Month: December 2022

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man already serving a federal prison sentence for running an illegal autopsy scheme also has been sentenced to serve an additional year in jail on state criminal charges. The Kansas attorney general’s office announced Wednesday that 43-year-old Shawn Parcells was ordered by a state-court judge to serve his 12-month

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Somalia’s government says the first group of 5,000 Somalis sent to Eritrea for military training has returned home, to the relief of parents who had alleged their sons had been recruited under false pretenses. The defense minister on Wednesday confirmed the first group’s arrival in Somalia’s

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed for the tenth month in a row in November, constrained by a tight inventory of properties on the market and mortgage rates averaging more than double what they were a year ago. The National Association of Realtors said

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An 800-page report set to be released Thursday by House investigators will conclude that then-President Donald Trump criminally plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat and “provoked his supporters to violence” at the Capitol with false claims of widespread voter fraud. The resulting Jan. 6, 2021,

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Police in North Macedonia say they have arrested nine people, including a police officer, on suspicion of smuggling dozens of migrants through the country. They were arrested during raids on 11 locations in the capital, Skopje. The nine are all Macedonian nationals and include two minors. Three men from Middle

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Three estranged daughters of a 73-year-old man who fatally shot five people in his condominium near Toronto say he “was a controlling and abusive husband and father.” The daughters of Francesco Villi say in a statement released Wednesday by Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit that they are deeply

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The American consumer’s confidence rebounded this month, even as the Fed continues to raise interest rates and many economists fear an oncoming recession. The Conference Board reported Wednesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 108.3 in December, up from 101.4 in November. This month’s number

By RISDEL KASASIRA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A Ugandan court has charged an American couple with child trafficking in a case that might see them serve life in prison if convicted. The couple earlier had been charged with aggravated torture and was alleged to have kept the foster child in the room fitted

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Wednesday it will release doses of prescription flu medicine from the Strategic National Stockpile to states as flu-sickened patients continue to flock to hospitals and doctors’ offices around the country. This year’s flu season has hit hard and early. Some people are even

By HILARY FOX Associated Press PARIS (AP) — “Emily in Paris” fans will get a few surprises in their Christmas stockings, when the third season of the hit show arrives on Netflix this Wednesday. Even the cast were shocked, when they read the scripts, by the number of cliffhangers in the new series. Lily Collins

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s national weather service said preliminary data indicates that 2022 will finish with average daily temperatures above 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time since records started in 1961. It says that the four hottest years on record for the southern European country have all come since 2015. The

BERLIN (AP) — The German government said Wednesday that it opposes bailed-out national carrier Lufthansa’s plans for bonus payments to executives. German business daily Handelsblatt reported that the airline’s board agreed to give bonuses to top managers for the years 2021 and 2022. Lufthansa declined to confirm this, but said bonus payments wouldn’t be made

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ energy ministry says a consortium made up of energy companies Eni of Italy and France’s Total is expediting plans to develop natural gas deposits following the discovery of a third field containing 2-3 trillion cubic feet of the hydrocarbon inside the same licensed exploration area. The ministry announced the discovery

By CLAIRE SAVAGE Associated Press/Report for America CHICAGO (AP) — As a kid, Kevin Fair would take apart his Nintendo console, troubleshoot issues and put it back together again — experiences the Black entrepreneur says represented “a life trajectory changing moment” when he realized the entertainment system was more than a toy. “I think I

By ABDOULIE JOHN Associated Press SERREKUNDA, Gambia (AP) — Gambian authorities say that a dead man was found in the wheel bay of an airplane that flew from Gambia to Britain. Ebrima G. Sankareh, Gambia’s government spokesman, said in a statement Tuesday that the unidentified body of a black male was found on a jet

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A plan by Scotland’s government to make it easier for people to change gender for legal purposes has sparked acrimonious debate both inside and outside of the Edinburgh parliament. A bill introduced by the Scottish National Party-led government would allow people to transition by self-declaration, removing the

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE Associated Press ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana’s state media says that four men have each been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Ghana for kidnapping two Canadian volunteers in the West African country several years ago. The Ghana News Agency said the men were found guilty of conspiracy and kidnapping Lauren

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s prime minister thinks it’s time to “drain the swamp” in the European Union, something he imagines could lead all the way to dissolving the bloc’s legislature. In an annual international news conference in Budapest on Wednesday, Viktor Orban said a recent corruption scandal involving several

