Month: December 2023

SEATTLE (AP) — Alaska Air Group has agreed to buy Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion deal including debt. The airlines announced the agreement Sunday. Alaska will pay $18 in cash for each share of Hawaiian, whose stock closed Friday at $4.86. The deal includes $900 million in Hawaiian debt, which the airlines said brings

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The chair of Florida’s Republican Party says he will not resign over a woman’s allegation that he raped her. Christian Ziegler said in a Saturday email to supporters that he is innocent and “we have a country to save.” He did not address specifics of

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Say goodbye to the flesh-and-blood members of the rock group Kiss. Say hello to digital avatars of them that will keep rocking into the future. The legendary hard rock quartet from New York played their final live concert Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, wrapping up

DETROIT (AP) — Casino workers for MGM Grand Detroit have voted to ratify a new contract, ending a 47-day strike. MGM Grand Detroit workers are union members of the Detroit Casino Council, which represents nearly 4,000 employees of the city’s three casinos. Their approval Saturday on a five-year agreement comes a few weeks after unionized

By WILL WEISSERT and JOSH BOAK Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris flew to the Middle East to tackle climate change and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, two challenges that have flummoxed White Houses for decades. Each carries the risk of political blowback going into next year’s U.S. presidential elections. She

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana lawmakers now have until the end of January to draw and pass new congressional boundaries to replace the current map that a federal judge says dilutes the power of the state’s Black voters. Republican Gov.-elect Jeff Landry has vowed to call a special redistricting

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Thousands of people have marched through the center of Brussels in a boisterous rally highlighting the dangers of climate change, as the COP28 climate summit draws to an end in the United Arab Emirates. “We must save our planet. It’s the only one where there’s beer,” read one sign at the

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The shooting death of an Israeli man who raced to confront Palestinian attackers has raised questions about the use of excessive force among Israeli security forces and the public. The man’s shooting, apparently by an Israeli soldier, mirrors previous incidents where Israeli security forces or

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama were selected to the College Football Playoff on Sunday, making Florida State the first unbeaten Power Five conference champion to be excluded from the four-team field. The final season of the four-team playoff before it expands to 12 next year presented the

CHICAGO (AP) — The father of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy fatally stabbed in an alleged hate crime has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Oday Al-Fayoume filed the lawsuit last month against the suburban Chicago landlord charged in the attack that left his child dead and the boy’s mother seriously wounded. Authorities allege 71-year-old Joseph

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Beyoncé ruled the box office this weekend. Her concert picture, “ Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” opened in first place with $21 million in North American ticket sales, according to estimates from AMC Theatres Sunday. The post-Thanksgiving, early December box office is notoriously slow, but “Renaissance” defied the odds.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirate (AP) — An American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack Sunday in the Red Sea, according to the Pentagon. It potentially marks a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the Israel-Hamas war. The Pentagon told The Associated Press: “We’re aware of reports

LONDON (AP) — Glenys Kinnock, a former British cabinet minister, member of the European Parliament and wife of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, has died. She was 79. Her family says Kinnock died Sunday at her London home some six years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She was remembered as being an outspoken leader

By CHINEDU ASADU and SAMBU ASSANA Associated Press BISSAU, Guinea Bissau (AP) — Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo says a shooting incident in the nation’s capital was an attempted coup against his government. Embalo said this on Sunday in his meeting with security forces, confirming fears over the latest threat to democracy in the increasingly

MEDAN, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers have recovered the body of a man buried under tons of mud and rocks following flash floods and a landslide that crashed onto a hilly village on Indonesia’s Sumatra island. Eleven people are still missing, officials said Sunday. Tons of mud, rocks and trees rolled down from a mountain late

By ELAINE GANLEY Associated Press PARIS (AP) — A bloodstain by a bridge over the Seine river was the only remaining sign on Sunday of a fatal knife attack 12 hours earlier on a German tourist, allegedly carried out by a young man under watch for suspected Islamic radicalization. The random attack near the Eiffel

By FELIPE DANA and JOANNA KOZLOWSKA KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials have accused Russian forces of killing surrendering Ukrainian soldiers, after grainy footage on social media appeared to show two uniformed men being shot at close range. If confirmed, the shooting would be a war crime. It was not immediately possible to verify the

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO and MARIAM FAM Associated Press Shireen Quaizar was wracked with doubt. For years, the school psychologist has been active in Muslim-Jewish interfaith dialogue, but the Israel-Hamas war left her reeling. “What are we doing with talking to each other?” she recalled thinking, frustrated by a conversation about the exact number of

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — George Santos is gone from the House, but his name is certain to pop up in key congressional races across New York next year. Democrats are targeting five seats held by first-term Republicans and are looking to associate them with their former colleague in the state’s congressional

