KYIV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday dismissed Russia's ceasefire proposal as "an ultimatum" and renewed his call for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to break the deadlock over the war, which has dragged on for nearly 3½ years.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump's big bill making will cut taxes by $3.7 trillion but also increase deficits by $2.4T over the next decade. That's according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Editorials from The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and others

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel signed defense contracts worth nearly $15 billion last year, surpassing its all-time record, the country’s defense ministry said Wednesday, even as international outrage mounts over the war in Gaza. Over half the deals were with European countries.

ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistan's security forces raided a militant hideout and killed 14 insurgents during a shootout in the country’s northwest, the military said Wednesday.

TOKYO (AP) - The number of newborns in Japan is decreasing faster than projected, with the number of annual births falling to a record low last year, according to government data released Wednesday.

To attract the brightest minds to America, President Donald Trump proposed a novel idea while campaigning: If elected, he would grant green cards to all foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Smoke from Canadian wildfires started making air quality worse in the eastern U.S. on Wednesday as several Midwestern states battled conditions deemed unhealthy by the federal government.