National-World

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Halloween is gaining ground in Mexico, but in a country so wracked by drug cartel violence, there have been real fears about ghosts, ghouls and skeletons walking the streets. The concern isn’t so much about competition for Mexico’s traditional, home-grown Day of the Dead celebrations, which are going off Friday and

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A new Secret Service report into the July assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump says multiple staffers knew about clear line-of-sight risks but found them “acceptable.” That’s one of the findings of an internal review released Friday into how the Secret Service’s own staffers handled security leading up to

Associated Press/Report for America TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A lawsuit filed this week by the prison reform advocacy group Florida Justice Institute says that extreme heat in unairconditioned cells at a prison near the Florida Everglades has contributed to the deaths of four people and that state officials have failed to take “meaningful action” to

Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s government has broken its silence over growing tensions with neighboring Venezuela, with the Foreign Ministry saying it was surprised by “the offensive tone” adopted by Venezuelan authorities toward Brazil. In recent days, Venezuela’s government has escalated its criticism of Brazilian foreign relations officials and even President Luiz Inácio

Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Twenty-nine minors in Nigeria could be facing the death penalty. The children were among 76 protesters arraigned Friday for participating in a protest against the country’s record cost-of-living crisis. Four of the children collapsed due to exhaustion before they could take their plea. A charge sheet shows the protesters

MILAN, N.M. (AP) — Authorities have arrested eight people in connection with a suspected drug trafficking operation at a federal prison in the small New Mexico town of Milan. They said they made the arrests Wednesday when the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service raided 13 homes mostly in Albuquerque. Those arrested include two people currently

AP Business Writer Wendy’s plans to close 140 U.S. restaurants before the end of this year on top of the 100 it said it would close in May. But in a conference call with investors Thursday, the company said those closures will be offset by new restaurant openings. Wendy’s said it plans to open between

AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Basel Adra, a Palestinian, and Yuval Abraham, an Israeli, spent five years making a movie that depicts daily life in Adra’s village under Israeli occupation. Their film, “No Other Land,” has been hailed as one of the year’s most powerful documentaries and won prizes at international film festivals.

ERWIN, Tenn. (AP) — Rescue workers in Tennessee have recovered the body of the final person still missing after massive flooding from Hurricane Helene hit a plastics factory there. Twenty-nine-year-old Rosa Andrade was one of six employees killed after they were unable to escape the rising waters in Erwin, a small town in East Tennessee.

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico has reacted angrily after the British ambassador to Bratislava criticized his interview with Russia’s Rossiya 1 state-owned television, saying, “Slovakia is not Britain’s colony.” In his interview for the propaganda channel, Fico condemned Western support for Ukraine, saying it only prolongs the war, and accused

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — An urban pond where goldfish used to swim beneath a leaky New York City fire hydrant has been replaced by a new makeshift aquarium, days after the city unceremoniously paved over the old one due to safety concerns. Industrious Brooklynites have taken waterproof liner, bath tiles, concrete blocks and

Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland is the first state to sign an agreement with the federal government designed to improve health care and lower costs. The agreement applies to all health care payers, including Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers. Gov. Wes Moore signed it Friday with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator

Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — An appeals court says a federal receiver can proceed with a takeover of a Mississippi jail where a judge found unconstitutional conditions and “a stunning array of assaults, as well as deaths.” A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that U.S. District Judge Carlton

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Investigators seized drugs, homemade weapons and electronic devices this week during an “interagency operation” aimed at cleaning up the troubled New York City federal jail in where Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held. The Bureau of Prisons said Friday that the contraband was identified and confiscated during a multi-agency

Associated Pressda STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (AP) — Flags telling people to “Vote Here” fluttered in not only English, but Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese at the Mountain Park Activity Building as a steady stream passed through its doors to cast their ballots in the 2024 election. One by one, the voters who turned out Thursday

Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A judge has given a Tennessee man sentenced to life in prison in the daytime ambush killing of rapper Young Dolph an additional 35 years behind bars. Justin Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder on Sept. 26 and sentenced to life with the possibility of parole the same day.

