By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer SpaceX’s mega Starship rocket blasted off from Texas on Thursday, the fourth test flight for the spaceship that NASA and Elon Musk are counting on to get humanity to the moon and Mars. The world’s largest and most powerful rocket — almost 400 feet (121 meters) tall — was
Continue ReadingBy MATT OTT AP Business Writer The number of Americans applying for jobless claims rose last week, but layoffs remain at healthy levels despite lingering inflation and high interest rates. Unemployment benefit applications for the week ending June 1 rose by 8,000 to 229,000, up from 221,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Continue ReadingBy NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Vatican police have detained a former employee on charges of attempted extortion after he allegedly tried to sell a 17th-century gilded manuscript describing Bernini’s designs for the altar canopy of St. Peter’s Basilica back to the Holy See. Vatican prosecutors said that the 18-page manuscript, which apparently
Continue ReadingBy VERDA SUBZWARI Associated Press The image shows tents in a camp, highlighted to spell out one single phrase: “All Eyes on Rafah.” It has been shared more than 50 million times. A single image, not even an authentic photograph, is the focus of a singular campaign on Instagram that has caught the attention of
Continue ReadingBy ZEKE MILLER and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — President Joe Biden marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday by pledging “we will not walk away” from the defense of Ukraine and allow Russia to threaten more of Europe. “To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators, is simply unthinkable,”
Continue ReadingBy PETER SMITH Associated Press From its towering white steeple and red-brick facade to its Sunday services filled with rousing gospel hymns and evangelistic sermons, First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia, bears many of the classic hallmarks of a Southern Baptist church. On a recent Sunday, its pastor for women and children, Kim Eskridge, urged
Continue ReadingBy PETER SMITH Associated Press From its towering white steeple and red-brick facade to its Sunday services filled with rousing gospel hymns and evangelistic sermons, First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia, bears many of the classic hallmarks of a Southern Baptist church. On a recent Sunday, its pastor for women and children, Kim Eskridge, urged
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — Around 80 migrants have been rescued at sea by British authorities after a small boat got into difficulty while crossing the English Channel from France. The coastguard confirmed Thursday that it scrambled two helicopters after the incident while the Royal National Lifeboat Institution dispatched lifeboats. A spokesperson for the coastguard said the
Continue ReadingBy MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, RANDALL CHASE, COLLEEN LONG and MIKE CATALINI Associated Press WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Jurors in Hunter Biden’s criminal trial got a look at the .38 caliber Colt revolver he bought back in October 2018. They saw Form 4473, the firearms transaction record at the center of the case. And they’re hearing testimony
Continue ReadingBy ZIMO ZHONG and MATT OTT Associated Press Wall Street was subdued before the bell Thursday, one day after markets were again pushed to records by the fever around artificial intelligence technology. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.1% in premarket trading, while futures for the S&P 500 future were unchanged. Lululemon
Continue ReadingBy DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank cut its key interest rate Thursday by a quarter point, moving ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve as central banks around the world lean toward lowering borrowing costs – a shift with far-reaching consequences for home buyers, savers and investors. The
Continue ReadingBy MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Boeing’s space capsule developed more leaks during its first test flight with astronauts as it closed in on the International Space Station on Thursday. The Starliner capsule already had one small helium leak when it rocketed into orbit Wednesday. Boeing and NASA managers were
Continue ReadingBy MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese, U.S. and South Korean coast guard vessels have conducted their first three-way drill off Japan’s coast as the countries strengthen their maritime ties in response to increased assertiveness by China in pressing its territorial claims. Skirmishes between Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels have escalated in
Continue ReadingBy Donald Judd, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden on Thursday issued a fierce critique of Russian President Vladimir Putin while defending his decision give Ukraine permission to carry out limited strikes within Russia using US weapons. “I’ve known [Putin] for over 40 years -– he’s concerned me for 40 years,” Biden told ABC News’
Continue ReadingBy Dakin Andone, CNN (CNN) — Atlanta officials on Thursday morning lifted the last boil water advisory put in place after a string of water main breaks left parts of the major US city without drinkable water nearly a week, underscoring the fragility of the nation’s aging infrastructure. “We are pleased to announce that the
Continue ReadingPARIS (AP) — Virginie Viard, the creative director of Chanel who replaced Karl Lagerfeld after his death, is leaving the fashion house. Chanel did not immediately announce a replacement for the 62-year-old Viard, who worked with Lagerfeld for more than two decades. Before she replaced Lagerfeld, Viard had held no official role as designer but
Continue ReadingBy Max Foster and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN (CNN) — Britain’s King Charles III embarked on his first overseas trip since being diagnosed with cancer, traveling across the English Channel for commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the 1944 D-Day Landings in Normandy. Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed on five stretches of the German-occupied Normandy coastline
Continue ReadingBy HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Inspired by an 18th century Scottish philosopher and the modern scourge of misinformation, Suzanne Collins is returning to the ravaged, post-apocalyptic land of Panem for a new “The Hunger Games” novel. Scholastic announced Thursday that “Sunrise on the Reaping,” the fifth volume of Collins’ blockbuster
Continue ReadingBy JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press UTAH BEACH, France (AP) — As young soldiers, they waded ashore in Normandy through gunfire to fight the Nazis. On Thursday, a dwindling number of World War II veterans were joined by a new generation of leaders to honor the dead and living in moving commemorations on and around those
Continue ReadingBy JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press UTAH BEACH, France (AP) — Leaders, veterans and visitors from around the world paid tribute Thursday to the D-Day generation in moving ceremonies on and around the Normandy beaches where the Allies landed exactly 80 years ago, with the war in Ukraine on the minds of many and a common
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