National-World

Associated Press NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey and Minnesota sued Glock on Thursday, calling on the gunmaker to stop selling firearms that can be adapted with dime-sized switches to fire up to 1,200 rounds a minute. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin also announced that he and officials in 13 other states and the

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — “Vanderpump Rules” star James Kennedy has been arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence, police said Thursday. Police in Burbank, California, near Los Angeles were sent to a residence after a report of a man and woman arguing at about 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Burbank Police Sgt. Stephen Turner said in

Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike hit the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 25 Palestinians and wounding dozens more, Palestinian medics said, as U.S. President Joe Biden’s two top national security officials were in the region making a renewed push for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The strike on

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was on the verge of backing a 16-week federal abortion ban earlier this year when aides staged an intervention. According to Time magazine’s cover story on his selection as its 2024 Person of the Year, Trump’s aides first raised concerns in mid-March that the abortion cutoff being

AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — When it comes to music, there’s one person in particular Snoop Dogg trusts to steer the ship without question: hit-making producer Dr. Dre. Their bond, built over 30 years of brotherhood, began when Dr. Dre shaped Snoop’s game-changing debut, “Doggystyle,” a cornerstone of hip-hop history. From young dreamers

Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Fourteen North Korean nationals have been indicted in a scheme using information technology workers with false identities to contract with U.S. companies, workers who then allegedly funneled their wages to North Korea for development of ballistic missiles and other weapons. The FBI says the scheme generated over $88 million.

Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A photojournalist who captured one of the most enduring images of World War II — the U.S. Marines raising the flag on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima — had a block in downtown San Francisco named for him Thursday. Joe Rosenthal, who died in 2006 at age 94,

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A lawyer for former U.S. Rep. TJ Cox of California said the Democrat will plead guilty to two counts of fraud and pay $3.5 million in restitution after federal prosecutors alleged he perpetrated multiple schemes involving businesses he was involved in. Attorney Mark Coleman told the Fresno Bee on Wednesday that

NEW YORK (AP) — VICE TV is expanding its footprint with several new original sports series, including two that will document the seasons for a couple of famous college basketball coaches. VICE announced it will air shows on St. John’s coach Rick Pitino and Arkansas coach John Calipari leading into the NCAA Tournament. “Pitino: Red

AP Science Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Neanderthals and humans likely mixed and mingled during a narrow time frame 45,000 years ago, scientists reported Thursday. Researchers analyzed ancient genes to pinpoint the time period, which is slightly more recent than previous estimates for the mating. Modern humans emerged in Africa hundreds of thousands of years

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Here is a timeline of events that began with the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was killed by police in her home in Louisville, Kentucky.

Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to “wipe Ukraine off the map” and could come after other parts of Europe next. Rutte told the Carnegie Europe think-tank in Brussels it is “time to shift to a wartime mindset” and that people should gird

Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The wife of a Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own drowning so he could leave her and their children and meet a woman in Eastern Europe filed court documents Thursday seeking to end their marriage. Online court records indicate Emily Borgwardt filed a petition in Dodge County Circuit Court

AP Business Writer The first guest invited to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange in 1956 wasn’t a company executive, a politician or a celebrity. It was a 10-year-old boy, Leonard Ross, who received the honor by winning a television quiz show. Since then, business titans, political giants and global film stars

MILAN (AP) — Kering has announced that Louise Trotter has been named creative director of the Bottega Veneta fashion house. She will succeed Matthieu Blazy. Trotter arrives from the French brand Carven, where she has been creative director since February 2023. She will join Bottega Veneta at the end of January 2025. As a designer,

Associated Press TOMS River, N.J. (AP) — A large number of mysterious drones have been reported flying over parts of New Jersey in recent weeks, sparking speculation and concern over who sent them and why. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and law enforcement officials have stressed that the drones don’t appear to be a threat

Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police say they found Raiders football player Charles Snowden passed out behind the wheel of a Jeep Cherokee atop a retaining wall before his arrest on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. A report says Snowden’s blood-alcohol content tested at more than twice

