US retail sales up a modest 0.3% in January
WASHINGTON — U.S. retail sales rose a modest 0.3% in January, a slight improvement over December, as unseasonably warm weather boosted sales at hardwa...
With virus, shops in China suffer a star-crossed Valentines
BEIJING — In virus-stricken China, couples can celebrate Valentine's Day with a roast beef salad, hot chocolate, a rose and a note, all delivered to t...
Zuckerberg accepts that Facebook may have to pay more tax
LONDON — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to throw his support behind international reforms that would require Silicon Valley tech giants to pay mor...
Esper defends shifting defense funds for Trump’s border wall
MUNICH, Germany — U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Friday defended his decision to divert billions of dollars in funding for Navy and Air Force ai...
No ‘Plan B’ for Olympics; questions over Chinese presence
TOKYO — Tokyo Olympic organizers and the International Olympic Committee said Friday there is no “Plan B” for the 2020 Games, which open in just over ...
AP Explains: Why Syria’s M5 is Assad’s highway to victory
BEIRUT — It is arguably one of the most coveted prizes in Syria’s civil war, and after eight years of fighting, Syrian President Bashar Assad has got ...
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...
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...
Marchessault’s OT goal lifts Golden Knights past Blues 6-5
LAS VEGAS — Zach Sanford had the best game of his young NHL career — even if his thoughts were understandably far from the ice.
With Britain out, the unwieldy EU faces major budget battle
BRUSSELS — The Brexit drama shook the foundations of the European Union for years and laid bare the need for much-delayed political renovations at the...
India keeps lid on Kashmir’s internet 6 months into lockdown
NEW DELHI — Six months after India's government stripped restive Kashmir of its semi-autonomy and enforced a total communications blackout, it is hera...
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...
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,...
Logano, Byron win Daytona 500 qualifying races
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Joey Logano and William Byron won the qualifying races that set the field for the Daytona 500.
Gallinari, Paul push Thunder past Zion, Pelicans 123-118
NEW ORLEANS — Danilo Gallinari scored 29 points, Chris Paul had 14 points and 12 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans ...
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...
Lightning win 9th straight, top Oilers 3-1
TAMPA, Fla. — Yanni Gourde scored a short-handed goal and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 29 saves to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to their ninth str...
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...
Kuchar shoots 64 to lead Riviera; Tiger wastes strong start
LOS ANGELES — Tiger Woods began with an unknowing tribute to Kobe Bryant by making an eagle putt that optical cameras measured at 24 feet, 8 inches. H...
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...
South Carolina receives NCAA notice for basketball program
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina became the latest school to receive an NCAA notice of allegations over the federal probe into college basketball.
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...