AP-National

By MICHAEL CASEY and TRISHA AHMED Associated Press An Israeli-American teenager survived a siege by Hamas attackers over the weekend after his parents shielded him from the gunfire but were killed themselves. The family lived on a kibbutz in southern Israel near the Gaza border. As the fighters invaded their home, they scrambled into a

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Social Security’s cost-of-living increase for 2024 will be announced Thursday. But retirees won’t see anything close to the 8.7% increase that they got this year. With consumer prices moderating, analysts are forecasting that the 2024 increase will be around 3.2%  The cost-of-living announcement comes as the Social

By JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — In the three and a half decades since it began as an underground militant group, Hamas has pursued a consistently violent strategy aimed at rolling back Israeli rule — and it has made steady progress despite bringing enormous suffering to both sides of the conflict. But its

By DANICA KIRKA and AMI BENTOV Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — One of those taken hostage is a grandmother who learned Arabic in hopes of building bridges with her neighbors. Others include 10 members of an extended family, one an elderly man in a wheelchair who requires hospital care. Still another is a

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two giant rocket motors required to display the retired NASA space shuttle Endeavour as if it’s about to blast off arrived Wednesday at a Los Angeles museum, completing their long journey from the Mojave Desert. The 116-foot-long (35.3-meter) motors, which look like giant white cylinders, were trucked over two days from

STOUGHTON, Mass. (AP) — A confrontational blogger known as “Turtleboy” is facing charges of witness intimidation and conspiracy related a criminal case against a woman accused of running over and killing her boyfriend in Massachusetts. Aidan Timothy Kearney wore a hoody emblazoned with the message “Free Karen Read” when he was led handcuffed into a

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Plans by the Port of South Louisiana to purchase what was once a major New Orleans area shipyard for construction of military vessels have been delayed. The port announced in January its intent to purchase the old Avondale Shipyard site from the current owner, port terminal operator T. Parker Host. However,

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors in New York are seeking forfeiture of a collection of 1,000 butterflies, moths and other insects that authorities say were illegally trafficked. Some of the dried specimens include birdwing butterflies, which are among the rarest and largest to grace the planet. The wings

ST. CLAIR, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri high school teacher who was suspended after officials discovered that she had performed on a subscription-based website known for sexually explicit content has resigned, a school district official said. St. Clair High School English teacher Brianna Coppage was placed on leave last month after school officials discovered her

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials regarded the U.S. economy’s outlook as particularly uncertain last month, according to minutes released Wednesday, and said they would “proceed carefully” in deciding whether to further raise their benchmark interest rate. Such cautious views are generally seen as evidence that the Fed isn’t

By KEN MILLER Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A new Oklahoma judge could lose her job for sending more than 500 texts to her bailiff during a murder trial, including messages mocking the prosecutor, praising the defense attorney and calling a key witness a liar. The chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court recommended

By CAROLYN THOMPSON and HALELUYA HADERO Associated Press New York is bidding to put new controls on social media platforms that state leaders say will protect the mental health of younger users. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James announced legislation Wednesday that would restrict the ways online platforms like Instagram and YouTube can

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador has sent more than 4,000 security forces into three communities on the outskirts of the capital to root out gang members. That move comes as President Nayib Bukele prepares to request another extension of emergency powers to combat crime. Bukele announced the pre-dawn operation Tuesday in a

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama and Costa Rica are facing a huge increase in the number of migrants moving through the jungle-clad Darien Gap. So the two countries have announced a plan to quickly bus thousands of migrants through Panama to the Costa Rican border. Panama estimates that 420,700 migrants have crossed the Darien Gap

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The U.N. Human Rights Council has voted to establish a face-finding mission to probe allegations of abuses in Sudan’s monthslong war. The mission was proposed by the U.K., the U.S. and Norway. It was adopted with 19 out of the council’s 47 members voting in favor of

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Federal officials say two newly established national wildlife refuges in Tennessee and Montana will help protect habitats for threatened and endangered species such as toads, bats, shrimp and salamanders. The U.S. Department of Interior said Tuesday that the Wyoming Toad Conservation Area and the Paint Rock

By AMY TEIBEL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The Hamas-run Gaza Strip is a tiny enclave, measuring 25 miles long and no more than 7 miles wide. It is surveilled continually by Israel, and surrounded by its guns. But locating and rescuing dozens of hostages seized by Palestinian miltiants who infiltrated Israel will be a

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — China has lost its place in team eventing at next year’s Paris Olympics because the horse of a three-time Olympian was found to have a “controlled medication” in its system. Japan will replace China for the equestrian competition at the Palace of Versailles. The International Equestrian Federation says the Chinese team

HELSINKI (AP) — Finnish police say they have launched a criminal investigation into possible sabotage of an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia that was shut down over the weekend following a leak. Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation, or NBI, says it has started gathering evidence at the location of the leak, which was