AP-National

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. and GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Remember the first rap song you heard? Some of your favorite rappers and DJs do. While hip-hop celebrates 50 years of life, The Associated Press asked some of the genre’s most popular artists – including Killer Mike, JT of City Girls,

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. and GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Remember the first rap song you heard? Some of your favorite rappers and DJs do. While hip-hop celebrates 50 years of life, The Associated Press asked some of the genre’s most popular artists to recall their first rap song experience and

By SAM MEDNICK and ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — A senior U.S. diplomat said coup leaders in Niger refused to allow her to meet Monday with the West African country’s democratically elected president, whom she described as under “virtual house arrest.” Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland also described the mutinous

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been reinstated as a lawmaker in Parliament three days after the country’s top court halted his criminal defamation conviction for mocking the prime minister’s surname. Gandhi’s status as a lawmaker was restored by Parliament on Monday. His reinduction is likely to strengthen the opposition’s

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian state media says Israeli airstrikes have hit areas around Damascus, killing at least four Syrian soldiers. Citing a military source, state television said that four other soldiers were also wounded while the strikes early Monday caused “some material damage.” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor,

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s king has appointed army chief Hun Manet to succeed his father and long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen as the nation’s leader later this month. The royal decree signed Monday means Hun Manet will take office on Aug. 22 when the new National Assembly adopts

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has begun registering candidates for parliamentary elections in March, which will be the first since nationwide protests rocked the country last year. Iran has held regular presidential and parliamentary elections since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But a clerical body vets candidates for the 290-seat parliament, disqualifying any seen

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Megan Thee Stallion said she has suffered daily since rapper Tory Lanezshot her in the feet three years ago in a written statement read during Lanez’s sentencing, which will stretch into Tuesday. “Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a

By RIAZAT BUTT and MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan’s popular opposition leader, is now an inmate at a high-security prison after being convicted of corruption and sentenced to three years. It’s the most dramatic twist yet in months of political and legal wrangling between Khan and his

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine government has summoned China’s ambassador to convey a strongly worded diplomatic protest over the Chinese coast guard’s use of water cannons against Philippine vessels in a confrontation in the disputed South China Sea. The tense standoff occurred Saturday near Second Thomas Shoal, which is

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, did not show any repentance or admit any wrongdoing as he was sentenced Monday to 4 years and 9 months. Thao had previously testified that he

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press Word spread through an Oregon hospital last month that a visitor was causing trouble in the maternity ward, and nurses were warned the man might try to abduct his partner’s newborn. Hours later, the visitor opened fire, killing a security guard and sending patients, nurses and doctors scrambling for cover.

By KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — His social media accounts suggest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is launching high-speed trains and rubbing shoulders with foreign leaders as a powerhouse on the global stage and the face of an ascendant India. But that carefully crafted image, followed by millions, sits uncomfortably at odds

By ALI SWENSON and SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Supporters of a ballot question in Ohio that would make it harder to change the state constitution and could determine the fate of abortion rights there say a yes vote will provide a “defense against out-of-state meddling.” Opponents argue that a yes vote

By MICHAEL TARM AP Legal Affairs Writer CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois judge has heard arguments on a father’s request to dismiss charges accusing him of committing a crime by helping his son obtain a gun license three years before the son fatally shot seven people at a 2022 Fourth of July parade in suburban

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington has never been a particularly friendly place for Donald Trump. And after pleading not guilty to federal charges he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Trump was quick to show the feeling was mutual. Trump told reporters he was “very sad” to see “the filth

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks climbed Monday as Wall Street’s big rally for the year kicked back into gear following a brief hiccup. The S&P 500 rose 40.41, or 0.9%, to 4,518.44 and recovered more than a third of its loss from last week. That was its first losing