Month: January 2024

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — An industry association reports that China’s auto exports surged 63.7% in 2023 while sales at home rose 4.2%. The surge in exports appears likely to propel China past Japan as the world’s number one car exporter. Chinese automakers have aggressively expanded exports in search of growth missing

PARIS (AP) — A former France basketball player serving as an ambassador for the Paris 2024 Olympics has been forced to quit her role because of a controversy linked to a social media post related to the situation in Gaza. Following an urgent meeting of the Paris 2024’s board and general assembly, Emilie Gomis submitted

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Estonia for meetings with the country’s leaders on the second day of trip through the small Baltic states, where concern is high about aggression from neighboring Russia. Zelenskyy arrived late Wednesday after beginning his Baltic swing in Lithuania. He is

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship in the Gulf of Oman has been boarded by “unauthorized” people. That’s according to an advisory group run by the British military. Details over the incident remain unclear. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which provides warnings to sailors in the Middle East, said the

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer A consumer advocacy group filed a lawsuit against Starbucks Wednesday, saying the company’s claim that its coffee is ethically sourced is false and misleading. The National Consumers League cited media reports of abuses on farms that supply coffee and tea to Starbucks. Starbucks said Wednesday it was aware of

By SIBI ARASU Associated Press BENGALURU, India (AP) — The amount of renewable energy installed around the world last year grew at its fastest rate in the past 25 years. The International Energy Agency said Thursday that clean energy jumped by 510 gigawatts, with China playing the biggest part. That’s enough to power nearly 51

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AP) — The Papua New Guinea government worked to restore order Thursday after at least 15 people were reportedly killed during rioting and looting that left the country’s two biggest cities in flames. The unrest began in the capital, Port Moresby, on Wednesday after hundreds of police officers, soldiers, prison

PHOENIX (AP) — Former Arizona prisons chief Charles Ryan is scheduled to be sentenced on a disorderly conduct charge after pleading no contest in a case involving a 2022 standoff with police. Authorities say he fired a gun inside his Tempe home and pointed a firearm at two officers during the three-hour incident. The plea

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — There will be at least $100 million left in the estate of the so-called last Hawaiian princess to support Native Hawaiian culture. Abigail Kawānanakoa died last year at age 96. She was a descendant of the royal family that once ruled the islands — as well

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press The rapper G Herbo could face just over a year in jail after pleading guilty to his role in a scheme that used stolen credit card information to pay for a lavish lifestyle including private jets and designer puppies. Under a deal with prosecutors reached last year, the 28-year-old Chicago

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Beijing’s threat to use force to claim the self-governed island of Taiwan isn’t just about missiles and warships. Hard economic realities will be at play as voters head to the polls Saturday. But the relationship is complicated. The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong account for about

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s son is headed back to court for an arraignment on federal tax charges filed after the collapse of a plea deal that could have settled the case against him. Hunter Biden is expected to plead not guilty on Thursday to felony and misdemeanor tax

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalizations due to prostate cancer surgery set off a political firestorm, launched multiple reviews and triggered calls for his ouster. To some, the uproar may be puzzling or even offensive. An individual’s right to privacy, particularly about medical issues,

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Barely two weeks after he was released from prison in 1990, Nelson Mandela flew to Zambia to meet with African leaders who had supported his fight against South Africa’s apartheid system of forced racial segregation. One figure stood out among the men in dark

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As Speaker Mike Johnson gathered House Republicans behind closed doors Wednesday to sell the spending deal he reached with Democrats, one thing quickly became clear: many GOP lawmakers weren’t buying it. Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio left early, saying he’d had enough. “I’m not going to sit

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United Nations’ top court opens hearings Thursday into South Africa’s allegation that Israel’s war with Hamas amounts to genocide against Palestinians, a claim that Israel strongly denies. South Africa is initially asking the International Court of Justice to order an immediate suspension of Israel’s

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump ’s New York civil fraud trial is back in session Thursday for closing arguments but it won’t be the former president doing the talking. Trump, the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, had angled to deliver his own closing

By HOLLY RAMER, NICK PERRY and DAVID SHARP Associated Press LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Sean Hodgson watched and worried as his best friend of nearly two decades unraveled. His former roommate and fellow U.S. Army reservist’s anger and paranoia were mounting, he had access to guns, and he refused to get help. So Hodgson did

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he will introduce measures to reverse the convictions of more than 900 Post Office branch managers wrongly accused of theft or fraud because of a faulty computer system. The measure announced Wednesday follows a TV docudrama on what is considered one

By ANDREW DeMILLO and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press Republican-led state legislatures are again considering bills restricting medical care for transgender youths and some adults the year after a wave of high-profile bills became law. Advocates for transgender rights say most of the states inclined to pass gender-affirming care bans have done so. They now expect

By SIMINA MISTREANU and JOHNSON LAI Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A nonconformist candidate is resonating with Taiwan’s youth ahead of Saturday’s presidential election, with young and first-time voters apparently more concerned with the dearth of good jobs and affordable housing than the looming threat from China. Ko Wen-je, an outspoken surgeon-turned-politician, has emerged

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is expected to report that underlying inflationary pressures eased further in December. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, “core” prices likely rose 0.2% from November, according to a survey of forecasters, down from a 0.3% rise the previous month. And compared with 12 months

