AP National News

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese real estate developer has warned it might not be able to pay a $400 million bond due next week, adding to financial strain in an industry that is struggling to avoid defaults on billions of dollars of debt. Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd., headquartered in Hong Kong, said an attempt to

By BARBARA SURK Associated Press NICE, France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting the energy-rich Persian Gulf, hoping to seal a major arms sale after the fall’s Australian submarine deal debacle and to strengthen France’s regional role. The two-day visit starting Friday to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia comes a

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s beleaguered currency has been plunging to all-time lows against the U.S. dollar and the euro in recent months as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presses ahead with a widely criticized effort to cut interest rates despite surging consumer prices. As a result, families are struggling to

By ZEINA KARAM Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s information minister says he will announce his resignation in a bid to ease an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. Minister George Kordahi has told local TV stations that he intended to step down Friday, weeks after televised comments he made that

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks are mostly higher in Asia after a broad rally on Wall Street as investors keep an eye on the spread of the new coronavirus variant and measures governments are taking to restrain it. Tokyo gained 1% and most other regional markets edged higher. Hong Kong

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Pope Francis is meeting with the leader of Cyprus’ Greek Orthodox Church with the aim of further mending an ideological and political rift between the Catholic West and the Orthodox East. Francis and Archbishop Chrysostomos II met Friday, the second day of the pope’s three-day Cyprus

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Bars, restaurants and gyms have reopened in Auckland as the last major parts of a lockdown that lasted more than 100 days ended. New Zealand has begun a new phase in its coronavirus response in which there won’t be lockdowns but people will be required

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — CeeDee Lamb had 122 yards from scrimmage, Tony Pollard had a 58-yard touchdown run and the Dallas defense produced timely sacks and turnovers in the Cowboys’ 27-17 win over the New Orleans Saints. The Cowboys intercepted Saints quarterback Taysom Hill three times in the final

By CLAY BAILEY Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies broke the NBA record for margin of victory, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 152-79. The 73-point margin easily topped the previous mark, which was Cleveland’s 68-point win over Miami. The Cavaliers topped the Heat 148-80 on Dec. 17, 1991. Memphis used 12 players

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The head of the most populous province in the Solomon Islands says the country would likely switch diplomatic ties back to Taiwan if the prime minister is ousted from his post following next week’s no-confidence vote, after looting and violent protests shook the capital city last

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Hundreds of military families living near Pearl Harbor have complained of stomach pain, nausea and other health ailments after the Navy’s water system became contaminated by petroleum. The problems are afflicting one of the most important Navy bases in the world, which is home to submarines, ships

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — During his confirmation to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh assured Sen. Susan Collins a woman’s right to an abortion was “settled law.” But his comments during this week’s landmark Supreme Court hearing over a Mississippi abortion case sounded a different note. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The head of a U.N. team investigating atrocities in Iraq says Islamic State extremists committed crimes against humanity and war crimes at a prison in Mosul in June 2014 where at least 1,000 predominantly Shiite Muslim prisoners were systematically killed. Christian Ritscher told the U.N.

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — World Health Organization officials in the Western Pacific say border closures adopted by some countries may buy time to deal with the new omicron coronavirus variant. However, they say measures put in place and experience gained in dealing with the delta variant should remain the foundation

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press RESERVE, La. (AP) — EPA Administrator Michael Regan says a recently completed “Journey to Justice” tour from Mississippi to Texas enabled him to put “faces and names with this term that we call environmental justice.″ The five-day tour in mid-November highlighted low-income, mostly minority communities adversely affected by industrial pollution.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has detected its first case of the new omicron strain of the coronavirus in a foreign student who returned to the country last month after visiting her family in South Africa. Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin says the 19-year-old female transited in Singapore and arrived in Malaysia on Nov. 19.

By AARON MORRISON, HELEN WIEFFERING and NOREEN NASIR Associated Press The nation’s military academies provide a key pipeline into the leadership of the armed services and, for the better part of the last decade, they have welcomed more racially diverse students each year. But beyond blanket anti-discrimination policies, these federally funded institutions volunteer little about

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As the conservative-leaning Supreme Court this week signaled that it may dramatically limit abortion rights, polling suggests Americans want Roe v. Wade to remain law, but have nuanced attitudes on the circumstances under which abortion should be allowed. In 2020, AP VoteCast showed 69% of voters in

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — For months, President Joe Biden has taken it on the chin from Republicans over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The Democratic president’s efforts to confront COVID-19 have long attracted a litany of fiery statements, legal challenges and more than a few barbs from his predecessor. But

By STEVE KARNOWSKI and AMY FORLITI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A mostly white jury is nearly set for the trial of a suburban Minneapolis police officer charged in Daunte Wright’s shooting death. Twelve panelists have been seated, with just two more needed to serve as alternates ahead of next Wednesday’s opening statements. Former Brooklyn