AP National News

By JIM RENDON of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy Global philanthropic spending to help halt climate change grew last year — but still remains less than 2% of all giving, according to a new report from the ClimateWorks Foundation. In 2019, the group estimates that $5 billion to $9 billion went to curb

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has rejected British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid to block the public and news media from jury selection in her New York City trial on charges she recruited teenage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse. U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan said

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Northern California is finally getting drenched this week. But experts say the rain won’t be enough to end the drought plaguing the Western United States. California’s climate is hotter and drier now, meaning the rain and snow that does fall is more likely to evaporate or

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer An international organization that monitors and sets guidelines to protect against money laundering and terrorism financing has added Turkey, Jordan and Mali to its watch list. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force’s “gray list” calls for increased scrutiny of financial dealings with the three countries. The group also announced

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has awarded a prestigious prize in the study of science and technology to two physicists based in the United States. Harvard University physics professor Cumrun Vafa received The Mustafa Prize in science and technology. Vafa, an Iranian-American, said the award reminds him “that there is no border for science and

By DREW COSTLEY AP Science Writer Tens of billions of dollars for U.S. environmental justice initiatives originally proposed by Democratic leaders in a $3.5 trillion domestic spending package now hang in the balance as they decide how to trim the bill to $2 trillion. Investments in the Build Back Better plan included expanding access to

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A powerful autumn storm has blasted across parts of Europe, killing four people in Poland and causing damage and disruption across a large swath of the continent. According to reports in Polish media, the area most badly hit was around the western city of Wroclaw, where powerful gusts Thursday topped a

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A critically endangered Sumatran orangutan in New Orleans is pregnant with twins. The Audubon Zoo’s announcement Thursday says 12-year-old Menari is expected to give birth in December or January. Senior veterinarian Bob MacLean says the news is especially exciting because twins are rare for the great ape species. If all goes

By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Facebook’s semi-independent oversight board says the company has failed to fully disclose information on its internal system that exempts high-profile users from some or all of its content rules. The board says in a report that Facebook has not been fully forthcoming with the overseers about

By JACK JEFFERY RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A prisoners group says a Palestinian held without charge by Israeli authorities is in “extremely dangerous” condition more than three months into hunger strike. A rights group says twenty-four-year-old Miqdad al-Qawasmi is the least healthy of six incarcerated Palestinian hunger strikers. The prionsers are protesting against being

WESTMINSTER, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California woman who refused to wear a mask or leave a grocery store has been convicted of trespassing and obstructing a business or customers. An Orange County jury found Marianne Campbell Smith guilty on Wednesday. She was sentenced to 40 hours of community service, a year of informal probation

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli leaders have recommended reopening the country to fully vaccinated tourists beginning on Nov. 1. The decision, which still needs formal government approval, comes a year and a half after Israel closed its borders to most foreign visitors due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Israel is emerging from a fourth wave of

By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — A prosecutor in Nevada says a 22-year-old Salvadoran immigrant who was facing two death penalty trials in the killings of four people will plead guilty and go to prison for the rest of his life. Wilber Ernesto Martinez Guzman was in a Reno courtroom Thursday to

By LISA MASCARO, DARLENE SUPERVILLE and ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House and Democrats are hurriedly reworking key aspects of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion domestic policy plan. They’re trimming the social services and climate change programs and they’re reconsidering new taxes on corporations and the wealthy to pay for the

By EVENS SANON, MATÍAS DELACROIX and PIERRE-RICHARD LUXAMA Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang that Haitian police say kidnapped 17 members of a missionary group is seen in a new video saying he will kill them if he doesn’t get what he is demanding. The video posted Thursday

By DÁNICA COTO and ALBERTO ARCE Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Gangs across Haiti’s capital and beyond are wielding power like never before. They control more land and commit more crimes than ever — all without a care. Their tightening grip on society threatens the country’s social fabric and its fragile, anemic economy. Poverty

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A neurologist has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging he was a serial sexual abuser of women who had gone to him for help with debilitating, chronic pain. Prosecutors say Dr. Ricardo Cruciani entered the plea Thursday in federal court in Manhattan. He was expected

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — The 2-month-old California wildfire that threatened the Lake Tahoe resort region over the summer has been declared 100% contained. Officials say the fire reached the milestone late Wednesday. Storms this week covered the fire’s western side in snow and rain fell on the blaze’s eastern side. Stronger storms are

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — In its first significant action under a new director, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is ordering Apple, Amazon, PayPal and other tech giants to reveal how their proprietary payment networks function. Apple Pay, Google Pay and other payment systems created by big tech companies now

PARIS (AP) — The world’s biggest triceratops skeleton, known as “Big John,” has been sold for 6.6 million euros ($7.7 million) to a private collector at a Paris auction house. The enormous skeleton, estimated to be over 66 million years old, was found in 2014 in South Dakota. The triceratops is known for its three