Month: February 2024

BY STEPHEN McGRATH and AUREL OBREJA Associated Press CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Officials in Moldova’s Russia-backed breakaway region of Transnistria have appealed to Moscow for protection Wednesday, as tensions escalate with the pro-Western government. Moldova, a candidate to join the European Union, imposed new customs duties at the start of the year on goods going

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Noel Fielding trades pastry for pistols in the new mouthful of a series “The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin,” a swashbuckling romp that’s miles from the genteel tent of “The Great British Bake Off.” The English writer, comedian and TV host is a highway

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York man has pleaded guilty to charges he illegally trafficked birdwing butterflies and other rare insects. Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that Charles Limmer’s plea deal calls for a $30,000 penalty, and he had to turn over a collection of 1,000 butterflies, moths and other insects. Some of the dried

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer The Federal Aviation Administration is giving Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to fix quality problems and meet safety standards for building new planes. The agency said Wednesday that the directive follows meetings with top Boeing officials, including the company’s CEO at FAA headquarters in Washington.

SPARTANSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Investigators says they have no suspects in the killing of a pregnant 23-year-old Amish woman inside her home in rural northwestern Pennsylvania. A state police spokeswoman said Wednesday that Rebekah A. Byler had been killed inside her home near Spartansburg. They say a relative and a family friend discovered her body

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A judge has ruled that a new law that gives immunity from prosecution for most offenses committed during Northern Ireland’s decades of sectarian violence is not compliant with human rights. The British government’s Legacy and Reconciliation Bill stops most prosecutions for alleged killings by militant groups and

Wendy’s says that it has no plans to increase prices during the busiest times at its restaurants. The burger chain clarified its stance on how it will approach pricing after media picked up on comments by CEO Kirk Tanner that the company would test features like dynamic pricing at restaurants. Companies like Uber have used

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Norwegian Nobel Committee has registered 285 candidates for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize by the Feb. 1 deadline, down from 2023 when it received 351 valid nominations. The names were not released, in accordance with committee practice. A vast group of people can submit a nomination for the prize and

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press The Philadelphia Orchestra’s home is being renamed Marian Anderson Hall in honor of the pioneering Black American contralto, a rare case of an artist’s name replacing a corporation. The orchestra’s auditorium in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts was known as Verizon Hall from 1999-2023, as part of a

PARIS (AP) — Paris City Hall says no policing plans for the Olympic Games were stolen from one of its workers who reported a theft of their computer equipment. City Hall said in a statement Wednesday that “initial checks established that the worker didn’t possess any information relating to the organization and deployment of law

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says the number of people seeking asylum in Europe reached a seven-year high last year. The EU’s asylum agency said on Wednesday that more than 1.1 million people have filed asylum applications in 2023, most of them Syrian nationals. The rise in the number

By TAIWO ADEBAYO Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Local activists and international environmental groups want Nigeria’s government to delay approving the $2.4 billion sale of oil company Shell’s onshore assets. They claim the London-based Shell is trying to shirk its environmental and social responsibilities in the highly polluted Niger Delta. The company is trying

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Thousands of artists, curators and critics have signed an open letter calling on the Venice Biennale to exclude the Israeli national pavilion from this year’s contemporary art fair due to the war in Gaza. But Italy’s culture minister has firmly backed Israel’s participation.  The online letter was

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Amsterdam police say that a suspect in the fatal shooting of a Dutch rapper has been arrested on a European warrant at an airport in Paris. Police said that the 20-year-old man was detained at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to board a flight Wednesday from Paris

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden “continues to be fit for duty,” his doctor wrote Wednesday after conducting an annual physical that is being closely watched as the 81-year-old seeks reelection in November. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, wrote that the president is adjusting well to

BERLIN (AP) — Germany is trying to move forward talks on a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, welcoming the two countries’ foreign ministers to Berlin. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hosted her counterparts on Wednesday at a secluded government villa in the capital’s suburbs. The latest talks followed a meeting between German Chancellor OIaf

CHICAGO (AP) — The sisters of a man fatally shot by suburban Chicago police in his home this month have filed a federal lawsuit against the officers and their department. The sisters of 30-year-old Isaac Goodlow III filed the wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago against the Carol Stream Police Department

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a robust 3.2% annual pace from October through December, propelled by healthy consumer spending, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday in a slight downgrade from its initial estimate. The expansion in the nation’s gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press The number of abortions performed each month is about the same as before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to abortion more than a year and a half ago, a new report finds. The latest edition of the #WeCount report conducted for the Society

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi will be featured at the first two IndyCar races of the season and take a ride in the “Fastest Seat in Sports” with four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves as his chauffer. SiriusXM’s Bon Jovi Radio channel will be featured on

Chrysler is recalling more than 330,00 Jeep Grand Cherokees because of a steering wheel issue that may cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles. The recall is for 338,238 of Chrysler’s 2021-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L and 2022-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles. The automaker says in documents posted Tuesday by the U.S. National Highway

By VINCENT THIAN and JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press LANGKAWI, Malaysia (AP) — King Harald V of Norway remained hospitalized with an infection on Malaysia’s northern resort island of Langkawi on Wednesday as officials said that his condition was improving. Harald, Europe’s oldest monarch at age 87, became ill while he was on vacation. His

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press Laurene Powell Jobs’ philanthropy Emerson Collective announced Wednesday its fifth cohort of Emerson fellows. They include an oral historian in Montana, a civic designer in Los Angeles and a campaigner for political unity from Utah. The collective’s cohort of fellows this year are all local leaders who are pursuing projects

By DARREN SANDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stood together at the annual National Prayer Breakfast — an opportunity, in the words of one introductory speaker, to “put our political differences aside.” Such differences are vast between Johnson, a staunchly conservative Republican, and Jeffries, a

By RICK CALLAHAN and BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI Associated Press Rare February tornadoes sent sleeping Midwesterners scrambling for safety and left a trail of damage across four Great Lakes states. Suspected or confirmed tornadoes toppled trees, cut power and damaged homes late Tuesday and early Wednesday in parts of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. No injuries have