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MIAMI (AP) — The world’s largest cruise ship — the size of almost four city blocks — is set to begin its maiden voyage Saturday as it leaves from the Port of Miami. Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas runs nearly 1,200 feet (365 meters) from bow to stern. The ship, which is leaving South

By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s government has acknowledged that at least two well-known Mayan ruin sites are unreachable by visitors because of a toxic mix of cartel violence and land disputes. But two tourist guides in the southern state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala, say two other sites

BEIJING (AP) — China’s foreign minister has told U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan that Washington should stand by a commitment not to support independence for Taiwan during talks between the world’s two largest economies in the Thai capital. That’s according to Saturday’s statement from the Chinese foreign ministry. Wang Yi said Taiwan’s recent election

Associated Press Alaska Airlines began flying Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners again for the first time Friday since they were grounded after a panel blew out of the side of one of the airline’s planes. The airline said in a statement that it has completed its final inspection of their group of the aircraft. They

By SABINA NIKSIC Associated Press SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Jews and Muslims from Bosnia and abroad gathered in Srebrenica on Saturday to jointly observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day and to promote compassion and dialogue amid the Israel-Hamas war. The gathering was organized by the center preserving memory of Europe’s only acknowledged genocide since the Holocaust

By TOM ODULA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Thousands of people have marched in cities and towns in Kenya to protest the recent slayings of more than a dozen women. The anti-femicide demonstration was the largest event ever held in the country against sexual and gender-based violence. In the nation’s capital, Nairobi, protesters wore

By KEVIN FREKING and FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — When IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel met privately with senators recently, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee asked for his assessment of a startling report: A whistleblower estimated that 95% of claims now being made by businesses for a COVID-era tax break were fraudulent.

By ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The United States and Iraq held a first session of formal talks Saturday in Baghdad aimed at winding down the mission of a U.S.-led military coalition formed to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement that he

By KIM CHANDLER and SEAN MURPHY Associated Press Writers ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s first-ever use of nitrogen gas for an execution could gain traction among other states and change how the death penalty is carried out in the United States, much like lethal injection did more than 40 years ago, according to experts on

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A man who shot former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith following a traffic crash nearly eight years ago has been convicted of manslaughter. The jury deliberated for more than four hours and reached its verdict in the retrial of Cardell Hayes just after midnight Saturday, news outlets reported. He faces

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian news outlet says unknown gunmen have shot to death nine people in the southeastern part of Iran that borders Pakistan. Saturday’s report by the semiofficial Mehr news agency said the shootings took place in a home near the town of Saravan, adding that the victims were not Iranian. HalVash,

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Officials in Ukraine said Russia has provided no credible evidence to back its claims that Ukrainian forces shot down a military transport plane that Moscow says was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs. The Ukrainian agency that deals with prisoner exchanges said late Friday

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will host German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House on Feb. 9 as the West struggles to provide new aid for Ukraine in the war against Russia. The White House says the leaders “will reaffirm their resolute support for Ukraine’s defense of its land and its people against

By DEVI SHASTRI AP Health Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Elisa Reyes has come to Plaza del Sol Family Health Center for doctor’s appointments for more than a decade. She moved away a while ago but keeps returning — even if it means a two-hour roundtrip bus ride. That’s because her two children see the

By DEVI SHASTRI AP Health Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Federally funded community health centers serve 1 in 11 Americans. Most of them are low-income and many are underinsured. The health centers are under stress as they work to meet the specific needs of their communities because of uncertain funding and staffing issues. The number

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The crew aboard a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker hit by a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels extinguished an hourslong fire onboard the stricken vessel Saturday sparked by the strike, authorities said. The attack on the Marlin Luanda further complicated the Red Sea crisis caused by the Iranian-backed

By NAJIB JOBAIN and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Two women and a man were killed early Saturday in what witnesses said was an Israeli airstrike on a home in the southernmost part of Gaza, as Israel pursued its military offensive against the Palestinian enclave. The strike came less than a