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Associated Press Artificial intelligence. Abortion. Guns. Marijuana. Minimum wages. Name a hot topic, and chances are good there’s a new law about it taking effect in 2025 in one state or another. Many of the laws launching in January are a result of legislation passed this year. Others stem from ballot measures approved by voters.

Associated Press ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia’s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, is running for reelection this weekend against an array of contenders, including the candidate backed by the conservative government. President Zoran Milanović is seen as a favorite ahead of the presidential election

Associated Press Scientists say human-caused climate change added an average of 41 days of dangerous heat worldwide in 2024. The analysis from World Weather Attribution and Climate Central comes after a year likely to be the world’s hottest on record. The heat scorched everywhere from cities in North America to West Africa to the Acropolis

Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Florida condominium owners are looking at higher costs from condo associations in the new year. That’s a consequence of a Florida condo safety law passed by state lawmakers in 2022. It requires condo associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major repairs and to conduct a survey of reserves every

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of burning a sleeping woman to death inside a New York City subway train has been indicted on murder and arson charges, prosecutors announced Friday, as authorities continue working to identify the victim. Sebastian Zapeta is accused by prosecutors of lighting the woman on fire on

Associated Press Remember this moment because it probably won’t last: A U.S. lottery jackpot soared above $1 billion, and that’s still a big deal. After three months without anyone winning the top prize, a ticket worth an estimated $1.22 billion was sold in California for the drawing Friday night. The high number evoked headlines and

Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — China launched a new amphibious assault ship Friday, capable of launching fighter jets and designed to strengthen the navy’s combat ability in distant seas. The Sichuan, the first ship of the 076 type, is China’s largest such ship yet, displacing 40,000 tons and equipped with an electromagnetic catapult which will

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese Cabinet has approved a record 8.7 trillion yen ($55 billion) defense budget plan for 2025 as Japan accelerates building up its strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles and starts deploying Tomahawks to further fortify the country against growing threat from China, North Korea and Russia. The Cabinet-endorsed draft

Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — China’s leader Xi Jinping wants the recent spree of mass killings that shocked the country not to happen again. He ordered local governments to prevent future “extreme cases.” The attacks, where drivers mow down people on foot or knife-wielding assailants stab multiple victims, are not new in China, but the

Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Two top Canadian Cabinet ministers are visiting Palm Beach to talk border security and trade with officials in the incoming Donald Trump administration as Trump threatens tariffs on all Canadian products. New Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly will be in Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday for

Associated Press GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — A probe into the military’s role in the disappearance of four children in Ecuador this month was delayed for almost two weeks, even though police had access to surveillance videos implicating soldiers in the disappearance. The children went missing on Dec. 8 in the coastal city of Guayaquil after

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Investigators in Mexico have found 12 bodies in clandestine burial sites in the northern border state of Chihuahua. State prosecutors announced Thursday that the skeletal remains were found in the township of Ascencion, about 110 miles (180 kms) west of Ciudad Juarez, which is itself across the border from El Paso,

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, has died. He was 76. Parsons died Thursday at his Manhattan home. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge says an Alabama woman accusing Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was 13 years old can proceed anonymously for now with her lawsuit against the music moguls. Judge Analisa Torres also chastised the lawyer representing Jay-Z. In her written order Thursday Torres

AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is proposing a rule that cosmetic companies would have to take extra steps to ensure that any products containing talc are free of asbestos. The rule was proposed Thursday and is intended to reassure consumers about the safety of makeup, baby powder and other