AP National News

Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italy is planning to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies. Speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees on Thursday, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Damascus. He

The Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Lafayette Police Department has confirmed that one of its police officers was killed in the line of duty. The officer killed Thursday has been identified as Senior Cpl. Segus Jolivette. The department says in a statement on it Facebook page that the husband and father of

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A 12-year-old girl whose disappearance galvanized a Georgia community has been found in Ohio. Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said Friday that Maria Gomez-Perez was found Thursday in Dover, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Cleveland, in the company of a Guatemalan man who is now jailed. “I come

Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Steward Health Care announced Friday that is it closing two hospitals in Massachusetts because it received no qualified bids for the facilities after declaring bankruptcy earlier this year. The Dallas-based company said in a statement that it has been working to sell or transition all its Massachusetts hospitals and is

Associated Press Longtime girlfriends reunite for a wedding in the new comedy “The Fabulous Four.” The film stars Bette Midler as a widow about to marry for the second time. Her best friends from her 20s, played by Susan Sarandon, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Megan Mullally, are her bridesmaids. In their personal lives, the actors

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A powerful Mexican drug cartel leader who eluded authorities for decades was duped into flying into the U.S., where he was arrested alongside a son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, according to a U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the matter. Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada got on an airplane to

HELSINKI (AP) — The Finnish defense ministry says a Russian vessel is suspected of a territorial violation of Finland’s marine area in the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The suspected violation is currently being investigated by the Finnish Border Guard. A brief government statement said it took place in the eastern

Associated Press SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Autopsy findings released Friday on Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman fatally shot in her Illinois home by a now-fired sheriff’s deputy charged in her death, confirm that she died from a gunshot wound to the head. The report was released shortly before civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who

BALTIMORE (AP) — Kevin Spacey’s $5.6 million waterfront condominium in Baltimore has been sold at auction amid the disgraced actor’s financial struggles following a slew of sexual misconduct allegations. Last summer, a London jury acquitted Spacey on sexual assault charges stemming from allegations by four men dating back 20 years. That was his second court

AP Film Writer “ Deadpool & Wolverine ” has gotten off to a supercharged start at the box office, breaking the Thursday preview record for an R-rated movie. The comic-book film sold an estimated $38.5 million worth of movie tickets from preview screenings Thursday, Disney said Friday. The previous R-rated record-holder was “Deadpool 2,” released

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Former Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs has been convicted on two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. Tuscaloosa County District Judge Joanne Jannik sentenced Buggs on July 19 to a year of hard labor, ordering him to serve 60 days. The rest would be suspended for two years “pending

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — While much of the globe is focused on the Paris Olympics, a movie filmed in ancient Olympia starring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato premiered this week that uses music to spark contemplation of creation and carnage. “Eden in Olympia” opens by posing a pair of questions as day breaks over a

Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Drizzles, sprinkles and then full-on, nonstop rain drenched the opening ceremony of Paris Olympics. It was an unusually wet July day for the unprecedented open-air event on the Seine River. Many spectators danced and cheered as athletes from around the world paraded on boats down the river. But others gave

Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The federal Justice Department is defending the legal right to challenge robocalls sent to New Hampshire voters that used artificial intelligence to mimic President Joe Biden’s voice. An assistant attorney general and New Hampshire’s U.S. attorney filed a statement of interest Thursday in the lawsuit brought by the League

This week’s new streaming entertainment releases include an EP from country-turned-pop singer Maren Morris, Léa Seydoux and George MacKay lead the intriguing French sci-fi “The Beast,” and an HBO documentary lets Elizabeth Taylor tell her story by relying on 40 hours of recently discovered audio. Just in time for Olympics fever, director Luca Guadagnino’s sweaty,