Month: February 2023

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s consumers rebounded last month from a weak holiday shopping season by boosting their spending at stores and restaurants at the fastest pace in almost two years, underscoring the economy’s resilience in the face of higher prices and multiple interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is urging the 30 member countries to commit to spending at least 2% of their gross domestic product on their defense budgets by a set date. He says that Russia’s war on Ukraine, extremist threats and security needs linked to China are eating

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton insisted he will not be silenced by offseason rules that prohibit drivers from speaking out on political issues. Hamilton said Wednesday he will continue to use his global platform to promote his wide-ranging interests, which include social justice and race, human rights

GENEVA (AP) — Mining, oil and metals giant Glencore posted record profits last year on soaring demand for energy. The Swiss-based company said Wednesday that it will pay out more than $7 billion to shareholders. Glencore says business rebounded from lows during the coronavirus pandemic and rode a spike in demand for oil and natural

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A human rights group says Britain and the United States committed crimes against humanity when they forced the people of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to leave their homes five decades ago to make way for a U.S. Navy base. Human Rights Watch called on

By JAMEY KEATEN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations migration agency says at least 73 Europe-bound migrants are missing and presumed dead after a shipwreck off Libya’s coast. The U.N. International Organization for Migration said Wednesday the tragedy involving some 80 migrants packed into an inflatable rubber vessel took place

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The head of the International Organization for Migration says the numbers of women and children migrating from the Horn of Africa to Gulf countries through Yemen has significantly increased. IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino told The Associated Press that the treacherous journey from Ethiopia, Somalia and

PARIS (AP) — China’s top diplomat is in Paris, the first stop on a tour of Europe that comes amid rising tensions between the United States and China after the American downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon. Wang Yi met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace behind closed doors Wednesday. Macron’s

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian journalist has been convicted of disparaging her country’s military and received a six-year prison sentence. The court in the city of Barnaul in southern Siberia found Maria Ponomarenko guilty on Wednesday of “spreading false information about the Russian armed forces’ actions” with her posts on a messaging app. Ponomarenko, who

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The leader of Britain’s Labour Party says former U.K. opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, who led the left-of-center party while it was stained by allegations of antisemitism, will not be allowed to run for Labour in the next national election. Keir Starmer said Wednesday the party had changed

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Hyundai and Kia are rolling out software updates to stem a raft of auto thefts related to a TikTok challenge that authorities believe has led to at least 14 reported crashes and eight fatalities. The updates are free for millions of vehicles that are missing a key anti-theft device,

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer MERIBEL, France (AP) — American skiing standout Mikaela Shiffrin had an unexpected parting with her longtime coach, Mike Day, during the middle of the world championships after informing him that she planned to take a new direction with her staff at the end of the season. “Mikaela wants to

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The waters off New England logged the second-warmest year in their recorded history last year. The Gulf of Maine, a body of water about the size of Indiana that touches Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Canada, is warming faster than the vast majority of the world’s

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Former Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has been recommended to become the next president of the country’s soccer federation. Reinfeldt was prime minister from 2006-14. He has no previous links to soccer. The next chairman is to be formally elected on March 25. The Swedish soccer association says it has “listened to

Germany’s air traffic control agency said Wednesday that it is diverting all flights away from the country’s busiest airport, Frankfurt, after a problem with Lufthansa’s computer systems caused major disruption at the German airline. Agency spokesman Robert Ertler said all plane parking spots in Frankfurt were full because passengers and crews are unable to board

By MARK LONG AP Sports Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — NASCAR’s next 75 years almost certainly will include at least a partially electric vehicle turning laps at Daytona International Speedway. It’s unfathomable to some, unconscionable to others. It’s unlikely the sanctioning body would make the transition without at least trying to keep the heart-pounding

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said Wednesday that she plans to step down after more than eight years in office, amid criticism of her drive to expand transgender rights and her strategy for achieving independence from the United Kingdom. Sturgeon made the announcement during a news conference at

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Electric car giant Tesla will, for the first time, make some of its charging stations available to all U.S. electric vehicles by the end of next year. It’s part of a plan announced Wednesday by the White House. Tesla’s decision will make at least 7,500 chargers from

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican and Democratic senators who have been arguing over how much money to give the IRS and how it should be spent found at least one point of unanimity Wednesday as they considered President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the agency: Both sides wished Danny Werfel good

By JOHN LEICESTER and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — They fought on the same side and together won Olympic gold, young men from Russia and a newly independent Ukraine, joined for one last medal-winning hurrah on a short-lived post-Soviet Unified Team at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Now, former fencers Vadym Guttsait and

By JOSH BOAK and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press LANHAM, Maryland (AP) — President Joe Biden says Republican policies would blow up the national debt by $3 trillion over 10 years, taking direct aim at GOP lawmakers who say their priority is a balancing the federal budget. Biden told union workers in Lanham, Maryland, on Wednesday,