China's top diplomat Wang Yi and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met for talks in Malta, as the world's two leading economies seek to stabilize relations and potentially smooth a path for leaders Joe Biden and Xi Jinping to meet in November.

The fears of this year’s World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks becoming the least-viewed Fall Classic in TV history are becoming a reality

BRUSSELS The EU parliament approved on Wednesday new rules to make batteries more durable, more sustainable, and better

The historic impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton plunged Republicans on Sunday into a fight over whether to banish one of their own in America's biggest red state after years of scandal and criminal accusations that will now be at the center of a trial in the state Senate. Paxton said he has “full confidence” as he awaits judgement from the Senate, where his conservative allies include his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, who has not said whether she will recuse herself from the proceedings to determine whether her husband will be permanently removed from office. For now, Texas' three-term attorney general is immediately suspended after the state House of Representatives on Saturday impeached Paxton on 20 articles that included bribery and abuse of public trust. The decisive 121-23 vote amounted to a clear rebuke from the GOP-controlled chamber after nearly a decade of Republican lawmakers taking a mostly muted stance on Paxton's alleged misdeeds, which include felony securities fraud charges from 2015 and an ongoing FBI investigation into corruption accusations. He is just the third sitting official in Texas' nearly 200-year history to have been impeached. "No one person should be above the law, least not the top law officer of the state of Texas,” said Republican state Rep. David Spiller, who was part of a House investigative committee that this week revealed it had quietly been looking into Paxton for months. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has remained silent about Paxton all week , including after Saturday's impeachment. Abbott, who was the state's attorney general prior to Paxton's taking the job in 2015, has the power to appoint a temporary replacement pending the outcome in the Senate trial. It is not year clear when the Senate trial will take place. Final removal of Paxton would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, where Republican members are generally aligned with the party's hard right. The Senate is led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has served as state chairman for former President Donald Trump's campaigns in Texas. Before the vote Saturday, Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz came to Paxton’s defense, with the senator calling the impeachment process “a travesty” and saying the attorney general’s legal troubles should be left to the courts. “Free Ken Paxton,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, warning that if House Republicans proceeded with the impeachment, “I will fight you.” Paxton, 60, decried the outcome in the House moments after scores of his fellow partisans voted for impeachment. His office pointed to internal reports that found no wrongdoing. “The ugly spectacle in the Texas House today confirmed the outrageous impeachment plot against me was never meant to be fair or just,” Paxton said. "It was a politically motivated sham from the beginning.” Lawmakers allied with Paxton tried to discredit the investigation by noting that hired investigators, not panel members, interviewed witnesses. They also said several of the investigators had voted in Democratic primaries, tainting the impeachment, and that Republican legislators had too little time to review evidence. “I perceive it could be political weaponization,” Rep. Tony Tinderholt, one of the House’s most conservative members, said before the vote. Republican Rep. John Smithee compared the proceeding to "a Saturday mob out for an afternoon lynching.” Rice University political science professor Mark P. Jones said the swift move to impeach kept Paxton from rallying significant support and allowed quietly frustrated Republicans to come together. “If you ask most Republicans privately, they feel Paxton is an embarrassment. But most were too afraid of the base to oppose him,” Jones said. By voting as a large bloc, he added, the lawmakers gained political cover. To Paxton’s longstanding detractors, however, the rebuke was years overdue. In 2014, he admitted to violating Texas securities law, and a year later was indicted on securities fraud charges in his hometown near Dallas, accused of defrauding investors in a tech startup. He pleaded not guilty to two felony counts carrying a potential sentence of five to 99 years. He opened a legal defense fund and accepted $100,000 from an executive whose company was under investigation by Paxton’s office for Medicaid fraud. An additional $50,000 was donated by an Arizona retiree whose son Paxton later hired to a high-ranking job but soon was fired after displaying child pornography in a meeting. In 2020, Paxton intervened in a Colorado mountain community where a Texas donor and college classmate faced removal from his lakeside home under coronavirus orders. But what ultimately unleased the impeachment push was Paxton's relationship with Austin real estate developer Nate Paul. In 2020, eight top aides told the FBI they were concerned Paxton was misusing his office to help Paul over the developer's unproven claims about an elaborate conspiracy to steal $200 million of his properties. The FBI searched Paul’s home in 2019, but he has not been charged and denies wrongdoing. Paxton also told staff members he had an affair with a woman who, it later emerged, worked for Paul. The impeachment accuses Paxton of attempting to interfere in foreclosure lawsuits and issuing legal opinions to benefit Paul. The bribery charges included in the impeachment allege Paul employed the woman with whom Paxton had an affair in exchange for legal help and that he paid for expensive renovations to the attorney general's home. A senior lawyer for Paxton’s office, Chris Hilton, said Friday that the attorney general paid for all repairs and renovations. Other charges, including lying to investigators, date back to Paxton’s still-pending securities fraud indictment. Four aides who reported Paxton to the FBI later sued under Texas’ whistleblower law, and in February he agreed to settle the case for $3.3 million. The House committee said the probe was sparked by Paxton seeking legislative approval for the payout. “But for Paxton’s own request for a taxpayer-funded settlement over his wrongful conduct, Paxton would not be facing impeachment,” the panel said. ___ Bleiberg reported from Dallas. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton impeached by Republican-controlled Statehouse AP News Digest 3 a.m. Texas' GOP-held House set for impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton

