AP-National

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The opponent names will become more recognizable for USA Basketball now. Nikola Vucevic awaits on Friday, Jonas Valanciunas on Sunday, and if the Americans keep progressing through this FIBA World Cup the challenges will only get tougher. That’s OK with them. Second-round play at the

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japanese retailer Seven & i Holdings Co. is selling department store chain Sogo & Seibu Co. to a U.S. investment fund, as the labor union went on strike ahead of the announcement. The transfer to Fortress Investment Group will be completed Friday, according to Seven &

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — One of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s staunchest Cabinet allies has been named defense U.K. secretary. Grant Shapps has been a member of the Cabinet since 2019, most recently serving as secretary of state for energy security and net zero. Sunak has begun a Cabinet reshuffle ahead

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Soldiers from the U.S., Indonesia and five other nations are participating in a combat exercise on Indonesia’s main island of Java amid concerns about China’s aggression. The annual live-fire drill that American and Indonesian soldiers held since 2009 was expanded last year with Australia, Japan and

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The ouster of Gabon’s president by mutinous soldiers appears to have been well organized and capitalized on the population’s grievances against the government as an excuse to seize power, analysts said. Soldiers on Wednesday ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family has ruled the oil-rich country

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli authorities say a Palestinian driver slammed his truck into soldiers at a busy checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, killing one of them before being shot dead. The bloodshed on Thursday was the latest in a relentless cycle of violence to roil the region.

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Swiss banking giant UBS has announced plans to save $10 billion in costs, including through 3,000 staff reductions in Switzerland as it moves ahead with “full integration” of longtime rival Credit Suisse’s domestic operations following a takeover. The announcement on Thursday came as the Zurich-based bank reported

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Friday as investors looked toward a United States jobs report being released later in the day. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% in morning trading to 32,820.80. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4% to 7,278.30. South Korea’s Kospi was virtually unchanged, inching

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand lawmakers rushed to pass legislation and criticize opponents during a rowdy final day of the nation’s 53rd Parliament. With an election looming in six weeks, lawmakers will now switch their focus to the campaign trail. Opinion polls indicate the opposition conservatives hold a

By REBECCA BLACKWELL and LAURA BARGFELD Associated Press HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Florida and Georgia residents living along Hurricane Idalia’s path of destruction on Thursday picked through piles of rubble where homes once stood, threw tarps over ripped-apart roofs and gingerly navigated streets left underwater or clogged with fallen trees and dangerous electric wires.

By JOCELYN NOVECK and MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Kelly McKernan’s acrylic and watercolor paintings are bold and vibrant, often featuring feminine figures rendered in bright greens, blues, pinks and purples. The style, in the artist’s words, is “surreal, ethereal … dealing with discomfort in the human journey.” The word “human” has

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media report at least 121 passenger trains are suspending service in anticipation of the arrival of Typhoon Saola, while several cities in coastal areas of southern China have suspended the start of the school year. State broadcaster CCTV reported the suspensions on key lines running from north to south and

By GERALD IMRAY and MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A nighttime fire ripped through a rundown apartment building mainly occupied by homeless people and squatters in Johannesburg early Thursday, leaving at least 74 dead, officials said. Some people threw babies out of third-story windows to others waiting below in the desperate scramble to

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese search engine and artificial intelligence firm Baidu has made its ChatGPT-equivalent language model, Ernie Bot, fully available to the public. The company’s stock price rose by over 3% following the announcement. Beijing has taken steps recently to regulate the AI industry. Baidu’s CEO said Thursday

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s defense ministry is requesting a nearly 12% budget increase that includes two warships with advanced radar and long-range cruise missiles. The record $52.5 billion request for the next fiscal year comes as Japan further fortifies its military in the face of North Korean threats and Chinese

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Diego Fonseca looked at the computer and took a breath. It was his final attempt at the math placement test for his first year of college. His first three tries put him in pre-calculus, a blow for a student who aced honors physics and computer

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday its latest missile launches simulated “scorched earth” nuclear strikes on South Korea and that it’s also been rehearsing an occupation of its rival’s territory in the event of conflict. Pyongyang has previously tested nuclear-capable missiles and described how it would use

By TERRY TANG Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Andrea Nissen is trying to prepare her 65-year-old husband, who has Alzheimer’s disease, for a solo flight from Arizona to Oklahoma to visit family. She worries about travelers and airport officials misinterpreting his forgetfulness or habit of getting in people’s personal space, and feels guilty about not

By JAKE BLEIBERG and PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Unexplained Caribbean and European trips that cost taxpayers more than $90,000. A $600 sports coat paid for by an event organizer. A $45 office Christmas cake taken as his own. These are among the perks that Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s