AP National News

Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — China launched a new amphibious assault ship Friday, capable of launching fighter jets and designed to strengthen the navy’s combat ability in distant seas. The Sichuan, the first ship of the 076 type, is China’s largest such ship yet, displacing 40,000 tons and equipped with an electromagnetic catapult which will

AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell broadly on Friday as Wall Street closed out a holiday-shortened week on a down note. The losses were made worse by sharp declines for the Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent 7”, which can heavily influence the direction of the market because of their large

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese Cabinet has approved a record 8.7 trillion yen ($55 billion) defense budget plan for 2025 as Japan accelerates building up its strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles and starts deploying Tomahawks to further fortify the country against growing threat from China, North Korea and Russia. The Cabinet-endorsed draft

Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — China’s leader Xi Jinping wants the recent spree of mass killings that shocked the country not to happen again. He ordered local governments to prevent future “extreme cases.” The attacks, where drivers mow down people on foot or knife-wielding assailants stab multiple victims, are not new in China, but the

Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Two top Canadian Cabinet ministers are visiting Palm Beach to talk border security and trade with officials in the incoming Donald Trump administration as Trump threatens tariffs on all Canadian products. New Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly will be in Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday for

Associated Press GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — A probe into the military’s role in the disappearance of four children in Ecuador this month was delayed for almost two weeks, even though police had access to surveillance videos implicating soldiers in the disappearance. The children went missing on Dec. 8 in the coastal city of Guayaquil after

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Investigators in Mexico have found 12 bodies in clandestine burial sites in the northern border state of Chihuahua. State prosecutors announced Thursday that the skeletal remains were found in the township of Ascencion, about 110 miles (180 kms) west of Ciudad Juarez, which is itself across the border from El Paso,

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, has died. He was 76. Parsons died Thursday at his Manhattan home. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge says an Alabama woman accusing Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was 13 years old can proceed anonymously for now with her lawsuit against the music moguls. Judge Analisa Torres also chastised the lawyer representing Jay-Z. In her written order Thursday Torres

AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is proposing a rule that cosmetic companies would have to take extra steps to ensure that any products containing talc are free of asbestos. The rule was proposed Thursday and is intended to reassure consumers about the safety of makeup, baby powder and other

Associated Press Dorthy Moxley, the mother who fought for decades to bring her teenage daughter’s killer to justice in a roller-coaster Connecticut murder case, has died. She was 92. Moxley’s son John told The Associated Press on Thursday that his mother died Tuesday at her home in Summit, New Jersey, of complications from flu and

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez asked a federal judge on Thursday to delay his end-of-January sentencing on bribery charges and acting as an agent of the Egyptian government, saying his family would suffer a “tremendous emotional toll” if the New Jersey Democrat were sentenced during his wife’s trial. His

AP Medical Writer The death of an Oregon house cat and a pet food recall are raising questions about the ongoing outbreak of bird flu and how people can protect their pets. Bird flu has been spreading for years in wild birds, chickens, turkeys and many other animals. It was first confirmed in U.S. dairy

Associated Press HOMS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s new security forces checked IDs and searched cars in the central city of Homs on Thursday, a day after protests by members of the Alawite minority erupted in gunfire and stirred fears that the country’s fragile peace could break down. A tense calm prevailed after checkpoints were set

Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s attorney general has ordered police to open an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife on suspicion of harassing political opponents and witnesses in the Israeli leader’s corruption trial. The Israeli Justice Ministry made the announcement in a terse message late Thursday., saying the investigation would focus on the