LONDON (AP) — A Saudi human rights activist says soccer fans visiting Saudi Arabia for the 2034 World Cup will live in a “bubble” that doesn’t reflect real life there. Lina al-Hathloul is a London-based activist whose sister was jailed in Saudi Arabia then banned from travel after campaigning to end a ban on women

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov who

Associated Press A prominent luxury real estate broker and his identical twin brother have appeared in a Florida courtroom Thursday on sexual assault charges. Another brother who co-founded the real estate firm is also charged in what federal officials call a longtime sex trafficking scheme. Oren and Alon Alexander were ordered held without bond Thursday

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is still suffering from the effects of a fall in the Senate earlier this week and is missing votes on Thursday due to leg stiffness, according to his office. McConnell fell outside a Senate party luncheon on Tuesday and sprained his wrist and cut his

Associated Press AQABA, Jordan (AP) — Top U.S. officials are in the Middle East pressing for stability in Syria and an end to Israel’s 14-month war in the Gaza Strip in a last-ditch diplomatic push by the outgoing Biden administration. President-elect Donald Trump takes office in a few weeks. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will attend a meeting of European Union leaders early next year. He’ll be the first U.K. leader to do so since the country’s departure from the bloc in 2020. Starmer was invited to the “informal” Feb. 3 meeting in Brussels by European Council President António Costa on

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Supreme Court prosecutor in Greece has launched an emergency inquiry into the alleged beating and sexual assault of a 16-year-old Egyptian boy at a camp for migrants outside Athens. Four other individuals housed at the facility aged 16-21 and also all Egyptian have been arrested on charges of sexual assault

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Three taxi drivers have been arrested in Puerto Morelos in Mexico, just south of Cancun, for threatening a tourist for using a ride-share app. Drivers of traditional cabs at resorts along Mexico’s Caribbean coast have for years harassed and even beaten tourists who use Uber and other apps, and have attacked

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is pushing toward a vote on legislation that would provide full Social Security benefits to millions of people. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer began the process on Thursday for a final vote on the bill, known as the Social Security Fairness Act. It would eliminate policies that currently

Associated Press TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — A U.S. senator has called for mysterious drones spotted flying at night over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down, if necessary,” even as it remains unclear who owns the unmanned aircraft. “We should be doing some very urgent

Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Hundreds of Syrians marched through central Damascus in a funeral procession for one of the country’s most prominent anti-government activists, whose body was found after the ouster of President Bashar Assad. The procession for Mazen al-Hamada would have been unimaginable only a week earlier. Mourners turned the display into

AP Sports Writer BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Travis Hunter is a throwback-type player — an elite receiver one moment, a lockdown cornerback the next — who rarely leaves the field and has a knack for making big plays all over it. The Colorado Buffaloes’ two-way standout ( see: unicorn ) even celebrates at an elite

Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s senate has approved a bill to abolish the death penalty and it is now set to be signed into law by the president. Zimbabwe uses hanging for capital punishment but last executed someone in 2005. Parliament said Thursday that senators passed the Death Penalty Abolition Bill on Wednesday

Associated Press PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — The trial against Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking, was postponed on Thursday and scheduled to resume June 2, 2025. Dominican judge Yacaira Veras postponed the hearing at

Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department and the city of Louisville have reached an agreement to reform the city’s police force after an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor and police treatment of protesters, officials said Thursday. The consent decree, which must be approved by a judge,

AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets wanted Juan Soto to know his future with them could be set in stone. When the free agent outfielder traveled to owner Steve Cohen’s house in Beverly Hills, California, for a presentation last month, the team unveiled a video that included an image of

Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — A senior official in Canada’s most populous province says that Ontario could bar American-made alcohol and restrict electricity to three U.S. states if President-elect Donald Trump imposes sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products. The states are Michigan, New York and Minnesota. An official in Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government said

Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Paraguay has reopened its embassy in Jerusalem, a move that marks a diplomatic win for Israel as it faces increasing international isolation because of the Gaza war. It’s a controversial move, putting Paraguay among a handful of countries to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Israel annexed east Jerusalem

Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A newly elected state lawmaker in West Virginia is facing at least one felony and is accused of making terroristic threats. State police say 61-year-old Joseph de Soto was arrested in Martinsburg after an investigation found he made “several threatening/intimidating threats” against government officials. Authorities didn’t provide details about