By The Associated Press Russia announced an ambitious plan to beef up its military from 1 million to 1.5 million and create multiple new units. It’s an attempt to bolster the forces that have lost momentum and many soldiers in the war in Ukraine. Russia’s military chief cited NATO’s plans to incorporate Finland and Sweden

By NAJIB JOBAIN Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Red Cross said Wednesday that it had conducted rare visits to thousands of prisoners on both sides of Yemen’s eight-year civil war, a step that could pave the way for an exchange of detainees between the rival parties. Fabrizio Carboni, the International Committee

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway’s King Harald V has been discharged from an Oslo hospital where he had received intravenous antibiotics to treat an infection. The Norwegian palace said Wednesday that ”the king is on the road to recovery, but will take it easy for a few days.” The 85-year-old monarch was hospitalized Monday. Harald,

PARIS (AP) — The launch of a European rocket carrying two Earth observation satellites failed and ditched in the sea less than three minutes after liftoff from a spaceport in French Guiana on Wednesday. Arianespace, which provided the launch service, said a decrease in pressure was observed in the Vega C rocket’s second stage approximately

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A right-wing Danish lawmaker has been acquitted of misusing European Union funds worth 98,835 kroner ($14,105) and falsifying documents. A Copenhagen court found Morten Messerschmidt not guilty Wednesday of making false statements about holding an EU conference in 2015 in order to receive EU funding. He maintained his innocence throughout his

By JACKIE VELING of NerdWallet If you bought an unsuccessful gift this holiday season with a “buy now, pay later” plan, you or the recipient might be wondering how to return it. Buy now, pay later returns are sometimes tricky because you’re dealing with multiple parties, including the store the gift is from and the

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s government says it has purchased three Turkish-made Byaraktar TB2 drones, the model that is becoming increasingly popular after its use by the Ukrainian forces against Russian invaders. The deal was signed Tuesday. The amount paid was not specified. Prime Minister Edi Rama said the unmanned air vehicles, or UAVs, would

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — International pressure is growing on Rwanda as France and Germany are the latest parties to openly accuse the country of supporting armed rebels in neighboring eastern Congo — with possible repercussions for foreign aid that Kigali has long enjoyed. For months, renewed attacks by the M23

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — The ball fluttered in the air and all but one of the 22 players on the Three Rivers Stadium turf on that cold December day 50 years ago essentially stopped. Franco Harris never did. The Pittsburgh Steelers running back kept right on going, the instincts that

By RONALD MONTOYA Edmunds A number of people with convertibles or fun weekend cars will store them for the winter season. With this in mind, the experts at Edmunds have put together a list of best practices when storing your vehicle to help preserve the life of the engine and ensure that your car starts

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Most of the jurors at Harvey Weinstein’s Los Angeles trial were ready to convict him of crimes related to three of the four women he was charged with raping or sexually assaulting. Yet after weeks of deliberation the eight men and four women voted unanimously

By ERIKA KINETZ Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Three days after the first Russian bombs struck Ukraine, Andrii Kuprash, the head of a village north of Kyiv, walked into a forest near his home and began to dig. He carved out a shallow pit as a just-in-case, a place to lie low if he

By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Kremlin is warning that increasing the supply of U.S. arms to Ukraine would aggravate the devastating 10-month war ignited by Russia’s invasion. A Kremlin spokesman made the comments Wednesday. Russia’s defense minister also called for expanding Moscow’s military by at least 500,000 troops. And

By ERIKA KINETZ and SOLOMIIA HERA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — One was asked to be an informant for Russia. Another’s 16-year-old son was abducted as leverage. A third is still in Russian custody. Here are just a few portraits of prominent Ukrainian politicians, journalists, pastors and more who ended up on Russian lists

CAIRO (AP) — Iran’s state media says security forces killed two men and arrested two others suspected of carrying out a shooting in the restive southwest last month that left seven people dead. State media said Wednesday that the four were involved in the attack, which left seven people dead in the city of Izeh.

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Thousands of ambulance workers in Britain are staging a one-day strike, with unions and the government swapping accusations of blame for putting lives at risk. The government is telling people not to play contact sports, take unnecessary car trips or get drunk in order to reduce their