AP National News

By DAMIAN J. TROISE Stocks rose broadly in morning trading on Wall Street Thursday as investors reviewed the latest corporate earnings and gauged the economic impact of rising inflation. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% and the Nasdaq rose 1.3%. Investors shrugged off news that the number of Americans

BERLIN (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says talks with Iran over its nuclear program are at a “decisive moment,” but has warned that if a deal is not reached in the coming weeks then Washington and its allies may change tactics. Speaking in Berlin after meeting senior diplomats from Germany, France and

By NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say the CIA believes it’s unlikely that Russia or another foreign adversary is using microwaves or other forms of directed energy to attack hundreds of American diplomats and intelligence officers who attribute their brain injuries and other symptoms to what’s come to be known as

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer Rey Mysterio was revealed Thursday as the cover star of the WWE 2K22 video game. The video game is set for a March 11 release. Mysterio was selected in part to honor his 20-year career with WWE. Mysterio is a playable character with his son, Dominik. The younger Mysterio

PARIS (AP) — France’s government spokesman says more than 1 million adults have got their first vaccine shot over the past month. The move comes after the government announced a plan to exclude unvaccinated people from all restaurants, sports arenas and other venues. The French parliament approved the new law over the weekend. The measure

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The top U.S. public health agency has long been criticized as too slow to collect and act on new information. Now, increasingly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also being criticized for moving too fast. One year into Dr. Rochelle Walensky’s tenure as

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The foreign and defense ministers of Japan and France have held virtual talks as the two countries seek to deepen their security ties in the Indo-Pacific region, where tensions have been rising amid China’s military buildup and North Korea’s nuclear and missile development. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Jamie Dornan, whose latest film “Belfast” is being recognized with award nominations, says he looks to the movie’s director, Kenneth Branagh, as an example of a career to aspire to. Branagh is a stage, film and TV actor, who writes and has directed films including Shakespeare

By CHALIDA EKVITTHAYAVECHNUKUL Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand, which in 2020 became the first Southeast Asian nation to decriminalize the production and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, is moving to further loosen regulations on the drug. Its Food and Drug Administration is proposing that cannabis — which includes marijuana and hemp plants —

By BARRY HATTON Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s government is under fire over its preparations for people infected with COVID-19 to vote in an upcoming snap election. Officials estimate that as many as 600,000 eligible voters could be infected and confined at home on the day of the Jan. 30 election. They are

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — The Vatican has included a group that advocates for women’s ordination on a website promoting a two-year consultation of rank-and-file Catholics. The inclusion of the Women’s Ordination Conference on the website promoting the Vatican’s 2023 “synod,” or bishops’ meeting, is significant since the Vatican has long held

By KATHY GANNON Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have stormed an apartment in Kabul, arresting a woman rights activist and her three sisters. A Taliban statement appeared to blame the incident on a recent women’s protest. The arrested activist was among about 25 women who took part in an anti-Taliban protest on

By MATTHEW LEE and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is warning of a unified, “swift, severe” response from the United States and its allies if Russia sends any military forces into Ukraine. Blinken’s comments in Berlin appeared to be another effort to clear up confusion about the

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has dropped its case against a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor charged with hiding work he did for the Chinese government. The department said in a filing Thursday in federal court in Boston that it could no longer meet its burden of proof at

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street Thursday, recovering some of their day-earlier losses. The S&P 500 is up 0.5%, the Nasdaq is up 1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.4%. Investors shrugged off news that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest

By DANICA KIRKA, SYLVIA HUI and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A British man who held four people hostage in a Texas synagogue ranted against Jews and American wars in countries like Afghanistan as his brother pleaded with him to give up and free the captives. That’s according to a recorded conversation posted

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The party of Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley appears to have won every legislative seat in the first elections that the island has held since casting off the British monarchy. Preliminary results released Thursday indicate Mottley’s Barbados Labor Party has secured all 30 seats in the House of Assembly,

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in three months as the fast-spreading omicron variant disrupted the job market. Jobless claims rose for the third straight week — by 55,000 to 286,000, highest since mid-October, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A lawmaker from Britain’s governing Conservatives has accused the government of blackmailing opponents of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Tory member of Parliament William Wragg said Thursday that legislators calling for a challenge to Johnson’s leadership have faced “intimidation.” That allegedly included threats of a loss of funding