AP National News

Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The LGBTQ+ community in Russia has been under pressure for a decade, but the situation has worsened in the past year. That’s because the country’s Supreme Court effectively outlawed any LGBTQ+ activism, exposing those involved with that community to criminal prosecution. Public representations of gay and transgender people are

Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The LGBTQ+ community in Russia has been under pressure for years, but the situation has worsened since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin argues that the war is a proxy battle with the West, which he says aims to destroy Russia and its “traditional family values”

AP Business Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s job market rebounded in November, adding 227,000 workers in a solid recovery from the previous month, when the effects of strikes and hurricanes had sharply diminished employers’ payrolls. Last month’s hiring growth was up considerably from a meager gain of 36,000 jobs in October. The government also revised

Associated Press The oldest-known wild bird in the world has laid an egg at the ripe age of 74, her first in four years. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service says in a Facebook post that the long-winged seabird named Wisdom has returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge at the northwestern edge of the

Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Three mountain climbers — two from the U.S. and one from Canada — missing for five days on Aoraki, New Zealand’s tallest peak, are believed to have died in a fall, the authorities said Friday. The men’s bodies were not found. But based on footprints glimpsed in the

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be the U.S. ambassador to China, leaning on a former business executive turned politician to serve as the administration’s envoy to America’s most potent economic and military adversary. Trump said in a social media post Thursday that Perdue

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is weighing whether to issue sweeping pardons for officials and allies who the White House fears could be unjustly targeted by President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, a preemptive move that would be a novel and risky use of the president’s extraordinary constitutional power. The deliberations so far are

AP Basketball Writer The NBA is returning to China next season, striking a deal to play preseason games there more than five years after the league was effectively banned over Commissioner Adam Silver not punishing Daryl Morey for tweeting support of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong. The Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns will play

Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Arsonists have extensively damaged a Melbourne synagogue in what Australia’s prime minister has condemned as an antisemitic attack on Australian values. Police say a witness who had come to Adass Israel Synagogue to pray saw two masked people spreading an accelerant inside the building before dawn Friday. About 60

Associated Press SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison delivered a steadfast defense of his party’s commitment to racial equity Thursday, drawing on his own identity as a Black man to push back forcefully against critics who say Democrats need to abandon “identity politics.” People of color need to see Democrats fighting

Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s governing party chief expressed support Friday for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol for imposing martial law this week, in a bombshell reversal that makes Yoon’s impeachment more likely. Opposition parties are pushing for a parliamentary vote on Yoon’s impeachment on Saturday, calling

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Beatles legend Paul McCartney is being honored in a specially minted British coin collection The Royal Mint, which has struck the coins of monarchs from Alfred the Great in the ninth century through to King Charles III, revealed Friday that it is launching a McCartney coin collection for collectors to

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As he presided over his final Christmas tree lighting at the White House, President Joe Biden on Thursday said his wish for the nation now, and always, was that “we continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency.” Biden spoke briefly to the

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan gave athletic director Warde Manuel a five-year contract extension on the heels of the Wolverines’ upset over rival Ohio State and a strong start to the basketball season. Manuel, who has held the position since 2016, signed through June 30, 2030. The school announced the extension on Thursday. Manuel

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Prosecutors have charged an Oklahoma City police officer with felony assault after he slammed a 71-year-old man to the ground, breaking his neck, following an argument over a traffic ticket. Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna said Thursday that her office filed one count of aggravated assault and battery against