Top General News
Jury selection in Trump hush money trial faces pivotal stretch as former president returns to court
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jury selection in the hush money trial of Donald Trump enters a pivotal and potentially final stretch Thursday as lawyers look to round out the panel of New Yorkers that will decide the first-ever criminal case against a former president. Seven jurors have been...
The Latest | Netanyahu says Israel will decide how to respond as Iran warns against retaliation
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would decide whether and how to respond to Iran’s major air assault earlier this week, brushing off calls for restraint from close allies. Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented attack, leaving the region bracing for...
Israelis grapple with how to celebrate Passover, a holiday about freedom, while many remain captive
JERUSALEM (AP) — Every year, Alon Gat’s mother led the family's Passover celebration of the liberation of the ancient Israelites from Egypt thousands of years ago. But this year, Gat is struggling with how to reconcile a holiday commemorating freedom after his mother was slain and other family...
Once a fringe Indian ideology, Hindu nationalism is now mainstream, thanks to Modi's decade in power
AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Hindu nationalism, once a fringe ideology in India, is now mainstream. Nobody has done more to advance this cause than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of India’s most beloved and polarizing political leaders. And no entity has had more influence on his...
Climate change concerns grow, but few think Biden's climate law will help, AP-NORC poll finds
Like many Americans, Ron Theusch is getting more worried about climate change. A resident of Alden, Minnesota, Theusch has noticed increasingly dry and mild winters punctuated by short periods of severe cold — symptoms of a warming planet. As he thinks about that,...
Lawyers for Nassar assault survivors have reached $100M deal with Justice Department, AP source says
The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately $100 million to settle claims with about 100 people who say they were sexually assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The deal has...
What's inside the $95 billion House package focused on aiding Ukraine and Israel
WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Mike Johnson has unveiled a long-awaited package of bills that will provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel, replenish U.S. weapons systems and give humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. The package totals $95.3 billion in spending, which...
Democrats clear path to bring proposed repeal of Arizona’s near-total abortion ban to a vote
PHOENIX (AP) — Democrats in the Arizona Senate cleared a path to bring a proposed repeal of the state’s near-total ban on abortions to a vote after the state’s highest court concluded the law can be enforced and the state House blocked efforts to undo the long-dormant statute. ...
25 years after Columbine, trauma shadows survivors of the school shooting
DENVER (AP) — Hours after she escaped the Columbine High School shooting, 14-year-old Missy Mendo slept between her parents in bed, still wearing the shoes she had on when she fled her math class. She wanted to be ready to run. Twenty-five years later, and with Mendo now a mother...
Tsunami alert after a volcano in Indonesia has several big eruptions and thousands are told to leave
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami alert Wednesday after eruptions at Ruang mountain sent ash thousands of feet high. Officials ordered more than 11,000 people to leave the area. The volcano on the northern side of Sulawesi island had at least five...
Latest General News
Sydney shopping mall reopens after stabbings. Police make first arrest in riot after church attack
SYDNEY (AP) — A Sydney shopping mall opened to the public on Thursday for the first time since a mass stabbing i n which six people died, while the Australian prime minister raised giving citizenship to an immigrant security guard who was wounded while confronting the knife-wielding attacker. ...
US envoy to the UN vows support for families of Japanese who were abducted and taken to North Korea
TOKYO (AP) — America stands with Japan until all the Japanese abducted by North Korea decades ago return home to end their painful separation, United States ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Thursday in Tokyo. Japan says North Korea abducted at least 17...
China and Indonesia call for cease-fire in Gaza
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The Chinese and Indonesian foreign ministers called for an immediate and lasting cease-fire in Gaza after a meeting in Jakarta on Thursday, condemning the humanitarian costs of the ongoing war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. ...
Takeaways from this week's reports on the deadly 2023 Maui fire that destroyed Lahaina
HONOLULU (AP) — More than half a year after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century burned through a historic Maui town, officials are still trying to determine exactly what went wrong and how to prevent similar catastrophes in the future. But two reports released this week are filling...
How South Africa's former leader Zuma turned on his allies and became a surprise election foe
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa faces an unusual national election this year, its seventh vote since transitioning from white minority rule to a democracy 30 years ago. Polls and analysts warn that for the first time, the ruling African National Congress party that has comfortably held power...
Sydney boy accused of stabbing 2 clerics showed no signs of radicalization, Muslim leader says
SYDNEY (AP) — A boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics during a Sydney church service might have “anger management and behavioral issues” and a “short fuse” but had shown no signs of being radicalized, a community leader said on Thursday, after authorities declared the stabbing a...
Attorney general won't file criminal case against LA officer in 2021 shooting that killed teen
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The California Attorney General declined to file criminal charges against a Los Angeles police officer who fired a rifle at a suspect inside a clothing store in 2021, killing a 14-year-old girl in a dressing room, authorities said Wednesday. Officer William...
Communications breakdown left authorities in the dark and residents without alerts amid Maui fire
HONOLULU (AP) — As unpredictable wildfires roared across Maui last August, the head of the emergency management agency dragged his heels about returning to the island amid the unfolding crisis, while a broad communications breakdown left authorities in the dark and residents without emergency...
Croatia's ruling conservatives win parliamentary vote, but cannot rule alone
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia 's governing conservatives convincingly won a highly contested parliamentary election Wednesday, but will still need support from far-right groups to stay in power, according to the official vote count. The election followed a campaign that centered...
Prominent figure in German far-right party going on trial over alleged use of Nazi slogan
HALLE, Germany (AP) — One of the most prominent figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party is going on trial Thursday on charges of twice using a Nazi slogan, months before a regional election in which he is running to become his state's governor. Björn Höcke, 52, is...
