AP National News

By DAVID FISCHER and JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged eight people with smuggling endangered monkeys , including a Cambodian wildlife official who was arrested in the U.S. while traveling to a conference on protecting endangered species. Long-tailed macaques, sometimes known as crab-eating macaques, are protected under international trade law

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — In the summer of 1997, audiences in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theatre saw something no one had ever seen before: leaping antelopes, fluttering birds and elephants lumbering through the orchestra seats. It was “The Lion King,” and it would soon transfer to Broadway and start

By TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. military officer said Wednesday that he tried to reach out to his Russian counterpart in the aftermath of the missile explosions in Poland, but wasn’t able to get through. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

By EDGAR H. CLEMENTE Associated Press TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — Mexican security and immigration authorities have stepped up patrols, highway checkpoints and raids in southern Mexico since the United States started expelling Venezuelan migrants last month. The Mexican government has not said whether its enforcement actions near its border with Guatemala are related to the

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia’s elected Democratic prosecutor faces a state Senate trial and possible removal from office. The Republican-majority Pennsylvania House voted Wednesday to impeach District Attorney Larry Krasner over progressive policies that he has enacted amid rising crime in the city. The vote sets the stage for what

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — They were supposed to be birthday presents. They were supposed to be Christmas presents. They were supposed to be the most special of special treats for young fans of Taylor Swift. Instead, for many parents, the hours-long Ticketmaster debacle they endured Tuesday trying to score

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — A Russian billionaire under sanctions by the United States and Europe over his alleged ties to the Kremlin said Wednesday that he was not surprised by protests against his country at this year’s U.N. climate talks, but insisted that Russia wants to remain engaged on

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — An international nonprofit organization that sets sustainability standards for commercial fishing management has suspended a certification it awarded Maine’s lobster industry over concerns about harm to whales. Representatives for the London-based Marine Stewardship Council said Wednesday that the suspension of the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery’s

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press The man convicted of killing six people when he plowed his SUV through a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee says he has suffered from mental illness since he was young and didn’t plan to drive into the route. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow was expected to sentence Darrell Brooks

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Christopher Waller, a key Federal Reserve official, added his voice to a rising number of Fed officials who have suggested that the central bank will likely slow the pace of its interest rate hikes beginning in December. Waller, a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors,

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Top fashion models are used to having a camera lens trained on them. But Ashley Graham, Precious Lee, Guinevere Van Seenus and Lauren Wasser say they truly feel seen in the images of them appearing in the 2023 Pirelli calendar, which highlights their personal passions. Australian fashion

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A host of Hollywood and sports celebrities including Larry David and Tom Brady were named as defendants in a class-action lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange FTX, arguing that their celebrity status made them culpable for promoting the firm’s failed business model. FTX has been in the

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A company with an office in Houston and another owned by two American citizens appear to be helping Venezuela bypass U.S. sanctions and quietly transport millions in petroleum products aboard an Iranian-built tanker, The Associated Press has learned. The sanctions evasion effort is centered around an idled

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian state TV says gunmen opened fire in a bazaar in the southwestern Iranian city of Izeh, killing at least five people and wounding civilians and security forces. The motive of Wednesday’s attack was not immediately clear. Iran has seen nationwide protests in recent weeks and violent clashes as

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican chair of the Wisconsin Assembly elections committee who was backed by former President Donald Trump has been kicked out of the closed GOP caucus because her colleagues don’t trust her. State Rep. Janel Brandtjen was told of the decision Friday, according to a letter

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A space capsule hurtled toward the moon Wednesday for the first time in 50 years, following a thunderous launch of NASA’s mightiest rocket in a dress rehearsal for astronaut flights. No one was on board this debut flight, just three test dummies. The capsule

By LISA MASCARO, BRIAN SLODYSKO and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Mitch McConnell was reelected as Republican leader Wednesday, quashing a challenge from Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the Senate GOP campaign chief criticized over his party’s midterm election failures. Retreating to the Capitol’s Old Senate Chamber for the private vote,