WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona says President Donald Trump is certain to face an independent challenge in the next presidential election, if not one from within the party. And Flake is not ruling out being that…

SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge in Seattle on Saturday partially lifted a Trump administration ban on certain refugees after two groups argued that the policy prevented people from some mostly Muslim countries from reuniting with family living legally in…

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has approved a plan to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, a long-awaited move that deepens America’s involvement in the military conflict and may further strain relations with Russia. Moscow responded angrily on Saturday. The new…

LONDON – Renowned conductor Charles Dutoit on Saturday denied serious accusations of sexual misconduct that have caused major symphonies in Europe, Australia and the United States to suspend relationships with him. Dutoit’s office issued a statement saying the allegations “have…

WASHINGTON – Their tax bill triumph in the rear-view mirror, Republicans running Congress face a 2018 in which they’ll need Democratic votes to get things done. And that won’t be easy. Short of a few must-pass items, divisions within both…

HARRISBURG, Pa. – There’s “no doubt” a gunman who fired at police in several locations in the state capital, wounding one of them before they shot and killed him, was targeting police officers, a prosecutor said. Ahmed Aminamin El-Mofty fired…

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – President Donald Trump reacted to reports Saturday about the coming retirement of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who has been buffeted by attacks from the president and his Republican allies over alleged anti-Trump bias in…

LONDON – A fire at the London Zoo early Saturday that broke out before opening time left one aardvark dead and four meerkats missing and presumed dead. Staff members were treated for smoke inhalation and shock after the blaze broke…

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines – A tropical storm in the southern Philippines unleashed flash floods that swept away people and houses and set off landslides, reportedly leaving more than 120 people dead and 160 others missing, officials said Saturday. Most of the…

DENVER – Alexa, where’s Santa? Amazon’s diligent, computerized know-it-all is the latest technology to enlist in NORAD Tracks Santa, the military-run program that fields phone calls and emails from children around the world eager to ask when Santa will arrive….

WASHINGTON – The top American commander for the Middle East says the U.S. is developing an expanded training program for local Kurdish and Arab border guards in Syria to help head off the “significant risk” of Islamic State fighters regrouping…

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea on Friday in response to its latest launch of a ballistic missile that Pyongyang says is capable of reaching anywhere on the U.S. mainland. The…

WASHINGTON – Americans in states that Donald Trump carried in his march to the White House account for more than 4 in 5 of those signed up for coverage under the health care law the president still wants to take…

BILLINGS, Mont. – U.S. officials have approved a 60-million ton expansion of a southeastern Montana coal mine that serves one of the largest power plants in the western United States, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s office said Friday. The approval will…

BERLIN – Two passenger trains collided on Friday near Vienna, injuring several people, authorities said. The trains, one of them regional and the other local, collided near the station in Kritzendorf, north of the Austrian capital, a little before 6…

MOSCOW – Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed Friday to hold Syria peace talks in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi next month, a move that the U.N. Special envoy for Syria said should be assessed based on its contribution to…

Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – The Miss America Organization suspended its CEO on Friday, less than 24 hours after leaked emails surfaced showing him and others disparaging the appearance, intellect and sex lives of former Miss Americas. Sam…

SEATTLE – Video from the cab of the Amtrak train that hurtled off the tracks in Washington state, killing three people and injuring dozens, shows that the engineer did not appear to be using a cellphone or any other personal…

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Dick Clark Productions says it has cut ties with the Miss America Organization over internal emails by pageant senior leadership that ridiculed past winners’ appearance, intelligence and sex lives. The Huffington Post reported Thursday that…

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Former Marine Marco Chavez could not sleep the night before he was set to cross the border and return to the United States, a country he considers home after he was deported to Mexico 15 years…