News

By ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says his country will return 26 African artworks to Benin later this month. Discussions have been under way for years on returning the artworks from the 19th century Dahomey Kingdom. Called the “Abomey Treasures,” the royal thrones, ceremonial altars, revered statues and other

By SAMYA KULLAB and TAMEEM AKHGAR Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A blast went off Friday at a mosque packed with Shiite Muslim worshippers in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 25 and wounding dozens in the latest security challenge to the Taliban as they transition from insurgency to governance. The explosion tore through a

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he won’t comply with a mandate requiring deputies be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face termination. Villanueva claimed Tuesday that thousands could leave the department because of the mandate that applies to all county workers. He said that will

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is phasing out its program for gifted and talented students. Critics say the program favors whites and Asian American students, while enrolling disproportionately few Black and Latino children, in the nation’s largest school system. Starting in the next

Associated Press CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. (AP) — Police in Maryland say two people have been fatally shot at a senior living facility and one suspect is in custody. Prince George’s County police say the shooting happened around 9:15 a.m. Friday at National Church Residences Gateway Village in Capitol Heights. Police initially said they were searching

JERUSALEM (AP) — Lawyers say the second hearing in a bitter custody dispute over a 6-year-old boy who survived a cable car crash in Italy is over. It ended on Friday without any final ruling. Eitan Biran is the lone survivor of a cable car crash in northern Italy in May that killed 14, including

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota woman has been convicted of manslaughter in the death of her newborn son whose body was discovered in a ditch 40 years ago. Sixty-year-old Theresa Bentaas, of Sioux Falls, entered an Alford plea to first-degree manslaughter Friday in an agreement with prosecutors. The Argus Leader reports two

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Civil rights advocates are asking a federal appeals court to revive their lawsuit against a Mississippi prosecutor accused of routinely rejecting Black jurors in criminal cases simply because of their race. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard arguments Friday in the

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi security forces are casting ballots, two days before the rest of the nation votes in parliamentary elections. The vote is being held six months before schedule in response to mass protests in late 2019 in Baghdad and Iraq’s south. Friday’s so-called “special voting” by the security

By ROBERT BURNS AP National Security Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Navy says a submarine that collided with an unknown underwater object in the South China Sea and was damaged has arrived in port at Guam. The Navy says the USS Connecticut was conducting routine operations when it struck the object on Oct. 2.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister has expressed support for the army troops and border guards protecting the frontier with Belarus from migration pressure after reports of shots fired at Polish troops by Belarusian forces. Mateusz Morawiecki tweeted Friday that all state powers were with the border guards and the military protecting the border.