AP-National

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian and Vietnamese prime ministers have discussed ways of improving an already booming economic relationship, as part of Australia’s strategy to diversify trade away from China. Vietnamese Pham Minh Chinh’s official state visit on Thursday followed a summit of Southeast Asian leaders this week co-chaired by

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Some Georgia senators want to punish cities and counties that they say are illegally harboring immigrants who are in the country without permission by cutting off most state aid to the local government and removing elected officials from office. The Senate Public Safety Committee voted 4-1 on

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Britain has circulated a draft U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in conflict-wracked Sudan ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins soon. The draft expresses “grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Over the past decade, Grace Subathirai Nathan graduated from law school, got married, opened a law firm and had two babies. But part of her is frozen in time, still in denial over the loss of her mother on a missing Malaysia Airlines plane in

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s government has reached a settlement with one of two Canadians who were detained in China for nearly three years on national security charges during a diplomatic fight between the two countries. A lawyer for Michael Spavor confirmed Wednesday that a resolution has been reached, without giving

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A decision by the Utah Republican Party to select its presidential nominee through caucus meetings instead of a traditional primary left many voters confused and frustrated as the nation waited until just after midnight for the state to unveil its results. Utah’s Republican leaders are

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters have settled House primaries across the state. But all eyes are on a handful of swing districts whose November matchups will help determine who controls Congress for the next two years. All of California’s 52 House seats had primary elections on Tuesday. The top

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has advanced to a runoff in his reelection bid. Gascón faced 11 challengers in Tuesday’s primary race. Gascón and the second highest vote-getter will compete in November to lead an agency that prosecutes cases in the most populous county

By THOMAS BEAUMONT and STEVE PEOPLES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The third-party presidential movement No Labels is planning to move toward fielding a presidential candidate in the November election, even as high-profile contenders for the ticket have decided not to run, two people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. After months of leaving open

BY MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — A judge has set aside a guilty verdict against a former Virginia school system superintendent convicted of a retaliatory firing of a teacher. The judge issued a written ruling Wednesday ordering a new trial for ex-Loudoun County Superintendent Scott Ziegler. He was convicted last year on

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Five-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey’s path to a possible record-breaking sixth title just got a little longer. Officials with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Wednesday issued a two-hour time penalty to Seavey for not properly gutting a moose he killed in this year’s race

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A U.S. judge on Wednesday sentenced four family members to life in prison for convictions stemming from a federal terrorism and kidnapping case that began in 2017 with the search for a toddler who went missing from Georgia and was later found dead when authorities

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida lawmakers have sent Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a bill to ban or restrict minors’ access to social media less than a week after he vetoed a more restrictive proposal. DeSantis is expected to sign the new version of the ban, which passed the House

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A retired professional wrestler and former congressional candidate has surrendered to police in Nevada after a warrant was issued for his arrest as a suspect in the death of a man who died last year from a head injury at a Las Vegas Strip hotel. Police issued the warrant Wednesday for

By ADAM BEAM Associated PRess SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A wealthy campaign donor of California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Panera Bread restaurants he owns will start paying workers at least $20 an hour on April 1 after controversy over whether a new state minimum wage law for fast food workers applies to his businesses.

By VALERIE GONZALEZ Associated Press MCALLEN, Texas (AP) — SpaceX is set to acquire public land from Texas after the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved a land-swapping deal that would cede 43 acres to entrepreneur Elon Musk’s company in exchange for 477 acres that are yet to be bought. The business is looking to

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un has called for greater war fighting capabilities against the United States and South Korea. The Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday that Kim made the comments during an inspection of field military training this week. KCNA cites Kim

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer The head of the National Transportation Safety Board told Congress Wednesday that the decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the toxic chemical inside them three days after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Eastern Ohio last year wasn’t justified. But NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the

By ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — In his victory speech Tuesday, former president Donald Trump echoed false statements on social media that the Biden administration had secretly flown hundreds of thousands of migrants to the United States. The false claims follow a report by the Center for Immigration Studies that said the

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press In Hollywood, actor Kevin Bacon is a big star. In Wisconsin’s Kenosha County, Kevin Bacon is one big pig! The 450-pound porker wandered from his pen last week then moseyed on down the road, where he was caught hamming it up on the Molgaard family’s security camera. “My wife spotted