AP-National

By JERRY HARMER Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Seventeen Thai workers released from captivity by the militant Hamas group have been greeted by family and friends, officials and journalists in an emotional homecoming at Bangkok’s international airport. The 17 arrived home on Thursday. They are among 23 Thais freed by Hamas so far. Six are

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer Slightly more Americans filed for jobless claims last week, but the overall number of people in the U.S. collecting unemployment benefits rose to its highest level in two years. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits rose by 7,000 to 218,000 for the week ending Nov.

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The chief of staff to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán says Hungary will not support any European Union proposal to begin talks on making Ukraine a member of the bloc. Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Gergely Gulyas, said it was premature to begin formal

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure cooled last month, the latest sign that price pressures are waning in the face of high interest rates and moderating economic growth. Prices were unchanged from September to October, down from a 0.4% rise the previous month. Compared with a

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES and DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has faced Western critics while attending international security talks in Northern Macedonia. Lavrov arrived in Skopje to attend meetings hosted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The diplomats of several OSCE member nations, including

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Former British health secretary Matt Hancock is defending his record at the U.K.’s COVID-19 inquiry, contesting widespread accusations of incompetence in leading the response to the biggest public health crisis Britain faced in a century. The inquiry is questioning government officials about their political decision-making during the

By RIAZ KHAN Associated Press PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Police in Pakistan have arrested four people who allegedly killed an 18-year-old woman in the purported name of honor after a picture of her sitting with a boyfriend went viral on social media. Authorities said Thursday that the woman’s father and three other men were detained

By JAMEY KEATEN and SIBI ARASU Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Nearly all the world’s nations finalized the creation of a fund to help compensate countries struggling to cope with loss and damage caused by climate change, seen as a major first-day breakthrough at this year’s U.N. climate conference as early cash

By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press Hanukkah — also spelled Chanukah or other transliterations from Hebrew — is Judaism’s “festival of lights.” On eight consecutive nightfalls, Jews gather with family and friends to light one additional candle in the menorah — a multibranched candelabra. In Hebrew, Hanukkah means “dedication,” and the holiday marks the rededication of

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Something is different on the comics pages this week. In the panels of “Mutts,” there’s the long-delayed sight of freedom. Patrick McDonnell, the cartoonist who draws the popular strip, is freeing his character Guard Dog, liberating an animal who has become for decades a symbol

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Meta says it has found and disabled thousands of fake Facebook accounts linked to China that were used to spread politically partisan content in the United States before next year’s election. The accounts disclosed Thursday were designed to look as though they were run by everyday Americans.

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Pressure to phase out fossil fuels mounted Thursday on the oil company chief who took over fragile international climate negotiations that opened in Dubai on Thursday in what some say are contradictory dual roles. United Nations and climate talks leaders might have relieved

By JILL LAWLESS and DAVE BRYAN Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Shane MacGowan, the boozy, rabble-rousing singer and chief songwriter of The Pogues, who infused traditional Irish music with the energy and spirit of punk, died Thursday, his family said. He was 65. MacGowan’s songwriting and persona made him an iconic figure in contemporary Irish

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis says he is suffering from acute and infectious bronchitis. He told an audience  on Thursday that doctors recommended he cancel his planned visit to Dubai this weekend to avoid the quick changes in temperature that would be involved. Despite the illness, Francis had nine audiences on Thursday, suggesting he was

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. says a six-week strike by the United Auto Workers union cut sales by about 100,000 vehicles and cost the company $1.7 billion in lost profits this year. Additional labor costs from the four-year and eight-month deal will total $8.8 billion by the end of the contract. Chief Financial Officer

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Researchers in South Africa say they have rediscovered a mole species that has an iridescent golden coat and the ability to “swim” through sand dunes after it hadn’t been seen for more than 80 years and was thought to be extinct. The De Winton’s

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russia’s Supreme Court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism on Thursday, the most drastic step against advocates of gay, lesbian and transgender rights in the increasingly conservative country. Ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by the Justice Ministry, the court labeled what the suit called the LGBTQ+

By CIARÁN GILES and HERNÁN MUÑOZ Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Four migrants have died yards from shore in southern Spain after being forced out of the boat they were traveling in. The Spanish government press office in the southern province of Cadiz said Thursday that 31 other people also were forced off the boat

BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese defense ministry’s top spokesperson has said that the U.S. should stop interfering in both Taiwan and the South China Sea. Senior Col. Wu Qian said that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are turning the island into a powder keg and making the situation more dangerous. Wu also criticized the U.S.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A vehicle wanted in connection with a homicide in Chicago smashed into a school bus while fleeing police in Milwaukee, sending multiple people to area hospitals. Milwaukee police say they began chasing the vehicle Wednesday morning. The vehicle collided with the school bus, which crashed into several other vehicles. The driver of