By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed forces and an allied militia have removed the militia’s commander from his post after his arrest this week led to intense dayslong clashes that killed at least 32 people, including at least three civilians. The clashes had spread to several towns and villages
Continue ReadingBy Oliver Darcy, CNN (CNN) — Mark Thompson, the former chief executive of The New York Times and director-general of the BBC, will be the next leader of CNN, the network announced Wednesday, taking the reins of the renowned global news organization at one of the most pivotal times in its 43-year history. “There isn’t
Continue ReadingBy ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Malaysia has joined India in protesting a new Chinese map that lays claim to India’s territory and Malaysia’s maritime areas near the Borneo island ahead of next week’s Group of 20 summit in New Delhi. Malaysia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday rejected China’s “unilateral claims” and added
Continue ReadingBy Brendan Kirby Click here for updates on this story MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) — A tax preparer pleaded guilty to fraud Tuesday, admitting that he submitted more than two dozen returns that contained inaccurate information leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in undeserved refunds. Carlos Lee Anderson, 59, pleaded guilty to a single count
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Novels by Jesmyn Ward and James McBride and story collections by Jamal Brinkley and Kelly Link are among the finalists for the Kirkus Prizes, for which winners in fiction, nonfiction and young reader’s literature each receive $50,000. Kirkus judges selected six books for each of the three categories, with winners to
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are edging mostly higher in early trading on Wall Street chipping a bit more away from the market’s losses in August. Treasury yields fell early Wednesday after some weaker-than expected readings on the U.S. economy and job market. The S&P 500 was just barely higher, up less than 0.1%. The
Continue ReadingCNN By Mary Gilbert and Brandon Miller, CNN (CNN) — Hurricane Idalia has left its mark on history, proving to be a once-in-a-lifetime storm for parts of Florida. Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 125 mph Wednesday morning in Florida’s Big Bend region – where the panhandle meets
Continue ReadingReview by Brian Lowry, CNN (CNN) — There is a small strata of Hollywood deal-making where who’s behind a project – and with whom the programmer gets to align itself – carries more weight than the specifics. That would seem to define Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry’s producing arrangement with Netflix, which bears
Continue ReadingBy CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The president of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, knew well the threat of military coups in his part of the world. But he swore one wouldn’t happen to him. “While our continent has been shaken in recent weeks by violent crises, rest assured that I will never
Continue ReadingBy DANIEL KOZIN Associated Press CEDAR KEY, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Florida’s west coast as a catastrophic Category 3 storm on Wednesday and unleashed life-threatening storm surges and rainfall across an area that has never before received such pummeling. More than 230,000 customers were without electricity as trees snapped by strong
Continue ReadingBy YVES LAURENT GOMA and SAM MEDNICK Associated Press LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — Mutinous soldiers claimed to have seized power in Gabon on Wednesday and put the president under house arrest, hours after he was declared the winner in an election extending his family’s 55-year rule in the oil-rich Central African nation. In a video
Continue ReadingBy TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is allowing some drivers to use its Autopilot driver-assist system for extended periods without making them put their hands on the steering wheel, a development that has drawn concern from U.S. safety regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ordered Tesla to tell the
Continue ReadingBATAM, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian police say they’ve arrested 88 Chinese citizens for involvement in a cross-border telephone and online romance scam syndicate after receiving a tip from Chinese security ministry. The suspects, including five women, were arrested in a raid on an industrial park on Batam island, next to Singapore. A police spokesperson says
Continue ReadingBy RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium’s government will no longer provide shelter for single men seeking asylum, arguing its insufficient reception capacity should be freed for families, women and children first. Aid organizations condemned it as reneging on international commitments. Belgium has long come under criticism for failing to provide enough shelter
Continue ReadingBy LUKE LASTER Click here for updates on this story SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Michigan (WWJ) — “Started off as a doodle just in class,” says author Jack Barrette. Barrette is now beginning the 10th grade, but it was nearly a decade ago when the doodles from a first-grade project began what is today a published children’s
Continue ReadingBy CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Big Bend is one of the last truly natural places in the state. It’s not Disney World. It’s not South Beach. This is where people go to hunt alligators, fish for tarpon and search for scallops in the shallow waters. On Wednesday, it became the
Continue ReadingBy DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A former chief executive of the BBC and The New York Times who says he sees opportunity in times of disruption was chosen Wednesday to lead CNN, which has burned through two leaders and bled viewers over the past two years. Mark Thompson was appointed
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — A German court has ruled that a special forces soldier who believes he is at risk of attacks by jihadi extremists because he served in Afghanistan isn’t entitled to a private weapons permit. The 42-year-old soldier first applied for a permit to carry a weapon in 2016. His request was rejected by
Continue ReadingCNN, WKMG By Nouran Salahieh and Holly Yan, CNN (CNN) — The center of Hurricane Idalia has slammed Florida’s Gulf Coast at dangerous Category 3 strength, inflicting deadly storm surge and catastrophic winds not seen in this region in 125 years while promising untold devastation far beyond the landfall zone. Idalia moved ashore midmorning Wednesday
Continue ReadingBy Alex Suckow Click here for updates on this story LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — Ethan the dog is already a huge star in Louisville, and now he’s going to be larger than life. Soon, the rescue dog’s image will go on a big 60-by-20-foot banner, which will then be hung up on the side of
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