AP-National

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader has cut taxes for some homebuyers and stock traders to boost markets as the city seeks to maintain its reputation as a global financial hub. Chief Executive John Lee said the extra stamp duties imposed on non-resident buyers and current local homeowners looking

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Environmentalists have slammed Malaysia’s move to let Australian miner Lynas import and process rare earths until March 2026. That decision reversed an earlier order for a halt to such activities by Jan. 1 after Lynas proposed to remove radioactive thorium from raw material and from over a million tons of

By JUSTIN KABUMBA and ZANE IRWIN Associated Press BULENGO, Congo (AP) — A hooded man burst into the 42-year-old woman’s tent while her children were out searching for food, then raped her in the displacement camp where she had fled war in eastern Congo. “I wanted to scream (but) he took my mouth and he

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities have broken off their search for four crew members missing since a British-flagged cargo ship sank following a collision with a larger vessel in the North Sea. A senior official said Wednesday that there was no longer any hope for them. The Verity had seven people on board and was

By MARK STEVENSON and MARÍA VERZA Associated Press ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Otis tore across Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a powerful and dangerous Category 5 hurricane Wednesday, unleashing massive flooding in the resort city of Acapulco and setting off looting as desperate relatives tired of waiting for help to arrive. While little is

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A cruise operator that failed to cancel a voyage from Sydney that led to a COVID-19 outbreak has been ruled negligent in an Australian class-action case. The Ruby Princess ocean liner left Sydney on March 8, 2020, for a 13-day cruise to New Zealand but returned

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a law requiring transgender people to undergo sterilization surgery in order to officially change their gender is unconstitutional, a landmark verdict welcomed by advocates as a sign of growing acceptance of LGBTQ+ rights. The ruling by the top court’s 15-judge

By AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The first major snowstorm of the season dropped up to a foot (30 centimeters) of snow in the Helena, Montana, area by Wednesday, sending an army of snowplows and sand trucks out onto the roads. Residents woke up to swirling snow and the sound of

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners says two officers involved in a struggle that ended with the death of teacher violated the LAPD’s policy on use of lethal force. Commissioners on Tuesday adopted findings by the police chief that the officers were “out of policy” when they pressed on Keenan

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Richard Roundtree, the trailblazing actor who starred as the ultra-smooth private detective in several “Shaft” films beginning in the early 1970s, has died. He was 81. Roundtree’s longtime manager, Patrick McMinn, said the actor had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died at his

By LISA RATHKE Associated Press LUDLOW, Vt. (AP) — As winter approaches, a Vermont ski town that was hit by severe flooding this summer wants to get the word out that its very much open, with only a handful of businesses still rebuilding. Ludlow, home to the Okemo ski resort, was one of the hardest

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Steve Rowland peered beneath the brim of his baseball cap and admonished the roughly 500 people at Rising Sun Church of Christ in the Des Moines suburb of Altoona. It had been three days since Hamas attacked Israel and killed hundreds of civilians. In Iowa, where

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) — A decade after they were envisioned in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy’s destruction, two of the largest flood control projects designed to protect densely populated cities in New Jersey just outside New York City are getting underway. A project in Hoboken and one in the densely

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press In some states, higher-income families can now use taxpayer money to cover private school tuition — and more people than projected are taking the offer, which might force scrambles to shore up state budgets. It’s especially an issue in states like Arizona and Iowa, where at least some families whose

By LISA MASCARO, STEPHEN GROVES, FARNOUSH AMIRI and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans unanimously elected Rep. Mike Johnson as House speaker on Wednesday, eagerly elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the major seat of U.S. power and ending for now the weeks of political chaos in their majority. Johnson, 51,

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — “We love battery EVs.” Takero Kato, the executive in charge of electric vehicles at Toyota, said that not once, but twice, to emphasize what he considers the message at this year’s Tokyo auto show. It’s a message ringing clear at the Tokyo Mobility Show, which will

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom had a surprise meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday after being warmly welcomed by other senior leaders in a display of friendliness that stands in sharp contrast to the dialogue between the United States and China in recent years.

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Corbin Carroll ducked late into the Arizona Diamondbacks’ clubhouse with his uniform pants stained in dirt — two stolen bases will get a player dirty — but was otherwise clean when he was spotted by the rest of his bubbly-bathed teammates. “Have yourself a Game 7!”