AP-National

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s defense spending would increase more than 16% next year under a record military budget that is intended to accelerate the deployment of long-range cruise missiles that can hit targets in China or North Korea. The budget adopted by the Cabinet on Friday also will further fortify

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s interior minister says security forces have rounded up 304 people suspected of links to the Islamic State extremist group in simultaneous raids. Ali Yerlikaya said Friday the suspects were detained in 32 provinces but the majority were in Turkey’s three largest cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The raids were

MADRID (AP) — Lucky holders of 20-euro tickets with the number 88008 are celebrating after winning 400,000 euros ($440,000) each in the top prize of Spain’s huge Christmas lottery. People across the country tuned into the television, radio and internet from early morning as children from Madrid’s San Ildefonso school begin singing out the prize-winning

By ZEN SOO AP Technology Writer HONG KONG (AP) — China has released draft guidelines aimed at curbing excessive spending on online gaming. The proposal caused shares in the biggest Chinese gaming companies, Tencent and NetEase, to plunge in Hong Kong. China’s gaming regulator, the National Press and Publication Administration, issued guidelines saying online games

By KAREL JANICEK Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — Czech police are investigating why a student went on a dayslong violent rampage culminating in a shooting at the university he attended in Prague that left 14 dead and dozens wounded. Investigators believe the gunman in Thursday’s mass shooting at Charles University also killed his own father

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s chief prosecutor has appealed a court verdict that largely dismantled his theory of a grand conspiracy to defraud the Holy See of millions of euros but found a cardinal guilty of embezzlement. Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi filed his appeal this week of the three-judge tribunal’s

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street capped its eighth straight winning week with a quiet finish Friday, following reports showing inflation on the way down and the economy potentially on the way up. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to sit less than 1% below its record set nearly two

By The Associated Press The U.S. has spent more than $7 billion on humanitarian aid and building infrastructure in the Palestinian territories in recent decades, while sending more than $3 billion a year to Israel for its military. Since war broke out in early October, at least five U.S.-funded community and youth projects in Gaza

By JULIET LINDERMAN, MARTHA MENDOZA and CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press Less than a year before a Hamas attack out of Gaza sparked a war, one of the oldest and largest sports complexes in the Palestinian territories got a much-needed overhaul: brand-new basketball, volleyball and tennis courts, a soccer field, a running track and, for the

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prized free-agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a $325 million, 12-year contract, according to multiple reports. Yamamoto is set to join Japanese countryman Shohei Ohtani with the Dodgers, who signed the two-way superstar to a record $700 million, 10-year deal last week. The Dodgers did

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press A Chicago man who was exonerated of murder has been released from prison after more than 12 years. Darien Harris was convicted in part on the testimony of an eyewitness who was legally blind. Harris’ case is the latest in a dozen exonerations this year in the county that is

By NAJIB JOBAIN and SAM MAGDY Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s war to destroy Hamas has killed more than 20,000 Palestinians, health officials in Gaza said Friday, as Israel expanded its offensive and ordered tens of thousands more people to leave their homes. The deaths in Gaza amount to nearly 1% of

By JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Pacific storm that pounded coastal areas northwest of Los Angeles has pushed through San Diego to the deserts on its way into Arizona. After slowly moving down the California coast during the week, the brunt of the storm reached San Diego just before midnight Thursday.

By MANUEL VALDES and CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — New federal guidelines that dropped an abstinence requirement before gay men in monogamous relationships can give blood are opening a new pool of potential donors. They include Dylan Smith, an employee at Bloodworks Northwest in Vancouver, Washington, who was himself barred from donating

By HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s war on Ukraine has created a massive need for prosthetic limbs. An estimated 20,000 Ukrainians had amputations since the war started in February 2022, many of them soldiers who lost arms or legs due to blast wounds. Only a small number of them has been able

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — Joyce Loaiza lives alone, but when she returns to her apartment at a Florida senior community, the retired office worker often has a chat with a friendly female voice that asks about her day. A few miles away, the same voice comforted 83-year-old Deanna Dezern

By SAGAR MEGHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As children around the world eagerly await Santa’s arrival on Christmas, the military is closely tracking his every move. Armed with radar, sensors, aircraft and Christmas spirit, the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado is reporting on the movements of Santa’s sleigh since his takeoff from

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The field of 2024 presidential candidates may have some options for shoppers scrambling for a last-minute holiday gift. As the campaign for the White House kicks into full gear, the contenders are offering an onslaught of holiday-themed merchandise, many of which capture some of the surreal

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — This Congress started with showy bluster, a bitter 15-round, multi-day spectacle to elect a House speaker, a Republican who vowed to “never quit,” and then did just that. House lawmakers proceeded not only to oust the GOP speaker, they also punished their own colleagues with censures