Associated Press
Latest stories
Russian drones batter Ukraine's Kyiv region

Russian forces on Friday resumed their drone barrage of Ukraine's Kyiv region, hitting more than a dozen apartment buildings and storage depots in a second straight day of aerial attacks, officials said.

Prolonged air raids in Kyiv on Thursday essentially locked down the Ukrainian capital for 15 hours, the Foreign Ministry said, choking the economy and severely disrupting civilian life more than four years after Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Even longer alerts are a daily reality in regions closer to the front line, the ministry said.

W140 Full Story
Norway's crown prince becomes King Haakon VIII after his father's death

Norway has a new king, whose tasks will include stabilizing the Scandinavian country's monarchy and boosting the royal family's popularity after his wife's past contacts with deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his stepson's rape conviction.

Crown Prince Haakon, 53, became King Haakon VIII when his father, Harald V, died Friday. Haakon's oldest child now becomes Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and the heir to the throne.

W140 Full Story
Tropical Storms Karina and Lowell form in Pacific Ocean as Dolly churns in Atlantic

Tropical Storms Karina and Lowell formed Thursday in the Pacific Ocean, both of which were expected to become hurricanes in the next few days, the National Hurricane Center said.

Tropical Storm Karina was located about 825 miles (1,330 kilometers) south of the southern tip of Baja California, with maximum sustained winds of around 45 mph (75 kph), according to an advisory from the Miami-based hurricane center. Tropical Storm Lowell was about 1,765 miles (2,840 kilometers) west-southwest of the tip of Baja California, with maximum sustained winds of around 40 mph (65 kph).

W140 Full Story
UEFA prepares criminal complaint in Swiss courts against Infantino over World Cup sell-off

UEFA is preparing a criminal complaint against FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Swiss courts for possible financial mismanagement over his failed plan to sell future World Cup profits to private investors.

The governing body of European soccer announced its intentions in court documents filed Thursday in the U.S. seeking access to possible evidence related to the sell-off plan, which was withdrawn after a furious backlash by UEFA and other global soccer leaders.

W140 Full Story
Trump signs order renaming Lake Ontario as 'Lake America'

President Donald Trump said Thursday he is renaming Lake Ontario to be known as "Lake America" in the United States as he escalates his trade war with Canada.

The Republican president signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to update the lake's name in the U.S. geographic naming service. Trump cannot force Canada to follow along, however.

W140 Full Story
Study suggests that climate change is intensifying El Ninos

A new study suggests that El Ninos — the natural climatic chaos agent that pops up periodically and spikes global temperatures — are getting stronger because of human-caused climate change.

El Ninos are more than 36% stronger than they were before the industrial age began in the mid 1800s, with a 16% jump in just the last 40 years showing that the increase is accelerating, according to a study in Thursday's journal Science. The findings come as a strong El Nino that formed a couple months ago is forecast to be the biggest on record in coming months. El Ninos, which are a temporary warming of parts of the equatorial Pacific, warp weather worldwide and increase extreme events, including heat waves, floods in some places and droughts in others. They can cost trillions in damage.

W140 Full Story
Death toll rises in Nepal-China border disaster as lake poses new flood threat

Rescuers pulled out survivors caked in dark brown mud and helicopters lifted stranded people to safety Friday as Nepal and China raced to respond to catastrophic flash floods that killed more than 470 people and left more than 1,500 missing.

Nepal authorities said the death toll there rose to 469, injured people were taken to hospitals and helicopters carried more than 3,000 people to safety. In contrast on the Chinese side, there was little information on survivors, although the death toll rose to five Friday, as state media showed evacuations of villages and leaders' efforts to direct relief efforts.

W140 Full Story
Need spiritual guidance? Gurus join chatbot trend as people turn to AI for answers

When Kripa Vaidyanathan's 27-year-old niece died in an Alaska car crash in 2024, her family in Chennai, India, felt shell-shocked. They questioned why this tragedy would befall them when they had such "immense faith in God."

Vaidyanathan, a yoga instructor, helped her grieving sister get face time with a high-profile guru who she hoped would help.

W140 Full Story
Iran scrambles to sustain trade as US pressures countries to break ties

Iran's economy, already strained by high inflation, years of Western sanctions and a war that has sharply reduced oil revenue, is poised for more instability as the Trump administration tries to coerce other countries into ending all financial dealings with the Islamic Republic.

A decision by the United Arab Emirates to suspend trade relations with Iran last week kick-started the White House's latest attempt to isolate Tehran into submission. Iran entered the war with its foreign commerce concentrated among a relatively small group of countries, leaving it with fewer places to turn now.

W140 Full Story
Iran war has changed the Middle East but not in the way its architects wanted

It's been six months since the United States and Israel attacked Iran with the perennial goal of transforming the Middle East through military force. The region has changed, but not in the way they had hoped.

The Islamic Republic survived the assassination of its top leaders and weeks of heavy bombing, and found a potent form of leverage in the Strait of Hormuz. Gulf Arab nations saw worrying gaps open up in the American security umbrella they have relied on for decades — and some are looking at alternatives.

W140 Full Story