AP-National

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce a running mate for his independent presidential campaign on March 26 in Oakland, California, his campaign said Tuesday. The campaign did not say whom Kennedy will pick, but he told The New York Times this week that NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers and

By RUTH ALONGA Associated Press GOMA, Congo (AP) — A senior United Nations official says intensifying violence in Congo’s eastern region has pushed a humanitarian crisis in the region to “unprecedented” levels. Ramesh Rajasingham, the director of coordination in the U.N. humanitarian office, told The Associated Press on Wednesday during a visit to the city

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The European Union’s maritime security force says it is tracking a Bangladesh-flagged cargo vessel that was boarded by pirates this week off the Somali coast. The EU force, known as Operation ATALANTA, says that the MV Abdullah’s 23 crew members have been taken hostage but that they are safe. It says

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is ordering more than 250 law enforcement officers and soldiers to the Florida Keys to help stop what he anticipates to be an increase in Haitian migrants fleeing violence in their country. But the Coast Guard said after the order was issued Wednesday that it hasn’t seen

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Robotaxis will begin cruising the streets of Los Angeles on Thursday when Google spinoff Waymo starts offering free rides to some of the roughly 50,000 people who have signed up for its driverless ride-hailing service. Waymo is expanding into Los Angeles, the second largest U.S. city, seven months after California regulators

By JIM SALTER Associated Press Three Missouri men have been charged with federal counts related to the illegal purchase of high-powered rifles and guns with extended magazines after last month’s shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade and rally left one person dead, roughly two dozen others injured and sent hundreds of people

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A court in Romania’s capital on Wednesday extended geographical restrictions against online influencer Andrew Tate, who is awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. The Bucharest Tribunal extended by a maximum of 60 days the restrictions, which stipulate Tate may not

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Foreign Ministry says it’s cutting short the missions of 50 of the nation’s ambassadors as part of efforts by the country’s new pro-European Union government to improve the missions at a challenging time. A statement from the ministry on Wednesday didn’t name any of the ambassadors being recalled by Foreign

By MEGAN JANETSKY, VICTOR R. CAIVANO and RODRIGO ABD Associated Press TUSAQUILLAS, Argentina (AP) — Irene Leonor Flores de Callata, 68, treks along a bone-dry riverbed, guiding a herd of llamas and sheep through stretching desert. Flores de Callata’s native Kolla people have spent centuries climbing deep into the mountains of northern Argentina in search

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military said Wednesday it plans to direct a significant portion of the 1.4 million displaced Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost town of Rafah toward “humanitarian islands” in the center of the territory ahead of its planned offensive in the area. The

By ED WHITE Associated Press PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A prosecutor urged jurors to convict the father of a Michigan school shooter on Wednesday, saying he ignored the “easiest, most glaring opportunities” to prevent the killing of four students, especially when confronted with his son’s violent classroom drawing. Instead of taking Ethan Crumbley home, James

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — After four decades in fashion, the queen of the catwalk is getting her own exhibition. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is launching “NAOMI: In Fashion,” a celebration of Naomi Campbell’s enduring career. The exhibition opens in June and will showcase memorable designer outfits worn by

By JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — Confined to an iron lung after contracting polio as a child, Paul Alexander managed to train himself to breathe on his own for part of the day, earned a law degree, wrote a book about his life, built a big following on social media and inspired people

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A former North Carolina representative who finished second in last week’s primary for essentially his old U.S. House seat has declined to seek a runoff, joining Donald Trump’s campaign instead. Ex-U.S. Rep. Mark Walker’s decision Wednesday means first-time candidate Addison McDowell wins the Republican nomination

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A pair of Ukrainian justice ministers in Washington this week said they were “quite optimistic” about the U.S. coming up with a way to financially support Ukraine. But lawmakers must agree on how to move forward. Speaking at a Wednesday press conference at his country’s embassy, Ukrainian

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A movie set armorer convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust” is scheduled to be sentenced next month. Court records show an April 15 sentencing is planned for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — An appeals court has overturned the convictions of a former Georgia police officer who shot and killed an unarmed naked man. Robert “Chip” Olsen responded to a call of a naked man behaving erratically at an Atlanta-area apartment complex in March 2015. He shot and killed 26-year-old

LINLEY SANDERS AND AMELIA THOMSON-DeVEAUX Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have secured their party’s nominations for president, setting up a rematch of the 2020 election. While both men sailed through the primary season, their paths to a win in November will be more difficult. An analysis of

By DÁNICA COTO and EVENS SANON Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A proposal to install new leadership in Haiti appears to be crumbling as some political parties rejected the plan to create a presidential council that would manage the transition. The panel would be responsible for selecting an interim prime minister and a council

NORTH LAS VEGAS. Nev. (AP) — Authorities say officers near Las Vegas shot and killed a man who refused orders to drop a gun while walking toward them outside of an apartment complex where they later found three women who had been shot to death. Police say in a news release that the officers were