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says it is sending an additional $425 million in military assistance to Ukraine as Kyiv prepares to face Russian forces augmented by more than 10,000 North Koreans troops. This package includes weapons that will be pulled from existing U.S. stockpiles, including air defense interceptors, munitions for rocket systems

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Rapper Young Thug is a free man after pleading guilty to gang, drug and gun charges. About 2 ½ years after he was arrested on the charges in a sprawling gang and racketeering indictment, Young Thug was released from custody Thursday evening. It was a remarkable development in a trial

Associated Press ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge on Friday denied a Republican committeeman’s effort to force the state’s third-largest county to allow watchers or challengers to observe early voting. The judge didn’t consider the merits of the committeeman’s lawsuit but dismissed the challenge because it wasn’t written meeting state legal standards. Missouri

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris ‘ campaign is actively warning business leaders that Donald Trump has a pattern of disregard for democracy and the rule of law that would threaten U.S. economic growth — a closing argument designed to show the possible consequences for companies and workers if he returns to the White

Religion News Service (RNS) — When former Christian artist Michael Gungor first hosted a new spiritual community in Los Angeles this year, worship began not with an organ blast or sermon series video promo, but with blowing bubbles. Appropriately dubbed “Play,” Gungor envisioned the event — which featured painting, dancing, corporate singing and meditation, but

The Associated Press ROME (AP) — Tourists eager to fulfill the fabled promise to return to the Eternal City are being forced to toss coins over a plastic barrier and into a small makeshift pool in front of Rome’s Trevi Fountain while the iconic attraction is being drained for maintenance. The rectangular box, unadorned and

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS has announced an increase to the amount individuals can contribute to their 401(k) plans in 2025, to $23,500, up from $23,000 in 2024. The Internal Revenue Service detailed the increases on Friday in its annual cost-of-living adjustments for pension plans and other retirement accounts. The agency last week

Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina put Richard Moore to death by lethal injection Friday for the 1999 fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk, despite a broad appeal for mercy by parties that included three jurors and the judge from his trial, a former prison director, pastors and members of his family.

Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The head of a U.N.-backed fact-finding team looking into human rights violations and abuses in Sudan says the team found the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces responsible for large-scale sexual violence in areas that it controls. Mohamed Chande Othman has denounced “staggering violence” in Sudan since war broke out more than

AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tommy Richman went from sleeping on couches and floors just two years ago to now having one of the biggest songs of the year with “Million Dollar Baby.” The massive hit that could receive Grammy recognition next week. The song changed his fortunes after he posted it on

Eddie Redmayne’s return to TV starring as a sniper for hire in the new limited series “The Day of the Jackal” and “Yellowstone” riding off into the sunset with the launch of its final episodes are some of this week’s new streaming entertainment releases. Aubrey Plaza stars as a psychedelic mushroom hallucination in the touching

HOUSTON (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board says a helicopter pilot was speaking with an air traffic controller when it crashed into a tower, killing all four people on board. The preliminary report released Thursday says pilot Samantha Grandbouche was reading instructions given by the controller when the transmission suddenly ended on Oct. 20.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have celebrated their eighth World Series championship with a downtown parade and a stadium gathering featuring Shohei Ohtani and other star players. The Japanese superstar typically speaks in his native Japanese but he briefly spoke English to the stadium crowd. Seven double-decker buses filled with players, their

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Next week’s presidential election isn’t just a referendum on Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. It’s also a measure of the influence the world’s richest man wields over American democracy. Elon Musk, the South African-born tech and business titan, has spent at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Next week’s presidential election isn’t just a referendum on Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. It’s also a measure of the influence the world’s richest man wields over American democracy. Elon Musk has spent at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. His social media platform is

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An Associated Press review shows that Israel is falling far short of U.S. demands to surge the level of humanitarian assistance allowed into Gaza or risk possible restrictions on U.S. military funding. The Biden administration on Oct. 13 gave Israel 30 days to take specific steps to improve the deteriorating

Associated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Tens of thousands of minority Hindus have rallied to demand that the interim government in Muslim-majority Bangladesh protect them from a wave of attacks and harassment and to drop sedition cases against Hindu community leaders. About 30,000 Hindus demonstrated at a major intersection in the southeastern city of Chattogram,

AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Willie Nelson, who is 91, will release “Last Leaf on the Tree” on Friday, his second studio album this year. It’s also his 76th solo studio album and 153rd album overall. Asked how many more he has in him, and he laughs and says he doesn’t know, but

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan and the European Union have announced a security and defense partnership as they seek to step up military ties, including joint exercises and exchanges between their defense industries, amid growing tensions with China, North Korea and Russia. Japan’s Defense Ministry says Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and EU foreign

Associated Press The cast of ABC’s hit show “Scandal” will reunite Nov. 17 for a live, virtual script reading to raise money for the western North Carolina area that was ravaged by Hurricane Helene. Bellamy Young, who played the first lady and then Republican presidential nominee on the series, was raised in Asheville, North Carolina.

Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Thieves blew open the door of an art gallery in the southern Netherlands and stole two works from a famous series of screen prints by American pop artist Andy Warhol and left two more badly damaged in the street as they fled the scene of the botched heist,

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tried to explain this week that he doesn’t really think Donald Trump’s supporters are “garbage,” but that doesn’t mean that other people don’t believe the label occasionally fits. “I would say that some of them are garbage,” said Samantha Leister, 32, who went to see Kamala Harris

Associated Press MILWAUKEE (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump hosted rallies within 7 miles of each other Friday night in the Milwaukee area as part of a fevered final push for votes in swing-state Wisconsin’s largest county. Milwaukee is home to the most Democratic votes in Wisconsin, but its conservative

LONDON (AP) — Collins Dictionary has declared “brat” – the album title that became a summer-living ideal – its 2024 word of the year. The word, used by singer Charli XCX as the title of her sixth studio album, has been defined as “characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.” Collins lexicographers said on

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A gunman who opened fire during a Halloween street celebration that drew thousands of costumed revelers to downtown Orlando killed two people and wounded seven others early Friday, authorities said. Officers quickly arrested a 17-year-old male suspect, police Chief Eric Smith said during a briefing. Authorities have not yet determined a

Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s new deputy president has been sworn into office, two weeks after his predecessor was overwhelmingly voted out in an impeachment motion in parliament over allegations of corruption and inciting ethnic division. Kindiki Kithure took office on Friday after a colorful event in the capital, Nairobi attended by government

Associated Press GABORONE, Botswana (AP) — Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi has conceded defeat in the general election, in a seismic moment of change for the country that ended the ruling party’s 58 years in power since independence from Britain in the 1960s. Masisi’s concession came before final results were announced on Friday, with his Botswana

Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — A British businessman will be kept in custody after being charged with murder over the death of an Indonesian woman at a Hong Kong park. Jamie Tzewee Chapman did not enter a plea Friday and the judge adjourned the case to January. Police said Chapman and the Indonesian woman

Associated Press EL ALTO, Bolivia (AP) — During the Day of the Dead celebrations that take place in late October and early November, Latin Americans honor their departed loved ones by setting up altars adorned with food, flowers and photographs. But what about carving the actual face of your deceased spouse or family member on

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ federal corruption trial will begin next April during his promised reelection campaign. U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho set the trial date for spring 2025 as Adams returned Friday to Manhattan federal court for a hearing on his bid to eliminate a key

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors and defense lawyers agree on this about Marine veteran Daniel Penny’s encounter last year with a distressed, angry man making ominous remarks on a New York subway: Penny didn’t mean to kill him. But a prosecutor told jurors Friday that Penny “went way too far” in trying to

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — John Albert’s daughter isn’t going to school on Friday. And he couldn’t be happier about it. For the first time, the high school senior and all of New York City’s public school students have the day off to mark the holiday of Diwali, celebrated in India and among the

Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — More than a year into a war that has ricocheted across the Middle East, Israeli troops are still battling Hamas in the most heavily destroyed and isolated part of the Gaza Strip. In northern Gaza, Hamas militants carry out hit-and-run attacks from bombed-out buildings. Residents say Israeli forces have raided

Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s famed Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Though the human dead usually get their favorite food or