Month: April 2024

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Americans boosted spending at a hotter-than-expected pace in March, underscoring how shoppers remain resilient despite inflationary pressures and other economic challenges. Retail sales rose 0.7% last month — almost double what economists had forecast — after rising 0.9% in February, according to Commerce Department data

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — April 17 marks the 100 days countdown to the Paris Olympics ambitious opening ceremony. The first Games in a century in France’s capital will be judged not only for the sporting spectacle. Another yardstick will be their impact on disadvantaged Paris suburbs away from iconic city-center landmarks

By ERIC TUCKER, LEA SKENE and SARAH BRUMFIELD Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — Hours before leaving port, the massive container ship that caused the deadly collapse of a Baltimore bridge experienced apparent electrical problems, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Monday, the same day FBI agents boarded the vessel

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — Sisay Lemma scorched the first half of the Boston Marathon course on Monday, setting a record pace to build a lead of more than half of a mile. Then the weather heated up, and the 34-year-old Ethiopian slowed down. After running alone for most of the

By MARK BAKER and ROD MCGUIRK Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — Australian police say a knife attack in Sydney that wounded a bishop and a priest during a church service as horrified worshippers watched online and in person was an act of terrorism. Police arrested a 16-year-old boy Tuesday after the stabbing at Christ the

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The European Union has disbursed about $6.7 billion to Poland as a part of the 27-nation bloc’s post-pandemic recovery fund, the biggest single transfer ever to the country. Poland’s former national conservative government, voted out of power in October, made changes to the judiciary which the EU said violated democratic checks

By JEAN-YVES KAMALE Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A local official in eastern Congo says extremist-linked rebels attacked villages over the weekend, killing at least 11 people, torching vehicles and taking possessions. Allied Democratic Forces rebels with ties to the Islamic State group have long operated in the border area near Uganda. The United

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A new review says the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed U.S. troops and Afghans in August 2021 was not preventable, and the “bald man in black” spotted by U.S. service members the morning of the attack was not the bomber.

By KATE ASHFORD of NerdWallet NEW YORK (AP) — American workers expect to retire at a median age of 65, according to a 2023 survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. But the actual median age for retirement is 62. That may not seem like a big gap, but if you retire three years earlier

BEIJING (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for fair competition in trade relations with China while warning about dumping and overproduction while speaking to students in Shanghai on Monday. Scholz is visiting China against the background of possible EU tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and other trade-related tensions. The two countries are also

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Lawyers for Azerbaijan are urging the top United Nations court to throw out a case filed by Armenia linked to the long-running dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. They argued Monday that judges do not have jurisdiction. Armenia filed the case at the International Court of

GUYMON, Okla. (AP) — Authorities have confirmed the deaths of two Kansas women who went missing on a trip to pick up children for a birthday party. Two bodies were recovered in rural Oklahoma, a day after four people were charged with murder and kidnapping. Authorities say 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley, of

By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military renewed warnings on Monday for Palestinians not to return to northern Gaza, a day after witnesses and medical officials said Israeli troops opened fire and killed five people among throngs of displaced residents trying to walk back to

By DEE-ANN DURBIN and LOUISE DIXON Associated Press Supermarket beverage aisles are starting to look a lot more like a pharmacy. There are sodas made with mushrooms that supposedly improve mental clarity and juices packed with bacteria that claim to enhance digestive health. Water infused with collagen carries the promise of better skin, and energy

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A key plank in the British government’s plan to send some asylum-seekers on a a one-way trip to Rwanda is expected to become law this week. A bill aimed at overcoming a U.K. Supreme Court block on sending migrants to Rwanda is expected to become law this

By The Associated Press Israel’s military chief says the country will respond to Iran’s missile strike over the weekend. Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Monday that Israel is still considering its steps but that the Iranian strike of missiles and attack drones “will be met with a response.” World leaders have been urging Israel not

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — An independent expert commission has recommended that abortion in Germany should no longer fall under the country’s penal code and be made legal during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Currently, abortion is considered illegal in Germany, but not punishable if a woman undergoes mandatory counseling and

By TERESA M. WALKER AP Sports Writer The WNBA wears Prada. The stars of the game wore top fashion labels Monday night that turned the draft into a mini-Oscars where style was front and center along with the picks. Caitlin Clark. Cameron Brink. Kamilla Cardoso. Angel Reese. They all stepped onto the stage and met

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The European Union’s maritime security force says a cargo vessel seized in March by pirates off the Somali coast has been freed along with its crew. Operation ATALANTA said in a statement Monday that all 23 crew members of the Bangladesh-flagged cargo carrier MW Abdullah have been released after 32 days

By CHISATO TANAKA Associated Press STOCKHOLM (AP) — The trial of a former Syrian army general over his alleged role in war crimes committed in 2012 in his home country started at a Stockholm court, a first according to a human rights organization. Brig. Gen Mohammed Hamo, who is currently residing in Sweden, is charged

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — On this Tax Day, refunds are looking a bit bigger for taxpayers. According to the latest IRS statistics, the average income tax refund so far this season is $3,011, up $123 from last year. Two out of three taxpayers expect to receive a refund. The IRS is

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding for Samsung Electronics to develop a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas. The funding announced Monday by the Commerce Department is part of a total investment in the cluster