AP National News

BEIJING (AP) — China “stands on the right side of history,” the country’s leader Xi Jinping said Saturday in a New Year’s address that came as questions swirl over his government’s handling of COVID-19 and economic and political challenges at home and abroad. Speaking on national television from behind a desk in a wood-paneled office,

By RENATA BRITO Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — For millions of Ukrainians, many of them under Russian bombardment and grappling with power and water shortages, New Year’s celebrations will be muted as Russia’s 10-month war rumbles on with no end in sight. Explosions rang out across the country as a new wave of russian

By The Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Revelers in major city centers across Europe and the Middle East were ushering in 2023 with countdowns and fireworks, as many cities around the globe celebrated New Year’s Eve without restrictions for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Children crowded a metro station

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Although Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had a long and illustrious career as one of the Roman Catholic Church’s pre-eminent theologians, he will forever be known as the first pope in 600 years to resign. Elected in 2005, he continued the conservative course charted by St. John Paul II. He disciplined errant

By The Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Highlights from the life of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

By ELENA BECATOROS and SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Even by the standards of Turkey’s and Greece’s frequently strained relations, it was a remarkable escalation. Speaking to youths in a Black Sea town, Turkey’s president directly threatened his country’s western neighbor: Unless the Greeks “stay calm,” he said, Turkey’s new ballistic missiles

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has died. He was 95. Benedict was the first pope in 600 years to resign. Benedict had become increasingly frail during his almost 10 years of retirement. Benedict’s dramatic decision in 2013 to resign paved the way for the

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters in its latest weapons display on Saturday, a day after rival South Korea conducted a rocket launch related to its push to build a space-based surveillance to better monitor the North. Tensions between the

NEW YORK (AP) — Reaction poured in from the worlds of journalism, politics, sports and entertainment following the death of TV news pioneer and “The View” creator Barbara Walters. She died Friday at her home in New York at age 93. An intrepid interviewer, anchor and program host, she led the way as the first

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese manufacturing contracted for a third consecutive month in December, in the biggest drop since early 2020, as the country battles a nationwide COVID-19 surge after suddenly easing anti-epidemic measures. A monthly purchasing managers’ index declined to 47.0 from 48.0 in November, according to data released from the National Bureau of Statistics

By AYANNA ALEXANDER and GARY FIELDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Black voters have been a steady foundation for Democratic candidates for decades, but that support appeared to show a few cracks in this year’s elections. Republican candidates were backed by 14% of Black voters, compared with 8% in the last midterm elections four years

The final Mega Millions drawing of 2022 has taken place, but it’s not yet clear whether the estimated $685 million jackpot will roll over to another drawing Tuesday night. The numbers drawn Friday were: 1, 3, 6, 44, 51 and Mega Ball 7. Jackpot officials were expected to announce sometime Saturday morning whether there was

By REBECCA BOONE, MARC LEVY and MIKE BALSAMO Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The fatal stabbings of four students at the University of Idaho shook the college town of Moscow, a small community nestled in the rolling agricultural hills of the Palouse region that hadn’t seen a murder for five years. The Nov. 13

By VINEETA DEEPAK Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Hotels and restaurants across South Asia have had to adapt and reimagine dining out since the pandemic ripped through the region, forcing many out of business. Those that have survived are tapping local sources and going online. In India, from hole-in-the-wall casual eateries to fine dining,

By FRAZIER MOORE AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Barbara Walters was that rarest of TV personalities: a cultural fixture. For more than a half-century, she was on the air, placing in front of her audience world figures, big shots and celebrities whose names and faces might have changed from year to year. But