AP-National

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government says it will ask a court to revoke the legal status of the Unification Church after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination raised questions about the group’s fundraising and recruitment tactics. Education Minister Masahito Moriyama said the ministry proposed seeking the revocation after interviewing 170

By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press RAVENA, N.Y. (AP) — New York is dramatically expanding a legal marijuana market plagued by a sluggish rollout of retail stores. State regulators last Wednesday opened a 60-day window to accept general applications to grow, process, distribute and sell pot. They expect to issue more than 1,000 new licenses starting

By AMY BETH HANSON and HALELUYA HADERO Associated Press MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — TikTok and Montana faced off in federal court in a case filed by the video sharing app and five content creators who want the court to temporarily block the state’s ban on the platform before it takes effect on Jan. 1. Attorneys

By JOSEPH KRAUSS and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military on Friday directed the evacuation of northern Gaza, a region that is home to 1.1 people — about half of the territory’s population — within 24 hours, a U.N. spokesman said. This could signal an impending ground offensive, though the Israeli military

By TAIWO ADEBAYO Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Many poor countries in Africa face the harshest effects of climate change: severe droughts, vicious heat and dry land, but also unpredictable rain and devastating flooding. The shocks worsen conflict and upend livelihoods because many people are farmers — work that is increasingly vulnerable in a

By DAVID BRANDT AP Baseball Writer PHOENIX (AP) — The hard-hitting Arizona Diamondbacks rode a record-setting barrage of solo homers in the third inning to a 4-2 win in Game 3 of the NL Division Series on Wednesday night, sweeping the 100-win Los Angeles Dodgers out of the playoffs. The D-backs return to the NL

By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer Twenty-five years have passed since gay 21-year-old college student Matthew Shepard died after being beaten and tied to a remote fence. His death has been memorialized as an egregious hate crime that helped fuel the LGBTQ+ rights movement over the ensuing years. There was slow but steady progress, notably

By LISA MASCARO, FARNOUSH AMIRI, STEPHEN GROVES and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Steve Scalise ended his bid to become House speaker late Thursday after hardline holdouts refused to back the party’s nominee, throwing the GOP majority into deeper chaos and leaving the chamber still unable to function. Scalise told GOP colleagues

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press GREENWOOD, Ark. (AP) — An Oklahoma man who was freed after being imprisoned for decades on a murder conviction says there are more cases like his. Ricky Dority used his pandemic relief money to hire a private investigator, who worked to free him along with students from Oklahoma City University’s

By RIO YAMAT Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Duane “Keffe D” Davis is the last living suspect in one of hip-hop’s most enduring mysteries — the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas. Davis, 60, is accused of orchestrating the drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip that also wounded rap

By TARA COPP 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 needs to respond. A second U.S. carrier strike group departed Norfolk, Virginia, for the region on Friday. Scores of aircraft

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Measures of U.S. inflation eased slightly in September, evidence that consumer price increases are continuing to grind lower at a gradual pace. Consumer prices increased 0.4% from August to September, below the previous month’s 0.6% pace. Year-over-year inflation was unchanged last month from a 3.7% rise

NEW YORK (AP) — Nets coach Jacque Vaughn says their opponent from Israel still wants to play an exhibition game Thursday night in Brooklyn, days after the country was attacked by Hamas militants. Maccabi Ra’anana will be opening a three-game tour against NBA teams. Nets center Nic Claxton questioned Wednesday after practice whether the game

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has arrived in South Korea in a demonstration of strength against North Korea. South Korea’s Defense Ministry says the USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group came on Thursday, after participating in a trilateral South Korean-U.S.-Japanese maritime exercise earlier this

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Houston Astros gathered in the clubhouse with their bottles and goggles to toast another postseason victory, when manager Dusty Baker called Justin Verlander forward to lead the celebration. “I’m doing the World Series!” Baker said. “You do this one!” Verlander, after a profanity-punctuated speech that

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president has honored a former defense secretary whose high-profile arrest in the U.S. three years ago strained relations between the two countries. General Salvador Cienfuegos was charged with ties to a international drug trafficking network in October 2020. After he was returned to Mexico for investigation, all charges were dropped

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — A sculpture commemorating the famous 1967 meeting of Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and other athletes — now known as the Ali Summit — has been unveiled on the site of the original gathering. The carbon steel art piece is a representation of the press conference table

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — California’s newly appointed U.S. senator is facing a risky decision: whether or not to enter the 2024 race for her seat that already is crowded with candidates. Democratic Sen. Laphonza Butler was named earlier this month to serve the remainder of the term of