AP National News

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is weighing whether to issue sweeping pardons for officials and allies who the White House fears could be unjustly targeted by President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, a preemptive move that would be a novel and risky use of the president’s extraordinary constitutional power. The deliberations so far are

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — It was one of the darkest moments in the modern history of the Arab world. More than four decades ago, Hafez Assad, then president of Syria, launched what came to be known as the Hama Massacre. Between 10,000 to 40,000 people were killed or disappeared in the government attack on

AP Basketball Writer The NBA is returning to China next season, striking a deal to play preseason games there more than five years after the league was effectively banned over Commissioner Adam Silver not punishing Daryl Morey for tweeting support of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong. The Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns will play

Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Arsonists have extensively damaged a Melbourne synagogue in what Australia’s prime minister has condemned as an antisemitic attack on Australian values. Police say a witness who had come to Adass Israel Synagogue to pray saw two masked people spreading an accelerant inside the building before dawn Friday. About 60

Associated Press SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison delivered a steadfast defense of his party’s commitment to racial equity Thursday, drawing on his own identity as a Black man to push back forcefully against critics who say Democrats need to abandon “identity politics.” People of color need to see Democrats fighting

Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s governing party chief expressed support Friday for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol for imposing martial law this week, in a bombshell reversal that makes Yoon’s impeachment more likely. Opposition parties are pushing for a parliamentary vote on Yoon’s impeachment on Saturday, calling

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Beatles legend Paul McCartney is being honored in a specially minted British coin collection The Royal Mint, which has struck the coins of monarchs from Alfred the Great in the ninth century through to King Charles III, revealed Friday that it is launching a McCartney coin collection for collectors to

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As he presided over his final Christmas tree lighting at the White House, President Joe Biden on Thursday said his wish for the nation now, and always, was that “we continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency.” Biden spoke briefly to the

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Prosecutors have charged an Oklahoma City police officer with felony assault after he slammed a 71-year-old man to the ground, breaking his neck, following an argument over a traffic ticket. Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna said Thursday that her office filed one count of aggravated assault and battery against

Associated Press In the final hours before University of Mississippi student Jimmy “Jay” Lee disappeared, sexually explicit Snapchat messages were exchanged between his account and the account of the man now on trial in his killing. That is according to testimony Thursday by University Police Department Sgt. Benjamin Douglas. He spoke during the capital murder

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan gave athletic director Warde Manuel a five-year contract extension on the heels of the Wolverines’ upset over rival Ohio State and a strong start to the basketball season. Manuel, who has held the position since 2016, signed through June 30, 2030. The school announced the extension on Thursday. Manuel

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The Canadian government is outlawing another 324 firearm varieties — guns the public safety minister says belong on the battlefield, not in the hands of hunters or sport shooters. The move follows the May 2020 ban of 1,500 makes and models of firearms, a number that grew to more than 2,000

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. lawmakers and experts warn that the U.S. severely lags behind China in shipbuilding capacity and urge action to build up the country’s ability to develop and produce weapons and other defense supplies to avoid war with China. China’s navy is already the world’s largest, and its shipbuilding capacity dwarfs

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A Russian woman with permanent U.S. residency who was returned to the United States after authorities said she sneaked on board a flight from New York to Paris made her first appearance in court Thursday, claiming she has been abused. Svetlana Dali, wearing jeans, seemed agitated as she spoke

Eli Lilly is spending another $3 billion to bulk up manufacturing as the drugmaker seeks to stoke production of some blockbuster drugs and future products. Lilly said Thursday it will expand a Kenosha County, Wisconsin, factory it bought early this year. The investment will help meet growing demand for injectable products like its diabetes and

Associated Press A search for a convicted murderer in a California town has put residents on edge, with schools closing and Christmas events being postponed. Officials say Cesar Hernandez escaped Monday morning after arriving at the Kern County courthouse in Delano, a city of around 50,000 in central California. He was set to appear in

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Thirteen children under the age of 14 have died at hospitals in central Mexico, and authorities suspect contaminated IV feeding bags. The federal Health Department ordered doctors across the country not to use IV nutrition bags made by the company Productos Hospitalarios. The outbreak of the drug-resistant bacteria was detected starting