AP-National

By DIDI TANG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In the 1980s, Fu Xiangdong was a young Chinese virology student who came to the United States to study biochemistry. More than three decades later, he had a prestigious professorship in California and was conducting promising research on Parkinson’s disease. But now Fu is doing his research

BEIJING (AP) — The strong earthquake that hit northwest China this week, killing at least 148 people, caused economic losses estimated to be worth tens of millions in the agricultural and fisheries industries, state media said Saturday. Officials in Gansu conducted preliminary assessments that showed the province’s agricultural and fisheries industries have lost 532 million

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — With Christmas right around the corner, you might want to check the list of what stores are open (and closed) twice. From retail to grocery chains, many companies across the U.S. shut their doors on Christmas Day — including Walmart and Target — while others

By CHRISTOPHE ENA and ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press VATRY, France (AP) — About 300 Indian citizens heading to Central America were sequestered in a French airport for a third day Saturday after a dramatic police operation prompted by a tip that those aboard might be victims of human trafficking, authorities said. Those aboard included children

By KAREL JANICEK Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic came to a standstill at noon Saturday as people across the country observed a minute of silence for the victims of its worst mass killing that left 14 dead and questions about the shooter’s motive. National flags on public buildings flew at half-staff and

By NAJIB JOBAIN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — More than 90 Palestinians, including dozens from an extended family, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two homes in Gaza, rescuers and hospital officials said Saturday, a day after the U.N. chief warned that nowhere is safe in the territory and that

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Officials and residents in some remote parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir say anger is spreading after three civilians were killed while in army custody. Locals said the Indian army detained at least eight civilians on Friday for questioning, a day after rebels fighting against Indian rule ambushed

By SAM METZ Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Butter and milk shortages. Political party boycotts. Ongoing prosecutions of the president’s critics. This is the environment in which Tunisians will head to the polls on Sunday for the country’s first local elections since President Kais Saied wrote a new constitution that voters approved last year.

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press Standing on a portable stage erected at home plate of the Milwaukee Brewers ballpark, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers recently praised the professional baseball team as an “essential part” of the state’s “culture and identity” and “economic success.” With fanfare, Evers then signed off on $500 million in public aid

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press Most U.S. state legislatures will reconvene in January for the first time since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel sparked a war in Gaza and protests worldwide — and they’re preparing to take action in response, both symbolic and concrete. Legislatures in at least eight states that were in session

By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ Associated Press ACOLMAN, Mexico (AP) — María de Lourdes Ortiz Zacarías swiftly cuts hundreds of strips of newsprint and colored crepe paper needed to make a piñata, soothed by Norteño music on the radio while measuring pieces by feel. “The measurement is already in my fingers,” Ortiz Zacarías says with a laugh.

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer may have millions of carrots set out for him on Christmas Eve, but what about the rest of the year? Finding food in a cold, barren landscape is challenging, but researchers from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and the University of St.

By KRISTEN GELINEAU, EDNA TARIGAN and REZA SAIFULLAH Associated Press PIDIE, Indonesia (AP) — The screams were heard soon after the ailing boat emerged into view. On board were babies and children, alongside mothers and fathers begging to be saved. The passengers were ethnic Rohingya Muslims who had fled surging gang violence and rampant hunger

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — The Cuban government said Friday it will have to either increase prices for fuel and electricity, or reduce rations for basic supplies. President Miguel Díaz-Canel said such difficult measures were needed for difficult times, after the minister of the economy said Cuba’s economy contracted between 1% and

By KRISTEN GELINEAU, EDNA TARIGAN and REZA SAIFULLAH Associated Press PIDIE, Indonesia (AP) — Their screams and sobs could be heard from the ailing boat soon after it emerged into view amid the vastness of the Andaman Sea. Crowded on board were tiny babies and children, alongside mothers and fathers begging to be saved. The

By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press A Washington state law aimed at improving police accountability is in the spotlight after three Tacoma officers were acquitted in the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who was shocked, beaten and restrained face-down on a sidewalk as he pleaded for breath. The measure approved by voters in

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Malian authorities say the West African nation has recalled its ambassador in Algeria after accusing it of interference in its internal affairs by meeting rebel leaders from northern Mali. The decision announced Friday is the latest twist deepening diplomatic tensions between the two neighbors over efforts to end the armed rebellion

By COLLEEN SLEVIN and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BRIGHTON, Colo. (AP) — Two Denver-area paramedics were convicted Friday for giving a fatal overdose of the sedative ketamine to Elijah McClain in 2019 — a jury verdict that experts said could have a chilling effect on first responders around the country. The case involving the 23-year-old

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charlie Sheen’s neighbor was arrested after being accused of assaulting the actor in a Malibu, California, home this week, authorities said. Electra Schrock was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Friday. She was also taken into custody for force likely