AP National News

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The United States’ new top envoy to Taiwan has promised Washington will help the self-ruled island defend itself as China ramps up its military threats against Taipei. Raymond Greene assumed his new role as director of the American Institute in Taiwan earlier this week and met Wednesday with Taiwanese President Lai

Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Unionized workers at Samsung Electronics have declared an indefinite strike to pressure South Korea’s biggest company to accept their calls for higher pays and other benefits. Thousands of members of the National Samsung Electronics Union launched a temporary, three-day strike on Monday. But the union said Wednesday that

Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Two swing districts in a swing county may very well decide which party controls the House in the swing state of Pennsylvania, one of several where pivotal legislative battles are playing out in the shadow of the presidential campaign. Democrat Brian Munroe and Republican Joe Hogan were elected nearly

Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawrence Cheng, whose family owns seven Wendy’s locations south of Los Angeles, took orders at the register on a recent day and emptied steaming hot baskets of French fries and chicken nuggets, salting them with a flourish. Cheng used to have nearly a dozen employees on the afternoon shift

Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas baked Wednesday in its record fifth consecutive day of temperatures sizzling at 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius) or greater amid a lengthening hot spell that is expected to broil much of the U.S. into the weekend. The temperature climbed to 115 shortly after 1 p.m. at Harry

Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A defense attorney told jurors Wednesday that the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was an “unspeakable tragedy” but that “ Alec Baldwin committed no crime; he was an actor, acting.” Baldwin’s lawyer Alex Spiro emphasized in his opening statement in a Santa Fe, New Mexico, courtroom that

Associated Press PALU, Indonesia (AP) — Incessant rains have halted the search for 30 people believed trapped under a landslide that engulfed an unauthorized gold mine on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island over the weekend, killing at least 23 people. More than 100 villagers were digging for grains of gold on Sunday in a remote village in

Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Drivers for ride-hailing companies in Massachusetts are pushing ahead with what they describe as a first-of-its-kind ballot question that could win them union rights if approved by voters. The push comes despite Uber and Lyft drivers having just secured a landmark settlement last month guaranteeing they will earn a minimum

Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Pressure mounted Wednesday on Houston’s power utility as millions of residents still had no electricity nearly three days after Hurricane Beryl made landfall, stoking questions over how a city that is all too familiar with destructive weather was unable to better withstand a Category 1 storm. With frustration growing as

Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Republican officials in Montana are pressing the state Supreme Court to overturn a landmark climate ruling in a lawsuit brought by young environmentalists. Last year’s decision said regulators must consider global warming emissions when approving oil, gas and coal projects. But legal experts say it must be upheld by

Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The ballooning debt in East Africa’s economic hub of Kenya is expected to grow even more after deadly protests forced the rejection of a finance bill that President William Ruto said was needed to raise revenue. He now warns “it will have huge consequences.” Facing public calls to resign,

Associated Press LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A double-decker passenger bus collided with a milk truck in northern India on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people and injuring many others, officials said. The collision occurred on an expressway in Uttar Pradesh state, and 19 injured people were rushed to the hospital by villagers in the area,

Associated Press MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A year after catastrophic flooding inundated parts of Vermont, Lisa Edson Neveu and her two teenage sons still live in their flood-wracked home, despite unrepaired damage that festers like an open wound: torn-out walls and floors, a missing ceiling in one room and a downstairs bathroom that is no

Associated Press WENZHOU, China (AP) — At a factory in Zhejiang province on China’s eastern coast, two mounds of discarded cotton clothing and bed linens, loosely separated into dark and light colors, pile up on a workroom floor. Jacket sleeves, collars and brand labels protrude from the stacks as workers feed the garments into shredding machines. It’s the

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing pressure from within his own party to abandon his reelection campaign, President Joe Biden is relying on labor unions to help make the case that his record in office matters more than his age. The 81-year-old Democrat met Wednesday with the executive council of the AFL-CIO, America’s largest federation

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — After meeting for around two hours Tuesday to discuss whether President Joe Biden should remain at the top of their presidential ticket, Senate Democrats seemed to agree on one thing — it’s best not to talk about it publicly. Behind closed doors, several Democrats expressed deep concerns about whether Biden