Month: March 2024

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas would require abortion providers to ask patients why they’re terminating their pregnancies and report the answers to the state under a measure moving through the Republican-controlled Legislature. Frustrated Democrats are pointedly suggesting a similar rule for vasectomies and erectile dysfunction. The state House planned

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Lifestyles Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Happy 150th birthday, dear jockstrap. How far you’ve come from your modest but mighty days protecting the precious parts of bicycle messengers as they navigated the bumpy cobblestones of Boston. Invented for that purpose in 1874, the strappy little staple of yore has become a

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Leading British economic think tanks are warning that whoever wins the country’s general election this year will face some very tough choices on tax and spending if they want to make sure the public finances don’t deteriorate further. After number-crunching Wednesday’s budget statement, which reduced a tax

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is stepping up its focus on artificial intelligence. Officials are set to warn that companies and people who deliberately misuse AI technology to advance a white-collar crime like price fixing and market manipulation will be at risk for a harsher sentence. Deputy Attorney General

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s and India’s foreign ministers have agreed to step up security and economic cooperation as the two Asian countries look to boost their ties in the face of China’s growing influence in the region. Japan’s Yoko Kamikawa told a joint news conference after the talks on Thursday,

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Police in Canada’s capital capital of Ottawa are investigating the deaths of six people including four children and two adults found in a house in a southern suburb. A seventh person is in hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. Police were called to the home in the city’s south end area

By ALEX DANIELS of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy As longtime progressive movement organizer Deepak Bhargava takes the reins of the multi-billion-dollar JPB Foundation, he is unveiling an ambitious plan to give big to democracy strengthening efforts. The New York City-based foundation, which says it has assets of about $4.2 billion, announced it will

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has transferred another 8% of shares in the kingdom’s oil giant Saudi Aramco to the country’s prominent sovereign wealth fund. The shares are worth some $160 billion. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s decision was announced on Thursday and comes as

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer U.S. applications for jobless benefits were unchanged last week, settling at a healthy level as the labor market continues to show strength amid elevated interest rates. Unemployment claims for the week ending March 2 were 217,000, matching the previous week’s revised level, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Weekly unemployment

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state media say a fire at an oil refinery in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas has killed at least one person and injured three. State TV reports that a furnace at the refinery caught fire as it was being repaired at about 11 a.m local time. A

By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Christian voters and faith leaders have long been in the frontlines of providing assistance to migrants — but when it comes to support for immigration policies, from border security to legalization options for migrants already in the U.S., priorities diverge broadly. Both President Joe Biden and GOP

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Simon’s latest honor places him among public figures well outside the music industry. He is this year’s winner of PEN America’s PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, which previously has been given to former President Barack Obama, the late Nobel laureate Toni Morrison and Stephen King

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press MAASTRICHT, Netherlands (AP) — Old Masters, Roman statues, modern furniture, tribal masks and vintage watches are vying for the attention of well-heeled collectors at the annual TEFAF art fair that opened in the southern Netherlands. The show, which opened Thursday, is taking place in a cavernous exhibition center transformed in

NEW YORK (AP) — Few swimmers have made a splash as big as Katie Ledecky, the Olympic gold medalist and two-time winner of The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award. Now, she has written her life story. Simon & Schuster announced Thursday that Ledecky’s “Just Add Water” will be published June 11. Ledecky

BABA AHMED Associated Press BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The military juntas ruling Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger say they have agreed to create a joint force to fight extremist violence in their nations. No details of how the force will operate have been released, even though the countries are experiencing financial difficulties with overstretched militaries.

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities have carried out raids across Germany against people suspected of posting misogynistic hate speech online. Police raided homes and interrogated 45 suspects in 11 states early on Thursday morning. German news agency dpa reported that none of the suspects were detained. The raids were part of the annual “combating misogyny

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech farmers have blocked traffic in Prague, cramming the streets with hundreds of tractors and other vehicles as they rallied against the government and agriculture policies  set by the European Union. Public transport came to a standstill during the morning rush hour in several parts of the Czech capital on Thursday. The

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The United Nations’ refugee chief has raised a new alert over 780,000 displaced people in Mozambique. The vast majority of them have fled their homes because of a seven-year insurgency by a jihadi group that has thrown the north of the country into turmoil.

