AP-National

By LISA MASCARO, FARNOUSH AMIRI and STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Jim Jordan failed again Wednesday on a crucial second ballot to become House speaker, but the hard-fighting ally of Donald Trump showed no signs of dropping out despite losing support from even more of his GOP colleagues. Next steps were

By LINLEY SANDERS and REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — At a time when Americans are deeply divided along party lines, a new poll shows considerable agreement on at least one issue: The United States’ two-decade-long war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting. The poll from the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution

By KIM CHANDLER and SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway has admitted he beat the young Alabama woman to death on a beach in Aruba after she refused his advances, then dumped her body into the sea. New details in the killing emerged

NEW YORK (AP) — Crash and fatality rates among drivers under 21 have fallen dramatically in the U.S. during the past 20 years, a new report says, while noting young drivers are still the riskiest group behind the wheel. Using data from 2002-2021, a non-profit group of state highway safety offices says in the report

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Fiji’s prime minister says his government is “more comfortable dealing with traditional friends” such as Australia as China pursues closer security ties in the Asia-Pacific region. Sitiveni Rabuka and Australia’s Anthony Albanese met on Wednesday during the Fijian leader’s first state visit to Australia since he returned to power last year.

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — China’s economy slowed in the summer as global demand for its exports faltered and the ailing property sector sank deeper into crisis. The government said Wednesday that the economy expanded at a 4.9% annual pace in July-September, beating analysts’ forecasts of about 4.5%. But that was

By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — A well-known leader of a civilian “self-defense” group has been shot to death in southern Mexico. Bruno Plácido rose to prominence in the violence-plagued state of Guerrero in 2013 when he organized a rag-tag army of farmers to capture suspected gang members. His group held about

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian government investigation has concluded that a landslide that killed 31 people at an unlicensed campground last year was caused by persistent heavy rainfall, not human activity. Ninety-two people were sleeping at a campsite on an organic farm when soil and debris crashed down from a road above and

WASHINGTON (AP) — This is what we know about Tuesday’s deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza City. — In the dark of early evening in Gaza, reports emerged of an explosion at Gaza City’s al-Ahli hospital. Al-Ahli was crowded both with victims of 10 days of Israeli airstrikes and with families and others who

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An attorney for the mother of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway, who disappeared in Aruba, said a possible plea deal with a suspect in an extortion case is contingent upon his disclosing details about her death. Joran van der Sloot, long considered the chief suspect in Holloway’s

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government and a faction of the opposition have formally settled on working together to reach a series of basic conditions for the next presidential election. The conditions are spelled out in one of two partial deals signed Tuesday in Barbados by representatives of President

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former nurse convicted of sexually abusing women in custody at an Oregon prison has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports 39-year-old Tony Klein was sentenced on Tuesday. A federal jury in July convicted Klein on 21 sexual assault and lying under oath charges involving nine

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas child welfare officials say they investigated the family of a 5-year-old Kansas girl five times during the 13 months before she was raped and killed. But in a report released Tuesday, the Department for Children and Families said that it could not

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Family members of a murdered 16-year-old girl tried to attack her ex-boyfriend in court after he pleaded guilty to the killing. Frank DeLeon pleaded guilty in Houston on Tuesday in exchange for a 45-year prison sentence. He shot Diamond Alvarez last year nearly two dozen times

By SONIA PÉREZ D. Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The sudden resignation of a Guatemalan Cabinet minister appears to signal a division within the administration of President of Alejandro Giammattei over how to remove the protest roadblocks that have stretched into their third week. Interior Minister Napoleón Barrientos, a retired brigadier general, resigned late

By TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Within hours of the horrific attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide Israel with whatever it needed to respond. On Tuesday, more ships and forces were heading toward Israel, and other troops

By JESSE BEDAYN and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — The remains of at least 189 people have been removed from a Colorado funeral home, up from an initial estimate of about 115 when the decaying and improperly stored bodies were discovered two weeks ago, officials said Tuesday. The remains were found by authorities

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer Defending champion LSU is ranked No. 1 in the women’s preseason AP Top 25 college basketball poll for the first time in school history. LSU, which won its first NCAA title last April behind star player Angel Reese and Co., received 35 first-place votes from a 36-member national media

By HARM VENHUIZEN Associated Press/Report for America MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal jury has convicted two senior employees at a Wisconsin corn plant of falsifying records and obstructing an investigation into a fatal corn dust explosion in 2017. The vice president of operations and a former food safety superintendent at Didion Milling falsified documents

MIAMI (AP) — A report released by the Miami Seaquarium says Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century, died from old age and multiple chronic illnesses. Lolita died Aug. 18 at the age of 57. Her carcass was transported to the University of Georgia, where a necropsy was completed the next