AP National News

By ANGELA CHARLTON and SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macro has met with Lebanon’s new prime minister, wishing him success and promising France would continue to support the crisis-struck country. Macron received Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday. The premier is on his first foreign trip, days after

By LISA MASCARO and JONATHAN LEMIRE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says talks over his $3.5 trillion rebuilding plan have hit a “stalemate” in Congress. Biden delivered off-cuff remarks Friday at the White House as Democrats in the House and Senate are laboring to finish drafts and overcome party differences, The president’s

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — R. Kelly’s fate is now in a jury’s hands after weeks of lurid testimony in a sexual misconduct trial. The panel of seven men and five women began deliberating racketeering and sex trafficking charges against the R&B superstar Friday. They ended the day without reaching a

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama’s presidential center will move another step closer to its brick-and-mortar future next week when ground is broken after years of reviews, other delays and local opposition. Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama will be joined by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian election authorities have officially announced the final results of last week’s parliamentary vote, in which the Kremlin’s party retained its supermajority amid widespread reports of violations and incidents of voter fraud. Russia’s Central Election Commission has declared the election of the new parliament, or the State

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — To say “The Beautiful Liar,” the third, full-length album from X Ambassadors, has a lot going on would be a little bit of an understatement. It’s a concept album about a fledgling superhero, but also a trip into Jungian psychology and a valentine to old-fashioned

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says it will hold a ceremonial swearing-in for Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 1, delayed by nearly a year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The court said attendance for the courtroom ceremony will be by invitation only. Former President Donald Trump and Melania Trump attended the ceremonies for

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a 33-year-old former Marine accused of massacring a Florida family under the delusion that they were child sex traffickers. The state atrorney’s office said Friday that the Sept. 5 killings of the Lakeland family were “committed on a cold, calculated and premeditated manner.” Bryan

BEIJING (AP) — HNA Group, the Chinese airline operator that ran into financial trouble following a global acquisition spree beginning in 2014, says its chairman and CEO have been detained on suspicion of committing crimes. A company statement says Chen Feng and Tan Xiangdong were “taken under compulsory measures” by police in the southern island

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writers President Joe Biden is urging Americans who now are eligible for a Pfizer COVID-19 booster to go get one, and says he’ll get his own soon. Biden’s plea comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed boosters for millions who got their last shot

By CARLEY PETESCH Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The International Organization for Migration says migrant deaths along the Atlantic route from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands reached a record high last month with 379 lives lost at sea. Those deaths account for nearly half of the total number of casualties for all of

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A veteran TV news executive says CNN anchor Chris Cuomo sexually harassed her by squeezing her buttocks at a party in 2005. Shelley Ross said Friday in an opinion piece in The New York Times that Cuomo greeted her with a bear hug and squeezed

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A French general handed the baton of a key NATO command center to a fellow French air force officer this week as tensions between France and the United States simmered over a defense deal that sank a multi-billion-dollar French submarine contract. The ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia cemented

By OLIVERA PERKINS of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy A new effort in Northwest Arkansas offering $10,000 incentives to new residents is part of an increasing number of philanthropy-financed projects trying to spark economic development, promote civic and cultural life, attract skilled workers, and offset declining or sparse populations. Remote workers are especially

BOSTON (AP) — The operator of a light rail train that crashed into the rear of another train on the Boston area’s public transit system now faces criminal charges. The July crash sent more than two dozen people to the hospital with minor injuries. The Boston Globe cites court records in reporting Thursday that Owen

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says recent talks with U.S. President Joe Biden have proved disappointing, and that his country, a NATO member, would seek closer ties with Russia.. Speaking after Friday prayers in Istanbul, Erdogan said a meeting with Biden during his visit to New York for the UN General Assembly

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press Writer ABOARD THE OCEAN WARRIOR in the eastern Pacific Ocean (AP) — José López proudly remembers his first catch: he was 13 and a local skipper, pitying his ragamuffin look, hired him as an extra hand. When he returned home, his pockets stuffed with a day’s wages, his mother protested.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A 59-year-old man, described as an “incorrigible and calculating criminal” has been convicted of stealing a painting by Vincent van Gogh and another by Frans Hals from two Dutch museums last year. He was sentenced to the maximum eight years in prison following his conviction Friday. The man, whose identity

BERLIN (AP) — Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel provided a rare splash of color amid Germany’s staid election campaign while visiting a bird park. Merkel posed with half a dozen parrots. Not content with the bird feed on offer, one of the rainbow lorikeets took a peck at the long-time German leader’s hand, prompting a theatrical

NEW YORK (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is continuing her successful side career as an author with a picture book about giving to others. Philomel Books says Sotomayor’s “Just Help! How to Build a Better World” will be published Jan. 25. With illustrations by Angela Dominguez, “Just Help” was inspired by the community