Month: January 2024

EL MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in Southern California say five people have been found dead in a desert community. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department spokesperson Mara Rodriguez says deputies were called to an area off Highway 395 in El Mirage for a well check around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday. She says they found five bodies.

ROME (AP) — Italy’s lower chamber of parliament has approved a novel deal with Albania to house migrants during the processing of their asylum requests. The proposal now goes to the Senate, where Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing forces also have a comfortable majority. Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the groundbreaking initiative last November,

By THOMAS ADAMSON AP Fashion Writer PARIS (AP) — Elie Saab’s spring 2024 couture collection was inspired by the complexity of North African medinas and delivered timeless elegance with lavish textures. Jennifer Lopez was among the attendees and sometimes shimmied in the front row. The designer is renowned for his opulent creations. He featured floor-sweeping

By BRITTANY PETERSON Associated Press ELY, Nev. (AP) — White attackers turned a lush, high desert oasis in eastern Nevada, with its bubbling springs and a rare stand of Rocky Mountain junipers, into killing fields. They massacred hundreds of Native people there in the 1800s — a horrific history once retold in hushed tones behind

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s financial markets authority is getting a new chief executive as the country looks at ways to strengthen banking regulations following the crisis at Credit Suisse. UBS hurriedly took over its ailing rival last year partly to prevent a global banking meltdown. The Swiss government on Wednesday

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Heavy snow has stranded scores of vehicles on a main expressway in central Japan, paralyzing traffic for more than 6 kilometers (4 miles), officials said. Army troops were dispatched to help relief efforts. The traffic jam occurred on the Meishin Expressway in Gifu prefecture, reportedly after two

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — After Turkey ratified Sweden’s bid to join NATO on Monday, Hungary became the last member of the military alliance not to have issued its approval. After more than a year of delays, and consistent urging from its Western partners to move forward on accession, the Central

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer An England cricketer’s problems obtaining a visa for the team’s test series in India have prompted the British government to call for fair treatment for any of its citizens seeking to enter the Asian country. Shoaib Bashir is a 20-year-old British Muslim of Pakistani heritage. He was the only

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Officials say at least seven people have been hospitalized after Cypriot police rescued 60 Syrian migrants found aboard a rickety wooden boat some 34 miles off the island nation’s southeastern tip. They have been at sea for six days.     Helicopters flew the three children and four adults to a

JERUSALEM (AP) — An explosion struck near a ship traveling through a crucial strait near Yemen, though no damage or injuries were reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack Wednesday, though suspicion immediately fell on Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, an organization monitoring Mideast waterways overseen by the British

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court says that authorities can use paintball guns to shoot at wolves in a popular national park. The plan is to scare the animals after at least one of them began approaching human visitors. The decision Wednesday was a victory for the eastern province of Gelderland that has

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling nearly 1.9 million Explorer SUVs in the U.S. because a trim piece can fly off and create a hazard for other drivers. The recall covers Explorers from the 2011 through 2019 model years. Documents posted Wednesday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say that clips holding the

By BASSEM MROUE and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A delegation of Libyan justice officials in Beirut has reopened discussions with Lebanese officials over the fate of a prominent Lebanese cleric who went missing in Libya decades ago and the potential release of late dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s son, who has held without charges

By SALLY FRENCH of NerdWallet All-inclusive vacations can sometimes get a bad rap for being generic, inauthentic and filled with mediocre food and activities. But by booking the right kind of all-inclusive (which often means those that limit guest counts to only a couple dozen), you can find a unique vacation with personal attention. Start

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis recalled the extermination of millions of Jews in calling Wednesday for the upcoming Holocaust Day of Remembrance to reaffirm that war can never be justified. At the end of his weekly general audience, Francis referred to Saturday’s commemoration, which has become fraught this year given Israel’s military campaign in Gaza

BEIJING (AP) — At least 25 people died after a fire broke out in China’s southeastern Jiangxi province, the local government said on Wednesday. Officials for the Yushui district of Jiangxi province said a fire broke out in the basement of a shopping area at 15:24 on Wednesday. They said 120 rescue, firefighters, police and

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Here’s a look at some notable facts and figures from this year’s Oscar nominations. Jodie Foster was nominated for the first time in nearly 30 years with her best supporting actress nomination for “Nyad.” It’s her fifth nomination and she’s won twice. Composer John Williams

By BRENT ROMANS Edmunds Edmunds Top Rated Awards are bestowed annually upon the best vehicles of the year. The winners aced their Edmunds track tests and distinguished themselves as class leaders in extensive real-world evaluations. Winners this year are the BMW i5, Chevrolet Colorado, Ford F-150 Lightning, Kia Sportage Hybrid, Kia EV9 and Toyota Prius.

