AP National News

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks wavered in afternoon trading on Wall Street Wednesday ahead of a speech by Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, on the outlook for the economy and inflation. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 1:23 p.m. Eastern, on pace for its fourth

Germany’s energy minister says the government has formally decided to abandon an international energy accord that fossil fuel companies had used to oppose measures against climate change. The move follows similar decisions by Italy, France, Spain and other European countries to leave the 1998 Energy Charter Treaty, which includes provisions designed to protect foreign investments

By RENATA BRITO Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The three Nigerian stowaways found traveling on an oil tanker’s rudder after an 11-day ocean voyage from Lagos, Nigeria to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands are seeking asylum in Spain, a spokesperson for the Spanish government delegation in the Canaries said Wednesday. The three men

By WILL WEISSERT and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats considering shaking up the order of their 2024 presidential primary are waiting on President Joe Biden, anxious to see if he’ll endorse stripping Iowa of its traditional leadoff spot or discourage major changes while mulling his own potential reelection bid. But Biden seems

By BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is holding fundraisers for future political activity at events where the Republican is expected to talk about his eight years as governor, as well as plans for the future. Hogan has two separate fundraisers scheduled at a Maryland casino on Wednesday. The

By YURI KAGEYAMA and MATT OTT AP Business Writers U.S. markets are flat ahead of a highly anticipated speech by the chair of the Federal Reserve that may give clues about future interest rate hikes. On the last trading day of the month, futures for the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 appeared static.

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Taliban official says that at least 10 students were killed when a bomb blast hit a religious school in northern Afghanistan. Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor says several others were wounded in Wednesday’s blast at the madrassa in Aybak, the capital of the northern Samangan

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matthew McConaughey, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Hudson and “Abbott Elementary” creator and star Quinta Brunson have been named People magazine’s 2022 “People of the Year.” The magazine unveiled its annual list Wednesday, with Editor in Chief Wendy Naugle explaining this year’s honorees were selected because of their efforts to help others. McConaughey

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Tornadoes damaged numerous homes, destroyed a fire station, briefly trapped people in a grocery store and ripped the roof off an apartment complex in Mississippi and Alabama, and meteorologists said the threat of dangerous storms remained Wednesday near the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The National Weather Service

By MOLLY QUELL Associated Press THE HAGUE (AP) — A Dutch court on Wednesday rejected a plan to control the country’s growing wolf population by shooting at the animals with paintball guns to scare them away from people. A local court ruled that officials had not justified their decision to use the novel approach as

By JOE McDONALD Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Jiang Zemin, who led China out of isolation after the army crushed the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in 1989 and supported economic reforms that led to a decade of explosive growth, died Wednesday. He was 96. Jiang, who was president for a decade until 2003 and led

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation in Europe has eased for the first time in more than a year as energy prices drifted down from painful highs. But the double-digit rate still hovers near a record that has robbed consumers of their spending power and led economists to predict a

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai broke into the media industry about 30 years ago armed with the belief that delivering information equates with delivering freedom. Lai now is accused of endangering national security with his now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. Lai, 74, faces up to a

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A Taliban official says that at least 10 students were killed when a bomb blast hit a religious school in northern Afghanistan. Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor says several others were wounded in Wednesday’s blast at the madrassa in Aybak, the capital of the northern Samangan province. There was no

BUCHAREST (AP) — Ukraine’s foreign minister says top NATO diplomats have given him a “number of new commitments” on arming his nation, but has declined to say whether that includes promises of badly wanted Patriot missile batteries. Equipping Ukraine with arms and equipment to rebuild its battered electricity grid to survive winter under Russian bombardment

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — An organization of 34 democratic countries says democracy is being degraded around the world because people are losing faith in the legitimacy of elections and the imposition of restrictions on freedom of expression among range of issues. The International IDEA, a body founded to promote

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive branch has recommended that billions of euros in EU funds be withheld from Hungary over its failure to implement solid rule-of-law reforms, a move highlighting lingering divergences between the European partners. The Council, which represents the bloc’s 27 countries, has until Dec. 19

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are poised to usher in a new generation of leaders. New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries is expected to be elected House Democratic leader, becoming the first Black American to lead a major political party in Congress. Democrats plan to meet Wednesday behind closed doors

Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Soccer fans in Iran’s Kurdish majority region have cheered the U.S. win over Iran in a politically charged World Cup, amid ongoing anti-government protests. Videos posted online show fans in Kurdish areas setting off fireworks and honking car horns early Wednesday, following Iran’s 1-0 loss to the U.S. The majority

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States isn’t seeking to sever economic ties with China — even as it takes steps to protect America’s technological and military prowess from Beijing. That’s according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. She spoke to reporters in advance of a speech Wednesday on the