AP National News

Associated Press THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Crime-solving techniques applied to a medieval illuminated manuscript in Paris may have solved a centuries-old puzzle — the true identity of a leading Byzantine painter who injected humanity into the rigid sanctity of Orthodox religious art. A contemporary of Giotto, considered the father of Western painting, the artist conventionally

Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A growing number of young people in Kenya see kung fu as a path toward future employment. Kung fu has emerged as an alternative to the more popular martial art of taekwondo. The growing visibility of Chinese workers in Kenya for major infrastructure projects has sparked an interest in

Associated Press KOVACICA, Serbia (AP) — UNESCO has inscribed ethnic Slovak naïve paintings from a village in Serbia on its list of intangible cultural heritage. The tradition was started nearly a century ago by two farmers in the village of Kovacica, northeast of Belgrade, who started painting to pass the time during the long winter

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to take on the “alliance of naysayers” and the bureaucratic “nonsense” that have hampered construction projects in the U.K., as he outlined a series of new pledges that he will hope will change the narrative on his five-month-old government following a slide in

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New clues emerged Thursday in the hunt for the masked gunman who stalked and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, including possible leads about his travel before the shooting and a message scrawled on ammunition found at the crime scene. The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were found emblazoned on

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An imprisoned far-right extremist group leader who was the top target of the federal investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol has balked at answering a prosecutor’s questions about the attack. Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio was a defense witness on Thursday at the

Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Richard Andre Newman thought he would live the rest of his life in his quiet, leafy neighborhood in suburban Virginia. He was born and raised in Bren Mar Park, where children ride their bikes and neighbors wave hello. But now, as he’s approaching 60, he’s considering selling his Fairfax

The World Bank says Afghanistan’s economy is showing modest signs of growth after two years of severe contraction. In its latest development update issued late Wednesday, the financial institution said the modest growth was driven by private consumption. The partial recovery, coupled with falling food prices, has helped to improve household welfare. Afghanistan’s economy relied

AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The huge rally for U.S. stocks lost momentum on Thursday as Wall Street counted down to a big jobs report that’s coming on Friday. The crypto market had more action, and bitcoin briefly burst to a record above $103,000 before pulling back. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% from

NEW YORK (AP) — Fifty-thousand multi-colored lights were illuminated on Rockefeller Center’s iconic Christmas tree Wednesday evening to cheers from the crowds gathered to witness the annual New York City tradition. The giant Norway spruce, which this year hails from a tiny Massachusetts town, is also topped with a Swarovski star crown featuring 3 million

AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin has topped the $100,000 mark, extending a rally in the world’s most popular cryptocurrency sparked by the election of Donald Trump. The milestone comes just hours after the president-elect signaled a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry with his choice of crypto advocate Paul Atkins to

MAKAWAO, Hawaii. (AP) — Five Hawaiian crows on Wednesday were released on Maui for the first time as part of an ongoing effort to return the species to its home, conservationists said. The Hawaiian crows, or alala, were last found on Hawaii’s Big Island, but they went extinct in the wild in 2002, officials with

Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president replaced his defense minister Thursday as opposition parties moved to impeach both men over the stunning-but-brief imposition of martial law that brought armed troops into Seoul streets. The Democratic Party and other small opposition parties submitted a joint motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol

Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — One of Colombia’s legendary drug lords and a key operator of the Medellin cocaine cartel has been released from a U.S. prison and is expected to be deported home. Records from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons show that Fabio Ochoa Vásquez was released Tuesday after completing 25 years of a

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Wednesday he is “optimistic” about President-elect Donald Trump’s second term and expressed some excitement about potential regulatory cutbacks in the coming years. “I’m actually very optimistic this time around,” Bezos said on stage during a wide-ranging interview at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New

AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Just one retail chain was enough for Taylor Swift to have the top-selling book last week and the biggest publishing launch of 2024. According to Circana, Swift’s “Eras Tour Book” sold 814,000 copies over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Circana tracks around 85% of the print market, but the