by Molly Quell THE HAGUE — The world’s top war-crimes court issued arrest warrants Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the 13-month war in Gaza. The warrants said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny. The action by the International Criminal Court came as the death toll from…

by Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer WASHINGTON — Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general following continued scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer. The Florida Republican’s announcement came one day after meeting with senators in an effort to win their support for his confirmation to lead the Justice Department. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz said in…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction on allegations that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and lied to police. Smollett’s appeal argued that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to intervene after the Cook County state’s attorney initially dropped charges. The state’s highest court heard arguments in September. Smollett, who is Black and gay, claimed two men assaulted him, spouted racial and homophobic slurs and tossed a noose around his neck, leading to a massive search for suspects by Chicago police detectives…

by Michael Lietke U.S. regulators want a federal judge to break up Google to prevent the company from continuing to squash competition through its dominant search engine after a court found it had maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade. The proposed breakup floated in a 23-page document filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Justice Department calls for Google to sell its industry-leading Chrome web browser and impose restrictions designed to prevent its Android smartphone software from favoring its search engine. The recommended penalties underscore how severely regulators operating under President Joe Biden believe Google should be punished following…

BY LISA MASCARO, STEPHEN GROVES AND FARNOUSH AMIRI Updated 3:50 PM CST, November 20, 2024 Share WASHINGTON — Republicans on the House Ethics Committee voted Wednesday against releasing a report on the panel’s long-running investigation into President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the top Democrat on the panel said. Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania said the ethics panel, which is evenly split between the two parties, voted at a lengthy closed-door meeting, and no Republican joined Democrats who wanted to release the report. Wild said she was compelled to speak up after the panel’s Republican…

by Samya Kullab, Illia Novikov, Lolita C. Baldor and Mathew Lee KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will give Ukraine antipersonnel mines to help it slow Russia’s battlefield advances, marking the second major shift on U.S. military support for Kyiv in days. After allowing Ukraine to use longer-range American missiles to launch strikes deeper into Russia, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the shift in Washington’s policy on antipersonnel land mines for Ukraine was needed to counter changing Russian tactics. The war, which reached its 1,000-day milestone on Tuesday, has largely been going Russia’s way.…

by Jill Colvin and Eric Tucker WASHINGTON — Donald Trump says he has chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO, the bedrock Western alliance that the president-elect has expressed skepticism about for years. Trump, in a statement, said Whitaker was “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual…

by Prejula Prem and Jack Wittels LAGOS – A tanker has hauled gasoline from Nigeria’s new Dangote plant to waters off Togo, a sign to traders that the mega-refinery’s operations could soon potentially shake up regional fuel markets. The CL Jane Austen recently loaded more than 300,000 barrels from Dangote and sailed west, according to data from Vortexa, Kpler, Precise Intelligence, a port report and ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s now floating off the coast of Lome, a popular area for ship-to-ship transfers. While the shipment is tiny in the context of the global gasoline market, it signals the…

by Chinedu Asadu ABUJA, Nigeria — The leaders of Nigeria and India pledged stronger ties in maritime security and counterterrorism during a meeting on Sunday where they also agreed on more support for Global South nations. In his first visit to Nigeria, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was hosted by President Bola Tinubu in capital Abuja, where both spoke of a new chapter in their strategic partnerships in the areas of defense, energy, technology, trade and development. Modi has often touted India as the voice of the Global South, the group of countries primarily considered developing nations, including Nigeria, but…

by Jay Cohen CHICAGO — There were some positive signs for the Chicago Bears in their first game since Thomas Brown was promoted to offensive coordinator. There also was another heartbreaking ending. D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson each rushed for a touchdown in Chicago’s highest-scoring game in a month. Caleb Williams made a couple of big throws to put the Bears in position for a dramatic win, but Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field goal was blocked on the final play of Sunday’s 20-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers. It was Chicago’s fourth consecutive loss. But the Bears (4-6) managed just…