AP National News

By SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces launched a missile attack on the Kyiv area for the first time in weeks Thursday and pounded the northern Chernihiv region as well, in what Ukraine said was revenge for standing up to the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, announced a counteroffensive to take back

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court has unsealed an arrest warrant for a former government minister in Central African Republic for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in 2013. Prosecutors at the global court accuse Mahamat Nouradine Adam of crimes including torture, persecution, enforced disappearances and cruel treatment at two

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy shrank from April through June for a second straight quarter, contracting at a 0.9% annual pace and raising fears that the nation may be approaching a recession. The decline that the Commerce Department reported Thursday in the gross domestic product — the broadest

By JOE McDONALD Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Beijing grumbled but swallowed its irritation in 1997 when then-Speaker Newt Gingrich of the U.S. House of Representatives visited Taiwan, the island democracy claimed by the mainland’s ruling Communist Party as its own territory. China had other priorities. President Jiang Zemin’s government was preparing to celebrate Hong

CHICAGO (AP) — U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said he tested positive Thursday for COVID-19 and was in quarantine with what he described as minor symptoms. The No. 2 Senate Democrat, who said in a statement he was vaccinated and had received two coronavirus booster shots, planned to continue to work remotely. The 77-year-old

BY JULIE WATSON Associated Press TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — With its cheery unicorn printed case, Ana Morazan’s iPhone contains all that’s left of what she calls her “other world,” referring to her middle-class life before back-to-back hurricanes destroyed her home in Honduras. There are glam shots of the 42-year-old with blond, salon-styled hair, impeccable makeup

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A crowd of staunch fans have braved wet winter weather in downtown Melbourne to watch an outdoor showing of an Australian soap opera’s finale. The star-studded television show “Neighbors” ran for 37 years. Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce and Holly Valance are among the celebrities who returned to fictional Ramsay Street to

By MIKE SILVERMAN For The Associated Press Lauren Pearl is giving new meaning to the term high-flying soprano. Sure, her latest venture calls for her to sing up to a high C, but plenty of operatic heroines do that. What’s different is that Pearl will be singing while scaling a 60-foot brick wall. She is

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is speaking Thursday morning with China’s Xi Jinping, the fifth conversation of their presidencies, as the two leaders chart the future of their complicated relationship at a time of simmering economic and geopolitical tensions. The call, which began at 8:33 a.m.

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week, but the previous week’s number was revised upward significantly, with claims breaching the 250,000 level in back-to-back weeks for the first time in more than eight months. Applications for jobless aid for the week ending July 23 declined

By BRUCE SCHREINER and REBECCA REYNOLDS Associated Press Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it’s some of the worst flooding in state history. He says officials expect lives have been lost, and property damage has been massive, with hundreds losing their

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Altria reports its nearly $13 billion investment in troubled vaping company Juul is worth 95% less than it originally paid. The tobacco giant on Thursday said its stake in the e-cigarette maker is now worth less than $500 million after U.S. regulators announced plans to ban

By DAVID KOENIG and MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writers JetBlue Airways has agreed to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion and create the nation’s fifth-largest airline if the deal can win approval from antitrust regulators. The agreement Thursday capped a months-long bidding war and arrives one day after Spirit’s attempt to merge with fellow budget

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy shrank from April through June for a second straight quarter, contracting at a 0.9% annual pace and raising fears that the nation may be approaching a recession. The decline that the Commerce Department reported Thursday in the gross domestic product — the broadest

Associated Press JetBlue has agreed to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion in a deal that would create the nation’s fifth largest airline if approved by U.S. regulators. The agreement Thursday comes a day after Spirit’s attempt to merge with Frontier Airlines fell apart. Spirit had recommended its shareholders approve a lower offer from Frontier,

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The presidents of South Korea and Indonesia have agreed to boost their bilateral cooperation on supply chains, economic security and defense. Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrived in South Korea on Wednesday as part of a regional trip that already took him to China and Japan. During a joint press conference

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Jerome Powell delivered a tough message at the start of a news conference Wednesday: Inflation is way too high, and the Federal Reserve is laser-focused on taming it with higher borrowing costs. Yet despite his resolute words, the Fed chair also said for the first time

By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to hold the fifth talk of their presidencies on Thursday morning amid rising tensions. Their conversation will be their first since March, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Relations between the two countries have been strained