By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press A series of wildfires swept across the Texas Panhandle early Wednesday, prompting evacuations, cutting off power to thousands, and forcing the brief shutdown of a nuclear weapons facility as strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blazes. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60
Continue ReadingBy KAREEM CHEHAYEB and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A Kurdish official and a Syrian opposition war monitor say Turkish drone strikes in northeastern Syria have killed at least three members of a local Christian force and wounded others including civilians. Reported Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus on Wednesday. Security forces in the southern
Continue ReadingBy Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Smoking, vaping or eating marijuana is linked to a significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke, even if a person had no existing heart conditions and did not smoke or vape tobacco, a new study found. While both daily and non-daily users had an increased risk of heart
Continue ReadingBy ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump and Nikki Haley lead the field of candidates competing in the District of Columbia’s Republican presidential primary, which will be held Friday through Sunday. The event takes place in the run-up to Super Tuesday on March 5, when 15 states will hold Republican presidential contests,
Continue ReadingBy ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tuvalu’s new government has committed the tiny South Pacific island nation to continued diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but said it plans to renegotiate a security pact recently struck with Australia in response to China’s growing regional influence. Prime Minister Feleti Teo was sworn into office on
Continue Readingby PAOLO SANTALUCIA VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis, who recently had the flu, was brought to a hospital in Rome for diagnostic testing after the papal audience Wednesday, the Vatican said, without giving further details. The pope arrived at the Gemelli Hospital on Tiber Island in a small white Fiat 500, leaving again under
Continue ReadingBy ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Idaho Republicans will gather in presidential caucuses on Saturday to help pick their party’s presidential standard-bearer. At stake are 32 Republican delegates as Donald Trump and Nikki Haley compete for the nomination. Trump so far has dominated the race. Idaho’s conservative voting history presents a considerable obstacle
Continue ReadingBy DENG MACHOL Associated Press JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan’s government is blaming the country’s economic crisis in part on fighting in neighboring Sudan and the instability in the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been attacking international shipping. Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told reporters on Tuesday that these factors are
Continue ReadingBy BABACAR DIONE Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A group of Senegalese civic and religious leaders have proposed holding elections in early June, the first new date offered since the president attempted to push elections back to the end of the year. President Macky Sall who faces term limits at the end of his
Continue ReadingBy HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Ned Blackhawk’s “The Rediscovery of America,” winner last fall of a National Book Award, is a finalist for a history honor presented by the J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project. Blackhawk’s account of Native American history is among five nominees for the Mark Lynton History Prize,
Continue ReadingBy Christian Edwards, Radina Gigova and Anna Chernova, CNN (CNN) — The wife of the late Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny said she is concerned that police will crack down on mourners after it was announced his funeral will take place on Friday in Moscow. Yulia Navalnaya on Wednesday addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France,
Continue ReadingBy ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Missouri Republican Party will hold presidential caucuses this Saturday, giving voters their chance to weigh in on who should represent the party on the November presidential ballot. The contest is one of the last opportunities for candidates to shape the race for the GOP nomination before
Continue ReadingBy SALLY FRENCH of NerdWallet U.S. airfares are, on average, 15% lower now than they were a decade ago, and 6% lower than this time last year. The same cannot be said for many other purchasing categories where prices are increasing due to inflation. Some experts believe airfare could continue to drop, especially for international
Continue ReadingBy Eric Levenson, CNN (CNN) — A hearing Wednesday in the murder trial of Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, focused on the investigative genetic genealogy evidence in the case – an issue his attorneys have said is a key part of his defense. In an
Continue ReadingBy BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A London judge has ruled that Prince Harry was not improperly stripped of his publicly funded security detail during visits to Britain after he gave up his status as a working member of the royal family and moved to the U.S. Justice Peter Lane said Wednesday in
Continue ReadingBy Lauren Said-Moorhouse and Max Foster, CNN London (CNN) — Thomas Kingston, the financier husband of Lady Gabriella Kingston, has died suddenly at the age of 45, Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday. Kingston married into Britain’s most famous family in 2019, tying the knot with Lady Gabriella in a lavish ceremony at St. George’s Chapel at
Continue ReadingBy JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government is stepping up security for lawmakers after politicians reported threats and intimidation connected to the Israel-Hamas war. The Home Office said Wednesday that a 31 million-pound ($40 million) fund will give every lawmaker a “dedicated named police contact.” It also will provide money for
Continue ReadingBy Rosa Rahimi and Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN (CNN) — Polls have closed for legislative elections in Iran that analysts say could see a record low turnout as Iranians grapple with an ailing economy, growing political distrust and a quashed protest movement. Voting ended at midnight Saturday local time after the polls opened at 8 a.m.
Continue ReadingBy JIWON SONG and HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has discussed cooperation on extended reality devices with LG Electronics executives. He was on a visit to South Korea on Wednesday as part of a three-nation Asian tour. He already visited Japan and will travel to India after
Continue ReadingBy TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Price increases for cars and trucks in the United States, which helped fuel inflation for nearly three years, are slowing and in some cases falling, helping cool overall inflation and giving frustrated Americans more hope of finding an affordable vehicle. Behind the price slowdown is a
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