AP-National

By NAJIB JOBAIN, JULIA FRANKEL and JACK JEFFERY Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s defense minister on Thursday laid out his vision for the next phase of the war in Gaza, describing how Israeli forces would shift to an apparently scaled-down “ new combat approach” in northern Gaza, while continuing to fight Hamas

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An armed unmanned surface vessel launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen got within a “couple of miles” of U.S. Navy and commercial vessels in the Red Sea before detonating on Thursday, just hours after the White House and a host of partner nations issued a final warning to the

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A customer has filed a negligence lawsuit against Dunkin’, claiming he was injured by an exploding toilet at one of the coffee chain’s locations in central Florida. Paul Kerouac is seeking more than $100,000 in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in state court in Orlando, claiming he suffered “severe and long term

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Migrants from several countries abducted from a bus and held by armed men for days near Mexico’s border with Texas were released by their captors, not rescued as initially reported by authorities. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday that those responsible “decided to let them go.” The 32 migrants were

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — The Kia EV9 large electric SUV won the 2024 North American Utility of the Year award, while the Toyota Prius hybrid took the top car honors, and Ford’s Super Duty pickup won the truck award. The honors, announced Thursday at a meeting of the Automotive Press Association in Detroit, are often

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Thursday pressed to have special counsel Jack Smith’s team held in contempt, saying the prosecutors had taken steps to advance the 2020 election interference case against him in violation of a judge’s order last month that

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press Police in New Jersey are hunting for the killer of a Muslim leader who was shot outside his mosque. They’re offering a cash reward and reiterating they don’t think bias played a role in the violence. The pre-dawn killing of imam Hassan Sharif as he prepared to open the Masjid

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears is shooting down rumors of a new album, vowing to “never return to the music industry.” At the same time, Spears noted in Wednesday’s Instagram post, she’s still writing music. She says it’s just for other people. She says she’s written more than 20 songs for others in the

By HARAJAH NALWADDA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A well-known gay rights activist in Uganda who was stabbed by unknown assailants this week is attributing the attack to what he describes as a growing intolerance of the LGBTQ+ community fueled by politicians. Steven Kabuye says the climate of intolerance is being worsened by politicians

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Sports Writer The NCAA and ESPN have agreed to a $920 million, eight-year deal that will give the network exclusive rights to 40 championships, including the Division I women’s basketball tournament. The women’s side of March Madness has been growing in popularity and the association has been accused of

LANETT, Ala. (AP) — A Georgia sheriff’s deputy was fatally injured when he was stuck by another law enforcement vehicle during a police chase. The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office said Deputy Sheriff Eric Minix died early Thursday morning. Georgia law enforcement were chasing a stolen vehicle, and the pursuit continued into Alabama where the fatal

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press Passengers on Japan Airlines Flight 516 were buckled up and ready to land at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport as their pilot made a final approach. “Cleared to land,” the pilot repeated after receiving an instruction from air traffic control to put the jet down on Runway C. About two minutes later,

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two consultants hired to analyze new state legislative boundary lines in Wisconsin after the state’s high court tossed the current Republican-drawn maps will be paid up to $100,000 each. Under the terms of the contracts made public Thursday, each consultant will be paid an hourly rate

By FADI TAWIL and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Beirut for the funeral of Saleh Arouri, top commander of militant Palestinian group Hamas, who was killed earlier this week in an apparent Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital. Draped in Palestinian and Hamas flags,

By TERRY TANG Associated Press Sam Song Li only got his SAG-AFTRA card two years ago. Now, he is acting opposite Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh in an all-Asian cast in the new Netflix series, “The Brothers Sun.” Dropping Thursday, the crime drama and comedy hybrid follows the scions of a Taiwanese triad leader. The show

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press PERRY, Iowa (AP) — A 17-year-old opened fire at a small-town Iowa high school before classes resumed on the first day after the winter break, killing a sixth-grader and wounding five others Thursday as students barricaded in offices, ducked into classrooms and fled in panic. The suspect,

By JON GAMBRELL and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Thursday for two suicide bombings targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike, the worst militant attack to strike Iran in decades as the wider Middle East remains on

PRAGUE (AP) — Hundreds of students and others have marched in silence in the Czech capital to honor the victims of the country’s worst mass killing two weeks ago that left 14 dead. They gathered at an impromptu memorial in front of Prague’s Charles University headquarters where thousands came to light candles after the Dec 21 shooting.

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The German government is watering down cost-saving plans that have infuriated farmers. It announced on Thursday that it will give up a proposal to scrap an exemption from car tax for farming vehicles and will stagger cuts to tax breaks for diesel used in agriculture. The cuts

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The race for the White House officially begins in less than two weeks, and despite some prolonged jockeying over the election calendar, the long primary season will once again begin in Iowa with a caucus process that has served as the lead-off voting event since the 1970s.