Russia's Vladimir Putin meets with China's leader Xi Jinping while on state visit to China

Xi meets Russia's Putin on a state visit to China that's a show of unity between the allies

BEIJING (AP) — China’s leader Xi Jinping welcomed Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Thursday as he began a two-day state visit while Moscow presses forward with a new offensive in Ukraine. They shook hands at a welcome ceremony after Putin’s arrival in Beijing at dawn....

Anitta defends her Afro-Brazilian faith after new music video costs her some followers

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s biggest pop star, Anitta, has released a music video depicting rituals of the Afro-Brazilian faith Candomble, sparking controversy in a country where religious intolerance is all too common. Her track — pointedly named “Accept” — has been...

Japan's economy shrinks on weak consumer spending, auto woes

TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese economy shrank at an annual rate of 2% in the first quarter of this year, as consumption and exports declined, the government said Thursday. Although unemployment has stayed relatively low in the world’s fourth largest economy at about 2.6%, wage growth...

What to know about a bus crash that killed 8 Mexican farmworkers in Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A bus carrying farmworkers to a watermelon field in central Florida was sideswiped by a drunk driver and overturned in a field, killing eight people and injuring dozens of others, authorities said. The man accused of causing Tuesday's crash has a...

Driver said he smoked pot oil, took medication before Florida crash that killed 8 Mexican workers

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday. ...

Reported sex assaults in the US military have dropped. That reverses what had been a growing problem

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of reported sexual assaults across the military decreased last year, and a confidential survey found a 19% drop in the number of service members who said they had experienced some type of unwanted sexual contact, according to new figures obtained by The Associated...

Family of California Navy veteran who died after officer knelt on his neck settles lawsuit for $7.5M

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Family members of a Navy veteran who died in 2020 after a police officer pressed a knee to his neck for nearly five minutes while he was in a mental health crisis have settled a federal lawsuit against the Northern California city of Antioch for $7.5 million, their attorneys...

As Zambia schools take on climate change, one teen is spreading the word in sign language

KASAMA, Zambia (AP) — Every morning, Bridget Chanda places her prosthetic legs beside her bed, pulls on her stockings and pushes the remains of her limbs into the prosthetics as best she can. After six years they no longer fit, and it's painful to stand or walk for too long, but it doesn't faze...

Hawaii study shows almost 75% of Maui wildfire survey participants have respiratory issues

HONOLULU (AP) — A University of Hawaii study examining the health effects of last year's deadly wildfires on Maui found that up to 74% participants may have difficulty breathing and otherwise have poor respiratory health, and almost half showed signs of compromised lung function. ...