WACO, Texas (AP) — A Texas man who was sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting two teenagers in 1992 is a free man without pending charges after a district attorney dismissed the case.Richard Bryan Kussmaul was convicted of capital murder in 1994 for killing 17-year-old Leslie …

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand broadcaster MediaWorks has announced it plans to sell its struggling television business, leaving hundreds of workers wondering if they will still have jobs if a buyer can't be found.The move also raises the possibility the country could be left …

BRUSSELS (AP) — As Britain battles to leave the European Union, two countries from the Balkans were struggling to be allowed in Friday, despite warnings that turning them away would tarnish the EU's reputation and could risk inflaming the volatile region.Albania and North Macedonia were …

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — September was the deadliest month for civilians in war-torn Yemen this year but violence has lessened very recently and there are signs of hope, U.N. officials said Thursday.U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths cautioned in a briefing to the Security Council, however, that the …

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson asked the city's police department to conduct an internal investigation on himself Thursday after he was found lying down in a car.A passerby found Johnson early Thursday in a car parked near a stop sign and called 911. Police …

MADRID (AP) — This month's Spanish league "clásico" match between Barcelona and Real Madrid is expected to be postponed until December because of a planned separatist rally in the Catalan capital.The league wanted the Oct. 26 game to be moved from Barcelona to Madrid because of …

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico broke ground Thursday on a project to supplement the capital's overtaxed international airport, finally making headway on a controversial alternative to another, equally controversial one that was scrapped last year after being about a third built.Bulldozers …

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago elementary school principal who looked on as a security guard physically forced a fourth-grader out of the building on a cold day has retired.Cynthia Miller retired from her job at Fiske Elementary School on Friday. In a letter to parents, she wrote that leaving …

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon erupted in protests Thursday over the government's plans to impose new taxes amid a severe economic crisis, with people taking their anger out on politicians they accuse of corruption and decades of mismanagement.The protests started with few dozen people gathering in …

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A man accused of killing a woman who was seen strangled in videos on a digital memory card was charged Thursday with the death of another woman, authorities in Alaska said.Brian Steven Smith admitted to detectives that he was the man in the images and videos …

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Venezuela won a contested election for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council on Thursday despite a campaign by over 50 organizations and many countries opposed to Nicolas Maduro's government and its rights record.There was scattered applause in the General Assembly …

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City lawmakers voted Thursday to close the notorious Rikers Island jail complex, which has become synonymous with violence and neglect, and replace it with four smaller jails intended to be more modern and humane.The City Council voted 36-13 to replace the complex …

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — For years, Catalonia's separatist movement painstakingly built an amiable image of its quest to secede from Spain: Smiling parents and grandparents with children in tow marched under the Mediterranean sun, waving the flags of their cause and cheerily chanting …

CHICAGO (AP) — Striking teachers marched in picket lines outside hundreds of Chicago schools on Thursday after their union and city officials failed to reach a contract deal in the nation's third-largest school district, canceling classes for more than 300,000 students for the duration of a …

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The size of your seat and how much legroom you'll get on a future flight could be decided by 720 Oklahomans taking part in a first-of-its-kind test to determine if jam-packed planes slow emergency evacuations.Frequent flyers on U.S. airlines are all too aware that …

STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — A California woman on parole after serving a sentence for driving drunk while livestreaming a crash that killed her younger sister was arrested Thursday after crashing a car during a police pursuit, officials said.Officers arrested Obdulia Sanchez, 20, on weapons and …

STURGIS, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota teenager has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of a girl from Wyoming whose body was found in his basement.Also Thursday, the 17-year-old entered a not guilty plea to an alternate second-degree …

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas law enforcement agencies have nearly eliminated a backlog of 2,200 sexual assault kits that had gone untested, including some that dated back decades, authorities announced Thursday.Agencies have had about 2,000 of the kits tested by forensic labs and the …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An east Arkansas track agreed Thursday to phase out greyhound racing over the next three years, citing a decline in dog racing nationally and fears that the state's voters would approve ending the practice.The Arkansas Racing Commission unanimously approved a plan by …

DETROIT (AP) — Striking General Motors workers will stay on the picket lines for at least another week until they vote on a tentative contract with the company.Factory-level officials from the United Auto Workers union voted to recommend the agreement to members at a daylong meeting in …