Month: March 2024

By EVENS SANON Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The U.S. military has flown forces in to beef up security at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti and evacuate nonessential personnel. The U.S. Southern Command said Sunday that the aircraft flew directly into the embassy compound meaning that it involved helicopters. Southcom was careful to point

VENICE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities were working to assist a beached whale that is stranded on a sandbar off Florida’s Gulf Coast. The Venice Police Department said in a Facebook post Sunday morning that the whale is about 70 feet long. It beached on a sandbar that is about 50 yards from Service Club Park.

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Officials have seen the crescent moon in Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, marking the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan for many of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims. The sacred month, which sees those observing abstain from food

By ADRIANA MORGA AND COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — More than 75 million student loan borrowers have enrolled in the U.S. government’s newest repayment plan since it launched in August. President Joe Biden recently announced that he was canceling federal student loans for nearly 153,000 borrowers enrolled in the plan, known as

By The Associated Press Muslims around the world are welcoming the arrival of Ramadan, a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting, intense prayer, charity and feasts. But as they savor the traditions of their own diverse communities — from holiday treats to evening diversions — the tribulations faced by fellow Muslims are never far from anyone’s mind.

JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) — Police in Arkansas say at least three people were killed and several others injured in an early morning shooting. Officers found multiple gunshot victims when they arrived at the scene near Jonesboro’s downtown area around 5 a.m. Sunday. Jonesboro police said in a Facebook post that one person was taken to

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden made abortion and reproductive rights a central theme of his State of the Union speech, but he never mentioned the word “abortion.” Pushback over how he addressed the issue is the latest example of Biden’s fraught history with the topic. Many in the abortion

By FRANCISCO SECO Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — For AP Photographer Francisco Seco, taking photos of daily life in cities around the world is one of his favorite activities because it gives him a sense of the people of that city in relaxed moments. In this photo, Seco was walking the deck of a ferry

By SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian and allied officials have criticized Pope Francis for saying that Kyiv should have the “courage” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, a statement many interpreted as a call on Ukraine to surrender. The foreign minister of Poland, a vocal ally of Kyiv,

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss police say that rescue authorities have launched a search for six cross-country skiers missing in the Alps in difficult weather conditions. Police in the canton of Valais said in a statement that the search began on Saturday for the group. It is focused on an area between the resort of Zermatt

By CALVIN WOODWARD Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Just before dawn one summer day in Washington, America’s president stripped naked on a rock by the river, plunged in and saw a dead man float to the surface. We know this about John Quincy Adams because he kept a diary. Many presidents have used such journals

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India has signed a trade agreement with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland on Sunday that includes a commitment of $100 billion investment and creating 1 million direct jobs in India in the next 15 years. India on its part committed to reducing import tariffs on industrial

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. Rep. Katie Porter faces an uncertain future after being trounced in California’s U.S. Senate race. Porter finished far behind fellow Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey, who are headed to the November ballot. Porter made a messy exit from the race,

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s almost time for the Oscars. The 96th edition is Sunday, with a few new elements. The biggest switch from previous years is a new start time — the Academy Awards will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern on ABC. The film academy hopes this will allow more people to watch the

By STEPHEN McGRATH and AUREL OBREJA Associated Press CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldova’s foreign minister says the past two years for his country have been the hardest and most tumultuous for European Union candidate Moldova in more than three decades as it faces threats from Russia in multiple spheres of public life. Since Russia invaded

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The first photo of Kate, the Princess of Wales, since her abdominal surgery nearly two months ago has been issued along with a statement thanking the public for its support. The photo released Sunday of Kate in a chair surrounded by her three children was credited to

By SHONAL GANGULY Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of Tibetans in exile have held a protest march in New Delhi to commemorate the 65th Tibetan National Uprising Day against China. Over 300 protesters gathered near India’s Parliament House and marched chanting slogans such as “Tibet was never a part of China” and ”China

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police say a motorcycle packed with explosives has detonated in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing two people and severely injuring another. Police say the motorcycle carried between 9 to 11 pounds of explosives when it went off in the Board Bazaar area of Peshawar on Sunday morning. There was

