AP National News

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s new military chief has taken command of the country’s armed forces. The army has historically wielded huge influence in Pakistan, ruling it for half of the country’s 75-year history. Asim Munir, a former spymaster, takes charge amid a government standoff with former prime minister Imran Khan

By VASILISA STEPANENKO and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press BUCHA, Ukraine (AP) — Retired Ukrainian construction worker Borys Markovnikov is on the move again: This time, just a few steps from his home in the town of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, to seek shelter and warmth at a “Point of Invincibility” — a government-built help station

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his NATO counterparts are gathering in Romania on Tuesday to drum up urgently needed support for Ukraine, including deliveries of electrical components for the war-torn country’s devastated power transmission network. Ukraine’s grid has been battered countrywide since early October by targeted Russian strikes, in

By JOE McDONALD Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Chinese universities are sending students home as the ruling Communist Party tightens anti-virus controls and tries to prevent more protests after crowds angered by its severe “zero COVID” restrictions called for President Xi Jinping to resign in the biggest show of public dissent in decades. With police

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — When a dozen Russian soldiers stormed into Dmytro Bilyi’s home in August, the 24-year-old police officer said they gave him a chilling choice: Hand in his pistol or his mother and brother would disappear. Bilyi turned his gun over to the soldiers, who carried machine guns

Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian Health Ministry says three Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank. The official Palestinian news agency reported Tuesday that one man was killed during violent clashes near the city of Hebron, and two brothers were killed by Israeli troops west of the city of

By JAMES POLLARD Associated Press/Report for America A federal trial to determine whether South Carolina’s congressional maps are legal is closing with arguments over whether the state Legislature diluted Black voting power. The NAACP says the General Assembly removed Black voters from the coastal 1st District to make it easier for Republicans to win and

By JIM SALTER Associated Press BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri inmate convicted of ambushing and killing a St. Louis area police officer he blamed for his younger brother’s death is scheduled to be executed, barring a last-minute intervention. Kevin Johnson’s attorneys don’t deny that he killed Kirkwood police Officer William McEntee in 2005,

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Lava is shooting 100 feet to 200 feet (30 to 60 meters) into the air as Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, erupts for the first time in nearly 40 years. For now, lava is not threatening any homes or communities and no evacuation orders

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — “Everything Everywhere All at Once” won best feature at the 32nd Gotham Awards on Monday, taking one of the first major prizes of Hollywood’s awards season and boosting the Oscar hopes of the anarchic indie hit of the year. Also taking an award for his

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Benny Snell Jr. kept waiting for his first carry of the season. When he finally got the chance, in Week 12 during prime time, Snell showed everyone what he could do. He ran for 62 yards, scored the go-ahead touchdown with 9:55 left and then watched

By KANIS LEUNG and ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — With police out in force, there was no word of additional protests against strict government anti-pandemic measures Tuesday in Beijing, as temperatures fell well below freezing. Shanghai, Nanjing and other cities where online calls to gather had been issued were also reportedly quiet.

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are promising aggressive oversight of the Biden administration once they assume the majority next year, with a particular focus on the business dealings of presidential son Hunter Biden, illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and the originations of COVID-19. Republicans won’t have enough votes to

By AAMER MADHANI and SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron will be the guest for the first state visit of Joe Biden’s presidency. The event this week is a revival of diplomatic pageantry that had been put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden-Macron relationship has turned around

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is taking up a dispute over a blocked Biden administration policy that would prioritize deportation of people in the country illegally who pose the greatest public safety risk. Republican-led states sued and won a nationwide court order that is meant to limit immigration officers’

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-Va., died Monday after a battle with colorectal cancer, his office said. He was 61. Tara Rountree, McEachin’s chief of staff, said in a statement late Monday: “Valiantly, for years now, we have watched him fight and triumph over the secondary effects of his colorectal cancer from

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Authorities in El Salvador are warning residents near the Chaparrastique volcano in the eastern part of the country to be alert as it begins to erupt. The Environmental Ministry’s observatory reported explosions Monday in the central crater of the volcano about 83 miles east of the capital. The ministry

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The federal government said Monday it will spend $250 million over four years on environmental cleanup and restoration work around a drying Southern California lake that’s fed by the depleted Colorado River. The future of the Salton Sea, and who is financially responsible for it, has

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian Health Ministry says a Palestinian was killed and 11 were wounded by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that clashes erupted between Israeli forces and residents of north Hebron city on Monday evening. The Israeli military says soldiers shot at Palestinians who

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s government has ordered some of the thousands of truck drivers who have been on strike to return to work, insisting that their nationwide walkout over freight fare issues is hurting an already weak economy. Despite facing the threat of delicensing or even prison