Month: February 2023

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Chick-fil-A is jumping on the plant-based bandwagon. The Atlanta chain said Thursday that it’s testing its first plant-based entrée __ a breaded cauliflower sandwich __ at restaurants in Denver; Charleston, South Carolina; and the Greensboro, North Carolina, area. The test begins Feb. 13. Chick-fil-A said its culinary team spent

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate ticked up slightly this week after four weeks of declines, a possible sign of stability that could draw in home shoppers with spring buying season weeks away. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate inched up

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Activist investor Nelson Peltz is calling off a proxy fight with Disney one day after newly returned CEO  Bob Iger announced a major restructuring of the company that includes thousands of job cuts. Peltz phoned into CNBC Thursday to say that his firm, Trian Fund Management, got everything it

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House voted unanimously Thursday to condemn the Beijing government for its balloon surveillance program. The action came as questions mounted about China’s balloon, which the U.S. says was part of a vast aerial spy program. While lawmakers voted 419-0 for the condemnation resolution, they

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The umbrella group of Catholic religious orders in France is demanding church authorities assume responsibility for horrific evidence of sexual, spiritual and psychological abuse that was documented in a once-prominent community.  L’Arche was founded by Jean Vanier and was once a preeminent lay community dedicated to

NEW YORK MILLS, Minn. (AP) — A man who authorities say fired a shot at a co-worker is facing several charges. Otter Tail County Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbons says no one was seriously injured during the incident Thursday at the Lund Boat Company in New York Mills, Minnesota. Authorities say 21-year-old David Jeremiah Gadsen pulled out

TAVERNIER, Fla. (AP) — Some 114 Haitian migrants have made landfall in the Florida Keys, continuing an uptick of people making their way from Haiti and Cuba by sea, the U.S. Border Patrol say. The migrants arrived in a rickety boat along the shores of Tavernier early Thursday. Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar tweeted

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian authorities have equested a lengthy prison sentence for jailed human rights activist Ales Bialiatski. He was one of the winners of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. The prosecutor has asked a court in Minsk to hand Bialiatski a 12-year prison sentence for financing anti-government protests.

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Eugene Lee, the six-time Emmy Award-winning production designer for “Saturday Night Live” who won three Tony Awards for his Broadway sets, including the complicated, greenified Emerald City of “Wicked,” has died. He was 83. Lee died Tuesday in Providence, Rhode Island, said Trinity Repertory Company,

By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA Associated Press Bangkok (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says his government is committed to helping Thailand solve a Muslim insurgency in its far south but does not condone the use of violence to end the conflict. Anwar spoke after meeting with his Thai counterpart, Prayuth Chan-ocha, in his first visit

By BRUCE SCHREINER and JIM SALTER Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Producers of spirits have new bragging rights in the age-old whiskey vs. beer barroom debate. New figures show that spirits surpassed beer for U.S. market-share supremacy, based on supplier revenues, a spirit industry group announced Thursday. The rise to the top for spirit-makers

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB, FAY ABUELGASIM and OMAR ALBAM Associated Press BAB AL-HAWA, Syria (AP) — A small convoy has crossed from Turkey into Syria’s rebel-held northwest with desperately needed medicines, blankets, tents and U.N. shelter kits, the first aid to reach the enclave, three days after the devastating earthquake struck the region, killing thousands. Before

By KAY DERVISHI and YESICA BALDERRAMA of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy The COVID-19 pandemic greatly accelerated a long-running pattern in giving by foundations and charities for health and natural disasters, a new Chronicle analysis of nine years of data show. Ninety percent of the $5.2 billion donated in 2020, the most recent

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Burt Bacharach, the singularly gifted and popular composer who delighted millions with the quirky arrangements and unforgettable melodies of “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and dozens of other hits, has died at 94. The Grammy, Oscar and Tony-winning Bacharach

By AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO and MARIA CHENG Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A woman who says she was victimized by a World Health Organization doctor during a recent Ebola outbreak in Congo says she is shocked that no senior officials were punished for the sexual abuse and exploitation claims affecting dozens of women in

By GABRIELA SELSER and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Joe Biden says he is happy 222 Nicaraguan prisoners sent to the U.S. have been released, but time will tell if the move signifies a real change in Nicaraguan policies. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after the prisoners’ plane landed

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia-U.S. relations are in a state of “unprecedented crisis” without any sign of improvement, a senior Russian diplomat said Thursday. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov argued that the White House’s emphasis on increasing weapons supplies to Ukraine to ensure Russia’s defeat leaves no room for diplomacy. “I

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Disney is working on sequels for “Toy Story,” “Frozen” and “Zootopia,” three huge hits as the entertainment powerhouse attempts to find its footing under newly returned CEO Bob Iger. The Walt Disney Co. is undergoing a “strategic transformation,” Iger said on Wednesday. That includes 7,000 job cuts announced this

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer More Americans filed for jobless benefits last week, but layoffs remain historically low despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate policy intended to cool the economy and bring down inflation. Applications for jobless aid in the U.S. for the week ending Feb. 4 rose by 13,000 last week to

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer PHOENIX (AP) — When medical personnel rushed onto the field to save Damar Hamlin’s life after the Buffalo Bills’ defensive back collapsed during a game last month in Cincinnati, many people witnessing the horrifying scene did the only thing they could to help. They prayed. Players and coaches

By HOLLY MEYER Associated Press The religiously wary, the spiritually curious — and anyone inclined to appeal to a higher power on game day — are the target audience for a Super Bowl ad campaign with a simple message: Jesus loves them. A group that includes wealthy Christian boosters is using the biggest megaphone TV

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Retired Pope Benedict XVI’s second secretary has come out with a new memoir. It’s a light, photo-filled daily journal that sharply contrasts with the bombshell tell-all book published last month by the late German pope’s main assistant, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein. The new publication, launched Thursday at

By GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer Ghana international soccer player Christian Atsu is missing after the earthquake in Turkey, his club and agent said Thursday, following earlier reports he was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building and taken to a hospital. Atsu’s well-being and whereabouts were unknown. Aydin Toksoz, the deputy head of

By JENNIFER O’MAHONY and JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press MADRID (AP) — The mayor of Barcelona has severed her city’s official ties with Israel, accusing the country of “the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people.” Wednesday’s decision by Mayor Ada Colau has little practical impact – with the most concrete effect being a halt in