Month: February 2024

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Former talk show host Oprah Winfrey is leaving WeightWatchers board of directors and donating all of her interest in the company to a museum. Shares of WW International Inc. tumbled more than 23% in Thursday morning trading. Winfrey, who told People magazine in December that she was using a

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Early estimates suggest flu shots are performing OK in the current U.S. winter flu season. The vaccines were around 40% effective in preventing adults from getting sick enough from the flu that they had to go to a doctor’s office, clinic or hospital. Children who

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A Myanmar fighter jet has crashed and burned in the countryside in the central region of Magway, with at least one pilot safely rescued after ejecting from the aircraft. State television MRTV reported that Thursday’s crash took place shortly after noon during what was described as training

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City officials have cleared out a Bronx storefront illegally converted to house dozens of tenants that was run by the same person who operated one hosting as many as 70 migrants in a Queens furniture store. The city Department of Buildings said Thursday that it responded Wednesday to reports

By ACACIA CORONADO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge has blocked a Texas law that allows police to arrest migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally. The decision Thursday by U.S. District Judge David Ezra sets aside for now the law that had been set to take effect March 5. The ruling

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and JIM MUSTIAN MIAMI (AP) — The widow of a prominent Cuban dissident killed in a mysterious car crash has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a former U.S. ambassador suspected of working for Cuba. The state lawsuit filed Thursday in Miami accuses former U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha of sharing intelligence that

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has delivered a blunt message to the West, warning that it risks provoking a global nuclear war if it expands its involvement in the fighting in Ukraine. At the same time, Putin focused his 2-hour state-of-the-nation address on a wide range of economic

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will visit former President Donald Trump next week at Mar-a-Lago, according to a person briefed on the plans. The meeting comes as Trump seeks to turn his attention to his looming election rematch with President Joe Biden. Orbán and Trump

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — In one of the weirdest high schools in history, Cleopatra is dating class president Frida Kahlo and John F. Kennedy’s best friend is Abraham Lincoln. This is “Clone High,” a cult animated show that’s enjoying a new life on the streamer Max some two decades

By MEG KINNARD and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX Associated Press GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Donald Trump’s campaign has vowed not to talk about her anymore, but Nikki Haley is still campaigning across the country — and plenty of Republican voters are coming to hear what she has to say. Before packed audiences in states that will

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) — Thelma Sims Dukes grew up during the 1940s and ‘50s in a segregated Mississippi town steeped in Civil War history. As a small Black girl, she would walk to school through Vicksburg National Military Park — the hilly battlefield where Union and Confederate soldiers fought

By EDOUARD TAKADJI Associated Press N’DJAMENA, Chad (AP) — Chad’s prosecutor said on Thursday that an opposition leader was killed while leading an attack on the national security agency in the capital. Yaya Dillo head of the Socialist Party Without Borders, was killed Wednesday during an attack on the National State Security Agency, or ANSE.

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE Associated Press ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — A bill which criminalizes LGBTQ+ people in Ghana and their supporters has drawn international condemnation after it was passed by parliament, with the United Nations calling it “profoundly disturbing” and urging for it not to become law. The bill, which was voted through by parliament in

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s immigration minister says his country is reimposing the visa requirements on Mexican nationals visiting Canada. Quebec’s premier has been urging the federal government to slow the influx of refugees which he says has been straining resources. The U.S. government also urged Canada to take action as

By The Associated Press The editor-in-chief of the renowned Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta has been detained in Moscow after being accused of discrediting Russia’s armed forces. The newspaper says Sergei Sokolov was detained Thursday by officers from Russia’s Center for Combating Extremism. It says the charges — which are “administrative” and are usually punishable

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Texas Sen. John Cornyn has informed his colleagues that he intends to run for Senate Republican leader. He’s the first senator to announce a campaign after Sen. Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday that he’ll step down from the post in November. Cornyn served as McConnell’s No.

LONDON (AP) — Prince William has condemned antisemitism during a visit to a London synagogue, the first time he appeared in public after he unexpectedly pulled out of a royal event earlier in the week. William, the heir to the throne, heard about how Jewish students have been affected by the rise of hatred against

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press McLEAN, VA. (AP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray says the U.S. expects to confront fast-moving threats to American elections this year as artificial intelligence and other technological advances have made interference and meddling easier than before. Wray told a national security conference Thursday that though the U.S. had confronted foreign

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Voters in this rural California county have twice voted for Donald Trump by wide margins while electing staunch conservatives to their local governing board, even going so far as to boot some from office who were deemed not conservative enough. But that string of victories at

By THOMAS ADAMSON AP Fashion Writer PARIS (AP) — Chloe has revisited its vibrant 1970s essence, infused with Karl Lagerfeld’s indelible influence, propelling the brand into a new era while honoring its pioneering ready-to-wear legacy under new designer Chemena Kamali. Thursday’s fall-winter 2024 show became a meeting point for fashion dynasties. Kamali’s collection, a dance

By LINDSEY BAHR and JAKE COYLE AP Film Writers Ahead of the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, Associated Press Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr share their predictions. BEST PICTURE Nominees: “American Fiction”; “Anatomy of a Fall”; “Barbie”; “The Holdovers”; “Killers of the Flower Moon”; “Maestro”; “Oppenheimer”; “Past Lives”; “Poor Things”; “The Zone

