Turkey’s central bank lowers key interest rate to 47.5%
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank has lowered its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 47.5%, carrying out its first rate cut…
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‘Baby Driver’ actor Hudson Meek, 16, dies in a fall from a moving vehicle
VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. (AP) — Teenage actor Hudson Meek has died after he fell out of a moving vehicle in Alabama, authorities said. Meek, 16, was…
Continue Reading4 die on Christmas Day in New Hampshire home from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning
WAKEFIELD, N.H. (AP) — Authorities say four people died in a New Hampshire home on Christmas Day due to suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. Police…
Continue ReadingHoliday shoppers increased spending by 3.8% despite higher prices
AP Business Writers Sales rose this year during the holiday shopping season even as Americans wrestled with elevated prices for many groceries and…
Continue ReadingUS sex-abuse watchdog fires investigator after learning of his arrest for stealing drug money
AP National Writer DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Center for SafeSport abruptly fired one of its investigators last month after learning he’d been…
Continue ReadingFriday’s Mega Millions drawing is worth an estimated $1.15 billion, one of the game’s top jackpots
Americans still dreaming of a really big Christmas present can keep that dream alive during Friday’s Mega Millions drawing for a jackpot worth…
Continue ReadingHwang Dong-hyuk on killing off his ‘Squid Game’ characters and wanting to work with Jake Gyllenhaal
Associated Press Viewers may gasp, cringe or cry out watching characters die on Netflix’s “Squid Game,” but those simulated deaths have a…
Continue ReadingFive facts about electric vehicles in 2024
Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Electric vehicles had another whirlwind year around the globe, driven by buyers in China, and growth in parts of…
Continue ReadingShooting wounds 2 at Phoenix airport, 1 other stabbed, police say
PHOENIX (AP) — A shooting at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix left two people injured by gunfire and another person stabbed in an incident related to…
Continue ReadingThe body of a missing Hungarian hiker is found in Slovenia
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s mountain rescuers have found the body of a Hungarian hiker who got lost in a blizzard in the Alps last…
Continue ReadingUS applications for unemployment benefits hold steady, but continuing claims rise to 3-year high
AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims…
Continue ReadingMiddle East latest: WHO chief says he was at Yemen airport as Israeli bombs fell nearby
The World Health Organization’s director-general said airstrikes on Yemen’s main airport occurred as he was about to board a flight in the Houthi…
Continue ReadingCambodian court gives an opposition leader 2-year prison term, keeping pressure on critics
Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court has convicted an opposition party leader of inciting social disorder and sentenced…
Continue Reading6,000 inmates escape from a high-security prison as post-election violence roils Mozambique
Associated Press MAPUTO, Mozambique. (AP) — Mozambique’s police chief says at least 6,000 inmates escaped from a high-security prison in the…
Continue ReadingWhy this Mexican American woman played a vital role in the US sacramental peyote trade
Associated Press MIRANDO CITY, Texas (AP) — The late Amada Cardenas was called many things — the “angel of peyote,” the “peyote rose” or…
Continue ReadingWhat is the Native American Church and why is peyote sacred to members?
Associated Press The Native American Church is considered the most widespread religious movement among the Indigenous people of North America. It…
Continue ReadingPeyote sacred to Native Americans threatened by psychedelic renaissance and development
Associated Press HEBBRONVILLE, Texas (AP) — In this corner of southern Texas, the plump cacti seem to pop out of arid dust and cracked earth, like…
Continue ReadingTrump has pressed for voting changes. GOP majorities in Congress will try to make that happen
Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Republicans in Congress plan to move quickly in their effort to overhaul the nation’s voting procedures, seeing…
Continue ReadingRussian ship that sank in the Mediterranean was attacked, owner says
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian operator of a cargo ship that sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria says it has been hit by a series of…
Continue ReadingGreek police warn drivers to use snow chains after long traffic jams reported in some mountain areas
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek traffic police are warning drivers in areas with ice and snow to use snow chains after long traffic jams were reported…
Continue ReadingAmericans are exhausted by political news. TV ratings and a new AP-NORC poll show they’re tuning out
Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — As a Democrat who immersed himself in political news during the presidential campaign, Ziad Aunallah has much in…
Continue ReadingFinland stops Russia-linked vessel over damaged undersea power cable in Baltic Sea
Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish police say authorities detained a ship linked to neighboring Russia as they investigate whether…
Continue ReadingHow the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers
NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy…
Continue ReadingWhat is known about a plane crash in Kazakhstan that Azerbaijan says was caused by Russia?
