CHICAGO (AP) — A northern Illinois woman who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the beating death of her 5-year-old son faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in state prison when she returns to court on Thursday.The sentencing of JoAnn Cunningham is the latest chapter in the story of AJ …

Today in History Today is Thursday, July 16, the 198th day of 2020. There are 168 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On July 16, 1945, the United States exploded its first experimental atomic bomb in the desert of Alamogordo (ahl-ah-moh-GOHR’-doh), New Mexico; the …

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — A judge on Wednesday halted the execution of a man, said to be suffering from dementia, who was set to die by lethal injection in the federal government’s second execution this week after a 17-year hiatus.Legal wrangling continued Wednesday night with …

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s coronavirus hot spot Victoria state moved to increase its available hospital beds Thursday and reported a record daily high of 317 infections.The government had planned to restore hospitals to normal medical services by the end of July before …

BEIJING (AP) — China became the first major economy to grow since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, recording an unexpectedly strong 3.2% expansion in the latest quarter after anti-virus lockdowns were lifted and factories and stores reopened.Growth reported Thursday for the three …

Unidentified hackers broke into the Twitter accounts of technology moguls, politicians, celebrities and major companies Wednesday in an apparent Bitcoin scam. The ruse included bogus tweets from former President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg and a …

Shares fell back in Asia on Thursday after markets worldwide rallied on rising hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine. Benchmarks fell in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai early Thursday. Investors see a vaccine as the best way for the economy and human life to get back to normal. Researchers announced on …

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An oil tanker sought by the U.S. over allegedly circumventing sanctions on Iran was hijacked on July 5 off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a seafarers welfare organization said Wednesday. Satellite photos showed the vessel in Iranian waters on …

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo downplayed the possibility of another summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before the U.S. presidential election, saying Trump would only want to engage if there were real prospects of …

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Clint Bowyer hopped off his pit stand at Bristol Motor Speedway to learn he'd won the fan vote to advance into NASCAR's All-Star race — an announcement met by a roar from the grandstands. It wasn't the raucous ovation typically heard in Thunder Valley, but after …

HONOLULU (AP) — Scientists planning to build one of the world’s largest telescopes on a Hawaii mountain said Wednesday construction won’t begin until at least next year. TMT International Observatory Vice President Gordon Squires told Hawaii News Now that the coronavirus …

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Body-camera footage made public Wednesday from two Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd's arrest captured a panicked and fearful Floyd pleading with the officers in the minutes before his death, saying “I'm not a bad guy!" as they tried to wrestle …

BEIJING (AP) — China has accused the U.S. of seeking to obstruct its development with recent steps to sanction officials who undermine local autonomy in Hong Kong, summoning the U.S. ambassador in Beijing to lodge a protest.Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang told Ambassador Terry Branstad …

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean said Wednesday the region’s per-capita gross domestic product is likely to drop by 9.9% in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. That would take the region back to GDP levels of 2010, something the U.N. …

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco and Sacramento have become the latest cities in California to announce that public school students will not return to classrooms when the new term begins because of surges in coronavirus cases and delays in getting test results back. They join Los Angeles and …

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine voters are poised to become the first group of voters in U.S. history to be able to use a ranked style of voting for president, following a ruling by the secretary of state Wednesday.Maine voters approved a switch to ranked choice voting with a statewide vote in …

BEIJING (AP) — China and India made progress in their latest talks on a long-running border dispute that turned deadly last month, a Chinese spokesperson said Wednesday.Top commanders from the two sides held their fourth round of talks on Tuesday, a month after the deadly clash between …

BEIJING (AP) — China's economy rebounds to 3.2% growth in latest quarter as anti-virus controls ease.

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Illegal armed groups are imposing strict COVID-19 quarantines in parts of Colombia where the state has a weak presence, threatening and even killing those who don’t comply, Human Rights Watch warned Wednesday.At least nine people have been assassinated in …

TOKYO (AP) — The launch of a United Arab Emirates Mars orbiter, already delayed two days, has been postponed further due to bad weather at the Japanese launch site.The orbiter named Amal, or Hope, is the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission. The launch, initially scheduled for …