AMSTERDAM (AP) — The Netherlands’s National Holocaust Museum is opening in a ceremony presided over by the Dutch king. Israeli President Isaac Herzog is also attending. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests are planned because of Israel’s deadly offensive against Palestinians in Gaza. Herzog was among Israeli leaders cited in an order by the top U.N. court

By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A U.S. Army vessel carrying equipment for building a temporary pier in Gaza is on its way to the Mediterranean. The voyage began just two days after U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans to ramp up aid deliveries by sea to

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — In Hollywood, the night before the Oscars isn’t a time to rest. For quite a few nominees, including “Barbie” star Margot Robbie, it meant a stop at the historic Beverly Hills Hotel for the 15th annual Chanel and Charles Finch pre-Oscar dinner. She was

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s Republican-dominated state Legislature has concluded a session marked by budget disputes and controversial social issue bills that advanced but ultimately didn’t go anywhere. Lawmakers came to an agreement Saturday on measures including a budget just under $5 billion, bills that would cut unemployment benefits,

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya says police have detained 33 people suspected of ties to the Islamic State group who were allegedly preparing attacks ahead of the country’s local elections. The suspects were “preparing and searching for action before the upcoming local elections,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. Nationwide

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi oil giant Aramco has reported a $121 billion profit last year, down from its 2022 record due to lower energy prices. Aramco made the announcement in a filing in Riyadh’s Tadawul stock market. It had reported a $161 billion profit in 2022, likely

By JOSH KELETY/AP, ERIC SCICCHITANO/CNHI NEWS and CARSON GERBER/CNHI NEWS HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Dana Holladay-Hollifield has worked as a nurse in Alabama for years, but never was her pay as low as it was at Huntsville Hospital. She wondered what executives at the not-for-profit facility made, so she filed a public records request to

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — A 100-year-old American World War II veteran plans to marry his 96-year-old fiancee in France as part of that country’s 80th anniversary celebration of D-Day. Harold Terens and Jeanne Swerlin of Boca Raton, Florida, have dated since 2021 and enjoy dancing, kissing and holding hands.

By JOCELYN GECKER AP Education Writer Virginia high school teacher Joe Clement keeps track of the text messages parents have sent students sitting in his economics and government classes: — “What did you get on your test?” — “Did you get the field trip form signed?” — “Do you want chicken or hamburgers for dinner

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press It’s easy to blame the latest spasm of violence in Haiti on longstanding poverty, the legacy of colonialism, and European and U.S. interference with the West’s first free Black republic. However, experts say the most important immediate cause is more recent: Haitian rulers’ increasing dependence on street gangs. Haiti hasn’t

By BARRY HATTON Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal is holding a general election Sunday against a backdrop of corruption scandals and economic hardship that have eroded faith in moderate mainstream parties. That could push a significant number of voters into the arms of a radical right populist party, as has happened elsewhere in

JOSH KELETY/AP HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Dana Holladay-Hollifield has worked as a nurse in Alabama for years, but never was her pay as low as it was at Huntsville Hospital. She wondered what executives at the not-for-profit facility were making, so she filed a public records request to find out. The hospital is governed by

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hi, “Oppenheimer.” When Hollywood gathers for the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday, the blockbuster biopic is widely expected to overpower all competition — including its release-date companion, “Barbie” — at an election-year Oscars that could turn into a coronation for Christopher Nolan. The Oscars, kicking

SARGENT’S PURCHASE, N.H. (AP) — Two people were rescued and emergency crews were attempting to rescue a third at a ski area on the Northeast’s highest mountain. WMUR-TV reports the New Hampshire State Police says crews had been working since Saturday afternoon to rescue three people at Tuckerman Ravine, a popular area for skiers and

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia bill that would provide a framework for public school teachers on removing kindergarten and elementary school students from the classroom for sever misbehavior is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice. The measure cleared the final hurdle to its passage Saturday