The Wednesday crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan has killed 38 of 67 people on board. Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route…
Continue ReadingMore than 10,000 migrants died this year trying to reach Spain by sea, aid group says
MADRID (AP) — A Spanish migration rights group says more than 10,000 migrants died in 2024 trying to reach Spain by sea. Tens of thousands of…
Continue ReadingWorking Well: Returning to the office can disrupt life. Here are some tips to navigate the changes
Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Jason LaCroix felt privileged to work from home, especially as a father to two young children. He needed…
Continue ReadingChina raises its estimate for the size of its economy in 2023
AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — China says its economy grew a bit more in 2023 than earlier thought, according to an economic census conducted…
Continue ReadingRussia arrests 4 suspects accused of plotting to kill top military officers on Ukraine’s orders
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top security agency says that it has arrested several suspects accused of involvement in an alleged Ukrainian plot to…
Continue ReadingAviation experts say Russia’s air defense fire likely caused Azerbaijan plane crash as nation mourns
Aviation experts said Thursday that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38…
Continue ReadingPope brings Holy Year and prayers for better future to Rome prison, a ‘cathedral of pain and hope’
Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis inaugurated his Holy Year at Rome’s main prison on Thursday, bringing a message of hope to inmates and…
Continue ReadingChinese automaker BYD slams reports of poor conditions at a factory site in Brazil
AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — A spokesperson for Chinese automaker BYD has objected to reports about poor conditions at a construction site in…
Continue ReadingSouth Korean opposition submits motion to impeach the country’s acting president as strife deepens
Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s main opposition party has submitted a motion to impeach the country’s acting leader…
Continue ReadingIsrael strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen’s capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away
Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital and multiple ports,…
Continue ReadingJapan Airlines was hit by a cyberattack, delaying flights during the year-end holiday season
Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan Airlines has been hit by a cyberattack that caused delays to more than 20 domestic flights, but it managed to…
Continue ReadingFlooding took away the love of his life after 35 years without a day spent apart
Associated Press ERWIN, Tenn. (AP) — Jerry and Sibrina Barrett never spent a day apart over 35 years. They worked long hours, never took vacations,…
Continue ReadingAI is a game changer for students with disabilities. Schools are still learning to harness it
Associated Press For Makenzie Gilkison, spelling is such a struggle that a word like rhinoceros might come out as “rineanswsaurs” or sarcastic as…
Continue ReadingIsrael’s plan to double the number of settlers in the Golan Heights is met with conflicting emotions
Associated Press EIN ZIVAN, Golan Heights (AP) — A dry mountain wind whipped through a cluster of Israeli flags at the entrance of a kibbutz in the…
Continue ReadingA Syrian family recounts the horrors of the 2013 chemical attack near Damascus
Associated Press ZAMALKA, Syria (AP) — A Syrian family that survived a 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people near the…
Continue ReadingA survivor of the worst gang attack on Haitian journalists says colleagues were cut down by bullets
Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A survivor of the worst gang attack on Haitian journalists in recent memory describes seeing…
Continue ReadingStock market today: Wall Street drifts to a mixed close in thin trading following a holiday pause
AP Business Writer Stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Wall Street Thursday, as some heavyweight technology and communications sector stocks…
Continue ReadingFormer Presidential candidate in Taiwan, Ko Wen-je, indicted for corruption
Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Prosecutors in Taiwan indicted former presidential candidate and Taiwan People’s Party founder Ko Wen-je…
Continue ReadingHeat wave leads to warnings of potentially devastating wildfires in southern Australia
Associated Press NEWCASTLE, Australia (AP) — Communities and firefighters across Australia’s second-most populous state are bracing for…
Continue ReadingThis Somali migrant watched others around her die at sea. But she wants to try again for Europe
Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Idil Abdullahi Goley’s journey seeking a better life in Europe started in Somalia with a $6,500…
Continue ReadingNew York taxi driver hits 6 pedestrians, 3 taken to hospital, police say
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police say a taxi driver hit six pedestrians in midtown Manhattan. A New York Police Department spokesperson said…
Continue ReadingPrayers and tears mark 20 years since the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed some 230,000 people
Associated Press BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — People gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday to mark…
Continue ReadingOregon house cat died after eating pet food that tested positive for bird flu
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon house cat died after eating pet food that tested positive for bird flu, Oregon authorities said, prompting a recall…
Continue ReadingMan arrested in Christmas Eve attack on 2 people at Manhattan’s Grand Central
NEW YORK (AP) — A man accused of using a knife to slash a man and a woman in Manhattan’s Grand Central subway station is facing assault and…
Continue ReadingUndersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia hit by outage, prompting investigation
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finland’s prime minister says authorities are investigating an interruption in a power cable under the Baltic Sea…
Continue ReadingDead body found in wheel well of United plane from Chicago to Maui
KAHULUI, Hawaii (AP) — United Airlines has confirmed that a body was found in the wheel well of one of its planes after landing in Maui. Maui…
Continue ReadingBlake Lively’s claims that movie co-star launched smear campaign gets support in publicist’s suit
NEW YORK (AP) — Blake Lively’s claims that “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni unleashed a smear campaign against her have…
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