AP National News

By HUIZHONG WU and JOHNSON LAI Associated Press CHIAYI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan has deployed the most advanced version of the F-16 fighter jet in its air force, as the self-ruled island steps up its defense capabilities in the face of continuing threats from China.  Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen commissioned into service 64 upgraded F-16V

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s been more than two weeks since the Supreme Court’s extraordinarily rushed arguments over Texas’ unique abortion law, and still no word from the justices. They raised expectations of quick action by putting the case on a rarely-used fast track. The court’s silence means that women in

By AAMER MADHANI, ROB GILLIES, and MARIA VERZA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — North America’s leaders are reviving three-way summitry after a Trump-era break. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will resume the tradition of the North America Leaders Summit on Thursday in Washington. Such meetings

By MICHAEL TARM, SCOTT BAUER and AMY FORLITI Associated Press KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — The jury in Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial was to move into a third day of deliberations Thursday, even as its request to re-watch video in the case sparked another bid from his attorneys for a mistrial. Kyle Rittenhouse’s attorneys say the defense

By SARA BURNETT Associated Press Some of the last words jurors at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial heard before starting deliberations were about the mental health of Joseph Rosenbaum. The first of three men Rittenhouse shot during a chaotic night of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin — and one of two whom he killed — had been

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Julius Jones is scheduled to receive the lethal injection in Oklahoma’s highest-profile execution in decades. Jones was convicted of murder in the 1999 killing of Paul Howell, a suburban Oklahoma City businessman. The 41-year-old Jones maintains he was framed by the actual killer, a co-defendant who

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines says Chinese coast guard ships have blocked and sprayed a powerful stream of water at two of its ships carrying supplies to troops at a disputed South China Sea shoal, prompting Manila to warn Beijing that the vessels are covered by a mutual defense

By ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — A nighttime operation to erect chain-link fencing and impose a registry may have been the beginning of the end for a migrant camp in Tijuana, Mexico, that blocks a major pedestrian crossing to the United States. But there may be more camps to follow. First lady

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli officials say that an Israeli couple has been released by Turkey after being detained on suspicion of espionage. A statement by Israel’s prime minister and foreign minister said Thursday that the two were heading to Israel. The statement also expressed gratitude to the president and government of Turkey. The couple was

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Incoming Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says his victory in a strongly Democratic state showed a winning path for Republicans to talk about education. He says it’s an issue for which the GOP has “historically been a bit on our heels.” Youngkin spoke Wednesday at the Republican

By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s top diplomat says the fizzled attempt by young activists to encourage anti-government protests this week was a failure in political communication by the organizers, who he accuses of being supported by U.S. interests. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez made the comments in an interview with The Associated

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares have mostly declined after indexes shuffled lower on Wall Street. Benchmarks fell in early trading in Japan, China and South Korea, but edged up in Australia. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% after earlier drifting between tiny gains and declines. It’s sitting

By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s top diplomat says the fizzled attempt by young activists to encourage anti-government protests this week was a failure in political communication by the organizers, who he accuses of being supported by U.S. interests. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez made the comments in an interview with The Associated

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The wife of an American humanitarian worker who was kidnapped in Niger five years ago says her husband’s captors have made a multimillion-dollar ransom demand but that U.S. government “restrictions” have hindered her ability to raise the sum. Els Woodke says she believes her husband, Jeff Woodke,

By JOSH FUNK and TOM KRISHER AP Business Writers DETROIT (AP) — Deere workers approved a new contract Wednesday that will deliver 10% raises immediately and end a monthlong strike for more than 10,000 employees. The United Auto Workers union members voted 61% in favor of the deal with the tractor maker. It was the

JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Chinese coast guard ships have blocked and used water cannons on two Philippine supply boats heading to a disputed shoal occupied by Filipino marines in the South China Sea. Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Thursday that the Philippine government was outraged and had protested to China

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The winner of this year’s National Book Award for fiction is Jason Mott’s “Hell of a Book.” It’s a surreal meta-narrative about an author’s book and his haunted past and present. The winner for nonfiction is Tiya Miles’ “All That She Carried: The Journey of

By AMY FORLITI and SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Attorneys for Kyle Rittenhouse have requested a mistrial based on several issues, including claims that prosecutors acted in bad faith and that the state gave them an inferior copy of video that may be a key piece of evidence in the case. The