AP National News

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — The Vatican has reopened the investigation into the 1983 disappearance of the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee. The development confirmed Monday comes months after a new Netflix documentary purported to shed new light on the case and after the family asked the Italian Parliament to take

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s independent senator says the U.S. risks enabling the spread of extremism in Europe if it stopped providing support to Ukraine in its war with Russia. Sens. Angus King of Maine and Jack Reed of Rhode Island traveled to Kyiv last week to meet with Ukraine

By DAVID BILLER Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian authorities vowed Monday to protect democracy and punish thousands of supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed and trashed the nation’s highest seats of power in chaos with striking similarities to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The protesters swarmed into

By COLLEEN LONG and MARIA VERZA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said Monday he would consider accepting more migrants than previously announced under President Joe Biden’s plan to turn away people who cross illegally into the United States. The comments came as López Obrador, Biden and Canadian Prime

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Californians are steeling for more rain from the latest of a series of powerful storms sweeping the state. The storms have already shuttered schools, toppled trees, flooded roads and left tens of thousands without power. Sacramento schools canceled classes Monday, with six campuses without electricity. For days, California has been walloped

By CHALIDA EKVITTHAYAVECHNUKUL and GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s prime minister has broken with the military-backed political party that helped him take office after a 2019 election and joined a new rival party with which he is likely to seek another term this year. Prayuth Chan-ocha seized power as army chief in

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has met with Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the longtime secretary of Pope Benedict XVI. Gaenswein was a key figure in his recent funeral but has raised eyebrows with an extraordinary memoir in which he settles old scores and reveals palace intrigue about the decade-long cohabitation of

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The special grand jury in Atlanta that has been investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies committed any crimes while trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia has finished its work. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who was overseeing the panel, issued

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Canada has finalized an agreement with Lockheed Martin Corp. and the United States government to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets. The first four aircraft are anticipated to be delivered in 2026 with full operational capacity for the fleet expected in ten years. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — After almost 40 years circling Earth, a NASA satellite has plunged harmlessly through the atmosphere. The retired science satellite came down late Sunday. NASA said Monday that the Defense Department confirmed the satellite reentered over the Bering Sea, off the coast of Alaska. Officials

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council  has voted unanimously to keep key a border crossing from Turkey to Syria’s rebel-held northwest open for critical aid deliveries for another six months. In a surprise, Syria’s close ally Russia, whose support had been in doubt, joined in Monday’s 15-0 vote. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had

By JAMEY KEATEN and MUNIR AHMED Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Dozens of countries and international institutions pledged more than $9 billion to help Pakistan recover and rebuild from this summer’s devastating floods, with the sum set to balloon further at a U.N.-backed conference to help the country through what the U.N. chief called “a

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer Rob Gronkowski will be back on a football field for the Super Bowl. The four-time All-Pro tight end will attempt to make a field goal in Arizona on Feb. 12 during a live Super Bowl television commercial for FanDuel. It will be a high-stakes kick for Gronkowski, a

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has revived claims by a Texas inmate who has the rare support of the state prosecutor’s office that put him on death row. The justices on Monday threw out a Texas appeals court ruling that refused to grant the inmate, Areli Escobar, a new

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer DENVER (AP) — A United Nations scientific report says Earth’s protective ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing. Scientists say the hole over Antarctica should be fully mended in about 43 years. Monday’s report is part of what experts call a success story in tackling a big environmental problem.

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Five journalists from Belarus’ top independent news outlet have gone on trial in the country’s capital, amid a relentless crackdown on critical voices in the ex-Soviet nation. The TUT.BY online news portal workers, including editor-in-chief Maryna Zolatava, face accusations of “hurting national security,” “inciting hatred” and

PARIS (AP) — France’s government has unveiled new plans to tighten hunting safety rules but stopped well short of the outright ban that many activists had been hoping for. Ecology Minister Berangere Couillard announced proposed reforms that would outlaw hunting under the influence of alcohol and drugs, enhance safety rules and provide extra protections for

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group has denied having contact with the Somali government after the country’s deputy defense minister claimed that the extremists had for the first time asked to negotiate. An unnamed al-Shabab official with the group’s media unit told a pro-al-Shabab website in comments

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) — Staying awake might be Mikaela Shiffrin’s biggest challenge as she prepares to try to set a record for women’s World Cup skiing victories. Having poured out her emotions after matching Lindsey Vonn with career win No. 82 in an early morning giant slalom in