AP-National

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida insurance companies made money last year for the first time in seven years. That is thanks to investment income and a mild hurricane season. That’s according to an an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis released last week. A group of 50 insurers reported $147.3 million in net income for 2023

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Officials in Iraq say that an Iraqi police officer previously sentenced to death for the murder of a prominent security analyst critical of powerful Iran-backed militias has been released from prison following a retrial. An intelligence official with the Ministry of Interior said Ahmed

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press KADUNA, Nigeria (AP) — More than 130 Nigerian schoolchildren rescued after more than two weeks in captivity have arrived in their home state in northwestern Nigeria ahead of their anticipated reunions with families. That follows the latest in a series of mass school abductions in the West African nation. The

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian spacecraft with three astronauts has successfully docked at the International Space Station. The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Russian Oleg Novitsky and Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus reached the station after Saturday’s blastoff from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. The launch followed an aborted attempt two

By DAVID McHUGH Associated Press SPRAKEBUELL, Germany (AP) — These are turbulent times for wind and solar energy. High interest rates needed to finance renewable projects are coming on top of long waits to buy equipment. And those headwinds are blowing at a time when investment needs to massively ramp up to meet ambitious climate

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will have one of the country’s most restrictive social media bans for minors — if it withstands expected legal challenges. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that will ban social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Italy has followed France in stepping up security following the attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall and the claim of responsibility by an affiliate of the Islamic State group. The attack renewed attention in Europe on the risk from the extremists. France on Sunday increased its

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s defense minister says that two military engineers have died following the detonation of TNT during a training exercise at a military facility in southern Poland. The minister tweeted Monday that two sappers with a chemical regiment died in Solarnia in the southern region of Silesia. The deaths follow another training

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the gunmen who killed 139 people at a suburban Moscow concert hall are “radical Islamists,” but he repeated his accusation that Ukraine could have played a role despite Kyiv’s strong denials. Two days after the Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate claimed responsibility for Friday

LONDON (AP) — Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary has pleaded not guilty in a London courtroom to two terrorism-related charges. The 57-year-old Choudary pleaded not guilty Monday to membership in a banned organization and addressing meetings to encourage support for the radical Muslim group al-Muhajiroun. The U.K. government outlawed Al-Muhajiroun in 2010. The group has

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — South African prosecutors say they intend to charge the parliamentary speaker with corruption. They allege that she took $135,000 and a wig in bribes from an unnamed person over a three-year period while she was defense minister. Prosecutors announced their intention in a court hearing

By SYLVIA HUI and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Hackers linked to the Chinese government launched a sweeping, state-backed operation that targeted U.S. officials, journalists, corporations, pro-democracy activists and the U.K.’s election watchdog. That’s according to American and British authorities, who announced a set of criminal charges and sanctions Monday. Officials say the

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer A leadership shake-up at Boeing, including news Monday that its top executive plans to step down, highlights the difficult path facing the iconic aircraft manufacturer as it tries to navigate through yet another safety crisis. CEO David Calhoun, who has been under unrelenting pressure since a panel blew off

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A star South Korean soccer player who was detained and investigated in China for nearly a year over bribery allegations has been released and returned home. Seoul’s Foreign Ministry is giving few details. Son Jun-ho is a former member of the South Korean national team

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Police in Tennessee say the death of University of Missouri student Riley Strain appears to be accidental. The Tennessean reported Sunday that Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Kris Mumford says a detective attended the autopsy examination and Strain’s death “continues to appear accidental.” Mumford says toxicology results are pending, but there

By MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Claudia Poblete can’t help it. On certain days, as she passes in front of a church, she automatically crosses herself while her children gaze at her with confusion. She didn’t raise them as Catholics — as she was — because her spirituality has shifted.

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Emmy, Tony and Olivier Award winner Bryan Cranston is a leading face of Major League Baseball’s promotional campaign ahead of opening day for the second straight season, recording a video at Dodger Stadium highlighting several stars. The actor is the voice of an “Anything Can

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A major European Union plan to better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc and fight climate change was indefinitely postponed Monday, underscoring how farmers’ protests sweeping the continent have had a deep influence on politics. The deadlock on the bill, which could undermine the EU’s global stature

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — A delegation from Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce is in Kabul to to meet its counterparts to discuss how to improve trade relations after tensions have risen over cross-border militant attacks. Last week, Pakistan’s military carried out rare airstrikes against suspected hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban inside Afghanistan,

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s prime minister-designate has withdrawn her nomination after negotiations between two political coalitions failed. That could send the European Union’s poorest member country into a new crisis. Under a deal between the coalitions, the outgoing prime minister stepped down on March 6 and was expected to be replaced by the deputy