AP National News

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French authorities have announced that a man arrested at Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport linked to the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was misidentified.The Paris General Prosecutor’s office issued a short statement Wednesday after over 24 hours of checks. It said that the man arrested Tuesday

By DASHA LITVINOVA, AAMER MADHANI and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden have agreed to appoint envoys to continue talks in light of escalating tensions involving Russia massing tens of thousands of troops near its border with Ukraine. The Kremlin said Wednesday it was unclear

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina city is planning to put up a historical marker to commemorate a nightclub that hosted Black musicians and patrons in the segregated South. The city of Clemson purchased the marker in honor of the Littlejohn Grill. The venue opened after World War II and stayed open until the

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s air force says the country’s military chief, Gen. Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others have been killed in a helicopter crash in southern Tamil Nadu state. It says in a tweet that the helicopter “met with a tragic accident.” The dead

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A jury in South Florida delivered a manslaughter verdict, only to have their decision rescinded moments later when a juror recanted her vote. Now they have to deliberate some more on whether 27-year-old Dayonte Resiles is guilty of manslaughter or first-degree murder, or is innocent in the 2014 death of

NEW YORK (AP) — Police say a man is facing charges including arson for setting fire to a 50-foot Christmas tree in front of Fox News headquarters in midtown Manhattan. The tree outside of the News Corp. building that houses Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post caught fire shortly after

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says no U.K. government minister will attend the Beijing Olympics. Johnson on Wednesday called it “effectively” a diplomatic boycott. Johnson was asked in the House of Commons whether the U.K. will join the United States, Australia and Lithuania in a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games. He

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — An official says a helicopter carrying India’s military chief has crashed in southern Tamil Nadu state, killing 13 of the 14 people on board. Chief of Defense Staff Bipin Rawat’s condition was not immediately announced. The senior civil administrator of the area where

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologized and ordered an inquiry after a leaked video showed senior members of his staff joking about holding a lockdown-breaching Christmas party. The video has poured fuel on allegations that government officials flouted coronavirus rules they imposed on everyone else. Johnson

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer Pfizer says a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine appears to offer important protection against the new omicron variant. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech tested how well vaccine-produced antibodies could neutralize omicron in lab dishes. They found significant weakening after the standard two doses. But a booster dose increased

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Olaf Scholz has become Germany’s ninth post-World War II chancellor, opening a new era for the European Union’s most populous nation and largest economy after Angela Merkel’s 16-year tenure. Scholz’s government takes office with high hopes of modernizing Germany and combating climate change but faces the immediate

By BUSABA SIVASOMBOON Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Supreme Court has affirmed a three-year, two-month prison sentence for a top construction tycoon in connection with a poaching incident in a wildlife sanctuary in which a black panther was shot and cooked over a campfire. Premchai Karnasuta is president of Italian-Thai Development PLC, one of

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Two international human rights groups say Lebanese authorities should immediately release a freelance American journalist who was detained in Beirut last month and continues to be held despite the fact that a prosecutor ordered her release. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said Wednesday the journalist was

By AMANDA BARROSO of NerdWallet It’s easy to go overboard on gifts for your kids for the holidays, but the result could be a drained bank account and an overstuffed toy bin come January. Money and child development experts point out that setting a holiday spending budget keeps your finances in check and could help

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he is open to improved relations with Israel but the country must first display “more sensitive” policies toward Palestinians. Erdogan was also quoted as saying on Wednesday that better ties with Israel would be beneficial for regional peace. Israel and Turkey were once close allies.

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Building materials maker Kingspan says it has agreed with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One racing team to end a partnership deal after protests from families of people who died in a high-rise fire in London. The company said in a statement that it was “ deeply aware

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Netherlands’ national museum is planning to restretch Rembrandt van Rijn’s iconic painting “The Night Watch” to get rid of deformations in its top left corner. The museum announced Wednesday that the 379.5×453.5-centimeter (149.4×178.5-inch) canvas will be removed from its wooden stretcher next month and