AP National News

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added a robust 517,000 jobs in January, a surprisingly strong gain in the face of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive drive to slow growth and tame inflation with higher interest rates. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.4%, a new half-century low. Friday’s government report added

By NICOLE WINFIELD and DENG MACHOL Associated Press JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Pope Francis arrived in South Sudan on Friday for the second and final leg of his African pilgrimage, planning to encourage the young country’s stalled peace process and to draw international attention to the continued fighting and a worsening humanitarian crisis there.

BERLIN (AP) — Ukraine could add old Leopard 1 battle tanks from German defense industry stocks to deliveries of modern tanks that Germany and other governments pledged last week to counter Russian forces in the war. A German government spokesman confirmed Friday that export authorization has been granted but declined to give numbers or other

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The prime ministers of the three Baltic countries have urged the International Olympic Committee to ban Russian athletes from next year’s Paris Games because of the war in Ukraine and say a boycott is a possibility. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas says they should try to convince others “that the participation

By EMILY WANG FUJIYAMA, TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — The U.S. was tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon spotted over American airspace, and China said Friday that it would look into those reports, as the discovery further strained already tense relations between Beijing and Washington. The Pentagon decided not

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO is calling on Russia to respect the only treaty it has with the United States to keep a lid on nuclear weapons expansion. The 30-nation security organization is urging Moscow to allow on-the-ground inspections of military sites to resume. The New START Treaty was signed by Russia and the U.S. in

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer LeBron James is soon going to be in the NBA record books as the most prolific scorer ever. But for all his accomplishments on the basketball court, it is James’ ambitious pursuits off-the-court that may ultimately distinguish his legacy from other superstar athletes’. James co-founded an entertainment company, bought

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — As rising temperatures offered some hope for frustrated Texans shivering in their homes days after losing power in a deadly winter storm, another wave of frigid weather was taking aim Friday at the northern U.S. An Arctic cold front was expected to move from Canada into the northern Plains and Upper

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — The Olympic flame is going for a sail. Instead of arriving overland the symbolic flame alighting the 2024 Paris Games will take to the seas from its birthplace in Greece. Paris organizers say it will travel across the Mediterranean aboard a three-masted tall ship and arrive in the French port of

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s government is seeking to ban a far-right political party led by a jailed former lawmaker from participating in a general election later this year. The 42-year-old Ilias Kasidiaris founded the Greek National Party two years ago. He is serving a sentence of 13 years and

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Appearing before a federal judge after pleading guilty to a felony charge in the deadly Capitol riot, former West Virginia lawmaker Derrick Evans expressed remorse for letting down his family and his community, saying he made a “crucial mistake.” Less than a year

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Swedish government has again sought to discredit claims that Swedish social service agencies kidnap Muslim children. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said there was a “systematized” and “extensive” disinformation campaign. Kristersson said that “Sweden and the social services do not kidnap children, neither Muslim nor other children.” An earlier disinformation campaign prompted

By HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 50 businesses and nonprofits including rideshare companies Uber and Lyft and industrial giant 3M are pledging millions of dollars in initiatives to stem a crisis in road fatalities under a new federal effort. The effort announced Friday is part of the Department of Transportation’s “Call to

By SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Top European Union officials were due to meet Friday in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of support for the country as it battles to counter Russia’s invasion and strives to join the EU as well as NATO. European Commission President Ursula von

BEIJING (AP) — China said Friday it is looking into reports that a Chinese spy balloon has been flying in U.S. airspace and urged calm, adding that it has “no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning also said she had no information about whether a

By NICOLE WINFIELD and DENG MACHOL Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Pope Francis opened the second and final leg of his African pilgrimage by heading to South Sudan on Friday, hoping to encourage the young country’s stalled peace process and draw international attention to continued fighting and a worsening humanitarian crisis. Francis had one

By KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Trading in shares in troubled Adani Enterprises gyrated Friday as the flagship company of India’s second-largest conglomerate tumbled 30% and then rebounded after more than a week of heavy losses that have cost it tens of billions of dollars in market value. The debacle, which led

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press on Friday showed damage done to what Iran describes as a military workshop attacked by Israeli drones, the latest such assault amid a shadow war between the two countries. While Iran has offered no explanation yet of

BERLIN (AP) — Police say one boy was killed and another seriously injured when they were hit by a freight train in western Germany. The boys, ages 9 and 10, were hit by the train in Recklinghausen, in the Ruhr industrial region, on Thursday evening. The elder boy died while the younger was taken to

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BINCHE, Belgium (AP) — On a sunny winter morning heralding a radiant Mardi Gras, Beatrice and Karl Kersten don’t have a minute to spare. In their warm workshop decorated with ancestral photos, the couple bend over their sewing machines. They are busy putting the finishing touches to the delicate lace