Month: January 2024

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala has arrested its former interior minister for allegedly not carrying out his duties when he opted for dialogue with protesters rather than using force to remove them as a court had ordered. Police arrested Napoléon Barrientos at his home Thursday, leading him out in handcuffs and a bulletproof vest. Barrientos

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Apple TV and Major League Soccer are expanding their collaboration, announcing Thursday that the looming MLS season will be chronicled in a new all-access docuseries similar to the ones that have given fans a deep, different look at golf, auto racing and tennis in

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose for the second time in as many weeks, climbing to its highest level in four weeks. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.66% from 6.62% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year

By KENYA HUNTER AP Health Writer More than 6 million people receive benefits through the nation’s food assistance program for women, infants and children, which is known as WIC. But it’s not always easy to get what you might need. Unlike food stamps, the fresh produce, baby formula and other nutritious items that are WIC-approved

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer The best CES products pierce through the haze of marketing hype at the Las Vegas gadget show to reveal innovations that could improve lives. The worst could harm us or our society and the planet in such “innovatively bad” ways that a panel of self-described dystopia experts has judged

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon’s internal watchdog says he will review the secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization and why the Defense Department waited days to inform the White House that he had transferred authority to his deputy. Austin is still in the hospital being treated for complications from

By JOHN CARUCCI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — “Vanderpump Rules” star Ariana Madix becomes the latest celebrity to take on the role of Roxie Hart in the Broadway musical, “Chicago.” The show comes at a good time for Madix, who found out in the past year that her longtime partner and “Vanderpump Rules” co-star

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press The trial of a woman charged in the 2019 killing of a mother of five has begun in a Connecticut courtroom. A six-person jury began hearing the case against Michelle Troconis in Stamford Superior Court on Thursday. She has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and other crimes

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 75th Emmy Awards will be studded with cast reunions and recreations of classic moments from a dozen beloved shows throughout television history. “All in the Family,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Game of Thrones,” “Martin” and many more series will get the special treatment at Monday night’s

By JILL COLVIN and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — While his rivals contend with snow drifts and frigid temperatures as they make their last-ditch pitch to Iowa voters, former President Donald Trump has spent much of the week before the caucuses in court instead, by choice. Trump was in Washington, D.C., for

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — In the greatest rebuke yet to Pope Francis, the Catholic bishops of Africa and Madagascar issued a unified statement Thursday refusing to follow his declaration allowing priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples and asserting that such unions are “contrary to the will of God.” The

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The illegal tunnel discovered under a historic Brooklyn synagogue compromised the stability of several structures surrounding the religious complex, prompting an order to vacate as well as citations against its owners, city officials said. Inspectors with New York City’s building safety agency uncovered a tunnel that

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Jill Biden says her husband’s age is an “asset,” as President Joe Biden — at 81 already the oldest American leader in history — faces persistent questions from voters about his decision to seek another term. In an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” released Thursday, Jill Biden responded to those

By JULIA FRANKEL and ALON BERNSTEIN Associated Press KIBBUTZ BE’ERI, Israel (AP) — Relatives of civilians killed at a kibbutz in southern Israel during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas are demanding the military immediately investigate signs that some may have been killed by Israeli security forces as they battled militants holding hostages. The military

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A bomb threat has sent an anti-explosives unit into a bustling area of Ecuador’s tense capital as the South American nation staggers under a spike of violence blamed on drug gangs. Police say they evacuated people from the area around a bus station in Quito after being alerted about a backpack

By JARI TANNER Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — Finland says it will extend the closure of its border with Russia for another month because it suspects that Moscow is trying to undermine the Nordic country’s security by sending undocumented migrants across the frontier. Finland closed the border late last year after 1,300 migrants without proper

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer CAIRO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has wrapped up his latest urgent Mideast tour in talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. American officials claim modest success in getting regional leaders on board with general planning for construction and governance in Gaza after Israel’s war with

By ELDAR EMRIC Associated Press VISEGRAD, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Tons of garbage floats down a river at least twice a year and ends up near the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad behind a barrier installed by a local hydroelectric plant. An environmental activist said “new year, new problems or rather old problems with new garbage

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A government agency in Jamaica says it is investigating four fatal shootings by police officers in the span of 24 hours, including that of a 14-year-old boy. The Independent Commission of Investigations says police killed three people on Tuesday and another on Wednesday. Authorities allege all four victims opened

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some of the Native Americans the National Park Service was supposed to consult with say moving a statue of Pennsylvania’s founder William Penn from a Philadelphia historic site isn’t a priority for them. The park service quickly reversed that plan amid a backlash, but says it

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Police say a grenade explosion in Afghanistan’s capital has killed two people and wounded 12 in a Shiite neighborhood of Kabul. It was the second deadly blast in the Dasht-e-Barchi area in less than a week. The explosion occurred outside a commercial center in mid-afternoon. No one immediately claimed responsibility for

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits inched down to its lowest level in nearly three months last week as the U.S. labor market continues to flex its muscle in spite of elevated interest rates. Jobless claim applications fell to 202,000 for the week ending Jan. 6, down