AP-National

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Lifestyles Writer NEW YORK (AP) — “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it,” Shug tells Celie in Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple.” In nature, among the priestly and royal, as a symbol of independence, pride and magic,

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Russian claiming to be a former officer with the Wagner Group has arrived in the Netherlands and says he wants to provide evidence to the International Criminal Court, which is investigating atrocities in the war in Ukraine. Dutch news program EenVandaag reported Monday that

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — At least 100 elephants have died in Zimbabwe’s largest national park in recent weeks because of drought, their carcasses a grisly sign of what wildlife authorities and conservation groups say is the impact of climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon. Authorities warn that more

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that his country’s military is well positioned to meet Moscow’s goals in Ukraine. During a meeting with top military brass on Tuesday, Putin said Russia has seized the momentum on the battlefield after repelling a 6-month Ukrainian counteroffensive. He declared that “our troops are holding the

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Book publishers are facing so much government pressure worldwide that one trade group was unable to find anyone willing to accept its annual International Freedom to Publish Award this year. Instead, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) is honoring “all publishing houses in multiple countries

NEW YORK (AP) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a candidate for the Republican nomination for president, has a book coming out next year on the legacy of a GOP hero — former President Ronald Reagan. Threshold Editions, a conservative imprint at Simon & Schuster, announced Tuesday that it will publish “What Would Reagan

By PATRICK WHITTLE, LISA RATHKE and KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Utility crews are working to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers in Maine and some rivers continued to rise following a powerful storm that hit the northeastern U.S. At least five people were killed. Many communities were saturated by

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian court has recorded the first conviction under the nation’s foreign interference laws with a jury finding a Vietnamese refugee guilty of covertly working for the Chinese Communist Party. A Victoria State County Court jury convicted Melbourne businessman and local community leader Di Sanh Duong on Tuesday on a charge

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is linking ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership by Turkey’s parliament to U.S. approval of Turkey’s request to purchase F-16 fighter jets. He also calls on Canada to lift an arms embargo on Turkey. Erdogan spoke while returning from a visit to Hungary, the only other country

By JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s ruling populists are insisting that weekend snap elections were free and fair, but international observers have noted multiple irregularities. Early results show victory for President Aleksandar Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party in the parliamentary and local elections. But its main opponents, the Serbia Against Violence alliance,

CHANELLE BESSETTE of NerdWallet In preparation for 2024, you can shore up your finances by creating some financial New Year’s resolutions for yourself. Some ways you might do this include getting a bank account with a higher interest rate; focusing on student loan repayment by investigating ways to reduce your payment amount; building your financial

By RISDEL KASASIRA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda’s military says at least 10 people have been killed by militants with ties to the Islamic State Group during an attack in the country’s western region. A military spokesperson says the Allied Democratic Forces militants who attacked Kamwenge district on Tuesday had crossed from the

By ALEX TURNBULL Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Britain and France are reiterating their determination that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine must end in failure. The two nations’ insistence was expressed Tuesday by their foreign ministers. They said that Russia shouldn’t be rewarded for its aggression in Ukraine. It comes as U.S. wartime aid for the

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — A quasi-independent review board has ruled that Facebook parent company Meta should overturn two decisions it made this fall to remove posts “informing the world about human suffering on both sides” of the Israel-Hamas war. In both cases, Meta ended up reinstating the posts — one showing Palestinian casualties and

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s main national railway operator Deutsche Bahn has launched an effort to sell logistics unit DB Schenker as the company seeks to concentrate on its core business at home. Schenker has about 76,600 employees in more than 130 countries. The state-owned parent company describes it as one of the world’s top four

By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is planning a nationwide series of events focused on abortion. Her first stop is Wisconsin on Jan. 22. The date would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized abortion nationwide. The court overturned the

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s highest court has ordered the 2021 national election to be partially repeated in Berlin because of severe glitches at many polling stations in the capital. The rerun ordered Tuesday is much too limited to endanger the government’s majority and appears unlikely to have any other significant effects. The Federal Constitutional Court

By NAJIB JOBAIN, SAMY MAGDY and JACK JEFFERY Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli army has raided and detained staff at two of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza’s north, where the defense minister said Tuesday that troops were working to completely clear out Hamas militants. Israel bombarded towns across southern Gaza