AP-National

By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer A year ago, anti-abortion activists from across the U.S. gathered for their annual March for Life with reason to celebrate: It was their first march since the Supreme Court, seven months earlier, had overturned the nationwide right to abortion. At this year’s march, on Friday, the mood will be

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A new edition of “The Hunger Games,” the first novel in Suzanne Collins’ dystopian series set in the North American land of Panem, will include words and pictures. “The Hunger Games Illustrated Edition” will be published Oct. 1, Scholastic announced Thursday. The book will feature

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s lawmakers have approved the key 2024 state budget but it still needs approval from President Andrzej Duda, who is allied with the right-wing opposition. The budget adopted Thursday also needs endorsement from the Senate before the Jan. 29 deadline, when it has to land on Duda’s desk. A delay could

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Atom-bomb epic “Oppenheimer” leads the race for the British Academy Film Awards, with nominations in 13 categories including best film — eight more than its box-office rival, “Barbie.” Gothic fantasia “Poor Things” received 11 nominations on the list announced Thursday, while historical epic “Killers of the Flower

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Sheryl Sandberg, who helped to transform Facebook from a tech startup into a digital advertising empire, will step down from the board of Meta, Facebook’s parent company. “With a heart filled with gratitude and a mind filled with memories, I let the Meta board know that I will not

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Authorities in Haiti say they’re investigating allegations of sexual abuse and abuse of authority and public property at a state university in the southern coastal city of Jacmel. A commission has been deployed to the University of the South-East to investigate accusations that officials say first surfaced in September.

By SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri activists are throwing support behind a constitutional amendment to restore abortion rights while also allowing the procedure to be restricted in later stages of pregnancy. The group Missourians for Constitutional Freedom committed Thursday to an amendment that would let lawmakers restrict or ban abortions

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan has signed a deal with the United States to purchase up to 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of its ongoing military buildup in response to increased regional threats. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel attended a signing event at Japan’s Defense Ministry on Thursday. Emanuel,

WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — A Wolverhampton fan was unable to celebrate his team’s late winner in an FA Cup replay because he’d been plucked from the crowd to stand in as a match official. Ross Bennett attended the Wolves-Brentford game on Tuesday with his 11-year-old son. He volunteered to fill in as the fourth official

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian opposition activists say an airstrike that was likely carried out by Jordan’s air force on southern Syria has killed at least nine people in the latest of strikes in recent months. There was no immediate confirmation from Jordan on Thursday’s strike that hit the province of

PARIS (AP) — French soccer club Bastia has been handed a one-point deduction after its second-tier game was disrupted when a fan racially abused an assistant referee. The French league says its disciplinary panel judged the case based on racial abuse of the match official, plus fans lighting fireworks and throwing one on the field.

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat has dismissed a proposal by the United States to resume a dialogue on nuclear arms control. Speaking at Thursday’s annual news conference, Sergey Lavrov said it’s impossible while Washington offers military support to Ukraine. He accused the West of fueling global security risks by

By KELVIN CHAN and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Artificial intelligence is easily the biggest buzzword for world leaders and corporate bosses diving into big ideas at the World Economic Forum’s glitzy annual meeting in Davos. Breathtaking advances in generative AI stunned the world last year, and the elite crowd is angling

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — China and the Philippines said they have agreed to work on lowering tensions after a year of tense confrontations in the South China Sea between their ships that have raised concerns of armed engagement in the region. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday in a

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s government will not change policies the European Union believes infringe on LGBTQ+ rights and those of asylum seekers, even if doing so would unfreeze billions in funding the bloc has withheld from Budapest. The EU has frozen funds to Hungary over concerns that its right-wing

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — France has announced more deliveries of its Caesar artillery system to Ukraine and is accelerating weapons production to avoid depleting its own military stocks while continuing to support the war effort against Russia’s invasion. France announced a drive on Thursday to fund the delivery of 78 Caesar

By JOSEF FEDERMAN, NAJIB JOBAIN and JACK JEFFERY Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday rejected calls from the United States to scale back Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip or take steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state after the war, drawing an immediate scolding from the White

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden has unveiled $82 million for North Carolina to help connect an additional 16,000 households and businesses to high-speed internet. Biden spoke Thursday in the capital of Raleigh and said his policies are “just getting started” at improving the U.S. economy. Biden’s reelection campaign

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Lawmakers in the United States and the United Kingdom are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission not to allow JBS, the world’s largest meatpacking company, to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Getting listed would give the company access to more capital and enhance

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kansas on Thursday passed a broad package of tax cuts promoted as widespread relief that the Democratic governor is likely to veto because she says it favors the wealthy and threatens the state’s budget in the future. The opposing viewpoints kept the