AP-National

By MARIAM FAM Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Observant Muslims the world over will soon be united in a ritual of daily fasting from dawn to sunset as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starts. For Muslims, it’s a time of increased worship, charity and good deeds. Socially, it often brings families and friends together

ATLANTA (AP) — Naomi Barber King, a civil rights activist who was married to the younger brother of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has died at age 92. She died in Atlanta on Thursday, according to family members who issued a statement through the A.D. King Foundation. Naomi King established the organization in May

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Most of America “springs forward” Sunday for daylight saving time and losing that hour of sleep can do more than leave you tired and cranky the next day. It also could harm your health. Darker mornings and more evening light together knock your body clock out

By CHRISTINA LARSON AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — When a total solar eclipse transforms day into night, will tortoises start acting romantic? Will giraffes gallop? Will apes sing odd notes? Researchers will be standing by to observe how animals’ routines at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas are disrupted when skies dim on April

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Ten years on, families of Chinese passengers on a missing Malaysia Airlines flight are still searching for answers. On Friday, a few dozen relatives went to meet with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of their long journey for answers. They also went to the Malaysian

By DAKE KANG and ZEN SOO Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China’s hackers-for-hire take government officials out for lavish banquets, binge drinking and late-night karaoke with young women in a bid to win favor and business, as revealed in a highly unusual leak last month of internal documents from a private contractor linked to Chinese

By DAKE KANG and ZEN SOO Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — The hotel was spacious. It was upscale. It had a karaoke bar. The perfect venue, the CEO of the Chinese hacking company thought, to hold a Lunar New Year banquet currying favor with government officials. There was just one drawback, his top deputy said.

By HOLLY RAMER and MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Brain injury experts are cautioning against drawing conclusions from newly released and limited information about evidence of a brain injury in an Army reservist who killed 18 people last year in Maine’s deadliest mass shooting. Boston University researchers who analyzed a sample of Robert

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russians who are too fearful to protest in the streets are finding an outlet for their activism by writing letters to political prisoners. Whether it is simply withing them a happy birthday or a longer message of support, activists say they get positive feedback from inmates

By GIADA ZAMPANO Associated Press ROME (AP) — A new trial of two American men has begun in the slaying of an Italian plainclothes police officer during a botched sting operation after Italy’s highest court threw out their convictions. Italy’s highest Cassation Court ordered a new trial last year, saying that it had not been

By ANGELA CHARLTON and JADE LE DELEY Associated Press PARIS (AP) — France has inscribed the guaranteed right to abortion in its constitution, a powerful message of support for women’s rights on International Women’s Day. France is the first country to explicitly guarantee abortion rights in its national charter. The French justice minister used a

WASHINGTON (AP) — During the State of the Union address, the House speaker and vice president sit behind the president. But there has been a new speaker every year under President Joe Biden. Former leader Nancy Pelosi lost the spot when Republicans secured a narrow lead in the chamber in during the 2022 midterm elections.

By THOMAS PEIPERT Associated Press LEADVILLE, Colo. (AP) — What do you get when you cross rodeo with skiing? An extreme — and quirky — winter sport called skijoring. It’s a heart-pumping competition in which horses at full gallop tow skiers by rope over jumps and around obstacles as they try to lance suspended hoops

By MOHAMED JAHJOUH, JACK JEFFERY and LEE KEATH Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — It’s not just Israeli bombs that have killed children in war-ravaged Gaza — now some are dying of hunger. Officials have been warning for months that Israel’s siege and offensive were pushing the Palestinian territory into famine. Hunger is most

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers delivered another healthy month of hiring in February, adding a surprising 275,000 jobs and again showcasing the U.S. economy’s resilience in the face of high interest rates. Last month’s job growth marked an increase from a revised gain of 229,000 jobs in January. At

By MICHAEL KEALY and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press DUBLIN (AP) — Irish voters are voting in twin referendums to decide whether to amend the constitution and remove passages the government says are outdated and sexist. The twin referendums on International Women’s Day are on deleting a reference in the 87-year-old document to women’s domestic duties

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The charitable wing of the women’s professional tennis tour and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have started a joint effort to provide prenatal vitamins to 1 million women in low- and middle-income countries. The Women Change the Game campaign was announced Friday, International Women’s Day. It aims to raise

By LISA MASCARO and STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans had demanded but never expected President Joe Biden to say the name Laken Riley during his State of the Union address. But the Democratic president said it. The death of the Georgia nursing student has become a rallying cry for Republicans on border

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto, long a popular destination for tourists, is closing off some private-property alleys in its famous geisha district because of complaints about misbehaving visitors. Tourists crowd the narrow, quaint streets of the area called Gion, often following tour guides who show people around

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The State of the Union address is one of the durable set pieces of the presidency, a forum that almost always favors the speaker in a one-way conversation with millions of Americans. Most of the speeches are instantly dissected, and almost as quickly forgotten.