AP National News

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the military organization and Russia have agreed to try to schedule more meetings, despite tensions over Moscow’s military buildup near Ukraine. Speaking Wednesday after chairing a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, Stoltenberg said that both parties had “expressed the need to dialogue

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Prices paid by U.S. consumer jumped 7% in December from a year earlier, the highest inflation rate since 1982 and the latest evidence that rising costs for food, gas, rent and other necessities are heightening the financial pressures on America’s households. Inflation has spiked during the

By ISABEL DEBRE and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The British Council says an Iranian employee arrested in Tehran has been acquitted by a court and is now in the United Kingdom. Aras Amiri was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2019 on widely criticized espionage charges. The British

NEW YORK (AP) — The next book in Ibram X. Kendi’s prolific and award-winning publishing career is a picture story with a hopeful message. Penguin Young Readers announced Wednesday that in Kendi’s “Goodnight Racism,” the author seeks to connect with children’s capacity to imagine a better world. The book is illustrated by Cbabi Bayoc and

By HASSAN BARISE Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A car bomb has exploded outside the international airport in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu. A local doctor says it has killed at least eight people and wounded nine others. Dr. Abdulkadir Adam with Medina hospital shared the toll with The Associated Press. Witnesses at the scene

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A couple accused of refusing to fill out the required COVID-19 entry form at Puerto Rico’s airport and providing proof of a negative test have been detained after they locked themselves in their minivan for several hours, prompting police to send a negotiator. The couple detained late Tuesday are

PARIS (AP) — A French prosecutor says a suspect in the 2012 slayings of a British-Iraqi family vacationing in the French Alps and a cyclist has been detained. Saad al-Hilli, his wife Ikbal and his mother-in-law Souhaila al-Allaf, were shot dead on a remote mountain road near Annecy in eastern France. A French cyclist Sylvain

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s medical community has scored a victory after a court ordered that a regional government compensate doctors with up to 49,000 euros ($56,000) for having to work without personal protection suits during the devastating early months of the pandemic. The lawsuit brought by a doctor’s union

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian and Chinese military commanders are meeting to discuss withdrawal of troops from a key area of their contested border to ease a 20-month standoff. The countries have stationed tens of thousands of soldiers backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets along their de facto border,

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The head of the International Energy Agency has blamed Russia for much of Europe’s natural gas crisis. Fatih Birol said Wednesday that high prices and low storage levels largely stem from the behavior of state-owned gas supplier Gazprom. He says Gazprom could send up to a third more gas through existing

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologized for attending a garden party during Britain’s coronavirus lockdown. He said Wednesday that there are things the government “did not get right.” Johnson is facing anger from public and politicians over claims he and his staff flouted pandemic restrictions by socializing

By COLIN BERESFORD of NerdWallet Applying to college is rarely easy, but applicants this year are faced with one additional challenge: creating a compelling college application after nearly two years of disruptions as a result of the pandemic. Grades and extracurriculars that would normally fill an application are missing due to accommodations and precautions made

By HASSAN BARISE Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A large explosion outside the international airport in Somalia’s capital has killed at least eight people and wounded nine others. Dr. Abdulkadir Adam with Medina hospital shared the toll with The Associated Press. Witnesses at the scene said a passing U.N. convoy appeared to be the

BEIRUT (AP) — Austria’s foreign minister says the European Union wants to help Lebanon escape its economic meltdown – but only if the country’s leaders clean up Beirut’s affairs. Alexander Schallenberg listed some of those reforms Wednesday after meeting his Lebanese counterpart in Beirut. He says Lebanon should reach a deal with the International Monetary

By ISABEL DEBRE and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The British Council says an Iranian employee arrested in Tehran has been acquitted by a court and is now in the United Kingdom. Aras Amiri was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2019 on widely criticized espionage charges. The British

By RONALD MONTOYA Edmunds 2021 was an unusual year for the automotive industry. While customer demand for new cars rebounded from the economic uncertainty of 2020, automakers found themselves unable to meet that demand because of semiconductor chip shortages and supply chain problems. So what should car shoppers expect for 2022? Much of the same,

By JOHN PYE and ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic says knew he’d tested positive for COVID-19 when he attended a newspaper interview and photo shoot in Serbia last month. He acknowledged Wednesday he made an “error of judgment” and should have immediately gone into isolation. In a statement posted to

By DAVID KEYTON Associated Press STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s government says it has earmarked some 6 billion kronor ($661 million) for a temporary scheme to help the most affected households across the Scandinavian country cope with high electricity bills this winter. Some 1.8 million households will likely get help footing soaring bills. Finance Minister Mikkel

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A large explosion has occurred outside the international airport in Somalia’s capital and an emergency responder is reporting deaths and injuries. The founder of the Aamin ambulance service, Abdulkadir Adan, tweeted that he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and injuries” in Mogadishu. He posted a photo from the