US/World

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME – Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A boldly patterned BMW stands at the entrance of the Wits Arts Museum in the vibrant Johannesburg neighborhood of Braamfontein. Its bright geometric shapes are part of 89-year-old South African artist Esther Mahlangu ’s unmistakable style. The car is the centerpiece of an exhibition honoring her

By The Associated Press Israeli soldiers stormed and burned a hospital in isolated northern Gaza after forcibly removing staff and patients on Friday, Health Ministry officials said. The Israeli military said the hospital was being used by Hamas fighters as a base, although it did not provide evidence. Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israeli troops set

By ROB GILLIES – Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Two Canadian Cabinet ministers left a meeting at Mar-a-Lago on Friday without assurances President-elect Donald Trump will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. The Canadians called the talks “productive” and said there would be further discussions but one

By Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An American schoolteacher arrested in Russia on drug charges more than three years ago has been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained, the State Department said Friday. Marc Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, is serving a 14-year prison sentence after being arrested in August 2021 at

By EDITH M. LEDERER – Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s main airport as a civilian Airbus 320 with hundreds of passengers on board was landing and a U.N. delegation was waiting to leave, the U.N.’s top humanitarian official in Yemen said Friday. Julien Harneis told U.N. reporters that the most

By HALELUYA HADERO and MICHELLE L. PRICE – Associated Press President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court,

By LARRY NEUMEISTER – Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge is signaling that Rudy Giuliani’s contempt hearing next Friday might not end so well for the former New York City mayor and onetime personal lawyer for President-elect Donald Trump as two Georgia election poll workers try to collect a $148 million defamation

By The Associated Press Russian air defense systems may have brought down an Azerbaijani airliner this week, a U.S. official said Friday after an Azerbaijani minister also suggested the plane was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor accounts. Friday’s assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesman John Kirby echoed

By DAMIAN J. TROISE – AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell broadly on Friday as Wall Street closed out a holiday-shortened week on a down note. The losses were made worse by sharp declines for the Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent 7”, which can heavily influence the direction of the

By WAFAA SHURAFA, FATMA KHALED and LEE KEATH – Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops stormed one of the last hospitals operating in northern Gaza on Friday, forcing many staff and patients outside to strip in winter weather, the territory’s health ministry said. The army denied claims it had entered or

By FATIMA HUSSEIN – Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said her agency will need to start taking “extraordinary measures,” or special accounting maneuvers intended to prevent the nation from hitting the debt ceiling, as early as January 14, in a letter sent to congressional leaders Friday afternoon. “Treasury expects to hit

By MICHELLE L. PRICE – Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift

By The Associated Press Dec. 20 – 26, 2024 This photo gallery, curated by photo editor Anita Baca, highlights some of the most compelling images worldwide made or published by The Associated Press in the past week.

By LORNE COOK – Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Friday that the military alliance will step up patrols in the Baltic Sea region as Finnish investigators work to establish whether a ship linked to Russia sabotaged undersea cables there this week. Finnish authorities seized control of the ship, the Eagle

By MICHAEL R. SISAK – Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Years before Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce was born, his father spent time in prison for an armed robbery conviction that prosecutors now say was tainted by questionable police tactics and a witness identification that was later recanted. On Friday, a suburban

By The Associated Press Former Syrian rebels who now serve as part of the new Syrian government’s armed forces posed for photo portraits with their weapons Friday. The soldiers, who took part in the overthrow of former president Bashar Assad’s government, were gathered together to wait for a military parade to begin in the central

By HYUNG-JIN KIM – Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly voted Friday to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo despite vehement protests by governing party lawmakers, further deepening the country’s political crisis set off by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and ensuing impeachment. Han’s impeachment means

By Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on the founder of Georgia’s ruling political party, which has steered the country away from a pro-Western stance and towards Russia, U.S. officials said Friday. The State and Treasury departments said they hit Georgian Dream party founder and honorary chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili with

By Margaret Giles of Morningstar 529 college savings plans  are powerful tools to help pay for the mounting costs of an education. Why are some people hesitant to use them? One common concern is oversaving. You can use 529 funds to cover only  qualified education expenses  without incurring a tax penalty, but it can be

By CORA LEWIS and ADRIANA MORGA – Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — With the end of 2024 around the corner, you might be reflecting on financial goals for 2025. Whether you’re saving to move out of your parents’ house or pay off student loan debt, financial resolutions can help you stay motivated, said Courtney

By AP This is a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors.

By MIKE SCHNEIDER – Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A theme park resort and a huge hotel in central Florida either have stopped using drones or canceled their drone-based shows after several drones collided and fell from the sky during a separate holiday celebration in downtown Orlando. The accident injured a boy who required