Month: December 2023

Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s minimum-wage workers have more than just the new year to celebrate. A pay bump kicked in Monday as the clock ticked over to 2024. In the first of a series of annual increases slated for the Empire State, the minimum wage increased to $16 in New York

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — A survey of factory managers in China shows manufacturing contracted in December in the latest sign the world’s No. 2 economy is still sluggish. The official purchasing managers index, or PMI, fell to 49 last month in what officials said was evidence of weak demand. It

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis is underscoring how much Iowa means to him, campaigning there into the waning hours of 2023. The Florida governor held a New Year’s Eve event in a Sheraton Hotel ballroom in West Des Moines, where jeans and cowboy boots outnumbered tuxedos and

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge will allow Mississippi officials to move forward with creating a state-run court in part of the majority-Black capital city of Jackson. Attorneys for NAACP say the new court undermines democracy because local voters or local elected officials won’t choose its judge or

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his military to “thoroughly annihilate” the United States and South Korea if provoked, State media reported Monday that Kim made the order during a meeting with commanding army officers the previous day. In a five-day ruling party

By JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/Report for America A Colorado mother suspected of killing two of her young children and injuring a third is under arrest in the United Kingdom. Kimberlee Singler’s 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son were found dead on Dec. 19 when police responded to reported burglary at their home. Police say the burglary

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts is turning his focus to the promise and shortcomings of artificial intelligence in the federal courts. His annual report makes no mention of Supreme Court ethics or legal controversies involving Donald Trump. Roberts on Sunday described artificial intelligence as the “latest technological frontier”

DALLAS, Texas (AP) — Trailblazing former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has died at 88. The nurse from Texas helped bring hundreds of millions of federal dollars to the Dallas area as the region’s most powerful Democrat. She died Sunday. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement that she was the “single most effective

ELDORET, Kenya (AP) — Police in Kenya say they are investigating the slaying of three-time Ugandan Olympian Benjamin Kiplagat. A local police official says Kiplagat’s body was found with stab wounds inside his brother’s car on Sunday morning. He says the athlete had been driving the car before his body was discovered in the vehicle

Associated Press PAIA, Hawaii (AP) — The Maui Police Department in Hawaii says a surfer died in the hospital after being injured in a shark encounter. Ocean Safety Officers grabbed and transported the man by jet ski to shore, where first responders performed life-saving measures. Medical personnel moved the victim to a hospital where he

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Hollywood closed out an up and down 2023 with “Wonka” regaining No. 1 at the box office, strong sales for “The Color Purple” and an overall $9 billion in ticket sales that improved on 2022’s grosses but fell about $2 billion shy of pre-pandemic norms.

SYDNEY (AP) — Former world champion cyclist Rohan Dennis is reported to have been charged in connection with the death of his wife, Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins, who died after being struck by a vehicle while riding in Adelaide. Australian media reports said Dennis has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, endangering life

JERUSALEM (AP) — A member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political party has offered one of the party’s first public apologies for the internal strife that preceded Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Knesset member Galit Distel Atbaryan gave a searingly personal mea culpa in an interview with Israel’s Channel 13 on Sunday. She said: “I’m here

BEIRUT (AP) — A U.N. spokesperson says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has closed an international tribunal that was created to investigate the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Over the years, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon held in absentia proceedings and found three members of the militant Hezbollah group guilty in connection with

Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — After lithium-ion batteries burned in a large cargo ship’s hold for a number of days, the U.S. Coast Guard said late Saturday that the fire was out and directed the ship to anchor near Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The 19 crew members of the ship, Genius Star XI, were uninjured

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shecky Greene, the gifted comic and master improviser who became the consummate Las Vegas lounge headliner and was revered by his peers and live audiences as one of the greatest standup acts of his generation, has died. He was 97. His widow, Marie Musso Green,

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II has announced that she plans to leave the throne to make way for her son, Crown Prince Frederik. The queen announced during her New Year’s speechon Sunday that she would abdicate on Jan. 14th, which is the 52nd anniversary of her own accession to the throne at

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sportsbook director Jay Kornegay is anticipating massive crowds at Westgate’s Las Vegas location this weekend and Monday to bet on the two College Football Playoff semifinal games. Part of it is timing. Last season’s games were on New Year’s Eve. This season’s games are on

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say they have detained three more people in connection with a reported threat of an attack on the Cologne Cathedral over the holiday period. The detentions Sunday morning come only days after a 30-year-old Tajik man was taken into custody in relation to an alleged

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California law that bans people from carrying firearms in most public places is taking effect on New Year’s Day, even as a court case continues to challenge it. A U.S. district judge issued a ruling Dec. 20 to block the law. He said it violates the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment

