rupture of a data cable under the Baltic Sea, adding to a Swedish probe into the possible sabotage of that link and another cable. The C-Lion1 cable, which runs between Finland and Germany, and a cable that crosses the Baltic between

Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A human rights report says hundreds of people in Belarus who have shown solidarity with Ukraine have been arrested in a sweeping crackdown under authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. The Viasna human rights center says 1,671 Belarusians were detained for their anti-war stance or for expressing solidarity with Ukraine, with

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A day after New York prosecutors said they will fight efforts to dismiss Donald Trump’s hush money conviction, the president-elect’s lawyers urged a judge to ignore them and dispose of the case before he takes office in January. Echoing their arguments since Trump’s win, his lawyers said in a

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — An apologetic FTX co-founder has been sentenced to no time in prison after a prosecutor and a judge praised his cooperation against Sam Bankman-Fried and his efforts to recover money for victims of the cryptocurrency fraud. Gary Wang testified for parts of three days at Bankman-Fried’s trial last year,

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek police say they have seized explosives and weapons in a search of a storage area in an apartment building in Athens. The search comes about two weeks after raids on five locations in Athens uncovered large quantities of explosives and firearms. Authorities said that earlier operation was aimed at dismantling

Associated Press A second teenager has been charged with intentionally setting a wildfire in a New Jersey suburb of Philadelphia. Meanwhile a storm is blowing into the region, bringing “significant” rainfall that should help douse a stubborn wildfire burning on the New Jersey-New York border. Police in Evesham Township arrested a 14-year-old from Marlton in

AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Laughs and the occasional celebratory scream pierce the calm quiet of the gym and the sound of volleyballs bouncing off the hardwood floor. It is practice time at Gallaudet University for the women’s volleyball team, which is made up almost entirely of deaf and hard of hearing players and

Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States has vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the war in Gaza because it was not linked to an immediate release of hostages taken captive by Hamas last year. The council voted 14-1 in favor of the doomed resolution. The U.S. said

NEW YORK (AP) — Campbell’s is ditching the soup — at least in name. And the change has now received shareholders’ greenlight. Campbell Soup Co. announced its intention to change its name just over two months ago, saying it wanted to instead be known as the (slightly shorter) Campbell’s Co. to reflect the 155-year-old company’s

AP Airlines Writer The chief executive of Delta Air Lines says the incoming Trump administration will be a “breath of fresh air” for airlines after what he called government “overreach” under President Joe Biden. Delta CEO Ed Bastian made the comments before the airline held an investor day with Wall Street analysts on Wednesday. He

Associated Press THE HAGUE (AP) — The International Criminal Court has sentenced an al-Qaida-linked extremist leader to 10 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out when he headed the Islamic police in Timbuktu in the west African country of Mali. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud was

Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The right-to-die activist behind a new “suicide capsule” says he rejects “absurd” allegations that the U.S. woman who was said to be its first user may have actually been strangled. Philip Nitschke of Exit International says he wasn’t on hand for her death on Sept. 23 inside the “Sarco” capsule

Associated Press ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — The Venezuelan man convicted in the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Jose Ibarra was convicted of 10 counts, including murder. Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial, meaning Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H.