AP National News

Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — For the artistic and cultural elites of the West African nation of Senegal, the monthlong Dakar Biennale of Contemporary African Arts is a celebratory moment. But it wasn’t until this year that the local artisans in the Soumbedioune crafts market, just off the Corniche and at the doorstep on

Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The new head of the U.N. humanitarian aid agency is calling for “ruthlessness” when prioritizing how it spends money. Tom Fletcher acknowledges that the office has “struggled in previous years to raise the money we need.” That’s even as crises grow more numerous, intense and long-lasting in places like Gaza,

Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas police detective who died in an apparent suicide as he was about to stand trial for allegedly violating the civil rights of women prosecutors say he sexually assaulted wasn’t supposed to have a gun under his house arrest. Police found Roger Golubski dead on his back

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Over the past dozen years, Syrian militant leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has worked to remake his public image and the insurgency he commands, renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaida and consolidating power before emerging from the shadows. Now al-Golani, 42, seeks to seize the moment yet again, leading his fighters in

Associated Press LOBITO, Angola (AP) — President Joe Biden pledged another $600 million Wednesday for an ambitious multi-country rail project in Africa as one of the final foreign policy moves of his administration, and told African leaders the resource-rich continent of more than 1.4 billion people had been “left behind for much too long.” “But

AP Technology Writer It is an ambitious social experiment of our moment in history — one that experts say could accomplish something that parents, schools and other governments have attempted with varying degrees of success: keeping kids off social media until they turn 16. Australia’s new law, approved by its Parliament last week, is an

Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A judge is weighing which of Missouri’s sweeping abortion restrictions will fall under a new constitutional amendment. Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang did not immediately rule after a Wednesday hearing in Kansas City court. Abortion-rights supporters want a court order declaring the state’s near-total abortion ban and

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Hearing a high-profile culture-war clash, the Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The justices’ decision, not expected for several months, could affect similar laws enacted by another 25 states and a range of other efforts to regulate the lives of transgender

Authorities fear a woman in western Pennsylvania who disappeared while looking for her cat may have been swallowed by a sinkhole caused by mine subsidence. A sinkhole is an area of ground that has no natural external surface drainage and can form when the ground below the land surface cannot support the land above. Sinkholes

Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials say Chinese coast guard vessels backed by navy ships have fired powerful water cannons and blocked and sideswiped a Philippine patrol vessel at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. They say three Philippine coast guard and bureau of fisheries vessels were on routine patrol to

AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes reached more records after tech companies talked up how much artificial intelligence is boosting their results. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% Wednesday to add to what looks to be one of its best years of the millennium. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%, while

AP National Writer Miami’s playoff hopes took an all-but-final nosedive while Alabama’s got a boost Tuesday night in the last rankings before the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket is set next weekend. The Hurricanes (10-2) moved down six spots to No. 12 — the first team out of the projected bracket after suffering their second

Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s opposition parties moved Wednesday to impeach the president over the shocking and short-lived declaration of martial law that drew heavily armed troops to encircle parliament before lawmakers climbed walls to reenter the building and unanimously voted to lift his order. Impeaching Yoon Suk Yeol would require

Associated Press/Report for America GARYVILLE, La. (AP) — State and federal authorities in Louisiana celebrated breaking ground on an ambitious $330 million conservation project intended to revitalize one of the state’s largest swamp ecosystems by reconnecting it with the Mississippi River. The 176 square mile Maurepas Swamp, a state wildlife refuge, holds Louisiana’s second largest

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary, spent a second day on Capitol Hill, meeting privately with Republican senators amid rising questions about his ability to effectively lead the Pentagon. Hegseth told reporters Tuesday that he was planning to sit down with senators, even with those potentially skeptical

Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Closing arguments in the high-profile murder trial of a tech consultant charged in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee concluded Tuesday, with both sides urging jurors to use their common sense to deliver justice. The case is expected to go to the jury for deliberation Wednesday.

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has dialed in to what was described as a “love fest” with Senate Republicans. They are beginning to laying the groundwork for control of government in the new year, and a potential first-30-days agenda. Trump’s brief call was more celebratory than a prescriptive policy agenda, according to