AP National News

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen plans to pay an official visit early next month to military-ruled Myanmar, seeking to patch up the generals’ battered relationship with Southeast Asia’s regional bloc of nations. Hun Sen’s visit would be the first by a head of government to

BEIJING (AP) — China has accused the United States of violating the Olympic spirit after the Biden administration announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games over human rights concerns. Rights groups have pushed for a full-blown boycott of the Games, accusing China of rights abuses against ethnic minorities. The U.S. decision falls short

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Ukrainian and Western officials are worried about a Russian military buildup near Ukraine. They fear it could signal plans by Moscow to invade its ex-Soviet neighbor. Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 after the country’s Moscow-friendly president was driven from power by mass protests. Russia also

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s military says Israeli warplanes fired missiles on the port of the coastal city of Latakia, causing fire without inflicting any human losses. Syria’s state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying that several missiles struck the containers area in the port early on Tuesday, setting some of them on

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Angela Merkel is credited with raising Germany’s profile and influence and working to hold a fractious European Union together. She also been lauded for managing a string of crises and being a role model for women in a near-record tenure that ends with her leaving office amid

By AGOES BASOEKI Associated Press LUMAJANG, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s president has visited areas devastated by a powerful volcanic eruption that killed at least 34 people and left thousands homeless, and vowed that communities would be quickly rebuilt. Clouds of hot ash shot high into the sky and an avalanche of lava and searing gas

TOKYO (AP) — A group of about 100 Japanese lawmakers has prayed at a Tokyo shrine viewed by China and the Koreas as a symbol of Japanese wartime aggression. Their visit to Yasukuni Shrine occurred 80 years after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Many of the lawmakers, including nine vice Cabinet ministers, are members of

By WILLIAM J. KOLE Associated Press The list of 2021’s most mispronounced words is out, and they’re a mouthful. The U.S. Captioning Company, which captions and subtitles real-time events on TV and in courtrooms, compiled the list. It highlights the names and terms that were most challenging for newsreaders and people on television to pronounce.

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — In New York City, long a beacon for immigrants, noncitizens are about to win an important civic duty: The right to vote. New York is poised to become the largest U.S. city to give access to the ballot box to those with green cards or

By LEE KEATH and MSTYSLAV CHERNOV Associated Press HERAT, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghans are streaming across the border into Iran in accelerating numbers, driven by desperation. Since the Taliban takeover in mid-August, Afghanistan’s economic collapse has accelerated, robbing millions of work and leaving them too poor to feed their families. In the past three months,

By CALEB JONES Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — From the now empty shores of Oahu’s Waikiki Beach to the snowy summit of the Big Island’s highest peak, an unusually strong winter storm is clobbering the Hawaiian Islands. And it’s raising the threat of dangerous flash floods, landslides and crashing tree limbs. The storm over the

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer Jimmy Fallon has always wanted his “That Thing You Do!” movie moment when he gets to hear his song comes on the radio. And he’s ready for that moment on Tuesday, when his holiday single “It Was A… (Masked Christmas),” featuring Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion is released.

BOSTON (AP) — Works by Pablo Picasso, Mary Cassatt and Winslow Homer are among 30 pieces of art worth more than $20 million that alumnus and legendary investment manager Peter Lynch is donating to Boston College’s art museum. The university announced Tuesday that the 27 paintings and three drawings were collected by Lynch and his

By STEVE KARNOWSKI and AMY FORLITI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It’s former Officer Kim Potter who’s on trial for the killing of Daunte Wright. But the trial in the same courtroom where ex-cop Derek Chauvin was convicted earlier this year of killing George Floyd is casting its shadow over the proceedings. During jury selection

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes spent another five hours on the witness stand Tuesday sparring with a federal prosecutor aiming to prove criminal allegations that she misled investors, customers, and patients about a flawed blood-testing technology that she spent years touting as a medical breakthrough.

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China has reported its exports rose by double digits in November but growth declined, while imports accelerated in a sign of stronger domestic demand. Customs data showed exports rose 21.4% over a year earlier to $325.5 billion, decelerating from October’s 27.1% growth. Imports surged 31.7% to

By AAMER MADHANI and DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is ready to warn Vladimir Putin during a video call that Russia will face economy-jarring sanctions if it invades neighboring Ukraine. The U.S. president is seeking a diplomatic solution to deal with the tens of thousands of Russian troops massed near

By SARA BURNETT and CHARLES REX ARBOGAST Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — As Jussie Smollett fights criminal charges that he lied to Chicago police about being the victim of an anti-gay, racist attack, his supporters are also working on a broader strategy: Ensuring the 39-year-old emerges from the scandal with his reputation and career intact,

By DON BABWIN and SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett will return to the witness stand at his trial after telling jurors that claims he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself are “100% false.” Prosecutors will continue cross-examination Tuesday of Smollett. He’s on trial on charges that he