Month: February 2024

Associated Press The Federal Aviation Administration is giving Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to meet safety standards for building new planes. The company has been beset by quality problems in manufacturing of its popular 737 Max jetliner. The FAA said Wednesday that the new 90-day deadline comes after FAA Administrator Mike

SPARTANSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Investigators says they have no suspects in the killing of a pregnant 23-year-old Amish woman inside her home in rural northwestern Pennsylvania. A state police spokeswoman said Wednesday that Rebekah A. Byler had been killed inside her home near Spartansburg. They say a relative and a family friend discovered her body

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A judge has ruled that a new law that gives immunity from prosecution for most offenses committed during Northern Ireland’s decades of sectarian violence is not compliant with human rights. The British government’s Legacy and Reconciliation Bill stops most prosecutions for alleged killings by militant groups and

Wendy’s says that it has no plans to increase prices during the busiest times at its restaurants. The burger chain clarified its stance on how it will approach pricing after various media reports said that the company was looking to test having the prices of its menu items fluctuate throughout the day based on demand.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Norwegian Nobel Committee has registered 285 candidates for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize by the Feb. 1 deadline, down from 2023 when it received 351 valid nominations. The names were not released, in accordance with committee practice. A vast group of people can submit a nomination for the prize and

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press The Philadelphia Orchestra’s home is being renamed Marian Anderson Hall in honor of the pioneering Black American contralto, a rare case of an artist’s name replacing a corporation. The orchestra’s auditorium in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts was known as Verizon Hall from 1999-2023, as part of a

PARIS (AP) — Paris City Hall says no policing plans for the Olympic Games were stolen from one of its workers who reported a theft of their computer equipment. City Hall said in a statement Wednesday that “initial checks established that the worker didn’t possess any information relating to the organization and deployment of law

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says the number of people seeking asylum in Europe reached a seven-year high last year. The EU’s asylum agency said on Wednesday that more than 1.1 million people have filed asylum applications in 2023, most of them Syrian nationals. The rise in the number

By TAIWO ADEBAYO Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Local activists and international environmental groups want Nigeria’s government to delay approving the $2.4 billion sale of oil company Shell’s onshore assets. They claim the London-based Shell is trying to shirk its environmental and social responsibilities in the highly polluted Niger Delta. The company is trying

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Thousands of artists, curators and critics have signed an open letter calling on the Venice Biennale to exclude the Israeli national pavilion from this year’s contemporary art fair due to the war in Gaza. But Italy’s culture minister has firmly backed Israel’s participation.  The online letter was

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Amsterdam police say that a suspect in the fatal shooting of a Dutch rapper has been arrested on a European warrant at an airport in Paris. Police said that the 20-year-old man was detained at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to board a flight Wednesday from Paris

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden is visiting Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in suburban Maryland for his annual physical exam. And the results are sure to be closely watched as the 81-year-old president seeks reelection. Biden is already the oldest president in U.S. history and would be

BERLIN (AP) — Germany is trying to move forward talks on a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, welcoming the two countries’ foreign ministers to Berlin. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hosted her counterparts on Wednesday at a secluded government villa in the capital’s suburbs. The latest talks followed a meeting between German Chancellor OIaf

CHICAGO (AP) — The sisters of a man fatally shot by suburban Chicago police in his home this month have filed a federal lawsuit against the officers and their department. The sisters of 30-year-old Isaac Goodlow III filed the wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago against the Carol Stream Police Department

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a robust 3.2% annual pace from October through December, propelled by healthy consumer spending, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday in a slight downgrade from its initial estimate. The expansion in the nation’s gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press The number of monthly abortions in the U.S. is similar to what it was before the nation’s top court overturned the right to abortion. But how they are provided is different, a new study conducted for the advocacy group Society of Family Planning finds. Fourteen states are enforcing a ban

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi will be featured at the first two IndyCar races of the season and take a ride in the “Fastest Seat in Sports” with four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves as his chauffer. SiriusXM’s Bon Jovi Radio channel will be featured on

