AP National News

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The International Monetary Fund will provide Sri Lanka $2.9 billion over four years to help salvage the country from its worst economic crisis under a preliminary agreement the agency announced Thursday. The arrangement will work to restore financial and macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability as

By BASSEM MROUE Associates Press BEIRUT (AP) — Forty years since Hezbollah was founded at the height of Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the group has morphed from a ragtag organization to the largest and most heavily armed militant group in the Middle East. The Iranian-armed and funded Hezbollah, which has marked the anniversary with

By MATT O’BRIEN and KELVIN CHAN AP Technology Writers Microsoft’s plan to buy video game giant Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion could have major effects on the gaming industry, transforming the Xbox maker into something like a Netflix for video games by giving it control of many more popular titles. But to get to the

By CALEB JONES Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — The last bits of ash and greenhouse gases from Hawaii’s only remaining coal-fired power plant slipped into the environment this week when the state’s dirtiest source of electricity burned its final pieces of fuel. The last coal shipment arrived in the islands at the end of July,

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Math and reading scores for America’s 9-year-olds fell dramatically during the first two years of the pandemic, according to a new federal study — offering an early glimpse of the sheer magnitude of the learning setbacks dealt to the nation’s children. Reading scores saw their largest

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A former Idaho lawmaker convicted of raping a 19-year-old legislative intern has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime. Fourth District Judge Michael Reardon sentenced Aaron von Ehlinger on Wednesday, saying he must serve at least eight years before he will be eligible

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is hailing economic and educational cooperation with Taiwan, marked by a $12 billion investment in his state by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. Ducey spoke Thursday at a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, the latest of a series of visits by U.S. political leaders that have stirred

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration hopes to make getting a COVID-19 booster as routine as going in for the yearly flu shot. That’s at the heart of its campaign to sell the newly authorized shot to an American public that has widely rejected COVID-19 boosters since they first became

By COREY WILLIAMS and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — About 2 in 10 U.S. adults say they or someone close to them has had a personal experience with gun violence, according to a recent poll that shows Black and Hispanic adults are especially likely to have had their lives touched by it.

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As the war in Ukraine stretches into its seventh month, North Korea is hinting at its interest in sending construction workers to help rebuild Russian-occupied territories in the country’s east. The idea is openly endorsed by senior Russian officials and diplomats, who foresee a cheap

By DANIEL NIEMANN Associated Press GELSDORF, Germany (AP) — Solar installations on arable land are becoming increasingly popular in Europe and North America, as farmers seek to make the most of their land and establish a second source of revenue. Getting the right mix of crop and solar is hard though, because modern fruit varieties

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams can call it “evolving” or “retiring” or whatever she wants. And she can be coy about whether or not this U.S. Open will actually mark the end of her playing days. Those 23 Grand Slam titles earned that right. If she keeps playing

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were lower Thursday, tracking the broad slide on Wall Street, as investors braced for higher interest rates and inflation worries for some time. Benchmarks fell in Tokyo, Sydney, South Korea and China. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 1.6% in afternoon trading to 27,655.35. Australia’s

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s foreign minister on a visit to East Timor is warning the nation against going into “unsustainable debt” to the Chinese on a major gas project. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday she discussed with East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta the Greater Sunrise gas field that

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California would add wine and distilled spirits containers to its struggling recycling program, while giving beverage dealers another option to collect empty bottles and cans, under a measure lawmakers approved Wednesday. But critics say the bill would also give hundreds of millions of dollars to corporations

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A small robot with a clip-like hand and the smarts to know which drinks are popular is part of an effort to make convenience stores even more convenient. The robot named TX SCARA operates behind the refrigerated shelves in the back of a FamilyMart store. It knows

CASTAIC, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters are battling two California blazes that are raging in rural areas and have prompted evacuations in the midst of a scorching heat wave. Authorities are battling a 4,625-acre blaze that prompted the evacuation of a mobile home park in the Castaic area in northwestern Los Angeles County. Eight firefighters have

By MIKE FITZPATRICK AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Nimmo saved Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets with a breathtaking catch atop the center-field fence, and Edwin Díaz entered to Timmy Trumpet’s live horn at pulsing Citi Field before closing out the Los Angeles Dodgers for a scintillating 2-1 victory. Starling Marte