CNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — A massive rocket launched from Florida earlier today carrying what may be the first commercial lander to touch down on the moon. The historic mission could set the tone for NASA to explore the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years. Here’s what else
Continue ReadingBy GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Farmers are blocking highway access roads in parts of Germany and snarling traffic elsewhere, launching a week of protests against a government plan to scrap tax breaks on diesel used in agriculture. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s unpopular three-party coalition infuriated farmers last month by drawing up plans to
Continue ReadingBy SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — An outspoken critic of Cambodia’s government who was badly hurt by assailants four months ago has been arrested on a defamation complaint brought by a Cabinet member for comments he posted on Facebook. The complaint filed by Minister of Labor and Vocational Training Heng Sour
Continue ReadingBy COLLEEN LONG and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden wants Americans to know what he believes is at stake in this year’s presidential election. As part of that effort, the Democratic president is revisiting some of the nation’s worst traumas to highlight what happens when hate is allowed to
Continue ReadingBy Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — Police in Australia have dismantled what they believe is a smuggling ring that was attempting to export native lizards and reptiles worth more than 1.2 million Australian dollars ($800,000) to Hong Kong. Three men, aged 54, 59 and 31, and one woman, aged 41, were arrested in Sydney as
Continue ReadingBy HYUNG-JIN KIM and JIWON SONG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un turned 40 on Monday with no announced public celebrations at home, after he entered the new year with artillery barrages into the sea and vows to expand his nuclear arsenal. Since taking power in late 2011,
Continue ReadingBy Ray Sanchez and Sabrina Souza, CNN New York (CNN) — The testimony of Wayne LaPierre, in the waning days of his long tenure as head of one of the nation’s most powerful lobbying groups, could highlight a New York civil trial alleging top officials used the National Rifle Association as a “personal piggy bank.”
Continue ReadingBy ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — The electric vehicle unit of troubled Chinese property developer China Evergrande says its vice chairman has been detained by police on “suspicion of illegal crimes.” China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle announced that Liu Yongzhuo had been detained in a notice Monday to the Hong Kong Stock
Continue ReadingBy Clare Foran, Lauren Fox and Haley Talbot, CNN (CNN) — Lawmakers returning to Washington this week face a critical government funding deadline, and – despite a deal on top-line spending numbers announced over the weekend – more work remains to avert a shutdown. In a rare event, Congress is confronting not one but two
Continue ReadingBy Jeff Zeleny, Kit Maher and Eric Bradner, CNN Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) — Donald Trump’s trademark air of confidence has been accompanied by an unusual sense of apprehension in the closing stretch of the 2024 Iowa contest – as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley work to deny the
Continue ReadingCNN, CBS, TRUMP CAMPAIGN By Jeff Zeleny, Kit Maher and Eric Bradner, CNN Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) — Donald Trump’s trademark air of confidence has been accompanied by an unusual sense of apprehension in the closing stretch of the 2024 Iowa contest – as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley
Continue ReadingNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The president of Cyprus has moved ahead with a considerable shake-up of his cabinet, replacing his ministers of defense, health, justice and environment as well as the deputy ministers of digital policy and European affairs in one fell swoop after just 10 months in power. Monday’s move comes after week-long speculation
Continue ReadingBy JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press In the last week alone, an Israeli airstrike has killed a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, Hezbollah struck a sensitive Israeli base with rockets and Israel killed a senior Hamas militant with an airstrike in Beirut. Each strike and counterstrike increases the risk of the catastrophic war in Gaza spilling across
Continue ReadingBy MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has opened his third day of meetings on an urgent Mideast diplomatic mission to prevent Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza from exploding into a broader regional conflict. Blinken was meeting Monday with United Arab Emirates
Continue ReadingBy NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis called Monday for a universal ban on the “despicable” practice of surrogate motherhood, as he included the “commercialization” of pregnancy in an annual speech listing threats to global peace and human dignity. In a foreign policy address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, Francis
Continue ReadingBy ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Officials say Russia has launched its latest barrage of hypersonic and cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets, striking near the front lines of fighting in the east as well as in central and western parts of the country. They said Monday that at least four civilians were
Continue ReadingBy Edward-Isaac Dovere, Priscilla Alvarez and Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — South Carolina catapulted Joe Biden to the top of the Democratic primary in 2020, and on Monday, the president returned hoping the state – and its Black voters – can help recharge his reelection bid. The state’s February 3 Democratic primary is not competitive. But with many
Continue ReadingBEIJING (AP) — China says it has detained an individual accused of collecting state secrets on behalf of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency MI6. The Ministry of State Security posted on social media Monday that Britain had been cooperating since 2015 with the person, who it said was a citizen of a third nation and had
Continue ReadingBy ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese automaker VinFast plans to spend up to $2 billion to build an electric vehicle factory in India, the world’s third-largest auto market by sales. The factory in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state will be the company’s first foray into India. It said it is committing
Continue ReadingBy WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Medics, patients and displaced people are fleeing from the main hospital in central Gaza as the fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants draws closer, witnesses said Monday. Losing the facility would be another major blow to a health system shattered
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