By SIMINA MISTREANU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — One of Taiwan’s leading opposition party candidates in Saturday’s presidential election has promised to boost the island’s defense capabilities while restarting dialogue with Beijing, which claims the island as its own. Hou Yu-ih, the presidential candidate from the opposition Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, on Thursday said

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — While GOP presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley met in a sharp CNN debate that brought out clear differences, Donald Trump provided clear counterprogramming. He appeared Wednesday on a Fox News town hall at the same time as his rivals debated, where he was

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States, Ukraine and six allies are accusing Russia of using North Korean ballistic missiles and launchers in recent devastating aerial attacks against Ukraine, in violation of U.N. sanctions. Their joint statement issued Wednesday ahead of a Security Council meeting on Ukraine cited the

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in the northern Mexico border state of Sonora say a local Cucapah Indigenous leader, Aronia Wilson, has been found dead. Known in Mexico as Cucapahs, members of the Cocopah Tribe also live across the border in Arizona, near Yuma. Sonora state prosecutors said Wednesday they are questioning a person of

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press Only two Republicans were facing off at the GOP’s fifth presidential debate stage — former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The two debated Wednesday for the highest-stake face off just five days before the nominating process formally starts with Iowa’s caucuses. Haley and DeSantis’ spirited

By DIDI TANG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it will send an unofficial delegation comprised of former senior officials to Taiwan shortly after the self-governed island holds an election for a new president this weekend. The move carries the risk of upsetting Beijing in an already-fragile bilateral relationship. A senior administration

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A federal lawsuit alleges that the bodies of two men who died while incarcerated in Alabama prisons were missing organs when returned to their families. Brandon Clay Dotson died in a state prison in November. His family filed a federal lawsuit last month against the Alabama Department of Corrections. The suit

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York building officials have issued emergency work orders to stabilize buildings around a historic Brooklyn synagogue where a secret tunnel was revealed earlier this week. The city’s investigation into the extent of damage at the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic Jewish movement in Crown Heights

LABELLE, Fla. (AP) — Wildlife officials have reported the first endangered Florida panther death of 2024. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the 1-year-old male was found dead Tuesday from an apparent vehicle strike on a rural road north of LaBelle in Hendry County. A total of 13 Florida panthers were reported killed

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly renewed her call to expand Medicaid and countered an anticipated single-rate flat income tax for individuals with a plan that would instead cut taxes by doing things like accelerating the phasing out of the state’s sales tax on groceries. Kelly said in her annual State of

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly renewed her call to expand Medicaid and countered an anticipated single-rate flat income tax for individuals with a plan that would instead cut taxes by doing things like accelerating the phasing out of the state’s sales tax on groceries. Kelly said in her annual State of

By JAMES POLLARD Associated Press/Report for America A woman on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island who drew national attention from such stars as Tyler Perry and Snoop Dogg as she fought off developers in her final years has died at 94. A family publicist says Josephine Wright died Sunday at her Hilton Head home. Wright

By SOPHIE AUSTIN and JANIE HAR Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has released his proposed budget for the upcoming year. He has set out to close a projected $37.9 billion budget deficit. He proposes to tap into the state’s reserves, make cuts to housing and climate programs and delay some

By OHAD ZWIGENBERG Associated Press KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military said Wednesday it has found evidence that hostages were present in an underground tunnel in the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, which has become the focus of Israel’s ground offensive. The military showed the tunnel to journalists who were escorted

By BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A federal appeals court has directed a lower federal court to consider the merits of a challenge to Maryland’s first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax on First Amendment grounds. But in the decision released Wednesday the panel of judges agreed with the lower court’s decision to dismiss three

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A judge has rejected several claims lodged by Delaware’s attorney general in a lawsuit alleging that the fossil fuel industry has downplayed the risks of climate change. Tuesday’s ruling significantly narrows the scope of the suit, which seeks to hold the industry liable for the effects

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of campaigning, the Republican candidates vying to unseat President Joe Biden in November will face their first formal test at the ballot box in the Iowa caucuses on Monday. It is the first contest of the 2024 presidential primary season. At stake in the caucuses

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s elections administrator says No Labels, a political group laying the groundwork for a possible third-party presidential ticket, has reached the required signature threshold to become a political party in Maryland. Jared DeMarinis said Wednesday that the state has verified the more than 10,000 signatures of registered voters in Maryland that

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutor Damian Williams in New York says his office is busy with lots of crimes but he wants to find more. So he met with reporters Wednesday and issued what amounts to a casting call for whistleblowers willing to reveal crimes his office doesn’t already

PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (AP) — Voters decided to remove a small-town Nebraska school board member from office after she tried to have dozens of books pulled from school libraries. More than 1,600 Plattsmouth voters supported recalling Terri Cunningham-Swanson from the board she joined a year ago. Cunningham-Swanson said voters shouldn’t have been surprised because she expressed

By JOHN ZENOR AP Sports Writer Nick Saban’s coaching reign has come to an end. His dominance over college football, however, will forever linger in the lore of the sport. Saban, who won seven national championships — more than any other major college football coach — and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse with

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Police in Texas have arrested a third person in connection to the December killings of an 18-year-old pregnant woman and her boyfriend near San Antonio. Police say 47-year-old Myrta Romanos was taken into custody and charged with three felonies, including concealing a human corpse and tampering with evidence. The arrest comes