AP-National

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An upcoming sale of federal Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases was officially postponed Thursday amid legal fights over protections for an endangered species of whale. A federal appellate panel last week paused a separate appeals panel’s order that the sale be held next Wednesday.

By MARY CLARE JALONICK, TARA COPP and LOLITA BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed three top military officers, including the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Thurday’s confirmations came as bipartisan frustration swirled around Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville for blocking hundreds more nominees. Republican senators plan to hold

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn the American economic embargo of Cuba for a 31st straightyear. Thursday’s vote on the resolution in the 193-member General Assembly tied the record of support for the Caribbean island nation. The vote was 187 in favor, with the United States and Israel

By JONATHAN MATTISE and TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former Memphis police officer pleaded guilty Thursday in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in exchange for prosecutors recommending a 15-year sentence, becoming the first of five officers charged in the case to admit guilt. Desmond Mills Jr. entered his plea during

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan fell slightly this week, ending a seven-week climb —- modest relief for prospective homebuyers grappling with an increasingly unaffordable housing market. The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan fell to 7.76% from 7.79% last

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press Federal officials say their investigation into a Colorado coal train derailment that killed a truck driver and shut down a major highway is focused on whether inspection and maintenance practices at BNSF Railway contributed to the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday issued a preliminary report on the

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced a stimulus package of more than 17 trillion yen ($113 billion) that includes tax breaks and benefits for low-income households. The plans is being criticized by some observers as populist spending that would worsen Japan’s national debt. Kishida says his

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian opposition lawmakers have caused commotion in Parliament, trying to disrupt a session in protest against what they say is increasingly authoritarian rule by the governing Socialists. Democratic lawmakers on Thursday blocked left-wing Socialists of Prime Minister Edi Rama from taking their seats and stacked chairs

By NAJIB JOBAIN and ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Dozens of Palestinians with foreign passports crossed through the war-torn Gaza Strip’s only exit for the second straight day Thursday, escaping Israel’s suffocating siege into the empty Egyptian desert. But the evacuation rush left families divided by citizenship status in painful limbo.

By LEAH WILLINGHAM and JOHN RABY Associated Press Crews began the arduous process of removing layers of rubble and debris in the search for a missing worker Thursday at a collapsed coal mine preparation plant in eastern Kentucky where a second worker died. The 11-story abandoned building crashed down Tuesday night at the Martin Mine

MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office has expressed “regret” that she fell prey to a prank call that induced her to acknowledge “fatigue” over the war in Ukraine. Meloni believed she was speaking with officials of the African Union. She told a pair of Russian pranksters that “there is a lot of fatigue,

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy says it will disburse $440 million to install solar panels on low-income homes in Puerto Rico as the U.S. territory struggles with ongoing power outages and a crumbling electric grid. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Thursday that the department

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s highest court apparently isn’t ready to allow the state to restart executions after more than 12 years until they hear more arguments about newly obtained lethal injection drugs as well as the firing squad and electric chair. The state Supreme Court set a Feb.

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Autoworkers at the first Ford factory to go on strike have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a tentative contract agreement reached with the company. Members of Local 900 at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, west of Detroit voted 81% in favor of the four

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Thursday imposed a new round of sanctions on 130 firms and people from Turkey, China and the United Arab Emirates in an effort to choke off Russia’s access to tools and equipment that support its invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions imposed by the

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press The state of Pennsylvania will work with a major natural gas producer to collect in-depth data on air emissions and water quality at well sites, enhance public disclosure of drilling chemicals and expand buffer zones. Gov. Josh Shapiro announced on Thursday that CNX Resources Corp. will partner with the state

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press A growing list of Israeli officials have accepted responsibility for failing to prevent Hamas’ brutal attack on Israeli communities during the Oct. 7 incursion that triggered the current Israel-Hamas war. Conspicuously absent from that roll call is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Following the horrific assault, which saw the deadliest day

By SIMINA MISTREANU and HAN GUAN NG Associated Press SHANGHAI, China (AP) — American Ballet Theatre has returned to China for the first time in a decade, the latest sign that strained U.S.-China relations are beginning to improve. The New York-based company’s 85 dancers prepared for opening night at the Shanghai Grand Theater on Thursday.

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Rights groups say in new reports that security forces and armed groups are committing alleged war crimes against civilians in Africa’s Sahel region where extremists and rebels are increasingly fighting to exert dominance and control resources in communities. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International say that

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The final Beatles recording is here. Titled “Now and Then,” the almost impossible-to-believe track is four minutes and eight seconds of the first and only original Beatles recording of the 21st century. There’s a countdown, then acoustic guitar strumming and piano bleed into the unmistakable