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BERLIN (AP) — A leading defense company says the German military has ordered 18 new Leopard 2 tanks to replace vehicles that were sent to Ukraine earlier this year. Kraus-Maffei Wegmann said on Friday that a contract for the Leopard 2A8 tanks was signed with the federal office for military equipment. It didn’t give financial

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers. Auto club AAA said in a travel forecast that this

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish court has opened a judicial investigation into an alleged hate crime perpetrated by the three people arrested this week for racially abusing Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior during a game. Vinícius was subjected to racist taunts on Sunday in Valencia at Mestalla Stadium. The Valencia-based court says Vinícius will be

By ELISE RYAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift has been breaking records and delighting fans on the U.S. leg of her Eras Tour, a splashy celebration of her career and new releases since the pandemic. It’s become a notoriously tough ticket to get. But on the second floor of the Museum of

By ELAINE KURTENBACH and MATT OTT AP Business Writers Wall Street followed world markets modestly higher early Friday, lifted by optimism that Congress and the president will strike a deal to unlock a vote for lifting the U.S. government’s debt ceiling and avert a potentially calamitous default. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and

By SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Authorities say Russia’s southern Belgorod region that borders Ukraine has come came under attack from Ukrainian artillery fire. It came hours after two drones struck a Russian city in a region next to the annexed Crimea Peninsula. The Kremlin’s forces meanwhile struck a clinic in Dnipro

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Riders who were born male will be prevented from racing in British Cycling’s elite female events under a new transgender and non-binary participation policy published by the governing body on Friday. New rules for competitive events, due to be implemented this year, will see racing split into “open” and “female” categories,

By HAVEN DALEY and JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California rivers fed by winter’s massive Sierra Nevada snowpack have been turned into cold and deadly torrents, drawing warnings from officials ahead of the Memorial Day weekend’s traditional start of outdoor summer recreation. At least seven people, including two children, have died or

TOKYO (AP) — A strong earthquake has shaken Tokyo and other areas of eastern Japan, but no tsunami warning was issued. The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 6.1 quake was centered off the east coast of Chiba Peninsula at a depth of 28 miles. Strong shaking was reported in Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures, but

ROME (AP) — An administrative court in Italy’s Alpine region has for now spared the life of the bear who fatally attacked a runner last month. The brown bear was captured on April 18 following a two-week hunt launched after a 26-year-old local man was killed while running on a mountain trail. The court panel

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A London court on Friday rejected an attempt by the publisher of The Sun tabloid to throw out a lawsuit by actor Hugh Grant alleging that journalists and investigators it hired illegally snooped on him. Justice Timothy Fancourt said a trial in January will have to determine

By JIM VERTUNO and JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — After years of legal and ethical scandals swirling around Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, the state’s GOP-controlled House of Representatives has moved toward an impeachment vote that could quickly throw him from office. The extraordinary and rarely-used maneuver comes in the final

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Belgium and Iran have conducted a prisoner exchange in Oman. Officials said Friday that Tehran released a Belgian aid worker in exchange for an Iranian diplomat convicted of trying to bomb a meeting of exiles in France. The initial announcement by Oman’s Foreign Ministry

PARIS (AP) — French police have thrown a security cordon around a shareholders meeting in Paris of oil major TotalEnergies. Officers sprayed tear gas and pushed back climate protesters who chanted, “Be gentle, police officers, we’re doing this for your kids !” Police escorted some shareholders into the meeting Friday in a famed Paris concert

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Tens of thousands of people are expected in the Serbian capital for a rally in support of President Aleksandar Vucic. He is facing an unprecedented revolt against his autocratic rule amid the crisis triggered by two mass shootings that stunned the nation. Vucic’s supporters are being