AP-National

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Heavy snow has stranded scores of vehicles on a main expressway in central Japan, paralyzing traffic for more than 6 kilometers (4 miles), officials said. Army troops were dispatched to help relief efforts. The traffic jam occurred on the Meishin Expressway in Gifu prefecture, reportedly after two

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — After Turkey ratified Sweden’s bid to join NATO on Monday, Hungary became the last member of the military alliance not to have issued its approval. After more than a year of delays, and consistent urging from its Western partners to move forward on accession, the Central

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer An England cricketer’s problems obtaining a visa for the team’s test series in India have prompted the British government to call for fair treatment for any of its citizens seeking to enter the Asian country. Shoaib Bashir is a 20-year-old British Muslim of Pakistani heritage. He was the only

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Officials in Cyrpus say police have rescued 60 Syrian migrants from a rickety wooden boat that had been at sea six days and appeared to have run short of food and water. Five minors have been hospitalized, three of them in intensive care. The boat was found about 34 miles of

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Two American-flagged ships carrying cargo for the U.S. Defense and State departments came under attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday, officials said, with the U.S. Navy intercepting some of the incoming fire. The attacks on the container ships Maersk Detroit and Maersk Chesapeake further raise the

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court says that authorities can use paintball guns to shoot at wolves in a popular national park. The plan is to scare the animals after at least one of them began approaching human visitors. The decision Wednesday was a victory for the eastern province of Gelderland that has

By BASSEM MROUE and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A delegation of Libyan justice officials has visited Lebanon to reopen discussions over the fate of a prominent Lebanese cleric who went missing in Libya decades ago. Officials say they separately discussed the potential release of late dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s son Hannibal, who has

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling nearly 1.9 million Explorer SUVs in the U.S. because a trim piece can fly off and create a hazard for other drivers. The recall covers Explorers from the 2011 through 2019 model years. Documents posted Wednesday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say that clips holding the

By SALLY FRENCH of NerdWallet All-inclusive vacations can sometimes get a bad rap for being generic, inauthentic and filled with mediocre food and activities. But by booking the right kind of all-inclusive (which often means those that limit guest counts to only a couple dozen), you can find a unique vacation with personal attention. Start

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis recalled the extermination of millions of Jews in calling Wednesday for the upcoming Holocaust Day of Remembrance to reaffirm that war can never be justified. At the end of his weekly general audience, Francis referred to Saturday’s commemoration, which has become fraught this year given Israel’s military campaign in Gaza

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media say at least 39 people died and nine others were injured when a fire broke out at a commercial building in southeastern Jiangxi province. State broadcaster CCTV reported that local authorities said that the fire broke out Wednesday afternoon. The building houses an internet cafe in the basement and

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Here’s a look at some notable facts and figures from this year’s Oscar nominations. Jodie Foster was nominated for the first time in nearly 30 years with her best supporting actress nomination for “Nyad.” It’s her fifth nomination and she’s won twice. Composer John Williams

By BRENT ROMANS Edmunds Edmunds Top Rated Awards are bestowed annually upon the best vehicles of the year. The winners aced their Edmunds track tests and distinguished themselves as class leaders in extensive real-world evaluations. Winners this year are the BMW i5, Chevrolet Colorado, Ford F-150 Lightning, Kia Sportage Hybrid, Kia EV9 and Toyota Prius.

LONDON (AP) — Online retailer eBay Inc. will cut about 1,000 jobs, or an estimated 9% of its full-time workforce, saying its number of employees and costs have exceeded how much the business is growing in a slowing economy. It marks the latest layoffs in the tech industry. CEO Jamie Iannone said in a message

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media say the death toll from a landslide in a remote, mountainous part of southwestern China has risen to 39, while five people remain missing. The disaster struck early Monday in the village of Liangshui in the northeastern part of Yunnan province. Search and rescue operations continued Wednesday amid freezing

NEW YORK (AP) — Billionaire businessman-environmentalist Tom Steyer has a book out this spring that combines personal and professional stories with a message on how to battle climate change. Spiegel & Grau announced Wednesday that “Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We’ll Win the Climate War” will be published May 28. In his book, Steyer urges action

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — After an extended period of gloom, Americans are starting to feel better about inflation and the economy — a trend that could sustain consumer spending, fuel economic growth and potentially affect President Joe Biden’s political fortunes. A measure of consumer sentiment by the University of Michigan

By STEPHEN McGRATH and ANDREEA ALEXANDRU Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Moldova’s foreign minister Nicu Popescu is resigning from his post, saying he needs a break from what he describes as a period of difficulty, but also of achievement in the country’s progress toward one day joining the European Union. Popescu, who has led

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A stadium in Somalia’s violence-prone capital is hosting its first soccer tournament in three decades, drawing thousands of people to a facility that had been abandoned for years and later became a base for military — and even extremists — amid civil war. The competition is

BEIJING (AP) — China, the world’s biggest exporter, says it is deeply concerned about tensions in the Red Sea that have upended global trade by forcing many shippers to avoid the Suez Canal. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Wednesday that China has been in “close communication with all parties concerned and making positive efforts