KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A spate of explosions and fires has turned Russian-occupied Crimea from a secure rear base into a new battleground in the war, demonstrating both the Russians' vulnerability and the Ukrainians' capacity to strike deep behind enemy lines.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria denied on Wednesday it is holding U.S. journalist Austin Tice or other Americans after President Joe Biden accused the Syrian government of detaining him.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Damascus “denies it had kidnapped or is holding any American citizen on its territories.”

ATLANTA (AP) — Rudy Giuliani faced a special grand jury Wednesday under a judge's order to appear before the panel investigating attempts by former President Donald Trump and others to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — An elected Florida prosecutor who was removed from office by Gov.

CECILIA, Ky. (AP) — For fourth-grader Leah Rainey, the school day now begins with what her teacher calls an “emotional check-in.”

“It’s great to see you. How are you feeling?” chirps a cheery voice on her laptop screen.

CHICAGO (AP) — Opening statements set for Wednesday give prosecutors and R. Kelly's attorneys their first chance to address jurors directly about charges that accuse the R&B singer of enticing of minors for sex, producing child pornography and rigging his 2008 pornography trial.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — To Enas Taleb, the headline felt like a spiteful punch line.

“Why women are fatter than men in the Arab world,” it read in bold, above a photograph of the Iraqi actress waving onstage at an arts festival.

CODY, Wyo. (AP) — The rush to build wind farms to combat climate change is colliding with preservation of one of the U.S. West’s most spectacular predators — the golden eagle — as the species teeters on the edge of decline.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s new moon rocket arrived at the launch pad Wednesday ahead of its debut flight in less than two weeks.

The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket emerged from its mammoth hangar late Tuesday night, drawing crowds of Kennedy Space Center workers.