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press EDE, Netherlands (AP) — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says his office will “further intensify its efforts to advance its investigations” in the occupied Palestinian territories. His statement Sunday came after he visited the region for this first time since his appointment. There have been widespread claims

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The newest group of Kennedy Center honorees, including comedian Billy Crystal and actor Queen Latifah, are being feted Sunday night at a star-studded event commemorating their lifetime achievement in arts and entertainment. Opera singer Renée Fleming, 1970s music icon Barry Gibb and prolific hitmaker Dionne Warwick also

AMBLESIDE, England (AP) — Officials say heavy snow in northern England stranded motorists in their cars overnight and knocked out power to more than 2,500 customers. Trucks jackknifed on slick surfaces, blocking highways, as drivers reported taking hours to complete short trips. Others were forced to find shelter along their routes or in their vehicles.

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — An ailing Pope Francis has skipped his popular window appearance to the public in St. Peter’s Square for a second Sunday but said in televised remarks that he’s doing better. Francis delivered very brief remarks from the chapel of the Vatican hotel where he lives and

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province has erupted, spewing white-and-gray ash plumes for more than about 9,800 feet into the air and hot ash clouds blew several miles to the north, according to Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center. There were no casualties Sunday, an official at the Marapi

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A “potential explosion” has struck a key shipping route off the coast of Yemen. That’s according to a statement from the British military on Sunday. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations issued a brief warning to shippers that the incident happened in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — With Planet Earth running a fever, U.N. climate talks focused Sunday on the contagious effects on human health. Under a brown haze over Dubai, the COP28 summit moved past two days of lofty rhetoric and calls for unity from top leaders to concerns on

By NAJIB JOBAIN, SAMY MAGDY and ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military on Sunday ordered more areas in and around Gaza’s second-largest city of Khan Younis to evacuate, as it shifted its offensive to the southern half of the territory where it says many Hamas leaders are hiding. Heavy

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A powerful earthquake that shook the southern Philippines has killed at least one villager and injured several others as thousands scrambled out of their homes in panic and jammed roads to higher grounds after a tsunami warning was issued. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As participants at the United Nations’ COP28 climate talks filed in for another day of talks, they found themselves greeted by a rare sight in the United Arab Emirates — a protest. From activism about the Israel-Hamas war to environmental issues, activists allowed into

By SHUMAILA ANDLEEB Associated Press PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Local police say that militants have opened fire at a bus in northern Pakistan, killing nine people including two soldiers. The shooting occurred in the Chilas area of the northern Gilgit Baltistan region on Saturday night. The bus was carrying passengers from Gilgit to Rawalpindi. The

NEW DELHI (AP) — Vote counting began in four Indian states in a test of strength for India’s opposition pitted against the ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of next year’s crucial national vote. Results are expected later in the day. Results are expected later Sunday. Elections in the four states — Rajasthan,

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An iconic chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller, inspired countless Native American children as a powerful but humble leader who expanded early education and rural healthcare. Her reach is now broadening with a quintessential American honor: a Barbie doll in the late Mankiller’s likeness as

By ZEN SOO AP Business Writer HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court will convene a hearing Monday on troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande’s plans for restructuring its more than $300 billion in debts. China Evergrande could be ordered to liquidate if the plan is rejected by its creditors. The company, the world’s most

By JOCELYN GECKER AP Education Writer Trouble with playground bullies started for Maria Ishoo’s daughter in elementary school. Girls ganged up, calling her “fat” and “ugly.” Boys tripped and pushed her. The California mother watched her typically bubbly second-grader retreat into her bedroom and spend afternoons curled up in bed. For Valerie Aguirre’s daughter in

By DANIEL POLITI and PATRICIA LUNA Associated Press SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Leftists in Chile were tortured, tossed from helicopters and forced to watch relatives be raped during the military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. In Argentina, many were “disappeared” by members of the brutal military dictatorship that held detainees in concentration camps. It all

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans are heading to the polls to try to decide the future of a large swath of neighboring Guyana. The vote Sunday is their government’s latest attempt to claim ownership of a territory it argues was stolen when a north-south border was drawn more than a century ago. Guyana has characterized

By EMMANUEL IGUNZA Associated Press BONDENI-JUA KALI, Kenya (AP) — There is no piped water or sewage system in Athi River, near Kenya’s capital Nairobi, and drought is making clean water supplies more scarce and expensive for locals. But for those whose homes are kitted out with water filters distributed by local groups, the nearby

By THOMAS BEAUMONT and STEVE PEOPLES Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three senior members of a super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have left the group. It’s the latest sign of instability within the 2024 hopeful’s political operation just six weeks before the Iowa Republican caucuses. Kristin Davison parted ways Saturday with

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer On Saturday night, Kiss will close out the final performance of their “The End of the Road” farewell tour at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. But will it really be the end? During their encore, the band’s current lineup — founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons as