By ANITA SNOW and MORGAN LEE Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs’ signing of the repeal of a Civil War-era ban on nearly all abortions was a stirring occasion for the women working to ensure that the 19th century law remains in the past. Current and former state lawmakers and reproductive rights
Continue ReadingTBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia has been engulfed by huge protests triggered by a proposed law that critics see as a threat to media freedom and the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. The bill would require media and non-governmental organizations and other nonprofits to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power”
Continue ReadingBy JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LYPIVKA, Ukraine (AP) — An extraordinary new church is bringing spiritual comfort to war-weary residents of the Ukrainian village of Lypivka this Orthodox Easter season. Two years ago it also provided physical refuge from the horrors outside. Residents sheltered in a basement chapel at the Church of the Intercession of
Continue ReadingBy HUIZHONG WU Associated Press CHENGDU, China (AP) — In 2018, the censors who oversee Chinese media issued a directive to the nation’s entertainment industry. They barred artists with tattoos and those who represent hip-hop or any other subculture. For months, no rappers appeared on the dozens of variety shows and singing competitions on Chinese
Continue ReadingBy ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Asian shares were mostly higher Friday ahead of a report on the U.S. jobs market, while several major markets including Tokyo and Shanghai were closed for holidays. Oil prices and U.S. futures were higher. The Japanese yen strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar amid signs of heavy central bank
Continue ReadingBy GRAHAM LEE BREWER Associated Press SULPHUR, Okla. (AP) — A weekly newspaper in a rural Oklahoma community was at the center of a path of destruction. But the damage isn’t stopping the Sulphur Times-Democrat from getting out its next issue as Oklahoma recovers from severe weather that killed four people across the state on
Continue ReadingBy EMMA BURROWS Associated Press From its earliest days, the Soviet Union’s intelligence services — whether known as the Cheka or by the names of any of its successor agencies like the KGB — kept the government in power by pursuing its opponents no matter where they lived. Intelligence experts say that policy is still
Continue ReadingBy JULIE WATSON, CHRISTOPHER L. KELLER, CAROLYN THOMPSON and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police have arrested nearly 2,200 people during pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the United States in recent weeks. They have sometimes used riot gear, tactical vehicles and flash-bang devices to clear tent encampments and occupied buildings. At
Continue ReadingBy CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China is preparing to launch a lunar probe Friday that would land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into geological and other differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side. The unprecedented mission would be
Continue ReadingBy ASTRID SUÁREZ Associated Press BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia has become the latest Latin American country to announce that it will break diplomatic relations with Israel over its military campaign in Gaza, but the repercussions for the South American nation could be broader than for other countries because of longstanding bilateral agreements over security
Continue ReadingBy ED WHITE and ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — With student protests over the Israel-Hamas war disrupting campuses nationwide, several major universities are intent on ensuring that commencement ceremonies — joyous milestones for graduates, their families and friends — go off without a hitch this weekend. It won’t be easy. Colleges
Continue ReadingBy MICHAEL R. SISAK, JAKE OFFENHARTZ, PHILIP MARCELO and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The prosecution’s star witness has yet to take the stand in Donald Trump’s hush money trial. But jurors are already hearing Michael Cohen’s words as prosecutors work to directly tie Trump to payments to silence women with
Continue ReadingBy EMMA BURROWS Associated Press Since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, attacks and harassment of Russians abroad have been blamed on Moscow’s intelligence operatives across Europe and elsewhere. Despite attempts by Western governments to dismantle Russian spy networks, experts say the Kremlin apparently is still able to pursue those it deems traitors
Continue ReadingBy JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The retirement of Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow has opened a Senate seat in Michigan. The race is expected to be highly competitive with control of the upper chamber on the line in November. Top candidates have emerged for each party ahead of the state’s August primaries.
Continue ReadingBy CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Ukraine, trade and investment are expected to dominate Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s first trip to Europe in five years, as the Asian giant rebuilds its foreign relations after a prolonged absence during the Covid-19 pandemic. Xi will start the tour in Paris on Monday, meeting with
Continue ReadingBy MICHELLE L. PRICE and JILL COLVIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — He’s visiting Manhattan construction sites, decrying local crime and holding court in his gilded Fifth Avenue penthouse. After a years-long breakup with his hometown, Donald Trump is back in New York, this time as a criminal defendant. Stuck here most weekdays for
Continue ReadingBy Antoinette Radford, Sana Noor Haq and Abdel Qadder Al-Sabbah, CNN (CNN) — “Whoever stays until the end, will tell the story. We did what we could. Remember us.” Dr. Mahmoud Abu Nujaila scrawled these farewell words in blue ink on a whiteboard in Al-Awda Hospital, in Jabalya, on October 20, according to Médecins Sans
Continue ReadingBy Jeremy Diamond, Sebastian Shukla, Mohammad Al-Sawalhi, Abeer Salman and Kareem Khadder, CNN (CNN) — The last time Mona Awda Talla saw her daughter Shahed alive, she was leaving the house to go buy her some cake, wearing pink pants. The 10-year-old stopped to play foosball with her friends beside the cake shop in Gaza’s
Continue ReadingCNN By Jeremy Diamond, Sebastian Shukla, Mohammad Al-Sawalhi, Abeer Salman and Kareem Khadder, CNN (CNN) — The last time Mona Awda Talla saw her daughter Shahed alive, she was leaving the house to go buy her some cake, wearing pink pants. The 10-year-old stopped to play foosball with her friends beside the cake shop in
Continue ReadingBy PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The American economy likely delivered another solid hiring gain in April, showing continuing durability in the face of the highest interest rates in two decades. The Labor Department is expected to report Friday that employers added a healthy 233,000 jobs last month, down from a sizzling
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