UNITED STATES VISA WAIVERS

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will announce as early as Thursday its plan to introduce new visa requirements for European travelers who are dual nationals of Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria, or who have visited any of these countries in the last five years. 

HAITI-ELECTION PROTESTS

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A majority of Haitian senators approves a resolution calling for the suspension of presidential and legislative runoffs set for this weekend. But political observers and lawmakers say the resolution calling for the Jan. 24 vote to be halted is non-binding. 

COLOMBIA-PARDONED GUERRILLAS

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia releases a group of imprisoned rebels, marking another milestone in a peace process that could end Latin America's longest-running armed conflict. 

OBAMA-DETROIT

DETROIT — President Barack Obama hails the revival of the nation's auto industry while acknowledging the water crisis in nearby Flint, Michigan, saying the detection of high levels of lead serve as a reminder that the government can't shortchange basic services. 

UNITED NATIONS-BRIBERY SCHEME

NEW YORK — A U.S. citizen becomes the second person to plead guilty in connection with a bribery scandal at the United Nations, tearfully admitting that she bribed a former president of the U.N. General Assembly to gain his support for business ventures. By Larry Neumeister.

TEXAS EXECUTION

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A Texas man put to death for a killing 15 years ago becomes the busy death penalty state's first prisoner executed in 2016. 

PREP SCHOOL-ABUSE

MIDDLETOWN, Rhode Island — An exclusive New England boarding school whose alumni include Astors, Vanderbilts and Bushes has been rocked by a sex abuse scandal. Dozens of former students say they were raped or molested by employees or schoolmates over the past four decades. 

AP EXPLAINS-WORLD PASSPORTS

MONTPELIER, Vermont — Mos Def's arrest in South Africa shined a light on the world passport, a document invented by a Vermont man in the aftermath of World War II. World passports were created by Garry Davis as a way of giving stateless people and refugees access to identification.

PUERTO RICO-ECONOMY

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew stresses during a visit to Puerto Rico that congressional action is the only solution to pulling the U.S. territory out of its worsening economic crisis.