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — For AP writer Anne D’Innocenzio, losing her mother was hard enough. But dismantling her childhood home only magnified the loss. Her mom’s house had been the center of gatherings for relatives and friends who enjoyed her Italian cooking. They would then convene around her Mom’s restored

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish bishop has rebuked comments made by some priests on a weekly internet program wishing Pope Francis may die as soon as possible. The Archbishopric of Toledo posted a statement Wednesday saying it rejected the comments made by the priests and warned that it may take corrective measures. The statement referred

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Italy’s interior minister acknowledged as a “defeat” the use of police batons against high school students demonstrating in the Tuscan city of Pisa last week but warned lawmakers Thursday of growing violent tendencies among pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Italians have expressed outrage at police violence against two pro-Palestinian demonstrations

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Aid groups are appealing to the European Union to release tens of millions of euros in funding due to the main U.N. agency that helps most people in Gaza. The organization is on the brink of financial collapse. The European Commission was due to disburse $89 million

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government has spent more than 166 million euros ($180 million) dealing with the aftermath of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, from repatriating victims’ bodies to investigating and prosecuting some of those involved in the downing, according

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Electronic Arts is cutting about 5% of its workforce, or approximately 670 employees, as layoffs in the technology and gaming sector continue after a surge of hiring in recent years. The announcement comes just days after Sony said that it would cut about 900 jobs in its PlayStation division.

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Voters in a rural Northern California county will decide whether to recall a local elected official in a race that centers on hand-counting of ballots. Kevin Crye was among a far-right majority on the Shasta County Board of Supervisors who voted to get rid of vote

NEW YORK (AP) — Charlamagne Tha God’s next book is an ode to hard truths and getting to the point. Black Privilege Publishing, a Simon & Schuster imprint founded by Charlamagne Tha God, announced Thursday that “Get Honest Or Die Lying: Why Small Talk Sucks” will come out May 21. His previous books include the

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Sally Rooney will have a new novel out this fall, “Intermezzo,” a story of love, family and grief centered around two brothers. Farrar, Straus and Giroux announced Thursday that the novel, the Irish author’s fourth, will be published Sept. 24. Rooney, 33, has been a

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer More Americans applied for jobless benefits last week, but layoffs remain historically low even as more high-profile companies have announced job cuts this year. Applications for unemployment benefits rose by 13,000 to 215,000 for the week ending Feb. 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. In total, 1.9 million Americans

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge favored by the Federal Reserve increased in January, the latest sign that the slowdown in U.S. consumer price increases is occurring unevenly from month to month. Prices rose 0.3% from December to January, up from 0.1% in the previous month. But in a

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar-winning composer John Williams has joined a new academy: the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The academy announced Thursday that Williams was among 19 inductees voted into the honorary society for musicians, authors, artists and architects that was founded in 1898. Members over time

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese authorities say they had to abandon plans to send in drones for a second day to probe one of the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant because of equipment failure. Two drones successfully flew inside the reactor for the first time on Wednesday,

By MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — On Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked numerous targets in Israel, killing hundreds and abducting others, Marina Degtiar felt she had traveled back in time, to July 18, 1994. What happened in Buenos Aires 30 years ago broke her apart. A bomb-laden van exploded

By MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — On July 18, 1994, an explosion destroyed the Buenos Aires headquarters of the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association, a Jewish community center. The worst such attack in the history of Argentina left 85 dead and more than 300 injured. Official reports established that the attack on

DETROIT (AP) — Owners of Ford electric vehicles can now use much of Tesla’s charging network in the U.S. and Canada, but there’s a hitch. They’ll need to get an adapter that Ford will provide for free, but the company won’t start shipping those until the end of March. Last May, Ford became the first

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — An off-duty police officer who abducted and murdered a 33-year-old woman in south London three years ago should never have been employed in the first place after three police forces failed to spot clear signs of his unsuitability, according to an official inquiry. Wayne Couzens was found

By LISA RATHKE Associated Press BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) — Sixteen and 17-year-olds in one Vermont town will get to vote in the local elections next week. And those who turn 18 by the November general election will be permitted to vote in the state’s presidential primaries on Super Tuesday. That means some voters in Brattleboro

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) — In New Jersey, the Senate seat held by Democrat Bob Menendez has become competitive because he was indicted last year on federal corruption charges. And so far, Andy Kim, a Democratic congressman who’s seeking the nomination, is winning some important support on the county level.

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria will flex its muscle as a critical supplier for European countries seeking to lessen dependence on Russian gas as it welcomes leaders from other energy rich nations to a summit in Algiers this week. The country will host leaders from 13 other nations in Algiers, including Russia, Iran, Qatar and

PARIS (AP) — Satirical French newspaper La Bougie du Sapeur only comes out on Feb. 29, once every four years. Some friends started the leap year newspaper as a joke in 1980. Its editors say it’s more important than ever to be able to laugh about the news, notably as newspapers are struggling financially. The

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — North Dakota will hold its Republican presidential caucuses on Monday. It’s the last chance for Donald Trump’s rivals for the GOP nomination to slow his momentum heading into Super Tuesday, which comes the next day. That’s the biggest day of the primary campaign, when 15 states hold

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Law enforcement agencies, civil defense officials and election administrators are meeting in Pennsylvania to coordinate against election threats with the presidential contest eight months away. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration said Thursday that he’s created the Pennsylvania Election Threats Task Force. The state became a magnet for