AP National News

By PETER SMITH and VASILISA STEPANENKO Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — After its searches of holy sites belonging to Ukraine’s historic Orthodox church, the nation’s security agency posted photos of evidence it recovered — including rubles, Russian passports and leaflets with messages from the Moscow patriarch. Supporters and detractors of the church debate whether

BEIJING (AP) — In a move that caught many by surprise, China announced a potentially major easing of its rigid “zero-COVID” restrictions, without formally abandoning the policy altogether. It’s not clear what exactly prompted the move, although it follows the largest show of public dissent against the ruling Communist Party in more than 30 years

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A tart retort by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a U.S. offer of help and a call by former U.S. President Donald Trump for the “termination” of parts of the Constitution top a Yale Law School librarian’s list of the most notable quotations of 2022. In February, only days after

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press Nearly 66 years after the battered body of a young boy was found stuffed inside a cardboard box, Philadelphia police are set to reveal the identity of the victim in the city’s most notorious cold case. Police say detective work and DNA analysis helped them learn the name of a

By WILLIAM J. KOLE Associated Press WARWICK, R.I. (AP) — One tarnished silver coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s, one of the world’s most ruthless pirates wandered the American colonies with impunity. Newly surfaced documents also strengthen the case that English buccaneer Henry Every — the

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania government panel is considering adding extensive definitions of sex, religious creed and race to nondiscrimination regulations. The proposal being voted on Thursday is a change some Republican lawmakers see as an overreach on a subject they think should not be addressed without legislation. It

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran said Thursday it executed a prisoner convicted for a crime allegedly committed during the country’s ongoing nationwide protests, the first such death penalty carried out by Tehran. The execution of Mohsen Shekari comes as other detainees also face the possibility of the death

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed three Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military said it was carrying out an arrest raid in the flashpoint city of Jenin Thursday when forces came under fire and then responded with live fire. Israel has

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s once burgeoning banking sector has been hard hit by the country’s historic economic meltdown. It has suffered staggering losses worth tens of billions of dollars and many of the small nation’s lenders now face possible closures or mergers. Yet bankers have been resisting attempts to make

By JIM SALTER and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — As of Thursday, it’s lawful for adults to possess and use marijuana in Missouri. That doesn’t mean you can legally buy it just yet, or use it everywhere. Medical marijuana has been legal in state since 2018, but voters went a step further

By JEFF McMILLAN Associated Press The Colorado Springs gay bar shooting suspect’s assertion of being nonbinary has put gender identity and pronouns — and some sensitive questions around them — back in the spotlight. Respecting Anderson Lee Aldrich’s request to be referenced with they/them pronouns does not amount to placating someone accused of a heinous

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s government says it is seeking assurances from Indonesia that the man convicted of making the bombs used in the 2002 Bali terrorist attacks would continue to be monitored after his release from prison. Islamic militant Hisyam bin Alizein, also known as Umar Patek, was paroled Wednesday after serving about half

By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris needed to get to the U.S. Senate to break a tie. But first she had to avoid causing a traffic jam. One more senator had to vote before Harris could end the impasse, and he was in Georgetown, on the opposite side of

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is set to give final approval Thursday to legislation protecting same-sex marriages in federal law, a monumental step in a decadeslong battle for nationwide recognition of such unions that reflects a stunning turnaround in societal attitudes. A law requiring all states to recognize same-sex

By ALEXANDRA OLSON AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of New York Times journalists and other staff have walked off the job for 24 hours. They’re frustrated by contract negotiations that have dragged on for months in the newspaper’s biggest labor dispute in more than 40 years. Reporters, editors, photographers and other employees

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh off his party’s better-than-anticipated performance in the midterm elections, President Joe Biden is facing consistent but critical assessments of his leadership and the national economy. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 43% of U.S. adults say they approve of

TOKYO (AP) — Japan has reported its economy contracted less than previously thought in the last quarter, weathering the country’s latest big COVID wave with less damage than had been thought.  The report Thursday showed the world’s third-largest economy shrank at a 0.8% annual rate in July-September. That was better than minus 1.2% annual growth

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed three Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank. The early Thursday raid targeted Jenin town and its refugee camp in northern West Bank. The Palestinian news agency reported that “confrontations and violent clashes” erupted between Palestinians and Israeli forces.