AP-National

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer The Detroit Pistons fired coach Monty Williams on Wednesday after just one season that ended with an NBA-worst 14-68 record. “Decisions like these are difficult to make, and I want to thank Monty for his hard work and dedication,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a statement. “Coaching has

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa man accused of killing four people with a metal pipe earlier this month has filed a written plea of not guilty to murder charges. Luke Wade Truesdell, 34, filed his not guilty plea Tuesday to four counts of first-degree murder. A judge ordered him to return to court

By DEBORA REY Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — It’s sad but true, Copa America could mark Lionel Messi’s final chapter with Argentina’s national soccer team. The World Cup winner will turn 37 during the tournament in the United States, which kicks off Thursday. He’s clearly past his peak at Inter Miami after two

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, says an economic ‘border war’ between his state and Kansas has restarted. Mayor Quinton Lucas blames a plan approved by the Kansas Legislature that’s aimed at luring his city’s two major-league sports franchises from Missouri. It would allow Kansas to

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana has become the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom, the latest move from a GOP-dominated Legislature pushing a conservative agenda under a new governor. The legislation that Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law on

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press Relatives and friends of seven motorcyclists who died in a 2019 crash urged New Hampshire officials not to allow the trucker involved back on the state’s roads. A jury in 2022 found Volodymyr Zhukovskyy not guilty of multiple manslaughter and negligent homicide counts stemming from a collision in Randolph that

LONDON (AP) — One of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s police bodyguards has been arrested over alleged bets on the date of Britain’s national election made before it was announced, authorities said Wednesday. The Metropolitan Police force said that a constable in the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command was arrested Monday on suspicion of misconduct in

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group says it has new weapons and intelligence capabilities that could help it target more critical positions deeper inside Israel in case of an all-out war. Hassan Nasrallah’s comments on Wednesday come as the cross-border conflict simmering between

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say an attempted robbery at a highway rest area in eastern Nebraska left a 72-year-old man dead and his 71-year-old wife critically injured in a knife attack. The Hall County Sheriff’s office said the attack happened Wednesday morning as Gary and Mary Nelson were travelling across the state in

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan and New Zealand have agreed in principle on an intelligence sharing pact as their leaders shared concern about the increasingly challenging security environment in the region, including closer ties between Russia and North Korea. In a joint statement, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his New Zealand

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A firewall designed to prevent cyberattacks and hacking was to blame for the 911 outage that hit Massachusetts this week, state officials said Wednesday. Massachusetts’ 911 system was down for about two hours Tuesday, making it impossible for anyone to reach emergency services using the emergency number.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York moms returning to work after giving birth will now get paid break time when they need to pump breast milk at their jobs, under a new law. Gov. Kathy Hochul says the law requires employers in the state to provide a half hour of paid break time to workers

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech police say they have arrested a man who wounded a motorcyclist in the neck with a knife in Prague. Two other people were injured. Police said Wednesday the the motive for the attack wasn’t immediately clear but they ruled out terrorism. Police say the 52-year-old suspect was drunk and had a

PRAGUE (AP) — The U.S. chipmaker onsemi is planning a multi-year investment of up $2 billion in its production facility in the Czech Republic. The government said the money will be invested in the company’s existing production facility in the eastern Czech town of Roznov. It’s the biggest single foreign investment in the country since

By KIM TONG-HYUNG and JIM HEINTZ Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un say a new strategic partnership is a breakthrough, but what it means for their relationship is still uncertain. North Korean state media reported Thursday that the pact requires both countries

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has resigned from her posts of education secretary and head of an anti-insurgency body as her whirlwind alliance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. unraveled over key differences. The communications secretary said Wednesday that Duterte would remain the vice president. Her resignation

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A new report says there is mounting evidence that jihadi fighters who had long operated in Africa’s volatile Sahel region have settled in northwestern Nigeria after crossing from neighboring Benin. The report by the Clingendael Institute think tank says the militants have been moving to wealthier

MILAN (AP) — Italy’s coast guard is searching by sea and from the air for dozens of people missing when a boat capsized and partially sank in the perilous central Mediterranean off the Calabrian coast. The partially submerged boat was still in view on Wednesday. But the commander of the search operation said no bodies

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Supporters of Myanmar’s imprisoned ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi have carried out peaceful flower-themed protests marking her 79th birthday. Some of Suu Kyi’s backers took to the streets in defiance of the military government’s repression. Suu Kyi led a decades-long struggle against military rule. She was