AP-National

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa helicopter pilot is back in the air, two weeks after a waterfowl smashed through the windshield of his chopper and knocked him for a loop. Pilot Troy McCormick told KCAU-TV that he’s lucky he wasn’t hurt worse on Nov. 23 when what he believed was a duck came

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees has unanimously approved the next president. Kevin Guskiewicz was voted in Friday morning. He’s been the chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the past four years. He will take over a university that is now

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — The International Olympic Committee says some Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The decision Friday removes the option of a blanket ban over the invasion of Ukraine. It confirms moves the IOC started one year ago to reintegrate Russia and

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is the first tour to cross the billion-dollar mark, according to Pollstar’s 2023 year-end charts. Not only was Swift’s landmark Eras Tour the No. 1 tour both worldwide and in North America, but she also brought in a whopping $1.04 billion

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — House lawmakers are demanding information on federal efforts to stop the influx of kid-appealing electronic cigarettes from China. A letter sent Thursday by a congressional committee calls attention to “the extreme proliferation of illicit vaping products.” The letter cites Associated Press reporting on how thousands of

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s caretaker interior minister says nearly half a million Afghans who were living in Pakistan without documents have returned home in the past more than two months as part of an ongoing crackdown on foreigners living illegally in the country. The expulsions are part of a nationwide

By MICHAEL HILL and MAYSOON KHAN Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A man arrested for firing gunshots outside a Jewish temple in upstate New York been federally charged. An FBI spokesperson says Mufid Fawaz Alkhader has been charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Officials say Alkhader fired two shots outside

By AYAKA MCGILL Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Thousands of tons of dead sardines have washed up on a beach in northern Japan for unknown reasons, officials said Friday. The sardines and some mackerel washed ashore in Hakodate on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Thursday morning, creating a sliver blanket along a stretch

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer Jon Rahm is the biggest name yet to bolt to Saudi-funded LIV Golf. It’s a huge catch for LIV and an equally huge loss for the PGA Tour. The move creates as many questions as answers. What does this mean for the PGA Tour’s negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s national

By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer A large British study finds that less frequent screening is just as good as annual mammograms for certain breast cancer survivors. The findings are being discussed at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Until now, there wasn’t solid evidence for when women could ease back on yearly mammograms

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Asian Development Bank says it approved $200-million concessional loan to debt-stricken Sri Lanka to help stabilize the country’s finance sector. An unprecedented economic crisis engulfed the Indian Ocean island nation last year. Sri Lanka is awaiting International Monetary Fund approval for a second installment

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta police have arrested a woman who’s accused of trying to burn down the birthplace of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta. Officers arrested the 26-year-old woman around 5:45 p.m. Thursday after responding to a report of vandalism in process at the two-story home in the historic Auburn Avenue Historic

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — This weekend’s soccer matches in Greece have been postponed following serious clashes involving sports fans that left a police officer in critical condition after he was hit by a flare. Greek league organizers said weekend matches would be rescheduled after it failed to fill referee positions for key matches. The decision

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Thousands of people lined the streets of Dublin on Friday to say goodbye to The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan as his coffin wound through the Irish capital before a small-town funeral attended by family, neighbors and friends including Johnny Depp and Nick Cave. MacGowan died Nov. 30

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country is considering allowing neighboring Greece to benefit from a nuclear power plant that Turkey plans to build near the Black Sea coast. Erdogan made the comments on Thursday on his return from a visit to Athens, where the longtime regional rivals took significant

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press Vladimir Putin on Friday moved to prolong his repressive and unyielding grip on Russia for at least another six years, announcing his candidacy in the presidential election next March that he is all but certain to win. Putin still commands wide support after nearly a quarter-century in power, despite starting

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and several key Cabinet ministers have been grilled by opposition lawmakers in parliament over a widening fundraising scandal that threatens to further drag down the government’s sagging popularity. Dozens of governing party lawmakers, including Cabinet members, are accused of failing to fully

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo canceled its upcoming video game showcase and postponed several other events because of persistent threats to the company, its workers and players. “We decided we could not amply ensure the safety of our customers,” Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. said in an online statement Thursday. The Japanese

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The three candidates running in Taiwan’s presidential election will hold a televised debate on Dec. 30 as the race heats up under pressure from China. The outcome of the Jan. 13 election could have a major effect on relations between China and the United States, which

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to explain why Britain has paid Rwanda 240 million pounds ($300 million) as part of a blocked asylum plan. The total is almost twice the 140 million pounds Britain previously said it had paid, all without a single person being