AP-National

By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press HOMESTEAD, Florida (AP) — Snuggling on the sofa across from the Christmas tree, Sol proudly showed off the dog her foster parents gave her for earning all A’s even though she crossed the southern U.S. border knowing very little English. “They helped me a lot,” said the 14-year-old eighth grader.

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has paid the final tranche of a multibillion-euro support package to Ukraine to help keep its war-ravaged economy afloat this year. It’s unclear what financial help the EU might provide the country from January almost two years into the war. Hungary is blocking a

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press AMSTERDAM (AP) — A Dutch man who was convicted in British Columbia of charges including extortion and harassment related to a Canadian teenager who took her own life after he blackmailed her online has had his sentence cut by an Amsterdam court from 13 years to six. Aydin Coban wasn’t

BERLIN (AP) — Martin Scorsese will be honored for his lifetime achievement at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. Organizers said Thursday that the 81-year-old director will be given an honorary Golden Bear on Feb. 20. Scorsese’s extensive work ranges from decades-old classics such as “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull” to this year’s “Killers

By JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s main opposition group has urged the European Union to help open an international investigation into reported irregularities during last weekend’s election. The inconsistencies have caused political tensions in the troubled Balkan nation seeking EU membership. The Serbia Against Violence group said in a letter sent

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank has hiked its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points as part of its efforts to combat high inflation that has left many households struggling to afford essential items. The bank raised its benchmark rate to 42.5% on Thursday. It was its seventh interest rate hike in a

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Human rights activists say Pakistan’s police used water cannons, swung batons, and arrested dozens of activists overnight when they tried to enter Islamabad for a protest. The police action started before dawn Thursday when the protesters completed a nearly 1,000-mile-long convoy and tried to enter the capital

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican leader of Wisconsin’s Assembly who had threatened possible impeachment of a new liberal state Supreme Court justice over her views on redistricting now says such a move is “super unlikely.” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos originally threatened to impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz if she did

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says Republicans plan to unveil a proposal soon to legalize medical marijuana in the state and could vote on it sometime in 2024. Republicans have been working behind closed doors for years on a medical marijuana bill. Along the way, they

By HARM VENHUIZEN Associated Press/Report for America MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s top Republican wants to let voters decide whether to shorten the length of time that pregnant women can legally seek abortions. Current state laws allow abortions up until 20 weeks of pregnancy. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Wednesday that he wants to

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Before Shohei Ohtani stepped into the bright lights of Hollywood and signed the most lucrative contract in professional sports history, baseball’s two-way superstar put together yet another season of unparalleled brilliance from Tokyo to Anaheim. What can this singular talent possibly do next? The Los

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — America’s automakers have staked their futures on the notion that electric vehicles will dominate sales in the coming years, spurred by buyers determined to reduce carbon emissions and save on fuel. But so far, while EV sales are growing, their pace is falling well short of

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis urged Vatican bureaucrats Thursday to avoid “rigid ideological positions” that prevent them from understanding today’s reality, an appeal made days after he formally allowed priests to bless same-sex couples in a radical change of Vatican policy. Francis used his annual Christmas greeting to the Holy

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The Associated Press has withdrawn its story about Albania’s parliament lifting the immunity of Sali Berisha, a former prime minister of the country. He is not charged with corruption but is being investigated by prosecutors. AP will publish a corrected version of the story.

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenian police say a passenger train has struck a group of maintenance workers on the tracks and killed two of them injured four others. The official STA news agency said that the collision happened near the southwestern town of Postojna at around 9 a.m. Wednesday. The report says the injured workers

BEIJING (AP) — Hundreds of temporary housing units are being set up in northwest China for survivors of an earthquake that destroyed more than 14,000 homes and killed at least 144 people. State broadcaster CCTV showed footage Thursday of cranes lifting white, box-like housing units and lining them up in an open field in a

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The U.N. says fighting between Sudan’s military and a notorious paramilitary group forced up to 300,000 people to flee their homes in a province that had been a safe haven for families displaced by the country’s devastating conflict. The fighting erupted in the city of Wad Medani

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo is wrapping up its second day of voting after a chaotic rollout and lengthy delays forced election officials to extend voting hours. The election commission says Thursday that a delay in deploying certain materials and equipment resulted in some polls opening late and others not

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN AP Sports Writer The European Union’s top court has ruled UEFA and FIFA acted contrary to competition law by blocking plans for the breakaway Super League. The case was heard last year at the Court of Justice after Super League failed at launch in April 2021. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin called the club leaders

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — You found the perfect holiday gift online. You ordered it. A notification arrived on your phone, showing the package had arrived. But when you open your doors, the parcel is nowhere to be found. If this has happened to you, then count yourself among the