AP-National

By EMMA BURROWS Associated Press From its earliest days, the Soviet Union’s intelligence services — whether known as the Cheka or by the names of any of its successor agencies like the KGB — kept the government in power by pursuing its opponents no matter where they lived. Intelligence experts say that policy is still

By KATHLEEN FOODY, MIKE CATALINI, KAREN MATTHEWS and MICHAEL HILL Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Anti-war demonstrations ceased this week at a small number of U.S. universities after school leaders struck deals with pro-Palestinian protesters, fending off possible disruptions of final exams and graduation ceremonies. The agreements at schools including Brown, Northwestern and Rutgers

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China on Friday launched a lunar probe to land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side. It is the latest advance in China’s increasingly sophisticated space exploration

By ASTRID SUÁREZ Associated Press BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia has become the latest Latin American country to announce that it will break diplomatic relations with Israel over its military campaign in Gaza, but the repercussions for the South American nation could be broader than for other countries because of longstanding bilateral agreements over security

By ED WHITE and ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — With student protests over the Israel-Hamas war disrupting campuses nationwide, several major universities are intent on ensuring that commencement ceremonies — joyous milestones for graduates, their families and friends — go off without a hitch this weekend. It won’t be easy. Colleges

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, JAKE OFFENHARTZ, PHILIP MARCELO and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign was seized with worry about the potential political damage from a tape that showed Trump bragging about grabbing women sexually without their permission, longtime Trump adviser Hope Hicks testified Friday at his hush

By EMMA BURROWS Associated Press Since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, attacks and harassment of Russians abroad have been blamed on Moscow’s intelligence operatives across Europe and elsewhere. Despite attempts by Western governments to dismantle Russian spy networks, experts say the Kremlin apparently is still able to pursue those it deems traitors

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The retirement of Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow has opened a Senate seat in Michigan. The race is expected to be highly competitive with control of the upper chamber on the line in November. Top candidates have emerged for each party ahead of the state’s August primaries.

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Ukraine, trade and investment are expected to dominate Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s first trip to Europe in five years, as the Asian giant rebuilds its foreign relations after a prolonged absence during the Covid-19 pandemic. Xi will start the tour in Paris on Monday, meeting with

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and JILL COLVIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — He’s visiting Manhattan construction sites, decrying local crime and holding court in his gilded Fifth Avenue penthouse. After a years-long breakup with his hometown, Donald Trump is back in New York, this time as a criminal defendant. Stuck here most weekdays for

By PAUL WISEMAN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Business Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers pulled back on their hiring in April but still added a decent 175,000 jobs in a sign that persistently high interest rates may be starting to slow the robust U.S. job market. Friday’s government report showed that last month’s hiring

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and JAE C. HONG Associated Press HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) — The world is producing more electronic waste than ever — 62 million metric tons in 2022. And it’s growing faster than formal efforts to recycle it. Some gets picked up by a web of low-paid workers who pull apart

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis police have fatally shot a male pointing a weapon at other people and threatening to shoot them. Officer William Young of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says officers were sent to the scene on the city’s north side Thursday afternoon on a report of a person armed with a weapon. Young

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Comcast has blacked out 15 regional sports networks offered by Bally Sports, escalating a contract dispute with their distributor. The cutoff affects games played by a dozen Major League Baseball teams based in nine states. Diamond Sports Group, which distributes the networks under the Bally name, called the blackout “disappointing” and

By SAMY MAGDY and DREW CALLISTER Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Hamas has formally accepted a cease-fire deal that could end the war in Gaza. Israel, however, insists its core demands were not met in the proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar. The Palestinian militant group says the cease-fire would unfold in three phases of

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police say they have detained the driver of a white Toyota Camry who briefly accelerated toward a crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Portland State University in Oregon. The Portland Police Bureau said in a written statement late Thursday afternoon that the man was taken to a hospital on a police mental

By MALAK HARB Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Airport authorities in Dubai say several flights have been cancelled and diverted as heavy rains hit the United Arab Emirates for the second time in a month. An airport authority spokesperson said Thursday five inbound flights were diverted overnight, while nine arriving and four

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG and EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s Republican-led Legislature has completed a last-ditch effort to revive a bill to regulate transgender people’s use of bathrooms, locker rooms and dormitories in public education buildings. The bill would require all public education institutions to equip their buildings with single-sex spaces.

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Everyone knows Warren Buffett’s successor won’t be able to match the legendary investor. But Berkshire Hathaway’s board remains confident Greg Abel is the right guy to one day lead the conglomerate into the future. Longtime Berkshire board member Ron Olson told investors gathered Thursday at

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A former Milwaukee election official convicted of misconduct in office and fraud for obtaining fake absentee ballots has been sentenced to one year of probation and fined $3,000. Forty-seven year-old Kimberly Zapata also was ordered Thursday to complete 120 hours of community service. Prosecutors charged Zapata in November 2022 with one

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Senate has approved a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The 27-8 vote came Thursday. The bill bars health professionals from performing gender-transition surgeries, prescribing puberty blockers and overseeing hormone treatments for patients under 18. School principals or vice principals would have

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nearly two months after the election, a recount settled the outcome in a Northern California U.S. House primary contest. The results in the 16th Congressional District south of San Francisco snapped a mathematically improbable tie for second place but also spotlighted the long stretch

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared Thursday that the state won’t comply with a federal regulation that seeks to protect the rights of transgender students in the nation’s schools, joining other Republican-led states that are defying the new rules. Sanders signed an executive order stating

Associated Press The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state has jumped to 29, with another 60 people missing, according to the state’s civil defense agency. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva traveled to the state on Thursday to meet with local authorities and express his solidarity. Operators

By PETER SMITH Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates on Thursday removed a 52-year-old declaration from their official social teachings that deemed “the practice of homosexuality … incompatible with Christian teaching” — part of a wider series of historic reversals of the denomination’s longstanding disapproval of LGBTQ activity. The historic vote came

By CHRISTINA MALKIA and MARK BANCHEREAU Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A rebel group with alleged links to Rwanda this week seized Rubaya, a mining town in eastern Congo known for producing a key mineral used in smartphones, the group said in a statement. In a statement shared with The Associated Press, a spokesperson

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in connection with an encounter with Williston police in 2022 in which prosecutors say he shot at the officers. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Eric Obregon Jr. to the prison term and three years of supervised release.

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writers LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears and Sam Asghari are officially divorced and single. The dissolution of the couple’s marriage was finalized Friday by a Los Angeles County judge, nearly two years after the two were married. The judgment comes hours after the 42-year-old pop superstar and the 30-year-old

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Had emergency responders known about widespread cellphone outages during the height of last summer’s deadly Maui wildfires, they would have used other methods to warn about the disaster, county officials said in a lawsuit. Alerts the county sent to cellphones warning people to immediately evacuate were

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The judge overseeing a pivotal antitrust trial focused on whether Google is stifling competition and innovation has repeatedly indicated he believes it would be difficult for a formidable rival search engine to emerge. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta went back and forth Thursday with Google’s lead litigator,