Month: December 2023

By KEN MILLER Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Court documents show that the Oklahoma man at the center of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tribal sovereignty has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. The documents filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Muskogee show that 75-year-old Jimcy McGirt pleaded guilty to

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The heads of the nation’s biggest banks say there are reasons to be concerned about the health of U.S. consumers _ particularly poor and low-income borrowers _ in their annual appearance in front of Congress on Wednesday. The CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America,

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Wednesday said it has filed war crime charges against four members of the Russian military accused of abducting and torturing an American during the invasion of Ukraine in a case that’s the first of its kind. The four Russians are

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s state-run fine arts museum is returning 44 ancient pieces of art to their countries of origin after law enforcement officials presented the institution with what it called “irrefutable evidence” that the works had been stolen or looted. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts announced in

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — Off the coast of eastern Long Island, an 800-foot turbine is sending the first electricity onto the U.S. grid from a commercial offshore wind farm. It’s a milestone many years in the making and at the same time a modest advance in what experts say

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writers Google took its next leap in artificial intelligence Wednesday with the launch of project Gemini, an AI model trained to behave in human-like ways that’s likely to intensify the debate about the technology’s potential promise and perils. The rollout will unfold in phases, with less sophisticated

NEW YORK (AP) — Chanel Miller’s next book after her prize-winning memoir “Know My Name” will help fulfill a longtime dream to write and illustrate children’s stories. Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, announced Wednesday that Miller’s “Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All” will be released April 23. The publisher is calling the book

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The opposition in Albania has spoken up at the Constitutional Court against the ratification of a contentious deal the government has signed with Italy to jointly process some asylum applications of migrants arriving in Italy by sea. Under the five-year deal, Albania agrees to temporarily shelter

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch military police have found 47 illegal migrants hidden in a truck that was about to board a ferry to the United Kingdom. The force said in a statement Wednesday that the men, women and children of various nationalities were discovered Tuesday night in the town of the Hook of

MILAN (AP) — Media reports say Italy has formally withdrawn from China’s global Belt and Road initiative that seeks to deepen relations with foreign countries through infrastructure investments. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni had previously signaled Italy’s intention to withdraw from the agreement, which was up for renewal. The Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that

By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Norman Lear, the writer, director and producer who revolutionized prime time television with such topical hits as “All in the Family” and “Maude” and propelled political and social turmoil into the once-insulated world of sitcoms, has died. He was 101. Lear died Tuesday night in

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer Golf’s ruling bodies are changing the equipment testing to make sure the golf ball doesn’t go as far for everyone from Tiger Woods to the amateur who plays public courses on the weekend. Instead of a special golf ball only for tour players, the USGA and R&A are changing

By KIM COOK Associated Press Tis the season to decorate for the holidays. But if you’re in a small apartment, there are limits to what you can do. A full-size artificial tree might take up half a room. You might have limited shelving for trinkets. How can you let your holiday flag fly when you

NEW YORK (AP) — Is the year of Taylor Swift over now? Not yet. Time Magazine named Swift its person of the year on Wednesday, a week after Spotify announced she was the most-played artist on the streaming platform. Swift was picked from a group of nine finalists that included Barbie, King Charles III, and

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A conglomerate of unions in Norway says it will take action against Tesla in solidarity with its Swedish colleagues. The Swedes are demanding that the Texas-based automaker sign a collective bargaining agreement. Jørn Eggum, the head of Fellesforbundet, or the United Federation of Trade Unions, says if Tesla doesn’t accept the

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s president says Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak will be getting a Serbian passport. Wozniak, who teamed up with the late Steve Jobs to found Apple in 1976, was in Serbia on Wednesday ahead of the Balkan country’s parliamentary and local elections on Dec. 17. The visit was seen by Serbia’s

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A new lower house of the Dutch parliament has been sworn. That’s two weeks after the far-right party of lawmaker Geert Wilders won a general election in a seismic shift that reverberated through Europe. The newly configured Second Chamber was installed Wednesday. Talks to form

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ government says a group of experts from the United States is on the island to assist law enforcement authorities with investigations into alleged sanctions evasion by Russian oligarchs. A spokesman told reporters that President Nikos Christodoulides has met the experts who will advise police on

By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Preparing for Hanukkah — Judaism’s celebration of finding light in the darkness — feels uniquely somber yet defiant this year for the diverse Jewish community in Miami-area towns that many consider a welcoming home for their faith. Even here, daily life for many Jews has

By BABA AHMED Associated Press BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Dengue fever is on the rise in Mali, where officials are reporting new infections and deaths from the virus this week. The country’s government has not released official figures but its director general of health and public hygiene told The Associated Press on Wednesday that 21

