Brothers of Chicago prep basketball star forgive his killer
CHICAGO — The brothers of Chicago high school basketball star Ben Wilson, who was viewed as the top player in the nation before his murder in 1984, sa...
Jehovah’s Witnesses report convictions, torture in Russia
MOSCOW — Two Jehovah's Witnesses have been convicted of extremism in Russia and four more arrested, one of whom reported being tortured in custody, th...
RBS changes name to NatWest in bid to shed legacy of bailout
LONDON — The majority state-owned U.K. bank RBS announced a name change on Friday as it tries to leave behind its near-collapse during the 2008 financ...
Prepping straw bedding for dogs signals Iditarod is near
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Volunteers slung bales of hay onto a table Thursday, where they were swiftly stuffed inside blue plastic bags, twirled and shut wi...
Global shares rise despite worries on China virus outbreak
TOKYO — Global shares mostly rose Friday despite continuing concerns about the virus outbreak that began in China and its possible impact on global gr...
New York museum honors city’s rich basketball history
NEW YORK — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar smiled as he rattled off the names of his former high school teammates and opponents.
Health concerns meet politics amid Taiwan’s WHO exclusion
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization is pitting health concerns against geopolitics during the current crisis over t...
Virus renews safety concerns about slaughtering wild animals
BEIJING — China cracked down on the sale of exotic species after an outbreak of a new virus in 2002 was linked to markets selling live animals. The ge...
LA church leaders charged with marriage, immigration fraud
LOS ANGELES — Three officials with a Philippines-based church in Los Angeles have been charged as part of an alleged scheme to trick followers into be...
Asian stocks rebound from early losses as virus toll grows
Shares rebounded in Asia on Friday after an early sell-off, though Japan's benchmark declined as investors reacted to news of a growing number of case...
Determined: Ethiopian female migrants risk all for Saudi
They are among the most vulnerable of the tens of thousands of migrants making the long and perilous trek from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia in search of j...
Transgender woman poised to make Argentine soccer history
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Dozens of trophies, balls and cups sit on two worn, wooden shelves in the small home in a Buenos Aires suburb of Mara Gómez,...
RK Pachauri, who led Nobel-winning climate panel, dies at 79
NEW DELHI — Indian environmentalist Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, under whose leadership a U.N. climate change panel shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, has...
Warren has raised $6M since Iowa, says race is ‘wide open’
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren says she's raised about $6 million from online donors since last week's first-in-the-n...
Barr swipes at Trump: Tweets make it ‘impossible’ to do job
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr publicly swiped at President Donald Trump on Thursday, declaring the president’s tweets about Justice Depar...
Cruise stranded by virus fears ends with roses in Cambodia
SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia — Hundreds of cruise ship passengers long stranded at sea by virus fears cheered as they finally disembarked Friday and were w...
Trump’s story about veteran’s comeback was not quite true
NEW YORK — Tony Rankins, a formerly homeless, drug-addicted Army veteran, got a standing ovation at the State of the Union after President Donald Trum...
Lawsuit: Mexican megachurch leaders abused woman for years
LOS ANGELES — A Southern California woman says the father and son leaders of a Mexican megachurch sexually abused her for 18 years starting when she w...
Pence pokes fun at slow caucus count while in South Carolina
CHARLESTON, S.C. — While not technically a campaign visit, Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday made a trip to South Carolina an opportunity to rail ...
Ex-Waymo driver accused of deliberately causing crash
PHOENIX — A man described as a disgruntled former Waymo driver has been arrested on suspicion of deliberately crashing a passenger car into one of the...
Nevada Democrats unveil new caucus plan after Iowa chaos
LAS VEGAS — Nevada Democrats have released a revamped plan for the Feb. 22 caucuses, adding measures intended to avoid a repeat of problems that ensna...
New Mexico bid for recreational marijuana is all but doomed
SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico's bid to become the 12th U.S. state to legalize recreational use of marijuana abruptly fell flat after state senators in a...
Cuomo meets with Trump to offer deal on travelers program
WASHINGTON — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited the White House on Thursday in the hope he could persuade President Donald Trump to reverse a decision...
President Trump to give command to start engines at Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump will give the command for drivers to start their engines before the Daytona 500.
Limbaugh draws bipartisan criticism for Buttigieg remarks
WASHINGTON — Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh drew bipartisan criticism Thursday for saying the country won't elect Pete Buttigieg president ...
New exhibit examines ballet’s lasting influence on fashion
NEW YORK — A crowning jewel of the new exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Technology is a feathered white tutu. It may look, to the untrained eye, li...
Torrential rains leave swollen rivers, downed trees in South
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Days of torrential rain across the Southeast left residents to deal with rising rivers, falling trees, weakened dams and mudslides ...
Holding-cell stats raise questions about Trump asylum policy
SAN DIEGO — Many U.S. holding cells along the Mexican border were less than half-full, even empty, during an unprecedented surge of asylum-seeking fam...
Nevada’s Culinary Union will not endorse in Democratic race
LAS VEGAS — The Culinary Union, the most influential union in Nevada politics, has decided to stay out of the state's Democratic presidential caucuses...
Heggie’s `Dead Man Walking’ gets Met Opera premiere in 20-21
NEW YORK — After years of pushing, Joyce DiDonato has been granted a big wish: The Metropolitan Opera is mounting Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking" for...