Afghanistan hosts Pakistan, China for wide-ranging talks

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan, Pakistan and China are meeting in the Afghan capital to discuss trade, development and ending the region's relentless conflicts. Shahussain Murtazawi, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan president, says envoys meeting Saturday will discuss everything from regional...

Japanese boat owners charged with helping smuggle shark fins

HONOLULU (AP) — U.S. prosecutors in Hawaii are accusing the owners and officers of a Japanese fishing boat of helping Indonesian fishermen smuggle nearly 1,000 shark fins, worth about $58,000 on the black market. It's against U.S. law to remove the fins of sharks at sea. Prosecutors say the fishermen...

The Latest: 10 fishermen plead guilty in shark fin case

HONOLULU (AP) — The Latest on shark fin smuggling charges (all times local): 4:15 p.m. Ten Indonesian fishermen who were arrested in Hawaii and charged with attempting to smuggle shark fins have plead guilty to a lesser charge. Court records show four of them pleaded guilty Friday morning to a misdemeanor...

Salt Lake City gets go-ahead to bid for Winter Olympics

Salt Lake City got the green light to bid for the Winter Olympics — most likely for 2030 — in an attempt to bring the Games back to the city that hosted in 2002 and provided the backdrop for the U.S. winter team's ascendance into an international powerhouse. The U.S. Olympic Committee said Friday it...

US couple accused of enticing Chinese into sex trafficking

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A New Hampshire husband and wife used a messaging system popular in China to entice women to come to the U.S. on tourist visas to serve in the sex industry in northern New England, according to court documents. Sou Chao Li, 37, and his wife, Derong Maio, 37, orchestrated an elaborate...

Senators ask FBI to investigate Blackmun for lying to panel

Two lawmakers are asking the Justice Department and FBI to look into whether former U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun lied to a Senate panel in testimony about the handling of sex-abuse allegations against Larry Nassar. At issue is Blackmun's debunked claim that he discussed the case with USOC staff after...

China suspends tariff hikes on US cars, auto parts

BEIJING (AP) — China announced a 90-day suspension on Friday of tariff hikes on U.S. cars, trucks and auto parts following its cease-fire in a trade battle with Washington that threatens global economic growth. The suspension is China's first step in response to President Donald Trump's Dec. 1 agreement to...

Salt Lake City chosen to bid for Winter Olympics, likely for 2030

Farmers share trade concerns at Nebraska convention

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — More than 2,000 farmers from across the U.S. and Canada shared concerns at a recent Nebraska convention about low crop prices in the wake of President Donald Trump's trade dispute with China. Farmers met this week in Omaha for an annual convention hosted by Farmers Business Network, an...

US, Canada look to ease strains amid 3-way spat with China

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Canada moved Friday to ease tensions between them over the case of a top Chinese technology executive whose arrest by Canadian authorities has sparked a diplomatic crisis entangling the three countries. Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese...