Month: February 2024

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken left the Middle East on Thursday with public divisions between the United States and Israel at perhaps their worst level since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began in October. Wrapping up a four-nation Mideast trip — his

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Honda’s profit rose 3.5% in the October-December quarter from a year earlier on the back of solid demand in the U.S. and Europe and a recovery in its home market, the company said Thursday. Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co.’s profit in the last quarter was

By MARCO DI MARCO Associated Press GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A volcano in southwestern Iceland has erupted for the third time since December and sent jets of lava into the sky. The eruption on Thursday morning triggered the evacuation the Blue Lagoon spa which is one of the island nation’s biggest tourist attractions. Several communities

By DÁNICA COTO and PIERRE-RICHARD LUXAMA Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Prime Minister Ariel Henry urged calm in a public address following three days of violent protests that have paralyzed Haiti as thousands of demonstrators demand his resignation. The brief speech that aired early Thursday did little to appease people who are angry and

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Friday as Tokyo’s benchmark momentarily touched a 34-year high, while many regional markets were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 37,029.91, slipping back from earlier gains. Investors were encouraged by remarks by Bank

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Highly radioactive water leaked from a treatment machine at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, but no one was injured and radiation monitoring shows no impact to the outside environment, the utility operator said Thursday. The cause of the leak is still under investigation. The filtering

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s newest climate satellite has blasted off to survey the world’s oceans and atmosphere in unprecedented detail. SpaceX launched the Pace satellite before dawn Thursday. The Falcon rocket headed south over the Atlantic from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to achieve a rare polar orbit. Pace

SYDNEY (AP) — Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has become the first Pacific leader to address Australia’s parliament. He vowed “nothing will come in between our two countries.” The nations later announced that Australia will spend more than $65.3 million on Papua New Guinea’s internal security, including a police barracks and training facility.

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer A total solar eclipse is coming to North America. On April 8, the sun will pull another disappearing act across parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada, turning day into night for as much as 4 minutes, 28 seconds. That’s twice as long as the total solar eclipse

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is set to nearly double state legislators’ pay at the start of next year, making their compensation better than it is for their counterparts in a majority of states, including more populous ones like Georgia and Texas. The increase is nearly $28,000 a year

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — The helicopter carrying five Marines that crashed during stormy weather in the mountains outside San Diego was a CH-53E Super Stallion designed to fly through bad weather, even at night. The Super Stallion is the largest helicopter in the military, but every aircraft has its limits,

By EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Seventeen-year-old Naima Khairiya Ismah started being bombarded by social media posts from candidates for Indonesia’s presidential election on before she’d even given voting any thought. As three candidates vie to replace popular but term-limited President Joko Widodo in an election later this month, they’ve been aggressively

By ILLIA NOVIKOV and MANUEL RUEDA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s ranks are depleted by two years of war. As it battles Russia, Ukraine is welcoming hardened fighters from one of the world’s longest-running conflicts. Professional soldiers from Colombia add to volunteers from around the world who have answered President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call

By COLLEEN LONG, ZEKE MILLER and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — How it began: President Joe Biden was urgently seeking more money from Congress to aid Ukraine and Israel. He took a gamble by seizing on GOP demands to simultaneously address one of his biggest political liabilities — illegal migration at the

By BISWAJEET BANERJEE and ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press LUCKNOW, India (AP) — An Indian state has approved an unprecedented uniform code for marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance for Hindus, Muslims and other religious communities in the state. The new legislation passed in northern Uttarakhand state on Wednesday also requires couples that live together to register

By MICHELLE L. PRICE, JONATHAN J. COOPER and GABE STERN Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former President Donald Trump won Nevada’s Republican presidential caucuses Thursday after he was the only major candidate to compete, winning his third straight state as he tries to secure his party’s nomination. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, his last

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seems poised to reject attempts to kick former President Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot. A definitive ruling for Trump, the leading Republican candidate for president, would largely end efforts in Colorado, Maine and elsewhere to prevent his name from appearing on the ballot.

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — After hours of talking about faith and family, redemption and war, the grieving American mother had an additional question for the Islamic militant convicted in her son’s murder. Do you know, Diane Foley asked, where my son is buried? The exchange is described in a new book

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Police who testified before an independent commission investigating the response to a mass shooting in Maine acknowledged missed opportunities to end a manhunt for the shooter that locked down the community and terrified residents. Maine Gov. Janet Mills and state Attorney General Aaron Frey assembled the

By MORIAH BALINGIT AP Education Writer Like a lot of mothers, North Dakota state Rep. Emily O’Brien struggled to find infant care when her daughter Lennon was born in 2019. So O’Brien, a Republican who represents the Grand Forks region, brought Lennon along to meetings with local leaders and constituents. O’Brien had her second daughter,

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of progressive lawmakers are fighting back against a multimillion-dollar campaign to push them out of Congress for their vocal opposition to Israel’s deadly bombardment of Gaza after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The so-called “squad” is being singled out this election cycle by pro-Israel

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A former youth minister in the Baptist church, Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford is known as one of the most sincere and well-liked members of the Senate. He’s a conservative who rarely votes against his party, has long championed stricter measures at the border

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — After a symbolic snub in Nevada’s primary, Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign headed Wednesday to California, where she faces another longshot bid against former President Donald Trump and again sought to tamp down any talk that she might leave the race. “I’m not going anywhere.