AP National News

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Attorneys in self-defense cases typically encourage their clients to testify. But Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial is anything but typical, and it’s still unclear whether the Illinois man will take the stand. Rittenhouse is accused of shooting three people during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha,

By DEE-ANN DURBIN and CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press Writers BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Never in its 50-year history has Starbucks relied on union workers to serve up frothy lattes as its U.S. cafes. But some baristas aim to change that. Workers at three separate Starbucks stores in and around Buffalo, New York, are expected to

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese military forces are holding exercises near Taiwan in response to a visit by a U.S. congressional delegation to the island. China’s Defense Ministry says the drills are a “necessary measure to safeguard national sovereignty.” China claims Taiwan is its own territory, to be taken by force if necessary. The ministry says

By SCOTT BAUER, TAMMY WEBBER and AMY FORLITI Associated Press KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse was badly shaken after shooting three men during street unrest in Kenosha, at one point telling a person who had joined him in an effort to protect businesses from damaging protesters that “my life might be over.” That’s according

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — The lawyer for an American journalist jailed in Myanmar for more than five months says his client has been served with two new criminal charges, including one that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. One of the new charges filed against Danny Fenster is under

By JUAN A. LOZANO and ROBERT BUMSTED Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Emergency plans for the Astroworld music festival did not include protocols for dangerous crowd surges. But that’s what authorities believe happened Friday night when eight people died at the Houston music festival. Hundreds of others were injured, including a 9-year-old boy whose family

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Asian shares have tracked Wall Street’s retreat, with Chinese benchmarks leading the decline after the government reported a surge in inflation in October. On Wall Street, stocks ended moderately lower on Tuesday, ending an eight-day winning streak for the market that had been fueled by strong company earnings and

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Vietnamese oil tanker earlier seized by Iran is now free in open waters. The Sothys left a position off Iran’s Bandar Abbas port and had reached international waters in the nearby Gulf of Oman. That’s according to data analyzed Wednesday by The Associated

By DAVID RISING and SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — An autistic Cambodian teenager has been released from prison after serving time for posting comments critical of the government on social media in a case that has attracted international attention. Kak Sovannchhay was met by his mother and supporters outside the prison.

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Making coronavirus vaccines more accessible and reducing carbon emissions were two key pledges agreed to by top Pacific Rim lawmakers. But what went unstated were the deep tensions that run through the unlikely group of 21 nations and territories that include the U.S., China, Taiwan,

By NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has rejected former President Donald Trump’s request to block the release of documents to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Tuesday declined to issue a preliminary injunction, and late Wednesday she denied another request from

By MARCELA ISAZA Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The creator of the Netflix TV series “Squid Game” says it’ll be back for a season two, even though most TV shows in South Korea run for just one season. Due to the show’s global success, Hwang Dong-hyuk says “I almost feel like you leave us

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Fumio Kishida is set to be reelected as Japan’s prime minister after clearing the first major test of his leadership in recent elections. Kishida sees the Oct. 31 election result as a mandate from voters for his weeks-old government to tackle the pandemic-battered economy, virus measures and

By NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has rejected former President Donald Trump’s request to block the release of documents to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Tuesday declined to issue a preliminary injunction sought by Trump’s lawyers. Chutkan says President Joe

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s highest court has ruled that a police officer cannot use his law enforcement job as a defense against a charge of murdering an Indigenous man. Constable Zachary Rolfe could become the first police officer to be convicted in Australia of unlawfully killing an Indigenous person.

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Brian Williams says he’s leaving NBC News at the end of the year. He remade his career as an MSNBC host after losing his job as “NBC Nightly News” anchor in 2015 for making false claims about his role in a wartime story. His contract

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The executive who took over as head of casino company Wynn Resorts when its founder and namesake Steve Wynn resigned in February 2018 has announced he’ll step down at the end of January. Matt Maddox said in a statement he believed that after four years as CEO it was the right

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli has won his second acquittal on charges he tapped the phones of opponents and journalists. Martinelli, who served from 2009 to 2014, went on trial in July, after he was was acquitted of similar charges in 2019. In August 2019 he was acquitted on espionage and

By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Salvadoran immigrant who admitted fatally shooting four people during a two-week rampage in Nevada in 2019 has pleaded guilty to the two killings that occurred in rural Douglas County. It’s part of a deal with prosecutors that will spare 22-year-old Wilber Ernesto Martinez Guzman the