By CHEYANNE MUMPHREY AP Education Writer The College Board on Wednesday released an updated framework for its new Advanced Placement African American Studies course, months after the non-profit testing company came under intense scrutiny for engaging with conservative critics. The revision includes more material on topics including the Tulsa Race Massacre, Black culture’s influence on

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s new government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico has approved an amendment to the country’s penal code to close the special prosecutor’s office that deals with the most serious crimes and corruption. President Zuzana Caputova, the opposition and nongovernmental organizations protested the move, saying it will harm the rule of

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A daylong series of attacks in Austin has left four people dead and at least three injured, and a man believed to be connected to them and the deaths of two people near San Antonio was taken into custody, Texas authorities said. The dead were found in several homes. The injured

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England says it will make an assessment next year about the risks posed by artificial intelligence and machine learning. In its half-yearly Financial Stability Review, the bank said Wednesday that it’s getting advice about the potential implications stemming from the adoption of AI and machine learning in the financial

By LUJAIN JO and SIBI ARASU Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — This year’s United Nations climate talks may have seen record numbers registered to attend, but activists who have spent years demonstrating at the annual event say their space to voice their demands is shrinking year on year. Held in Dubai in

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will fly to Greece on Thursday on a visit designed to set the historically uneasy neighbors on a more constructive path and help repair his country’s strained relationship with the European Union. Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will oversee

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press AMSTERDAM (AP) — The outgoing Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, told delegates at the COP28 United Nations climate conference his country is “committed to accelerating our efforts” to tackle climate change. Whether that happens in this nation, large parts of which are under sea level and protected by dikes, depends

BEIJING (AP) — An audit commissioned by Volkswagen has found no indication of forced labor at its plant in China’s Xinjiang region, where Western governments have accused the Chinese government of human rights violations against the Uyghur ethnic minority. The German automaker has come under fire for operating in Xinjiang, a remote western region that

By JAE BRATTON of NerdWallet For some people short on cash, a credit card with a 0% promotional APR offer could be a budget-friendly solution for the holiday shopping season. These credit cards temporarily waive interest on purchases, some for as long as 21 months, making paying off debt more manageable. Some 0% APR cards

By COLLEEN LONG and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Wednesday during a tribal nations summit that aims to make it easier for Native Americans to access federal funding and have greater autonomy over how to invest those funds. “Tribal nations still face unacceptable

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A new guide from the Department of Homeland Security aims to help churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship protect themselves during heightened tensions in faith-based communities across the country. An arm of the department called the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency works with faith groups

By CHASE BIERENKOVEN Edmunds All-wheel drive is great. Winter is just around the corner, and having some extra grip is something even warm-climate car buyers can get behind. But what if you don’t fancy an SUV? There are plenty of things to like about vehicles that don’t fit into this class. For example, a sedan

BEIJING (AP) — The top U.S. and Chinese diplomats have agreed to build on recent progress in bilateral ties and work together to keep the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza from spreading. Both Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred in a telephone call to last month’s closely watched meeting

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Dubai-based British hedge fund trader sought by Danish authorities for allegedly orchestrating a $1.7 billion tax fraud, considered one of the largest in the Scandinavian country, has been extradited from the United Arab Emirates. Financier Sanjay Shah was convicted in May in Dubai of masterminding a scheme that ran from

STOCKHOLM (AP) — On the brink of joining NATO, Sweden has signed a defense cooperation agreement with Washington that will allow the United States access to all of the military bases across the Scandinavian country, saying the deal would bolster regional security. Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said the deal, signed in Washington Tuesday, “will

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian media say authorities have arrested a popular singer who had criticized the government after he was handed over by police in Turkey. Amirhossein Maghsoudloo, better known as Tataloo, has been critical of Iran’s leaders since he had moved to Turkey. It wasn’t clear why he was arrested by

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to defend his record at a public inquiry into the country’s handling of COVID-19. Johnson, who arrived Wednesday at daybreak, will be grilled under oath by lawyers for the judge-led inquiry for two days about his initial reluctance to impose

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — The generative AI boom has sent governments worldwide scrambling to regulate the emerging technology. It’s also raised the risk of upending a European Union push to approve the world’s first comprehensive artificial intelligence rules. The 27-nation bloc’s Artificial Intelligence Act has been hailed as a pioneering

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Rescuers say a man has been pulled alive out of a Zambian mine nearly a week after dozens of informal miners were trapped under landslides caused by heavy rain. Zambia’s Disaster Management and Mitigation Unite said in a statement Wednesday the 49-year-old survivor was rescued the night before. It said he