AP-National

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — New government data suggests U.S. maternal deaths have fallen back to pre-pandemic levels. About 680 women died last year during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth. That’s down from 817 deaths in 2022. COVID-19 seems to be the main explanation for the improvement: Far fewer death

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear predicted Thursday that his recent economic development trip to Germany and Switzerland will reap more business investments in the Bluegrass State. The Kentucky delegation met last week with leaders of companies already established in the state and cultivated ties with other businesses

By SAMY MAGDY and DREW CALLISTER Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Israel and Hamas appear to be seriously negotiating an end to the war in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages. A leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of stalemated talks. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said an airstrike in Syria in May 2023 that was targeting an al-Qaida leader killed an innocent civilian instead. The investigation by U.S. Central Command confirms early reports from residents and family members shortly after the attack. Central Command said Thursday that U.S.

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) — Jurors have heard closing arguments in a landmark case seeking to hold the state of New Hampshire accountable for abuse at its youth detention center. David Meehan sued the state in 2020 alleging he was brutally beaten and raped at the Youth Development Center in the

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A candidate seeking the Republican nomination for a central North Carolina congressional seat has announced she’s suspending her campaign days before her primary runoff election. Johnston County attorney Kelly Daughtry announced her decision Thursday and endorsed her runoff rival Brad Knott in the 13th District

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama has authorized the execution of a second inmate by nitrogen gas. The decision comes after the state carried out the first nitrogen execution in January. The Alabama Supreme Court on Thursday granted the state attorney general’s request for an execution date for Alan Eugene Miller.

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A judge declared a mistrial after a jury said it was deadlocked and couldn’t reach a verdict in the trial of a military contractor accused of contributing to the abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq two decades ago. The mistrial Thursday came

By MARK M. MENGONFIA and JESSICA DONATI Associated Press MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Liberian President Joseph Boakai has signed an executive order to create a long-awaited war crimes court to deliver justice to the victims of Liberia’s two civil wars. The conflicts were characterized by the widespread and systematic use of mass killings, torture and

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — The start of the first civil trial stemming from the 2021 Astroworld festival, at which 10 people were killed in a crowd surge, has been delayed. Jury selection had been set to begin next Tuesday in the wrongful-death lawsuit filed the family of Madison Dubiski, a

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s governor has signed a bill putting new regulations on the production and sale of products containing kratom, a plant-based supplement. The law was signed Thursday. It takes effect Jan. 1 and prohibits the sale of kratom to anyone under 21. The law says it must be

By ALLEN G. BREED and JOCELYN GECKER Associated Press In a way, the black-and-white Palestinian scarf draped over Hannah Sattler’s shoulders this week and the tie-dyed T-shirts of 1968 are woven from a common thread. Like so many college students across the country protesting the Israel-Hamas war, Sattler feels the historic weight of the anti-Vietnam

By KEN MILLER and VALERIE GONZALEZ Associated Press Torrential rain is causing flooding in the Houston area. Officials on Thursday ordered some residents along a river to leave and are telling others they may wind up stranded. Of particular concern is an area along the San Jacinto River, which is expected to keep rising as

By TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The fate of a decades-old Tennessee policy that does not allow transgender people to change the sex designation on their birth certificates is in the hands of a federal appeals court. A group of four transgender women born in Tennessee wants the policy declared unconstitutional. A

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Gangs in Haiti have laid siege to several neighborhoods in the capital, burning homes and exchanging gunfire with police for hours in one of the biggest attacks since Haiti’s new prime minister was announced. Hundreds fled the violence early Thursday. The attacks began late Wednesday in

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The head of Greece’s extreme far-right Golden Dawn party has been granted conditional early release from prison. He had been serving a 13-year sentence for running a criminal organization blamed for numerous violent hate crimes. A council of judges accepted the request by Nikolaos Michaloliakos, 66, who had served the minimal

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado dentist charged with killing his wife by putting poison in her protein shakes is now accused of asking a fellow jail inmate to plant letters to make it look like his wife was suicidal. A police detective testified Wednesday that James Craig offered to pay for the inmate’s release or

WASHINGTON (AP) — Exxon Mobil’s $60 billion deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources has received clearance from the Federal Trade Commission, but the former CEO of Pioneer was barred from joining the new company’s board of directors. The FTC said Thursday that Scott Sheffield colluded with OPEC and OPEC+ to potentially raise crude oil prices.

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s ban on abortions after roughly six weeks is back in court and centered on the definition of fetal heartbeat. A state circuit judge on Thursday began considering Planned Parenthood’s request to block the new law until courts can decide. A ruling is expected in

MACON, Ga. (AP) — A North Carolina man is charged with mailing an antisemitic threat to a rabbi in Georgia. A federal indictment unsealed Thursday says that Macon Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar received a threatening postcard in February after she testified before Georgia lawmakers to support defining antisemitism in state law. The postcard referenced the name