By AMIR AMAN KIYARO Associated Press NEBAR HADNET, Ethiopia (AP) — Once-lush fields lie barren. Mothers, faces etched with worry, watch helplessly as their children weaken from malnutrition. Hundreds of people have died. The Ethiopian region of Tigray is peaceful but war’s effects linger, compounded by drought and a level of aid mismanagement that caused

By RAJANISH KAKADE Associated Press MUMBAI, India (AP) — Krystyna Pyszková of the Czech Republic has been crowned Miss World at a glittering contest held in India. Yasmina Zaytoun of Lebanon was the first runner-up among 112 contestants in the competition held on Saturday night in Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital. Pyszkova said: “Being

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s GOP-controlled state Legislature has voted to allow some students who don’t attend traditional public schools to be exempt from state vaccination requirements. The bill was approved Saturday despite the objections of Republican Senate Health and Human Resources Chair Mike Maroney, a trained doctor. He

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press KURIGA, Nigeria (AP) — Rashidat Hamza is in despair. All but one of her six children are among the nearly 300 students abducted from their school in Nigeria’s conflict-battered northwest. More than two days after her children — ages 7 to 18 — went to school in remote Kuriga town

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — An Auburn University student connected on a long-distance shot, draining a length-of-the-basketball court putt on Saturday to win a car. Conor Boyle made the 94-foot putt, rolling a golf ball from one baseline and through a sign next to the opposite basket during a promotion in the second half of Auburn’s

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Officials say no recoverable oil remains in the water after a sheen was reported off the Southern California coast, but the cause remains unclear. Authorities detected the 2.5-mile-long oil sheen Friday morning. Crews on Friday recovered about 85% of it, roughly 85 gallons. The Coast Guard and Huntington Beach officials

By ZEKE MILLER AP White House Correspondent WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Saturday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza. The U.S. leader expressed support for Israel’s right to pursue Hamas after the

By ALI SULTAN Associated Press ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AP) — Authorities in Zanzibar say eight children and an adult have died from eating sea turtle meat on Pemba Island, while 78 others were hospitalized. Sea turtle meat is considered a delicacy by residents of the East African archipelago even though it periodically results in deaths from

By JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. aerospace company Stratolaunch has conducted the first powered test flight of a new unmanned hypersonic research vehicle. The company says Saturday’s flight of the Talon-A-1 off the coast of California was a success but is withholding specific altitude and speed details. Hypersonic describes flights at

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press The Republican senator who gave the party’s response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address used a harrowing account of a young woman’s sexual abuse to attack his border policies, but the rapes did not happen in the U.S. or during the Biden administration. First-term Sen. Katie

By ZEKE MILLER and JOSH BOAK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden said Saturday that he regrets using the term “illegal” during his State of the Union address to describe the suspected killer of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. Facing frustration from some in his party for the use of the term to

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — On the Friday before the Oscars, the center of Hollywood seemed to be at a private home in Los Feliz. That’s where the cast and crew of “Oppenheimer” had gathered, after all. Christopher Nolan, Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy and Emma Thomas convened for one

By TAIWO ADEBAYO Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — What seemed like an aberration a decade ago when militants kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria’s Chibok community has become a recurring horror in the country. Since then, the number of students abducted has risen to more than 1,400. The kidnapping of more than 300 students in

By The Associated Press Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, who turns 93 next week, has been married four times — and is engaged again, his representative said Saturday. He plans to marry Elena Zhukova, 67, a Russian-born retired scientist he met last year. Her ex-husband Alexander Zhukov is a billionaire energy investor and Russian politician. Their

By NICK PERRY Associated Press MEREDITH, N.H. (AP) — Interest in the late scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer has extended beyond the Oscars this weekend to a historic signed report and letter. RR Auction in Boston is taking bids on the rare 1945 report, as well as a letter to a journalist signed by “Opie” that

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s Central Electoral Commission has decided to hold a vote on April 21 to oust four ethnic Albanian mayors whose elections last year raised tensions between Serbia and Kosovo. The Commission on Saturday confirmed results of the petition held in January asking for an early vote in four municipalities in northern