Month: April 2024

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Police say a 2-year-old Serbian girl whose disappearance last month gripped the nation died after being hit by a car and her body was dumped in a landfill by the people in the vehicle. Police have arrested two men suspected of hitting the girl with their vehicle when she walked out

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk’s X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has begun restoring complimentary blue checks for some of its users, the latest unexpected shift to cause a lot of confusion on the platform. For years, Twitter’s blue checks mirrored verification badges that are common on

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — He surveyed the Arizona crowd that had paid to catch a wrestling glimpse of the planet’s mightiest heavyweight, as measured in both box-office heft and ink-stained muscles. Then The Rock let the abuse fly. And as with so many public outbursts these days, attacking his opponents

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press A major spring storm brought heavy snow, rain and high winds to the Northeast, downing trees and power lines and leaving nearly 700,000 homes and businesses without power at one point. A woman was killed by a falling tree in a New York City suburb and a second woman died

By JARI TANNER Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — Finland says it will extend the closure of its border crossing points with Russia beyond the current April 14 deadline “until further notice” due to a high risk of organized migration orchestrated by Moscow. The Finnish Interior Ministry said national security and public order would come under

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says France and its allies could have stopped the 1994 Rwanda genocide and but lacked the will to do so. Macron’s office said in a statement that the French president will release a video on Sunday as Rwanda commemorates the 30th anniversary of

By JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Human Rights Watch says an Israeli strike on an apartment building in Gaza last October killed at least 106 civilians, including 54 children. The New York-based rights group says its investigation found no legitimate military target, making the strike an apparent war crime. It was one of

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The maker of a drug for Lou Gehrig’s disease that recently failed in a large study said Thursday it will pull the medicine from the market, acknowledging it didn’t help patients with the deadly neurological condition. Amylyx Pharmaceuticals announced it will voluntarily halt sales and marketing

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Dozens of construction workers from India have left for Israel this week to take up jobs there as the nearly six-month war between Israel and Hamas continues to rage in Gaza. Israel is facing a labor shortage after barring tens of thousands of Palestinian workers following

By KATHERINE ROTH Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — When you’re doing your taxes, it can sometimes be hard to know whether to itemize or take the standard deduction. Tax pros say itemizing generally only makes sense if your itemized deductions together add up to more than the current standard deduction. The three biggest potential

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian authorities has asked in court for cryptocurrency exchange Binance and two of its executives to be tried for alleged money laundering and tax evasion, the first legal step following weeks of a criminal investigation into the trading platform. Only Tigran Gambaryan, an American citizen and

By GODOFREDO VASQUEZ and JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press BIG SUR, Calif. (AP) — A new storm swept into California on Thursday and again forced the closure of scenic Highway 1 in iconic Big Sur where one of its two lanes collapsed into the ocean after heavy weekend rains. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office had warned

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court upheld a lower court judge’s ruling putting a temporary halt on New Jersey’s primary ballot design, widely seen as helping those with party establishment support. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia denied an appeal by county clerks seeking to halt U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi’s recent

By KIM COOK Associated Press Daily lives are noisier than ever, and many travelers are seeking relief in silence. Or as close as they can get to it. Quiet travel is a trend, from serene nature retreats to silent walking, or maybe just the soothing soundtracks of nature on your headphones. For many people, quiet

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Police in Italy, Austria, Romania and Slovakia have arrested 22 people as part of an investigation into the suspected theft of hundreds millions of euros in post-pandemic relief funds from the European Union. The 600 million euros ($650 million) in post-pandemic money was meant for Italy, the

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s defense minister has announced a plan to streamline and reorganize the country’s military command as part of efforts to make the armed forces of NATO’s most populous European member “war-capable.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz set in motion a big increase in military spending shortly after Russia’s full-scale

DETROIT (AP) — With U.S. electric vehicle sales starting to slow, Ford Motor Co. says it will delay rolling out new electric pickup trucks and a new large electric SUV as it adds gas-electric hybrids to its model lineup. The Dearborn, Michigan, company said Thursday that a much ballyhooed new electric pickup to be built

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The former South African speaker of parliament has been arrested over allegations that she received about $135,000 in bribes, in the latest corruption scandal to face the governing African National Congress party. Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula turned herself in to police in the capital, Pretoria, on Thursday and was

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits rose to their highest level in two months last week, but layoffs remain at historically low levels as the labor market continues to chug along despite elevated interest rates. The Labor Department reported Thursday that filings for unemployment claims for the

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that prospective negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine could be successful only if they take Moscow’s interests in the account. Lavrov on Tuesday dismissed a planned round of peace talks in Switzerland as a Western ruse to rally broader international support for Kyiv. He

By DORANY PINEDA and SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Sea-level rise and increasingly ferocious storms are eroding thousands of miles of Mexico’s coastline. Drought is draining reservoirs dry and creating severe water shortages. Deadly heat is straining people and crops. But the leading presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum isn’t making climate a central

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press After playing the role of Elsbeth Tascioni, a quirky lawyer who is often underestimated, 19 times over the course of both “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight,” Carrie Preston is starring in her own show about the character called “Elsbeth” for CBS. The premiere aired in February and the

By DEEPA BHARATH, DAVID CRARY and MARIAM FAM Associated Press Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from God or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder. Ahead of the total solar eclipse that will follow a long path

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The U.N.’s leading human rights body has agreed to measures aimed at putting pressure on Myanmar and Iran, whose governments have been accused of using violence against their own people. The council backed by consensus a measure that calls on governments to avoid exporting or selling jet

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed as “ridiculous” remarks by Russia’s defense minister suggesting that Ukraine and France could have had a role in last month’s deadly Moscow concert hall attack. Macron’s comments come a day after a rare phone call between the French and Russian defense ministers that led to diverging

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press Much about billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s giving remains a mystery, but a recent round of grants to nonprofits offer some insights. The grants announced in March were largely in line with Scott’s other donations in terms of themes. The database of gifts on Scott’s website shows organizations that identified as

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Saudi Arabia will host the WTA Finals as part of a three-year deal with the women’s professional tennis tour that will increase the prize money for this November’s season-ending championship to a record $15.25 million. That is a 70% increase from 2023. The event for the top eight singles

NEW YORK (AP) — Bestselling author Eoin Colfer has a new set of adventures ready for young Juniper Lane. Roaring Brook Press announced Thursday that Colfer’s “Guardians of Cedar Wood” is scheduled to come out in 2025. It’s the second book in Colfer’s middle-grade series about Juniper Lane and a helpful reindeer who were featured

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A new diplomatic crisis between Poland and Israel has erupted following the death of a Polish aid worker in Gaza. The Polish president on Thursday denounced a comment by the Israeli ambassador as “outrageous” and the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw said it was summoning him for