Month: February 2023

By JOCELYN GECKER AP Education Writer LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Under the fluorescent lights of a fifth grade classroom in Lexington, Kentucky, Donnie Piercey instructed his 23 students to try and outwit the “robot” that was churning out writing assignments. The robot was the new artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, which can generate everything from essays

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has angrily rejected the Moldovan president’s claim about an alleged plot by Moscow to overthrow her government, accusing Moldova’s authorities of trying to distract public attention from the country’s own domestic problems. Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Tuesday dismissed Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s claims as “absolutely unfounded and unsubstantiated.”

By BARBARA MARQUAND of NerdWallet It’s been a bumpy ride for mortgage companies lately. Some lenders have gone out of business, merged with other companies or narrowed their focus. And more changes are likely in 2023. But the shakeout shouldn’t set you off course. The terms of your loan will stay the same if you

By MUIR AHMED and RIAZ KHAN Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Cash-strapped Pakistan sharply increased taxes on natural gas to comply with a long-stalled financial bailout, and both industrial and everyday consumers were expected to feel the pain. The government’s bid to revive a $6 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund led it to

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Shoichiro Toyoda, who as a son of the company’s founder oversaw Toyota’s expansion into international markets, has died. He was 97. The company said Toyoda, its honorary chairman, died Tuesday of heart failure. Toyoda was the father of Akio Toyoda, who recently announced he was stepping

By SOPHIE AUSTIN Associated Press/Report for America SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California, a U.S. trendsetter for progressive policies and a state where the current governor once made news issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in San Francisco before it was legal, will attempt to enshrine marriage equality in the state constitution. The effort comes 15

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers says his executive budget will hand the Milwaukee Brewers almost $300 million to enact repairs on American Family Field. The governor’s office said Tuesday that in exchange for the money, the team would extend its lease at the stadium for 13 years.

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — Fenway Park is getting ready for baseball again after perhaps its busiest offseason ever. Even with no Red Sox playoffs, the 110-year-old ballpark had the turnstiles spinning with the NHL’s Winter Classic and the inaugural Fenway Bowl college football game. Top Golf and the Spartan Race

By HALELUYA HADERO and ALI SWENSON The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — At a time when consumers are inundated with so-called social media influencers peddling the latest products online, a slew of TikTok users are leveraging their platforms to tell people what not to buy instead. The trend, called “de-influencing,” is a stark contrast

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Associated Press EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The 43-year-old gunman who killed three students and wounded five others at Michigan State University had no apparent connection to the campus, police said Tuesday as they searched for a motive for shootings that terrified the community for hours. Investigators were sorting

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukraine is renewing its appeal to Western countries for fighter jets to help frustrate Moscow’s invasion. Senior defense officials from the United States and its NATO allies said Tuesday the war with Russia is approaching a critical stage. With the war set to enter its second year

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates’ pick to lead the upcoming COP28 climate talks in Dubai has called on the world to “fight climate change, not each other.” His comments Tuesday directly address the anger activists have felt over his selection. Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Lawyers say that Tunisian authorities have arrested the leader of the Ennahda opposition Islamist movement in a crackdown on rival politicians and critics of the North African country’s increasingly authoritarian president Kais Saied. Attornies say that lawyer Lazhar Akremi and Noureddine Bouttar, the director general of independent radio station Mosaïque, were

BERLIN (AP) — Ford said Tuesday that it will cut 3,800 jobs in Europe over the next three years in an effort to streamline its operations as it contends with economic headwinds and increasing competition on electric cars. The automaker said that 2,300 jobs will go in Germany, 1,300 in the U.K. and 200 elsewhere

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Hackers say they have taken down the websites of Bahrain’s international airport and state news agency to mark the 12-year anniversary of an Arab Spring uprising in the small Gulf country. A statement posted online by a group calling itself Al-Toufan, or “The Flood” in Arabic, claimed to have

By KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Officials from India’s Income Tax Department searched the BBC’s offices in New Delhi on Tuesday, weeks after the British broadcaster released a controversial documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, three members of its staff said. The employees asked not to be identified because they were not

By JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — She is from Ukraine and he is from Russia. Their love blossomed online, but with their nations at war, the odds of carrying on their relationship were stacked against them. Even so, it didn’t take long for the young couple to beat the odds. Mariia Vyhivska

By BERNAT ARMANGUÉ Associated Press ANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — Six days after the earthquake that flattened parts of Turkey and Syria, two survivors emerged from the rubble. They were dogs, the focus of a parallel rescue effort underway. “One of the dogs clung to its owner’s corpse, and it was absolutely a miracle that it

By SARAH EL DEEB and FAY ABOUELGASIM Associated Press ATAREB, Syria (AP) — Draped in a heavy wool shawl against the cold, Ayesha dragged her feet, her toddler granddaughter trailing behind her, as they made the 15-minute walk from her tent to the nearest bathroom in a nearby building, the only place they have to

By HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — As Vitalii Khroniuk lay facedown on the ground taking cover from Russian artillery fire, the Ukrainian solider had just one regret: He had never had a child. Aware that he could die at any moment, the 29-year-old decided to try cryopreservation — the process of freezing

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets fell Wednesday after U.S. inflation edged down less than expected, fueling concern the Federal Reserve might think more interest rate hikes are needed. Market benchmarks in Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Sydney declined. Oil prices retreated. Wall Street ended mixed Tuesday after inflation

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Actor Idris Elba says he’s going to stick with being the tormented detective John Luther — not James Bond. Speaking Tuesday to the World Government Summit in Dubai, Elba brought up the persistent discussions about him taking over as Ian Fleming’s famed British spy.

By WANJOHI KABUKURU Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — With the prospect of a sixth consecutive failed rainy season in the east and Horn of Africa, Kenya’s president is hoping the heavens will finally open with the help of a national day of mass prayer on Tuesday. William Ruto announced the plans for the country’s

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Debt-stricken Sri Lanka is fast-tracking efforts to seal a stalled trade pact with Thailand in order to boost trade and tourism, and improve the foreign currency shortage that has led to its worst economic crisis. Sri Lanka began talks with Thailand on a free trade

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press Hong Kong (AP) — Beijing has dropped a requirement for the United States consul general to secure China’s approval before meeting officials in the semi-autonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong. The U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong said Tuesday that the new requirement to instead provide prior notice started in November.

BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) — Customers of wireless provider T-Mobile US Inc. reported widespread service outages in the U.S. late Monday, according to websites tracking service interruptions. Posts on Downdetector.com and Product-Reviews.net indicated T-Mobile service outages in multiple areas of the country. Many Twitter users also reported outages. Numerous posts by users said their service had

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Maybe they came from China. Maybe from somewhere farther away. A lot farther away. The downing of four aerial devices by U.S. warplanes has touched off rampant misinformation about the objects, their origin and their purpose, showing how complicated world events and a lack of information can

By MEGAN JANETSKY Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Last week Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega packed off 222 political leaders, priests, students, activists and other dissidents to the United States, their release long demanded by the international community. Shortly after, Ortega’s government voted to strip the former prisoners of Nicaraguan citizenship. Analysts, legal experts and

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The pace of consumer price increases eased again in January compared with a year earlier, the latest sign that the high inflation that has gripped Americans for nearly two years is slowing. At the same time, Tuesday’s consumer price report from the government showed that inflationary

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States renewed a warning that it would defend its treaty ally if Filipino forces come under attack in the disputed South China Sea, after a Chinese coast guard ship allegedly hit a Philippine patrol vessel with military-grade laser that briefly blinded some of its

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government plans to allow people who are “loyal to the nation” to carry licensed firearms. But they must comply with orders from local authorities to participate in security and law enforcement actions. The announcement fanned fears of even more violence in a country wracked by

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. experts say the predominant view among member nations is that the leadership of al-Qaida has passed to Sayf al-’Adl, who was responsible for Osama bin Laden’s security and trained some of the hijackers involved in the 9/11 attack on the U.S. The panel of

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and KEN KUSMER Associated Press EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A gunman opened fire Monday night at Michigan State University, killing three people and wounding five more, before fatally shooting himself miles away after an hours-long manhunt that forced frightened students to hide in the dark. Police announced the man’s death early