AP-National

By STEPHEN WHYNO and PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writers Five NHL players left their teams this season to receive care from an off-ice assistance program run by the league and union. That’s the same number that entered the program the previous three seasons combined. Officials believe the increase can be credited to a growing trust

By SAM METZ and MASSINISSA BENLAKEHAL Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Two journalists were kept under detention in Tunisia on Wednesday, following a raft of arrests targeting government critics including lawyers and the press that has drawn concern from the country’s international allies. Authorities in the north African country this week unleashed a new

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — A 30-year-old prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead. Mohamed Amra has a long and violent criminal history that has now culminated in a high-profile search. Amra

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s president has signed into law a bill that aims to overhaul the healthcare system to address deep inequality, but it faces legal challenges from critics. The law introduces what is known as National Health Insurance, which will provide funds for all South Africans to access

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer CANNES, France (AP) — The world of “Mad Max” has lived in George Miller’s head for nearly half a century. Unlike most other long-running film franchises, it’s exclusively his. Miller has written and directed every film, from 1979’s “Mad Max” to the new “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” Also

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press A weekend fire in a shopping center in Warsaw dealt tragedy to many members of Poland’s Vietnamese community. People lost entire livelihoods and say they don’t know how they will manage to make a living. The fire destroyed the Marywilska 44 shopping center, home to some 1,400 shops or services

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Chances of restarting formal talks to mend Cyprus’ decades-long ethnic division appeared dimmer as the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots told a U.N. envoy that he saw no common ground with Greek Cypriots for a return to negotiations. Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said Wednesday

By ALBERT STUMM Associated Press If you’ve tried meditating but can’t sit still, you’re not alone. Experts say many people try it only once because they are antsy and feel they’re doing it wrong. The key is to relax and focus on something in the present moment. Feel your breath go in and out, listen

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday. Agency officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final counts are

By DIDI TANG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says the White House is sending an unofficial delegation to Taiwan this weekend for the inauguration of the island’s democratically elected president. The move is certain to upset China but unlikely to draw excessive responses from Beijing as the two countries try to stabilize

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The use of a voice-cloning technology marrying old audio clips to an actor’s narration is bringing an historic U.S. Supreme Court decision to life. A recreation allows listeners to ‘hear’ the oral arguments and reading of the decision in the 1954 Brown v. Board of

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A radical Sunni scholar whose criticisms of Saudi Arabia’s government and the West drew praise from the late al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden should be immediately tried or released from a yearslong arbitrary detention by the kingdom. That’s according to a statement Wednesday by

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — A woman who worked at an Iowa center that provides services for troubled youths has died, days after she was assaulted by a juvenile at the facility, officials said. Kathleen Galloway-Menke, 50, was assaulted May 8 by a 15-year-old resident at the center, Ellipsis Iowa, in the town of Johnston, police

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer BALTIMORE (AP) — Preakness favorite Muth has been ruled out of the race after spiking a fever, removing a horse trained by Bob Baffert and potentially giving Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan a clearer path through the second leg of the Triple Crown. The Maryland Jockey Club announced Muth’s

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press A gag order. Legal wrangling over witness testimony. Angry denouncements of the judge overseeing the case. Some of the most explosive moments in Donald Trump’s hush money trial have played out for most of the world to see – except for the people who are actually deciding his fate: The

By BELA SZANDELSZKY and KAREL JANICEK Associated Press BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times and gravely wounded Wednesday, but his deputy prime minister said he believed Fico would survive. The prime minister had been greeting supporters at an event when the attempted assassination took place, shocking

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Americans unexpectedly paused their spending in April from March as inflation continued to sting and elevated interest rates made taking on debt more burdensome. Retail sales were unchanged, coming in well below economists’ expectations, and the figure followed a revised 0.6% pace in March, according

By ZEKE MILLER, JILL COLVIN and JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to hold two campaign debates, on June 27 hosted by CNN and on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC. CNN says its debate will be held in its Atlanta studios with no audience

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least 24 worshippers, including four children, were injured in northern Nigeria’s Kano state after a man attacked the mosque where they were praying early Wednesday morning, resulting in an explosion, the police said. The suspect, a 38-year-old resident of the area, confessed that he attacked

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed targeting a U.S. Navy destroyer and a commercial ship in the Red Sea, but there was no immediate confirmation that any attacks took place. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said Wednesday that the rebels targeted the USS Mason with missiles and launched