AP National News

Associated Press Cases of a wretched stomach bug are surging in parts of the United States this winter, according to government data. The most recent numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show there were 91 outbreaks of norovirus reported during the week of Dec. 5, up from 69 outbreaks the last

Associated Press Three firefighters and a dozen passengers have been injured in Florida after a fire truck drove around the crossing arms into the path of a high-speed passenger train after waiting for a freight train to pass. A person familiar with the details of the crash described what happened at 10:45 a.m. Saturday in

AP Basketball Writer Victor Wembanyama went to a park in New York City and played 1-on-1 with fans on Saturday. He even lost a couple of games. Not in basketball, though. Wemby was playing chess. And this wasn’t on a whim: He knows how to play and even brought his own chess set. Before the

HOUSTON (AP) — A strong storm system threatened to whip up tornadoes in parts of the U.S. Southeast on Sunday, a day after severe weather claimed at least two lives as twisters touched down in Texas and Mississippi. Strong storms moving across the Southeast are expected to continue producing “gusty, damaging winds,” hail and tornadoes

BUTNER, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina federal prison supervisor has been convicted of instructing a correctional officer to physically punish a man incarcerated at the institution. Daniel Mitchell pleaded guilty earlier this week to a federal charge of conspiring to violate civil rights. Investigators say the beating took place in 2021 after a correctional

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s embassy in Lebanon suspended consular services Saturday, a day after two relatives of deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad were arrested at the Beirut airport with allegedly forged passports. Also on Saturday, Lebanese authorities handed over dozens of Syrians — including former officers in the Syrian army under Assad —

Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom says it will halt gas supplies to Moldova starting on Jan. 1, citing alleged unpaid debt by the east European country. The government in the capital Chisinau has brought in emergency measures as it braces for power cuts and accused Moscow of weaponizing energy supplies. Gazprom said in an online

Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hundreds gathered in Hong Kong on Saturday to watch the city’s first pyrotechnics drone show, as part of a campaign to raise support and awareness of panda conservation. The 10-minute drone show featured 1,000 drones, some of which were equipped with fireworks, flying over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour and

Associated Press GOTHENBURG, Sweden (AP) — Burial associations in Sweden are looking to acquire enough land for something they hope they’ll never have to do: bury thousands of people in the event of war. The search follows recommendations from the Church of Sweden’s national secretariat, which reflect crisis preparedness guidelines from the Swedish Civil Contingencies

AP Sports Writer Most people think of physical therapy as rehabilitation. But many physical therapists want the profession to be seen as preventive medicine. Think of a physical therapist the way you do a dentist. You go regularly and get checked out even if you’re not having a problem. You could have an exam that

Associated Press BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — 2024 was a brutal year for the Amazon rainforest, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaging large parts of a biome that’s a critical counterweight to climate change. A warming climate fed drought that in turn fed the worst year for fires since 2005. And those fires contributed to

ROME (AP) — Italy’s parliament has approved the government’s 2025 budget, worth a total of 30 billion euros — more than half of that in tax cuts and social security benefits for low-income citizens. The measures, pushed by the far-right cabinet headed by Premier Giorgia Meloni, won final approval in the Upper House by 108

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people, but stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible. Putin’s apology came as allegations mounted that the plane had been shot

Associated Press Abortion has become slightly more common despite bans or deep restrictions in most Republican-controlled states, and the legal and political fights over its future are not over yet. It’s now been two and a half years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door for states to implement

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — If you’re planning on ringing in the new year quietly at home, you’re not alone. A majority of U.S adults intend to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “As I’ve gotten older over the last

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” has died, her family said on social media Saturday. She was 73. Hussey died on Friday, “peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones,” a statement posted to her Instagram account said. Hussey

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that its forces hit several points inside Pakistan in retaliation for deadly airstrikes last week. Pakistan last Tuesday launched an operation to destroy a training facility and kill insurgents in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province. The strikes killed dozens of people, mostly women and children. Comments from the Taliban Defense Ministry

Associated Press DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s army detained the director of one of northern Gaza ‘s last functioning hospitals as overnight strikes elsewhere in the territory killed nine people, including children, Palestinian medical officials said Saturday. Israel’s military alleged that Hamas militants were using the facility and said over 240 people

Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Manmohan Singh, the former Indian prime minister widely regarded as the architect of the country’s economic reform program, was cremated after a state funeral on Saturday as politicians and the public mourned his death. The veteran leader, who was also credited for a landmark nuclear deal with the United

At least one Mega Millions player has plenty of dough to ring in the New Year after drawing the winning number. After three months without anyone winning the top prize in the lottery, a ticket worth an estimated $1.22 billion was sold in California for the drawing Friday night. The California Lottery said the winning

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 and her work. The

Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk, a region some want to hold at all costs while others question the value of having gone in at all. Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian

AP Sports Writer Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney to Hobart line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations on the yacht this year when defending champion LawConnect won the race in the early hours of Saturday morning,

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — California authorities say state Justice Department officials are investigating the death of a man who was shot by his parole officer. The state corrections department said Friday in a statement that 26-year-old Jeremy Sanchez was being visited by the agent at his home in Fresno on Christmas Eve when a “physical

Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California appeals court has overturned the rape conviction of former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield. According to the decision Wednesday, prosecutors made racially discriminatory statements during his trial, violating the California Racial Justice Act of 2022. The retired football player was sentenced to 15 years to life in

PLYMOUTH, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in Northern California say a man has been fatally shot during an encounter with a highway patrol officer. The shooting occurred in Plymouth, a small town east of Sacramento. Authorities did not say specifically whether the officer shot the man, only that it it was officer-involved. California Highway Patrol officials