MARYSVILLE, Wash. (AP) – Moving her finger over the laptop trackpad, 6-year-old Lauren Meek drags and drops a block of code to build a set of instructions. She clicks the “run” button and watches as the character moves through a maze. She then pumps her fist in excitement. “Yes! This …

NEW YORK (AP) – Shoppers traded bricks for clicks on Monday, flocking online to snap up “Cyber Monday” deals on everything from cashmere sweaters to Star Wars toys. Now that shoppers are online all the time anyway, the 10-year-old shopping holiday has lost some of its luster as online sales …

NEW YORK (AP) – Between splashy launches, lavish new-phone offers (get a free HDTV on activation!) and frequent software updates that slow down your old handset, it sometimes feels like the entire technology industry is pushing you to buy the latest smartphone. Yet some holdouts resist. Take Zak Sommerfield, 35, …

LE BOURGET, France (AP) – The latest news from the U.N. climate conference in Paris, which runs through Dec. 11. All times local: 1:30 p.m. President Barack Obama says without ambitious action on climate change, people may be forced to flee island nations and will become refugees. Obama is meeting …

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) – Pope Francis made a historic visit to the last remaining Muslim neighborhood in Central African Republic’s capital Monday, a move that almost immediately opened up a part of the divided city troubled for months by retaliatory violence between Muslim and Christian militias. Moments after …

BEIRUT (AP) – Syria’s al-Qaida branch on Tuesday released a group of Lebanese troops held captive for over a year as part of a Qatar-brokered swap that involved Lebanon setting free at least 11 prisoners wanted by the militants, including a former wife of the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr …

JERUSALEM (AP) – The Israeli military on Tuesday said it shot and killed two Palestinians who tried to carry out separate stabbing attacks in the West Bank. The attacks were the latest in a wave of violence that erupted in mid-September and has shown no signs of ending. Early Tuesday, …

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – Thousands of people lined Harare’s roads and welcomed Chinese president Xi Jinping, whose visit has raised hopes that China will help stabilize Zimbabwe’s faltering economy. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe greeted Xi at the airport, where some immigration signs are in Chinese, indicating China’s importance to this …

LE BOURGET, France (AP) – Some 150 world leaders including President Barack Obama are joining U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday in kicking off two weeks of high-stakes climate talks near Paris, with organizers hoping the unprecedented high-level appearances will turbocharge the chances of reaching an ambitious deal to cut emissions …

PARIS (AP) – Some 180 countries have already presented plans to cut or rein in their climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions. That’s a huge step forward for the U.N. climate talks but a host of difficult issues remain to be resolved before a new climate agreement can be adopted in Paris. …