Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has met with officials in Japan to reaffirm the importance of their alliance and Washington’s commitment to regional security as threats rise from China and North Korea. Austin’s visit on Tuesday also came amid growing concerns over the safety of Ospreys. The military aircraft have
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A federal appeals court is scrutinizing the impact of Idaho’s strict abortion ban on emergency medical care. A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel of judges weighed Tuesday whether the ban criminalizing abortions should be enforceable in life- and health-threatening situations. Idaho’s law makes it a felony to
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer HONG KONG (AP) — China’s exports slowed in November and its imports declined, falling below forecasts and underscoring potential weakness in trade at a time when its leaders are striving to boost domestic business activity. Customs data Tuesday showed exports grew 6.7% from a year earlier, down from a 12.7% increase in
Continue ReadingAssociated Press A federal judge on Tuesday night rejected the auction sale of Alex Jones’ Infowars to The Onion satirical news outlet, criticizing the bidding process as flawed and the amount of money that families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting stood to receive. The Onion had been named the winning bidder on Nov.
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes drifted lower Tuesday in the runup to the highlight of the week for the market, the latest update on inflation that’s coming on Wednesday. The S&P 500 dipped 0.3%, a day after pulling back from its latest all-time high. They’re the first back-to-back losses for
Continue ReadingAssociated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — As President-elect Donald Trump assembles his administration, Republican governors and lawmakers in some states are already rolling out proposals that could help him carry out his pledge to deport millions of people living in the U.S. illegally. Lawmakers in a growing number of states are proposing to give
Continue ReadingAP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The poet, author, educator and public speaker Nikki Giovanni has died at 81. She went from borrowing money to release her first book to spending decades as a literary celebrity sharing her takes on everything from racism and love to space travel and mortality. Friend and author Renée
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A proposed western railroad expansion aimed at boosting crude oil production in Utah is coming before the Supreme Court in a case that could have wider effects on federal environmental regulation. Tuesday’s case includes a recusal by one justice and arguments about how far the government should go in considering
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The great-granddaughter of the last Alaska Native chief of a remote island in the Bering Sea believes Japan should pay more restitution for what its soldiers did to the residents of Attu Island during World War II. Japan invaded the most westerly of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and took 41
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The grinding war pitting Ukraine against its Russian invaders has escalated ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration. President Joe Biden is rushing out billions more in military aid before U.S. support for Kyiv’s defenses is thrown into question under the new administration. Russia, Ukraine and their global allies are scrambling to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Massive U.S. airstrikes on Islamic State militants in Syria are meant partly as a message to the group and a move to ensure that the insurgents don’t try to take advantage of the chaos following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad’s government. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh says the U.S. and
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A week after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, Elon Musk said his political action committee would “play a significant role in primaries.” The following week, the billionaire responded to a report that he might fund challengers to GOP House members who don’t support Trump’s nominees. “How else? There is
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAYDNAYA, Syria (AP) — They came from all over Syria, tens of thousands. The first place they rushed to after the fall of their longtime tormentor, former President Bashar Assad, was here: Saydnaya Prison, a place so notorious for its horrors it was long known as “the slaughterhouse.” For the past two days,
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — George Soros’ philanthropy, Open Society Foundations, will continue to fund human rights movements around the world. Its president Binaifer Nowrojee said Tuesday, which is Human Rights Day, that she wanted to reiterate the commitments after years of internal changes at the philanthropy. Open Society is now led by one
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — When libertarian President Javier Milei assumed office one year ago, Argentine supermarkets were marking price increases almost daily. Middle-class families tried to spend their rapidly depreciating pesos as quickly as they got them and economists warned the country was teetering on the brink of hyperinflation. On taking power,
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s previous defense minister was formally arrested Wednesday over his alleged collusion with President Yoon Suk Yeol and others in imposing martial law last week, as authorities investigate whether their acts amount to rebellion. Martial law, the first in more than 40 years, lasted only about six
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — About 87,000 people were being evacuated in a central Philippine region Tuesday a day after a volcano briefly erupted with a towering ash plume and superhot streams of gas and debris hurtling down its western slopes. The latest eruption of Mount Kanlaon on central Negros island did not cause
Continue ReadingAssociated Press OKAPI WILDLIFE RESERVE, Congo (AP) — For eight years, a Chinese mining company has been vastly expanding inside an endangered World Heritage Site, accused by locals and conservationists of decimating the environment. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve became a protected site in 1996, due to its unique biodiversity and large number of threatened species,
Continue ReadingAssociated Press OKAPI WILDLIFE RESERVE, Congo (AP) — Scattered along the banks of the Ituri River, buildings cram together, cranes transport dirt and debris scatters the soil. The patches of trees are a scant reminder that a forest once grew there. Nestled in eastern Congo’s Ituri province, the Chinese-run gold mine is rapidly encroaching on
Continue ReadingSEATTLE (AP) — Boeing has laid off hundreds of additional employees in Washington state and California as part of planned cuts that will eventually reduce the company’s workforce by about 17,000. News outlets reported Monday that nearly 400 Boeing employees were laid off in Washington state and more than 500 in California. Boeing in October
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