Japan has a female candidate among the front-runners to become prime minister in a vote this month, raising the possibility that a nation known for lagging on diversity may appoint its first woman leader before the U.S.

While Kamala Harris battles with Donald Trump ahead of the November election that could make her the first female U.S. ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hadil Alqarini of Blue Springs loves roller coasters.

Alqarini and her family immigrated to the United States from Jordan when she was 13. One of her first American memories? Riding the Mamba steel roller coaster at Kansas City’s Worlds of Fun amusement park.

That was 24 years ago, when she was a young Muslim teenager ...Read more

Rumors of the giant flying Joro spider, landing in New Jersey this summer never materialized in the Garden State. But they did land in Philly's backyard.

On Sept. 5, a Joro spider was found in Ivyland, Pa., a Bucks County borough nearly 30 miles north of Philadelphia, in the yard of someone's home. The sighting was confirmed by a site visit ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles police officer is under investigation for allegedly recording the questions to a promotional exam on a pair of camera-equipped smart glasses, "Mission Impossible"-style, with the intention of passing the information to others taking the test.

Department officials have launched a probe into allegations that the ...Read more

NEW YORK — Lorna Beach-Mathura, who has accused Mayor Eric Adams of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit, missed a court-ordered deposition this month because she suffered an anxiety attack at the last minute that required her to seek medical attention, she wrote in a new court filing late Wednesday that pointed blame at the mayor’s team for ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy in Washington next week, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the Democratic nominee tries to broaden her foreign policy profile.

Harris has strongly supported President Joe Biden’s steadfast support of Ukraine in its defense against Russia�...Read more

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are lending their voice to the U.S. presidential election and urging voter registration, a week after Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced off in their first televised debate.

In honor of National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, the Sussexes released a statement via their Archewell Foundation, stressing the ...Read more

A resolution calling for the Boston City Council to condemn the Hamas terror attack on Israel ahead of the first anniversary of the event that sparked war in the region led to some unexpected fireworks to cap an otherwise uneventful meeting.

The drama began Wednesday when the body’s lone Jewish councilor, Benjamin Weber, objected to a docket ...Read more

NEW YORK — Disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein is facing sexual misconduct allegations from a new accuser, with the Manhattan district attorney on Wednesday unsealing an indictment accusing him of sexually assaulting a woman in the mid-2000s.

The new charge comes months after his previous conviction was thrown out and means Weinstein faces...Read more

NEW YORK — Disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein is facing sexual misconduct allegations from a new accuser, with the Manhattan district attorney on Wednesday unsealing an indictment accusing him of sexually assaulting a woman in the mid-2000s.

The new charge comes months after his previous conviction was thrown out and means Weinstein faces...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — A convicted Orlando serial rapist who is already serving two life sentences pleaded guilty to another sexual assault in a 36-year-old cold case Wednesday after the victim urged police to reexamine DNA evidence.

George William Girtman, 70, known as the “Malibu rapist” for multiple sexual assaults in the area around west ...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. authorities on Wednesday accused Iranian hackers of emailing stolen information from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign to President Joe Biden’s campaign team, as well as to journalists.

The operation, which occurred over the summer, appeared to be an effort by Iranian hackers to dupe people working for the president�...Read more

The University of Maryland’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine filed a federal lawsuit against the school Tuesday after the organization’s approval to hold a vigil on Oct. 7 was revoked.

Palestine Legal and the Council on American-Islamic Relations sued on behalf of the student group in U.S. District Court against the University ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith warned the danger of foreign interference in the U.S. election will surge in the final two days of the presidential campaign.

“The most perilous moment will come, I think, 48 hours before the election,” Smith told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.

Smith said that was the �...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — A federal judge in Idaho dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of new voter registration requirements that bar the use of student IDs to register to vote and cast a ballot.

Two groups — March for Our Lives Idaho, which aims to reduce gun violence, and the Idaho Alliance for Retired Americans — sued...Read more

The body of a man accused of shooting five people in vehicles on Interstate 75 earlier this month in Southern Kentucky, setting off a massive manhunt, was found Wednesday afternoon near the crime scene.

Joseph Couch, 32, was found near Exit 49 on the interstate, about nine miles north of London, near where he shot 12 vehicles on Sept. 7. It’s...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Nearly two years after Sheriff Robert Luna took office and promised to eradicate deputy gangs, and three years after state lawmakers greenlit a measure requiring police agencies to ban the groups, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department unveiled a much-awaited anti-gang policy Wednesday to comply with the law.

The ...Read more

Princess Catherine's cancer treatment is over, and so is her time working fully from home.

The 42-year-old British royal held a meeting Tuesday at Windsor Castle about her early childhood project, according to the Court Circular, which lists royal engagements. There are no details or photographs of the gathering, but she is understood to have ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Huntington Beach is suing California over a new state law that prohibits school districts from implementing forced gender identity disclosure policies.

The city has taken a defiant stance against AB 1955, known as the SAFETY Act, which was signed into law in July by Gov. Gavin Newsom, making California the first state to prevent...Read more