AP National News

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Rudy Giuliani has left an Atlanta courthouse after spending hours before a special grand jury investigating possible illegal attempts to influence the 2020 election in Georgia. The former New York mayor and attorney for then-President Donald Trump left the Fulton County courthouse Wednesday afternoon. It’s unclear how

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday implored fellow Republicans to stop lashing out at the FBI over the search of Donald Trump’s Florida home and denounced calls by some of the former president’s allies to defund the FBI, saying that was “just as wrong” as

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that President Joe Biden signed Democrats’ expansive climate, tax and health care bill into law, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has directed the IRS to develop a plan within six months outlining how the tax agency will overhaul its technology, customer service and hiring processes. In part,

By KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A hermit who was evicted from New Hampshire property on which he had lived for nearly three decades has found a new home in Maine. Eighty-two-year-old David Lidstone has put in windows and is working on installing a chimney on his rustic three-room cabin. He said

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Wartime rivals Serbia and Kosovo will hold high-level crisis talks which the European Union mediators hope will de-escalate growing tensions in the Balkans. Russia has been trying to further increase its influence in the region amid the war in Ukraine. Hopes that the rare face-to-face meeting

MADRID (AP) — Authorities in Spain say an approaching wildfire caused a train driver to stop and prepare to change directions, and several passengers were injured when they got off rather than wait. The train was traveling in the Valencia region on Tuesday night when the driver decided to reverse course because of the wildfire

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities say two sailboats carrying dozens of migrants have arrived on a southern Greek island early, with the first running aground on rocks. Nobody was reported injured or missing. The coast guard said the first sailboat, which ran aground on the southern coast of Kythera early Wednesday, was carrying 97

BERLIN (AP) — A cargo ship that broke down on the Rhine River caused a backup of other ships near the German town of St. Goar. The ship blocked the river until midday Wednesday, when it was towed downstream to the town of Bingen. Water police said other ships heading in the same direction would

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarian authorities say customs have seized 106 kilograms (233 pounds) of heroin valued at 4.8 million euros ($4.9 million) found in a car entering from neighboring Turkey. Prosecutors said Wednesday that the 38-year-old driver, who has dual French and Turkish citizenship, has been detained and could face up to 20 years

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are moving broadly lower on Wall Street in afternoon trading Wednesday, led by drops in big technology companies and erasing the S&P 500′s gains for the week. The S&P 500 slipped 1.1% as of 12:03 p.m. Eastern. Trading has been choppy throughout the

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A restaurant customer in Fort Lauderdale has died of a bacterial infection after eating raw oysters. A Pensacola man died the same way this month. Both cases involved oysters from Louisiana. Gary Oreal manages the Rustic Inn in Fort Lauderdale and knew the customer well. He says they’ve served billions

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON and ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — An elected Florida prosecutor who was removed from office by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis because of his positions on abortion and transgender rights is suing to get his job back. The lawsuit filed Wednesday says DeSantis violated Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren’s

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An Ethiopian rebel group has proposed a humanitarian truce to facilitate assistance to hungry people in the country’s Oromia region as it warns of famine. The Oromo Liberation Army has been engaged in a deadly conflict with the Ethiopian government, which has labeled it a terror

By BARBARA ORTUTAY and AMANDA SEITZ The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Social media companies are offering few specifics as they share their plans for safeguarding the U.S. midterm elections. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are generally staying the course from the 2020 voting season, which was marred by conspiracies and culminated in the

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Rudy Giuliani faced a special grand jury Wednesday under a judge’s order to appear before the panel investigating attempts by former President Donald Trump and others to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia. News cameras swarmed Giuliani as he stepped out of a limousine Wednesday morning

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street Wednesday as traders absorb some discouraging news about how much Americans are spending. Major indexes were all lower in the first few minutes of trading after the government reported that sales at U.S. retailers were flat last month, even though forecasters were expecting an

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities say a sailboat carrying dozens of migrants has run aground on rocks on a southern Greek island. No injuries or missing people were reported. The coast guard said the sailboat ran aground early Wednesday with 97 people on board. It did not have details of their nationalities, but local

By PAUL BYRNE Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A spate of explosions and fires has turned Russian-occupied Crimea from a secure rear base into a new battleground in the war, demonstrating both the Russians’ vulnerability and the Ukrainians’ capacity to strike deep behind enemy lines. Nine Russian warplanes were reported destroyed at an air

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s caretaker prime minister has held a meeting of senior political leaders and party representatives in an effort to end a monthslong crisis amid a power struggle between rival Shiite blocs. But the party of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr did not attend the gathering on Wednesday.