AP-National

PARIS (AP) — The Paris prosecutor says two couples who allegedly stenciled dozens of blue Stars of David on buildings in Paris and two of its suburbs are linked by a third party living abroad. The prosecutor said the foreign link was based on a telephone conversation of one couple in Russian. The interior minister

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The political and economic ramifications from the Israel-Hamas war may provide an impetus to plans for a pipeline conveying offshore natural gas to Cyprus for processing and shipping to foreign markets, the east Mediterranean island nation’s energy minister said Tuesday. The fighting in the Gaza Strip

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans in the Wisconsin state Senate are proposing tweaks to their plan to help fund repairs at the Milwaukee Brewers stadium that would scale back the state’s contribution and impose a surcharge on non-baseball event tickets. The Legislature’s finance committee is set to vote on the

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency Tuesday as firefighters responded to two wildfires that amid dry conditions and high winds. The declaration allows Virginia to mobilize additional resources, staff and equipment to help with the response, the governor’s office said in a news release. The operation involves the Virginia National Guard, the

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s government has laid out hurricane reconstruction plans for the resort of Acapulco that seem to give as much priority to building military barracks as re-opening hotels. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says he hopes owners will be able to reopen as many as 35 of the resort’s 377 hotels by

MADRID (AP) — Spanish author Luis Mateo Díez has been awarded the Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor. Spain’s Culture Minister Miquel Iceta announced the winner Tuesday. The prizes are presented each April 23 on the anniversary of the death in 1616 of Miguel de Cervantes, author of “Don Quixote,” in a ceremony

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A man with a rifle has been arrested in a park near the U.S. Capitol. Police say officers confronted the 21-year-old Atlanta man on Tuesday and used a Taser stun gun after he refused to drop the weapon. U.S. Capitol Police say they searched the area where

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — When the Lebanese militia Hezbollah announced last week that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, would deliver his first public speech since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, much of the region held its breath. Would Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the Arab world’s most powerful paramilitary force, continue its limited exchanges

By EVA VERGARA and DANIEL POLITI Associated Press SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chilean President Gabriel Boric has formally received the draft of a new constitution and is calling for a national referendum next month so citizens can decide whether the new charter will replace the country’s dictatorship-era constitution. Chileans will decide on Dec. 17 whether

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is warning U.S. schools and colleges that they must take immediate action to stop antisemitism and Islamophobia on their campuses, citing an “alarming rise” in threats and harassment. In a Tuesday letter, the Education Department said there’s “renewed urgency” to fight discrimination against

By MIKE STOBBE and KENYA HUNTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Alarmed by yet another jump in syphilis cases in newborns, U.S. health officials are calling for stepped-up prevention measures, including encouraging millions of women of childbearing age and their partners to get tested for the sexually transmitted disease. More than 3,700 babies were

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The clerk of court accused of tampering with the South Carolina jury that found Alex Murdaugh guilty of murder has denied asking jurors if they thought he was guilty before deliberations. She has also denied suggesting to jurors that she thought Murdaugh killed his wife and

By The Associated Press Though it’s an off-year general election, races across the country will have far-reaching implications for 2024 and beyond. For example, there are two races that will determine state governors. Other races will provide insight into how abortion rights are shaping American politics. Some contests, such as Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court race, could

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press Boston University said Tuesday that its initial inquiry into the antiracist research center run by best-selling author and academic Ibram X. Kendi found no issues with how it managed its finances.  After the announcement, Kendi said he was eager to get back to work. The university launched the inquiry into

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An exiled Belarus activist has presented a second dossier of evidence to the International Criminal Court that he says proves the personal involvement of President Alexander Lukashenko in the illegal transfer of children to Belarus from Russian-occupied towns in Ukraine. Pavel Latushka, a former Belarusian

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Director Nia DaCosta is the first Black woman to helm a Marvel movie. She’s also, at age 33, the a youngest filmmaker to so. “It just happens to me,” the filmmaker says in an interview. DaCosta, one of Hollywood’s fastest rising directors, was drawn to

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian federal police have conducted searches at five locations, including the Portuguese Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, as part of a corruption investigation. Portuguese public prosecutors and Portuguese security agents accompanied the Brazilian officers, according to a statement from the Federal Police force. The statement says Portuguese authorities are investigating

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The wife of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and activist Ales Bialiatski says he has been transferred to solitary confinement at his prison in Belarus. Natalia Pinchuk told The Associated Press that prison authorities have toughened conditions for the 61-year-old despite his chronic illnesses. Bialiatski is serving

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on 13 members of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel and four Mexico-based firms accused of trafficking fentanyl into the United States. Authorities say included in Tuesday’s sanctions are a manager of cartel operations in Nogales who oversaw the trafficking of tons of

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Twenty-five years ago, an R.E.M. album arrived that didn’t sound like a typical R.E.M. album. “Up,” the band’s 11th album which dropped in the fall of 1998, was a curious and challenging collection that split fans and critics alike but reveals more interesting things with