News

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina plans to begin airing TV ads in Iowa and New Hampshire early next week as he prepares for an expected 2024 Republican presidential campaign. The ad buy, valued at about $5.5 million, is scheduled to run through the first

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Holding this week’s Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, the site of the world’s first atomic bomb attack, is an attempt by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to promote an anti-nuclear message. For many survivors, it’s also a rare — and possibly final — chance to demonstrate

By DEREK GATOPOULOS and THEODORA TONGAS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greeks will head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country’s economy for the first time in over a decade. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the 55-year-old conservative frontrunner who delivered better than expected economic

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A 7.7 magnitude earthquake Friday in the far Pacific created small tsunami waves in Vanuatu. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves 60 centimeters (2 feet) above tide level were measured off Lenakel, a port town in the island nation. Smaller waves were measured elsewhere off Vanuatu and off New

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will send a 21-member team of government experts to Japan next week to visit the Fukushima nuclear power plant where they will review contentious Japanese plans to release treated but slightly radioactive water into the sea. Officials said the six-day visit starting Sunday

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A 95-year-old woman was in critical condition Friday, two days after police shocked her with a stun gun as she approached them with a walking frame and a steak knife in an Australian nursing home. The extraordinary police takedown of dementia sufferer Clare Nowland in the

By ZEKE MILLER, FOSTER KLUG and ELAINE KURTENBACH Associated Press HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies huddled Friday to discuss new ways to punish Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine, days before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joins the Group of Seven summit in person on Sunday. Zelenskyy will be making

By TERRY TANG and JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — The trial over Kari Lake’s challenge to her defeat in the Arizona governor’s race will go for a third day. Attorneys for the defendants, which include Gov. Katie Hobbs, asked the judge on Thursday to enter a judgement despite without hearing from their witnesses.

BEIJING (AP) — Echoing the crackdown on freedoms in neighboring Hong Kong, the former Portuguese colony of Macao has revised its legal system to face “new adverse challenges in terms of national security.” The government of the tiny enclave, heavily dependent on its gambling industry, said changes to the Law on Safeguarding National Security are

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping has promised to build more railway and other trade links with Central Asia and proposed jointly developing oil and gas sources at a meeting with the region’s leaders that highlighted Beijing’s growing influence. The two-day China-Central Asia Summit in the western city of Xi’an came as President Joe

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press Social media has law enforcement facing increasing pressure to release information fast amid a surge of mass shootings. Police began to harness social media a decade ago, most famously after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. The four-day manhunt ended with police tweeting: “CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over.” It was

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Friday as hopes grow that the U.S. Congress will reach a deal to avoid defaulting on the nation’s debt. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% in early trading to 30,827.87. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 7,270.20. South Korea’s Kospi added

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A 7.7 magnitude earthquake Friday in the far Pacific posed a tsunami threat for Vanuatu. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves up to 1 meter (3 feet) above tides were possible for Vanuatu. That’s much lower than the initial forecast. New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency said it was

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — For months, Western allies have shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine with an urgency to get the supplies to Kyiv in time for an anticipated spring counteroffensive. Now summer is just weeks away. While Russia and Ukraine are focused on an

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Conservative Nebraska lawmakers are expected to have just enough votes to pass a bill Friday that combines a ban on gender-affirming care for minors with a 12-week abortion ban. The mood in the Nebraska Capitol since the hybrid measure was advanced Tuesday by a single