AP National News

By MAURICIO SAVARESE and CARLA BRIDI Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in as president on Sunday, assuming office for the third time after thwarting far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro’s reelection bid. His return to power marks the culmination of a political comeback that is both thrilling supporters

By ASTRID SUÁREZ Associated Press BUCARAMANGA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia and Venezuela are opening a key bridge linking the countries that had been closed for almost seven years amid political tensions, launching a new era of improved relations under Colombia’s new leftist president. Construction of the “Tienditas” bridge ended in 2016, but it was never

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s last words were “Lord, I love you,” his longtime secretary said Sunday, quoting a nurse who helped care for the 95-year-old former pontiff in his final hours. Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, a German prelate who lived in the Vatican monastery where Benedict took

COOKE CITY, Mont. (AP) — A snowmobiler from Washington died after he was buried in a large avalanche in southern Montana. The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center says two snowmobilers were headed uphill near Daisy Pass north of Cooke City on New Year’s Eve when one of them triggered the slide and was swept about

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California was drying out and digging out on New Year’s Day after a powerful storm brought drenching rain or heavy snowfall to much of the state, snarling traffic and closing major highways. Dozens of drivers were rescued on New Year’s Eve along Interstate 80 near Lake Tahoe after cars spun out

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Supreme Court has halted provisions of a new law that would eliminate cash bail for criminal defendants, issuing a stay hours before the new policies were set to take effect Sunday. The high court said in Saturday’s order that the stay was needed to “maintain consistent pretrial procedures throughout

By RENATA BRITO Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians faced a grim start to 2023 as Sunday brought more Russian missile and drone attacks following a blistering New Year’s Eve assault that killed at least three civilians across the country, authorities reported. Air raid sirens sounded in the capital shortly after midnight, followed by

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeremiah Green, the founding drummer for the rock band Modest Mouse, has died just days after the band announced he had been diagnosed with cancer. He was 45. Influenced by Talking Heads and XTC among others, Modest Mouse debuted in 1996 with the album “This Is a Long Drive for Someone

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has urged Israel’s new hard-line government to refrain from “any measures” that could inflame regional tensions, in a phone call congratulating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his return to office. The two leaders spoke on Sunday as Netanyahu’s new Cabinet is promising

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The election contests of 2022 may have been held and decided, but Ohio’s political maps remain far from settled. It was supposed to be a once-per-decade process for redrawing the state’s U.S. House and Statehouse districts, in order to reflect updated population figures from the

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Nearly 300 domestic and international flights at the Manila airport in the Philippines have been either delayed, canceled or diverted after a power outage hampered air traffic operations. The delays caused misery for over 65,000 passengers during the New Year holiday. Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista in an evening news conference

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press CHRISTIANSTED, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — President Joe Biden has opened 2023 by watching the first sunrise of the new year from the U.S. Virgin Islands and attending church. Biden worshipped Sunday at Holy Cross Catholic Church in the town of Christiansted on St. Croix. The president has attended religious

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press ROME (AP) — Dubai has ended its 30% tax on alcohol sales in the sheikhdom and made its required liquor licenses free to obtain. The announcement Sunday ends a long-standing source of revenue for its ruling family to apparently further boost tourism to the emirate. It came apparently from a

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Libyan authorities say they have found 18 bodies buried in a mass grave in the central coastal city of Sirte, a former stronghold of the Islamic State group in the conflict-stricken North African nation. The Missing Persons Authority said Sunday in a statement the bodies were unearthed

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Police say one person has been killed and nine hurt in a shooting a few blocks away from where thousands were in the streets for a New Year’s Eve party in downtown Mobile, Alabama. TV news footage showed police officers running and on horseback rushing to the area where the shooting

By MARIA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ Associated Press RAPA NUI, Chile (AP) — Rapa Nui – the remote Chilean territory in the mid-Pacific widely known as Easter Island – is home to a Catholic church featuring artwork that reflects that islanders’ ancestral culture as well as Christian beliefs. Among the eye-catching works are stained glass windows —

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer After the best semifinal day in the nine-year history of the College Football Playoff, the title game will match the defending national champion against the closest thing the sport has had in years to a Cinderella team. It will be No. 1 Georgia (14-0) looking for its

JERUSALEM (AP) — The tourism minister of Israel’s new hardline government has promised to invest in the West Bank, calling the occupied area “our local Tuscany.” Haim Katz made the comments days after the new government took office. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new coalition has promised to make West Bank settlement construction a top priority.