Top General News
Griner swap wasn't what US hoped for, but what it could get
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s surprise announcement last July lacked any detail, but its meaning was crystal clear. In a rare comment on secret talks, he said the Biden administration had made a “substantial proposal” to Russia to end the imprisonment...
How senators 'defied political gravity' on same-sex marriage
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin was on the Senate floor, but her mind was on the other side of the Capitol. The House was voting that July afternoon on Democratic legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision...
China struggles with COVID infections after controls ease
BEIJING (AP) — A rash of COVID-19 cases in schools and businesses were reported by social media users Friday in areas across China after the ruling Communist Party loosened anti-virus rules as it tries to reverse a deepening economic slump. Official data showed a fall in new cases,...
Helping Ukraine is 'self-preservation,' finance chief says
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Ukraine's finance minister says crucial Western financial support is “not charity” but “self-preservation” in the fight to defend democracy as his country deals with growing costs to repair electrical and heating infrastructure wrecked by Russian attacks. ...
Colorado shooter's 2021 case dropped for lack of cooperation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The Colorado Springs gay nightclub shooter had charges dropped in a 2021 bomb threat case after family members who were terrorized in the incident refused to cooperate, according to the district attorney and court documents unsealed Thursday. The...
Messi resumes World Cup quest as Argentina plays Netherlands
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Lionel Messi up against Virgil van Dijk. The youngest coach at the World Cup taking on the oldest. South America versus Europe. A back catalog of famous meetings. The quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands on Friday has all the ingredients of a...
China's Xi at Saudi palace to meet royals on Mideast trip
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping met on Thursday with Saudi Arabia's king and crown prince while on a visit to the kingdom, solidifying ties with a region crucial to his country's energy supplies as sanctions intensify on Russia over its war on Ukraine. ...
Chronic malnutrition stalks many poor children in Ecuador
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Sara Milena is barely 20 days old. Her mother, Tania Herrera, lives with her parents, who are the breadwinners of an Ecuadorian household where they earn $5 to $7 a day to feed five adults and support the new arrival. That income is stretched in hopes of...
The Year of the Slap: Pop culture moments in 2022
Taylor Swift was up. Elon Musk was in, out, and in. Tom Cruise was back. BTS stepped aside, and so did Serena Williams, and Tom Brady too — oops, scratch that. But the slap? The slap was everywhere. Ok, so maybe it wasn’t on the level of a moon landing, or...
Santa visit brings joy to a frosty Alaska Inupiaq village
NUIQSUT, Alaska (AP) — Though the weather outside was frightful, schoolchildren in the northern Alaska Inupiac community of Nuiqsut were so delighted for a visit by Santa that they braved wind chills of 25 degrees below zero just to see him land on a snow-covered airstrip. Once...
Latest General News
German coup plot fueled by conspiracy claims, COVID measures
BERLIN (AP) — An alleged plot to topple the German government, led by a self-styled prince, a retired paratrooper and a Berlin judge, had its roots in a murky mixture of post-war grudges, antisemitic conspiracy theories and anger over recent pandemic restrictions, experts say. ...
China struggles with COVID infections after controls ease
BEIJING (AP) — A rash of COVID-19 cases in schools and businesses were reported by social media users Friday in areas across China after the ruling Communist Party loosened anti-virus rules as it tries to reverse a deepening economic slump. Official data showed a fall in new cases,...
With vote ahead, Polish leader turns up anti-German rhetoric
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's ruling party leader claims Germany seeks to dominate Europe. He warns that Poles could end up under the “German heel." He snubs a German offer of anti-missile systems before Poland eventually accepts them — but gets in an anti-German dig along the way. ...
Helping Ukraine is 'self-preservation,' finance chief says
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Ukraine's finance minister says crucial Western financial support is “not charity” but “self-preservation” in the fight to defend democracy as his country deals with growing costs to repair electrical and heating infrastructure wrecked by Russian attacks. ...
AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa
Dec. 2 – Dec. 8 A week in which fans celebrated and commiserated as their teams competed in soccer's World Cup in Qatar, Russian shelling continued in the Donetsk region of Ukraine and the sculpted Apollo’s Chariot Fountain was lifted out of the gardens of the Palace of...
Myanmar rescues 154 Rohingya from boat in distress
BANGKOK (AP) — More than 150 Rohingya have been rescued off the coast of Myanmar after their boat started taking on water, Myanmar's military said. Myanmar's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation sent two boats from an offshore operation to rescue the 154 people — 106 males...
Crisis of confidence over cardinal shakes Cologne Catholics
COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — An unprecedented crisis of confidence is shaking a historic center of Catholicism in Germany — the Archdiocese of Cologne. Catholic believers have protested their deeply divisive archbishop and are leaving in droves over allegations that he may have covered up clergy...
K-pop star among 8 to join Japan tycoon Maezawa's moon trip
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa said Friday that K-Pop star T.O.P. will be among the eight people who will join him on a flyby around the moon on a SpaceX spaceship next year. The Japanese tycoon launched plans for the lunar voyage in 2018, buying all the seats on...
Asian shares advance on back of Wall Street gains
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares rose in Asia on Friday after an advance on Wall Street led by the latest rally in technology companies. Chinese benchmarks rose on reports the government is planning new measures to support the ailing property sector, which has dragged on growth over the past...
UK cost-of-living woes stir push for more free school meals
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — As the school bell rings, dozens of children begin filing into the canteen at Hillstone Primary School. The day's offering, a roast dinner, is a popular one, and many are eager to tuck into their plates of turkey slices, roasted potatoes, broccoli and gravy. ...
