AP National News

By LISA MASCARO, KEVIN FREKING and JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says an agreement has been reached with Republicans to extend the government’s borrowing authority into December. That temporarily averts a debt crisis. Schumer made the announcement as he opened the Senate on Thursday. He said he hoped

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal jury has convicted a ticket broker of allegedly bilking the Chicago White Sox out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by fraudulently selling tickets to the team’s games with the help of two White Sox ticket sellers. The Chicago jury convicted 35-year-old Bruce Lee of 11 counts of wire fraud

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A Spanish-language countdown will be included for the first time in the “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” show this year. Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi announced Thursday that the segment will be broadcast from the U.S. territory, where thousands are expected to gather at the

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The family of a slain college student says a deputy dismissed clues that should have kept the man now suspected of killing her from driving away, days before he was found dead of an apparent suicide. Orange County Sheriff John Mina defended his agency’s investigation into the disappearance of 19-year-old Miya

By CHALIDA EKVITTHAYAVECHNUKUL Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Police in Thailand say they are seeking four suspects in connection with the shooting of a policeman in the head during a violent street protest in Bangkok. The Wednesday night incident, in which the policeman was badly injured, was a major escalation in a series of wild

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks rose broadly on Wall Street as investors welcomed the end of a standoff in Congress over extending the federal debt ceiling. The extension is temporary and will give lawmakers more time to reach a permanent resolution. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.6%.

By KHADIJA KOTHIA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II has presided over the launch of the baton relay for next year’s Commonwealth Games in the central England city of Birmingham. It was the 95-year-old queen’s first major engagement at Buckingham Palace since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. British Paralympic gold medalist Kadeena

By JEAN-YVES KAMALE and CARLEY PETESCH Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The Virunga National Park in Congo says that Ndakasi, the mountain gorilla who famously posed for a selfie with a ranger, has died at age 14. The park said she died on Sept. 26 following a prolonged illness. A statement from the park

By MATT SEDENSKY AP National Writer SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Even before the pandemic bared the truth of a profit-driven nursing home industry with too few caring for society’s most vulnerable, thin staffing was a hallmark of facilities around the country. Now, an Associated Press analysis of federal data finds that staffing is even thinner,

CHICAGO (AP) — It was 150 years ago that the Great Chicago Fire ignited, eventually killing about 300 people and consuming a major portion of the city over three days. The Associated Press, just 25 years old then, sent dispatches first from its office in the Chicago Tribune building before staff fled to a Western

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s constitutional court is to rule in a key case over whether Polish or European Union law has primacy in the EU member country. The ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal, due later Thursday, is expected to define Poland’s future relationship with the 27-member bloc in the

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a man suspected of robbing a Southern California bank was arrested when he returned to try and rob the same branch the following day. Police in the city of Fountain Valley say the man fled with a large amount of cash Monday afternoon after giving Chase bank teller

TOKYO (AP) — A powerful earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude 6.1 has shaken the Tokyo area, but officials say there is no danger of a tsunami. The Meteorological Agency says the quake was centered in Chiba prefecture, just east of Tokyo, at a depth of 80 kilometers (48 miles). It caused buildings to sway but

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister says talks between regional archrivals Iran and Saudi Arabia have made significant inroads. He also said Iran is ready to build two power plants in Lebanon as well as help in reconstructing Beirut’s port that was destroyed by a massive blast last year. The

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu is marking his 90th birthday. A portrait of him recently defaced by racist graffiti has been restored by the artist who added a celebratory message. It reads “Happy Birthday Tata Desmond Tutu! Father of the Rainbow Nation.”

Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street Thursday amid signs a standoff in Congress over the federal debt ceiling is closer to a resolution. Investors hope Congress may temporarily extend the federal government’s debt ceiling and buy lawmakers time to reach a permanent resolution. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% in early trading and the Nasdaq

By SABINA NIKSIC Associated Press SARAJEVO, Bosnia (AP) — Croatia has announced it will investigate reports and video footage alleging systematic violent pushbacks by its police against migrants and asylum-seekers attempting to cross into the country from neighboring Bosnia. Thursday’s announcement followed publication a day earlier of video footage by a team of investigative journalists

WASHINGTON (AP) — A report by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Democratic majority details Donald Trump’s extraordinary effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election that he lost. His pursuit of fraud claims brought the Justice Department to the brink of chaos and prompted top officials there and at the White House to threaten to resign.  The

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer A major Hollywood strike could be on the horizon for some 60,000 behind-the-scenes workers in the entertainment industry. Over the weekend, members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IASTE) overwhelmingly voted in favor of authorizing a nationwide strike for the first time in its history. The IATSE

BY KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany has vaccinated millions more people against the coronavirus than previously thought. That means almost 80% of adults in Germany are fully vaccinated and about 84% have received at least one shot, according to the country’s disease control center. The figures are about 3.5 million higher than