AP-National

By SAMYA KULLAB and ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The courtyard of al-Ahli hospital, where thousands of Palestinians had sought shelter or medical treatment, is now a blackened expanse of charred cars, stretchers coated in ash and shredded dolls. That’s all that remains after an explosion on Tuesday turned it into an inferno,

By JOHN O’CONNOR AP Political Writer SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois governor is taking his abortion-rights advocacy nationwide. Democrat J.B. Pritzker announced on Wednesday the formation of Think Big America. The nonprofit will raise money for efforts to ease access to abortion nationwide. The committee has already provided funding to support constitutional amendments in

By JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — When Hamas militants toting grenades appeared in her living room, Rachel Edri served them tea and Moroccan cookies until police stormed in and killed the attackers. Edri’s tale of quick-witted survival during the Israel-Hamas war has turned the 65-year old woman into an unlikely folk hero in

By MARK N. MENGONFIA Associated Press MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Liberia’s presidential election appears headed for a run-off, with the top candidates neck and neck and the votes nearly fully counted. President George Weah, who is seeking a second term, had 43.8% of the vote Wednesday with his main challenger Joseph Boakai at 43.4%, according

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced $3.5 billion for 58 projects across the country to strengthen electric grid resilience as extreme weather events such as the deadly Maui and California wildfires continue to strain the nation’s aging transmission systems. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said it was the

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press WOODBINE, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia sheriff has released video of a violent struggle between a deputy and a Black man he pulled over that shows the driver forcing the deputy’s head backward with his hands before the deputy shoots him at point-blank range. The slain man’s brother, Michael Cure,

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former official for the contractor hired to build two never-completed nuclear reactors who pleaded guilty to lying to federal authorities has been sentenced to six months’ home detention. The State reports that 72-year-old Carl Churchman must wear a monitoring device, pay a $5,000 fine and serve a year on probation

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A lawsuit filed last month relating to Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s new policies on transgender students will be dropped. That follows a move by the school board being sued to adopt guidelines consistent with the governor’s policies. Attorneys at Cooper & Kirk were representing parents

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — Three men charged in the death of a 20-year-old driver who was hit in the head by a rock that crashed through her windshield in Colorado will stand trial on murder and other charges. A judge made the ruling Wednesday after a hearing on evidence in

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The trial of a Fugees rapper, who was convicted this year in multimillion-dollar political conspiracies, stretched across the worlds of politics and entertainment — and now the case is touching on the tech world with arguments that his defense attorney bungled the case, in part, by using

NEW YORK (AP) — A right-wing social media influencer has been sentenced to seven months in federal prison for spreading falsehoods via Twitter, now known as X, in an effort to suppress Democratic turnout in the 2016 presidential election. Douglass Mackey posted under the alias Ricky Vaughn. His sentencing Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court followed

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — The search continues for an inmate who escaped from a Houston courthouse after being left unattended by deputies when they responded to a brawl in a nearby courtroom. Michael Devon Combs remained on the run Wednesday after removing a leg shackle and fleeing from a normally

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A trial date has been pushed back to March 18 for a former Las Vegas-area elected official who remains jailed and has been serving as his own attorney in the killing of an investigative reporter more than a year ago. One-time Democratic county administrator Robert Telles

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Because of the fracture in her right leg, Karin Journo had talked herself out of going to the Tribe of Nova music festival and sold her ticket. But a week before Hamas militants turned the party into a killing ground, she bought another. The 24-year-old French-Israeli airport

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A pro-Trump Minnesota judge has declared a new state law restoring voting rights for convicted felons unconstitutional. His rulings have drawn a sharp rebuke from Minnesota’s attorney general and secretary of state who say he overstepped his authority. They plan to defend the law, which lets felons

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s path to the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida has become a bit clearer. Her main primary opponent dropped out of the race on Wednesday to seek a U.S. House seat. Retired Navy Commander Phil Ehr, who left the Republican Party

By MARK LONG AP Sports Writer GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida coach Billy Napier didn’t want to risk keeping receiver Eugene Wilson on the bench. A four-star recruit from nearby Tampa and the shiftiest player on the Gators’ roster, Napier had seen enough of Wilson during fall camp to realize the true freshman could help

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is facing backlash after comments he made about the Chinese nationality of a reporter whose story cited environmental concerns at farms owned by the governor. Flatwater Free Press reporter Yanqi Xu wrote a story in September revealing that 16 of Pillen’s farms recorded nitrate levels at least

By MOSHE EDRI Associated Press GAN YAVNE, Israel (AP) — An Israeli family of five whose bodies were discovered in each other’s arms after being killed by Hamas militants were buried together in a funeral attended by hundreds of mourners. Family and friends bid farewell Tuesday to the Kotz family — a couple and their