WASHINGTON (AP) The number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week, another sign that layoffs remain rare and most Americans enjoy job security. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims slid to 196,000, the fewest since mid-July and down from 206,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which...

TOKYO (AP) Fiji has declared an HIV national emergency after data showed one in 60 people in the South Pacific island nation is now estimated to have the bloodborne virus. The country says it is boosting testing and treatment efforts to fight a surge in new infections, which have increased 12-fold over the last...

WASHINGTON (AP) US jobless claims fell sharply to 196,000 as layoffs remain rare and most Americans enjoy job security.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said Thursday he has inaugurated an assembly factory for Israel-made drones in the Balkan country to boost its military. Vucic announced in April that Serbia would produce the combat drones with Israel. Regional BIRN news service reported in the same month that Serbias Yugoimport SDPR state arms...

STOCKHOLM (AP) Swedens left-leaning opposition won a narrow majority in the countrys national election, a complete vote count showed Thursday. The Swedish Election Authority said that the four opposition parties won 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament in Stockholm, the Riksdag, in Sundays election. The four parties that make up or support the outgoing...

LONDON (AP) Ireland will boycott the Eurovision Song Contest for a second year over Israels participation, the countrys national broadcaster says. RTE said Thursday it will not send an act to the 2027 competition in Bulgaria and will not broadcast the show because of the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza. Ireland...

BEIRUT (AP) The heads of state of Lebanon, France and Jordan will meet Thursday in Paris as part of an effort to drum up support for the struggling Lebanese military. A donor conference for Lebanon’s cash-strapped army was initially set to take place in February, led by France, Saudi Arabia and the United States....

LONDON (AP) Irelands national broadcaster says it will boycott 2027 Eurovision Song Contest over Israels participation.

Home shoppers holding out for relief from rising mortgage rates may be in for a long wait. The weekly average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate home loan has been rising for months and reached its highest level in over 14 months last week at 6.76%, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. This weeks snapshot, due...

STOCKHOLM (AP) Complete vote count in Swedens national election shows a narrow majority for the left-leaning opposition.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) In the wood-paneled basement of a union hall, retirees sat in folding chairs last week as they recalled how miles of steel mills and plentiful jobs had slowly disappeared. We told our children to get your education, get out, and dont come back,” said Al Antonelli, who has been a member...

LONDON (AP) Bank of England keeps main interest rate at 3.75% despite higher inflation.

NEW YORK (AP) Nearly 10 years after the publication of the million-selling Educated, Tara Westover is returning with a second memoir in which she reflects on the fallout from her celebrated and controversial debut. Random House announced Thursday that Brothers and Sisters will come out on April 13. It’s her follow-up to Educated, which...

United Nations-backed human rights experts said on Thursday there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran on the first day of the war. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has condemned the U.S. decision to deny its officials visas needed to attend the upcoming U.N. General Assembly. And...

LOCKLAND, Ohio (AP) He keeps his American clothes in the closet: jeans, T-shirts, a hard hat for his job at a meatpacking plant. He folds his African clothes including the blue robe he had shipped from home, the one he jokes makes him look like a king and tucks them into a...

Newly obtained data on the unprecedented surge of border crossings over the past decade is shedding light on who entered the U.S. and where they went. Here is some information on the crossings, the data on 4.5 million migrants, and how The Associated Press obtained and analyzed it. Millions of migrants crossed the border from...

WASHINGTON (AP) The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study. A report by Protect Democracy found that 34.8 million people about one in 10 Americans ...

An old building in Lockland, Ohio, bustles every Friday afternoon, the sound of hammering old bicycle tires mixing with laughter and conversation that switches from English to the West African language Pular. The shop, called Bikes and Stuff, offers free bikes to anyone willing to help refurbish one, and it has become the center of...

MIDVALE, Utah (AP) Snow-covered mountains ringing a valley of wide, free-flowing roads remind Venezuelan transplants that the growing suburbs south of Salt Lake City offer what Miami cant. One million Venezuelans were released into the United States after crossing the Mexican border during a record immigration surge, and many shunned Miami and other ...

An unprecedented surge in border crossings over the past decade reshaped America: Millions of people from more than 150 countries arrived, bringing the U.S. immigrant population to its highest levels ever. Now, data obtained exclusively by The Associated Press paints a picture of who these migrants are, where they went, and what happened after the...

Costco said Thursday it’s partnering with DoorDash to offer delivery from its U.S. warehouse stores. DoorDash already offers Costco delivery in a few markets, including Australia, Sweden and Puerto Rico. But the nationwide partnership is a first for the San Francisco-based delivery company, which said Costco was among the most-searched retailers not yet ...

LONDON (AP) The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates unchanged Thursday even though inflation in the United Kingdom has risen to a five-month high as the fallout from the Iran war continues to ratchet up fuel prices. Economists expect a majority of the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee will want to see...

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) At least 48 dead in Nigeria’s Ondo state after consuming drink suspected to contain methanol, police official says.

WTOP is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. All this month, discover stories from the diverse Latino communities in the D.C. region, here at WTOP.com and on air at 103.5 FM. Hispanic Heritage Month in Fairfax County kicked off this week with a proclamation from the Board of Supervisors dedicated to a resident...

For Francis Gary Powers Jr., the quest to find out the truth about his dad, and the secrets kept by the American government, fundamentally changed his life.