AP Golf Writer The Skins Game is returning with a modern look. Details are still being worked out. But the new media company Pro Shop announced a deal with the PGA Tour that will bring back the Skins Game for the first time since 2008. Pro Shop is run by Chad Mumm. He’s best known

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — What was once a bipartisan effort to expand by 66 the number of federal district judgeships across the country passed the House of Representatives on Thursday, though prospects for becoming law are murky after Republicans opted to bring the measure to the floor only after President-elect Donald Trump had won

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The December holidays are supposed to be a time of joyful celebration, but the season can be especially grueling for the millions of people who work in retail stores, staff airline counters and field complaints coming into call centers. Instead of compassion or good cheer, service sector workers often

AP Sports Writer Bill Belichick had just been introduced Thursday as North Carolina’s next football coach when chancellor Lee Roberts came armed with a gift: a short-sleeved gray hoodie — a bit of a trademark from Belichick’s NFL coaching days — bearing a blue interlocking “NC” logo. It was the visual confirmation, which will take

AP Airlines Writer The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, who has led a tougher enforcement policy against Boeing since a panel blew off a jetliner in January, said Thursday that he will step down next month, clearing the way for President-elect Donald Trump to name his choice to lead the agency. Mike Whitaker announced

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is capping the fees at $5 with a rule set to take effect in October 2025, if it isn’t overturned by Congress or altered under a Trump administration. President Joe Biden had called the fees, which can be as high as $35, “exploitative,” while

AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The story of RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys,” laced with the cruelties of the Jim Crow-era South, has commonalities with films made before. But the grammar of “Nickel Boys” is entirely its own. Ross shot the Colson Whitehead adaptation almost entirely from the point of view of its two

AP Medical Writer Some early breast cancer patients can safely avoid specific surgeries, according to two studies exploring ways to lessen treatment burdens. One new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, examines whether removing lymph nodes is always necessary in early breast cancer. Another in the Journal of the American Medical Association

Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders to his inauguration next month — an unorthodox move that would fold U.S. allies and adversaries into a very American political tradition. Trump said Thursday during an appearance at the New York Stock Exchange,

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI informant accused of fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges. Alexander Smirnov’s deal with Justice Department special counsel David Weiss to plead guilty comes just weeks after prosecutors filed new tax evasion charges against him. Attorneys

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Ukraine must have a pivotal role in any potential negotiations over Russia’s war in the country. Both leaders met in Warsaw. Macron insisted Europeans must be involved in security talks in “very close” coordination with the United States to ensure

Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland has sworn in its new president after last month’s election that gave a boost for its push for international recognition. Thursday’s inauguration ceremony came a day after Somalia and Ethiopia agreed in Turkey to hold “technical talks” over a dispute sparked by a controversial

AP Business Writer An appeals court in Louisiana has ruled that Nasdaq can’t require diversity on the boards of companies that list on the exchange. The decision comes more than three years after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq’s proposal to boost the number of women, racial minorities and LGBTQ people on U.S. corporate

Associated Press STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish prosecutors say they have dropped a rape investigation that was launched in connection with soccer star Kylian Mbappé’s visit to Stockholm in October. In a statement, lead investigator Marina Chirakova says there is not enough evidence to continue the investigation into the allegation at a hotel. Prosecutors never publicly

Selena Gomez is having quite a year, and it’s being capped with an engagement to music producer and songwriter Benny Blanco. The Grammy- and Emmy-nominated performer announced she was off the market in an Instagram post Wednesday of her ring and an embrace with her fiancé, with the caption “Forever begins now.” Celebrity fans sent

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has undergone a second procedure to stop a brain bleed. The 79-year-old Lula had surgery at the hospital on Tuesday for a kind of slow bleeding that resulted from a fall at home in October. Thursday’s procedure was to plug an artery that continued

Associated Press MILAN (AP) — A humanitarian rescue group says its sailboat plucked from the central Mediterranean an 11-year-old girl believed to be the only survivor of a shipwreck in stormy seas. The Compass Collective said the crew aboard their German-flagged sailboat heard a voice over the motors off the Italian island of Lampedusa early

