AP National

AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weeks-long delay. The step lets Trump transition aides and future administration staffers obtain security clearances before Inauguration Day to access classified information about

Associated Press TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators in the Georgian capital have converged on parliament again in the capital of the South Caucasus nation. They are venting outrage against the governing party’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union. Riot police have deployed to push the protesters away from parliament. There

AP Health Writer Nearly three out of 10 U.S. drugstores that were open during the previous decade had closed by 2021, new research shows. Black and Latino neighborhoods were most vulnerable to the retail pharmacy closures, which can chip away at already-limited care options in those communities, researchers said in a study published Tuesday in

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — A former Florida ballerina has been sentenced to 20 years in prison following her manslaughter conviction for fatally shooting her estranged husband in 2020. Manatee County court records show Circuit Judge Matt Whyte imposed the sentence Tuesday on 32-year-old Ashley Benefield after rejecting her request for a new trial based on

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that a United Nations watchdog has been selected to lead an external probe into allegations of sexual misconduct against the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The move is likely to generate conflict of interest complaints owing to the prosecutor’s wife’s past work for

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials are urging telecommunication companies to boost network security following a Chinese hacking operation that gave officials in Beijing access to the private texts and phone conversations of Americans. The warning issued Tuesday by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency includes technical recommendations designed to prevent

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — An artist whose work exploring her Scottish Sikh identity includes a vintage Ford car draped in a crocheted doily has won the U.K.’s prestigious Turner Prize. Jasleen Kaur was awarded the 25,000-pound prize by actor James Norton during a ceremony at the Tate Britain gallery that was picketed by pro-Palestinian

Associated Press NABATIYEH, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanon’s Health Ministry and state media say Israeli forces have carried out several drone and artillery strikes in southern Lebanon, killing one person. The new strikes further shake a tenuous 6-day-old ceasefire, a day after Israeli launched its heaviest barrage of the south of the past week in retaliation

WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) — Namibia has elected its first female leader, with Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah declared the winner Tuesday of last week’s presidential election as the long-ruling party remains in power. The 72-year-old Nandi-Ndaitwah won with 57% of the vote, according to official results. She defied predictions that she might be forced into a

Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Reproductive rights advocates sued Arizona on Tuesday to undo a 15-week abortion ban that conflicts with a constitutional amendment recently approved by voters to expand access up to fetal viability. The American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed the lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior

Associated Press Writers The U.S. government said Tuesday it has closed its investigation into an E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers after determining there is no longer a safety risk. The outbreak, which was first reported Oct. 22, sickened at least 104 people in 14 states, including 34 who were hospitalized, according

Associated Press A grandmother looking for her lost cat apparently fell into a sinkhole that had recently opened above an abandoned western Pennsylvania coal mine and rescuers worked late into the night Tuesday to try and find her. Bright lights illuminated snow flurries and various equipment at the site while crews worked above and below

Associated Press A trial has begun for a man charged in the killing of a University of Mississippi student who was well-known in the local LGBTQ+ community. Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. of Grenada, Mississippi, is charged with capital murder in the death of Jimmy “Jay” Lee. The 20-year-old Lee was last seen July 8, 2022,