Month: January 2024

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii lawmakers are due to convene this week for the first time since the burning of historic Lahaina awakened the state to the deadly and costly threat posed by wildfires in an age of climate change. Now, fighting and preventing wildfires and helping the island of Maui

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press Queen Margrethe II will become Denmark’s first monarch to abdicate in nearly 900 years when she hands over the throne to her son, Crown Prince Frederik. Margrethe had always said during her 52-year-reign that she wouldn’t quit, but back surgery and other ailments left her unable to undertake as much

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and JOHN HANNA Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — More than a dozen states have given themselves the power to override local zoning restrictions that block large-scale renewable energy projects. The decisions come as some states implement ambitious goals requiring utility providers to generate 100% carbon-free energy by 2040. Local officials and

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Thousands of people will gather in downtown Copenhagen on Sunday to witness a historic moment in one of the world’s oldest monarchies. Around 2 p.m. (1300 GMT), Queen Margrethe II will sign her abdication and about an hour later her eldest son will be proclaimed

By SARA CLINE Associated Press Louisiana’s newly inaugurated lawmakers are set to convene for a special session during which they will discuss items that could impact how the state conducts elections. The focus of the session beginning Monday is to redraw Louisiana’s congressional map. Lawmakers also may explore new Supreme Court districts and moving away

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 262 yards and a touchdown, had his helmet shattered when he took a hit in the second half, and proceeded to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 26-7 rout of the Miami Dolphins in the fourth-coldest game in NFL

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press NAKIVALE, Uganda (AP) — Refugees from Uganda’s neighboring countries have long been welcomed to the Nakivale settlement near its southern border with Tanzania. But those thousands of newcomers have taken a toll on once forested lands by steadily cutting down trees to serve as cooking fuel. Deforestation is a national

By GIVO ALPUTRA Associated Press AGAM, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s Mount Marapi has erupted again, spewing smoke and ash high into the air but causing no reported casualties. The Marapi Volcano Observation Post in West Sumatra province recorded an eruption on Sunday with an ash column about 4,265 feet high from its peak, followed by

SYDNEY (AP) — For the first time, Australians find themselves on the brink of witnessing one of their own, Princess Mary of Denmark, rise to the rank of queen when her husband, Crown Prince Frederik, is proclaimed king of that European nation. He will become King Frederik X of Denmark on Sunday, two weeks after

By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Someday soon, someone will be walking down the street proudly carrying a ludicrously capacious bag, bought for a ludicrously capacious price. The voluminous Burberry tote is one of the most famous props used on “Succession,” the famed HBO saga of the Roy family dynasty, and

By VALERIE GONZALEZ Associated Press BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas congressman says three migrants, including two children, drowned while trying to reach the U.S. near the border city of Eagle Pass. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, accused the state Saturday of failing to act amid escalating tensions between Texas and the U.S.

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The Palestinian soccer team will get its first test at the Asian Cup with its preparations having been made harder by no domestic soccer and limited opportunities to play competitive matches. It faces three-time champion Iran on Sunday in its opening game of the tournament,

BY COLLEEN BARRY AP Fashion Writer MILAN (AP) — Silvia Venturini Fendi plucked heirlooms from an aristocratic family hope chest and embellished them with details long released from the feminine realm for a highlands-stomping menswear collection previewed Saturday during Milan Fashion Week. Venturini Fendi said she was inspired by Princess Anne, whom she called “the

By LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders are preparing a stopgap bill to keep the federal government running into March and avoid a partial shutdown next week. The temporary measure will run to March 1 for some federal agencies whose approved funds are set to run out Friday

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican officials say they are investigating the reported disappearance of nine Colombian women in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco. The women were apparently working as escorts and were sent to an event but did not return. The spokesman for Tabasco state said that a missing persons report had been filed

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON, JILL COLVIN, MEG KINNARD and BILL BARROW Associated Press COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley were finding Iowa voters looking for alternatives to former President Donald Trump as they campaigned on the final weekend before 2024 voting begins. But voters’ reactions on Saturday showed how uncertain it

By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy on climate, is stepping down from the Biden administration in the coming weeks. That’s according to two people familiar with his plans. Kerry, a longtime senator and secretary of state, was tapped shortly after Joe Biden’s November 2020 election to

ROME (AP) — The governor of Italy’s Tuscany region says 30 people were injured when a restaurant ceiling collapsed during a wedding reception. Gov. Eugenio Giani said in a post on the Telegram messaging channel Saturday evening that five of the injured were in critical condition. The ceiling collapsed in a restaurant that was formerly

By JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press The families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip kicked off a 24-hour rally in Tel Aviv Saturday night, calling on the government to bring their loved ones home after 100 days spent in Hamas captivity. Thousands of people poured into “Hostages Ssquare” in Tel Aviv — a central plaza

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government has sent 25,000 troops to Acapulco after the resort was hit by Hurricane Otis on Oct. 25. But apparently that hasn’t stopped the violence. The main Acapulco business chamber reported that gang threats and attacks have caused about 90% of the city’s passenger vans to stop running. That

MALE, Maldives (AP) — The president of the Maldives says that his country’s small size doesn’t give anyone the license to bully it, in a sign of defiance toward India, the archipelago state’s giant neighbor. President Mohamed Muizzu, speaking to the media on his return from India’s regional rival China, said the Indian Ocean does

By JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israel-Hamas war has quickly shattered many records when it comes to the history of conflicts between the bitter enemies. It’s the deadliest, the most destructive, and the longest. Israel has razed large swaths of the Gaza Strip, where researchers assess that nearly half of all buildings

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani political party says its chief met the Taliban supreme leader in Afghanistan. It’s the second publicly known meeting between a foreign official and the reclusive Hibatullah Akhundzada, who rarely appears in public and seldom leaves the southern Afghan province of Kandahar. It’s also the first known meeting between Akhundzada and

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. Navy SEALs are missing after doing a nighttime boarding mission off the coast of Somalia, according to two U.S. officials. In a statement Saturday U.S. Central Command said that search and rescue operations are currently ongoing to locate the two sailors.

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa says more than 50 countries support its case at the United Nations’ top court accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Others, including the United States, the U.K. and Germany, have strongly rejected South Africa’s allegations. Many more have remained silent.

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The wild-card playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins on Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium could approach the NFL record for the coldest game ever played. The forecast at kickoff is for temperatures of minus-2 and wind chills of minus-24. The

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills’ wild-card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers that was scheduled for Sunday was moved to Monday amid a forecast for dangerous winter weather, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Saturday. Hochul and other officials said they were making the change for safety’s sake. “We want our Bills to

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo says it will complete its withdrawal from the Central African nation by the end of 2024. That is more than two decades after the mission arrived there to help fight against rebels. The head of the 15,000-force MONUSCO mission told a media briefing on Saturday

By FREIDA FRISARO Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE Fla. (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate two crashes involving Florida’s Brightline train that killed three people at the same railroad crossing on the high speed train’s route between Miami and Orlando. The crashes happened Wednesday and Friday at a crossing along the U.S. 1

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden can make an increasingly strong case that he’s helped fix inflation, if only he can get voters to believe him. Figures issued this past week reflected a historic level of progress on battling high prices, hinting that inflation could be near the Federal Reserve’s

By SIMINA MISTREANU and ADAM SCHRECK Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Lai Ching-te is Taiwan’s president-elect who has vowed to safeguard the Asian island’s de-facto independence from China and further align it with other democracies. Lai, 64, emerged victorious in elections Saturday on the island of 23 million people that China claims as its

By MATT BROWN AP National Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — With the first primaries of the 2024 election just around the corner, Republican candidates are stuck on the past as the divided party confronts race issues of the present and a desire among its base for a sanitized version of America’s history of slavery. Florida Gov.

By KEN MILLER Associated Press EDMOND, Okla. (AP) — At least six earthquakes that include two stronger than 4 have been recorded near an Oklahoma City suburb. The U.S. Geological Survey reports the preliminary magnitudes of the earthquakes near Edmond include a 4.1 shortly after 5:30 a.m. Saturday and a 4.4 at about 9:45 p.m.

By TOM ODULA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ukraine’s foreign affairs ministry says that four of its citizens were among those captured by al-Qaida-linked extremists in Somalia after their helicopter that was contracted by the United Nations made an emergency landing in territory controlled by the militants earlier this week. Officials say the helicopter

By DANICA KIRKA and MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Children have joined thousands of other demonstrators making their way through central London for a pro-Palestinian march, part of a global day of action against the longest and deadliest war between Israel and Palestinians in 75 years. The plight of children in the Gaza

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities say that a huge fire tore through a large warehouse used by Russia’s largest online retailer south of St. Petersburg. Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said the fire covered an area of 70,000 square meters with 50,000 square meters of the warehouse collapsing. No casualties were reported. Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Some of the most contested real estate for Iowa’s Republican caucuses is a vast, wind-swept plain where hogs outnumber people by the millions. Northwest Iowa is the evangelical Christian heart of conservative Iowa. Both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis have invested in appealing to politically

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Most Iowans won’t be out Monday night. Never mind that it’s forecast to be well below zero, with wind chills as low as minus 40 degrees, and the roads may still be icy from a set of snowstorms that hammered the state