AP National News

Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Some African Americans are among those are taking advantage of a new law in Benin that grants citizenship to those who can trace their lineage to the slave trade. It’s part of efforts by the West African nation to face up to the role it played. The coastal town

OCHOPEE, Fla. (AP) — Officials say two airboats collided with each other in southwest Florida, injuring more than a dozen people. News outlets reported that the crash Friday afternoon in Ochopee involved two airboats carrying a total of 33 people. Sixteen people were transported to hospitals. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating

Associated Press OKAYA, Japan (AP) — Not long after dawn, Japanese sake brewer Mie Takahashi checks the temperature of the mixture fermenting at her family’s 150-year-old sake brewery, Koten, nestled in the foothills of the Japanese Alps. She stands on an uneven narrow wooden platform over a massive tank containing more than 3,000 liters (800

Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump is hosting Apple CEO Tim Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who is not authorized to comment publicly. Trump has said he’s recently spoken with Cook about the company’s long-running tax

Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s parliament on Saturday impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his stunning and short-lived martial law decree, a move that ended days of political paralysis but set up an intense debate over Yoon’s fate, as jubilant crowds roared to celebrate another defiant moment in the country’s resilient

AP Business Writer A federal appeals court on Friday left in place a mid-January deadline in a federal law requiring TikTok to be sold or face a ban in the United States, rejecting a request made by the company to halt enforcement until the Supreme Court reviews its challenge of the statute. Attorneys for TikTok

AP Science Writer The Geminids are among the few major meteor showers to come from asteroids. This year they peaked on Dec. 13 but will be visible until Dec. 21. The shower often produces meteors with a distinctly more yellow glow than other meteor showers that originate from comet debris. Under ideal viewing conditions, the

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has shaken central Chile but there have been no immediate reports of damage and a tsunami had been ruled out. The United States Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 7:38 p.m. local time at a depth of 110 kilometers. Its epicenter was 41 kilometers east-southeast of

Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — A 100-year-old survivor of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor has died. Bob Fernandez died on Wednesday in Lodi, California, shortly after deteriorating health prompted him to skip a trip to Hawaii to attend a remembrance ceremony marking the 83rd anniversary of the attack that propelled the U.S. into World

Associated Press McALLEN, Texas (AP) — In the decade since SpaceX arrived on the Texas coast, billionaire Elon Musk’s company has created thousands of jobs near the Mexico border, launched rockets and sprung up new homes — all around an area dubbed Starbase. Now SpaceX wants to make Starbase a recognized city. Nearby residents are

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal jury in Las Vegas has awarded more than $34 million to a woman who served more than 15 years in prison for a 2001 killing she did not commit. Kristin Lobato was arrested at age 18 and wrongly convicted twice. She is now 41 and uses the name Blaise.

Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Googly eyes have been appearing on sculptures around the central Oregon city of Bend. It has delighted many residents and sparked a viral sensation covered widely by news outlets and featured on a popular late-night talk show. On social media, the city has shared photos of googly eyes on

Associated Press JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — “My Driver and I” was supposed to be made in 2016, but was scuttled amid Saudi Arabia’s decades-long cinema ban. Eight years later, the landscape for film in the kingdom looks much different. And the star of “My Driver and I” now has an award. Roula Dakheelallah was

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Walmart’s Mexico subsidiary says it plans to appeal a $4.6 million fine for alleged monopolistic practices involving suppliers. Walmart de Mexico said in a statement Friday that it had talked with suppliers to see if there were any concerns. Mexico’s anti-monopoly regulatory agency, which is soon to be eliminated, levied the

AP Media Writer Donald Trump got something this year that no other person designated Time magazine’s Person of the Year had ever received. He got a fact-check of claims that the president-elect made in the interview accompanying the magazine’s piece. Trump earned the recognition of the year’s biggest newsmaker for the second time, also winning

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (AP) — A report from the Department of Justice finds that the police department in a New York City suburb grossly violated residents’ rights, documenting illegal strip searches of people who weren’t under arrest, and arrests of people for verbally criticizing officers. The report on the approximately 160-officer department blames financial mismanagement

Associated Press A judge who helped orchestrate a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks was among the 1,500 people whose sentences were commuted by President Joe Biden this week. Biden’s decision to commute the 17-year prison sentence of Michael Conahan angered many in northeastern Pennsylvania, from the governor to the

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Senate Republicans are recommending that the state write laws banning transgender girls and women from participating in school and college sports. The recommendation on Friday sets the stage for action in the 2025 legislative session. Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones announced almost identical goals at the panel’s first meeting

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The leader of a Southern California white supremacist group has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for inciting violence at California political rallies in 2017. The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles said in a statement Friday that 34-year-old Robert Paul Rundo pleaded guilty in September to one count

Associated Press CHATHAM, N.J. (AP) — It’s unclear if that buzzing sound coming out of New Jersey is drones or something else, but for sure the nighttime sightings are producing tons of talk, a raft of conspiracy theories and craned necks looking skyward. Cropping up on local news and social media sites around Thanksgiving, the

Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former South Carolina Sen. Kay Patterson, who rose from cleaning offices at the segregated Statehouse to serving as a state legislator for over 30 years died Friday. He was 93. The South Carolina Democratic Party announced Patterson’s death saying he “left an indelible mark on our state. Senator Patterson

Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s highest court has ruled over some insurance claims filed by businesses that were harmed financially by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting 2020 government orders limiting commerce and public movement. The state Supreme Court on Friday ruled unanimously in favor of some restaurants and bars in their