Month: January 2024

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Media reports and rights groups say hundreds of protesters clashed with police in the Russian region of Bashkortostan in a rare display of public outrage after a court convicted a local activist and sentenced him to prison. The unrest — one of the largest reported demonstrations

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A national Democratic law firm has asked the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court to throw out the battleground state’s congressional maps, arguing that the court’s decision last month ordering new state legislative maps opens the door to the latest challenge. The redistricting lawsuit filed Tuesday by the

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — The U.N. World Food Program says it is working with Zimbabwe’s government and aid agencies to provide food to 2.7 million rural people in the country as the El Nino weather phenomenon contributes to a drought crisis in southern Africa. The WFP’s country director for Zimbabwe

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Stopping or standing is now prohibited on pedestrian bridges on the Las Vegas Strip. Violators of the ordinance that took effect Tuesday could face as much as six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. Clark County commissioners voted unanimously this month to approve the measure banning people from stopping, standing

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Associated Press review has found businessman and Trump-backed Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno faced lawsuits alleging discrimination against employees before he sold his high-end Cleveland car dealership. Two of the suits accused Moreno and Bernie Moreno Cos. of gender and age discrimination, respectively.

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, MATTHEW LEE and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has put Yemen’s Houthis rebels back on its list of specially designated global terrorists. That move announced Wednesday piles financial sanctions on top of American military strikes in the Biden administration’s latest attempt to stop the militants’ attacks on

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press Ireland’s prime minister has extended a warm welcome to Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says his country wants a “strong and constructive relationship” with China despite not agreeing on some issues. Both Varadkar and Li struck an upbeat note after a bilateral meeting. Ireland was the third

By NOEL SICHALWE Associated Press LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Zambia is reeling from a major cholera outbreak that has killed more than 400 people and infected more than 10,000, leading authorities to order schools across the country to remain shut after the end-of-year holidays. A large soccer stadium in the capital city has been converted

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — People close to Gov. Andy Beshear have formed an advocacy group to promote the Democrat’s agenda in Kentucky. The move Wednesday signals a more aggressive strategy to advance Beshear’s second-term agenda. It comes as the 46-year-old governor takes other steps to expand his political brand beyond

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The man accused of using a golf club to fatally impale a Minneapolis grocery store employee has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial on a murder charge. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Judicial Officer Danielle Mercurio on Tuesday ruled on the mental competency evaluation of Taylor Justin Schulz. Schulz was

LONDON (AP) — The Princess of Wales has been hospitalized for planned abdominal surgery and will remain at The London Clinic for up to two weeks, Kensington Palace said Wednesday. The former Kate Middleton is expected to return to public duties after Easter, the palace said. “The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — State police in Pennsylvania say five people were struck and killed by a tractor trailer on Interstate 81 after they had left their vehicles following another crash. A minivan had lost control on pavement slick from snow and hit a median on the northbound interstate in Lackawanna County at about 5:30

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — It was an unexpected musical success story last year, one that has only continued to snowball. Country music, with its loyal listenership on the margins of pop’s mainstream, had a crossover moment. In July, country acts held the top three spots on the Billboard Hot

By DAVID McHUGH AP Businss Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde says cutting interest rates too soon could threaten Europe’s progress in battling the inflation that has ravaged the economy. Lagarde is faced with market expectations for rate cuts as soon as March or April. But she underlined the bank’s

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Police in Trinidad say that a shooting left at three people dead and five others wounded on the eastern Caribbean island. Police told reporters on Wednesday that the violence occurred late Tuesday in the northwest town of Morvant when a van drove up to a group of men gathered

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Americans stepped up their spending in December more than expected, closing out the holiday season and the year on an upbeat tone. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that retail sales rose 0.6% in December compared with a November’s 0.3% increase. Economists had expected consumers to

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan Airlines has named Mitsuko Tottori as its first woman president following a collision between one of its planes and a coast guard aircraft during Japanese New Year holidays that left five dead. Tottori — currently senior managing executive officer of JAL and the first woman to

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Steely Dan, R.E.M., Timbaland, Hillary Lindsey and Dean Pitchford will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Steely Dan finally get into the hall despite being a staple of classic rock with songs like “Reelin’ in the Years,” “Do It Again” and “Hey Nineteen.”