LONDON (AP) — John Pilger, an Australia-born journalist and documentary filmmaker known for his coverage of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, has died, his family said Sunday. He was 84. A statement from his family, posted on X, formerly Twitter, said Pilger died on Saturday in London. “His journalism and documentaries were celebrated around the

By SAM MEDNICK and JEAN-YVES KAMALE Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi was re-elected for a second five year term on Sunday winning the presidency with X percent of the vote, said the election commission. The preliminary results of the Dec. 20 elections were announced in the capital, Kinshasa amid demands

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Police in Greensboro, North Carolina, say an off-duty police officer was shot and killed over the weekend after he witnessed a crime at a gas station and approached the suspects. Officials have not released the police sergeant’s name but said he was a 22-year veteran of the Greensboro Police Department. Chief

By The Associated Press Two of college football’s most storied programs will meet on New Year’s Day in a playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl. No. 1 seed Michigan and fourth-seeded Alabama face off at 5 p.m. Eastern in Pasadena, California. The game will be carried on ESPN’s television, streaming and digital platforms. Nick Saban

By The Associated Press Russian state news agencies say President Vladimir Putin has praised Russia’s “united society” in his prerecorded New Year’s address to the nation. Putin addressed Russians in a video that ran under four minutes long, significantly shorter than the New Year’s speech he gave last year, state news agency RIA Novosti said

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John Fetterman acknowledges having “dark conversations” about harming himself before he hit “the emergency brake” and sought treatment for depression. In an interview with NBC’s `”Meet the Press,” the Pennsylvania Democrat described his thoughts at that time as, “I can’t be a blueprint for my children. I can’t let them be

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has taken a helicopter flight to check the flooded regions in the northwest of the country, where rivers have swelled and overflowed homes, roads and fields after weeks of heavy rain. In recent days, hundreds of people have been evacuated from affected areas

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press Over the past three years, the world’s oldest democracy has been tested in ways not seen in decades. Former President Donald Trump tried to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s win, And then Trump called his supporters to Washington, where they violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to halt congressional

DETROIT (AP) — Police say four people died and two others have been injured in a Michigan house explosion that could be heard miles away. The explosion happened before 4 p.m. Saturday in Northfield Township, about 45 miles west of Detroit. The structure was completely destroyed, leaving only the basement. Police say six people were

By LUIGI NAVARRA and NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Tributes are being paid on the first anniversary of the death of Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Francis has praised Benedict’s love and wisdom in guiding the church, and Benedict’s private secretary expressed hope he might one day be declared a saint. Benedict was

By WAFAA SHURAFA, BASSEM MROUE and TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes in central Gaza killed at least 35 people Sunday, hospital officials said, as the military targeted areas in several parts of the territory a day after the country’s prime minister said the war will continue for “many

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A senior Taliban official says security forces in Afghanistan killed a number of Tajik and Pakistani nationals and arrested scores others involved in attacks against religious clerics, the public, and mosques in Afghanistan. Taliban’s appointed defense minister, during a press conference in the capital, Kabul, said dozens of Tajiks and more than

By BINSAR BAKKARA Associated Press MEDAN, Indonesia (AP) — Some 170 likely Rohingya refugees, mostly hungry and weak women and children, have been found on a beach in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province after weeks at sea. The group arrived on a beach at Kuala Besar, a fishing village in Langkat district, late Saturday. Villagers who

Istanbul (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed opposition parties for “exploiting” a dispute between two Turkish football clubs and Saudi officials. The Turkish Super Cup final to be played in Saudi Arabia on Friday was postponed indefinitely after Istanbul rivals, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, refused to take to the pitch and returned home.

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. military says it shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired toward a container ship by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. Hours later, four boats tried to attack the same ship, but U.S. forces opened fire, killing several of the armed crews, the U.S. Central Command said. No one

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has slammed Taiwan presidential front-runner William Lai as a “destroyer of peace” following a televised debate on Saturday in which he defended Taiwan’s right to rule itself as a democracy. Chen Binhua, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Lai’s discourse at the debate was “full of confrontational thinking.” He

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean capital, Seoul, received the biggest single-day snowfall recorded in December for more than 40 years on Saturday but there have been no reports of any weather-related deaths or injuries. The country’s weather agency said Sunday that 12.2 centimeters (4.8 inches) of snow fell on Seoul the previous

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a fresh drone assault on Ukraine on Saturday night, after promising that strikes on the Russian border city of Belgorod earlier in the day “would not go unpunished”. The Ukrainian Air Force said Sunday that it had shot down 21 of 49 drones launched by Russian forces overnight. Twenty-eight

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and DANIEL KOZIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — It’s an annual end-of-year exercise in futility for many. But a clean slate awaits at the stroke of midnight for the next round of resolutions. From the first spray of fireworks to the closing chorus of “Auld Lang Syne” 366 days into