Month: October 2024

Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball has sold at auction for nearly $4.4 million, a record high price not just for a baseball, but for any ball in any sport, the auctioneer said Wednesday. Ohtani became the first player in baseball history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a season, reaching the

Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — The Hong Kong government is barring most civil servants from using popular apps like WhatsApp, WeChat and Google Drive on their work computers due to potential security risks. The latest IT security guidelines from the Digitial Policy Office have many civil servants complaining about added inconvenience. Government workers will

Associated Press EL JOBO, Panama (AP) — A long, wooden boat puttered down the Indio River’s chocolate waters carrying Ana María Antonio and a colleague from the Panama Canal Authority on a mission to hear directly from villagers who could be affected by plans to dam the river. The canal forms the backbone of Panama’s

AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks fell Wednesday as more steam came out of Wall Street’s huge, record-breaking rally. The S&P 500 sank 0.9% for its first three-day losing streak since early September. It was coming off two small losses since setting an all-time high on Friday, and the pullback follows a

Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) — At the University of Pittsburgh, as freshmen students took their first steps on campus and swarms of lanternflies buzzed through the air, the sounds of Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan drifted from a folding table draped with an iridescent pink tablecloth. Fruit snacks and colorful butterfly hairclips were laid out

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the most important signs of how people will vote is how much education they have. Voters who attended college are much more likely to back Democrats, while those without degrees usually go Republican. So as The Associated Press looked for places to explore this topic, we focused our

Associated Press BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — It was love at first sight when Ellen Matis pulled up to this small Pennsylvania borough on a dreary winter day almost eight years ago. The road into town curved along the creek and then climbed uphill to a historic square where she chatted with regulars over beers at

Associated Press BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina is preparing to put up the first individual statue of an African American on its Statehouse lawn. The state is looking to honor Robert Smalls. Smalls escaped from slavery in May 1862 by wearing Confederate clothes and mimicking the hand signals and whistles to sail the rebel

Associated Press ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Before the National Toy Hall of Fame inducts a new class each fall, curators at the upstate New York attraction have to figure out how to showcase the honorees. It’s not always easy. The hall aims to show how its toys have endured and evolved over the years, so

Associated Press BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The start of “snowbird” season in Florida is only weeks away, but many Florida Gulf Coast beaches, regularly voted some of the best in the United States, are closed to the public because of the devastation from Hurricane Milton two weeks ago. Most restaurants and shops in the

Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A Colorado man repeatedly made online threats about killing the top elections officials in his state and Arizona — both Democrats — as well as a judge and law enforcement agents, according to a guilty plea he entered Wednesday. Teak Ty Brockbank, 45, acknowledged to a federal judge in Denver

Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Tens of thousands of devastated Swifties trading friendship bracelets, wearing sparkly dresses and singing songs in the streets of Vienna. Workers taking down the Taylor Swift stage inside an empty stadium. This was the scene at the beginning of August in the Austrian capital after organizers abruptly canceled Swift’s three

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein’s retrial on sex crimes charges in Manhattan won’t start until next year and a new allegation against the former movie mogul will be included in the case. The new details came as Weinstein appeared in court Wednesday for a pretrial hearing. He was already facing retrial on

Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing factory workers voted Wednesday to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a six-week strike that has halted production of the aerospace giant’s bestselling jetliners. Local union leaders in Seattle said 64% of members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers who cast ballots voted