Month: January 2024

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — On the first day of Missouri’s new legislative session, Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden tried to cajole colleagues into congeniality with a rhetorical question: “Will we focus on principled progress or political pandemonium?” Progress was intended. But pandemonium ensued. Within days, a newly

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai court has convicted a prominent political activist of defaming the country’s monarchy and sentenced her to a two-year suspended jail term under a controversial law that criminalizes any perceived criticism of the royal institution. Patsaravalee Tanakitvibulpon, better known by her nickname “Mind,” had pleaded not guilty to an offense under

By ZEN SOO AP Business Writer SINGAPORE (AP) — A survey of factory managers in China shows manufacturing contracted in January for a fourth straight month, reflecting weak demand and a faltering recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. The official purchasing managers index, or PMI, rose slightly to 49.2 in January from 49.0 the month

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press KUTZTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The spotlight returns to Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania this week, when handlers of a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil will announce his verdict — six more weeks of winter or an early spring. Thousands are expected to attend the annual event that exploded in popularity after

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BEREHOVE, Ukraine (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has long accused Ukraine’s government of violating the rights of an ethnic Hungarian community in western Ukraine. Orbán insists the Hungarian minority must be allowed to speak their native language in schools and public administration, and has threatened to block Ukraine’s

By JAMES POLLARD and BEN FINLEY Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A grainy sonar image recorded by a private pilot has reinvigorated interest in one of the past century’s most alluring mysteries: What happened to Amelia Earhart when her plane vanished during her flight around the world in 1937? Numerous expeditions have turned up

By JILL COLVIN and TOM KRISHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As he looks past the GOP primary and toward a likely general election rematch against President Joe Biden, Donald Trump is meeting with members of the Teamsters Union in Washington on Wednesday as he tries to cut into Biden’s organized labor support. The former

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve will likely move closer Wednesday to cutting its key interest rate after nearly two years of hikes that were intended to fight the worst inflation in decades. Yet it may not provide much of a hint about when — or how fast —

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Déjà vu? Feels like it. Assassination plots, arrest warrants for journalists and human rights defenders, attacks against adversaries – from the belittling kind to the judicial type – and other associated government actions have marked the start of 2024 for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and

By KEIRAN SMITH Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — Australia has reported inflation slowed in the last quarter to its lowest rate in three years, raising hopes of a ‘soft landing’ for the nation’s economy. The Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed the latest consumers price index data had slowed to 4.1%, down from 5.4% at the