AP-National

BERLIN (AP) — Prosecutors say two Iraqis accused of being members of the Islamic State group and keeping two young Yazidi girls as slaves as well as sexually and physically abusing them have been arrested in Germany. The pair were arrested in Bavaria on Tuesday. Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they are accused of genocide, crimes

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Fighting appears to be escalating in Myanmar as guerrilla fighters from the Karen ethnic minority and pro-democracy forces battle soldiers holding on to a major trading town on the border with Thailand. Witnesses said on Wednesday that the army has called in air and artillery support. The

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Republicans insisted the ruling would mostly impact those seeking abortions to end unwanted pregnancies. But that hasn’t been the case. Women who never intended to end their pregnancies have nearly died because they couldn’t get emergency treatment.

By MICHAEL CANTU Edmunds If you’re in the market for a used car and want to score a nice discount, consider getting a plug-in hybrid vehicle that qualifies for the federal tax credit. You can get up to $4,000 off the sale price or put that toward the federal taxes you owe. Plug-in hybrids are

By GERALD HERBERT and KEVIN McGILL Associated Press SLIDELL, La. (AP) — Severe storms blamed for a death in Mississippi spawned a tornado that demolished buildings in one Louisiana city Wednesday while inundating streets in low-lying New Orleans with hours of steady rain that snarled traffic and strained the city’s antiquated drainage system. Severe weather

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — People who make physical or financial threats against others in Kansas to force them to get an abortion could spend a year in prison and be fined up to $10,000 under a bill approved by state lawmakers. It’s one of several proposals pushed by anti-abortion

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has met with a leader of Brazil’s Yanomami people. The shaman, Davi Kopenawa, says he asked for papal backing for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s efforts to reverse decades of exploitation of the Amazon and better protect its indigenous peoples. The Yanomami leader

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian authorities have extended the deadline for a preliminary probe into the still unexplained death of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to his ally. Ivan Zhdanov, director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said on the messaging app Telegram that the deadline has been extended until

By The Associated Press The Green Bay Packers will play the Philadelphia Eagles when the NFL holds its first regular-season game in Brazil on Sept. 6. The matchup in Sao Paulo will mark the first time since 1970 that the NFL has played a Friday night game on the season’s opening weekend. NFL Commissioner Roger

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland says it will host a high-level international conference in June to help chart a path toward peace in Ukraine after more than two years of war, in hopes that Russia might join in the peace process one day. The lakeside Bürgenstock resort is expected to host

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss government has announced steps to bolster its “too big to fail” rules aimed to avoid potentially disastrous fallout from banking sector turmoil. The announcement comes in the wake of woes at troubled bank Credit Suisse before it was taken over by rival UBS. Finance Minister

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep tells The Associated Press she was nervous while flying to her first tennis tournament in 1 1/2 years. She had just successfully reduced a doping ban on appeal last month and was not sure what the reception would be like or how well

By SETH BORENSTEIN and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press OXFORD, England (AP) — The United Nations climate chief says humanity has only two years left “to save the world” by making dramatic changes in the way it spews heat-trapping emissions. And he says it has even less time to act to get the finances behind such

PARIS (AP) — France’s government has presented a bill to allow adults with terminal cancer or other end-of-life illness to take lethal medication. Polls show growing public demand in France for legal options for aid in dying. Many French people have traveled to neighboring countries to seek such medication. Under the new proposal, doctors would

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Lifestyles Writer NEW YORK (AP) — It’s the stuff of movies: Two friends vow to marry each other if they’re not hitched by a specified future date or age. Well, the Marriage Pact, an annual matching ritual that has become popular on nearly 90 college campuses around the U.S., has turned

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A report from a senior doctor in England says children who question their gender identity are being let down by lack of evidence and a toxic political debate. Dr. Hilary Cass said there is “no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress.” She

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Democratic governor vetoed a GOP-backed criminal justice bill that would impose harsher sentences for a range of crimes, saying it would saddle the state with sharply higher incarceration costs. The sweeping measure also would criminalize homelessness by creating an “unlawful camping” offense, Gov. Andy Beshear

NEW YORK (AP) — Marisha Pessl’s first novel in six years is a psychological thriller with the kinds of intricate clues and connections she has been known for since her acclaimed debut, “Special Topics in Calamity Physics.” Delacorte Press announced Wednesday that Pessl’s young adult novel “Darkly” will be published on Nov. 12. Pessl was

Jessica Alba, who shot to fame in the James Cameron television series “Dark Angel,” as well as films such as “Sin City” and the “Fantastic Four,” will step down as chief creative officer at Honest Company, a personal care company that she founded. Alba will keep a seat on the company board, but Honest said