LONDON (AP) — Online retailer eBay Inc. will cut about 1,000 jobs, or an estimated 9% of its full-time workforce. CEO Jamie Iannone said in a message to employees on Tuesday that the company’s number of employees and costs have exceeded how much the business is growing in a slowing economy. He also said eBay

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media say the death toll from a landslide in a remote, mountainous part of southwestern China has risen to 34, while 10 people remain missing. The disaster struck early Monday in the village of Liangshui in the northeastern part of Yunnan province. Search and rescue operations continued Wednesday amid freezing

NEW YORK (AP) — Billionaire businessman-environmentalist Tom Steyer has a book out this spring that combines personal and professional stories with a message on how to battle climate change. Spiegel & Grau announced Wednesday that “Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We’ll Win the Climate War” will be published May 28. In his book, Steyer urges action

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — After an extended period of gloom, Americans are starting to feel better about inflation and the economy — a trend that could sustain consumer spending, fuel economic growth and potentially affect President Joe Biden’s political fortunes. A measure of consumer sentiment by the University of Michigan

By STEPHEN McGRATH and ANDREEA ALEXANDRU Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Moldova’s foreign minister Nicu Popescu is resigning from his post, saying that he “needs a break” after what he described as a difficult period for the country but also one of “remarkable achievements,” punctuated by progress toward joining the European Union. Popescu, who

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A stadium in Somalia’s violence-prone capital is hosting its first soccer tournament in three decades, drawing thousands of people to a sports facility that had been abandoned for decades and later became a military base amid the country’s civil war. The national competition is a milestone

BEIJING (AP) — China, the world’s biggest exporter, says it is deeply concerned about tensions in the Red Sea that have upended global trade by forcing many shippers to avoid the Suez Canal. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Wednesday that China has been in “close communication with all parties concerned and making positive efforts

PARIS (AP) — French farmers are staging protests across the country and in Brussels against low wages and what they consider to be excessive regulation, mounting costs and other problems. Roadblocks are spreading in many French regions, one day after a farmer and her daughter died due to a traffic collision at a protest barricade.

By The Associated Press A Russian military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew and three people accompanying them crashed on Wednesday morning in Russia’s Belgorod region near Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the crash, which occurred around 11 a.m. It was also not known if

By NAJIB JOBAIN and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants Wednesday near the main hospital in Gaza’s second-largest city of Khan Younis, where medics said hundreds of patients and thousands of displaced people were unable to leave because of the fighting. Israel has ordered residents to leave

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s train drivers have brought rail traffic to a standstill again when they began a six-day strike to push their demands in a rancorous dispute with the country’s main railway operator over working hours and pay. The strike by the GDL union, which began early Wednesday, will affect passenger services and freight

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that popular politician Pita Limjaroenrat, who was blocked from becoming prime minister even though his party placed first in last year’s election, did not violate the election law and can retain his seat in Parliament. Pita had been suspended from Parliament pending the court ruling on whether

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s central bank has announced it will reduce the ratio of reserves banks must hold to help boost the slowing economy. The announcement by the People’s Bank of China prompted a surge in share prices in Chinese markets, with Hong Kong’s benchmark jumping 3.6%. Central bank Gov. Pan Gongsheng said the deposit

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday after Japan reported its exports jumped nearly 10% in December, though shares in Tokyo declined. U.S. futures and oil prices edged higher. Chinese shares resumed their upward climb after the vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Wang Jiangjun,

BANGKOK (AP) — Japan has reported its exports surged almost 10% in December from a year earlier, helped by a revival in trade with China and strong demand for vehicles. Imports fell almost 7%, leaving a trade surprise of 62 billion yen  ($410 million). A weak Japanese yen has helped export manufacturers like Toyota, Honda

PRAGUE (AP) — A fast train has collided with a truck in eastern Czech Republic, killing one person and injuring at least 10 people. The Czech Railways says the driver of the train was killed. Police say their preliminary information shows dozens could be injured. The Czech Railways says about 15 suffered injuries. The accident

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — A tropical low slowly moving toward northeast Australia is expected to reach cyclone strength later Wednesday and bring flooding into Queensland state into the weekend. The system expected to be named Tropical Cyclone Kirrily was moving west at 5 mph and forecast to make landfall overnight Thursday. Gusty winds were expected

By KEN MORITSUGU and NG HAN GUAN Associated Press UCHTURPAN, China (AP) — As aftershocks continued to rock western China on Wednesday, more than 12,000 people were staying in tents and other shelters, lighting bonfires to fend off the freezing weather. The previous day, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in a remote part of China’s Xinjiang

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s bid to join NATO — held up for almost two years — cleared its next-to-last hurdle when Turkey’s parliament gave its go-ahead to let the Nordic country into the alliance. All existing NATO countries must give their approval before a new member can join the alliance, and Hungary is now the

CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County’s annual count of homeless residents began Tuesday night — a crucial part of the region’s efforts to confront the crisis of tens of thousands of people living on the streets. Up to 6,000 volunteers with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority fanned out for

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney has requested a second court delay in its legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees over who controls Walt Disney World’s governing district. The request this week comes as the company is accusing the appointees and the governor’s office of failing to produce documents

By TOM KRISHER and FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will be the keynote speaker at a United Auto Workers’ political convention as he works to sway blue-collar workers his way in critical auto-making swing states such as Michigan and Wisconsin. Wednesday’s appearance will be the president’s first political event after

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court is set to decide whether popular politician Pita Limjaroenrat, who was blocked from becoming prime minister, should now lose his seat in Parliament. The election victory last year by Pita’s Move Forward party reflected a surprisingly strong mandate for change among Thai voters after nearly a decade of military-controlled

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County will pay $5 million to the founder and CEO of a software company who was briefly accused of stealing data on county poll workers in a case he said was pushed by conspiracy theorists. KNBC-TV says the county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve the settlement of

Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China’s Foreign Ministry says Beijing has formally restored diplomatic ties with Nauru after the tiny Pacific island nation cut its ties with Taiwan earlier this month. Nauru’s announcement on Jan. 15 came just two days after Taiwan’s presidential election and left the self-governing island republic with just 12 remaining diplomatic