AP National News

LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace says that Prince Andrew’s honorary military titles and royal patronages have been returned to Queen Elizabeth II with her “approval and agreement.” The palace statement issued on Thursday came after more than 150 navy and army veterans wrote to the queen asking her to strip Andrew of all his military

NEW YORK (AP) — The Paramount+ streaming service has shut down its “60 Minutes+” spinoff that debuted only last year. The show had its own staff and stories separate from the venerable television newsmagazine, and was seen as an effort to appeal to a younger and more diverse audience. The series had some 30 episodes

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi security officials say at least three rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone. Two officials say two rockets struck within the parameters of the embassy, while another hit a school in a residential complex. It was not immediately known if there were

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Four inmates at a northwest Arkansas jail have filed a lawsuit after they said they were unknowingly prescribed an anti-parasitic drug to treat their COVID-19. The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday filed the lawsuit against the Washington County jail, Sheriff Tim Helder and jail

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Catholic diocese in Poland has apologized for having asked a court to determine whether a man who was sexually abused as a child by a priest is gay, and whether the sexual contact may have consequently been pleasurable for him. The diocese on Thursday apologized

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — An unprecedented, experimental attempt to feed manatees facing starvation in Florida has started slowly but wildlife officials expressed optimism it will work as cold weather drives the marine mammals toward warmer waters. Officials said Thursday that a feeding station established along the state’s east coast has

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks wobbled lower Thursday afternoon on Wall Street as investors gauged the latest data on inflation and company earnings. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq fell 1.3%. Industrial companies made solid gains and Delta Air Lines jumped after reporting

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Navient, a major student loan servicing company, has settled allegations of abusive lending practices for $1.85 billion. The settlement was announced Thursday and could cancel student loans for tens of thousands of borrowers. The deal includes $1.7 billion in debt cancellation and involves 39 state attorneys general.

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations is forecasting lower global economic growth for 2022 and 2023. It says this is because the world is facing new waves of coronavirus infections, persistent labor market challenges, lingering supply chain issues and rising inflationary pressures. The U.N.‘s global economic forecast released

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Police are treating a fire at the home of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors chair and a prominent labor leader as suspicious. Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said he escaped unharmed with his family and his house was saved. He and his wife, labor leader and former state lawmaker Lorena Gonzalez,

By JILL COLVIN and ZEKE MILER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican National Committee says it is planning a rules change that would force presidential candidates seeking the party’s nomination to sign a pledge saying they will not participate in any debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. RNC spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The conservative push to effectively end absentee ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin is scheduled to return to a courtroom in a case that seeks to prohibit dropping ballots off anywhere other than at the local clerk’s office. The lawsuit is one of three on the topic

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to meet privately with Senate Democrats at the Capitol, a visit intended to deliver a jolt to the party’s long-stalled voting and elections legislation. Biden will discuss potential changes to Senate rules on Thursday that will be needed to overcome repeated Republican

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Lael Brainard, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the Federal Reserve’s No. 2 spot, said Thursday that combating high inflation is the Fed’s top priority and promised the Fed could bring it down without sacrificing job growth. Brainard’s elevation of inflation-fighting as the Fed’s top goal is

PARIS (AP) — A French prosecutor has freed a suspect held in custody since Wednesday morning over the 2012 slayings of a British-Iraqi family and a cyclist in the French Alps. The suspect was released Thursday afternoon without any charges, and the Annecy prosecutor said in a short message on Twitter that “investigations are continuing”

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — GOP Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says he has no regrets about his response to the coronavirus pandemic, even if Republican voters who thought he went too far are angry enough to vote him out in the upcoming May primary. DeWine is running for

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police have dispersed hundreds of Bedouin protesters who blocked a desert highway during a demonstration against a tree-planting campaign they say is aimed at pushing them off disputed land. It was the third consecutive day of demonstrations by Bedouin residents of southern Israel’s Negev desert against a forestry project they say

BY JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the prestigious Peace Prize, has issued a very rare admonition to the 2019 winner, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, over the war and humanitarian crisis in his country’s Tigray region. Abiy partly won the prize for making peace with

WESTBROOK, Maine (AP) — A swirling disk of ice on a Maine river is drawing onlookers in the heart of winter once again. The disk has formed in the Presumpscot River in Westbrook. A handful of dog-walkers and onlookers stopped to gaze at the curious ice formation on a chilly Thursday morning around dawn. The

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says the government plans to double to 1 billion the rapid, at-home COVID-19 tests to be distributed free to Americans. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Biden says his administration will also make the most protective N95 masks available for no charge. He