AP-National

By PATRICK WHITTLE, LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MARC LEVY Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Barely four years before a gunman’s deadly rampage in Maine, a state that is staunchly protective of gun rights, the governor signed a law aimed at preventing a mass shooting like the one Wednesday night that claimed at least 18 lives.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden has reportedly withdrawn the residence permit of an Iraqi man who staged a series of public desecrations of the Quran this year but has put his deportation on hold, saying his life would be in danger if he were returned to Iraq. According to Swedish broadcaster TV4, the national Migration Agency

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An acquaintance has been charged in the death of a Philadelphia journalist who went from sleeping on the street to working for the mayor to writing columns on the city’s most pressing social issues. Nineteen-year-old Robert Edmond Davis faces murder, weapons counts and related charges in the death of 39-year-old Josh Kruger,

ROME (AP) — Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali has been banned for 10 months by the Italian soccer federation for betting on teams he played for. That rules him out of the rest of the Premier League season as well as competing for Italy at next year’s European Championship. The 23-year-old Tonali has agreed to a

By LEA SKENE Associated Press Authorities say a man suspected of killing a Maryland judge last week has been found dead in a heavily wooded area about a mile from where authorities had earlier spotted the his abandoned SUV. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said the body of 49-year-old Pedro Argote was found Thursday in

By MATTHEW BARAKAT AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Google is beginning its defense against a federal lawsuit accusing it of illegally thwarting competition for its ubiquitous search engine. Thursday’s testimony came from a top executive who talked about the precarious nature of the company’s success. Prabhakar Raghavan, a senior vice president at Google, testified

By JIM SALTER Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Federal prosecutors say that the executive director of a Missouri nonprofit is accused of stealing millions of dollars from a program intended to provide meals for low-income children. Connie Bobo of St. Charles, Missouri, was indicted on wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and obstruction of an

DETROIT (AP) — Toyota is recalling about 751,000 large SUVs in the U.S. to fix a problem with the tabs that hold the front bumper covers on. The recall covers certain Toyota Highlanders from the 2020 through 2023 model years including gas-electric hybrids. The company says in a statement that the SUVs have resin front

By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is moving closer to giving police broad new authority to arrest migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border. The Texas House on Thursday passed a measure that puts Republican Gov. Greg Abbott closer to a new confrontation with the Biden administrations over immigration. The measure

By JEFF AMY and KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge ruled Thursday that some of Georgia’s congressional, state Senate and state House districts were drawn in a racially discriminatory manner, ordering the state to draw an additional Black-majority congressional district. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones, in a 516-page order, also ordered

By SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON Associated Press/Report For America COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio judge has found former Republican state Rep. Bob Young guilty on domestic violence charges over an incident this summer involving his wife. Judge Edward O’Farrell found Young, who waived his right to a jury trial and instead left his fate in the

MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities are planning to convert unused military barracks and installations into temporary shelters for migrants to deal with the increased arrival of thousands of people by boat to the Canary islands. A government minister says the authorities are evaluating two barracks in the Madrid region and other installations in the southern

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press KYBURZ, Calif. (AP) — On a mountainside where walls of flames torched the forest on their way toward Lake Tahoe in 2021, blackened trees stand against a gray sky. “If you can find a live tree, point to it,” Hugh Safford, an environmental science and policy researcher at the University

NEW YORK (AP) — The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose for the seventh straight week, making a significant hurdle for prospective homebuyers. The rate on the long-term loan is 7.79%, up from 7.63% last week and 7.08% a year ago. As mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars a

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press New York (AP) — A woman who accused the actor Jonathan Majors of domestic violence was herself arrested by the New York Police Department for assault Wednesday night. But the Manhattan District Attorney dropped criminal charges against her by Thursday morning. The NYPD charges were based on the same episode

By ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A senior Hamas official has told The Associated Press that the Palestinian militant group had expected stronger intervention from Hezbollah in its war with Israel. Thursday’s comments were a rare public appeal by Hamas to its allies in the region. Hamas political bureau member Ghazi Hamad said

BEIJING (AP) — China and the United States appear to be restarting dialogue between their militaries, despite continuing disputes over Beijing’s claims to Taiwan and the South China Sea. The U.S. says it will send Cynthia Carras, principal director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia to represent the Defense Department at the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Two workers at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been hospitalized after accidentally being sprayed with radioactive liquid waste. Plant officials said on Thursday that the incident happened when the workers were cleaning a piping at a wastewater filtering facility that’s key to the ongoing

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office says the state has arranged to send drones, weapons and ammunition to Israel as it prepares for an incursion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ attack. DeSantis’ office said Thursday that Florida has sent cargo planes with healthcare supplies, drones, body