Year: 2024

Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has confirmed that plans remain in place for Pope Francis to go to Belgium and Luxembourg. That follows the cancellation of all of his audiences on Monday because of a “slight flu-like state.” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni says the cancellation only concerned Monday’s events. Francis is to

AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — With its larger-than-usual half-point cut to its key interest rate last week, the Federal Reserve underscored its belief that it’s all but conquered inflation after three long years. The public at large? Not so much. Consumer surveys show that most Americans remain unhappy with the economy, still bruised by

Associated Press PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane John struck Mexico’s southern Pacific coast Monday night with fierce winds and heavy rainfall after strengthening from tropical storm to major hurricane in a matter of hours. John’s rapid intensification caught authorities off guard as they scrambled to update their guidance to residents and keep pace with

Associated Press MARJAYOUN, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli strikes Monday on Lebanon killed more than 490 people, including more than 90 women and children, Lebanese authorities said, in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. The Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of its widening air campaign against Hezbollah.

Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistani Taliban have denied involvement in a bombing attack on a police convoy that was escorting foreign ambassadors in the restive northwest. Authorities said Monday they were still trying to determine who was behind it. The ambassadors and senior envoys were traveling Sunday to the Swat Valley, a former

Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Marxist politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president on Monday after an election that saw voters reject an old guard accused of leading the country into economic crisis. Dissanayake, 55, who ran as head of the Marxist-leaning National People’s Power coalition, defeated President Ranil

Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — While tensions remain high between the U.S. and Iran, there’s at least one American that state radio in Tehran invites on the air each week for its millions of listeners. It’s just that he’s a fictional insurance fraud detective who’s been on the case since 1949. “Yours Truly, Johnny

Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — At only 6 years old, Esai Reed has endured three emergency evacuations from orphanages across Haiti as gangs pillage and plunder their way through once peaceful communities. He is now in northern Haiti under the care of a U.S. organization after the director of Esai’s last orphanage

Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, killing more than 492 people. The Israeli military called on residents to immediately evacuate places where it claimed the Hezbollah militant group stores weapons. Thousands of people fled southern Lebanon, jamming the main highway to Beirut. More than 1,645 people were wounded in the

Associated Press MUNICH (AP) — The head brewmaster for Weihenstephan, the world’s oldest brewery, has a secret: He really likes alcohol-free beer. Even though he’s quick to say he obviously enjoys real beer more, Tobias Zollo says he savors alcohol-free beer when he’s working or eating lunch. It has the same taste but fewer calories

AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes reached new heights Monday after drifting higher in a quiet day of trading. The S&P 500 rose 16.02 points, or 0.3%, to 5,718.57 and edged past its record set on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 61.29 points, or 0.1%, to its own all-time

Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — All countries have crimes that resonate. Mexico’s is the disappearance of 43 students from a rural teacher’s college in 2014. Ten years later, it’s still not clear where the students from the Rural Normal School at Ayotzinapa are. Authorities believe they were killed, but have only turned up small

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese ophthalmologist has been working around the clock trying to keep up with the flood of patients with eye injuries after thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies exploded en masse. Elias Jaradeh says he has lost track of how many eye operations he has performed since the explosions happened. He

Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Officials in Birmingham, Alabama, pleaded Monday with members of the public for information leading to arrests in a weekend mass shooting that killed four people and injured more than a dozen others, announcing rewards totaling $100,000. “We have a laser-like focus on hunting down, finding and capturing and making

AP National Political Writer NEW YORK (AP) — One presidential candidate is talking up gun ownership and promising tough border security measures. The other vows to cap credit card interest rates and force insurance companies to cover in vitro fertilization. Which one is the Democrat and the Republican? The lines that have long defined each

Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly adopted a “Pact for the Future” to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Now comes the hard part: uniting the world’s divided nations to move quickly to implement the agreement’s 56 actions. As Czech President Petr Pavel put it Monday at the summit meeting

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — This eye-of-the-beholder dynamic between vandalism and urban art form has been a reality since the earliest days of urban graffiti. One person’s artistic expression is another person’s problematic eyesore. In the nation’s capital, both sides of that perspective are on full display. Multiple graffiti removal crews work daily to clean