Month: January 2024

By FREIDA FRISARO and ALANIS THAMES Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Fire officials say a child playing with a cigarette lighter started a fire at the $6.9 million home owned by Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill. Davie Fire Marshal Robert Taylor told The Associated Press that the fire was accidental. He did not

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged higher this week, ending a nine-week slide that gave prospective homebuyers some breathing room after home loan borrowing soared to the highest level in more than two decades. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage inched up to

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The race for the White House officially begins in less than two weeks. And despite some prolonged jockeying over the election calendar, the long primary season will once again begin in Iowa with a caucus process that has served as the lead-off presidential voting since the 1970s.

By NAJIB JOBAIN and JACK JEFFFERY Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike flattened a home Thursday in an area of southern Gaza that the military had declared a safe zone as Israeli troops pressed their assault in the nearby city of Khan Younis. Palestinian hospital officials said the blast killed at

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An armed unmanned surface vessel launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen got within a “couple of miles” of U.S. Navy and commercial vessels before detonating. Thursday’s attack took place just hours after the White House and a host of partner nations issued a ‘final warning’ to the Iran-backed militia

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A customer who claims he was injured by an exploding toilet at a Dunkin’ store in central Florida has filed a negligence lawsuit against the coffee chain. Paul Kerouac filed the lawsuit seeking more than $100,000 Wednesday. He says he suffered “severe and long term injuries” after the toilet explosion a

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers are pressing to have special counsel Jack Smith’s team held in contempt. The Republican former president’s lawyers said Thursday prosecutors have taken steps to advance the 2020 election interference case against him in violation of a judge’s order that put

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — The Kia EV9 large electric SUV won the 2024 North American Utility of the Year award, while the Toyota Prius hybrid took the top car honors, and Ford’s Super Duty pickup won the truck award. The honors announced Thursday are often used in advertising by automakers. About 50 automotive journalists from

By The Associated Press Russia’s Defense Ministry says air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian air-launched missiles over the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula. The report Thursday comes as both sides in the war continue long-range strikes while their front-line forces remain largely deadlocked. On Wednesday night, officials said Russia fired two S-300 missiles at central Kharkiv, Ukraine’s

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press Police in New Jersey are hunting for the killer of a Muslim cleric who was shot outside his mosque. They’re offering a cash reward and reiterating they don’t think bias played a role in the violence. The pre-dawn killing of imam Hassan Sharif as he prepared to open the Masjid

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears is shooting down rumors of a new album, vowing to “never return to the music industry.” At the same time, Spears noted in Wednesday’s Instagram post, she’s still writing music — just for other people. “When I write, I write for fun or I write for other people !!!”

By HARAJAH NALWADDA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A well-known gay rights activist in Uganda who was stabbed by unknown assailants this week is attributing the attack to what he describes as a growing intolerance of the LGBTQ+ community fueled by politicians. Steven Kabuye says the climate of intolerance is being worsened by politicians

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Sports Writer The NCAA and ESPN have agreed to a $920 million, eight-year deal that will give the network exclusive rights to 40 championships, including the Division I women’s basketball tournament. The women’s side of March Madness has been growing in popularity and the association has been accused of

LANETT, Ala. (AP) — A Georgia sheriff’s deputy was killed Thursday morning after being stuck by another law enforcement vehicle during a police chase. The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office said Deputy Sheriff Eric Minix was killed in the early morning crash in east Alabama. Georgia law enforcement were chasing a stolen vehicle, and the chase

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The German government is watering down cost-saving plans that have infuriated farmers. It announced on Thursday that it will give up a proposal to scrap an exemption from car tax for farming vehicles and will stagger cuts to tax breaks for diesel used in agriculture. The cuts

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press Passengers on Japan Airlines Flight 516 were buckled up and ready to land at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport as their pilot made a final approach. “Cleared to land,” the pilot repeated after receiving an instruction from air traffic control to put the jet down on Runway C. About two minutes later,