Republicans gathered to pick their candidate for speaker of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday as war in the Middle East and a looming government shutdown underscored the urgent...

The 75th Emmy Awards have been postponed due the the ongoing actors and writers strikes that essentially shut down Hollywood

Donald Trump made the remark while discussing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' request for an endorsement in the state's election

Spanish state prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against Luis Rubiales for sexual assault and coercion for kissing a player on the lips without her consent after the Women’s World Cup final, the country’s prosecutors’ office said Friday. Rubiales, the now-suspended president of the Spanish soccer federation, kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England to win the title on Aug. 20 in Sydney, Australia. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The storm causes severe flooding in eastern Libya after killing a dozen people in Europe last week.

The reason they’re often associated with the growths goes hand in hand with the same centuries-old superstitions that gave witches an undeservedly bad rap.

Former president Donald Trump escalated his attacks on competitor Ron DeSantis as the Florida governor began his presidential campaign in Iowa following his glitch-laden Twitter announcement. The 45th president on Wednesday claimed that Mr DeSantis was looking to "change his name". "Have you heard that 'Rob' DeSanctimonious wants to change his name, again," Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. "He is demanding that people call him DeeeSantis, rather than DaSantis. Actually, I like “Da” better, a nicer flow, so I am happy he is changing it. "He gets very upset when people, including reporters, don’t pronounce it correctly. Therefore, he shouldn’t mind, DeSanctimonious?" The Florida governor pronounced his name both as “dee-santus and “duh-santus", but reportedly settled on the latter. Mr Trump in a subsequent post, wrote: "ELECTION INTERFERENCE!" The one-time president continued his diatribe against Mr DeSantis by reposting a statement from Republican representative Mike Keyy, accusing the governor of “ingratitude” after Trump endorsed him in 2018. "There was a time when Ron DeSantis begged for president Trump's support. Our president gave Mr DeSantis that put him in a position to win the Florida governor's race...," the statement read. Mr Trump persisted. He then shared a post with a link to an article that called Mr DeSantis a "Trump knockoff". That followed another post linked to an article calling Mr Trump’s support “unmovable". A third post with a link claimed "Trump showed that he can capably lead America and protect the unborn”. Mr DeSantis, meanwhile, blitzed through Iowa during his first full day of presidential campaigning, stepping up his verbal swipes at the former president. The governor accused MrTrump of abandoning “America First” principles on immigration, supporting coronavirus pandemic-related lockdowns and generally having “moved Left”. Mr DeSantis also laughed off frequent criticism from the former president over his leadership in Florida, particularly on the state’s response to Covid-19. “Hell, his whole family moved to Florida under my governorship,” Mr DeSantis said. “This is a different guy than 2015, 2016,” Mr DeSantis previously told The Daily Wire, a conservative news website. Read More Reports: Prosecutors have tape of Trump discussing holding onto classified doc after leaving office Trump news - live: Trump caught on tape revealing he kept classified papers after presidency, report says DeSantis news – live: Florida governor attacks ‘wokeness’ but avoids saying Trump’s name at Iowa rally Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

For the Miami Heat, shooting at Denver’s 5,280 feet of mile-high altitude during Game 1 of the NBA Finals wasn’t a problem