Associated Press When the African Methodist Episcopal Church, arguably the world’s largest independent Black Protestant denomination, held its quadrennial General Conference in Ohio in August, among the agenda items was an issue that the Rev. Jennifer S. Leath had labored over for two decades: same-sex marriage. Leath, 43, self-identifies as “quare” — terminology designed to

AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale costs in the United States picked up sharply last month, signaling that price pressures are still evident in the economy even though inflation has tumbled from the peak levels it hit more than two years ago. The producer price index — which tracks inflation before it reaches consumers

Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The town of Asheville, North Carolina, is known for its artists and restaurants. In September, it was devastated by flooding from Hurricane Helene. Even businesses not physically harmed suffered weeks without power and water. And Asheville was essentially closed to tourists during its busiest season. So local artists and

Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Some European Union countries are doubling down on their decision to rapidly halt asylum procedures for Syrian migrants in Europe. But they said Thursday that it’s too early to consider sending any of the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled since 2011 back home. Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece,

AP Business Writer DoorDash is requiring its drivers to verify their identities more often as part of a larger effort to crack down on unauthorized account sharing. The company has pledged to do a better job identifying and removing dangerous drivers after a flood of complaints of dangerous driving from cities. Officials in Boston, New

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A court in Pakistan has indicted imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife in one of several graft cases they face. Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi pleaded not guilty on Thursday when a judge in the garrison city of Rawalpindi read the charges. The couple is accused of keeping

Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — U.N. experts say there has been a slight drop in the production of opium in Myanmar, the world’s biggest source of the illicit drug from which heroin is derived, but warn there are still strong prospects for future expansion of the deadly trade. The Myanmar Opium Survey 2024 issued by

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Meat from fin whales caught for the first time in nearly 50 years off Japan’s northern coast has fetched up to more than $1,300 per kilogram at auction, as officials try to keep the struggling industry alive. Japan’s Fisheries Agency this year added fin whales to its list of three

AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese leaders have wrapped up a two-day planning meeting in Beijing with pledges to take a more proactive approach in pepping up the economy, but gave no details on stimulus measures. A state television report on the annual strategy meeting mainly reiterated a strategy outlined earlier in the week

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — Rights and civil society groups say more than 100 people including children have been killed by security forces in post-election protests in Mozambique that have lasted nearly two months. The main opposition leader called Thursday for more demonstrations against what he has says was a rigged vote by the governing party.

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — She’s an Iraq War combat veteran and sexual assault survivor who has advocated for years to improve how the military handles claims of sexual misconduct. But when Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, appeared initially cool to the nomination of President-elect Donald Trump ’s choice of Pete Hegseth to serve as defense

AP Entertainment Writer UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) — Smokey Robinson and Halle Bailey, bridging Motown’s old and new school, will host a a holiday special to honor the groundbreaking record label that changed the music landscape. “A Motown Christmas” airs Wednesday night on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock. The special will celebrate

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is calling on wealthy countries and institutions to substantially reduce if not outright cancel debt as a matter of justice on the occasion of the Vatican’s 2025 Jubilee Year. In a message for world peace, Francis referred on Thursday to St. John Paul II’s admonition in Jubilee Year 2000

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As several of President-elect Donald Trump’s choices for high-level positions in his administration face scrutiny on Capitol Hill, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that Americans have their own doubts. Relatively few Americans overall approve of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to lead the Department

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British military veterans who were discharged or suffered other forms of discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity will receive up to 70,000 pounds, or $89,300, under a government compensation program announced Thursday. Prior to 2000, service personnel who were discovered to be lesbian, gay or trans were

Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s top military commander says fighting around a key eastern Ukraine city is “extremely intense” after a monthslong Russian push. Analysts estimate Russian forces are now within just a few kilometers, or miles, of Pokrovsk. Ukraine’s General Staff said on Thursday that Ukrainian troops repelled nearly 40 Russian attempts

Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s Associate Immigration Minister Chris Penk has overturned a visa refusal for the U.S. conservative commentator Candace Owens, citing “the importance of free speech.” Owens planned a speaking tour of Australia and New Zealand. But Australia refused her visa in October and New Zealand later denied her