AP National News

PARIS (AP) — Kamala Harris is honoring America’s wartime alliances with France and meeting President Emmanuel Macron as she tries to smooth French feathers after a diplomatic crisis. The U.S. vice president paid respects to Americans who died in the two world wars and are buried in a cemetery overlooking the Paris skyline. To the

By ZEKE MILLER and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — About 900,000 kids aged 5-11 will have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in their first week of eligibility, the White House said Wednesday. Final clearance for the shots was granted by federal regulators on Nov. 2, with the first doses to

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Another round of violence across the northwest and central parts of Nigeria has led to the death of nearly 30 including police officers, according to locals and the authorities. The attacks in the northern states of Zamfara, Katsina and Taraba are the latest in growing violence

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Attorneys for former Raiders player Henry Ruggs III are fighting to keep his medical records out of the hands of prosecutors charging him with driving under the influence in a fiery crash that killed a woman and cost Ruggs his NFL job. Ruggs didn’t appear in

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Detectives in the new crime drama series “Ragdoll” come across a grisly scene early in the first episode. A serial killer has stitched together parts from six of his victims to make one hideous body. Naturally, they vow to track this madman down and bring

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A businessman accused of siphoning off millions in state contracts from Venezuela met secretly with U.S. law enforcement to provide intelligence against Nicolás Maduro’s government prior to being charged. That’s according to new filings in a case against a University of Miami professor. Bruce Bagley had been

By VANESSA GERA, MONIKA SCISLOWSKA and GEIR MOULSON Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The German government has accused Belarus of “state-run smuggling and trafficking” in human lives by luring desperate migrants to the Polish border — the edge of the European Union — where many are now stuck in makeshift camps in freezing weather.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks edged lower in afternoon trading on Wall Street Wednesday, pulled down by losses in big technology and communications companies. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.7%. Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices shed 4.4%. Investors were discouraged to

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department has announced it’s levying sanctions against two senior Cambodian military officials for corruption. The move Wednesday comes as the Biden administration has expressed increasing concern about China’s influence in the Southeast Asia nation. The sanctions target the director general of the defense ministry’s material and technical services department

BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Myanmar has heard closing arguments in the case of Danny Fenster, a U.S. journalist jailed in Myanmar for more than five months on charges of breaking security laws. His lawyer says the court will deliver its verdict next Monday. Regardless of the outcome, Fenster still faces more legal problems.

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A judge has ruled that prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh must stay in jail until his trial on insurance fraud charges. Prosecutors say he stole $3.4 million meant for the sons of his housekeeper, who died in his home.  Circuit Judge Clifton Newman initially denied

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ruled that three pro-democracy activists who called for reform of the monarchy were attempting to overthrow the nation’s system of government with the king as head of state. The ruling banned any similar activities in the future by the activists and their organizations.

By KRISTIN M. HALL AP Entertainment Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Just days before the CMA Awards, artists, academics and historians gathered in Nashville to address racial representation within the genre. It was a timely event as the industry deals with a racial reckoning, both past and present. Country artists like Cleve Francis and Frankie

By ALEX DANIELS of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy Michael Bloomberg will spend $120 million in an effort to reduce the soaring numbers of deaths from drug overdoses, he announced today at a healthcare summit he organized. The pledge more than doubles the $50-million philanthropic commitment he made toward the same goal in

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Elton John has formally received one of the highest awards that can be bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II. In an investiture ceremony on Wednesday at Windsor Castle, Prince Charles anointed the rock star and charity patron as a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour.

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — One of the three white men charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery told police they had the 25-year-old Black man “trapped like a rat” before he was fatally shot. Glynn County police Sgt. Roderic Nohilly testified Wednesday that defendant Greg McMichael made the statement a

By MICHAEL TARM, SCOTT BAUER and KATHLEEN FOODY Associated Press KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse broke down in tears on the witness stand at his murder trial Wednesday, describing how he was being pursued by the first man he shot and killed during a night of turbulent street protests in Kenosha. Rittenhouse said he

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is stepping up pressure on Russia over a buildup of troops along its frontier with Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Ukrainian counterpart in Washington that the U.S. commitment to Ukraine’s security and territorial integrity is “ironclad” and will not change.

By SETH BORENSTEIN, ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Governments are considering calling for pulling the plug on coal power — the single biggest source of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. That’s according to a draft deal under negotiation in U.N. climate talks that was released Wednesday. The draft calls for

Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man has been arrested for setting fire to some banners at a temporary memorial honoring the 49 victims who died in a massacre at a Florida gay nightclub five years ago. The Orlando Fire Department says in a news release that Mark Henson is facing a charge of