Orders for US durable goods advance 2.4% in December

WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose in December as a big jump in demand for military aircraft offset a sharp decline in commercial aircraft that reflected Boeing’s continued problems with its 737 Max. A key category that tracks business investment fell...

Qatar emir names new prime minister from within royal court

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar's ruling emir accepted the resignation of the country's prime minister on Tuesday and appointed in his place another member from the ruling Al Thani family who has deep experience in the royal court. Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued a royal decree naming Sheikh...

IS tries to stage comeback amid rising US-Iran tensions

BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group's self-styled “caliphate” across parts of Iraq and Syria seemed largely defeated last year, with the loss of its territory, the killing of its founder in a U.S. raid and an unprecedented crackdown on its social media propaganda machine. But tensions...

AP FACT CHECK: Trump wrong on Bolton; more claims from trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump stated falsely Monday that House Democrats never called his former national security adviser to testify in their impeachment inquiry. Actually they did. Trump's tweet about John Bolton came as the Senate entered the second week of the impeachment trial, where his...

GOP defends Trump as Bolton book adds pressure for witnesses

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators faced mounting pressure Monday to summon John Bolton to testify at President Donald Trump's impeachment trial even as Trump's lawyers mostly brushed past extraordinary new allegations from the former national security adviser and focused instead on corruption in Ukraine and...

Search suspended for missing crew in Louisiana barge crash

LULING, La. (AP) — The search for three men who went missing on the Mississippi River when two barge towing vessels collided has been suspended, The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday night. The Coast Guard said the agency searched over 835 nautical miles (1,545 kilometers) for the missing mariners who were...

Nighttime mortar attack on US Embassy in Baghdad injured 1

BAGHDAD (AP) — A top U.S. commander said Monday that mortars were used in an attack on the American embassy in Baghdad that injured one person and caused some material damage the previous night, not katyusha rockets as was initially reported by staffers and a statement from the military. Gen. Frank...

US says mystery crash in Afghanistan was US Air Force plane

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An American military aircraft crashed in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, the U.S. military said, adding that there were no indications so far it'd been brought down by enemy fire. The spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Col. Sonny Leggett, said that the military plane, a...

Taliban-affiliated journalist, militant spokesman say US military aircraft crashed in Afghanistan

Defense resumes in key impeachment week; Dems seek witnesses

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's impeachment trial enters a pivotal week as his defense team resumes its case and senators face a critical vote on whether to hear witnesses or proceed directly to a vote that is widely expected to end in his acquittal. The articles of impeachment charge Trump with...