Aging Shiite cleric a powerhouse in Iraq. What comes after?
NAJAF, Iraq — When Iraq’s top Shiite cleric underwent surgery for a fractured bone last month, it sent shivers around the country and beyond. “May God...
Denny Hamlin wins 3rd Daytona 500; Ryan Newman hospitalized
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Ryan Newman flipped across the finish line, his Ford planted upside down and engulfed in flames, a grim reminder of a sport stee...
China reports 1,886 new virus cases, death toll up by 98
Mainland China reported 1,886 new virus cases and 98 more deaths for a total of 1,868 in its update Tuesday, following a report that 80% of cases have...
China’s ‘War on Terror’ uproots families, leaked data shows
Beijing — For decades, the Uighur imam was a bedrock of his farming community in China’s far west. On Fridays, he preached Islam as a religion of peac...
Pete Buttigieg’s next test: Winning over minority voters
DES MOINES, Iowa — So far, Pete Buttigieg has made it look easy.
Hundreds still flooded from homes in Mississippi capital
JACKSON, Miss. — The swollen Pearl River appeared to have crested Monday in Mississippi’s capital, but authorities warned the hundreds of evacuees in ...
After gains in northern Syria, Assad predicts total victory
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian President Bashar Assad congratulated his forces Monday for recent gains in northwestern Syria that led to his troops consolid...
Jeff Bezos commits $10 billion to fight climate change
NEW YORK — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Monday that he plans to spend $10 billion of his own fortune to help fight climate change.
American cruise passengers quarantined at US military bases
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — More than 300 American cruise ship passengers, including 14 who tested positive for coronavirus, were being quarantine...
Bloomberg takes veiled swipe at rival’s aggressive loyalists
CARSON CITY, Nev. — With the Nevada caucuses less than a week away, Democratic presidential candidates campaigning were fixated on a rival who wasn't ...
Disgraced religious order tried to get abuse victim to lie
MILAN — The cardinal’s response was not what Yolanda Martínez had expected — or could abide.
He’s still standing: Elton John to finish Down Under tour
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Elton John intends to play his remaining shows in New Zealand and Australia, his tour promoters said Monday, a day after ill...
After abuse scandals, seminarians pledge to ‘get it right’
WYNNEWOOD, Pa. — The seminarians walk along a hallway lined with photos of classes of priests who came before them. Some are pious alumni who have bec...
Floods put Mississippi capital in ‘precarious situation’
JACKSON, Miss. — With the waters in the Pearl River continuing to rise in and around Mississippi's capital city and more rain on the way this week, th...
Elton John, sick with pneumonia, cuts New Zealand show short
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — An emotional Elton John had to cut short a performance in New Zealand on Sunday after he lost his voice due to walking pneumon...
Democratic hopefuls now test strength among minority voters
COLUMBIA, S.C. — For I.S. Leevy Johnson, the Democrats’ search for a challenger to take on President Donald Trump is personal.
Stop and frisk gets renewed attention in Bloomberg candidacy
NEW YORK — David Ourlicht was a college student, walking down a street near campus, when he became one of millions of New Yorkers swept up in the era ...
Wales bears the brunt as Storm Dennis hammers Britain
LONDON — Storm Dennis hammered Britain Sunday, bringing a month's worth of rain in just 48 hours to parts of South Wales, which bore the brunt of the ...
Xi’s early involvement in virus outbreak raises questions
BEIJING — A recent speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping that has been published by state media indicates for the first time that he was leading the ...
Biden in Vegas takes on Sanders’ gun votes in fiery speech
LAS VEGAS — Joe Biden, standing on a Las Vegas stage roughly 1,000 feet from the scene of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, took on ...
Trump looks to rev up his base at Daytona 500
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is out to rev up his appeal with a key voting demographic — NASCAR fans — as he takes in the Daytona 500 on Sunday...
New virus cases fall; WHO says China bought the world time
BEIJING — China reported 143 virus deaths and a dip in new cases Saturday while the head of the World Health Organization praised the country's effort...
Questions complicate efforts to contain new virus from China
WASHINGTON — Reports one day suggest the respiratory outbreak in China might be slowing, the next brings word of thousands more cases. Even the expert...
Shift to digital census raises fear of Iowa-like breakdown
ORLANDO, Fla. — The stakes are high when a major civic exercise involves a large population, new technology that has not been thoroughly tested and an...
Freezing weather compounds crisis for displaced in Syria
BEIRUT — A military offensive on an opposition-controlled region of northwestern Syria has created one of the worst catastrophes for civilians in the ...
US and Taliban agree to truce, way forward in Afghanistan
MUNICH — The United States and the Taliban have agreed to a temporary truce that, if successful, would open the way for a deal that would bring Americ...
Michael Avenatti is convicted of trying to extort Nike
NEW YORK — Michael Avenatti, the combative lawyer who gained fame by representing porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits involving President Donald Trum...
Amid coronavirus fears, a second wave of flu hits US kids
NEW YORK — A second wave of flu is hitting the U.S., turning this into one of the nastiest seasons for children in a decade.
Feds probing how personal Medicare info gets to marketers
WASHINGTON — A government watchdog is launching a nationwide probe into how marketers may be getting seniors’ personal Medicare information aided by a...
Florida ‘red flag’ gun law used 3,500 times since Parkland
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A 23-year-old man who posted on Facebook, “I don't know why I don't go on a killing spree." A West Palm Beach couple who shot ...