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer Amazon will partner with Diamond Sports as part of a restructuring agreement as the largest owner of regional sports networks looks to emerge from bankruptcy. Diamond owns 18 networks under the Bally Sports banner. Those networks have the rights to 37 professional teams — 11 baseball, 15 NBA and

LONDON (AP) — Two British brothers who broke into a Geneva museum and stole millions of pounds (dollars) worth of Chinese Ming Dynasty artifacts have been sentenced to prison in Switzerland. The Metropolitan Police say Louis and Stewart Ahearne were each sentenced Tuesday to 3 1/2 years in a Swiss prison following an investigation by

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Delicate talks to create a new Dutch government around anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders suffered a setback when a lingering immigration issue divided the parties involved in brokering a coalition. People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy senators threw their support behind legislation that could force municipalities

By DEEPA BHARATH Associated Press KOTAGIRI, India (AP) — Sacred forests and groves are primeval woodlands that different faith communities around the world have safeguarded for centuries as abodes of the spiritual or the divine. Thousands of sacred forests have survived. They’re the church forests in Ethiopia’s highlands, hillside groves considered holy by Catholics in

By DEEPA BHARATH Associated Press SHILLONG, India (AP) — Tambor Lyngdoh made his way through the fern-covered woodland — naming plants, trees, flowers, even stones — as if he were paying older family members a visit. The community leader and entrepreneur was a little boy when his uncle brought him here and said these words:

By TOM ODULA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A doomsday cult leader and 30 of his followers have been presented in a Kenyan court to face charges of murdering 191 children. Leader Paul Mackenzie and the other suspects did not enter pleas because the judge granted a request from prosecutors that they undergo mental

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British oil giant BP says its interim chief executive, Murray Auchincloss, will be given the job on a permanent basis to replace Bernard Looney. Looney quit after it emerged that he had failed to disclose to the board past relationships with company colleagues. Auchincloss is a 53-year-old

By KATE ASHFORD of NerdWallet A growing number of older adults are in debt in retirement, according to the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. Among people ages 65 to 74, the share with debt rose to 65% in 2022, up from 50% in 1989. For people 75 and over, 53% report holding debt in 2022

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Thailand has acquitted more than two dozen protesters who had occupied Bangkok’s two airports in 2008 of charges of rebellion and terrorism related to the demonstration, which at the time disrupted travel in and out of the country for more than a week. The

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is making an election year pitch that the current state of the economy “vindicates” Democrats’ decision to pass a $1.9 trillion coronavirus pandemic response package back in 2021. In remarks prepared for delivery at a Wednesday conference of U.S. mayors in Washington, D.C.,

By ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Officials say Russia fired two missiles at Kharkiv city in northeastern Ukraine during the night, hitting apartment buildings and a medical center and injuring 17 people. It was among Moscow’s latest strikes on civilian areas in the almost two-year war. Regional officials say the S-300 missiles

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian authorities say customs seized 116 tons of cocaine in the port of Antwerp in 2023, setting a record for the second year in a row. Demand for cocaine is growing rapidly across the EU, and governments blame the drug trade for outbreaks of violence in major

BANGKOK (AP) — A rescue worker says an explosion at a firework factory in central Thailand has killed at least 15 people. Workers were still trying to confirm the number of deaths, said a worker with the Samerkun Suphan Buri Rescue Foundation. He estimated around 15 to 17 people were killed in the incident, which

By KEN SWEET and CORA LEWIS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The cost to overdraw a bank account could drop to as little as $3 under a proposal announced by the White House, the latest move by the Biden administration to combat fees it says pose an unnecessary burden on American consumers, particularly those

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A top NATO military officer says the war in Ukraine could “determine the fate of the world.” NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Bob Bauer says Western armies and political leaders must drastically change the way they help Kyiv fend off invading Russian forces. He told NATO top

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces a test of his authority and his nerve. He is trying to subdue a Conservative Party rebellion over his stalled plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda, Lawmakers are due to vote Wednesday on a bill that aims to