All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson has been activated by the Chicago Cubs after he was sidelined by a bruised left heel

The family of Charlotte Sena, who went missing Saturday evening in upstate New York, is asking the public for help as authorities ramp up their search for the 9-year-old they fear could have been abducted.

Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market continues to show fortitude in the face of higher interest rates

Sen. Tim Scott is rolling out endorsements from more than 140 current and former elected officials from his home state of South Carolina

Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, ordinarily a strong supporter of Israeli policy, referred to the country’s “apartheid wall” during an address in the US House of Representatives. Israel has again been in the headlines in Washington this week after Rep Pramila Jayapal of Washington called Israel a “racist state” before walking her comments back over the weekend. The House overwhelmingly voted in favour on Tuesday of a resolution backing Israel that did not name Ms Jayapal but appeared to be crafted in response to her comments. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, meanwhile, is set to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday that several progressive lawmakers have announced they will boycott. On Tuesday, Ms Greene waded into the fray. In a speech on the importance of borders, Ms Greene quoted from an article that referred to the giant wall Israel has constructed between its territory and the Palestinian West Bank as an “apartheid” wall. “Walls are very important for most countries,” Ms Greene began. “There’s many countries with walls. I have one article here that comes from earlier this month that says, talking about 65 countries that have erected fences on their borders, also talking about walls, talking about security fears, widespread refusals to help refugees have fueled a new spate of wall-building around the world. “They include Israel’s apartheid — “apartheid” — wall, India’s 2,500-mile fence around Bangladesh, and Morocco’s huge sand berm,” Ms Greene continued. “So many countries around the world agree that walls are important in protecting the people within the country.” It was not immediately clear which article Ms Greene was citing, but if the second-term lawmaker from Georgia chooses to stand by her characterisation of Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians as apartheid, she will be in good company. Two years ago, Human Rights Watch said Israel is guilty of crimes against humanity in the West Bank and Gaza including apartheid. Public opinion in the Democratic Party, meanwhile, has shifted to the point where more Democrats now say their sympathies primarily lie with the Palestinians rather than Israel. That change in opinion has not, however, been reflected in Congress. Only nine members of the House opposed Tuesday’s resolution on support for Israel, all progressives. With just a pair of exceptions, the rest of the Democratic caucus and all voting Republicans supported the resolution. Mr Herzog, the Israeli president, serves as head of state while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu serves as head of government. Mr Herzog visited President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday. Read More AOC and other progressives to boycott Israeli president’s joint address to Congress Republicans under fire for hosting Robert F Kennedy Jr on the Hill in wake of antisemitism claims

A cease-fire agreement between the Hamas militant group and Israel has been confirmed by both parties, along with Washington and Qatar, which helped broker the deal that would bring a temporary halt to the devastating war that is now in its seventh week. The Israeli government said that under an outline of the deal, Hamas is to free at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack over a four-day period. Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, later confirmed the deal, saying the start time will be announced in the next 24 hours and that it will last for four days. The agreement will bring the first respite to war-weary Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 11,000 people have been killed, according to health authorities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before the Cabinet voted early Wednesday that the war would continue even if a deal was reached. Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial incursion by Hamas. Currently: — Truce deal raises hopes of freeing hostages in Gaza and halting worst Mideast violence in decades — South African lawmakers vote in favor of closing Israel’s embassy and cutting diplomatic ties. — Bahrain government websites are briefly inaccessible after a cyberattack over the Israel-Hamas war. — Gaza health officials say they lost the ability to count dead as Israeli offensive intensifies — Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war Here’s what's happening in the war: US STRIKES BACK AT IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS IN IRAQ Baghdad — The United States military said Wednesday that it had carried out strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq that have launched attacks on U.S. forces. Two officials with Iranian-backed militias in Iraq said the strikes hit three locations in the area of Jurf al-Sakhar south of Baghdad, killing five members of the Kataeb Hezbollah militant group and wounding seven. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Iranian-backed militants have launched dozens of attacks on bases and facilities housing U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17. While most of the more than five dozen attacks have been ineffective, at least 60 U.S. personnel have reported minor injuries. The militant groups have said that the strikes are in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that its forces had “conducted discrete, precision strikes against two facilities in Iraq … in direct response to the attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups,” including one on Tuesday involving the use of close-range ballistic missiles. ___ Qassim Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad. FRANCE IS HOPEFUL ITS NATIONALS WILL BE AMONG THE FIRST RELEASED UNDER DEAL PARIS — France’s foreign minister says she’s hopeful that French nationals will be among the first hostages released as part of a truce deal between Israel and Hamas. “We hope that French nationals are among them and even, if possible, among the first group that will be released,” the minister, Catherine Colonna, said Wednesday morning on France Inter radio. “We are working for that.” France counts eight people missing, some of them confirmed as hostages, from the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants that ignited their latest and deadliest war. France also counts 40 killed in the attack. Colonna said that not all the hostages taken on Oct. 7 were captured by Hamas. But she said that in the course of negotiations, the militant group has said that “it could assemble together all of the hostages.” THE RED CROSS STANDS BY TO ASSIST ANY SWAP DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The International Committee of the Red Cross says it is standing by to assist any swap in the Israel-Hamas war. “Currently, we are actively engaged in talks with the parties to help carry out any humanitarian agreement they reach,” the Red Cross said. “As a neutral intermediary, it is important to clarify that we are not part of the negotiations, and we do not make decisions on the substance of it. Our role is to facilitate the implementation, once the parties agree.” Read More Israel and Hamas have reached a deal on a cease-fire and hostages. What does it look like? Cameron welcomes Israel-Hamas truce which paves way for hostage release Coldplay concert in Malaysia can be stopped by organizers if the band misbehaves, government says Truce deal raises hopes of freeing hostages in Gaza and halting worst Mideast violence in decades At least 50 hostages to be freed in deal for four-day ceasefire – follow live Fifty hostages in Gaza to be freed in Israel and Hamas deal after weeks of talks

xQc said, 'I had no idea, dude, that's insane, though, wait, chat, is there a camera on the driver, you'll see on the camera, that is crazy'

Las Vegas residents are drying out after two days of heavy rainfall that flooded streets, prompted various water rescues, shut down a portion of Interstate 15 south of the city and possibly resulted in at least one death

Matthew Perry often talked about wanting to be married and have children someday, said "I can't wait"

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Hurricane Hilary was barreling towards Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Saturday, a U.S. government agency said, warning

'I drink to be social and have a good time and just kind of relax and let loose a bit, but always responsibly,' said Jennifer Lopez

Larry Nassar was stabbed in his cell at a federal penitentiary in Florida, out of view of surveillance cameras pointed at common areas and corridors