AP National News

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is announcing his nominating prominent Democratic fundraiser Jane Hartley to serve as ambassador to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. He’s also nominating major donor Alan Leventhal to serve as envoy to Denmark. Other announcements from the White House on Wednesday include longtime diplomat

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer Five philanthropies have announced plans to spend more than $20 million to bolster news coverage in Houston, Texas, and create what they say will be one of the largest local nonprofit news organizations in the country. The donors said Wednesday in a news release that the newsroom is anticipated

OSLO, Norway (AP) — A psychiatrist who has observed a Norwegian far-right extremist who killed 77 people in 2011 says Anders Behring Breivik “has the same diagnosis that he has had all along” and can’t be trusted. Breivik is serving Norway’s maximum 21-year sentence for setting off a bomb in Oslo’s government district and carrying

By MARCOS MARTÍNEZ CHACÓN Associated Press SAN PEDRO GARZA GARCÍA, Mexico (AP) — A Mexican multi-millionaire is building a replica of his northern Mexico mansion to serve as a museum for his art collection, an endeavor criticized because it is funded in large part with public money. Mauricio Fernández Garza, 71, said he wants to

By NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY Associated Press LYON, France (AP) — French actor Gaspard Ulliel has died at 37 after a skiing accident in the Alps. Ulliel was known for appearing in Chanel perfume ads as well as film and television roles. He portrayed the young Hannibal Lecter in 2007′s “Hannibal Rising” and fashion mogul Yves Saint

By COLLEEN BARRY and PAOLO SANTALUCIA Associated Press FOSSALTA DI PIAVE, Italy (AP) — Authorities say police in Italy and Albania have arrested more than 20 people accused of smuggling hundreds of refugees and migrants into the European Union from Turkey on rented yachts and other leisure vessels. Two brothers who are Iraqi citizens are

By MATT O’BRIEN and TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writers Microsoft stunned the gaming industry when it announced this week it would buy game publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, a deal that would immediately make it a larger video-game company than Nintendo. Microsoft, maker of the Xbox gaming system, said the deal would be good

By ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police have evicted Palestinian residents from a disputed property in a flashpoint Jerusalem neighborhood. The predawn demolition took place in Sheikh Jarrah, an east Jerusalem neighborhood where attempts by Jewish settlers to evict longtime Palestinian residents have sparked protests that last year helped lead to

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Wednesday and chipped away at some of their losses from a tumble a day earlier. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq rose 8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell slightly. Investors are busy reviewing the latest round of

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told a gathering of America’s mayors the Biden administration’s coronavirus relief bill is “like a vaccine” preventing catastrophic economic damage. Yellen said Wednesday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 90th winter meeting in Washington that President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Officials say the trial of three men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery cost taxpayers $1.08 million for security and related expenses. The Brunswick News reports commissioners in Glynn County, Georgia, spent the money on overtime and other costs stemming from having extra sheriff’s deputies, police and other public safety workers

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — The Knights of Malta, an ancient Catholic order, are warning that the Vatican’s proposals for reforming the order risk its internationally recognized status as a soverign state. The Knights’ grand chancellor, Albrecht von Boeselager, wrote a letter to the Knights’ members saying the Vatican proposals contradict assurances

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has maintained a tough posture amid the tensions over its troop buildup near Ukraine. A top diplomat warn Wednesday that Moscow will accept nothing less but “watertight” U.S. guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine, even though those demand were rejected last week by the U.S. and

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings” series has forged a name for itself. “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” was announced Wednesday as the full title of the drama set to debut Sept. 2. The series’ producers say it will unite all the major stories of Middle-earth’s Second

By PATTY NIEBERG Associated Press/Report for America CRAIG, Colorado (AP) — Craig, a small town in northwest Colorado is losing its coal plant, and residents fear it is the beginning of the end for their community. The same scenario is playing out in other small towns across the U.S. After decades of relying on coal

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) — The eastern Caribbean island of Barbados is holding a snap general election after cutting ties with Queen Elizabeth II late last year and appointing its first ever president to lead the world’s newest republic. Prime Minister Mia Mottley with the Barbados Labor Party is seeking a second term for a five-year

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Construction of new homes in the U.S. rose for the third consecutive month in December and data released Wednesday suggests that the frantic pace of building will continue this year. The December increase left home construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.70

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Stocks are recovering some of their losses Wednesday after hitting a low for the year a day earlier. The S&P 500 is up 0.6% in the first minutes of trading, while the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.3%.

By MARÍA VERZA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Decades ago, Mexican activists drove women into the United States to terminate their pregnancies at clinics. Now it’s women in the U.S. who are facing more challenges to accessing abortion services and once again Mexican activists are stepping up to offer support. The changing dynamic has