By Jennifer Hansler, CNN Washington, DC (CNN) — Senior US officials, Americans who had returned from detention abroad and loved ones of those who have yet to come home gathered in front of the US State Department as a new flag was raised ahead of the nation’s first-ever Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day. “This is
Continue ReadingBy JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press ABOARD THE FRENCH FRIGATE NORMANDIE (AP) — Large NATO drills in the frigid fjords of northern Norway may be just war games meant to hone the skills of the newly expanded 32-nation military alliance in the event of conflict. But they are very real for troops taking part in them.
Continue ReadingBy Lauren Kent, Amy Cassidy and Rob Picheta, CNN (CNN) — The Irish government conceded on Saturday that it had lost two referenda to change what it called “sexist” language in the constitution in an embarrassing defeat. Ireland went to the polls on Friday in votes deliberately timed to coincide with International Women’s Day to
Continue ReadingBy RIAZAT BUTT Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s lawmakers have chosen Asif Ali Zardari as the country’s new president. It’s his second time in the job. Zardari is the widower of assassinated former Premier Benazir Bhutto and the father of former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Zadari secured 411 votes from national and provincial lawmakers.
Continue ReadingKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities say two people including a teenage boy have been killed in Russian artillery attacks. Russia meanwhilesaid Saturday it shot down a Ukrainian fighter jet and destroyed a wave of drones over several regions. Ukraine’s allies in the West are delicately raising the prospect of sending troops. Polish Foreign Minister
Continue ReadingBy Amanda Jackson and Chris Boyette, CNN (CNN) — For more than 35 years, two families in Virginia have been left without knowing who brutally killed a beloved member of each of their families. Now, a major investigative break finally has arrived for one family – and perhaps soon could for the other – thanks
Continue ReadingBy TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Lou Gehrig’s disease took away Grace Armant’s ability to speak, but the 84-year-old still has plenty to say about her insurance. UnitedHealthcare has rejected several requests from her doctors for coverage of a machine Armant needs to breathe as she deals with the fatal illness. “They are no good,”
Continue ReadingBy LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Eleven-year-old Domonic Davis was not far from his mom’s Cincinnati home when a hail of gunfire sprayed out from a passing car. Nearly two dozen rounds hurtled through the night at a group of children in the blink of an eye. Four other children and a woman
Continue ReadingBy LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Eleven-year-old Domonic Davis was not far from his mom’s Cincinnati home when a hail of gunfire sprayed out from a passing car. Nearly two dozen rounds hurtled through the night at a group of children in the blink of an eye. Four other children and a woman
Continue ReadingBy ZEKE MILLER AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is making no excuses for his age in the first campaign ad of a $30 million buy across battleground states after Super Tuesday, casting himself as more effective than his predecessor, Donald Trump. The 60-second spot opens with 81-year-old Biden addressing one
Continue ReadingPADANG, Indonesia (AP) — Torrential rains have triggered flash floods and a landslide on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing at least 10 people and leaving 10 others missing. Mud, rocks and uprooted trees rolled down a mountain and reached a river that burst its banks and tore through mountainside villages in West Sumatra province. The spokesperson
Continue ReadingBy ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A top U.S. Treasury official has pressed Lebanese authorities to prevent funds from being funneled to Hamas by way of Lebanon during a visit to Beirut. Jesse Baker visited Lebanon and met with financial sector and political officials Thursday and Friday. A senior Treasury official says Baker
Continue ReadingDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Intense rainfall has swept across Dubai and the wider United Arab Emirates, causing localized flooding and disrupting flights at the world’s busiest airport for international travel. Nearly 2 inches of rain fell in Dubai over six hours Saturday — a heavy amount when the country as a whole averages
Continue ReadingROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The New Hampshire attorney general says police shot and killed a man during a foot chase after he was taken down by a police dog and pulled a weapon. State Attorney General John Formella says New Hampshire state police troopers killed Joseph Russell, 36, during the pursuit with the Rochester Police
Continue ReadingBy BABACAR DIONE and JACK THOMPSON Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Presidential candidates in Senegal have kicked off their election campaigns, following weeks of violent protests across the African country after the vote was delayed. The campaigns started on Saturday. The candidates now have a shorter period to rally supporters ahead of the March
Continue ReadingBy VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s foreign minister says the presence of NATO forces “is not unthinkable” and that he appreciates the French president for not ruling out that idea. Radek Sikorski made the observation during a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO in the Polish parliament
Continue ReadingBy Steve Contorno, Priscilla Alvarez, Kristen Holmes and Gregory Krieg, CNN Rome, Georgia (CNN) — Sixty miles of Georgia highway and a political universe apart, Joe Biden and Donald Trump kicked off the sequel to their 2020 contest in earnest Saturday with competing rallies in what could be a decisive state this November. Biden and
Continue ReadingBUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — The Romanian government has won a yearslong legal dispute with a Canadian mining company seeking damages over failed plans to open a gold and silver mine in the Eastern European country. Gabriel Resources was seeking $4.4 billion in damages from the Romanian state, which owned a 20% stake in the mining
Continue ReadingBy LARRY LAGE AP Hockey Writer NHL teams combined to make 23 trades on Friday, dealing a total of 33 players and more than 20 draft picks, before the league’s deadline, with some teams and players seeming to win — and some seeming to lose. The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, three-time defending
Continue ReadingBy Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — A bold plan to genetically engineer a version of the woolly mammoth, the tusked ice age giant that disappeared 4,000 years ago, is making some progress, according to the scientists involved. The long-term goal is to create a living, walking elephant-mammoth hybrid that would be visually indistinguishable from its
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