AP National News

By DON BABWIN and SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The big question as Jussie Smollett’s trial resumes is whether the actor will tell his side of the story. Two brothers spent hours telling a jury last week how the former “Empire” actor paid them to carry out a fake racist and anti-gay attack

By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The National Museum of Afghanistan is open once again and the Taliban, whose members once smashed their way through the facility, now appear to be among its most enthusiastic visitors. The museum, which hosts artifacts from the Paleolithic period to the 20th century, reopened just over

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has defended a recent meeting of European populist leaders by saying that his government is seeking allies in its challenge of what he called a “centralized Europe.” Morawiecki also distanced himself Monday from comments by France’s Marine Le Pen, who said that Poland’s neighbor Ukraine belongs

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press LE PECQ, France (AP) — French prosecutors have opened an investigation into violence that erupted at the first official campaign rally of a far-right candidate who has shaken up France’s presidential race. Police detained around 60 people after fists and chairs flew and anti-racism activists were left bloodied Sunday at

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president has hailed the country’s military as being capable of fending off a potential attack by Moscow as tensions soared over a Russian troop buildup near the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian and Western officials are worried that the Russian military concentration could herald plans by the

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Defense Ministry says it is tightening supervision over cyber exports — a move that follows a series of scandals involving Israeli spyware company NSO Group. In a statement Monday, the ministry said the countries purchasing Israeli cyber technology would have to sign a declaration pledging to

NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators are asking questions about the deal to bring Donald Trump’s new social media company to the stock market, one that has attracted both legions of fans of the former president and people looking to make a quick profit. The company partnering with Trump Media & Technology Group acknowledged the inquiries

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai health official says that authorities have detected the country’s first suspected case of the new omicron variant but that confirmation is pending further test results. The head of Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences said on Monday that the “likely” case of the omicron variant had been identified in an American

LONDON (AP) — British parliamentary authorities say they are calling in the police after a newspaper reported that traces of cocaine had been found at numerous sites in Parliament. The Sunday Times reported that traces of cocaine were found in 11 locations that are only accessible by accredited parliamentary lawmakers, staff and journalists, including a

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A 311-year-old school in southwest England named after the slave trader Edward Colston is to change its name following a wide-ranging consultation. The governors of the fee-paying Colston’s School, which was set up in 1710 in Bristol, said Monday that the school will be renamed next summer

By YURAS KARMANAU The Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus has announced retaliatory restrictions on airlines from the European Union and the U.K., as well as a ban on imports of Western goods from countries that introduced sanctions against the post-Soviet nation last week. The Belarus Foreign Ministry says the import ban comes in

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly has approved a resolution delaying action on requests by Myanmar’s military junta and Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to take their countries’ seats at the United Nations. Assembly President Abdulla Shahid banged his gavel Monday to approve the measure by consensus, without a

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s new social media company forecasts it may have 81 million users by 2026, or nearly 7 million more people than voted for him in the last U.S. presidential election. The projection was filed on Monday with securities regulators by the company trying to bring Trump Media & Technology Group

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A U.S. drone strike that killed an al-Qaida official in northwest Syria also wounded six members of the same family including a child who suffered serious head injuries. The U.S. military said it conducted a strike on Friday near the city of Idlib in northwest Syria targeting

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue will challenge Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in next year’s Republican primary for governor. Perdue’s Monday announcement sets up a bitter clash while Democrat Stacey Abrams awaits the winner. Former President Donald Trump has publicly encouraged Perdue to run. Trump blames Kemp for

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The charred remains of a factory manager who was lynched by a mob in Pakistan over alleged blasphemy have been brought back to Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan national was assaulted by a mob of hundreds of people before being dragged into the streets and set on fire last Friday

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis says there are plans for a possible second meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. That would come after their historic 2016 encounter in Cuba became a landmark in mending relations severed by the 1,000-year-old schism that divided Christianity. Speaking

By ERIC TUCKER and FRANK BAJAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The elite Russian state hackers behind last year’s massive SolarWinds cyberespionage campaign hardly eased up this year, managing plenty of infiltrations of U.S. and allied government agencies and foreign policy think tanks with consummate craft and stealth. So says the leading cybersecurity firm Mandiant

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The European Union’s drugs agency has recommended approving the use of an anti-inflammatory medicine to treat adults hospitalized with severe COVID-19. The European Medicines Agency decision Monday has to be confirmed by the E.U.’s executive commission. It extends the use of the drug RoActemra, made by Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche,

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue will challenge Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in next year’s Republican primary for governor. Perdue’s entry announced Monday sets up a bitter clash while Democrat Stacey Abrams awaits the winner. Former President Donald Trump has publicly encouraged Perdue to run. Trump blames Kemp