AP-National

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer An official survey shows that factory activity in China slowed more than expected in May, suggesting further pressure on an economy already burdened by a prolonged crisis in the property industry. The official manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 49.5 from 50.4 in April on a scale up to

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Luka Doncic was in his element, hitting shots from everywhere on the court, hushing the crowd and flashing those sly smiles as the Dallas Mavericks delivered a knockout performance. Now one of the global sport’s young superstars gets his first trip to the NBA Finals. Doncic

By DAVID RISING Associated Press SINGAPORE (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has met with his Chinese counterpart for more than an hour as the two countries seek to repair lines of communications between their militaries that could be critical as tensions continue to rise between them in the Indo-Pacific region. The meeting Friday

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un supervised drills involving the firing of nuclear-capable multiple rocket launchers to show the country’s ability to carry out a preemptive attack on rival South Korea. State media on Friday cited Kim as saying the drills would show “what

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico judge on Thursday granted Mark Zuckerberg’s request to be dropped from a lawsuit that alleges his company has failed to protect young users from exposure to child sexual abuse material. The case is one of many filed by states, school districts and

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, JENNIFER PELTZ, MICHELLE L. PRICE and JILL COLVIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — History happened just as everyone was about to leave for the day. Judge Juan M. Merchan had already summoned Donald Trump, his legal team and prosecutors into the courtroom where the former president has been on trial

BY FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press NKANDLA, South Africa (AP) — Some young South Africans in a poor, rural area of rolling hills were determined to vote in Wednesday’s national election. Turning peer pressure on its head, they encouraged each other to register as voters, before flocking to polling stations on election day. They say they

By STEVE KARNOWKSI and MARK THIESSEN Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis police officer was killed when he responded to a shooting call and was providing medical attention to a man who shot him in what authorities are calling an ambush. Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell says the suspected gunman and another person

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Political Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Having been convicted of 34 felonies, Donald Trump cannot own a gun, hold public office or even vote in many states. But in 158 days, voters across America will decide whether he will return to the White House to serve another four years as

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The divided U.N. Security Council has voted to extend an arms embargo on South Sudan despite appeals from the world’s newest nation, the African Union and half a dozen countries including Russia and China to lift or at least ease the restrictive measure. The U.S.-sponsored

SOUTHINGTON, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut state trooper has been killed after getting hit by a car while making a traffic stop on an interstate highway. Connecticut State Police say Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier was fatally struck by a passing vehicle while outside his cruiser on I-84 in Southington around 2:36 p.m. Thursday. He

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican lawmakers reacted with immediate fury on Thursday as a New York jury convicted former President Donald Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 election, speaking out with near unanimity in questioning the legitimacy of the trial and how it was

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Labor wants a federal judge to prevent Hyundai and two other Alabama companies from what the government contends is the illegal employment of children. The complaint filed Thursday follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division. It said it found a 13-year-old working on an

MIAMI (AP) — Two Citgo oil executives detained for nearly five years in Venezuela have sued their former employer for more than $400 million, alleging it conspired to lure them to the South American country under a false pretext and then abandoned them as they endured horrendous prison conditions for crimes they didn’t commit. Brothers

Associated Press Boeing’s private force of firefighters have approved a tentative new contract, and their union says they’re going back to work. The International Association of Fire Fighters union said workers voted 86-24 to ratify the contract. Boeing locked out the workers more than three weeks ago, after their last contract expired. The union says

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis teenager has been sentenced to more than 30 years for a fatal shooting that shut down the Mall of America during the holiday shopping rush in 2022. Nineteen-year-old Taeshawn Adams-Wright pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in March in the killing of 19-year-old Johntae Hudson, of Minneapolis. The shooting happened the

By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears are set to be featured on “Hard Knocks” for the first time. HBO and the NFL announced Thursday the founding NFL franchise was chosen for the 19th edition of the Emmy-winning series that first aired in 2001. Chairman George McCaskey had long resisted

By BEN NUCKOLS Associated Press OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Bruhat Soma insisted he was nervous during the idle hours as he waited to take the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage, and he felt even more pressure to perform given that he hadn’t lost a spelling bee in eight months. He never showed any nerves

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, JILL COLVIN, MICHELLE L. PRICE and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts marks the end of the former president’s historic hush money trial, but the fight over the case is far from over. Now comes the sentencing and the potential for

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts in his criminal hush money trial. It is the first time a former president was ever tried or convicted in a criminal case, and is the first of Trump’s four indictments to reach trial. At the heart of the

By MARCO DI MARCO Associated Press GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Lava continues to spurt from a volcano in southwestern Iceland but the activity has calmed significantly from the eruption the previous day. Scientists say the eruption on Wednesday was the fifth and most powerful since the volcanic system near Grindavik reawakened in December after 800

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Donald Trump may be convicted of a felony and reside in Florida, a state notorious for restricting the voting rights of people with felony convictions. But he can still vote as long as he stays out of prison in New York state. That’s because Florida defers to

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Police in Colorado say a man’s sturdy necklace probably saved his life by blocking a bullet fired at his neck. The bullet lodged in the almost half-inch-wide (10-millimeter), silver-colored, metal chain in the shooting Tuesday night in Commerce City, a suburb north of Denver. The shooting happened during an argument.

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of social networking site Truth Social, are slumping before the opening bell after former President Donald Trump was convicted in his hush money trial. A New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer The conference finals and Bronny James’ decision to remain in the draft are far from the only things dominating NBA conversations lately. In fact, both have been trumped by the drama surrounding where fans will be able to watch games for at least the next decade. The NBA media

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Britain struck 13 Houthi targets in several locations in Yemen on Thursday in response to a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed militia group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden over the Israel-Hamas war, three U.S. officials said.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — U.S. ambassador to the Vatican and former U.S. senator from Indiana Joe Donnelly is stepping down and returning to Indiana. President Joe Biden nominated Donnelly for the position in 2021 and he was confirmed as ambassador to the Holy See in 2022. In a post on the social platform X on Thursday,

By SPENCER RIPCHIK Associated Press SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) — Saratoga Race Course is getting ready to be the center of the horse racing world when the Belmont Stakes comes to town. It will be the venerable racing city’s first Triple Crown race. But in many ways, Saratoga Springs, New York, has been hosting front-page

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press The real politicking in South Africa may start after the election results are announced as the country faces the possibility of no outright winner. Early results Thursday showed the ruling African National Congress at well below 50% of the national vote as counting continued, reinforcing pre-election analysis that it may

AZUSA, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say an 81-year-old man who investigators alleged had terrorized a Southern California neighborhood for years with a slingshot has died, just days after his arrest. Police say the man was found dead Wednesday evening at a home in Azusa, east of Los Angeles. The medical examiner’s office ruled the death