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two consultants hired to analyze new state legislative boundary lines in Wisconsin after the state’s high court tossed the current Republican-drawn maps will be paid up to $100,000 each in taxpayer money. Under the terms of the contracts made public Thursday, each consultant will be paid

By FADI TAWIL and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of people took to the streets of Beirut for the funeral of a top Hamas commander, Saleh Arouri, who was killed earlier this week in an apparent Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital. Draped in Palestinian and Hamas flags, Arouri’s coffin along with

By TERRY TANG Associated Press Sam Song Li only got his SAG-AFTRA card two years ago. Now, he is acting opposite Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh in an all-Asian cast in the new Netflix series, “The Brothers Sun.” Dropping Thursday, the crime drama and comedy hybrid follows the scions of a Taiwanese triad leader. The show

PERRY, Iowa (AP) — Police in Perry, Iowa, say there was a shooting Thursday at the city’s high school. A woman who answered the Perry Police Department phone confirmed the shooting at Perry High School but did not provide any further information. The high school is part of the 1,785-student Perry Community School District. Thursday

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Investigators believe suicide bombers likely carried out an attack on a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike. That’s according to a state media report Thursday, which comes as Iran grapples with its worst mass-casualty attack in decades and as the wider Mideast remains

PRAGUE (AP) — Hundreds of students and others have marched in silence in the Czech capital to honor the victims of the country’s worst mass killing two weeks ago that left 14 dead. They gathered at an impromptu memorial in front of Prague’s Charles University headquarters where thousands came to light candles after the Dec 21 shooting.

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The politician favored to become Britain’s next prime minister has kicked off an election year by accusing the governing Conservatives of leading the country into decline and despair. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said Thursday that a Labour government would deliver “Project Hope” after 14 years of

By GIADA ZAMPANO and PAOLO SANTALUCIA Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has told her European Union partners that curbing migration flows from African countries has less to do with offers of charity than strong partnerships coupled with strategic investments in those nations. Meloni told reporters at a year-end news conference that

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — The new year on the PGA Tour feels a lot like the old one. There are questions about a fractured landscape and more money than ever. LIV Golf is gearing up for another season while fans wonder who will be the next player to get

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — The Vatican is insisting there is nothing heretical in the recent move by Pope Francis to allow priests to bless same-sex couples. In a five-page statement, the Holy See’s office to safeguard doctrinal orthodoxy expressed understanding that some bishops’ conferences in the world need more time for

Associated Press Christians around the world will mark the Epiphany on Jan. 6 with a series of celebrations that go from parades and gift-giving for children to the blessing of water. The holiday is also called the Feast of Epiphany, Three Kings Day and Theophany. Why is it known with different names? Some Western Christian

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week as the labor market continues to show resilience despite elevated interest rates. Jobless claims fell to 202,000 for the week ending Dec. 30, down by 18,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average

By KRYSTA FAURIA Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Jessica Chastain first read the script for “Memory,” she was struck by the unanswered questions left swirling around her head about issues pertaining to love, sex and consent. That might be antithetical to what some audiences expect from a movie. But it was writer and

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A hotel owner and 10 other people are standing trial accused of negligence over the deaths of 72 people, including players from a school volleyball team in breakaway northern Cyprus, who perished when their hotel crumbled during a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey last year. The trial is the first relating

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — With the cooperation of the Anne Frank House, a novel based on Frank’s life immediately before she began keeping a diary will be released in September by the children’s publisher Scholastic. “When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank, Before the Diary” is written

BERLIN (AP) — A German man who served prison time for a high-profile 1996 kidnapping has been convicted of robbery and attempted murder on Thursday for his alleged role in a string of armed robberies in Germany in 2018 and 2019. The Cologne state court on Thursday sentenced Thomas Drach to 15 years in prison.

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Walgreens is chopping its dividend nearly in half as the drugstore chain looks to strengthen its balance sheet. The health care giant said Thursday that reducing its quarterly payout to shareholders to 25 cents per share will help free up capital to spend growing its pharmacy and health care