AP National News

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Attorneys for Julius Jones have filed a last-minute emergency request seeking a temporary stop to his execution scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt has kept quiet about his decision on whether he will grant clemency. The request says Oklahoma’s lethal injection procedures post a

By BRYAN ANDERSON Associated Press/Report for America RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina congressman G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat, has announced he’ll retire from Congress next year after Republican-drawn map put him in a toss-up district. Butterfield is the second Democratic North Carolina congressman to decide against a reelection bid. Rep. David Price announced last month

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s flamboyant ambassador to Washington during the rule of the shah has died. Ardeshir Zahedi was 93. That’s according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency and other Iranian outlets. The reports say he died on Thursday, with several outlets saying he had suffered from

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has denounced a conservative group’s offer to pay $500 to the first person who “catches” a public school teacher violating New Hampshire’s new limits on the discussion of systemic racism and other topics. The budget the Republican governor signed in June

By VANGELIS PAPANTONIS and DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press LESBOS, Greece (AP) — A group of 24 volunteers who took part in migrant rescue operations appeared in court Thursday on the Greek island of Lesbos on smuggling-related charges in a case that has been strongly criticized by international human rights groups. The misdemeanor court on Lesbos

By The Associated Press The Academy of Country Music awards show is getting a NFL-sized upgrade next year, moving to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The country music awards show will be held on March 7 and exclusively live-streamed on Amazon Prime Video. The ACM Awards show was held for several years in the MGM

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks wobbled in afternoon trading on Wall Street Thursday as investors reviewed the latest earnings reports from retailers and an update on the employment market. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%. Financial companies had some of

By DON BABWIN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The Illinois State Police say one person has been killed and another wounded in shootings on Chicago expressways. The agency says the shootings happened early Thursday morning on Interstate 55 in Chicago. The first victim suffered non-life threatening injuries and the second victim was pronounced dead at

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s influential Shiite cleric who emerged as a winner in last month’s general elections has called on the country’s myriad pro-Iran Shiite armed factions to disband if they want to join his upcoming government. He also asked them to over their weapons to the government-sanctioned umbrella known

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A firebrand Republican has joined the crowded GOP field hoping to unseat Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia next year. State Sen. Amanda Chase announced her bid Wednesday. She is an ardent supporter of gun rights who promotes herself as “Trump in heels” and has a long history of clashing with

By TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writer U.S. communications regulators are requiring that phone companies allow people to text as well as call a new “988” number for the suicide-prevention hotline. The Federal Communications Commission last summer voted to require phone companies support the 988 number for people to call to reach an existing suicide-prevention hotline.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney Cruise Line will require all guests ages 5 and up to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before setting sail starting early next year. The company posted a statement on its website Wednesday announcing the new rules will begin Jan. 13, 2022. The vaccine was recently approved for children ages 5

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s financial markets watchdog says it has reprimanded and set restrictions on two Swiss banks for violating their obligation to fight money laundering in connection with clients in Venezuela, notably with links to state-run oil giant PDVSA. Banca Zarattini & Co. SA and CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA says the International Space Station remains at increased risk from orbiting debris following this week’s Russian weapons test. On Monday, Russia used a missile to destroy a satellite in an orbit just above the space station. NASA says the highest risk to the

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — It’s a neutral pronoun that’s proving anything but: A nonbinary pronoun added to an esteemed French dictionary has ignited a fierce linguistic squabble in the country. Le Petit Robert introduced the word “iel” — an amalgamation of “il” (he) and “elle” (she) — to its online edition

By EDGAR H. CLEMENTE Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — As Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador opens talks on immigration and other issues with his North American counterparts in Washington, a new migrant caravan has walked out of the southern Mexican city of Tapachula. The new group of migrants heading north Thursday served as

By RUSS BYNUM and JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — The man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery testified that the 25-year-old Black man’s demeanor struck as him as suspicious when he pulled up beside him in his pickup truck but he acknowledged that Arbery did not threaten him in anyway. Travis McMichael said

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart, stressed the importance of peace and stability between China and Taiwan and expressed “serious concern” about the situation in Hong Kong and China’s Xinjiang region. Japan’s Foreign Ministry says Hayashi also told Chinese Foreign

By BABAR DOGAR Associated Press LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan has released a radical Islamist leader under a deal struck with his party that was behind last month’s deadly anti-France protest over the publications of caricatures of Islam’s prophet. The deal to free Saad Rizvi also included lifting a ban on his party. He had

MOSCOW (AP) — A lawyer for imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been on a hunger strike for seven weeks, says he fell and lost consciousness at the end of the lawyer’s visit. Beka Basilaia said Thursday that Saakashvili was taken from the visiting room on a stretcher and that his condition is