News

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s government is marking a year of war by lashing out in response to international alarm about hate speech. A new statement compares the rival Tigray forces to “a rat that strays far from its hole” and says the country is close to “burying the evil

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Swedish Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson is poised to become the country’s first female prime minister, after the governing Social Democratic Party elected her as its new leader. As new party leader following Thursday’s vote, Andersson, who is 54, will replace Stefan Lofven, who is also stepping down as Sweden’s prime minister.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has marked the national Unity Day holiday with a trip to Crimea, declaring the region will always be a part of Russia. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 in the wake of the overthrow of Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president. Western countries regard the annexation as illegitimate. But Putin

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A U.S. survey of astronomers puts the search for extraterrestrial life at the top of their to-do list for the next 10 years. The National Academy of Sciences released the survey’s results Thursday. In the report, astronomers stress the need to continue the hunt

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks edged higher in afternoon trading on Wall Street Thursday, potentially setting the market up to notch more record highs. The S&P 500 was up 0.3%. The benchmark index is coming off five straight gains and a succession of record closes. The Nasdaq gained 0.9%

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The weekslong process of selecting a jury for the federal sex trafficking trial of financier Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-girlfriend has begun. The judge in New York said Thursday in a video played for over 130 prospective jurors that British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to

PARIS (AP) — A French astronaut has used a video call from space to sound the alarm about worsening repercussions from climate change that he can see from the International Space Station. Thomas Pesquet told French President Emmanuel Macron during the video link-up Thursday that he has been shocked by the extreme weather and climate

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — The judge presiding over Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial has dismissed a juror after a court security officer reported that the man told a joke about the shooting of Jacob Blake by a white Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer. Blake’s shooting set off the protests where Rittenhouse shot three people. Kenosha County Circuit

By AMY FORLITI, TAMMY WEBBER and MICHAEL TARM Associated Press KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A detective at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial says that someone in the crowd fired a shot into the air just 2 1/2 seconds before Rittenhouse began shooting on the streets of Kenosha. The defense has said that shot made Rittenhouse think

By MIKE CATALINI TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s longtime state Senate president, Democrat Steve Sweeney, has lost reelection, falling to a Republican newcomer who spent less than $200 on the race and leaving his party reeling. Edward Durr, a furniture company truck driver and political newcomer, defeated Sweeney in New Jersey’s 3rd Legislative District.

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson has left Myanmar after finishing a private humanitarian mission in which he sought to boost the Southeast Asian country’s efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic and facilitate the delivery of aid. His Richardson Center for Global Engagement says he