AP National News

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order aiming to bolster job opportunities for military and veteran spouses whose careers are often disrupted by their loved ones’ deployments. Biden is to use a visit to the recently renamed Fort Liberty in North Carolina to highlight

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Two giant inflatable ducks made a splash in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor on Friday, marking the return of a pop-art project that sparked a frenzy in the city a decade ago. The two 18-meter-tall yellow ducks by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman resemble the bath toys many

PARIS (AP) — France’s president traveled Friday to the side of families traumatized by the savage stabbings of four very young children, all said to be in stable condition after emergency surgery, while investigators worked to unravel the motives of a Syrian man taken into custody. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte traveled together

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s president recently announced that national elections will take place on Aug. 23. The elections present an opportunity for change for many Zimbabweans battered by economic hardships and frustrated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s failure to fulfil promises of reform, six years after a coup that brought

ROME (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Francis has had a second good night in the hospital recovering from surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in his abdominal wall. The Holy See press office said early Friday that further medical updates were expected later in the day. The Vatican has said

By ILLIA NOVIKOV, YURAS KARMANAU and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — For days, the Ukrainian teenager has waited in the attic, just down the street from the cemetery of her flooded town, marking time with her 83-year-old grandfather and two other elderly people and hoping for help to escape the deluge of

By BEATRICE DUPUY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — West Coast social media users are sharing their DIY tips for building an air purifier at home as smoke from Canada wildfires are cloaking much of the East Coast. In videos online, social media users are sharing their instructions on building a Corsi-Rosenthal air purifier. The

PARIS (AP) — France’s president was heading Friday to the Alps to be at the side of families traumatized by the savage stabbings of four very young children and two adults, as investigators worked to unravel the motives of a Syrian man taken into custody. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte were traveling together

By JACK JEFFERY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The Sudanese government says the United Nations envoy to the country, a key negotiator in the brutal conflict, is no longer welcome. The annoucement Thursday comes just weeks after the head of the country’s military, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, demanded in a letter that envoy Volker Perthes

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — There are a lot of questions surrounding this year’s Tony Awards and not just about who might win. The Hollywood writers’ strike has left much of Sunday’s telecast with unknowns. There will be performances from the nominated musicals, pre-recorded montages of the plays and acceptance

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — For Cypriots, it was a collective “here we go again” moment: In April, the U.S. and the U.K. included a handful of Cypriot nationals and Cyprus-registered companies on a list of “enablers” helping Russian oligarchs skirt sanctions. It was an unwelcome reminder of the lingering perception

By TIFFANY STANLEY Associated Press GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — As Ron DeSantis wrapped up a 12-stop campaign tour that began in an Iowa evangelical church and ended here in a South Carolina convention center, dozens of pastors met backstage to pray for the presidential candidate. Later, to the 1,500 people in the auditorium, DeSantis closed

By TIFFANY STANLEY Associated Press GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — As Ron DeSantis wrapped up a 12-stop campaign tour that began in an Iowa evangelical church and ended here in a South Carolina convention center, dozens of pastors met backstage to pray for the presidential candidate. Later, to the 1,500 people in the auditorium, DeSantis closed

By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon has long been known as a mecca for high-quality marijuana, but that reputation has come with a downside. Illegal growers offer huge amounts of cash to lease or buy land and then leave behind pollution, garbage and a drained water table. A bill passed by

By BEN FINLEY, PETER SMITH and DEEPA BHARATH Associated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Pat Robertson united tens of millions of evangelical Christians through the power of television and pushed them in a far more conservative direction with the personal touch of a folksy minister. His biggest impact may have been wedding evangelical Christianity to

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Drake could make an impactful mark at the BET Awards later this month. The chart-topping performer scored seven nominations at the show airing live on June 25 in Los Angeles. He’s up for best male hip-hop artist, male R&B/pop artist along with best collaboration

By JEFF McMURRAY and ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sadaf Zahoor has bucked California’s car culture by never owning one, yet she and other residents who rely on public transit worry its bleak financial outlook could soon leave them standing at empty train stations and bus stops. The agencies running the public

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Ann Allen loved going to church and the after-school social group led by a dynamic priest back in the 1960s. The giggling fun with friends always ended with a game of hide and seek. Each week, the Rev. Lawrence Sabatino chose one girl to hide with