Month: August 2022

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street rose as investors analyzed conflicting economic signals ahead of a Federal Reserve conference next week. Shanghai and Seoul declined while Tokyo and Hong Kong advanced. Oil prices edged lower but stayed above $90 per barrel. Wall Street

By JOHNSON LAI and JOE McDONALD Associated Press HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — The U.S. government will hold talks with Taiwan on a trade agreement in a sign of support for the self-ruled island democracy China claims as its own territory. The announcement comes after Beijing launched military drills that included firing missiles into the seas

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James has agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension through the 2024-25 season with the Los Angeles Lakers. The maximum deal includes a player option for the 2024-25 season that would keep the second-leading scorer in NBA history with the Lakers past his

By JALAL HASSAN and FARES AKRAM Associated Press RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israel has raided the offices of several Palestinian advocacy groups it had previously designated as terrorist organizations. Troops sealed entrances and left notices Thursday declaring them closed. Israel’s military said it closed seven institutions and seized their property. Israel had previously outlawed

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A visiting U.S. senator says he has encouraged Kenya’s outgoing president to participate in a “peaceful transition of power” amid the latest election crisis in East Africa’s most stable democracy. Sen. Chris Coons told The Associated Press during his visit to Kenya that “I’ll let the

By KIANA DOYLE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — One skyscraper stands out from the rest in the Manhattan skyline. It’s not the tallest, but it is the skinniest — the world’s skinniest, in fact. The 84-story residential Steinway Tower, designed by New York architecture firm SHoP Architects, has the title of “most slender skyscraper

By TERRY SPENCER and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Justice Department to put forward proposed redactions as he committed to making public at least part of the affidavit supporting the search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s estate in Florida. U.S. Magistrate Judge

By JAY REEVES Associated Press Rosalynn Carter, the second-oldest U.S. first lady ever, turns 95 Thursday on a birthday that will be marked not just with cards and best wishes, but with butterflies. The wife of former President Jimmy Carter, 97, has a fascination with butterflies dating back to childhood, when she was entranced by

By MARIAM FAM Associated Press ALONG THE JORDAN RIVER (AP) — Kristen Burckhartt felt overwhelmed. She needed time to reflect, to let it sink in that she had just briefly soaked her feet in the water where Jesus is said to have been baptized, in the Jordan River. “It’s very profound,” said the 53-year-old visitor

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. investigator says contemporary forms of slavery are widely practiced around the world, including forced labor for China’s Uyghur minority. Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata also cites bonded labor for the lowest caste Dalits in South Asia, domestic servitude in Gulf countries,

AL-EMRUN GARJON and JULHAS ALAM Associated Press BHOLA, Bangladesh (AP) — When the Mehgna River swallowed Mohammad Jewel and Arzu Begum’s tin-roofed family home overnight in southern Bangladesh just over a year ago they had no choice but to leave their ancestral village. The couple fled the next morning with their four young boys to

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Heavy rain is continuing to pelt New Zealand, causing further disruptions and road closures from a storm that has already forced hundreds to evacuate their homes. Residents in the northern part of the North Island found themselves isolated after landslides, fallen trees and floodwaters blocked

By GABE STERN Associated Press/Report for America RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said that he would seek to codify in law an order he signed that protects in-state abortion providers and out-of-state patients next legislative session if he wins re-election. The announcement came in the side lounge of a Reno coffee and

SEATTLE (AP) — A Seattle CEO who announced in 2015 that he was giving himself a drastic pay cut to help cover the cost of big raises for his employees has announced his resignation. Dan Price, the embattled CEO of credit card processing company Gravity Payments, resigned Wednesday, The Seattle Times reported. Price stunned his

By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — Advocates for wild horses are accusing federal land managers of illegally approving plans for the largest U.S. holding facility for thousands of mustangs captured on public rangeland in 10 Western states. Friends of Animals said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday up to 4,000 horses would be

By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s chief justice denied Wednesday that a personality conflict led her to fire all members of a commission that governs the Office of Public Defense Services and appoints its executive director. Critics for years have said Oregon’s public defense system is in crisis with far too

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s chief financial officer is expected to plead guilty to tax violations Thursday in a deal that would require him to testify about illicit business practices at the former president’s company, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Allen Weisselberg is

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An Afghan refugee charged in the shooting deaths of two Muslim men and suspected in the killing of two others will remain behind bars pending trial. A New Mexico district court judge granted a motion by prosecutors during a virtual hearing Wednesday, agreeing that Muhammad

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor Anne Heche died from inhalation injury and burns after her fiery car crash and the death was ruled an accident, according to coroner’s results released Wednesday. Heche, 53, also had a fractured sternum caused by “blunt trauma,” according to information on the website of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner.

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon appears to be getting the TikTok bug, joining other companies seeking to hold consumers’ attention by introducing replicas of the popular social platform. According to the artificial intelligence firm Watchful Technologies, the e-commerce giant has been testing a feed on its app that enables

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — Thundering gas-powered muscle cars will be closing in on their final Saturday-night cruises in the coming years. That’s because automakers are replacing the vehicles with super-fast cars that run on batteries. Stellantis’ Dodge brand has long been the performance flag-bearer of the company formerly known

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas state senator must unblock critics from his social media accounts under a settlement with a national atheists group that had sued him. American Atheists on Wednesday announced the settlement in its federal lawsuit against Arkansas over Republican Sen. Jason Rapert’s social media. Rapert