AP National News

By NICOLE WINFIELD, CHRISTINA MALKIA and JEAN-YVES KAMALE Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Pope Francis led Congo’s young people in a rousing denunciation of political corruption on Thursday, turning an otherwise scripted meeting with church catechists into a rally that shook the capital’s sports stadium. Francis was repeatedly interrupted as some of the 65,000

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Whether looking for love or a casual encounter, 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they have used a dating site or app. That’s according to a new Pew Research Center study out Thursday. For the under-35 set, more than half have used the platforms. The overall

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate declined for the fourth week in a row, a sign of relative stability that could potentially open the door for some prospective homebuyers to get back in the market. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is playing host to former President Bill Clinton to mark the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act. It was the first piece of legislation that Clinton signed into law after taking office in 1993. The act guaranteed many American workers up

Associated Press CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Award-winning actor and bestselling author Bob Odenkirk will be feted Thursday as 2023 Man of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals. Odenkirk, best known as shady lawyer Saul Goodman on “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” is scheduled to receive his Pudding Pot award at a celebratory

SAYREVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Authorities say a 30-year-old New Jersey woman who was recently elected to her borough council was found shot to death in an SUV parked outside her home. The Middlesex County prosecutor’s office says Sayreville Borough Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was found in the vehicle at around 7:20 p.m. Wednesday. She had been

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The prime ministers of Finland and Sweden have reaffirmed their intent to have the two countries join NATO at the same time. A Quran-burning and other recent demonstrations in Sweden infuriated the Turkish government, which already had held off approving the Nordic nations’ joint NATO application. Appearing at a Stockholm news conference

By COLLEEN LONG and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden attended the annual National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday in Washington and delivered a message of unity. The gathering at the Capitol’s visit center marked the the first time the annual event was held since its leadership and structure were overhauled to

PARIS (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with France’s president amid one of the deadliest periods of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years. French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting Netanyahu at a dinner on Thursday night. Macron’s office said the French leader plans to share France’s solidarity with Israel but also urge against

By TOM KRISHER and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Two men who began their careers on factory floors are competing to lead the 373,000 members of the United Auto Workers, a union that helps set standards for wages across the nation’s manufacturing sector. It will be the first-ever direct election of a UAW

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Appeals judges at a European Union-backed court have upheld most of the convictions of two leaders of a Kosovo war veterans’ association who were found guilty last year of witness intimidation and obstructing justice. The appeals panel of the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers overturned one

By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Real and fake news will collide again at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Comedian Roy Wood Jr. will headline the event on April 29. Wood plays a reporter on “The Daily Show,” the long-running Comedy Central program that blends comedy and news. Association president Tamara

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is rising further Thursday, led by excitement around tech stocks following the earnings report of Facebook’s parent company. The S&P 500 was 0.9% higher in early trading a day after hitting its highest level since the summer. The Nasdaq composite was 2.4% higher,

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials are advising people to stop using over-the-counter eye drops that have been linked to an outbreak of drug-resistant infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday night sent a health alert to physicians, saying the outbreak includes at least 55

PARIS (AP) — Police in southeastern France have arrested a convicted murderer linked to Italy’s most powerful organized crime group, the ‘ndrangheta, who was on the run for 16 years, Interpol and Italian police said on Thursday. Italy’s ANSA news agency reported that the 63-year-old had been working for the past three years as a

By KATE ASHFORD of NerdWallet A new year means changes to Medicare, including updated premiums and deductibles and sometimes big policy moves. In 2023, there’s a little of everything: Some costs have gone down, others have increased, and there are some notable tweaks to how Medicare works. Understanding what’s new can help you get the

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer Entrepreneur Joe Gebbia donated $25 million to The Ocean Cleanup Thursday to support the nonprofit’s efforts to remove plastic from the world’s oceans and rivers. Experts in the field welcome both the donation and the attention to the issue of ocean sustainability, pointing out that it receives the least

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has gone big again, with another half-point interest rate increase. The bank on Thursday also vowed a similar hike in March. It’s aggressively raising rates to fight inflation that has slowed but is still way too high at 8.5% annually. The

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian director who was arrested last summer, weeks before his latest film was released to widespread acclaim, has gone on hunger strike. He is protesting his continued detention amid more than four months of anti-government protests. Jafar Panahi, whose films have thrilled critics and won numerous international prizes,

By JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s populist president has warned during a chaotic parliamentary session that the Balkan nation could become a European “pariah” state if it rejects a Western plan for normalizing relations with Kosovo. President Aleksandar Vucic faced a hostile reception from right-wing opposition lawmakers on Thursday. They urged