AP National News

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has imposed sanctions on a group of individuals, firms and vessels connected to an oil smuggling outfit said to benefit the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. More than a dozen companies, six individuals and 11 vessels flagged from around the world

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of veterans in the United States experiencing homelessness dropped by 11% since 2020, the biggest decline in more than five years, the Biden administration reported Thursday. There were 33,136 homeless veterans in January of this year, compared with 37,252 in 2020, according to the Point-in-Time count conducted by the departments

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office says he has conceded defeat to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this week’s election. A statement said Lapid congratulated Netanyahu and has instructed his office to prepare an organized transition of power. “The state of Israel comes before

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press TONKA BAY, Minn. (AP) — Control of state government hangs in the balance in Minnesota, one of the few Midwest states where Democrats have had the upper hand in recent years. Buoyed by such issues as crime, the GOP has hopes of capturing both chambers of the Legislature and knocking

ROME (AP) — Two weeks after a New York jury sided with Kevin Spacey in a sexual abuse lawsuit, an Italian film museum announced Thursday that the actor would receive a lifetime achievement award and teach a master class there early next year. Enzo Ghigo, president of the National Museum of Cinema in the northern

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer MUENSTER, Germany (AP) — Top diplomats from the world’s major industrialized democracies are seeking to expand unified positions on Russia’s war in Ukraine, China’s growing global economic clout and Iran’s crackdown on anti-government protestors. Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations opened two days of talks on Thursday

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Game, set … best in show? The Westminster Kennel Club dog show is moving next year to a new venue: the home of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. The kennel club announced Thursday that canine champs will take over the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hundreds of cats have long slinked through the cobblestone streets of Puerto Rico’s historic district, stopping for the occasional pat on the head as delighted tourists and residents snap pictures and offer bits of food. The cats are so beloved they even have their

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — If you went missing, how much press would you be “worth”? The Columbia Journalism Review unveiled a tool on Thursday that calculates the number of stories your disappearance would net, based on demographics. It sounds morbid but the exercise is designed to call attention to

By CARLA BRIDI Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s team has arrived in Brazil’s capital to begin the process of transfering power amid dwindling protests by supporters of incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. The meetings kick off the process that will culminate with da Silva’s Jan. 1 inauguration. But they also

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press Researchers say nearly 1 in 5 videos suggested by YouTube in response to a search for terms related to next week’s elections came from untrustworthy sources. But the percentage of videos from untrustworthy sources was much higher on Rumble, a video platform that’s popular with some conservatives and far-right groups.

By RAF CASERT and COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — New Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has traveled to Brussels amid fears that her far-right-led coalition could further threaten unity in the European Union on issues as diverse as migration and LGBTQ rights. For some, the visit amounts to bringing the Trojan Horse of

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon can’t put its new official exchange rate into effect after its outgoing president refused to sign off on the 2022 state budget. Government officials told The Associated Press on Thursday that former President Michel Aoun, whose term ended Oct. 31, did not agree with the state

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — A majority of Bulgaria’s lawmakers have approved sending the country’s first military aid to Ukraine. On Thursday, the National Assembly voted 175-49 with one abstention in favor of a proposal submitted by four pro-European Union parties. The government has now one month to decide what kind of weapons Bulgaria can provide

By The Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian protesters have clashed with police in a town near the capital,  reportedly killing or wounding a number of members of the security forces. Police at one point Thursday dropped stun grenades on the demonstrators from helicopters. It was the latest in a wave of

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has told leaders of six Balkan countries that aspire to join the European Union that “it is high time to overcome regional conflicts” and stand together as Russia wages war in Ukraine. Scholz and the European Union’s top officials on Thursday joined leaders from Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro,

By MICHAEL TARM AP Legal Affairs Writer CHICAGO (AP) — The 2018 killing of “ZackTV,” a trailblazer in a perilous genre of gangland reporting he called “‘hood CNN,” seemed destined to go unsolved, even though gunmen attacked him on a downtown Chicago street lined with surveillance cameras. Police never announced arrests in the shooting of

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Stellantis and the U.S. government are warning owners of 276,000 older vehicles to stop driving them after Takata air bags apparently exploded in three more vehicles, killing the drivers. The company, formerly Fiat Chrysler, is telling people to stop driving Dodge Magnum wagons, Dodge Challenger and

MADRID (AP) — Thousands of workers have rallied in Madrid in a protest called by Spain’s labor unions to demand higher wages to offset the higher cost of living fueled by global inflation. People marched through Spain’s capital on Thursday under the slogan “Salary or Conflict.” The unions want Spain’s government and business leaders to

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical Depression Lisa has moved into southern Mexico a day after making landfall as a hurricane in the Central American nation of Belize and heading inland over northern Guatemala. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Lisa had maximum sustained winds of 30 mph (45 kph) on Thursday. The storm’s center was