Author: Associated Press

GOP’s Jordan backs a temporary House speaker plan and calls off 3rd vote for now, lawmakers say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Refusing to drop out, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan told GOP colleagues Thursday he would back a temporary U.S. House speaker for the next several months as he works to shore up support to win the gavel himself. Jordan delivered the message at a closed door meeting at the Capitol as the Republican majority considered an extraordinary plan…

How international law applies to war, and why Hamas and Israel are both alleged to have broken it

LONDON (AP) — Hamas and Israel have both been accused of breaking international law during their latest conflict, and the United Nations says it is collecting evidence of war crimes by all sides. Enforcing the law amid the fog of war is difficult. Holding perpetrators to account once conflicts are over has often proved elusive. Here is a look at…

Prime suspect admits to Natalee Holloway’s 2005 murder in Aruba, gets plea deal in extortion case

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The chief suspect in Natalee Holloway’s 2005 disappearance in Aruba admitted he killed her and disposed of her remains, and has agreed to plead guilty to charges he tried to extort money from the teen’s mother years later, a U.S. judge said Wednesday, The disclosure came during a plea and sentencing hearing for Joran van der…

Republicans reject Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on the first ballot, but more voting likely

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans rejected Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on a first ballot Tuesday, as an unexpectedly numerous 20 holdouts denied the hard-charging ally of Donald Trump the GOP majority needed to seize the gavel. More voting is expected as Jordan works to shore up support to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy for the job. The House went…

With humanitarian aid blocked at Egyptian border, Gaza draws closer to total collapse

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Truckloads of aid idled at Egypt’s border with Gaza as residents and humanitarian groups pleaded Monday for water, food and fuel for dying generators, saying the tiny Palestinian territory sealed off by Israel after last week’s rampage by Hamas was near total collapse. U.S. President Joe Biden planned to travel to Israel on Wednesday to…

Biden will head to Israel and Jordan as concerns mount that Israel-Hamas conflict will spread

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — President Joe Biden will travel to Israel and on to Jordan Wednesday to meet with both Israeli and Arab leadership, as concerns increase that the raging Israel-Hamas war could expand into a larger regional conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Biden’s travel to Israel as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip grows…

Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford calls on autoworkers to end strike, says company’s future is at stake

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford on Monday called on autoworkers to come together to end a monthlong strike that he says could cost the company the ability to invest in the future. In a rare speech coming during contract talks in the company’s hometown of Dearborn, Michigan, Ford said high labor costs could limit spending…

Humanitarian aid is stuck at Gaza-Egypt border as Israeli siege strains hospitals, water supply

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hospitals in Gaza faced collapse Monday as water, power and medicine neared depletion, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians searched for dwindling food supplies while Israel maintained punishing airstrikes in retaliation for last week’s deadly rampage by Hamas. Thousands of patients’ lives were at risk, U.N. officials said, and mediators struggled for a cease-fire to…