AP National News

PARIS (AP) — Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is promising to step up efforts to fight criminality on the messaging app. In a Telegram post, the app’s founder made his first public comments since French authorities handed him preliminary charges for allegedly allowing the platform’s use for criminal activity. Durov defended himself against the French judicial

Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — U.N.-backed human rights investigators are urging the creation of an “independent and impartial force” to protect civilians in Sudan’s war. The fact-finding mission is blaming both sides for war crimes including murder, mutilation and torture and warning that countries that arm and finance them could be complicit. It also accused

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — From jail, Shane Jenkins helped sell T-shirts, tote bags and other merchandise promoting the notion that he and other rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol are political prisoners unjustly held in pretrial detention. That disturbed the judge who sentenced the Texas man to seven years in prison for storming the

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Finding a viable trial defense hasn’t been easy for rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol. Their arguments aren’t swaying jurors who are hearing testimony and viewing evidence. Of the nearly 100 riot defendants who have elected to a trial by jury, none has been fully acquitted. A retired New York

Associated Press JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces appeared to have withdrawn from three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank by Friday morning, after a more than weeklong military operation that left dozens dead and a trail of destruction. Overnight, Israeli armored personnel carriers were seen leaving the Jenin refugee camp

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said she hasn’t grown numb to the violent scenes of Jan. 6 that are routinely shown in her courtroom. “I’m horrified every single time,” she said before sentencing a U.S. Marine Corps veteran in February to more than three years prison. That man, Michael Foy,

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inside Washington’s federal courthouse, there’s no denying the reality of Jan. 6, 2021. Day after day, judges and jurors silently absorb the chilling sights and sounds from television screens of rioters beating police, shattering windows and hunting for lawmakers as democracy lay under siege. But as he seeks to reclaim the White

AP Sports Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japan defeated China’s men’s national team 7-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Saitama, Japan, a brutal loss that came against one of China’s biggest sporting and geopolitcal rivals in Asia. The loss on Thursday was China’s most lopsided against Japan, and a historic loss in World Cup qualifying.

Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A fire in a school dormitory in Kenya has killed 18 students and 27 others have been hospitalized, with 70 children unaccounted for, the country’s deputy president said Friday. President William Ruto declared three days of mourning during which flags will be flown at half-staff in honor of the

Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The legal saga surrounding Hunter Biden took an unexpected turn when he pleaded guilty to nine federal tax counts after prosecutors refused to budge in their opposition to a special plea that would have allowed him to maintain his innocence. The twist that played out as jury selection was

AP Education Writer Mass shootings have effects on communities that are felt long after the day’s tragedy. School shootings in particular can have physical, emotional and behavioral effects on kids — even if the shooting occurred on the other side of the country. Exposure to school shootings, even if indirectly, is shown to disrupt people’s

Associated Press CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A former Mafia hitman already serving life in prison was sentenced to 25 years Friday in the 2018 fatal prison bludgeoning of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger. Prosecutors said Fotios “Freddy” Geas used a lock attached to a belt to repeatedly hit the 89-year-old Bulger in the head

Associated Press RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (AP) — Nick Mardesic and his family are living off the power grid, so light at night comes from a flashlight, and a hot meal and shower require driving several miles to his parents’ home. The family is not in a rugged location, but rather on a scenic peninsula

Associated Press WINDER, Ga. (AP) — The 14-year-old suspect in a shooting that killed four people at a Georgia high school and his father, who was arrested for allowing his son to have a weapon, will stay in custody after their lawyers decided not to seek bail Friday. Colt Gray, who has been charged with

AP Lifestyles Writer BRIDGEHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Ralph Lauren took to Hamptons horse country for a rollout of his signature Americana featuring first lady Jill Biden, Usher and Colman Domingo on his front row and Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and a bevy of adorable kids on his runway. Horses and riders meandered Thursday night in

Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Pope Francis’s visit to Papua New Guinea will take him to a remote part of the South Pacific island nation where Christianity is a recent addition to traditional spiritual beliefs developed over millenia that remain deeply ingrained. Francis will visit the diocese of Vanimo on the main island of

Associated Press Ballot measures on abortion access could attract voters to polls in November who otherwise might sit out the election — and even a small number of additional voters could make a difference in close races for offices from the state legislature to president. Scholars and ballot measure experts are divided on the impact

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — This week’s indictment of two Russian state media employees accused of paying a Tennessee company to create pro-Russian content is revealing Moscow’s latest tactic for meddling in the November election. U.S. authorities say the company employed several popular right-wing influencers who regularly criticized America’s support for Ukraine in its war

AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes thought for a moment that the Chiefs were headed to overtime. So did Ravens counterpart Lamar Jackson, who had found Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone with no time left for a touchdown that appeared to tie the game. In the end,

Associated Press WINDER, Ga. (AP) — It was the middle of second period at Apalachee High School, and the boy who few knew slipped out of his algebra class in J Hall again. That didn’t strike his fellow students as unusual. “He got up sometime in the morning, and class continued as normal,” Lyela Sayarath