Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­

BEIJING — Asian stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street sank despite an emergency U.S. interest cut aimed at defusing fears a virus outbreak might depress global economic activity.

WASHINGTON — Jerome Powell is confronting his stiffest test yet as head of the Federal Reserve in an atmosphere vastly altered from what his predecessors faced. It makes an uncertain situation even more challenging.

AUSTIN, Texas — Democrat MJ Hegar, a former Air Force helicopter pilot seeking to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, advanced to a runoff in May after falling short of capturing the nomination outright on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that he spoke on the phone to a Taliban leader, making him the first U.S. president believed to have ever spoken directly with the militant group responsible for the deaths of thousands of U.S.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Emergency surgery has sidelined a four-time winner of Alaska's famed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race days before he was set to compete in his 30th race.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A judge has extended voting hours in a Nashville-area county after four Democratic presidential candidates sued to keep Super Tuesday polls open after tornado damage there, a Democratic party spokeswoman said Tuesday.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Former Democratic state lawmaker Cal Cunningham, the primary candidate favoured by his party's leaders in the U.S. Senate, advanced Tuesday to a general election challenge against GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.

NASHVILLE — Rescuers searched through shattered Tennessee neighbourhoods for bodies Tuesday, less than a day after tornadoes ripped across Nashville and other parts of the state as families slept.

SEATTLE — Tensions over how to contain the coronavirus escalated Tuesday in the United States as the death toll climbed to nine and lawmakers expressed doubts about the government's ability to ramp up testing fast enough to deal with the crisis.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina won his party's primary Tuesday and will face Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest in the November general election, seeking a second term. It's a race that Forest has long been preparing for.