AP National News

AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Throughout his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump heaped scorn on the federal Department of Education, describing it as being infiltrated by “ radicals, zealots and Marxists.” He has picked Linda McMahon, a former wrestling executive, to lead the department. But like many conservative politicians before him, Trump has called for

Associated Press BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Belem, a bustling metropolitan area of 2.5 million people near the mouth of the Amazon River, is preparing to host COP30 next year. But when tens of thousands of participants arrive, they won’t find idyllic images of rainforest, like lush vegetation and clean rivers. Impoverished, crime-ridden and filled with

Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Three generations of TJ Rickard’s family lost their homes in the deadly Maui wildfire more than a year ago, and he and his extended family still have not rebuilt. That leaves Rickard, a high school basketball coach, conflicted about next week’s return of the storied Maui Invitational college tournament. Like

Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A parole board decided unanimously Wednesday that Susan Smith should remain in prison, despite her plea that God has forgiven her for infamously killing her two young sons 30 years ago by rolling her car into a South Carolina lake while they were strapped in their car seats. It

Associated Press EPWORTH, Zimbabwe (AP) — Carrying her infant daughter, 19-year-old Sithulisiwe Moyo waited two hours to get birth-control pills from a tent pitched in a poor settlement on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. The outreach clinic in Epworth provides Moyo with her best shot at achieving her dream of returning to school. “I

AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish on Wednesday, though the modest moves for indexes masked some thrashing underneath the surface. Target lost more than a fifth of its value after the retailer gave a dour forecast for the holiday shopping season. The S&P 500 finished the day

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police have killed a man in Queens after he shot at officers — hitting one in the leg — who were responding to reports of armed robberies in the area. Officials said the officer who was shot Tuesday is expected to survive. Joseph Kenny, the New York Police

Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of people are voting in state elections in Maharashtra, India’s western industrial hub, and the mineral-rich eastern province of Jharkhand in a test of the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party. Politically significant Maharashtra, home to India’s financial and entertainment capital, Mumbai, is currently ruled

Associated Press/Report for America AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ education board on Tuesday advanced a new Bible-infused curriculum that would be optional for schools to incorporate in kindergarten through fifth grades, one of the latest Republican-led efforts in the U.S. to incorporate more religious teaching into classrooms. The vote moves the Texas State Board of

Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says a deal has been reached for Indonesia to send back a Filipino death-row drug convict, who was nearly executed by firing squad but got a reprieve due to years of pleadings from Manila. Marcos thanked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and his government on

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Linda McMahon is Donald Trump’s choice for Education secretary.  McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first presidency, and she supported his campaigns with financial contributions and her leadership of outside groups. Before entering politics, McMahon ran World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, with her husband Vince McMahon. McMahon is

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Authorities in Kentucky say two police officers and a suspect have been shot in the city of Louisville after the officers stopped an allegedly stolen vehicle. Louisville Metro Police say in a social media post that one officer was wounded in the leg Tuesday night, and the other in the hand.

Associated Press LA PAZ, Boliva (AP) — Last year, then-presidential candidate Javier Milei declared Argentina would not “make deals with communists” in China or Brazil, calling their leaders “murderers” and “thieves” in a bid to channel the populist energies of Donald Trump into a winning political message. But Tuesday, President Milei found himself at the

AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japan racked up a trade deficit in October for the fourth month in a row, as a weak yen and rising energy prices kept import costs high. The Finance Ministry said Wednesday that the red ink totaled 461 billion yen, or $3 billion. Japan’s exports expanded 3.1% in October

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters have rejected a measure on the November ballot that would have raised the minimum wage for most workers to $18 an hour. The rate would have been on par with Hawaii and the highest statewide minimum wage in the country. Proponents of the failed initiative said it would have

AP Science Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Distant, ancient galaxies are giving scientists more hints that a mysterious force called dark energy may not be what they thought. Astronomers know that the universe is being pushed apart at an accelerating rate and they have puzzled for decades over what could possibly be speeding everything up.

Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai denied in his landmark national security trial on Wednesday he had asked then U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to take action against the city and China during the territory’s anti-government protests in 2019. Lai, founder of

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco Mayor London Breed has lost her reelection race to Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie. The Associated Press called the race Tuesday. Breed already conceded the race to Lurie, and pledged a smooth transition for the incoming mayor. Breed’s victory six years ago as the city’s first Black female mayor

Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republicans have advanced legislation that would weaken the powers of the incoming governor, attorney general and schools superintendent. All those are Democrats who were elected two weeks ago. The final measure was made public Tuesday shortly before the GOP-controlled House started debate during a lame-duck General Assembly

Associated Press VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has expressed regret that his Chinese counterpart chose not to hold talks with him during meetings of Southeast Asian defense chiefs in Laos, calling it a setback for the entire region. There was no immediate comment from China on Defense Minister Dong Jun’s

Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — Adriana Vance collected herself in front of the cameras, two years to the day after her son was killed in the mass shooting at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, a murder that lawsuits allege could have been prevented by law enforcement and the club’s owners. The two

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two technology companies will pay the U.S. government $2 million each to settle a lawsuit that alleged the companies fraudulently inflated the price of computers and other hardware sold to the U.S. Army. The Department of Justice announced the settlement on Tuesday. The lawsuit alleged that Dell gave Iron Bow discounts on