Chrysler is recalling more than 330,00 Jeep Grand Cherokees because of a steering wheel issue that may cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles. The recall is for 338,238 of Chrysler’s 2021-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L and 2022-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles. The automaker says in documents posted Tuesday by the U.S. National Highway

By VINCENT THIAN and JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press LANGKAWI, Malaysia (AP) — Europe’s oldest monarch, King Harald V of Norway, remains hospitalized in Malaysia, in the country’s northern resort island of Langkawi, after falling ill while on vacation. Malaysian national news agency Bernama said on Wednesday that the 87-year-old monarch was undergoing treatment at

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press Francine Spang-Willis wishes the landscape of the Crazy Mountains near Livingston, Montana, could speak for itself. But absent that, the oral historian will launch a new project talking to people with a connection to the land. Spang-Willis is one of a dozen new fellows announced Wednesday by the Emerson Collective,

By DARREN SANDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stood together at the annual National Prayer Breakfast — an opportunity, in the words of one introductory speaker, to “put our political differences aside.” Such differences are vast between Johnson, a staunchly conservative Republican, and Jeffries, a

CHICAGO (AP) — Severe thunderstorms with large hail and several possible tornadoes have toppled trees, taken down power lines and damaged homes in parts of the Great Lakes. A possible tornado outside Flint, Michigan, knocked down trees and damaged homes and gas lines. Police say no one was hurt. Police and firefighters helped move several

By ELOGE WILLY KANEZA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Dozens of Burundian troops have been detained for refusing to be deployed to eastern Congo in the fight against the M23 rebel group. That’s according to army officers, prisons officials and other witnesses. They told The Associated Press that dissenting soldiers are being held in

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s own watchdog wants changes to Europe’s search and rescue rules following an inquiry into the sinking of a boat carrying hundreds of migrants last year. Up to 750 people were thought to be aboard the Adriana, and just 104 were rescued. The watchdog says

BEIRUT (AP) — Turkish drone strikes in northeastern Syria have killed at least three members of a local Christian force and wounded others. A Kurdish official and a Syrian war monitor say that Wednesday’s attack targeted members of the local Christian Syriac police force, Sutoro, which works under the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump and Nikki Haley lead the field of candidates competing in the District of Columbia’s Republican presidential primary, which will be held Friday through Sunday. The event takes place in the run-up to Super Tuesday on March 5, when 15 states will hold Republican presidential contests,

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tuvalu’s new government has committed the tiny South Pacific island nation to continued diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but said it plans to renegotiate a security pact recently struck with Australia in response to China’s growing regional influence. Prime Minister Feleti Teo was sworn into office on

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — When life cancels your primary, have a caucus. That’s what Idaho Republicans will do this Saturday when they gather in meetings across the state to help pick their party’s presidential nominee. State legislators originally hoped to save money by consolidating the March 12 presidential primary with their

By DENG MACHOL Associated Press JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan’s government is blaming the country’s economic crisis in part on fighting in neighboring Sudan and the instability in the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been attacking international shipping. Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told reporters on Tuesday that these factors are

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Ned Blackhawk’s “The Rediscovery of America,” winner last fall of a National Book Award, is a finalist for a history honor presented by the J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project. Blackhawk’s account of Native American history is among five nominees for the Mark Lynton History Prize,

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Missouri Republican Party will hold presidential caucuses this Saturday, giving voters their chance to weigh in on who should represent the party on the November presidential ballot. The contest is one of the last opportunities for candidates to shape the race for the GOP nomination before

By SALLY FRENCH of NerdWallet U.S. airfares are, on average, 15% lower now than they were a decade ago, and 6% lower than this time last year. The same cannot be said for many other purchasing categories where prices are increasing due to inflation. Some experts believe airfare could continue to drop, especially for international

By ALEX NISHIMOTO Edmunds The Chevrolet Trax receives a complete redesign for 2024, gaining stylish good looks inside and out, more space, a new turbocharged three-cylinder engine, and a generous assortment of standard features. The new model represents a big step forward for the nameplate, greatly increasing the Trax’s attractiveness as a value play. But

