by Josh Boak and Linley Sanders WASHINGTON— Voters said the economy and immigration are the top issues facing the country, but the future of democracy was also a leading motivator for many Americans casting a ballot in Tuesday’s presidential election. AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide, found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change as Americans faced a stark choice between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump, the Republican, sought to define the election as a referendum on the Biden-Harris administration and blamed it for inflation and illegal crossings…

by Dyekpazah Shibayan ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigerian authorities released Tuesday 29 children who have been detained for over two months and potentially faced the death penalty for their alleged participation in protests against the country’s record cost-of-living crisis following growing calls for their release. The children, aged 14 to 17, looked excited and full of life as they waved to cameras after their release at a court in the capital, Abuja, where they stood trial. It was a stark contrast to when they were first brought to the court looking malnourished and dressed shabbily, with some collapsing out of exhaustion.…

by Jim Lawless LONDON — Outspoken, right-leaning lawmaker Kemi Badenoch was named leader of Britain’s opposition Conservatives on Saturday, as the party tries to rebound from a crushing election defeat that ended its 14 years in power. The first Black woman to lead a major British political party, Badenoch (pronounced BADE-enock) has pledged to bring the right-of-center Tories “renewal” by pushing for a smaller state and rejecting identity politics. Badenoch defeated rival candidate Robert Jenrick in an online and postal ballot of party members, securing 57% of the almost 100,000 votes cast, to Jenrick’s 43%. Badenoch, 44, replaces former Prime…

CHICAGO — Coby White scored 21 points, Josh Giddey added 20 and the Bulls beat the Magic 102-99 on Wednesday night. Nikola Vucevic added 18 points and 14 rebounds in Chicago’s second-straight win. Paolo Banchero scored 31 points for Orlando two days after scoring 50 against the Pacers, but it wasn’t enough. Jalen Suggs, who missed a fading jump shot in the final seconds, had 17. The Bulls shot 3 for 15 in the fourth quarter but held on after Orlando shot 4 for 22 in the final quarter. Both teams combined for 28 points in the fourth. The Magic…

by Will Weissert and Chris Megerian MADISON, Wis. — Kamala Harris called Wednesday for Americans to “stop pointing fingers at each other” as she tried to push past comments made by President Joe Biden about Donald Trump’s supporters and “garbage ” and keep the focus on her Republican opponent in the closing days of the race. “We know we have an opportunity in this election to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump, who has been trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other,” the Democratic nominee said. Harris held rallies in a trio of battleground…

by Darlene Superville, Chris Megerian and Aamer Madhani KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Michelle Obama challenged men to support Kamala Harris ‘ bid to be America’s first female president, warning at a rally in Michigan on Saturday that women’s lives would be at risk if Donald Trump returned to the White House. The former first lady described the assault on abortion rights as the harbinger of dangerous limitations on healthcare for women. Some men may be tempted to vote for Trump because of their anger at the slow pace of progress, Obama said, but “your rage does not exist in a vacuum.”…

by Keiran Smith and Ayaka Mcgill APIA, Samoa — Commonwealth countries adopted Saturday their first ocean declaration during their summit held for the first time in the Pacific island nation of Samoa as calls from some of Britain’s former colonies for reparatory justice for the trans-Atlantic slave trade grew louder. The Apia Ocean Declaration was announced during the closing session of the 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, or CHOGM, and calls on all 56 Commonwealth nations to protect the ocean in the face of severe climate, pollution and overexploitation. More than half the Commonwealth members are small countries like…

by Steve Peoples NEW YORK — Progressive Democrats warn Kamala Harris risks losing the support of a small but significant portion of her political base unless she changes her campaign’s closing message — and its messengers — immediately. Specifically, several progressive leaders believe that the Democratic nominee has been too focused on winning over moderate Republicans in recent days at the expense of her own party’s passionate liberals. And they say that Harris’ closing message, which is increasingly centered on Republican Donald Trump and the threat he poses to U.S. democracy, ignores the economic struggles of the nation’s working class.…

by Colleen Long, Darlene Supperville and Nadia Nathan HOUSTON — Vice President Kamala Harris will team up with Beyoncé on Friday for a rally in solidly Republican Texas aimed at highlighting the perilous medical fallout from the state’s strict abortion ban and putting the blame squarely on Donald Trump. It’s a message intended to register far beyond Texas in the political battleground states, where Harris is hoping that the aftereffects from the fall of Roe v. Wade will spur voters to turn out to support her quest for the presidency. Harris will also be joined at the rally by women…

by Alan Rappeport The United States and Europe are close to finalizing a plan to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan backed by Russia’s frozen central bank assets by the end of the year, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Tuesday. An announcement of the loan could come this week as finance ministers and central bank governors convene in Washington for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. American and European policymakers have been negotiating for months over how to use Russia’s central bank reserves, most of which are being held in Europe,…