National-World

DETROIT (AP) — The poor performance of General Motors’ Chinese joint ventures is forcing the company to write down assets and take a restructuring charge totaling more than $5 billion in the fourth quarter of this year. The Detroit automaker said Wednesday in a regulatory filing that it will cut the value of its equity

Unless you happen to be an average-size person with perfectly balanced proportions, the clothing you buy may or may not fit perfectly. A skilled tailor can make a wardrobe seem almost custom-made by taking up a hem, adjusting a cuff, or making a few nips and tucks here and there. The same applies to your

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Syria’s most powerful insurgent group has toured the seized city of Aleppo in a surprise visit, the first since the insurgents captured large parts of the city over the weekend as fierce fighting intensifies in the government-led counter-offensive in northern Hama. Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who heads jihadi

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francishas  met Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Vatican and discussed with him the war in Ukraine, focusing on the humanitarian situation and efforts to promote peace in the region. Francis also discussed other themes with Orban, including the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union as

Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union agreed to delay by a year the introduction of new rules to ban the sale of products that lead to massive deforestation, caving in to demands from several producer nations from across the globe and domestic opposition within the 27-nation bloc. Officials said Wednesday that the EU

Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A group led by left-wing activists has filed a second impeachment complaint against the Philippine vice president over her alleged misuse of government funds and demanded that she be permanently barred from holding public office. The impeachment complaint filed by 74 activists, including human rights, labor and student leaders,

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — It may seem that the wild scenes in Seoul, with hundreds of armed troops and frantic lawmakers storming South Korea’s parliament building after the president suddenly declared martial law, came out of nowhere. But the chaotic events overnight Tuesday into Wednesday should be seen in the context of South Korea’s

AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Democrat Adam Gray has won election to a U.S. House seat representing California’s Central Valley, defeating Republican Rep. John Duarte in the final House contest to be determined this year. The race was a rematch of the 2022 midterm election, which was one of the closest House races

Democrat Adam Gray won election to a U.S. House seat representing California on Wednesday, defeating Republican Rep. John Duarte. The race was a rematch of the 2022 midterm election, which was one of the closest House races in the country. Democrats bet on higher turnout in a presidential election year in this majority-Hispanic 13th Congressional

Associated Press SALCEDO, Ecuador (AP) — Ice-cream production in Salcedo, a quaint town in Ecuador’s central highlands, began in the mid-20th century, born from the ingenuity of Franciscan nuns. Locals say the sisters would drink fruit shakes made with milk from the region’s dairy farms until one of them began collecting the leftovers, turning them

Associated Press LUANDA, Angola (AP) — President Joe Biden on his visit to sub-Saharan Africa pledged another $600 million for a cross-continent rail corridor project Wednesday, telling regional leaders that “Africa has been left behind for much too long. But not anymore. Africa is the future.” Biden used the third and final day of his

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Hearing a high-profile culture-war clash, the Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The justices’ decision, not expected for several months, could affect similar laws enacted by another 25 states and a range of other efforts to regulate the lives of transgender

Authorities fear a woman in western Pennsylvania who disappeared while looking for her cat may have been swallowed by a sinkhole caused by mine subsidence. A sinkhole is an area of ground that has no natural external surface drainage and can form when the ground below the land surface cannot support the land above. Sinkholes

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials are urging telecommunication companies to boost network security following a Chinese hacking operation that gave officials in Beijing access to the private texts and phone conversations of Americans. The warning issued Tuesday by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency includes technical recommendations designed to prevent

EDISON, New Jersey (AP) — A New Jersey township council’s decision to bar people from using “props” — which officials say can include the U.S. flag and Constitution — when addressing the council has drawn protests and a warning from a free speech advocacy organization. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted a clip

DOS PALOS, Calif. (AP) — A central California teacher died last month after she was bitten by a bat inside her classroom that presumably had rabies, officials and the woman’s friend said. In the wake of Leah Seneng’s death on Nov. 22, public health officials are warning the public about the dangers of bats, which

Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — A U.S. official says authorities made about 46,700 arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico in November, down about 17% from October to a new low for Joe Biden’s presidency. It marks a decline of more than 80% from an all-time high of nearly 250,000 in December and

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s pick to run the Drug Enforcement Administration says he’s withdrawing his name from consideration. Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County, Florida, made the announcement in a post on X Tuesday evening. He called the nomination “the honor of a lifetime” but said he had concluded he must

AP Health Writer New research shows that nearly three out of 10 U.S. drugstores that were open during the previous decade had closed by 2021. A study published Tuesday in Health Affairs says Black and Latino neighborhoods were most vulnerable to the retail pharmacy closures, which can chip away at already-limited care options in those

Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — The top United Nations human rights watchdog has ordered Venezuela to avoid destroying tally sheets as it opens an investigation into allegations that President Nicolás Maduro stole this summer’s election. The U.N. Human Rights Council announced the probe Tuesday in a letter to several Latin American jurists who petitioned the

Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some former employees who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a

Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — Non-governmental organizations monitoring Cuban prisons are demanding an investigation into the death of a man imprisoned since 2021 after being arrested for participating in historic protests against shortages and blackouts. Authorities say 29-year-old Manuel de Jesús Guillén Esplugas committed suicide in prison. However, relatives claim he succumbed to injuries sustained

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A judge is weighing whether a Georgia state Senate committee has the right to subpoena testimony and documents from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as it looks into whether she has engaged in misconduct during her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump. The Republican-led committee was formed earlier this year

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers formally asked a judge Monday to throw out his hush money criminal conviction, arguing that continuing the case would present unconstitutional “disruptions to the institution of the Presidency.“ In a filing made public Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers told Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan that anything short

Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s top law enforcement official says authorities took down two human trafficking rings, including one that was forcing children as young as 13 to have sex with adults for money. Attorney General Matt Platkin said Tuesday that seven people have been charged as a result of the operations.

Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut residents, past and present dignitaries, and state Capitol insiders are paying tribute to former Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who died in late November. On Tuesday, she lay in state inside the Connecticut Capitol building, with her casket covered in the state’s blue flag. A funeral service was

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Searchers have recovered the body of a Wisconsin woman who vanished more than four years ago. The state Department of Justice says Cassandra Ayon’s remains were found on private property in the town of Brighton in Marathon County on Saturday. Ayon was 27 when she was last seen driving away from

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — The partner of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries who was indicted on sex trafficking charges along with Jeffries and another man has been released on $10 million bond. Matthew Smith pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and prostitution in federal court in Central Islip on Tuesday. Smith was

AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weeks-long delay. The step lets Trump transition aides and future administration staffers obtain security clearances before Inauguration Day to access classified information about

AP Film Writer Forty years ago, on Dec. 8, 1984, one of the largest manhunts in FBI history came to an explosive end on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. The person they were after was Robert Jay Mathews, the leader of a white supremacist group. The dramatic episode is chronicled in the new film “The

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that a United Nations watchdog has been selected to lead an external probe into allegations of sexual misconduct against the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The move is likely to generate conflict of interest complaints owing to the prosecutor’s wife’s past work for

Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A military police officer in Sao Paulo has been seen on video footage throwing a man off a bridge and into a river, prompting a backlash. Footage shown on local television stations showed several police officers seen on a bridge beside motorcycles. At one point, one of them

Associated Press Ohio’s top elections official has rejected a Republican challenge over the legal residency of one of the state’s Democratic members of Congress. Secretary of State Frank LaRose made the decision late last week. LaRose says the complainant brought by a political activist did not provide “clear and convincing” proof that Rep. Emilia Sykes

Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House opened its newest session with an unsuccessful long shot challenge of the Speaker that could be a preview of fighting among Republicans over which group truly deserves to identify as conservative. House Speaker Murrell Smith was elected to a second two-year term by a 102-17

Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Senate’s new majority floor leader says lawmakers seem ready to resume work on a bill dealing with diversity, equity and inclusion practices at public universities. Republican state Sen. Max Wise says the outcome could be different next year since they have had months to try to work

DENVER (AP) — Misdemeanor charges have been dropped against two Colorado law enforcement officers in the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old man unrdergoing a mental health crisis in 2022. The two officers work for the state’s gaming division and were among six officers charged last year with failing to intervene to stop the actions of

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — An artist whose work exploring her Scottish Sikh identity includes a vintage Ford car draped in a crocheted doily has won the U.K.’s prestigious Turner Prize. Jasleen Kaur was awarded the 25,000-pound ($32,000) prize by actor James Norton during a ceremony at the Tate Britain gallery that was picketed by

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats reelected Chuck Schumer as party leader on Tuesday as the party moves into a deeply uncertain time, with no real consensus on a strategy as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office. Schumer faced no opposition in the party leadership elections, in which Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin was

Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — A federal appeals court says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can continue using a Seattle airport for chartered deportation flights. In 2019, King County, which includes Seattle, expressed concern that the deportations under then-President Donald Trump could constitute human rights abuses and announced that future leases at the county airport

WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) — Namibia has elected its first female leader, with Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah declared the winner Tuesday of last week’s presidential election as the long-ruling party remains in power. The 72-year-old Nandi-Ndaitwah won with 57% of the vote, according to official results. She defied predictions that she might be forced into a

Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Reproductive rights advocates are trying to dismantle a 15-week abortion ban in Arizona that conflicts with newly expanded access establishing a fundamental right to abortion in the state. Voters approved a ballot measure in November that amended the constitution to allow abortions up to fetal viability. Doctors say viability usually

Associated Press A grandmother looking for her lost cat apparently fell into a sinkhole that had recently opened above an abandoned western Pennsylvania coal mine and rescuers worked late into the night Tuesday to try and find her. Bright lights illuminated snow flurries and various equipment at the site while crews worked above and below

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police say a 30-year-old woman from Hawaii who was reported missing in Los Angeles three weeks ago voluntarily traveled to Mexico. The Los Angeles police chief says Hannah Kobayashi’s disappearance is now classified as a “voluntary missing person.” Kobayashi was seen on surveillance video walking over the border with her luggage.

Associated Press A trial has begun for a man charged in the killing of a University of Mississippi student who was well-known in the local LGBTQ+ community. Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. of Grenada, Mississippi, is charged with capital murder in the death of Jimmy “Jay” Lee. The 20-year-old Lee was last seen July 8, 2022,

Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California man has been charged with illegally shipping weapons and ammunition to North Korea. Federal authorities in Los Angeles say 41-year-old Shenghua Wen is charged with conspiring to violate federal law barring the shipments. Wen is expected to appear in court later on Tuesday. Authorities say Wen came

NEW YORK (AP) — Brady Corbet’s 3 1/2-hour postwar epic “The Brutalist” won best film from the New York Film Critics Circle on Tuesday, while its lead, Adrien Brody, also won best actor. The win notches an early awards-season victory for one of the fall’s most-talked about films. “The Brutalist”  Brody as László Toth, a

Associated Press QUINCY, Mass. (AP) — As global warming fills the plankton-rich waters of New England with death traps for sea turtles, the number of stranded reptiles has multiplied over the last 20 years, filling one specialized animal hospital with the endangered creatures. The animals enter areas such as Cape Cod Bay when it is

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors have started deliberating in the trial of a military veteran charged with using a fatal chokehold to subdue a man whose behavior was alarming passengers on a New York subway train. The anonymous Manhattan jury began its private discussions on Tuesday in the trial surrounding Jordan Neely’s 2023