AP National News

BEIJING (AP) — China planned to stop tracking some travel on Monday, potentially reducing the likelihood people will be forced into quarantine for visiting COVID-19 hot spots, as part of an uncertain exit from the strict pandemic policies that helped fuel widespread protests. At midnight, the smart phone app that recorded a person’s travel between

NEW YORK (AP) — A joint venture between General Motors and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution has closed on a $2.5 billion federal loan to help finance three lithium-ion battery cell plants in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan. The Department of Energy awarded the loan to the venture, which is called Ultium Cells. The

Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The leaders of Hungary, Romania, Georgia and Azerbaijan are planning to meet in Romania’s capital this week to conclude an agreement on an undersea electricity connector. The agreement involves a cable running beneath the Black Sea that would link Azerbaijan to Hungary via Georgia and Romania. In addition to

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s economy shrank in the three months through October, confirming the toll rampant inflation and rising interest rates are having on business and industry. The Office for National Statistics said Monday that gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, fell by 0.3% in the period when compared with the three

MOSCOW (AP) — A massive fire has gutted a shopping mall on Moscow’s eastern outskirts, the second such blaze in four days. Monday’s blaze at the mall in Balashikha first erupted at a storage area and later spread to part of the building. Firefighters managed to keep it in an area of about 9,000 square

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI Associated Press KIMANA SANCTUARY, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s most identifiable community is abandoning spear-aided lion hunting for a modern javelin competition at a biannual event called the Maasai Olympics. The Maasai people are predominantly herders and live near some of Kenya’s most visited wildlife parks, and human-wildlife conflict has often been cited

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — World shares fell Monday after last week’s decline on Wall Street, while signs of a s urge in coronavirus infections in China suggested progress may be uneven as it rolls back its “zero-COVID” pandemic restrictions. Attention was turning to an update on U.S. consumer prices and

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court has rejected a damages suit filed by a group of children of Nagasaki atomic bombing survivors seeking eligibility for government support for medical costs, saying hereditary radiation impact has not been proven. Twenty-eight people whose parents were exposed to radiation in the Aug. 9,

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A pair of dogs gifted by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un four years ago ended up at a zoo in South Korea after a dispute over who should finance the caring of the animals. Kim had given the two white Pungsan hunting dogs —

BEIJING (AP) — China will drop a travel tracing requirement as part of an uncertain exit from its strict “zero-COVID” policies that have elicited widespread dissatisfaction. At midnight on Monday, the smart phone app will cease to function, meaning residents’ travels will not be traced and recorded, potentially reducing the likelihood they will be forced

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s army says deadly shelling by Afghanistan’s Taliban forces at a Pakistani border town has killed seven people. The violence hitting southwestern Pakistan’s town of Chaman was the latest in a series of deadly incidents and attacks that have spiked tensions between Islamabad and Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers. The Pakistani army’s media

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two months after becoming entangled in a racism scandal that shook public trust in Los Angeles government, disgraced City Councilman Kevin de Leon has refused calls to resign and is attempting to rehabilitate his reputation as he faces a politically uncertain future. De Leon, a

BEIJING (AP) — China will drop a travel tracing requirement as part of an uncertain exit from its strict “zero-COVID” policies that have elicited widespread dissatisfaction. At midnight on Monday, the smart phone app will cease to function, meaning residents’ travels will not be traced and recorded, potentially reducing the likelihood they will be forced

By JIM SALTER Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — A hearing has begun that will decide whether to overturn the conviction of a Missouri man who has spent nearly three decades in prison for a murder that two other people have since confessed to committing. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is backing Lamar Johnson

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares slipped in Asia on Monday after last week’s decline on Wall Street, while signs of a s urge in coronavirus infections in China suggested progress may be bumpy as it rolls back its “zero-COVID” pandemic restrictions. Attention was turning to an update on U.S. consumer

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru’s newest president, Dina Boluarte, gave in to protesters’ demands early Monday announcing in a nationally televised address that she will send Congress a proposal to move up elections. Boluarte’s decision came after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets around Peru for another day

By HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare for the District of Columbia and other major cities that public transit was a lifeline for essential workers and that even modest fares could be a burden to them. So the nation’s capital is introducing a groundbreaking plan: It will begin offering

By WILL WEISSERT and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Young voters who have been critical to Democratic successes in recent elections showed signs in November’s midterms that their enthusiasm may be waning, a potential warning sign for a party that will need their strong backing heading into the 2024 presidential race. Voters under