WASHINGTON Senators will launch a final round of questioning of Brett Kavanaugh today, but after a marathon 12- hour session, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court appears to have avoided any major missteps that could trip his confirmation. So far, Kavanaugh does not seem to have changed minds on the Judiciary Committee, which […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking the Washington debate over his Supreme Court nominee to the homes of two redstate Senate Democrats this week, elevating Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation as a political litmus test for voters. Trump’s strategy aims to turn the screws on the lawmakers, Jon Tester of Montana and Heidi Heitkamp […]

ASAHIKAWA, Japan Rescuers were rushing to unearth survivors and restore power today after a powerful earthquake jolted Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido, buckling roads, knocking homes off their foundations and causing entire hillsides to collapse. Residents in Sapporo were shaken from their beds when the magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck southern Hokkaido at 3:08 a.m. […]

MILAN Starbucks is opening its first store in Italy, betting that premium brews and novelties like a heated marble topped coffee bar will win customers in a country fond of its daily espresso rituals. Decades ago, Milan’s coffee bars inspired the chain’s vision. Now Starbucks is hoping clients will visit its new store, called the […]

NEW DELHI India’s top court today struck down a colonial-era law that made homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a landmark victory for gay rights in the world’s largest democracy. In a unanimous decision, five Supreme Court justices ruled that the law was a weapon used to harass members of India’s […]

WASHINGTON The Trump administration may be about to slap tariffs of up to 25 percent on an additional $200 billion in Chinese goods, escalating a confrontation between the world’s two biggest economies and likely squeezing U.S. companies that import everything from handbags to bicycle tires. The administration could decide to begin taxing the imports — […]

BEIRUT (AP) — When the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet Friday in Tehran, all eyes will be on their diplomacy reaching a last-minute deal to avert a bloodbath in Idlib, Syria’s crowded northwestern province and last opposition stronghold. The three leaders, whose nations are all under U.S. sanctions, have an interest in working […]