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a quarter of female Black voters describe abortion as their top issue in this year’s presidential election, a poll out Thursday from health policy research firm KFF reveals. The findings signal a significant shift from previous election years, when white, conservative evangelicals were more likely

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — The European Union’s largest political party has endorsed Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second five-year term at the helm of the bloc’s powerful Commission. Von der Leyen’s nomination at a gathering on Thursday of her center-right European People’s Party in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, comes ahead of June 6-9 elections

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN AP Sports Writer A major French union is warning of possible strikes in the public sector, including at hospitals, during the Paris Olympics. The general secretary of the CGT tells France Info media that the union will give notice of a possible strike in public services during the Games, which are held

By SAMY MAGDY and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Hamas said Thursday that its delegation has left Cairo and that talks on a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release will resume next week, making it extremely unlikely that mediators will broker a deal before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Egyptian officials had earlier

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators want to question Apple over accusations that it blocked video game company Epic Games from setting up its own app store. It’s a possible violation of digital rules that took effect in the 27-nation bloc Thursday and a fresh escalation of the high-stakes

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A mother and her 11-year-old daughter have been fatally shot while sitting in a parked SUV in a Massachusetts neighborhood. Police in Worcester arrested one man and are searching for another. Chastity Nunez and her daughter, Zella Nunez, were shot shortly after 3 p.m. Monday. They were taken to a hospital,

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The United Nations office in Nigeria says at least 200 people, mostly women and children displaced by violence in northeastern Nigeria, were abducted by Islamic extremists while they were searching for firewood near the border with Chad. The victims were taken hostage after leaving several displacement

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Gum makers are trying to figure out what will make Americans start chewing again. Generational habits, health concerns and the coronavirus pandemic have gnawed away at gum sales. Some manufacturers are leaving the U.S. market altogether. But Mars, which owns the 133-year-old Wrigley brand, is trying to reposition gum

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is going into his third State of the Union address with an expanded plan to raise corporate taxes. He would use the proceeds to trim budget deficits and cut taxes for the middle class. The Democratic president in this election year is refining the

By The Associated Press The guest list for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address speaks volumes about what Democrats and Republicans want to focus on as the 2024 election season heats up. Biden and fellow Democrats have invited several health care providers and women whose lives have been impacted by stricter abortion laws

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer Apple is opening small cracks in the iPhone’s digital fortress as part of a regulatory clampdown in Europe that’s striving to give consumers more choices. But it’s coming at the risk of creating new avenues for hackers to steal personal and financial information stored on the devices. The overhaul

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Millions of travelers across Germany are being affected by strikes again after two unions called for two-day walkouts over wages and work conditions. Around 80% of all long-distance trains as well as regional and commuter trains in the country were canceled early Thursday as train drivers went

HOUSTON (AP) — A United flight from Houston to Fort Myers, Texas, was forced turn around Monday after one of the plane’s engines caught fire. KTRK-TV reports that several of the 167 passengers aboard the Boeing 737 took video showing a line of flames shooting out of the engine. FlightAware shows Flight 1118 taking off

By DAVID RISING Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — The top American diplomat for East Asia and the Pacific is criticizing China for using intimidation tactics against other countries in the region to press its sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea. Speaking to reporters Thursday after returning to the United States from meetings with

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says that the United States has become more “transactional,” using rewards and punishments to achieve aims with other countries, and should be encouraged to enhance cooperation with China in the Asia-Pacific region. Anwar on Thursday advocated against taking sides in U.S.-led

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — As Japan prepares to mark the 13th anniversary of its worst-ever nuclear disaster, the man in charge of cleaning it up says his team is fighting to bring a sample out of the heart of the site’s radioactive debris. A decades-long project to clean up the remains

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — China’s exports and imports for the first two months of the year beat estimates, an indication that demand may be improving as Beijing attempts to speed up its economic recovery. Customs data released Thursday showed exports for January and February grew 7.1% from a year earlier,

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Thursday, after Wall Street recovered some losses from the day before. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 momentarily reached a record high in early trading but slipped later to finish at 39,598.71, down 1.2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose nearly 0.4% to 7,763.70. South

By BARRY HATTON Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Corruption is a key issue in Portugal’s early general election on Sunday. Portugal’s center-left Socialist Party and center-right Social Democratic Party have alternated in power for decades and are expected to collect most of the 10.8 million potential votes this time. But both are tainted by