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A man who allegedly mapped military installations in Sweden has been charged Wednesday with unauthorized possession of secret information. The prosecutor on Wednesday said the 66 year-old man, who was not identified, had been gathering information for “a long time” and said it seemed that he had “a systematic approach” to mapping

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A London judge has ruled that Prince Harry was not improperly stripped of his publicly funded security detail during visits to Britain after he gave up his status as a working member of the royal family and moved to the U.S. Justice Peter Lane said Wednesday in

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government is stepping up security for lawmakers after politicians reported threats and intimidation connected to the Israel-Hamas war. The Home Office said Wednesday that a 31 million-pound ($40 million) fund will give every lawmaker a “dedicated named police contact.” It also will provide money for

By JIWON SONG and HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has discussed cooperation on extended reality devices with LG Electronics executives. He was on a visit to South Korea on Wednesday as part of a three-nation Asian tour. He already visited Japan and will travel to India after

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Price increases for cars and trucks in the United States, which helped fuel inflation for nearly three years, are slowing and in some cases falling, helping cool overall inflation and giving frustrated Americans more hope of finding an affordable vehicle. Behind the price slowdown is a

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis appeared Wednesday at his weekly audience after canceling all appointments earlier in the week due to a mild flu, remembering the victims of land mines and calling for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and elsewhere. The pope was pushed in a wheelchair into into the audience hall at

By BABACAR DIONE Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A national dialogue panel in Senegal proposed holding elections in early June, the first proposed new date offered since the president attempted to push elections back to the end of the year. President Macky Sall who faces term limits at the end of his second terms,

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is preparing to offer $85 million in funding to improve job opportunities for youth in communities affected by gun violence and crime. It’s part of an overall administration effort to address not just the immediate needs of a community following violence, but also to

By WILL WEISSERT and BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is signing an executive order aiming to better protect Americans’ personal data on everything from biometrics and health records to finances and geolocation from foreign adversaries like China and Russia. Wednesday’s action seeks to authorize the attorney general and other federal

PARIS (AP) — France’s Senate is voting on a bill meant to enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in the French Constitution. The measure was promised by President Emmanuel Macron following a rollback on rulings in the United States. Wednesday’s vote comes after the lower house, the National Assembly overwhelmingly approved the proposal in

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official is calling for a new defense industry strategy to respond to security challenges posed by Russia’s war on Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that “Europe must spend more, spend better, spend European.” Russia’s invasion has exposed weaknesses

MOSCOW (AP) — The funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died earlier this month in a remote Arctic penal colony, will take place on Friday in Moscow, his spokesperson said. His funeral will be held at a church in Moscow’s southeast Maryino district on Friday afternoon, Kira Yarmysh said Tuesday. The burial is

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Organizers of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras have agreed to relax their ban on police marching in their annual parade with a compromise condition that officers do not wear uniforms. The decision comes a day after Australian police found the bodies of a couple shot

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — As Hong Kong moves toward enacting a new national security law, more than three years after Beijing imposed a similar law that all but wiped out dissent and vocal pro-democracy media in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, concerns are spreading among the city’s international business and media

GENEVA (AP) — Telecoms operator Swisscom has confirmed it’s in talks with Vodafone Group toward a possible purchase of its Italian subsidiary for 8 billion euros ($8.65 billion). The Swiss company said in a statement Wednesday it’s in “advanced exclusive negotiations” to buy all of Vodafone Italia and merge it with Swisscom’s Italian subsidiary, Fastweb.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Widespread strikes in Greece have halted trains and ferries in protests timed to coincide with the anniversary of a deadly rail crash a year ago. Greece’s deadliest rail disaster killed 57 people when a passenger train slammed into an oncoming cargo train. The tragedy shocked the country, with many of the

By ZIMO ZHONG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Asian markets were mostly lower on Wednesday after U.S. stocks held near their record levels in a quiet day of trading. U.S. futures and oil prices fell. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged 0.3% lower to 39,173.50. Shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai sank after the territory’s