News

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press/Report for America RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Fort Bragg is shedding its Confederate namesake to become Fort Liberty in a ceremony some veterans view as a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to Black service members. The change is part of a broad Department of Defense

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s administration accused the National Rifle Association of wanting to use involuntary commitment laws “to round up mentally ill people and deprive them of other liberties,” according to documents drafted by the Republican’s staffers as part of their initial attempt

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — As a high school senior, Nick was blessed with a deadly accurate jump shot from the three-point range — something he was quick to monetize. He and his gym classmates not far from the Jersey Shore would compete to see who could make the most

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador President Nayib Bukele wants to cut the number of municipalities in the country from 262 to 44 to reduce the tax burden. The proposal would require the approval of the country’s Legislative Assembly, in which Bukele’s party and its allies hold a majority. The president also proposed

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has signed a trade agreement with Taiwan over opposition from China, which claims the self-ruled island democracy as part of its territory. The two governments say the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade will strengthen commercial relations by improving customs, investment and other regulation. The measure was signed Thursday

JERUSALEM (AP) — A 3-year-old Palestinian boy is in critical condition at an Israeli hospital after being shot by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank. The army has opened an investigation into what it says was an unintentional shooting. It says soldiers returned fire late Thursday after gunmen fired toward a Jewish settlement. But

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Debt-stricken Sri Lanka, which declared bankruptcy last year, is showing signs of economic improvement but its recovery still faces challenges, the International Monetary Fund said Friday. The Indian Ocean island nation declared bankruptcy in April 2022 and said it was suspending repayment of its foreign

By LISA MASCARO, KEVIN FREKING, STEPHEN GROVES, FARNOUSH AMIRI and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Fending off a U.S. default, the Senate gave final approval late Thursday to a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, grinding into the night to wrap up work on the bipartisan deal and send it to President

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets were facing some questions going into their first NBA Finals, and their answers came in resounding fashion. No, a week and a half off didn’t hurt them. And no, the NBA’s biggest stage isn’t too big, either. Jokic got a

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Meta is temporarily blocking some Canadian users from accessing news content on Facebook and Instagram as part of a temporary test that is expected to last through the end of June, the tech giant said Thursday. The block — which follows a similar step taken by Google earlier this year —

By BEN NUCKOLS Associated Press OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Soft-spoken but brimming with confidence, Dev Shah asked precise questions about obscure Greek roots, rushed through his second-to-last word and rolled to the Scripps National Spelling Bee title Thursday night. Dev, a 14-year-old from Largo, Florida, had his spelling career interrupted by the pandemic, then

By JACQUES BILLEAUD and SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona will not approve new housing construction on the fast-growing edges of metro Phoenix that rely on groundwater thanks to years of overuse and a multi-decade drought that is sapping its water supply. In a news conference Thursday, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the restrictions

By JOHNSON LAI and HIROYUKI KOMAE Associated Press NAHA, Japan (AP) — A weakened Tropical Storm Mawar is bringing heavy rains to Japan’s main southern islands after passing the Okinawan archipelago early Friday. Strong winds continued on Okinawa and dozens of local flights were canceled for the day. Formerly a super typhoon, Mawar had winds

By MICHELLE L. PRICE, STEVE PEOPLES and THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press GRIMES, Iowa (AP) — Former President Donald Trump kept up a steady drumbeat of criticism of his chief rival Ron DeSantis on Thursday, jumping immediately on remarks by the Florida governor on the campaign trail to try to highlight his own strength as the