AP National News

Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Victoria Estevez finally met someone who saw past her shyness. They spent two months learning about their likes and dislikes, texting about their families and friends, and walking around their hometowns on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. On a trip to the capital in December, they held each other for the

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats at the highest levels are making a critical push for President Joe Biden to rethink his election bid, with former President Barack Obama expressing concerns to allies and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi privately telling Biden the party could lose the ability to seize control of the House if he

AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japan has reported it logged a trade surplus in June, the first in three months, highlighting a recovery in exports. Government data showed Thursday that for the first six months of this year, Japan’s trade deficit declined by more than half from the same period last year, to 3.23

ROME (AP) — The U.S. military is celebrating a little-known part of World War II history, honoring the Japanese-American U.S. Army unit that was key to liberating parts of Italy and France even while the troops’ relatives were interned at home as enemies of the state following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Descendants of the

Associated Press ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man has been executed for the fatal shooting of a delivery driver during a 1998 robbery attempt. Sixty-four-year-old Keith Edmund Gavin received a chemical injection Thursday evening at a prison in southwest Alabama. Gavin was convicted of capital murder in the March 6, 1998, shooting death of

Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democrats in the state legislative majority have rebuffed calls by New Mexico’s governor to address the “dangerous intersection” of crime and homelessness. At a special legislative session Thursday, they shunned Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s proposals to enhance criminal penalties, restrict panhandling and expand involuntary detention and treatment for

Associated Press WOODSTOCK, England (AP) — Leaders from across Europe are gathering at an English country mansion for a summit of the European Political Community. The focus is on migration and Ukraine. But the meeting on Thursday was clouded by worries about whether the United States will remain a reliable ally if Donald Trump wins

Associated Press FREEPORT, Pa. (AP) — Thousands of mourners filed into a Pennsylvania banquet hall Thursday to remember the former fire chief who was fatally shot during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, who sent a note of condolence hailing him as a hero. The crowd paying respects to Corey Comperatore and his

Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Nabila Hamada gave birth to twin boys in Gaza early in the war, in a hospital reeking of decaying bodies and full of displaced people. When Israeli forces threatened the hospital, she and her husband fled with only one of the babies, as medical staff said the

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A former president is shot, the gunman quickly neutralized, and all of it is caught on camera. But for those who don’t believe their eyes, that’s just the start of the story. For some supporters of former President Donald Trump, the failure of the Secret Service to prevent the attempted

Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Newly minted vice presidential nominee JD Vance built his speech to the Republican National Convention around his own Appalachian roots. But it wasn’t the first time he had shared his personal story. Long before he was a U.S. senator from Ohio, Vance rose to prominence on the wings of

Associated Press Political jokes: too soon? The answer from many quarters at midweek was a resounding yes, days after an assassination attempt against Republican former president Donald Trump rattled the nation over political violence that has been brewing in the United States for decades. Several late-night shows that thrive on political comedy changed plans immediately,

Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Two buses carrying Chinese tourists have veered off a road on New Zealand’s South Island in separate crashes, and 15 passengers were taken to hospital. Officials said two of them were seriously hurt. The buses were traveling in the same direction when the Police said they slid off

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Leaders of 18 Pacific island nations and areas have agreed to an enhanced role of Japan in the region’s development while opposing any attempted coercive activity, as Tokyo seeks greater engagement to counter China’s influence. In a joint declaration adopted at their summit Thursday, they agreed that Japan provides greater

Associated Press Activists in the Dominican Republic protested on Wednesday against a bill for a new criminal code that would keep in place the country’s total abortion ban. The Dominican Senate gave initial approval to the bill in late June and lawmakers are expected to give it final approval in the next few days. “We