Month: January 2024

By KRYSTA FAURIA and MARIA SHERMAN Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The second chapter in Olivia Rodrigo’s musical story began similar to the first: with a big-hearted, full-throated piano ballad about a relationship gone awry. But the bloodsucking “vampire” was no “drivers license,” the song that kickstarted her career. Instead of descending into her

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The planned auction of dozens of items that belonged to Nelson Mandela has been suspended pending a court application to completely halt it. The online auction, by New York-based Guernsey’s auction house in conjunction with Mandela’s eldest daughter was due to take place on Feb. 24. However,

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — An Amtrak train crashed into a truck carrying milk at a northeastern Colorado rail crossing, badly injuring the engineer and sending three passengers to a hospital for treatment, authorities said. The truck driver, a 31-year-old man from Fort Wainright, Alaska, drove through the crossing, which has a

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Dave Canales is ready to begin his journey as head coach of the Carolina Panthers just 16 months after co-authoring a faith-based book about working through problems with his sexual infidelity and addiction to pornography and alcohol. The book “This Marriage? The Question That Changed

By FATIMA HUSSEIN and REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is considering additional measures against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government after the South American country’s highest court blocked the presidential candidacy of an opposition leader. This comes after the U.S. government on Monday pulled back part of the sanctions relief it

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer ROME (AP) — The local organizing committee for the 2026 Winter Olympics has decided to move forward with rebuilding a century-old bobsled track in Cortina d’Ampezzo but will also keep open a “Plan B” in case the new venue is not ready in time. The committee says its plans

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers posted 9 million job openings in December, an increase from November and another sign that the job market remains resilient despite the headwind of higher interest rates. The number of openings was up from November’s 8.9 million, which itself was revised up in Tuesday’s

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and LAURA UNGAR NEW YORK (AP) — According to Elon Musk, the first human received an implant from his computer-brain interface company Neuralink over the weekend. In a Monday post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Musk said that the patient received the implant the day prior and was “recovering

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer American consumers, fresh off strong holiday spending, are feeling more confident than they have in two years. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose for the third straight month, to 114.8 in January from 108 in December. January’s reading came in

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian journalist has been sentenced to three years in prison on charges related to his work covering protests. It’s the latest move in a sweeping government crackdown on dissent. The Minsk City Court convicted photojournalist Alyaksandr Zyankou on charges of “participation in an extremist group,”

By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Payroll payments per small business moderated as 2023 came to a close, according to new data from Bank of America. The BofA report found payroll payments rose 1.7% in December at small businesses. That’s consistent with the trend last year, with payroll payments rising most

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Members of a rock band that has been critical of Moscow’s war in Ukraine remain locked up in a Thai immigration jail, fearful that they could be deported to Russia as a reported plan to let them fly to safety in Israel was apparently suspended. The progressive

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Italian regulators said they told OpenAI that its ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot has violated European Union’s stringent data privacy rules. The country’s data protection authority, known as Garante, said Monday that it notified San Francisco-based OpenAI of breaches of the EU rules, known as General Data

ROME (AP) — Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner has returned to Italy amid great fanfare with RAI state TV broadcasting his arrival at the airport in Rome. Sinner was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with his orange racket bag strapped onto his shoulders and he also held a green bag with gold-colored straps that appeared

By ALBERT AJI Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The first United Arab Emirates ambassador to Damascus in nearly 13 years has taken up his post as Syria is reintegrating into mainstream regional acceptance.  Syrian state media said Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad received Ambassador Hassan Ahmad al-Shihi’s credentials Tuesday. The UAE embassy was reopened in

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press EUREKA, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is pledging to fast-track more than half a dozen projects to remove or bypass dams that have blocked salmon. The proposals are part of Newsom’s strategy to protect salmon. Millions of salmon once filled California’s rivers and streams. But last year, there

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Award-winning musician Branford Marsalis is taking on a new job in his hometown of New Orleans. Marsalis was named Tuesday as the new artistic director for the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, named for his late father. Ellis Marsalis was the patriarch of a family of

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse an opposition protest in the island nation facing its worst economic crisis while gearing up for a national election later this year. Protesters from the main opposition United People’s Power party gathered Tuesday in the capital and accused President

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund has upgraded its outlook for the world economy this year, envisioning resilient growth led by the United States and a slower pace of inflation. The IMF now expects the global economy to grow 3.1% this year, unchanged from 2023 but better than

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s president says the country is considering the reintroduction of compulsory military service, citing tensions in the Balkans and elsewhere in Europe. President Aleksandar Vucic said top army commanders gave him “a strong argumentation” in favor of the reintroduction of a mandatory draft, which was suspended

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The songwriters who gave us “Your Song,” “Tiny Dancer” and “Rocket Man” will add to their stuffed awards shelf later this year when Elton John and Bernie Taupin are awarded the Gershwin Prize. The Library of Congress says Tuesday that songwriter-performer John and lyricist Taupin