AP National News

By MANU FERNÁNDEZ and JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press GUADALAJARA, Spain (AP) — For decades, family members of the tens of thousands victims of Francisco Franco’s brutal regime in Spain have had little help from central authorities to recover their loved ones from the country’s hundreds of mass graves. Some aid should finally be on its

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s once rapidly growing economy is taking another hit tied to its yearlong war, with global clothing manufacturer PVH Corp. saying it’s closing its facility there because of the “speed and volatility of the escalating situation.” The company’s statement to The Associated Press comes two weeks

By SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi says his government will withdraw the controversial agriculture laws that prompted yearlong protests from tens of thousands of farmers and posed a significant political challenge to his administration. Modi made the announcement during a live televised speech. He urged the protesters

By ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — A towering wooden screen once blackened with soot from worshippers’ candles is being restored to its gilded glory in the Church of the Nativity, built at the site where many believe Jesus was born. But few visitors are expected to see the work during

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have ordered an investigation into a police raid that killed four people and later exhumed two bodies and returned them to families who say Indian troops shot them in cold blood. Police earlier said the two civilians died in crossfire when government forces on Monday attacked suspected

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian southern state will hold elections Saturday in a test for Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s Malay party as it faces off against allies in the government for the first time amid a widening rift. The outcome of the Malacca state poll will not

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Polls show that a strong majority of Democrats and a majority of the American public support elements of President Joe Biden’s $1.85 trillion social and environmental spending bill. Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly predicted that the legislation the House passed Friday will be “transformational” for the country.

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press LOWELL, Mass. (AP) — Thousands of Afghans have applied for temporary admission into the U.S. for humanitarian reasons, but few have been approved since the Taliban recaptured control of their homeland. Federal immigration officials say more than 28,000 Afghans have applied for what’s known as humanitarian parole, but only about

By JASON DEAREN Associated Press Some Florida prison guards openly tout associations with white supremacist groups to intimidate inmates and Black colleagues. It’s a persistent practice that often goes unpunished. That’s according to allegations in public documents and interviews with a dozen inmates and current and former employees in the nation’s third largest prison system.

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s prime minister has outlined a record 56 trillion yen, or $490 billion stimulus package, including cash handouts and aid to ailing businesses, to help the economy out of the doldrums worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. The plan includes doling out 100,000 yen, or $880, each

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A federal raid on a small household marijuana garden on tribal land in northern New Mexico is sowing confusion and resentment about U.S. drug enforcement priorities on Native American lands, as more states roll out legal marketplaces for recreational pot. Bureau of Indian Affairs officers

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and JUAN PABLO ARRAEZ Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Zoe Martano is no stranger to misery. The 6-year-old Venezuelan girl has spent half of her life in and out of a hospital, being poked and hooked up to IV lines meant to keep her alive until her country’s crises dissipate.

By MICHAEL TARM, SCOTT BAUER and AMY FORLITI Associated Press KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — The jury at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial was to return Friday for a fourth day of deliberations, after a quiet day behind closed doors that ended with one juror asking if she could take home the jury instructions. Thursday’s court session

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets are higher after Wall Street hit a record and Japanese inflation eased. Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney advanced. Hong Kong declined. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index advanced 0.3%, putting it on track for a weekly gain. Investors are shifting focus

COCKEYSVILLE, Md. (AP) — Police say four people have been found dead inside a car which matched the description of a vehicle connected to a former Maryland police officer accused of taking off with his daughters in Pennsylvania. Elena Russo, spokeswoman for Maryland State Police, told a news conference that Pennsylvania State Police were attempting

By DENNIS PASSA AP Sports Writer Australia’s test cricket captain has quit after being investigated by Cricket Australia for sending explicit text messages to a female co-worker four years ago. Veteran wicketkeeper Tim Paine was named in a News Corp. report as being at the center of the sexting scandal. The 36-year-old Paine appeared before

By SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his government will withdraw the controversial farm laws that prompted year-long protests from tens of thousands of farmers who said the laws would shatter their livelihoods. The demonstrations have posed one of the biggest political challenges to Modi, who

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — A florist in Washington state who was in an eight-year legal battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court will retire after settling with the same-sex couple whose wedding job she refused. The Tri-City Herald reports Barronelle Stutzman of Richland, Washington, announced the settlement Thursday, saying she has paid $5,000 to Robert

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The federal government say it’s beginning the process of repealing a Trump-era rule that permitted road-building and logging harvesting in an enormous southeast Alaska rainforest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Thursday that a proposed measure to repeal last year’s rule will be published for public comment next week, beginning a

DALLAS (AP) — A Texas jury has deliberated for four hours in the capital murder trial of a man accused of killing 18 older women in the Dallas area. Deliberations began Thursday after prosecutors recounted what they described as an abundance of proof that Billy Chemirmir killed 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris. The Dallas County jury