Month: June 2023

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The homicide rate for older U.S. teenagers rose to its highest point in nearly 25 years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the suicide rate for adults in their early 20s was the worst in more than 50 years, government researchers said Thursday. The Centers for

By JENNIFER O’MAHONY Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez believes the European Union will finalize a controversial pact on migration by the end of the year. Spain takes over the bloc’s rotating presidency on July 1. Sánchez set out his nation’s key priorities for the presidency at a speech Thursday in

ROME (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Francis is going to be discharged from the hospital on Friday. On the eve of his release, he visited the children’s cancer ward. The Vatican released photos showing Francis in his wheelchair in the corridor of the pediatric oncology ward of Rome’s Gemelli hospital. The Vatican says he’s

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Glenda Jackson, a two-time Academy Award-winning performer who had a second career in politics as a British lawmaker before an acclaimed late-life return to stage and screen, has died at age 87. Jackson’s agent Lionel Larner said she died Thursday at her home in London after a

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the military organization has seen no evidence that Russia has changed its nuclear posture. On Tuesday, President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that Belarus has already received some tactical nuclear weapons from Moscow. He’s warning that he would order their use if his country comes under threat. Stoltenberg said

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — New Delhi police have filed charges of sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of six female athletes by Indian wrestling federation president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at the end of their investigation. Singh faces a maximum of five years in prison if convicted. He denies the

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer CHICAGO (AP) — When it comes to baseball and LGBTQ+ inclusivity, Billy Bean often flashes back to his playing days. Ending his career without telling his parents about his life as a closeted gay ballplayer. Shielding his secret from teammates like Brad Ausmus and Torey Lovullo. The regret of

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer says as many as 30,000 people in the country are involved in criminal networks. He described the figure Thursday as “breathtaking” and vowed to introduce new legislation to fight organized crime. Criminal gangs have become a growing problem in Sweden, a country of 10 million that has

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The race for the most successful ascents of Mount Everest is still on. Sherpa guide Pasang Dawa plans to climb the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak next year in an attempt to match the record set by a fellow Sherpa guide. He said on Thursday, “I will continue

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s main opposition party has expelled a senator after a female senator accused him of sexual assault and a former senator said he squeezed her buttocks, in the latest evidence of a toxic culture in Parliament House that is hostile to women. Opposition leader Peter Dutton said he expelled Sen. David

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has highlighted progress in chipping away at so-called junk fees as a “win for consumers” while meeting at the White House with executives from Live Nation, Airbnb and other companies that have taken steps to embrace more transparent pricing. Biden prioritized the effort to combat surprise or undisclosed fees

By SYLEJMAN KLLOKOQI and LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s prime minister says border security will be tightened following what he described as Serbia’s role in the “kidnapping of three police officers.” Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Thursday also criticized NATO-led international peacekeepers for not providing an official explanation of what happened

By DANICA KIRKA and SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A committee of lawmakers has harshly rebuked former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In a report issued on Thursday, the House of Commons Privileges Committee said Johnson lied to Parliament about lockdown-flouting parties and was complicit in a campaign to intimidate those investigating his

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has pressed ahead with another interest rate hike and is making clear more are on the way. The quarter-percentage point increase Thursday aims to crush inflation that’s driving up the cost of groceries, utility bills and summer vacations. It comes a

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New figures show that New Zealand’s economy has dipped into recession as higher interest rates take their toll. Statistics New Zealand said Thursday that gross domestic product fell by 0.1% in the March quarter, following a revised 0.7% fall in the previous quarter. That fulfils

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO defense ministers are weighing future relations with Ukraine as Russia’s war on the country thwarts its hopes of joining the world’s biggest security alliance soon. NATO agreed in 2008 that Ukraine would join the organization one day, but did not set a date for it to start membership talks. During the

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares logged moderate gains on Friday after Wall Street benchmarks swept higher, extending their longest rally in a year and a half. The Bank of Japan wrapped up a policy meeting by keeping its ultra-lax monetary stance unchanged, as expected. It is a standout among

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The union for thousands of West Coast dockworkers has reached a tentative agreement on a new contract after more than a year of negotiations and several work disruptions that snarled shipping traffic at some of the largest ports. On Wednesday the dockworkers union announced a tentative deal for a new six-year

By HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The number of people suffering anxiety and other psychological issues in Ukraine is on the rise since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country last year. But Russia’s frequent missiles barrages and the havoc they wreak are especially challenging for visually impaired people. The explosions

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The organization that handles claims on behalf of Jews who suffered under the Nazis says that Germany has agreed to extend another $1.4 billion overall for Holocaust survivors around the globe for the coming year. The compensation was negotiated with Germany’s Finance Ministry and includes $888.9 million

By JIM MUSTIAN and JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The suspect in a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub is expected to strike a plea deal to state murder and hate charges that would ensure at least a life sentence for the attack that killed five people and wounded

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man Thursday in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said, the latest death in a spike of violence that has rocked the region. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 20-year-old Khalil Yahya Anis was shot in the head in the city of Nablus, a frequent flashpoint for

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang is meeting with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a drive by Beijing to elevate relations and increase its overall presence in the Middle East. Li, who took office this spring with little foreign policy experience, called Abbas “an old friend of the Chinese people” who has made

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nine more women are accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault in a lawsuit that alleges he used his “enormous power, fame and prestige” to victimize them. A lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Nevada alleges that the women were individually drugged and assaulted between approximately 1979 and 1992 in Las

By FARES AKRAM, NINIEK KARMINI and MARIAM FAM Associated Press This year’s Hajj is a landmark: the first full pilgrimage after three years when the COVID-19 pandemic sharply reduced the scale of one of Islam’s holiest rites. Millions of Muslims from around the world will start converging next week on Mecca in Saudi Arabia to

By VANESSA GERA and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Russian forces have destroyed or damaged thousands of Ukrainian schools. But the disruption to education goes far beyond devastated buildings. Experts say schooling is suffering in unprecedented ways, in particular for refugees. The effects of war and relocation combined with the challenges of

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man has been executed for the separate 1984 killings of a teenage babysitter and a mother of two, both slain in attacks while children were sleeping. Authorities say 62-year-old Duane Owen was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m. Thursday after a lethal injection at Florida

By DEREK GATOPOULOS and NICHOLAS PAPHITIS Associated Press KALAMATA, Greece (AP) — Nine survivors of a migrant boating sinking were arrested on suspicion of smuggling as hope faded for hundreds of other passengers who were missing and attention turned to Greece’s failure to act before the overcrowded ship capsized. The overloaded trawler may have carried

By FARES AKRAM, NINIEK KARMINI, ABBY SEWELL, MARIAM FAM and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press This year’s Hajj is a landmark: the first full pilgrimage after a daunting three-year period when the COVID-19 pandemic sharply reduced the scale of one of Islam’s holiest and most beloved rites. Millions of Muslims from around the world will start

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Moments after Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he hoarded classified documents and then conspired to obstruct an investigation about it, the Republicans in Congress had his back. Trump’s mounting legal jeopardy has quickly become a political rallying cry as they rush to

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A deep earthquake has shaken part of the Philippines, southwest of the capital, but there were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties. The 6.2 magnitude earthquake Thursday morning was near Hukay and about 75 miles below the surface. Deep quakes are often widely felt with less potential to cause

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China’s factory and consumer activity weakened further in May and surging unemployment among young people in cities broke the previous month’s record as an economic rebound following the end of anti-virus controls slowed. The government reported surveys found more than a fifth of potential workers in